Sweet and Sour pan-fried Chicken

Basmati rice cooked with finely diced root ginger. Pan-fried chicken goujons, cooked slowly (mostly under glass). Plus a sweet and sour sauce which had been in the fridge for a few days, which I made for a previous dish (essentially two teaspoonfuls of tomato puree, a dash of fish sauce, a little sugar, and diced pineapple I added arrowroot as a thickener). I added diced spring onion. Served with a little white pepper and a dusting of coriander leaf. Delicious!

Sweet and Sour Roast Pork

Sweet and sour roast  pork served with brown basmati rice. 

The sweet and sour sauce was made from scratch, with a teaspoonful of arrowroot (as opposed to corn starch or cornflour), two squirts of tomato puree (ketchup will do fine), fish sauce, half a teaspoon of chillli powder, and three teaspoonfuls of sugar. Plus three diced rings of pinapple from a tin, along with a couple of dessert spoonfuls of pinapple juice.

The pork came from two previously roasted pork steaks, which were cut into strips and fried in sunflower oil until slightly browned.  Excellent dish.  

 

Minestrone, with Yellow Peas and Coriander

A simple minestrone soup made with diced coriander, dried whole yellow peas (hydrated overnight), broken pasta, carrot, diced spring onion and dwarf beans, plus half of  a green pepper, a couple of squirts of tomato puree, and one clove of garlic.

Cooked for forty-five minutes under glass at a low heat. After which the herbs (basil, parsely and oregano) were added, along with the chicken and vegetable stock. I also added half a teaspoonful of fish sauce (Asian nam pla, which resembles the fish sauce used by the ancient Romans), and a few shakes of ground white pepper.

Simmered under glass for a further forty minutes or so, before serving.

Balti Style Chicken Curry

Dish prompted by some cheap vegetables from the local Co-op. Washed and diced leek and carrot, cooked with yellow split peas, which formed the basis of the curry sauce.

Mashed and blended, I added the curry powder (Madras), plus some turmeric, and tomato passata. Then I added a handful of raisins, a red and green chilli (deseeded), diced root ginger, chicken and vegetable stock, some fish sauce (Nam Pla). And finally the chicken slices from two chicken thighs.

Allowed to simmer for an hour. Served with long grain rice (or basmati, if you prefer), cooked for two minutes in boiling water before being shocked by cold water, and then another eight minutes of cooking. Served with lime pickle. Drizzle some lime juice on the rice before serving. Excellent!

Beef Curry

The beef came from a joint of Scottish prime silverside, slow roasted in the oven for two hours, at 180 deg C. Cooked on a bed of root vegetables - 2 carrots, 2 onions, one large carrot, and a chopped stick of celery. Sea salt was rubbed into the top of the joint, along with freshly ground black pepper. Roasted in a large casserole dish, with half a pint of beef stock.

The joint was allowed to cool, and was cut into slices the following day, The gravy, made by liquidising half of the root vegetables and the stock from the roast. became the basis of the curry sauce.

I added a dessert spoonful of ground coconut, half a teaspoonful of garam massala curry powder, half a teaspoonful of cumin, half a teaspoonful of powdered ginger (root ginger will do fine instead), half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, half a teaspoonful of turmeric, and some dried coriander leaf. I added a whole red chilli, some white pepper, plus two diced cloves of garlic.

I cubed the beef and added it to the curry sauce. Simmered for an hour before serving with white basmati rice.

Pork Salad, with Apple Sauce and Beetroot

Roast pork slices, with a beetroot salad, comprising beetroot, very finely chopped onion and carrot (proportions approximately 70:20:10), soused in balsamic vinegar, with honey; plus a baby leaf salad, comprising red baby leaf lettuce, chard, spinach, and rocket, dressed in freshly squeezed lemon juice.

A pork and apple sauce was made with some of the pork fat and juices from the joint, with ten to a dozen spring onions, one large carrot, half a bramley apple, chopped, pork stock, vegetable stock, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, two pinches of paprika, and a pinch of smoked paprika. Plus a couple of dashes of Nam Pla fish sauce and a squirt of tomato puree.

