Let's Blur the French, Italian Lines Shall We?

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Make Let's Blur the French, Italian Lines Shall We?

This elegant rabbit dish actually puts forth some fairly robust flavors, with a black pudding purée and ham velouté, served with the rabbit filling in the cannelloni. In this recipe the slightly sweeter French black pudding is the way to go..Black pudding you say?  It's time we learned, if not substitute your favorite pork sausage!

Cannelloni of Braised English Rabbit with Glazed Spring Vegetables and Black Pudding Purée

Serves 4

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes, plus 24 hours preparation time

Ingredients

Rabbit

2 rabbit legs

1 handful of coarse sea salt

1 sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 bulb of garlic, roughly chopped

2 pints (32 oz) of chicken stock

2 tbsp of butter

1/2 bunch of chives, finely chopped

4 sheets of fresh cannelloni, cut into 2 inch squares, cooked and cooled

Black Pudding

7 oz of French black pudding, preferably with apple*

1 oz of fresh apple juice

ground white pepper

salt

Ham Veloute' 

1/2 small onion, finely sliced

2 tbsp of white wine

2 tbsp of cured ham, finely chopped

2 tbsp of whole milk

2 tbsp of whipping cream

1 tbsp of English mustard

Glazed Vegetables

1 tbsp of peas, cooked

1 tbsp of fresh broad beans, cooked

1 tbsp of baby carrots, chopped and cooked

1 tbsp of pea shoots

1 tbsp of butter

salt

1 tbsp of sugar

1 tbsp of chervil, chopped

1 tbsp of rabbit stock

Equipment

Stick blender

Blender

Directions

Rabbit/Cannelloni

To prepare the rabbit legs, season the legs heavily with the salt and place in tight fitting bowl with the herbs and garlic. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place a heavy weight on top. Let marinate for 24 hours and then remove from the refrigerator washing the legs well in cool running water.

Bring the chicken stock up to a gentle simmer in a pan, and place the rabbit legs in so they are just covered. Cook for 2 hours or until tender. Allow to rest in the liquid off the heat for 1 hour and then remove.

Pick all of the meat from the bones and reduce the stock until strong tasting but not salty. Reheat the rabbit meat in a few tablespoons of the stock, then add the butter and emulsify. Check the seasoning and add the chives.

Place a mound of the mixture onto each of the fresh cannelloni sheets and roll up, making sure they are sealed tight. Keep warm until serving.

Black Pudding

Remove any skin from the black pudding and blend with the apple juice until very smooth. Season with the salt and pepper and warm gently and keep to one side.  *Your favorite ground pork sausage will work here.  Cook well, drain, blend well with apple juice, season and keep warm til ready to serve.  Use your blender to create a very smooth, almost sauce like consistency.

Ham Velouté

Sweat the onion in a little olive oil until translucent, then add the ham and the wine. Boil for 5 minutes or until almost dry and add the cream, mustard and milk. Season and pass through a fine sieve, then keep warm. This is where you will use your immersion (stick)blender right before serving.

Glazed Vegetables

Reheat the vegetables in the rabbit stock and add the butter, sugar, seasoning and herbs. Gently stir, making sure all the vegetables are coated, and keep warm until serving.

To Serve

Place a large spoon of the black pudding purée(or substitute)on a warm serving plate, then top with a rabbit cannelloni. Generously spoon some of the glazed vegetables on top, blend the ham velouté with a stick blender until foamy and spoon over. Serve immediately.

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Seafood Sausage – Behold, the Rarest of All the Sausages

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Make Seafood Sausage – Behold, the Rarest of All the Sausages

This seafood sausage recipe is one of those dishes you learn in culinary school, and then never make in a restaurant, the rest of your career. Unlike your more common meat-based sausages, which are made from assorted scraps, and you really don’t want to know, these seafood sausages need pristine product to shine, thereby eliminating the money-saving incentive of making sausage.

However, despite their lack of popularity, these really are a great way to take less than thrilling seafood, like some sleepy sole, and previously frozen salmon, and make something that seems far more special. The flavor is lovely, and the texture is similar to a boudin blanc, or white hot dog, if you prefer.

