Posts tagged hazelnuts

Roasted Monkfish, Butternut Risotto, Hazelnuts & Sage

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Roasted Monkfish, Butternut Risotto, Hazelnuts & Sage

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 special anniversary coinciding with Valentine’s Day means I feel less guilty about buying some of my favourite and more indulgent ingredients. Monkfish is a favourite fish of ours but one that isn’t exactly budget friendly so any excuse! I did consider using 3 deliciously fried, golden buttery scallops on top of this creamy risotto and I still feel like might even be a better combo so pick whatever takes your heart.

This clearly served 2 on Valentine’s evening but I’ve scaled up here for 4 as I had loads left over! The reserved risotto makes amazing arancini (cooled, rolled, breaded and deep fried) so NEVER discard leftover risotto! Reheated it can get a bit starching and ‘gloopy’ but the flavour is still there.

WINE: Serve with a crisp Muscadet, Chenin or if you’re partial to a Sauvignon Blanc…I’ll let you off.

Serves 4

The risotto can sit and melt while you pan fry the fish so just made sure everything is ready to go!

  • 4 fillets monkfish (you can use cod, haddock or even scallops if feeling indulgent)
  • 300g risotto rice
  • 1 butternut squash
  • 50g parmesan, finely grated
  • Butter
  • 1 red onion, chopped finely
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
  • 1 large glass white dry wine
  • 1 stock cube
  • 50g hazelnuts, roamed and roughly chopped
  • 1 small bunch sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 lemon
  • Rocket to serve

Risotto

  1. Start by preheating the oven to 180. Halve (lengthways) the butternut and remove the seeds. Drizzle with a little oil and season. Roast for about 40 minutes in the oven until the flesh is tender. Remove and set aside to cool slightly. Next, mash the flesh with a fork until smooth and discard the skin.
  2. Season the monkfish with a good pinch of salt and refrigerate until ready to cook (monkfish is quite watery so it helps to do this ahead of cooking).
  3. Heat a large pan of water on the hob and crumble in the stock cube. Keep the stock water on a low heat, barely simmering. You’ll use that during the cooking.
  4. Heat a large heavy based saucepan with a tsp of oil and a tbsp of the butter on the hob on a medium heat. Gently fry the onion slowly for about 8 minutes until turning translucent and soft. Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes more.
  5. Turn the heat up a little and add the rice and coat in the buttery onions. You need to fry the rice here for a few minutes – this too should start to turn translucent. At this point, add the white and simmer nicely, stirring. The alcohol and liquid should reduce. At this point add the butternut and a small spoonful of stock and mix well and turn down the heat to a medium/low.
  6. Add another big spoonful of the stock and simmer, stirring continuously – don’t leave this unattended or it will likely stick. Risotto rice also likes to be stirred often.
  7. Continue adding the stock for about 18 minutes (sometimes longer as the butternut slows the cooking I find) or until the rice is just cooked. Ensure you don’t have a thick consistency OR a soupy one. Reduce or add stock accordingly. Risotto served on the plate should be ‘oozey’ – it should never sit in a clump! (see picture).
  8. Once the rice is cooked, season and remove the pan from the heat and add the parmesan and about 3 tbsp of butter. Set aside with a lid on.

Monkfish

  1. Heat an oven proof frying pan on a high heat with a tsp of light sunflower oil.
  2. Coat the monkfish in a light dusting of flour and season.
  3. Fry the monkfish on a high heat for about 1-2 minutes per side or until golden and crisp.
  4. Add 2 x tsp of butter to each fillet and pop the pan in the oven for about 5-6 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.
  5. Once cooked, remove from the oven and put the frying pan onto a hot hob. Add the hazelnuts and sage and toss gently in the buttery juices. Finally, add a good squeeze of lemon juice over the fish and sauce and stir.

Assembly

  1. Stir the risotto well to mix in all the melted butter and parmesan. Spoon into warm bowls and top with a handful of rocket. Squeeze over a little lemon juice.
  2. Top with a fillet of monkfish and a good spoonful of the butter hazelnuts and sage.

Serve!