The sauce was simmered for an hour and then mashed. Cooked for another twenty minutes to half an hour, and then blended with an electric hand blender. Allow to cool to room temperature. 

Tomato Soup, with Red Camargue Rice and Roast Pork

A delicious soup made with 400 grams of baby plum tomatoes, two medium size carrots, ten spring onions, chopped roast pork loin, mustard, herbs, and a sixth of a cup of Camargue red rice.

The baby plum tomatoes were halved, and added to a pan of boiling water, along with the chopped carrot and spring onion. Simmer for thirty minutes, and then mash, and blend with a hand mixer. Add the sixth cup of Camargue rice, one teaspoonful of powdered mustard (I used Colemans), a pinch of oregano and basil, some Nam Pla fish sauce, paprika, and a little black pepper. Add the chopped roast pork. Stir thoroughly. Simmer for another thirty minutes, after which it will be ready to serve.

Roast Pork Loin

A bargain pork loin joint with crackling just before New Year's day meant that there was plenty of pork around in the early days of 2017.

I don't eat the crackling (essentially the fatty rind), because its chemistry doesn't agree with my metabolism, but I cooked the joint for just over two hours with the crackling still on it. Cooked in a large casserole dish at between 200 and 220 deg C (30 minutes per 500g, plus another 30 minutes).

The joint was allowed to rest overnight before carving with an electric knife (though an hour or two should be enough).

A gravy was made with some of the pork fat and juices from the joint, with ten to a dozen spring onions, one large carrot, half a bramley apple, chopped, pork stock, vegetable stock, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, two pinches of paprika, and a pinch of smoked paprika. Plus a couple of dashes of Nam Pla fish sauce and a squirt of tomato puree. The gravy was simmered for an hour and then mashed. Cooked for another twenty minutes to half an hour, and then blended with an electric hand blender.

The other ingredients of the dish were white potatoes, carrots, and brussels sprouts, cooked for twenty, twenty, and nine minutes respectively. The slices of pork were reheated in a saute pan and simmered in the gravy for ten to fifteen minutes, until tender. Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

Lentil and Green Bean Soup

A great winter soup, made with half a cup of red lentils, 150g of chopped green beans, half a chopped parsnip, three chopped carrots, one stick of celery, chopped Cavolo Nero cabbage (from Tuscany), one chopped potato, one quarter red onion, a pinch of coriander leaf, four dashes of Tabasco sauce, one dash of Squid brand fish sauce. and two chicken stock cubes. 

All the vegetables were prepared and added to boiling water in the soup pan along with the chicken stock, coriander, Tabasco and fish sauces. Cook for forty five minutes, turning the heat right down, and covering the pan with a glass lid. Stir Occasionally. Then the contents were mashed for two minutes, and allowed to simmer under glass for another hour. Serve with buttered bread (or wheat free bread). 

Lentil and Green Bean Soup

Chicken and Rice Noodles

Gluten free rice noodles, with green pepper, onion, celery, pak choi, garlic, green chilli, sezchuan pepper, rice wine, sunflower oil, nam pla fish sauce, steamed chicken, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce. 

The vegetables were prepared first, as the frozen chicken drumsticks were steamed. The flesh was stripped from the drumsticks, and both the chicken and the vegetables were added to the wok at the same time. Cooked at a middle to high heat for about seven minutes (not as hot as in a traditional Chinese kitchen). 

The noodles were cooked in boiling water, for ten minutes, without further heat.  Drained and added to a plate with a spiral of dark soy sauce. The chicken and vegetables were added on top of the noodles, and drizzled with a sweet chilli sauce. 

Chicken and Rice Noodles

Stir-Fry Marinade, with Crispy Pork

The vegetables - white and green cabbage, onion, carrot, red pepper, brocolli, red chilli, root ginger, chopped garlic cloves, cashew nuts, bamboo shoots - are marinaded in a little white wine, rice wine, fish sauce (nam pla), and sunflower oil. Leave for at least an hour and a half in a covered glass bowl, occasionally turning the mix.