If you want something with a courser texture, simply make the sausage mixture as shown, but then fold in a few handfuls of chopped shrimp, scallop, or any other seafood. Once cooked, and sliced, you’ll see pieces of whatever you added studding the link. I actually prefer the smooth style, but it’s fun to experiment. Either way, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Seafood Sausages:

8 ounces boneless, skinless sole or other white fish

4 ounces boneless, skinless salmon

4 ounces peeled, deveined shrimp

2 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs

4 large egg whites

1 large whole egg

2 teaspoons kosher salt (or maybe 1 1/4 teaspoon fine salt)

cayenne to taste

2 tablespoons sautéed shallots

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons water

1 juicy lemon

2 tablespoons cold butter

1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

salt to taste

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Orange Gingernut Biscuits

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Make Orange Gingernut Biscuits

Orange Gingernut Biscuits

The perfect accompaniment for a coffee break!  Absolutely deliciously moreish….!

Makes 15-20

Prep time:  10 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

350g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

200g caster sugar

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

125g oz butter

75g golden syrup

1 egg beaten

1 tsp grated orange rind

Method

1.   Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C/Gas Mark 3 and lightly grease your baking trays to make 15-20 biscuits.

2.  Sieve the flour, salt, caster sugar, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl.

3.  Heat the syrup and butter together in a pan on a very low heat until all the butter has melted.  Set aside until it cools slightly.

4.  Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients, add the egg and orange rind and mix thoroughly.  Using your hand mould the dough into 15-20 even sized balls.

5.  Place on the baking trays well apart from each other then flatten slightly with your fingers.

6.  Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Enjoy!

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Light, Bright and Succulent!

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Make Light, Bright and Succulent!

Grouper is one of my favorite local fish. If you have never tried grouper, it is a wonderfully light, mild tasting fish somewhat of a cross between bass and halibut. Grouper has a high oil and moisture content which makes it go very well with a number of different dishes and cooking techniques. It cooks up very firm, with big meaty flakes. You can grill it, bake it, poach it, steam it, sauté it, broil it and use it in soups and chowders. Probably the most preferred way to cook it is grilling. The fish is done when the meat becomes opaque and flakes easily with a fork. This particular preparation hits on many high notes bringing the freshness of the sea and the thought of summer to the table.

Grilled Grouper with Tomato, Cucumber & Basil Salad and Broccolini

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 1/4 lb grouper filet, roughly 1-1/2 inch thick

2 lemons, juiced

2 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped

2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp sea salt (divided)

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup olive oil

1 bunch broccolini

1 1/2 pint red sweet 100 tomatoes (grape tomatoes can be used as well), sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1 cup cucumber, small dice

1/2 cup basil, cut chiffonade style

Directions

Tomato, Cucumber & Basil Salad

Place the tomatoes, cucumber and basil in a bowl. Add salt, mix and set aside.

The Marinade

Put the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, finely chopped herbs, and crushed red pepper flakes into a small bowl and whisk vigorously to emulsify.

The Grouper

Place the grouper in an appropriately sized baking dish.

Pour the marinade over the fish.

Cover the fish with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Because the marinade has a high acidity from the lemon, do not marinade the fish too long as you will make ceviche.

After 30 minutes, remove the fish from the refrigerator and place in a grilling basket.  Add the Broccolini to the marinade to coat and set aside.

Cook grouper in a preheated grill over medium heat for 6 – 8 minutes. Turn the grilling basket and cook the other side for another 6 – 8 minutes.  The general rule of thumb for baking grouper is 10 minutes per inch of thickness with the oven/grill set at 400 t- 450 F but will vary based on the recipe.

When you turn the fish to cook the other side, add the broccolini to the grill. Grill the broccolini turning it periodically to lightly char all sides.

When fish is done, i.e. the meat is opaque and it flakes easily, remove from the grilling basket and let rest for a couple of minutes.

Remove the broccolini and return to the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the residual heat to finish steaming the broccolini resulting in a beautifully al dente doneness while preserving its gorgeous green color.