Coffee Drizzle Cake with Hazelnut Mascarpone

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Coffee Drizzle Cake with Hazelnut Mascarpone

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f you are, like me, an appreciator of all things coffee in flavour then this cake is certainly one to test out on a cold Sunday afternoon for a crowd that need pleasing. And more specifically a mother! (Happy Mother’s Day!) I’ll admit I’m no coffee nerd but even those that can pour a perfect patterned topped latte will love you for this moist sponge cake. I think many people these days are intimidated by baking with a preconcieved idea that it is difficult due to the eleborate disguise of the 21st century decoration, intricate piping and macaroon topped bakes. However like most cakes, the baking bit is extremely easy! Mix and combine. How you choose to refine your decoration is up to you. I don’t seem to have a natural knack for it sadly and my piping skills are far from successful on most attempts so this weekend I abandoned the fancy piping bag in place of the palate knife and went for a more welcomed rustic and homemade visual. It won’t win any show stopper rounds thats for sure but its all about the taste and texture…

This cake is based on a Delia classic. The sponge and syrup recipe have been taken from her ‘How to Cook – Book One’ with just a few adaptations in the ‘forage in the pantry’ style.

Sponge and Icing

  • 1 1/2 tbsp coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp boiling water
  • 75g walnuts
  • 175g self raising flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 175g softened butter
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 250g mascarpone
  • 8 tbsp sieved icing sugar
  • Handful of chopped toasted hazelnuts
  • Optional – 1 tbsp Frangelico/Amaretto
  • 1 tsp cocoa powder

Syrup

  • 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
  • 50g demerara sugar
  • 55ml boiling water
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line two cake tins (18cm/20cm wide. No bigger than 20cm)
  2. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan or hot oven for a few minutes until fragrant then set aside. Once cool, chop roughly.
  3. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a food processor.
  4. Add the butter, sugar and eggs and mix until smooth and shiny. Add the coffee and combine well.
  5. Finally fold in the chopped walnuts then divide the mixture into the two tins, spreadably evenly and flattening out the tops.
  6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  7. Meanwhile make the syrup. Combine the sugar and coffee in a jug before adding the boiling water. Stir continuously and thoroughly until he sugar has dissolved fully. Set aside until needed.
  8. Next make the icing. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl before beating in the mascarpone cheese. Add the liquor of choice if using and beat until smooth. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts, leaving some for scattering over the top. Taste and add more icing sugar if you like it a little sweeter.
  9. Once the cakes are cooked remove from the oven and prick all over with a cocktail stick or similar.
  10. Pour the syrup over both cakes until evenly absorbed. I find this is best done a spoonful at a time to avoid overflow.
  11. Leave to cool completely.
  12. When cool, remove from the tins and turn out onto a wire rack. For the base you’ll need the most even and flat looking cake. You may need to slice off the rounded top in order to get this but this little syrupy slice is an ideal tester!
  13. Place this onto a plate or cake stand and spoon over half the mascarpone smoothing out with a palate knife.
  14. Top with the second cake and the rest of the mascarpone.
  15. Scatter with any remaining nuts and a sprinkling of cocoa powder

Jess - Coffee Cake3

Beetroot Arancini, Chestnut Humus, Hazelnuts

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Beetroot Arancini, Chestnut Humus, Hazelnuts

Jess - Aranchini 1
Jess - Aranchini 4

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s hard as it is to admit, the long balmy evenings are getting darker and shorter and noticeably less balmy. Autumn is whistling in the air and the wind if whipping the leaves around my now boot clad and sock warmed feet. I adore summer more than you can imagine and I’m always reluctant and depressed to let it go but the potential of Autumn and its bountiful harvest are just too exciting for a foodie like myself and one of the many reasons I adore the English seasons. Pears, plums, apples, pumpkins, game, beetroot and cobnuts. I get far to excited, overwhelmed and overjoyed at the inspiration for Autumnal dinners. A little recipe testing this weekend creating some new dishes in preparation for an Autumnal dinner party I have approaching was the cause for this one.

I’m not normally a huge believer in the arancini concept as generally most things taste good deep fried. I do adore them though – oozing with cheese or glamourised with truffle oil and mushrooms. However, I always wonder if they are more delicious and successful than the risotto itself? For me they are usually an after thought for any leftover risotto you might (surprisingly and hard to image) have as leftovers. But I’ve always admired anyone who makes risotto with the intention of just making arancini. That said I make double the batch and devoured the liquid form for dinner and the deep-fried leftovers the night after.

These subtly spiced, earthy, warm, crispy oozing arancini are the perfect start to the season. Creamy, deeply flavoured whipped chestnut humus and nutty toasted hazelnuts are the perfect addition. All cleanly cut through with some fresh, sharp and zesty lemony rocket and a hearty spiced glass of Pinot Noir. Lets welcome Autumn in style.