The pork I used is some ham trimmings, cut into strips. Cook the ham first at a medium heat for at least four minutes, until the edges start to become crispy. Drain the marinade from the bowl, and add the vegetables to the wok. Stir-fry at a medium heat for about seven minutes. Serve piping hot.

Stir-Fry Marinade, with Crispy Pork

Potato Pie with Spicy Vegetables

The filling was chopped brocolli, carrot, spring onion, haricot beans, tomato sauce, fish sauce, chilli, a chicken stock cube, plus pepper. The potato was mixed with some butter, and dusted with paprika and ground pepper.

The spicy vegetables were prepared the day before, when they were served with Pilau rice. Cooled in the fridge overnight. Layered into a roasting tin, and covered with mashed red skinned potatoes (semi-peeled), with a knob of butter added during the mash.

The potato was textured with a fork, sprinkled with paprika and ground white pepper. The pie was cooked in the oven at around 190 deg C, for between 45 and 50 minutes (near the top of the oven), depending on how brown you want the potato crust to be. Served with boiled green peas. 

Potato Pie with Spicy Vegetables

Thai Green Vegetable Curry

Thai Green Curry, with chopped tomatoes, one medium leek, two spring onions, podded peas, red and green chillies, half a green pepper, a handful of cashew nuts, half a teaspoonful of Nam Pla fish sauce, plus a Thai green curry paste. Add the cashew nuts to hot sunflower oil in a wok, along with chopped leek, tomato, peas, spring onions, and the red and green chillies. Stir-fry for ten minutes, turning the heat down after five minutes. Add boiling water, and simmer the vegetables for twenty five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Nam Pla fish sauce, and the green curry paste. Stir the paste into the vegetables thoroughly. Cook for another fifteen minutes at least before serving. Most, if not indeed all cuisines often have a number of signature sauces which are the basis on which dishes are created. Curry sauces serve the same function. So there is no definitive Thai green curry in terms of ingredients, beyond the ingredients of the curry paste and its spices. The ingredients I used in this particular vegetable curry were items in my fridge which needed to be used, and which would be harmonious with the curry sauce.

The sauce can be augmented with (more) coconut, ground almonds, and yoghurt or cream. Served with brown basmati rice and a handful of black wild rice (cook for thirty minutes). 

Sea Bream Fillets with Mushrooms, Butter and Ginger

Two Sea Bream fillets from Sainsbury's supermarket, served with butter, ginger and soy sauce, and accompanied by mushrooms cooked in sunflower oil,  a dash of rice wine, and a half teaspoonful of Squid brand Nam Pla fish sauce. 

The finely sliced mushrooms (four altogether) were cooked first in a saute pan at a moderately high heat, so they would brown slightly. Altogether they were in the pan for no more than four minutes, occasionally being turned. The mushrooms were then decanted onto a warmed plate. 

The hob was turned down to a moderate heat, and the Sea Bream fillets were lowered into about 15ml of sunflower oil skin side first, and cooked for three minutes. After a minute the pan was lidded. The fillets were turned, and cooked for another three minutes at a moderate heat, also under the glass for two of those minutes, to ensure thorough heating. 

The fillets were decanted onto the serving plate, skin side down, and butter, soy and ginger were melted together in the saute pan, before being drizzled onto the fish. 

A fabulously tasty dish, quick to prepare and cook. The flesh lifted easily from the skin and was entirely boneless. 

Sea Bream Fillets with Mushrooms, Butter and Ginger

Poached Eggs with Pease Pudding

This dish could have been prepared and enjoyed in the neolithic in northern Europe. They had peas, herbs, probably some form of fermented condiment, sea salt, butter, milk, cream, and perhaps some form of yoghurt. And they had eggs. 

Preparation would have been different (which I will describe later), but the result would have been very similar. 