To Plate

Cut the grouper into 5 or 6 pieces. Put the grouper on the plate and top with the tomato, cucumber & basil salad. Place several stems of broccolini on the side. Serve and enjoy!

Wild rice with citrus or a rice pilaf would be wonderful accompaniments to this dish.

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How About We Travel a Little South, or is that North?

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Make How About We Travel a Little South, or is that North?

No matter where you live in the US, we are very fortunate to have such a breadth of culinary styles available to us. In this recipe, we are traveling to Louisiana so depending on where you live the drive is definitely worth while to try out this dish.  If a little too far out of your way, then come on now and let's make this dish at home!

Alligator and Crawfish Gumbo

Serves 15 to 20

Ingredients

Roux

2 cups of vegetable oil

2 cups flour 

 

Stock

1 whole chicken 

1 onion chopped 

2 ribs celery chopped 

1 small carrot chopped 

1 bay leaf 

1 tbsp peppercorns 

1 gallon cold water 

Gumbo

2 onions diced 

4 ribs celery diced 

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper 

1 tbsp chopped garlic  

1 tsp dried basil  

1 tsp dried oregano  

1 tsp dried thyme  

2 tbsp Creole seasoning  

8 oz diced tasso  

1 lb Andouille sliced  

1 1/2 lbs crawfish tails, shelled

(can substitute lobster chunks or shrimp)

2 lbs alligator meat chopped into appropriate mouth sized pieces

1/2 cup parsley chopped 

1 cup green onion chopped 

Directions

Roux

Heat oil for 10 minutes on medium heat.

Slowly add flour, constantly stirring, until all incorporated.

Lower heat.

Stir constantly until color of milk chocolate is achieved.

Cool.

Stock

Roast chicken in 350° F oven for 20 minutes.

Place in stock pot with remaining ingredients and bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.

Strain and cool.

Gumbo

Saute trinity (bell peppers, celery, onion) in a a large stock pot until translucent.

Add Creole seasoning and dried herbs. Cook to toast herbs stirring constantly.

Add stock and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to simmer and let simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.

Add roux making sure all dissolves.

Add alligator meat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add crawfish tails, green onions, and parsley.

Remove from heat.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with rice.

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Invite Friends Over for an Impromptu Momo Making Session!

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Make Invite Friends Over for an Impromptu Momo Making Session!

Most Chinese dumplings can either be deep-fried, pan-fried, steamed or blanched. Much like fresh pasta, when made from scratch, dumplings should not be overcooked.  Whichever method you choose to cook them, the cooking process itself should not take any longer than 5 minutes. The goal is to cook the pastry and filling through, while keeping that ‘al dente’ bite. Served with a crisp salad and an Asian inspired dressing, these would make a great Sunday lunch or brunch item.  I have two links below.  One is a video on how to fold the momos/dumplings and the other is a site with 20 different filling recipes.  Here's an idea....Invite several friends over, watch the video and make the momo's together!  Serve up some champagne as you make them and Have FUN!

Har Gau Chinese Dumplings/Momo's

Serves 10

Total time:  60 minutes plus 2 hours chilling time.

Ingredients

For the Dumpling Dough

1 1/3 lb of potato flour

1 1/3 lb of wheat flour

4 cups of hot water

(You can use store-bought dumpling (or gyoza) wrappers to make the dumplings.  They're dependable and easy to find and use. Look for them near the tofu in the produce section of your grocery store, or plan a trip to your nearest Asian market)

For the Filling

16 oz of prawns, peeled

1/2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken base

1/2 tsp potato flour

1 pinch of ground white pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2/3 fl oz of vegetable oil

Directions

The Filling

Begin by preparing the prawns.  Fill a bowl with cold water and put the prawns in to soak, leaving for 30 minutes to firm up.

Drain the prawns, then transfer them to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the stock base, flour, pepper, salt, sugar and oil to the prawn paste, stir to combine and chill in the freezer for 2 hours.

The Dough
To make the dough, sieve both the wheat flour and potato flour into a large mixing bowl. Gradually add in the hot water, stirring the mixture with a palette knife (small spatula knife). Once all the water has been added use your hands to lightly knead the mixture until you have a smooth ball of dough.