NOTE: I would highly suggest making the arancini in the morning before a dinner but ideally overnight. Ensure you have made the humus and garnish beforehand so that arancini are the last thing to cook and are hot, crispy and freshly served immediately.

Serves 6

Beetroot Arancini – try and make the evening before if you can

  • 120g pearl barely
  • 1 pint hot chicken stock
  • 125ml red wine
  • 1 small red onion, chopped finely
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly ground
  • 200g cooked beetroot, pureed in a food processor
  • Large handful finely grated parmesan
  • 1 knob butter
  • ½ lemon
  • 1 egg
  • Plain flour
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Sunflower oil for deep frying
  1. Heat half a knob of butter with a small splash of oil in a saucepan. Very gently sweat the red onion in the butter for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cumin cook for a few more minutes. Season
  2. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the pearl barely. Toast in the pan with the onion stirring all the time. Next add the wine and simmer off until reduced.
  3. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and add the hot stock, ladle by ladle, adding more only after each addition has been absorbed. Continue for about 25minutes or so until the pearl barley is tender. Keep adding stock until the barley is cooked but don’t drown the mixture especially towards the end of the cooking time or it will be too runny.
  4. When the barley is cooked, stir through the beetroot puree and taste and season again. Bring back up to the heat to warm through.
  5. Add the grated cheese, another knob of butter and a generous squeeze of lemon juice and remove form the heat. Place the lid on top and leave it sit and rest.
  6. Stir to combine the cheese. Leave to cook until cold in the fridge, ideally overnight.
  7. When cold and almost solid, its time to make the arancini.
  8. Get 3 bowls ready with the beaten egg, a handful or two of flour and the breadcrumbs
  9. Divide the risotto into 6 or so large spoonfuls and form into balls just a bit larger than a golf ball.
  10. Roll in the flour, the beaten egg and finally give a good coating in the breadcrumbs. Set aside on a plate.
  11. Heat a large pan of oil at lease deep enough to come up half the side of the arancini (8cm or so). Heat to a medium high heat on the hob. Test the temperature with a piece of dry bread. If it sizzles and turns golden its ready!
  12. Get a few sheets of kitchen roll and use them to line a shallow bowl or plate.
  13. Add the arancini, 3 or so at a time depending on the size of your pan. Fry, turning half way one the underside is a light golden brown.
  14. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the kitchen paper.
  15. Serve immediately as below.

Chestnut Humus

  • 200g vacuum packed chestnuts
  • 1/2 lemon
  • Knob butter
  • Olive oil
  1. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan with just enough water to cover, the butter and some salt.
  2. Bring to the simmer and cook for about 3-4 minutes to soften the chestnuts.
  3. Drain, reserving the liquid.
  4. Place in the bowl of a food processor with some seasoning and blend. Add a splash or two of the reserved water to loosen and blend until beginning to smooth. Keep adding the water until the mixture is smooth but still thick. Add the lemon juice and then thin to the desired consistency with the oil.
  5. Check the seasoning.

Breadcrumbs

  • Couple of large handfuls of brown breadcrumbs
  • Handful of hazelnuts, roasted, halved
  • 2-3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
  1. Heat a splash of oil in a hot frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs and fry until beginning to turn golden. Season and add the roasted hazelnuts and fry for a few more moments.
  2. Turn the heat down a little and add the parsley to wilt and crisp.
  3. Remove from the what and allow to cool slightly.

To assemble…

  • Spoon a large tablespoon of so of chestnut puree onto the plate
  • Top with some rocket leaves dressed in lemon juice
  • Top with the hot arancini
  • Scatter over the crunchy crumbs
  • Devour

WINE: I hugely recommend something with a little spice to it to complement the cumin here. The earthy beetroot is a lovely match for a lovely Pinot Noir. Try this Paper Road Pinot Noir from Borthwick Estate available at Armit Wines.

 

Jess - Aranchini 5Jess - Pinot Noir

Balsamic Beets, Lentil and Hazelnut Salad

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Balsamic Beets, Lentil and Hazelnut Salad

This can only be described as a super hearty salad. A man salad if you will. Bits and pieces foraged from both the allotment, the pantry and the dark saddened depths of the vegetable fridge draw. Not sure if its just me but does anyone else suffer from the wilting and unappetising reduced packet of dill sitting shyly in the bottom draw of the fridge? Often usually buried beneath the more popular and beautiful fresh non-reduced delights…

Put to good use here however:

