Posts by Jess

Orange Polenta Biscuits

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Orange Polenta Biscuits

These will pleasingly fill any anorexic looking biscuit tin. Thanks once again to Jamie Oliver’s help……

  • 85g unsalted butter, cubed
  • 85g caster sugar
  • 130g polenta
  • 50g plain flour
  • Zest of 1-2 oranges
  • 1 egg
  1. Rub the cubed butter into the flour, polenta and sugar
  2. Stir in the egg and orange zest
  3. Chill in the fridge for about 1 hour.
  4. Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a baking tray with parchment. Take walnut sized pieces of dough, roll into balls and flatten slightly on the tray.
  5. Bake for about 6-8 minutes until crisp and tinged round the edges. Leave to cool before removing from the tray!

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Sea Bass and a Prawn Bisque sauce

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Sea Bass and a Prawn Bisque sauce

I designed and refined this recipe with the aim of creating my perfect  dinner treat with all of my favourite flavours and ingredients. It is most certainly up there at the top of my list. It really isn’t hard, honestly. Everyone can make mash right? And you can fry a piece of fish? Good news- the sauce pretty much makes itself as by frying the leftover prawn shells releases a wonderful larva of juicy orange oils which adds so much flavour that would otherwise have been criminally thrown in the bin. The challenge comes with getting the fish and prawns hot and cooked perfectly at the same time as the sauce is warm and of particular consistency with the warm mash and wilted spinach. Oh and of course having time to take a photograph in a temperamental kitchen with hungry waiting guests….the later is optional of course. This is lovely served with a chilled glass of Muscadet….

Serves 4

  • 4 sea bass fillets
  • 18-20 whole, raw king prawns (shell and heads on)
  • 1 small carrot, diced finely
  • 1 small onion, diced finely
  • ½ bulb fennel, diced finely
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • Splash whiskey
  • 600ml hot fish stock
  • 500g potatoes, peeled, quartered
  • 40g butter
  • 100ml whole milk
  • 4 spring onions, finely chopped and fried lightly in oil
  • Handful parsley, finely chopped
  • 200g spinach
  • Olive oil
  • Knob of butter
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Begin with the sauce. Peel the prawns to retain the shells and the heads. De-vein the prawns and set aside. Heat a splash of oil with the knob of butter in a saucepan and gently soften the carrot, onion and fennel with the prawn shells and heads with the bay leaf. Cook for about 20 minutes until the prawns have turned orange and released their juices.
  2. Next add the tomato puree and cook out for a few minutes before deglazing the pan with the whiskey.
  3. Now add the hot fish stock and simmer for 30 minutes.
  4. After 30 minutes, use a potato masher to crush all the flavours together. Remove the bay leaf and then, using a hand blender, blend the sauce together. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan, discarding the solids. Taste and simmer to reduce if too thin to your liking. Only at the end season the sauce as reducing it will concentrate any salt added previously. Keep on a low heat while you make the rest of the dish.
  5. Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 15-20minutes until soft but not waterlogged. Meanwhile, melt the butter and warm the milk together in a pan.
  6. When soft, drain the potatoes and leave to steam dry for a few minutes before passing through a potato ricer for really smooth mash, or mashing by hand. Season generously and add the milk and butter and mix until smooth. Add the spring onions and parsley and plenty of seasoning. Set aside to keep warm while you fry the fish.
  7. Make sure your sauce is on the heat now and you have your spinach at the ready. Heat a frying pan until hot and add a splash of oil. Season your fish and then fry skin side down in the hot oil for 3-4 minutes (depending on size) and add your prawns to the hot sauce to cook gently until pink at the same time. Complete the fish cooking by flipping carefully onto the flesh side for 1 minute.
  8. Remove the fish and leave to rest very briefly while you quickly add the spinach to the pan juices, with plenty of seasoning and leave to wilt while you plate up.
  9. Serve a spoonful or potato into a warmed serving bowl. Top with a spoonful of spinach and the fish fillet, crispy skin side up.
  10. Spoon around the prawn bisque sauce including a few prawns per dish. Serve!

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Triple Ginger Cake with Lime Icing

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Triple Ginger Cake with Lime Icing

It goes without saying….if you don’t like ginger, turn away now. This has three different ginger kicks with a cheeky splash of rum for good measure. This icing is lovely and sharp in contrast to the ginger but replacing the lime for rum wouldn’t go amiss! (Adapted from Delia Smith)

  • 4 pieces of stem ginger, diced
  • 2 tbsp dark rum OR ginger syrup
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp puree/grated ginger root
  • 175g unsalted butter
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tbsp molasses
  • 225g self raising flour
  • 1 tbsp ground almonds
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • ½ lime
  • 150g icing sugar
  • Crystallised ginger to garnish
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line a cake tin (about 25cmx14cm or so) with parchment
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale a fluffy. Add the 3 beaten eggs, bit by bit, until combined.
  3. Stir in the molasses and the rum (or ginger)
  4. Next sieve the flour and ground ginger and fold into the mixture
  5. Add the almonds and milk and mix.
  6. Finally fold in the pureed/grated ginger root and the diced stem ginger pieces.
  7. Pour into the lined cake tin and even out. Cook in the preheated oven for about 40-50minutes until springy to touch and cooked. Leave to cool.
  8. For the icing, mix the sieved icing sugar and lime juice until a thick double cream consistency. When the cake is completely cold, drizzle generously and randomly over the cake. Garnish with small diced pieces of crystallised ginger.