Divide the dough into individual balls, taking into consideration that there will be more dough than is needed for the filling. (Freeze any excess dough) On a lightly floured surface, roll out the balls into 1/4 in thick discs about 3 to 4 inches in diameter.

Remove from the steamer and serve immediately with a delicious dipping sauce.

Video on how to fold momo's/dumplings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttkOAVfVSi8

Link to 20 Different Filling Recipes

http://quickasianrecipes.com/momo-and-dumpling-recipes/

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Simplicity at Its' Best

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Make Simplicity at Its' Best

Beautifully cooked duck breast is paired with a remarkable passion fruit sauce in this duck recipe. Crushed potatoes provide a hearty companion to the duck, which is also served with lightly cooked green beans.  If duck breast is hard to come by you can certainly substitute beautifully tender pork tenderloin cooked to a rosy medium rare.  

Duck Breast with Passion Fruit Sauce
 and Crushed New Potatoes

Serves 4

Total time:  50 minutes

Ingredients

Seared Duck Breast

4 duck breasts

salt

pepper

Passion Fruit Sauce

4 passion fruits

2 fl oz of whisky (choose one with lighter, sweeter notes; Irish whisky is quite suitable)

2 star anise

3 fl oz of maple syrup

1 tbsp of light corn syrup

Crushed New Potatoes

1  lb of new potatoes

 3 tbsp butter

1 bunch of chives, finely chopped

salt

Serve

1 lb cooked, buttered and seasoned green beans

Directions

Passion Fruit Sauce

Cut the fruit in half, remove the pulp, seeds and flesh from inside and place in a small saucepan.

Next, add the whisky and star anis and bring to a boil. The whisky may flame, allow the alcohol to burn off and remove the pan from the heat until the flame burns out.

Add the maple and corn syrupd and bring back to a boil. Remove from the heat to allow the ingredients to infuse. Reheat the sauce when ready to serve.

Crushed Potatoes

Wash and place the new potatoes into a suitable sized pan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10-15 minutes of until tender. Strain and leave to cool slightly.

Duck Breast

While the potatoes are cooling, place the duck breast on a chopping board, skin side up and using a sharp knife, score the skin in a diagonal direction. Then turn the duck breast around and score in the opposite direction creating "hatch marks"

Season the duck breast with a salt and black pepper. Heat an oven proof frying pan on a high heat. Once the pan is very hot place the duck breast, skin side down, into the dry pan. Reduce the heat so that it gently fries and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown.  Do not move the breasts until time is up.  This will insure a beautifully crisp skin and one that won't stick to the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Transfer the frying pan into the oven and cook the breast for 3 minutes on one side, then turn the duck breast over and cook for another 3 minutes.

Remove from the oven and transfer the breast onto a board or plate and allow to rest in a warm place for a good 5 minutes.

While the duck is resting, heat a large frying pan on a medium heat and add a 3 tablespoons of butter. As soon as the butter begins to foam, add the potatoes, slightly crushing each one in your hand before adding into the pan.

Toss the potatoes in the warm butter and season with salt to taste. 

To Plate

Lay down your lightly cooked green beans in the center of your plate, place 4 slices of the duck breast on top, drizzle generously with the passion fruit sauce.  Serve the crush potatoes on the side  of the plate and sprinkle with chopped chives.

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Homemade Corn Tortillas – Seconds to Learn, Years to Master

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Make Homemade Corn Tortillas – Seconds to Learn, Years to Master

Even though they only require a few of ingredients, and the technique to make them only takes a few seconds to learn, homemade corn tortillas do take a fair amount of experience to master, because of all the variables. But, don’t let that stop you from trying, since the results, even as produced by a novice, are vastly superior to ones from the grocery store. They’re also significantly cheaper, but the “vastly superior” part is more than enough reason.

That’s because a bag of Maseca, which is the most commonly found brand of masa flour in U.S. grocery stores, and the one I used, is very inexpensive, and will make hundreds of tortillas. So, the instant corn masa flour isn’t a variable, but pretty much everything else is. From the amount of water, to how much salt, to how hot a pan to use, to how long to cook them; everyone seems to have a little bit different system.