Serves 2

  • 4oz Puy lentils
  • 2 raw beetroot, washed
  • 1 large garlic clove, crushed
  • Handful dill, chopped,
  • Handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • Handful chives, chopped
  • 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Handful hazelnuts
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and fresh black pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Chop the beetroot into wedges and place in a roasting tray. Season and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for about 20-30 minutes until tender and beginning to crisp.
  2. Meanwhile, simmer the lentils in water for about 18 minutes until tender but with a slight bite.
  3. Roast the whole hazelnuts in the hot oven for about 8 minutes. Remove and if skinned, wrap in a tea towel and rub them until the skins peal away easily then leave to cool before roughly chopping.
  4. After the beetroot is tender enough turn the oven down to 180°C. Add the garlic and coat the beetroot in the balsamic vinegar. Continue to roast for 5-10 minutes until the balsamic begins to glaze the beetroot slightly. Remove from the oven and set aside to keep warm.
  5. Drain the lentils when ready. Season well (it will need it) and add the roasted garlicy beetroot and any balsamic juices. Add the chopped herbs and the chopped hazelnuts.
  6. Combine all well and serve. I served mine topped with some lovely pan fried sea bream and a raw shaved fennel and pea salad! Delicious…

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Dukka Spiced Mackerel, Parsley Lentils, Roasted Hazelnuts

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Dukka Spiced Mackerel, Parsley Lentils, Roasted Hazelnuts

 

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Mackerel isn’t everyone’s first choice when choosing fish from the supermarket counter. A brownish muddy coloured complexion doesn’t exactly win any beauty competitions and ball your over with a sense of freshness and health. Although popular these days as being cheap people often give it grief for being a ‘dirty fish’. However…its full of excellent healthy oils, is reasonably priced and can importantly handle bold flavours such as Thai marinades, soya sauce and curried spices. Crusted in dukka and served on some nutty lentils here made a satisfactory Friday night supper.

Serves 2

  • 2 mackerel fillets, scored on the skin side
  • 1 tbsp dukka (see here, leave out the mint)
  • 4 oz Puy lentils
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
  • Very large bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • ½ lemon
  • 25g hazelnuts
  • Mint leaves for garnish
  • Coconut/light olive oil
  1. If large, cut your fillets in half and season in a shallow bowl. Scatter over the dukka and add a slash of olive oil and massage the spices over the fish. Set aside until ready to cook.
  2. Simmer the lentils for about 18-20 minutes until tender but still with a bite/texture and the drain.
  3. Meanwhile, roast the hazelnuts in a very hot oven for about 8 minutes until toasted and the skins are beginning to peel off. When cool enough to handle rub off the skins and chop roughly into halves and set aside.
  4. Saute the crushed garlic in a little oil in the pan you cooked the lentils in until soft. Return the lentils to the pan and season generously. Add the parsley and lemon juice and mix to combine the flavours. Cover the pan to keep warm and set aside while you cook the fish.
  5. Heat a frying pan with a little coconut or olive oil until hot. Fry the fillets scored (to prevent them curling up) skin side for about 3 minutes until crisp. Turn for the final minute or so to finish the cooking and add the chopped hazelnuts to the pan at this stage also. (The mackerel will take a matter of minutes so don’t overcook of they will dry out)
  6. Serve the lentils topped with the mackerel fillets and scattered with the toasted hazelnuts and a few sprigs of mint. Could do with a dollop of lemony homemade mayo and some wilted greens.

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Parsnip Puree, Honeyed Parnips, Seasbass, Hazelnuts

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Parsnip Puree, Honeyed Parnips, Seasbass, Hazelnuts

 

A welcome and precious escape home to the wonderful freshness of my Wiltshire countryside home for the weekend. After a day embracing the beginning of December and with scarfs wrapped tightly around our chilly necks, my sister, mum and I headed home to a blushing fire and dinner as darkness landed.

However….not without entertainment. As realisation hit that we’d forgotten to pick the allotment parsnips for supper, a comical scene unfolded. My sister (with iphone torch) mum (dressed unsuitably in fur and boots) and myself with makeshift garden fork attempted to scavenge the stubborn homegrown parsnips from the depths of their cosy blankets in the tightly packed allotment soil like thieves. Covered suitably in mud and with freezing hands, the kitchen beckoned and dinner tasted even the more delicious as a consequence….

