Posts tagged little gem

Glamorous Little Gems & Chicken

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Glamorous Little Gems & Chicken

I

ts been one of the hottest days in London and I’m wishing I was anywhere else. Regardless if this is a “technically” true stat, for me, an outrageously and inhumane (#dramaqueen) commute home on a train only partially cooler than an incinerating furnace left me feeling like a spit roast chicken…without the delicious golden skin (which we all know is the best part). I power walked home with nothing but a swimming pool and a cold beer on the mind. To do just that. I love it when a plan comes together. After a refreshing lengths session in the local pool with the lane to myself and only one drifting plaster in sight I counted this as a good exercise sessions (it is also Thursday…most people have better things to do). I was feeling energised, refreshed and ready for the start of my evening round 2. Beer on the mind I wondered aimlessly around Co-op. Again, depressing for a Thursday evening I know. Inspiration at a stand still.

I’m convinced some of my favourite recipes are created out ofspontaneity and the need to EAT! And tonight, I was in one of those rare moods where (yes I’ll admit) I just want to eat and don’t care to much for the show business of blogging and aesthetics. Needless to say….I inevitably eyed up my camera as I always do as the meal was coming together and…well here you are. Thursday evenings creation. I am, if you are keen to know, enjoying a cold beer as I write this. I likely won’t be proofreading so please don’t be that ‘helpful’ reader who comments to advise of my grammatical errors….

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 4 chicken thighs, deboned
  • 8 slices thin chorizo
  • 1 large garlic clove, diced
  • 2 little gem lettuces
  • Handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Zest 1 lemon
  • Two large handfuls breadcrumbs
  • Sunflower oil
  • Lemon juice & yoghurt to serve (optional)
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Start by deboning the chicken thighs as most come sold with bone in. Easiest way is crudely with a pair of scissors. Heat a frying pan until hot. Season the skin side of the chicken well and then fry skin side down until really crisp and golden (like that spit roast…).
  2. Place the 8 slices of chorizo in a baking tray. When the chicken skin is temptingly crispy, seal the flesh side in the pan by flashing it on the heat before placing on top of the chrizo slices skin side up and putting the tray into the oven for 20 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the frying pan again and add a little oil. Fry the breadcrumbs and the diced garlic until golden and crisp, set aside in a large bowl.
  4. When the breadcrumbs have cooled slightly, to the bowl, add the lemon zest, as much finely grated parmesan as you like, the finely chopped parsley and some good seasoning.
  5. Heat a griddle pan or the same frying pan again and add a small splash of sunflower oil. At 5 minutes before the chicken is ready, halve the little gems, discarding any tatty outer leaves, and char these cut side down for a few minutes until just beginning to soften and the outside is golden (these are ideally done charred on a BBQ but a griddle works well. I actually did mine using a frying pan so this is also fine and effective). Remove from the heat.
  6. To serve, place the crispy chorizo on a plate and top with the chicken. Serve with the little gems scattered generously with the breadcurmb/cheesy crumb.

A cooling lemony yoghurt works well here drizzled over the little gems to add some clean acidity as most of the elements here are greasy. Some freshly boil peas also add a nice clean taste and addition. This also works well as an excellent side dish to many other proteins and salad. The textural contrast is the best!

Spring Stew

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Spring Stew

T

his green spring stew celebrates vegetables but warms the stomach and is a nice transition from a cold Spring day to a Summer evening! You can absolutely experiment with adding different vegetables such as those listed below – weights and measures are also very rough here. Use your hands and throw things in! Just be concious of the cooking times of the different vegetables you choose – asparagus will need to just touch the heat before its overcooked, while green beans will need a little more time. So add these along the way accordingly. Open to variation but the lardons and garlic provide a good foundation and depth of flavour to build on so I recommend these as a must.

I cooked and served this with a delicately fried piece of seabass but a pan fried fillet of soft pink trout would be an excellent and seasonal choice. Topped with a dollop of homemade and indulgent hollandaise (see here) if you want to take this to a higher level or add another dimension.