When it comes to the water, you’ll know you have the right amount, if your tortillas press out to a nice round, relatively smooth-edged shape. If the outside edge of the tortilla has cracks once pressed, then you need more water. On the other hand, if the tortilla sticks to your fingers, or breaks apart getting it off the plastic, then it was too wet. Adjust accordingly. And like I said, give yourself a few years to experiment.

As far as the pan, I go with a cast-iron skillet, which I get nice and hot over high heat, and then I’ll back it down to about medium while I cook my tortillas. I also tend to cook mine a little longer in the pan than is traditional, but I enjoy that nice, lightly-toasted corn flavor you get when a little bit of browning occurs. A few extra seconds in the pan is fine, as long as they are stacked, and wrapped in the towel, which is probably the most important step in the entire operation.

In fact, eat one of these right from the pan, and then compare it to one that you’ve let steam together with the rest of the tortillas in the towel. You’ll be truly amazed at the difference. So, if you enjoy store-bought corn tortillas, but always wondered what the real stuff was like, I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 10 Corn Tortillas:

1 cup instant corn masa flour (aka masa harina)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup hot water (about 130 F.)

- adjust with more water or masa flour as needed

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Simply Delicious! and the Aroma....

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Make Simply Delicious! and the Aroma....

We are fortunate in today's times to be able to buy almost any flavor of bread at a bakery or even at our local grocers.  Whether it comes already sleeved by a major bread manufacturer, or right out of the bakery ovens, the days of having to make your own bread are long gone.  We now also have bread machines that sit easily on our kitchen counter tops or hidden away until we need them and using them is as easy as 1,2,3 with ingredients we most likely already have in your kitchen or by simply emptying a box bought off the grocery stores' shelf.  But, like most things, it really is important to understand the basics of how to do or create anything to be able to build up and become master of all you  survey.....The same is true of baking bread.  When making bread by hand and from scratch, you are learning an ancient technique that actually was still actively used up until our Grand and Great Grandmothers time.  (Sliced white bread was introduced to the American home in 1928). Here is one of my favorite bread recipes.....Potato Bread.  Its soft, tender and flavorful interior is perfect for sandwiches or dinner rolls slathered with creamery butter.  You will need a kitchen scale to bake almost anything as when they talk about ounces, they mean weight not always volume. Oh, did I forget to mention the wonderful smell of bread baking in the oven?  You'll soon find out.

Potato Bread with Guernsey Butter

Total time:  2 hours plus proving time.

Ingredients

Potato Bread

13 1/4 oz of Yukon gold potatoes (weight)

11/8 lb of strong white flour (labeled strong or bread flour) (weight)

1/2 oz of salt (weight)

1 1/2 cups of milk (fluid)

3 1/4 oz of lard (weight) For best results ask your butcher for lard or in a pinch use shortening sold at your grocers.

3/4 oz of yeast (weight)

3 3/4 fl oz of warm water (fluid)

Guernsey Butter

1 lb of unsalted room softened butter (4 sticks)

4 tbsp of sea salt 

5 oz of dry cider (fluid)

The Butter

Firstly, make the cider salt. Combine the salt with the cider in a small frying pan and bring to a very gentle simmer. Continue to cook until all the liquid has evaporated and there is a cider-flavored salt left in the pan. Remove and set aside.

Spread the butter onto a sheet of parchment and sprinkle liberally with the cider salt. Roll the sheet of butter up into the rough shape of a Swiss roll, using the edge of the parchment to aid you. Once you have rolled the butter into a neat cylinder, leave in the refrigerator to firm up.

The Bread

Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks. Submerge in a pan of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until  fork tender.

Drain off the liquid in a colander and put the hot potatoes back in the same cooking pot and allow to steam for a few minutes and then mash. This creates a fluffier, lighter mash. Allow to cool completely.

Mix the flour and cool mashed potato in the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand) with the paddle blade, add the salt.

Add the lard and milk to a pan and gently melt

Change your paddle blade to a dough hook.

