Chorizo and Potato Frittata

Made with potato, spring onion, chicory, bacon, chorizo, three eggs, black pepper, paprika, and cheddar cheese.

Roughly cubed potato fried in some sunflower oil. Diced bacon was added, and stirred for a few minutes, then the heat was turned down, and the contents of the pan allowed to cook under glass for twenty minutes, occasionally stirred. The potato and the bacon was transferred to a cake tin with a removable base, and allowed to cool under a cover. Half a head of chicory and diced spring onion, was stir-fried for a couple of minutes, and added to the potato and bacon.

Three eggs were beaten with a little paprika and put to one side. Chopped chorizo was added to the contents of the cake tin, with a dusting of oregano and black pepper. Then the beaten eggs were added to the tin. Squares of cheddar cheese were arranged around the top of the frittata.  Then placed into a glass roasting dish (in case of leakage from the cake tin), and cooked for twenty minutes in a preheated oven at 200 deg C.

The frittata was allowed to cool, and was served with a side salad of sliced red onion, shredded tomato, and sliced green pepper. The side salad was dressed in a little lemon juice, olive oil, and a dusting of chervil.

Chorizo and Potato Frittata

Leek and Celeriac Soup

A simple soup made with leek, celeriac, white cabbage, and carrot. Plus half a teaspoonful of mustard powder.

Boil water in a pot. Add one leek, cut lengthwise, before being cross-cut, about 100 grams of diced celeriac root, two medium sized carrots cut into three sections, and thinly sliced cabbage. Chicken stock was added, a dash of olive oil, along with black pepper and some oregano. Cooked for about an hour before being mashed, and then allowed to simmer for half an hour, during which time a generous amount of tarragon was added.

Enough for three or four servings. Served with wheat-free croutons (fried in butter). Cheap and delicious!

Leek and Celeriac Soup

Scrambled Egg with Chorizo

Scrambled Egg with chorizo, served with buttered wheat-free toast.

Two eggs cracked into a pan with milk, stirred, and brought to the boil. The Chorizo Pamplona (thin slices) was cut into strips before the eggs were added to the milk, turned through ninety degrees, and cut again, resulting in small squares. The squares were added to the milk and eggs and stirred regularly. The dish is ready after about five to six minutes at a moderate heat.

Scrambled Egg with Chorizo

Spiced Lamb with Rice

Ingredients are: minced lamb, onion, chilli, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, tamarind paste, cumin, red pepper, chickory, cardamom, potato, carrot and lamb stock.

Lamb mince was browned in a glass-lidded pot for about half-an hour. Water and lamb stock was added to the pot, then diced potato and carrot, half a head of chopped chickory, a sliced white onion, and a whole red pepper cut into small strips. Followed by the garlic, ginger and chopped finger chillies. The cinnamon, tamarind paste, cumin and the cardamoms were added after a further hour of simmering under glass. 

Served with basmati rice, or a steamed vegetable, such as stringless beans. 

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Spiced Lamb with Rice

Spiced Lamb with Stringless Beans

Spanish Omelette with Bacon and Mushroom

A three egg omelette made with cooking bacon, eight white button mushrooms, a small onion, and half a salad tomato. Herbs added were tarragon, oregano, and chervil.  Served with black pepper and some tomato relish. 

The bacon was cooked at a moderately high heat under glass in its own juices for ten minutes until it started to brown. The mushrooms were halved and added, along with the sliced onion and the shredded tomato for another ten minutes. Stirred every minute or so. 

The eggs were whisked in a bowl three times during the cooking process, along with a large pinch of chervil. Before the whisked eggs were added to the bacon and vegetables, I added a large pinch of tarragon to the pot, and a smaller amount of oregano. 

The heat was turned down and the dish continued to cook under glass. After five minutes a skillet brushed with sunflower oil was placed upside down over the top of the pot in which the omelette was cooking, and the two pots turned the other way up, allowing the omelette to drop into the skillet. The omelette was allowed to cook on the other side for  five minutes at a low heat, before being slid out onto a plate, 

Spanish Omelette with Bacon and Mushroom

Celeriac Chips, Roast Chicken, with Button Mushrooms

Most of this dish was prepared in the oven. 

I cut a celeriac root in half using a breadknife, and peeled the outside using it and a peeler. Then I used the breadknife again to cut the celeriac into chip sized pieces. I made a dressing for the chips in a glass bowl, using sunflower oil, tomato passata, black pepper, basil and two handfuls of tarragon. I stirred in the chips with a wooden spoon until all of the chips were evenly coated in the dressing. 

A pyrex roasting dish was brushed with oil, then the chips were decanted into it, and spaced as evenly as possible. They were cooked for 40 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200 deg C. The chips were turned once during their time in the oven. 

The chicken breast was cooked for the same forty minutes at the same temperature, but was wrapped in aluminium foil in a separate roasting dish. The chicken was brushed with oil and dressed with paprika before it was sealed inside the foil. 