I blended about thirty pods of peas, along with a couple of pinches of dried tarragon, decanted the blended mixture into a small pan. I added a small pinch of sea salt, and about half a teaspoonful of Asian Nam Pla fish sauce, which is the sort of condiment which they may have had, similar to Roman garum. Cooked at a low heat with a knob of butter and two teaspoonfuls of yoghurt (or fresh cream) stirred in,  for ten minutes under glass, stirring occasionally.  Peas when pulverised take up more water than they do when intact, as I discovered while cutting spelt flour and pea flour together to make bread. So do not be afraid to add a little water to the mix. 

The poached eggs were lowered into a lidded pan of boiling water in silicon poachers, and cooked for four minutes with the hob turned way down, so that the yolks were still runny in the centre. 

Tempting to eat with pepper, but they probably (and almost certainly) had no access to pepper in the Neolithic in northern Europe. 

Poached Eggs with Pease Pudding

Cooking in the European neolithic was often a communal affair, with many different items being cooked in cloth bags or other metal or ceramic vessels lowered into a boiling cauldron. So, the peas may have gone into a cauldron whole, in a cloth bag, until they lost their integrity. They would then be further mashed before serving and other possible ingredients of a tasty pease pudding added (such as the butter, cream, and the condiments). Boiled eggs they would certainly have eaten, but hard to say about poaching them. The end result is very similar, though the shape of the poached egg is different because it has been shelled first.

Pease pudding was probably used in much the same way as we use potatoes or rice - as the staple to accompany the main part of the dish, such as fish, pork, beef, lamb, chicken, etc. 

This is a delicious and subtly flavoured dish which takes very little time to make, and gives the lie to the idea that food in the neolithic was generally a bad experience.  

Chicken Stir-Fry with Water Chestnuts and Bamboo Shoots

There are endless ways to stir-fry food, but if a meat ingredient is present, I always cook that first, in order to be sure it is properly cooked through. So for this stir-fry I cooked the chicken breast pieces in preheated sunflower oil at a high heat, along with cashew nuts, sliced garlic, and chopped red chillies, until both the chicken and the cashew nuts were slightly browned. 

I added a teaspoonful of Nam Pla fish sauce (Squid brand), and stirred the contents of the wok for a further minute. 

Then the vegetable ingredients were added: bean sprouts, cabbage, shredded carrot, chopped water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, onion, and mixed peppers. Often I put together the vegetable selection myself, but if I want bean sprouts in the mix, I often buy a stir-fry pack from the supermarket, since bean sprouts don't keep, and a much of a large bag would go to waste, unless I'm entertaining guests. 

Stir-fried until the vegetables were cooked - 3 minutes at Chinese kitchen high heat levels, and much longer (up to 7 minutes) at medium heat. Served with dark soy sauce. 

Adding the vegetable ingredients to the chicken pieces

Chicken Stir-Fry with Water Chestnuts and Bamboo Shoots

Tomato and Celery Soup

Vegetable soup made with spinach, curly kale, chopped tomato, leek, celery, red onion, and garlic, with basil, oregano, vegetable stock, and fish sauce (Nam Pla).

The soup base was made with chopped celery, red onion and leek, plus one half of the spinach. Stir-fried until the onion and leek are slightly browned. Water was added, and the soup base ingredients were blended with a mouli blender. 

The chopped tomato, remaining spinach, and the curly cale were added, and more water,  The soup was simmered for an hour, before adding fresh basil, oregano, white pepper, the vegetable stock, and a teaspoonful of fish sauce.  

Served with two quarters of potato bread. 

Tomato and Celery Soup

Chinese style Mushroom and Cashew nut Stir-Fry

A vegetarian chinese dish, made with mushrooms, spring onion, yellow pepper, green beans, chopped spinach, cashew nuts, and slices of courgette (a good substitute for bamboo shoots). Plus chopped chili, garlic and root ginger. Marinaded in some white wine and fish sauce (Nam Pla) for about six hours before being stir fried. Served with boiled basmati rice.

Chinese style Mushroom and Cashew nut Stir-Fry