Posts tagged sage

Roasted Monkfish, Butternut Risotto, Hazelnuts & Sage

February 17, 2020 Comments Off read Seafood

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

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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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

Heat an oven proof frying pan on a high heat with a tsp of light sunflower oil.
Coat the monkfish in a light dusting of flour and season.
Fry the monkfish on a high heat for about 1-2 minutes per side or until golden and crisp.
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.
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

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.
Top with a fillet of monkfish and a good spoonful of the butter hazelnuts and sage.

Serve!

Slow Roasted Shredded Pork Cassoulet

March 7, 2013 Comments Off read Meat

So last year I entered a competition. I’m not going to lie, I did it because the prize money was £20,000 and all that was required was a classic British recipe. I thought, well hey, I can cook, I’m British, why not…..So that summer I was chosen to take part and went for some filming. Loyd Grosman was my judge. He tasted and commented on my dish while I sat apprehensively perched on the edge of my stool gazing intensely into his face like an interrogator. However, he handed me a shiny red rosette and I went on my way through….However, I’m afraid it stopped there. But BOY is it YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This recipe also appears in a cook book to accompany the TV series but for all you folk who don’t want to buy it- tut tut….here it is. Unfortunately they didn’t show my interview on the episode. I think I was too normal for Wednesday night entertainment…….

Serves 6

1kg pork shoulder, skin removed and reserved for cracking
1 red onion, chopped
200g smoked bacon lardons/pancetta
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 bay leaf
175ml red wine
Handful dried wild mushrooms, soaked in 200ml boiling water (reserved)
A few large rosemary sprigs, leaves chopped finely
7-8 large sage leaves, chopped finely
Handful of thyme, chopped finely
400g tinned tomatoes
400g haricot beans (2 tins)
Extra chooped herbs to garnish

Preheat the oven to 180°C
Heat a splash of oil in a heavy based casserole dish and brown the pork all over. Transfer to a plate and set aside
Add the onion and bacon and fry for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft and the bacon is crispy. Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook for a few minutes.
Increase the heat and pour in the red wine to de-glaze the pan and simmer for a few minutes
Drain the soaked mushrooms, reserving the liquid, and chop them roughly. Add to the casserole dish with a generous handful of the chopped herbs and cook for a few minutes.
Add the tomatoes and season.
Add the pork and top up the liquid using the reserved mushroom stock until it comes about ¾ the way up the sides.
Bring to the boil then place in the oven with a lid for 2 ½ hours
After this time, remove from the oven and add the drained beans. (If there is only a small amount of liquid in the tins, add this too as it will help thicken). Return to the oven without the lid and cook for about 30 minutes more to brown the meat and thicken the sauce.
Remove from the oven when ready and use forks to shred the pork among the cassoulet. If it needs thickening, reduce on the hob or add more mushroom stock if too thick.
Garnish with lots of freshly chopped sage and rosemary and a heart attack inducing shard of cracking!

All that’s left to do is sit down and enjoy with a leggy red wine and (hopefully) wonder why it wasn’t worthy of £20,000!

WINE: For a delicious and affordable treat, try a classic red Bordeaux. And what would be better than a glass of Château Grand Village, 2011 Bordeaux Supérieur. Being the second vineyard of the infamous Chateau Lafleur it a more economically friendly and delightful alternative if you haven’t got the budget for the real deal. Available at Armit Wines.

Best recipe in the book….certainly beats whats on page 157………..(bet you want to know what that is now….)

Cauliflower Cheese Soup With Sage and Chestnuts

November 18, 2012 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

Time for another comforting winter soup. I love cauliflower cheese so this soup was sure to please. As chestnuts were also in season and getting ready to be roasted on a humble fire, I thought I’d save them the pain. As they were screaming naughtily at me to eat them, I topped my soup with their creamy, crumbled texture and some crispy sage leaves for some delicate crunch.