Serves 3

  • 3-4 large parsnips, peeled
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
  •  Milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2-3 black peppercorns
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 2 large knobs of butter
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Grating of nutmeg
  • Handful skinned hazelnuts
  • 3 seabass fillets
  • Green vegetable of choice- green beans, curly kale, wilted spinach..
  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Cut at least one of your parsnips into long chunks for roasting. Drizzle with oil, season and roast in the oven for 30 minutes tossing half way through. After this time, drizzle with honey and return to the oven for 10 minutes or so until crisp.
  2. Meanwhile, for the puree, chop the remaining parsnips into chunks. Place them into a saucepan and cover with ¾ milk and ¼ water- just enough to cover. Add 2-3 black peppercorns, bay leaf and the whole sprig of rosemary. Bring to the simmer (being careful the milk doesn’t bubble over) and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until really tender when pierced with a knife.
  3. Once tender, drain reserving the cooking liquor and puree in a processor with plenty of seasoning, a knob of butter and add a splash of cooking milk to loosen until your liking. Add a grating of nutmeg and keep warm while you fry the seabass.
  4. Heat a frying pan until hot and toast the hazelnuts for a few minutes. Add a splash of oil and fry for a further few minutes until fragrant. Remove from the heat and lightly crush or chop the hazelnuts. Set aside with the hazelnut oil.
  5. Add a splash more oil to the pan. Score the skin side of your seabass fillets to prevent them curling up and season well. Fry in the hot pan for about 3 minutes on the skin side until crisp and then turn for the final minute.
  6. Add a knob of butter to the pan and a squeeze of lemon and baste the fish. Let the butter brown a little as it turns nutty and delicious- beurre noisette.
  7. To serve, divide each plate with a spoonful of puree and top with some green beans, kale or spinach. Place the fish on top with a spoonful of the beurre noisette and add a handful of the roasted parsnips. Finally, scatter over the hazelnuts and a drizzle of their oil and enjoy!

Barbie’s Risotto

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Barbie’s Risotto

 

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(Beetroot, hazelnut, goats cheese risotto)

This one is for my best bud (who ironically wasn’t there to enjoy it…? Sorry Katy) as she once ordered it at a restaurant just because it was pink! It makes a lovely vegetarian mid-week meal which I even got a man- yes a man- to eat. Now while most 21st century guys under the age of about 35 are willing to try news flavours and recipes, many, like my pa, are set in their foodie ways and require meat and potatoes somewhere on the dinner plate. But, if I can make my dad eat this princess pink, meat free dish then its certainly do-able. Admittedly, he did grow the beetroot and I am inclined to say that he will in fact eat anything that he has produced from his allotment. As a side note- I mean anything. I was told (burdened) this evening with the news that he had some turnips that he’d grown that are (I quote) ‘Great! They taste like melon!’…..interesting.

Anyway, enjoy the risotto!

Serves 4

  • 250g risotto rice
  • 1 onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 small glass dry white wine
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock
  • 50g butter
  • Large handful grated parmesan
  • 300g beetroot
  • ½ lemon, juice
  • To serve- Handful podded broad beans, handful hazelnuts, crumbled goats cheese
  1. If using raw beetroot, first boil for about 40 minutes or until soft, leave to cool and then peel. Reserve a chunk and cut into dice and set aside. Place the remaining beetroot in a food processor and puree until smooth-ish adding a few generous splashes of hot stock to loosen. Set aside until needed.
  2. Toast the hazelnuts in a hot oven for about 5-8 minutes and then coarsely chop. Fry in a little oil in a hot frying pan until golden and then set aside to use for garnish.
  3. Melt half the butter with a splash of oil in a large pan and gently fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a further few minutes.
  4. Add the rice and fry over a medium-high heat until it starts to turn translucent. When too hot to touch, add the wine and simmer until absorbed.
  5. Turn the heat down to a medium-low and add the hot stock ladle by ladle as it becomes absorbed, stirring all the time keeping the mix on a very gentle simmer. Keep adding stock for about 15-18 minutes until the rice is cooked but with some bite.
  6. When loose in texture and the rice is cooked, stir in the beetroot puree and the beetroot dice. Season to taste, you’ll probably find it needs a generous seasoning of salt.
  7. Add more stock to loosen if necessary and then remove from the heat. Add the remaining butter, the grated parmesan and half the lemon juice, cover with a lid and place the risotto to one side to rest.
  8. When ready to serve, firmly beat the melted butter and cheese into the risotto and season to taste. It should be oozy and runny, not stodgy. Serve spooned into warmed shallow soup bowls, scattered with the broad beans, hazelnuts and a crumbling or  quenelle of goats cheese!

NOTE: See here for my risotto tips

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