The Button Mushrooms were cooked slowly in butter for fifteen minutes or so, in a small pan on the stove. 

Celeriac Chips, Roast Chicken, with Button Mushrooms

Chicken, Bacon & Leek Soup

Main ingredients are: chopped chicken breast, and chopped cooking bacon, celery and two leeks. Ingredients cooked in water, brought to the boil, then simmered for two hours. Added some chicken stock, and some Tarragon and Chervil.

Shortly before serving, add some single cream, and simmer for up to ten minutes, stirring regularly.

Chicken, Bacon & Leek Soup

Pear, Blueberry & Strawberry Fruit Salad

The basis of this dish is strawberries in sugar and blended Scotch whisky, a take on Strawberries Rombauer, from the 'Joy of Cooking', which recipe I posted a few days ago. So the main part of the description is essentially the same. 

The strawberries were topped to remove the green collar, then each was sliced in two, at an angle, rather than straightforward halving. This increases the surface area of the strawberries. 

After cutting, they were decanted into a glass bowl, and given a coating (two table spoons worth) of ordinary refined sugar (caster sugar does just as well). A large dash of blended Scotch whisky was added also. The mixture was stirred for a couple of minutes, to dissolve the sugar and spread it evenly through the strawberries. 

A Scottish twist is the addition of a couple of shakes of white or black ground pepper, which gives the final flavour a little edge. 

The bowl was set aside and covered with a plate, and left altogether for four hours, to allow the osmotic pressure of the sugar to extract some of the juices in the strawberries. The mixture was stirred at least once an hour. If the bowl is placed in the fridge, the process will take place more slowly. Outside the fridge, the dish will be ready to eat after four hours, at room temperature. 

I added to the bowl about 100 grams of blueberries, and a Conference pear, cored and thinly sliced. Allowed to sit for fifteen minutes after stirring in to the strawberries. 

The contents of the bowl were stirred again for two minutes before the fruit was decanted into a dish containing some Scottish single cream. 

Pear, Blueberry & Strawberry Fruit Salad

Pork Fillets with a Blue Cheese Sauce

 Pork fillets cooked slowly in a saute pan until browned and tender, served with a sauce made with Danish Blue cheese.

The ingredients of the sauce: 200g of tomato passata, four stoned and liquidized plums (purple red or yellow), and a selection of herbs: a pinch of Basil, two pinches of Oregano, two pinches of Tarragon, a pinch of Fines Herbes, and a pinch of Chervil (a constituent of Fines Herbes). Plus some black pepper. The sauce was cooked slowly for fifteen minutes before the Danish Blue was added (about 4 grams), and allowed to cook for another fifteen minutes, stirring frequently to prevent any of the cheese sticking to the pan. 

Serve with flat-cut boiled potatoes, black pepper, and a slice of Danish Blue. 

Pork Fillets with a Blue Cheese Sauce

Pork, beansprouts and cashews

Pork steak cut into thin strips and stir-fried with garlic in sunflower oil until browned. Excess fat was drained from the wok.

Vegetable ingredients were: sliced onion, beansprouts, cabbage, thinly sliced carrot, mushrooms, two chopped finger chillies, and a handful of cashew nuts, Soused in a mixture of rice wine and oyster sauce for half an hour.

The vegetables were added to the wok containing the pork and cooked for another nine minutes at a moderate heat. At a high heat, the time would be somewhere between three and five minutes, depending on the quantities.

A spiral of Dark Soy Sauce was written on the plate before the stir-fry was decanted from the wok.

Pork, beansprouts and cashews

Oyster Sauce Chicken with Baby Pak Choi

Chicken breast was cut into medallions and then into strips, and stir-fried in sunflower oil until very slightly browned. The vegetables were pre-prepared, which took about fifteen minutes. The ingredients were: four baby pak choi, three mushrooms, one onion, half a yellow pepper, two medallions of root ginger, cut into thin strips, chopped garlic, and a handful of whole cashews. 

The pak choi leaves were separated from the white stems, the yellow pepper was cut into strips, as was the onion. The mushrooms were sliced. All the vegetable ingredients were decanted into a glass bowl and soused in a little rice wine, and a couple of tablespoonsful of oyster sauce. The ingredients were stirred occasionally during the half hour before the vegetables were added to the wok.

I tend not to cook at the really high heat found in chinese kitchens, so the stir-fry took about nine minutes altogether, At a really high heat, five minutes would be enough.  

A spiral of dark soy sauce was written on the plate before the contents of the wok were served. 

Oyster Sauce Chicken with Baby Pak Choi

Oyster Sauce Chicken with Baby Pak Choi (minus the ginger and mushrooms, plus thinly sliced white cabbage)

Scottish Strawberries with Single Cream

The first strawberries of the season. This is essentially a take on Strawberries Rombauer, which appears in the pages of the compendious recipe collection,  'The Joy of Cooking'. The strawberries were topped to remove the green collar, then each was sliced in two, at an angle, rather than straightforward halving. This increases the surface area of the strawberries. 