Serves 2

  • 2 x seabass/seabream/trout fillets
  • 300g frozen garden peas (approximate weight)
  • 2 x little gem lettuce, chopped roughly
  • 200g smoked bacon lardons
  • 200g sugar snaps peas/green beans/asparagus tips/chopped courgettes (or a mixture of them all)
  • 1 red onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 large garlic clove, chopped finely
  • 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 lemon, juice only
  • 1/2 stock cube
  • 1 tbsp soft unsalted butter (For the beurre manie, see Cheffy Tip!)
  • 1 tbsp flour

Cheffy Tip: I often use a ‘beurre manie’ (aka, kneaded butter) when I want to thicken a sauce but not make a white sauce or a roux. When you make a casserole and the sauce is a bit thin, or when you want to make the juices in a pan a bit thicker this is your tactic! When you mix the butter and flour into a paste, you coat the flour in butter particles. That way, when you stir this paste into hot sauces and liquids, the butter melts and distributes the flour particles evenly ensuring there are no lumps! (Ideally). You can make a small bowl and then add in tablespoons bit by bit until the thickness desired.

  1. Heat a splash of olive/sunflower oil in a frying pan and sauté the red onion for 8-10 minutes until translucent and softening. Continue cooking until they begin to turn a little golden but don’t burn. Season well.
  2. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes only.
  3. Add the bacon lardons and cook through until crispy.
  4. Crumble the half stock cube into a mug and add some hot water (about 300ml but its not exact, you won’t use it all, it will have to be used by eye)
  5. Add the frozen peas and toss briefly. You now need to work quickly as the pea, sugar snaps and lettuce will cook fast and you don’t want soggy overcooked fresh greens! Ideally the vege/lettuce should be al dente.
  6. Pour a good splash of the hot stock into the frying pan, enough so that there is a ‘sauce’ that will simmer you veges but not so that its swimming! You don’t need to use all the stock but its there to balance the sauce as you wish. Bring to a simmer.
  7. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mash the soft butter with the flour to a paste until dough like (this is called a ‘beurre manie’). Whisk this quickly into the liquid in the frying pan – I stress quickly to ensure no lumps. This ‘paste’ will thicken the sauce but ensure no lumps. Simmer very gently and you should see the sauce start to thicken a touch. Make/add more more paste as needed if you’ve added lots of stock.
  8. Once you’ve done this, add the chopped little gems and the vegetables of choice and cover the pan with a lid. Let the heat and sauce steam the veges just a touch to let it warm but not go too soggy.
  9. The ‘stew’ should have a thick gravy like sauce but its shouldn’t be swimming in moisture so if it is, just turn the heat up a notch and reduce some of the liquid down. Remove the pan from the heat when ready, check and season as needed and scatter in the chopped parsley.
  10. Finally, add a good squeeze of lemon for seasoning.
  11. Enjoy with a pan fried fillet of fish or steamed cod. Trout would be a great addition here.

Asparagus Salad with attitude

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Asparagus Salad with attitude

Asparagus

I

ts May! My favourite month. Not just because its my birthday month but because summer is around the corner and we occasionally get some warm sunny days that are by now longer and greener. Also, its not quite summer yet so any warmth is a bonus and any rain can’t be really argued about….rain in July however….that can be, thats not on.

In addition, asparagus season kicks off! One of my favourite vegetables and one that I adore but religiously only use in season. Peruvian flown asparagus in November isn’t quite the same. My patient (and I mean patient) Dad has slaved over a beautiful allotment for a good few years now and asparagus has to be one of the benefits of these hours. Its a funny vegetable to grow really. Its painfully teasing in its initial stages, taking 3 years to form solid allotment foundations. It needs to grow and die again before you can even reap the benefits of your first harvest – 3 years! So it was on day one, year one when Dad announced he was to plant some that we all cheered then sat back in asaparugus-less silence as we waited. But wait we did and now we have a wonderful patch of these cheeky greens. I say funny as while it takes years to establish, when the season hits, asparagus shoots up and grows in lightening speed. It has been known to grow up to 25cm in 24hours! So we can hardly cut it quick enough. While the weather wasn’t ideal for a BBQ this weekend for Dad’s birthday that didn’t stop us from having my (oven grilled) spatchcocked BBQ chicken and this wonderful salad filled with all my Dad’s favourite salad staples and his well deserved asparagus served alongside crispy roasted new potatoes

This is more of an assembly of elements which are open to modification.

Crispy fried croutons, boiled eggs, smoky bacon lardons, stir fired spiced broccoli, crunchy bitter little gems and of course this seasons asparagus….