1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
1 onion, chopped
Large knob of butter
1 garlic clove sliced
small bunch of sage leaves, picked
700ml hot stock
Salt and pepper
100g or so of strong mature cheddar cheese, grated
Sage leaves to fry
Olive oil
Chestnuts

Begin by getting the chestnuts on to boil. Pop them straight in, they should take about 15 minutes to soften. After this, drain and allow to cool. You can score the top with a cross to make them easier to peel if you like. Once soft, drain and set aside to cool.
Melt the butter with a splash of oil in a pan. Once hot, soften the onion for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the sage leaves and the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the cauliflower florets and stir to coat in the onion. Season.
Add the hot stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the cauliflower is really soft when pierced with a knife.
Remove from the heat and blend with a hand blender.
Add a spoonful of creme fraiche or replace some of the stock for milk for a creamier texture if you like. Add the cheese.
Replace back on the heat on low and stir until the cheese had melted. Season to taste
Now heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan until really hot. Lightly fry the sage leaves until crispy and drain on kitchen paper. Season with a scatter of salt. This oil can now be kept and used as ‘sage-scented oil’ to top your soup or for other recipes and dressings.
Serve the soup topped with crumbled chestnuts, crispy sage leaves and a drizzle of the fragrant oil!

Pumpkin, Pancetta and Sage Risotto with a poached egg

November 7, 2012 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

This seasons allotment pumpkin harvest certainly and surprisingly earnt its keep this year which is my excuse for the popular pumpkin theme these last few weeks. As ten chubby, overfed pumpkins sat apprehensively on the wall outside my backdoor, I had originally thought them unsuitable for eating, I had already devised a family tree of characters to make my own set of halloween faces! However, as I cut into their dense, creamy flesh, I realised they were much too good to waste.

So I knocked up a vat of oozing, cheesey, creamy and vibrantly orange halloween-themed risotto. Topped with a poached egg, or as pictured, a cool quinelle of mascarpone, it went down a treat. I roasted my pumpkin to get the most from its flavours with a little added crushed coriander seed to give you a crackle of surprise in every other mouthful.

Serves 4

1 small pumpkin/butternut squash
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed in a pestle and mortar
3 garlic cloves, left in their skins
Olive oil
200g risotto rice
Hot chicken or vegetable stock (about 1 pint)
1 glass dry white wine
1 onion, chopped
Few sprigs thyme
25g butter
Parmesan, grated
Handful of sage leaves
150g pancetta or smoked bacon
1 egg/Mascarpone to serve

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Cut the pumpkin in halve and scoop out the seeds and reserve (you can fry these in oil). Cut into small quarters or large chunks and drizzle with oil, scatter with salt and pepper and the coriander seeds. I chucked in a few garlic cloves in their skins here too, as I never miss this opportunity as they go all sweet and sticky.
Roast for about 40-50 minutes until the flesh is soft and scoopable. Use a spoon to scoop the flesh out into a food processor or a large bowl and throw the skins away. Squeeze the sugary garlic from their skins and add to the pumpkin. Mash in a processor with a splash of hot stock to loosen or with a masher in a bowl. Set aside to keep warm.
Meanwhile or afterwards, begin the risotto base. Melt the butter with a splash of oil in a large pan over a medium low heat. Soften the onion until translucent and then add the thyme leaves and season.
Add the rice and stir until beginning to turn translucent and it is hot to touch. Add the wine and simmer until absorbed.
Now turn the heat down so that it gently simmers and add ladlefuls of your hot stock to the rice, adding another once each had been absorbed. Don’t let it dry out however. (For tips on the perfect risotto see here) The whole process should take about 15-18 minutes with continual stirring.
Meanwhile, heat a hot frying pan and cook the pancetta or bacon until crisp. Add the sage leaves at the end for a minute until crisp then set aside.
After about 15 minutes, test the risotto. The rice should be nearly done or a little al dente.
Now stir in most of the pumpkin puree. It will thicken considerably so add more stock to get a oozy, loose and molten texture.
Stir in the pancetta and sage and season to taste.
Once the consistency is loose enough and the rice is cooked, take off the heat. Add the parmesan and a squeeze of lemon and cover with a lid and let it sit for a minute or so to rest. Then stir together when the cheese has melted.
Spoon into shallow bowls and top with extra sage, and if wanted, a spoonful of creamy mascarpone or a ‘runny-in-the-middle’ poached egg!

This recipe is also lovely with walnuts or chestnuts for added crunchy texture!