After cutting, they were decanted into a glass bowl, and given a coating (two table spoons worth) of ordinary refined sugar (caster sugar does just as well). A large dash of blended Scotch whisky was added also (as opposed to Cointreau, which is the Joy of Cooking suggestion, if I remember correctly). The mixture was stirred for a couple of minutes, to dissolve the sugar and spread it evenly through the strawberries. 

A Scottish twist is the addition of a couple of shakes of white or black ground pepper, which gives the final flavour a little edge. American friends who saw me do this for the first time were a little nervous at the addition, but did not complain about the result. 

The bowl was set aside and covered with a plate, and left altogether for four hours, to allow the osmotic pressure of the sugar to extract some of the juices in the strawberries. The mixture was stirred at least once an hour. If the bowl is placed in the fridge, the process will take place more slowly. Outside the fridge, the dish will be ready to eat after four hours, at room temperature. 

Serve with Single Cream. Delicious!

Scottish Strawberries with Single Cream

Penne Pasta in a Cheese Sauce

Cubed potato, sliced red onion, and half a yellow pepper, cooked in just enough boiling water to cover the vegetables. Plus 200 grammes of tomato passata added halfway. Cooked in a pan for twenty-five minutes altogether, until the potato cubes are soft. Add some crushed garlic, and stir occasionally.

Cooking bacon  was cut into cubes and fried in its own fat in a small pan until golden brown, and then added to to the body of the sauce. The bacon can be replaced with mushrooms if you want a vegetarian meal. Added some vegetable stock, a pinch of basil, two pinches of oregano, and two pinches of rosemary. Cooked for another fifteen minutes.

After the sauce is cooked, add two teaspoonfuls of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (or more, according to preference), and stir together.

Cook the penne pasta in salted water until it has the right degree of 'bite'. I use Dove Farm wheat-free penne at the moment, which is generally ready after eight to ten minutes of cooking after immersion in boiling water. Drain the penne, and add to the sauce, and stir gently until mixed. Serve.

Sprinkle another teaspoonful of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on each serving, along with a generous amount of black pepper.

Penne Pasta in a Cheese Sauce

Potato and Bacon Soup

Cubed potato, sliced red onion, and half a yellow pepper, cooked in just enough boiling water to cover the vegetables. Plus 200 grammes of tomato passata added halfway. Cooked in a pan for twenty-five minutes altogether, until the potato cubes are soft. Stir occasionally.

The cooking bacon was cut into cubes and fried in its own fat in a small pan until golden brown, and then added to to the body of the soup. Added some vegetable stock, a pinch of basil, two pinches of oregano, and two pinches of rosemary. Cooked for another fifteen minutes.

The soup itself is wheat free. Here it is served with an all butter croissant. Obviously the croissant is not a wheat free item, but it can be replaced with a wheat free version, if available, or wheat free bread. Or the bread component of the meal can be skipped altogether.

Potato and Bacon Soup

Pork and Apple Soup

Chopped roast pork, with thinly sliced apple, red onion, red pepper, rough cut carrot, tomato passata, plus rosemary and oregano, and black pepper. Plus pork and vegetable stock.

The onion, apple, red pepper and carrot were added to freshly boiled water, and brought to boiling point again, and simmered for fifteen to twenty minutes. Then the chopped pork was added, and the passata, and finally the pork and vegetable stock. The assemblage was left to simmer at a low heat for forty minutes under glass.

The soup was mashed for one minute, and then the herbs were added. The soup was allowed to simmer for another twenty minutes before serving (in this instance with homemade white spelt bread).

Pork and Apple Soup

Almond Lamb, with Ginger, Dates, and Cinammon

Lamb mince browned for half an hour in its own fat. Sliced Spanish onion was added and stirred in to the mince for ten minutes. Boiling water was added, and then about 200g of tomato passata. Other ingredients were then added - freshly ground almonds (two handfuls), sliced ginger, garlic, three finger chillies, half a dozen stoned and chopped dates, sliced sugar snap peas, a whole sliced yellow pepper, ground black pepper, lamb and vegetable stock, a pinch of oregano, and a cinammon stick.

The temperature was reduced, and the dish was left to simmer under glass for another ninety minutes. Served with basmati rice. Don't forget to remove the cinammon stick before serving!

 Almond Lamb, with Ginger, Dates, and Cinammon

Lamb with Cashews and Ginger

Some bargain sell-by date lamb mince prompted this excursion into north african style cooking. I browned the mince for about half an hour with a little sunflower oil. after fifteen minutes I began to add rough-cut chunks of carrot, spring onion, tomato, chopped root ginger, three chillies, stoned and chopped dates, and some garlic. The whole dish was then allowed to slow cook in a saute pan for another ninety minutes. Then some chopped tinned tomato was added, along with two handfuls of unsalted cashew nuts, paprika, and lamb stock. The pan was left to simmer for another thirty to forty minutes. 

Ground almonds could be used in place of the cashews, along with a little cinnamon, and chickpeas. 

Lamb with Cashews and Ginger