In a small glass or ceramic bowl add the yeast to a little warm water with just a pinch of sugar.  Wait until you see a fairly active reaction from the yeast....bubbly (this tells you the yeast is active and safe to use)

Gradually add the hot liquid to the mash and flour mix along with the water and yeast, using your stand mixer (or by hand) fitted with a dough hook. Once incorporated, knead for 12 minutes.

Cover the dough lightly with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm area to prove for 3 hours.

Punch down and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Cut the dough into 3 oz portions and place in some greased and lined mini loaf tins or a standard sized loaf pan. Leave to prove until well risen.

Place the bread pans in the oven and then set to a temperature of 350 degrees.

Once the temperature has reached 350 degrees,  small individual loaves: bake for 12 minutes, then turn and bake for a further 3 minutes so they are evenly nice and golden all over.  One large single loaf of bread: bake for 20 minutes, turn and bake for 20 more minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  

Serve the bread with plenty of Guernsey butter and of course serve warm!

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One Pot Meal......Absolutely! And It's Delicious!

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Make One Pot Meal......Absolutely! And It's Delicious!

The beauty of this recipe is that all the ingredients are cooked together in one pan. That is not to say this chicken recipe is a basic one. Chorizo and chicken makes for an interesting pairing, while lemon provides sharpness and chilli packs a punch.  What's beautiful about this dish is the brilliance of colors, textures and flavors.....a definite winner.

One Pot Roast Chicken with Chorizo

Serves 8

Total time:  1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, skin on

1 3/4 lb of sweet potato, cut into chunks

1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves

7 fl oz of chicken stock

1 lemon, halved

7 oz of chorizo sausage, sliced

2 zucchini, cut into thick cut pieces like a french fry

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced

8 oz of baby spinach

2 tbsp of parsley, chopped

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°F

Place the chicken, skin-side up, in a large roasting pan with the chunks of sweet potatoes.

Lightly crush the garlic cloves, leaving the skin on, and nestle among the chicken thighs.

Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and potatoes, add the chicken stock, then season. Squeeze the lemon juice into the pan and add the juiced halves of lemon. 

Add the chorizo, courgettes and chilli, bake for 45-50 minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, remove from the oven and allow to rest for a moment.

Mix the spinach and parsley leaves through the hot chicken mix. Serve immediately with a crusty loaf of fresh bread!

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A Little Summertime Dessert Please!

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Make A Little Summertime Dessert Please!

This delicious raspberry trifle can be made now as I see raspberries in my neighborhood grocer, but you certainly could substitute almost any fruit in season ensuring that the fruit is drained well enough as not to create a soup layer in your trifle as opposed to a delectable fruity layer.  This recipe is also quick and easy making it perfect for last minute preparation with a little chill time in the refrigerator thrown in.  It's time for something lighter to offset all those "cold weather comfort meals" or the perfect Sunday brunch dessert.  BTW....using a clear or glass vessel for this dessert is an absolute must!

Raspberry Trifle

Serves 8

Total time:  40 minutes plus 30 minutes chill time.

Ingredients

Raspberry Layers

20 Ladyfingers

5  6 oz containers of fresh raspberries, 28 oz total

1 dash of lemon juice

6 tbsp of sugar or

1 cup of sweet sherry

Custard

2 cups of double/heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup of milk

1 vanilla pod

6 egg yolks

4 tbsp of sugar

2 tsp cornflour

1 dash of water

Chantilly Cream

7 oz of double/heavy whipping cream, well chilled

4 tbsp of sugar

To Serve

2 oz of pistachio nuts, toasted and roughly chopped

fresh mint

Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Raspberry Coulis

To make this raspberry trifle recipe, start by making the raspberry coulis. Put one 6 oz container of raspberries in a very hot, dry pan. Add lemon juice and sugar and cook rapidly for one minute. Whisk, then pass through a sieve to remove the seeds and chill.

Mash the ladyfingers with one 6 oz container of fresh raspberries and the sweet sherry.

Using it all, place an equal amount of coulis in the bottom of your 8  glasses for each person, along with three raspberries. Divide all of the sponge mix equally between each glass and add another raspberry, chill.