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Slow Roasted Shredded Pork Cassoulet

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Slow Roasted Shredded Pork Cassoulet

 

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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
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
  2. Heat a splash of oil in a heavy based casserole dish and brown the pork all over. Transfer to a plate and set aside
  3. 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.
  4. Increase the heat and pour in the red wine to de-glaze the pan and simmer for a few minutes
  5. 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.
  6. Add the tomatoes and season.
  7. Add the pork and top up the liquid using the reserved mushroom stock until it comes about ¾ the way up the sides.
  8. Bring to the boil then place in the oven with a lid for 2 ½ hours
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.

Jess - Grand Village

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

Rioja Lamb Shank with Mint Oil

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Rioja Lamb Shank with Mint Oil

 

 

Rioja lamb shank and mint oil 2

You barely need a fork for this one as it will fall willingly, obligingly and delicately off the bone and into your welcome mouths! The better the meat the nicer it will taste but any meat bought on the bone will guarantee you with added tenderness and benefit from slow cooking. The rich punchy red wine sauce craves and benefits from the fresh cleansing addition of a nice homemade mint oil.

Serves 2 generously

  • 2 lamb shanks
  • 2-3 large carrots, diced
  • 2 stick celery, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Bunch thyme, chopped
  • Bunch rosemary, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 anchovies in oil
  • 350ml red wine (Rioja is optional)
  • Bunch of mint, leaves picked
  • Olive oil
  • (1 tbsp) white wine vinegar or to taste
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
  2. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy bottomed casserole dish or pan.Season your lamb shanks with salt and freshly ground pepper and brown on all sides for about 10minutes until caramelised and coloured. Reserve to a plate.
  3. Slowly sweat your chopped onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf with some seasoning for about 15 minutes in the same pan, using the lamb juices. You want to get lots of caramelisation on the vegetables after about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the chopped thyme, rosemary the bay leaf and the sliced garlic and continue to cook for about 5-10minutes more. Turn up the heat and add the chopped anchoives. Cook until melted into the mixture.
  5. Now add the wine and bubble away to de-glaze the bottom of the pan. Simmer for a few minutes before adding the reserved lamb shanks. Add as much boiling water or stock to come ¾ way up the sides of the lamb so it is sufficiently submerged
  6. Cover with a lid and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours, basting the lamb with the sauce occasionally.
  7. Meanwhile make the mint oil. In a food processor or pestle and mortar, crush the mint leaves with a pinch of salt and sugar. Slowly add a splash of white wine vinegar to taste and enough oil to loosen.
  8. After 3 hours, turn the heat to 180°C and remove the lid. You want to brown the top of the lamb and reduce the sauce a little for about 30 minutes but it will be ready whenever from this point. You can also thicken the sauce on the hob with a small knob of butter to add a shine to the sauce.
  9. Serve with creamy mash or polenta and the mint oil drizzled over the top!

Banana and Coconut Flapjacks

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Banana and Coconut Flapjacks

Whenever my fruit bowl is harvesting some compost worthy bananas I peel and bag them and shove them in the freezer ready when I need them when banana bread calls. So, never throw your poor bruised bananas in the bin, stick them in the freezer….consequently mine is full of bags of random bananas. I always make my standby banana and walnut loaf but with a hankering for something new this time, I tried whacking them into my flapjack recipe…..! I dabbled with the idea of  ‘banoffee flapjacks’ but with a hate of banoffee pie, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. But if you’re a fan, a handful of toffee or a drizzle of caramel on top would probably be your best bet.

  • 130g unsalted butter
  • 50g golden syrup
  • 50g soft light brown sugar
  • 250g oats
  • 50g dessicated coconut
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • Pinch ground cinnamon
  • Pinch ground ginger
  1. Line a baking/brownie tin with parchment and preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan until melted and glossy.
  3. Whisk in the mashed banana and the spices (as liberally as you like)
  4. Tip in your oats and coconut and stir to combine before pouring into the lined baking tin. Bake for about 25-35 minutes. They should be golden on top and still soft. The banana will keep them from drying out like some flapjack recipes.

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Trout with Almond and Orange Salsa

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Trout with Almond and Orange Salsa

Fish and a vibrant salsa make the perfect marriage on the best of days but throw in some crunchy almonds and some cleansing fresh orange and you’ve got yourself a delicious swingers party……The texture of this ‘salsa’ add a lovely crunchy addition to the soft trout. It would also go brilliantly served with some blushing slices of roast lamb.