Serves 6

  • 2 little gem lettuces
  • 1 large head broccoli, chopped into florets and halved if necessary
  • Large bunch asparagus (about 8 stems)
  • 2 free range eggs
  • 3 slices brown bread, chopped into 2 cm pieces
  • 100g pancetta/diced smoked bacon/smoked lardons (optional)
  • Juice 1 lemon
  • 1/2 tsp each fennel seed, cumin seed, nigella seed, coriander seed.
  • Sunflower oil for frying
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  1. Toast the spices in a dry frying pan for a few minutes until fragrant then tip into a pestle and mortar and grind. Set aside
  2. Asparagus – Snap the asparagus where it naturally breaks so you can discard the woody end. Chop the spear ends into half finger length pieces. Blanche these in simmering water for just 2 minutes until just cooked but al dente and drain immediately. Cool under cold water to retain the green colour then allow to cool and dry.
  3. Eggs – Simmer the eggs in boiling water for about 8 minutes depending on their size. Aim for a hard boiled consistency but not overdone. Reduce the time a little if you like them runnier. Drain and cool in cold water. Peel and discard the shell and chop each egg into 8 pieces. Season with a little black pepper.
  4. Salad – Snap the outer leaves of the little gems into a large salad serving bowl and chop the hearts into pieces. Add the cooled and dried asparagus.
  5. Croutons – Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan on a medium high heat. When hot, add the bread cubes and some salt and pepper and fry until you have golden and crispy croutons. Drain on kitchen towel and set aside.
  6. Bacon – Add a little more oil to the pan if needed and fry off the bacon pieces until crispy and golden. Drain on kitchen paper then add to the croutons and set aside.
  7. Broccoli – Do this step last so the florets are still a little warm when added to the salad. Either get a clean pan or wipe out the last of the bacon juices and heat a tbsp of olive oil. Add the broccoli florets and season and fry until beginning to char and turn cripsy in places and the stems start to soften. They will have a nice al dente bite to them. As they begin to stir fry and soften, add the crushed spices and fry for a further minute.
  8. Serve – When ready to serve, add the stir fried broccoli to the salad and asparagus and toss well. Add the croutons and bacon and toss again.
  9. Squeeze over the juice of the lemon and a good drizzle of some good quality extra virgin olive oil and toss to combine.
  10. Finally carefully place the eggs on top!

RP - Asparagus

Celery, Pistachio and Red Onion Halloumi Salad

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Celery, Pistachio and Red Onion Halloumi Salad

I absolutely love halloumi and seem to eat it for the majority of my lunches. Served on salad, in couscous, with lentils or stuffed between the warm toasted arms of a fluffy pitta and some punchy herbs its always welcome. The weather today was shockingly poor but I fancied salad regardless. This is a fresh and satisfying one if your stuck for inspiration…

Serves 2

  • 1 little gem
  • A few large handfuls of mixed leaves -rocket, watercress, spinach
  • Small bunch of coriander, chopped
  • 2 slicks celery, sliced thinly on diagonal
  • Handful pistachios
  • ½ red onion, sliced in half moons
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • ½ lemon
  • 1 slice stale bread, cubed (sourdough works best)
  • 1 tsp spice mix (see note), optional
  • 200g approx halloumi cheese, sliced
  1. Place the red onion slices in a shallow bowl and cover with the red wine vinegar and 1 tsp of salt.
  2. Pick the outer leaves from the little gems and cut the heart into quarters. Mix together in a large serving bowl with the salad leaves, coriander, celery, pistachios and seasoning.
  3. Heat a frying pan until hot. Add a small splash of oil and fry the halloumi slices for a few minutes each side until golden brown. Remove and drain on kitchen roll and set aside
  4. Add the cubed bread to the hot pan with a little more oil if needed. Season and scatter with the spice mix (alternatively, use a tsp of cumin seed, fennel seed or like etc). Toast until golden and crisp.
  5. Dress the salad with the lemon juice and a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil. Drain the red onions and scatter on top.
  6. Serve scattered with your warm toasted croutons and fried halloumi!

imageNOTE: My spice mix contains the following spices, toasted in a hot frying pan until fragrant and ground in a pestle and mortar.

  • 1 tbsp fennel seed
  • 1 tbsp cumin seed
  • 1 tbsp coriander seed
  • 1 tbsp fenugreek seed
  • 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
  • 3 cardamon pods
  • 1 star anise