The Custard

Take the seeds out of the vanilla pod and add half to the cream and milk (reserve half the seeds for the cream layer). Bring to a boil.

Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Moisten the corn flour with a dash of water and add to the yolks.

Pour a dash of the boiled cream into the yolks (this is called tempering and will help prevent curdling of the eggs) and whisk well before returning all to the pan and cooking until thick.  

Allow to cool before dividing the mix between the dishes, to form a layer on top of the raspberry sponge. Refrigerate while you make the Chantilly cream.

Chantilly Cream

Place the chilled double/heavy cream into a large bowl and whisk to a soft peak, add the reserved vanilla seeds and gradually add the caster sugar in small amounts, whisking to form stiff peaks, being careful not to beat too much as this may cause the whipped cream to break. (basically turning it into butter). 

Spoon or pipe the Chantilly cream on top of the custard layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve and finish with a sprinkling of crushed and toasted pistachios, a few extra fresh raspberries, a sprig of mint and dusting of icing sugar.

Try substituting the raspberries with strawberries, peaches, apricots, blueberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges or another favorite fruit remembering to make sure that the final mixture is drained well to prevent a soupy mess and appropriately sweetened if needed.

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Green Chicken Chili – Sorry, Red and White, But There’s a New Color in Town

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Make Green Chicken Chili – Sorry, Red and White, But There’s a New Color in Town

If I had to pick a favorite color chili, it would have to be green. And, if I had to pick a favorite kind of green chili, it would be this chicken and white bean green chili, which, notwithstanding a very minor pumpkin seed issue, really came out amazing.

A true “chili verde” is made by roasting and pureeing fresh tomatillos, which is kind of labor intensive, if you can even find fresh tomatillos, so we’re going with a ready-to-use green salsa from the market. You should be able to chose from several varieties, but just be sure to read the labels carefully. Tomatillos must be the first ingredient, followed by onion, and chilies.

If you never had tomatillo before, I’d describe it as having a less sweet, slightly more acidic, but fruitier, tomato-like flavor. It’s very bright, and refreshing, and makes a chili prepared with it especially excellent for pairing with things like cornbread, or homemade corn tortillas. 

Once you find some tomatillo salsa, there’s not a lot that can go wrong, as we’re simply going to simmer everything until tender, assuming you’re using the recommended thighs. If you decided to use chicken breast, you’ll only need to simmer it until it’s cooked through, otherwise, unlike the thigh, it’ll get dry. No matter what you use, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 to 6 portions of Green Chicken Chili:

3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, seasoned with salt

1 bottle (24-oz) tomatillo-based salsa verde, about 3 cups

1/2 cup fire-roasted hatch chilies, or other roasted green chili

3 garlic cloves

1 large jalapeno, sliced

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground chipotle

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

2 cans white kidney beans (cannellini beans), drained, rinsed

sour cream and avocado to garnish

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Fesenjan - Persian Stew

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Make Fesenjan - Persian Stew

Fesenjan - Persian Stew

A fabulous Persian stew of pomegranate molasses, walnut and chicken. A truly delicious and fragrant dish and pretty simple to make too! 

Serves 4

Prep time:   10 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled & finely sliced

½ tsp turmeric

450g walnuts, ground & reserve a few whole for serving

900ml chicken stock

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground pepper

4 chicken legs

3 tbsp pomegranate molasses

2 lemons, juice only

50g sugar

To serve

Basmati rice, cooked as per packet instructions

Method

1.  In a large frying pan heat 2 tbsp of oil and fry the onions and turmeric until soft and golden.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large casserole.  Add the ground walnuts, chicken stock and seasoning.  Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

2.  Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan and add the chicken, fry until browned all over.  Add to the casserole and make sure to cover with the sauce.  Cover the casserole and simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally.  Skim any excess fat from the surface of the casserole.

3.  In a small bowl mix together the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and sugar and add to the casserole, stir through and let simmer for another 20 minutes.  Season to taste, if needed.

4.  To serve, arrange the chicken on a bed of rice and pour over the delicious sauce, scatter over the remaining walnuts.  

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