Serves 4

  • 90g flaked almonds
  • ½ lemon, zest and juice
  • 1 tsp runny honey
  • 1 orange- 1 tbsp orange juice squeezed
  • salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Bunch of coriander
  • Bunch of mint
  • 4 trout fillets
  1. Heat a splash of oil in a pan over a moderate heat. Fry the flaked almonds for about 3-5 minutes until they begin to turn a nutty brown and release their flavour
  2. Tip into a pestle and mortar and crush lightly but not to a paste, keeping some texture
  3. Add the lemon juice and zest, orange juice, honey, salt and pepper, and loosen with a good few tablespoons of olive oil.
  4. Allow to cool slightly  while you cook you trout. Season the skin side well with salt and pepper. Heat some olive oil in a hot frying pan and when really hot, fry, skin side down for about 4 minutes to get it really crispy. Season the flesh side and then turn and finish cooking for 2-3 minutes on the flesh side on a lower heat. Baste with a knob of butter at the end.

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When ready to serve, chop the herbs finely and stir through the salsa. Add more oil to loosen if you like and season and adjust to taste. Serve your warm trout topped with the fresh salsa.

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All made that extra bit more delicious by my personalised plate, courtesy of KVStudios!

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Cakes

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Sweet Potato and Chorizo Cakes

This makes a flavourful brunch alternative if you’re fed up with the usual options. Complete with self-saucing poached egg with (ok I admit, out of season) asparagus and crisp potato cake. A blob of ketchup and it’ll feel like a Sunday….

  • 2 large sweet potatoes
  • About 60g chorizo
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • Handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 4-5 spring onion
  • Large pinch of smoked paprika (optional)
  • Bunch of asparagus, chopped and blanched
  • 200g of spinach
  • 3 fresh free-range eggs
  • 50g unsalted butter
  1. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and boil for about 8-10minutes in salted water until really soft and tender but not water logged. Drain and leave to steam dry
  2. Meanwhile, dice the chorizo into small pea sized chunks and fry in a hot, dry frying pan until the oils are released. Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes.
  3. Mash the potato to a paste and add the hot chorizo and garlic mixture.
  4. Finely chop the spring onions, including the green parts and add with plenty of seasoning and the chopped parsley and potato mix.
  5. Get pan of hot water on to boil ready for poaching your eggs.
  6. Return the frying pan to the heat and melt about 30g of the butter with a bit of oil until sizzling. Form the sweet potato into about 6 round, flat patties and fry in the butter for about 5 minutes each side until golden and crisp on each side. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.
  7. Heat the remaining butter in the frying pan and wilt the spinach and warm the asparagus with plenty of seasoning while you poach your eggs for a few minutes just until the whites are set but the yolk is gloriously runny (check by giving it a gentle prod, it should be squishy)
  8. Serve by placing a potato cake on the plate and stacking with asparagus and spinach, another potato cake and topped with the seasoned poached egg.

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Vitamin C Brownies

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Vitamin C Brownies

These chocolate orange brownies won’t fight off scurvy but I’m sure the Government would say you’re well on your way to one of your five a day here…..they do contain orange zest after all. Add a packet of fruit pastels and hey….new years health resolution kept. I’ve made countless amounts of brownies and all have varying textures from ‘cakey’ to ‘gooey’ but this one I would describe as ‘fudgy’ I think.

Makes, well, more than enough….(about 25 squares)

  • 225g unsalted butter
  • 350g plain, good chocolate chopped into chunks
  • 150g walnuts (or hazelnuts)
  • 4 large free range eggs
  • 350g light brown muscovado sugar
  • 225g plain flour, sieved
  • Grated zest from 2 large oranges
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 23x32cm deep tin with parchment. Alternatively, use a few smaller tins, it just depends how thick you want the end result.
  2. Put the walnuts onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes until fragrant
  3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and once beginning to turn liquidy add the chocolate chunks and stir until melted. Put aside to cool slightly.
  4. Put the eggs, sugar and orange zest into a large bowl and whisk for a good 5 minutes or so until light, airy and creamy.
  5. Add the slightly cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs and stir to combine.
  6. Add the walnuts and fold in with the sieved flour.
  7. Pour into your prepared baking tin and bake for about 20-25 minutes until set but with a slight ‘goo’ in the middle. Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into fudgy chunks and dust with icing sugar.

Also a great gift to cunningly ply any potential life-long friends or future husbands with…………..

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ITV’s ‘Food Glorious Food’- surely any publicity is good publicity…..?

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So I was a contestant on a new ITV cookery show called ‘Food Glorious Food’ which will be airing on Wednesday 27th February…… It was ‘searching’, rather broadly, for a particular recipe at the heart of British public’s culinary repertoires. The winner gets £20,000 and their gastronomic creation on the proud shelves of Marks & Spencer. So I thought, I’m British, I can cook….why not give it a go…..? My dish was a ‘Slow roasted shredded Pork Cassoulet’ and will be hitting the ‘forage in the pantry’ recipe archive soon.

But for now, I will be a comical and cringe-worthy addition to your Wednesday night TV viewing starting in the South West regional heats in Devon so keep your eyes pealed. It will be horribly embarrassing and painfully awful but you know what they say…….any publicity is good publicity! They do say that right…….RIGHT!!?

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