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Red Wine Jus Steak & Celeriac/Sweet Potato Fries with Honey Glazed Carrots

April 8, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Simple, hearty, earthy, juicy! What more is there needed to say about this awesome dish. Easy to put together with lovely strong flavours and great textures this is proper comfort food. There aren’t much better things in food than a big, juicy, well cooked steak covered in a rich, deep red wine sauce. Enough said.

INGREDIENTS

For the Red Wine Jus & Steak

  • Two large filet steaks
  • 2 chopped shallots
  • 175 ml port
  • 175 ml red wine
  • 1 sprig rosemay
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 759 ml good beef stock
  • salt to tase
  • 2 tbs butter

For the Celeriac and Sweet Potato Fries

  • 1 large celeriac (1.3kg/3lb total weight)
  • 2 large Sweet Potato
  • 3-4 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp paprika

For the Honey Glazed Carrots:

  • 4 small, thin and conical carrots
  • 125 g unsalted butter
  • 1 Tbsp runny clear honey
  • 1 tbp D’Jon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • Salt
  • 750ml chicken stock
  • White Wine (OPTIONAL)

MUSIC I COOKED TO:

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Preparation Method:

  1. Pre heat an oven to 230C/Gas 8/fan 210C
  2. Peel the celeriac, slicing off the top and bottom and sweeping down the sides with a heavy, sharp knife to remove the tough skin. Cut the celeriac into thumb-thick slices and then into chips. Peel and chip the sweet potato
  3. Bring a very large saucepan of salted water to the boil, throw in the chips and blanch (boil rapidly, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes). Drain the chips, pat dry with kitchen towel and throw back into the saucepan. Add the oil, paprika and sea salt. Toss until well coated.
  4. Spread the chips over a large heavy baking sheet, leaving plenty of space (you may need 2 sheets). They take around 30-35 minutes to cook – wait until they are caramalised and crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
  5. For the red wine jus pan fry the finely diced shallots over a medium high heat until caramelised
  6. Add  the port, red wine and herbs. Simmer until reduced by half.
  7. Add the stock and reduce by half.
  8. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Add back to the pan and set aside.
  9. Remove the green leaves from the carrots, leaving some greens still attached. Wash them well under cold running water and peel them.
  10. In a small bowl, add the honey, the mustard and the lemon juice and stir well until combined.
  11. Add the butter and heat over medium-high heat. When the butter has almost melted and is foaming place the carrots into the pan. Pour the honey-mustard-lemon juice mixture over the carrots and add salt to taste. Allow the carrots to cook for about 30 minutes over medium heat, until they are softened and caramelised, making sure to turn them every now and then in order to cook evenly. Continue to baste and cover them every so often with the cooking juices, when the pan starts to get a little dry you can deglaze it with some white wine if you have some to hand (or you can use a just a little water or vegetable stock). Never add too much liquid to the pan.
  12. When they are ready, remove them from the pan and arrange them on a platter. Pour some of the melted butter-mustard sauce on top.
  13. Heat a grill or pan to hot, smear the steaks with oil and salt and cook them, turning once, 3 mins each side.
  14. Bring the jus back to boil and remove from heat then whisk ( ‘monte’) in the butter.
  15. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  16. To plate up place the steaks next to the carrots in the centre of a plate, scatter some fries next to them and drizzle over some of the red wine jus.

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TWICE COOKED, TWICE FLAVOUR, CHINESE CHICKEN WITH CHILLI AND SPRING ONION

March 23, 2014 — Leave a comment

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This bright, colourful, simple Chicken dish has been passed down through my mum’s family. The distinctly asian flavours and aromas are deep, and strong but quite fresh. The dish is simplicity itself to put together and cook. Julienning the ginger and vegetables beforehand will make things easier for you. If you have the time, the only difficult decision you have is whether to take a break from the cooking after the Chicken has braised in the first section of prep and let it marinade for a few hours… though obviously this turns a dish that is quite quick to cook into an all day affair (though you can obviously just leave the chicken marinating and go and do your own thing). Twice cooking the chicken is an important process for the flavours and textures – the first slow braising step imparts rich colour and flavour to the chicken as well as making the flesh succulent and tender. Roasting the chicken after this and basting it gives the chicken an indulgent crispy sticky covering that holds a real flavour punch. Served with fresh tangy spring onions ,spicy chillies and simple boiled rice this dish springs off the plate and into your mouth with a awesome medley of complimenting tastes and textures –

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INGREDIENTS

For the chicken:

  • Small whole chicken
  • Cup of Water
  • Cup of chicken stock
  • 3 small yellow onions
  • 4 spring onions
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled, bruised
  • 6cm piece fresh ginger
  • 3 star anise
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1/2 cup Chinese rice wine
  • 6 tbsp Light soya
  • 4 tbsp Dark soya sauce
  • 2 long red chilli, thinly sliced
  • heaped tbsp sesame seeds
  • Steamed jasmine rice to serve

For the marinade:

  • 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon Chang’s sesame oil

For basting:

  • 500ml of Chicken stock.

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Preparation Method:

  1. Wash chicken and pat dry skin and body cavity with kitchen paper towel. OR leave to air dry for about 30-40 mins.
  2. Butcher the Chicken into its disassembled pieces – breast, wings and legs and thighs.
  3. Slice the ginger and onion into thin strips around 5-6 cm long.
  4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the ginger and yellow onion until starting to colour. Add half the sliced chilli and fry for around a minute.
  5. Place garlic + chicken pieces in pan in a single layer. Brown on one side, then turn over all the pieces and brown the other side.
  6. Sprinkle rice wine onto chicken and add stock and water into wok with chicken. Then add soya sauce (light and dark), oyster sauce, star anise and the sugar.
  7. Turn heat to medium-low then cover wok and braise chicken until cooked; turning frequently to avoid burning skin. When the liquid in the wok becomes thicker then leave uncovered and continues to cook on low heat and spooning the liquid onto chicken to colour the skin. This gives the chicken a lovely brown colour on the skin and cook the meat in a way which is succulent and tender. It takes appox. 35 mins. to cook the chicken.
  8. At this stage – if you want you can let the dish cool and place into the fridge with all the pan juices for 4hrs (or even up to 12hrs.) – Though it will add flavour to the dish,  its not really necessary.
  9. Transfer to a roasting pan, skin side up. Pat dry with paper towel.
  10. Meanwhile, make marinade Combine hoisin sauce, honey, five spice, soy sauce, chilli and sesame oil in a bowl. Reserve 1 tablespoon mixture.
  11. Roast for 10 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven. Rotate chicken. Brush chicken with remaining marinade. Cook for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and dark brown. Baste throughout with chicken stock and any leftover marinade.
  12. Meanwhile toast some sesame seeds in a pan.
  13. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Cover with foil. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
  14. Thinly slice remaining spring onion. Place individual portion of chicken on a plate, sprinkle a pinch of toasted sesame seeds on top. Garnish chicken with spring onion and chilli.
  15. Serve with rice and drizzle over some of the pan juices.

MUSIC I COOKED TO:

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BIG BOMBASTIC MEATBALLS AND RICH TOMATO SAUCE

March 18, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Big, tasty, rich and full of flavour – thats pretty much all there is to say about this simple recipe. This recipe is the king of meatballs. And the recipe is so easy to make, that with practice and prep you can have the meal ready, on the table and ready to munch in 30mins flat. This makes the effort to flavour ratio a no brainer.

The (not-so) secret to these moist, light meatballs is the white bread soaked in milk. To those unused to this, at first this may sound a touch weird. But doing this allows the bread to act as a binder – adding structure to your balls, without imparting any overpowering flavours or making them to tough. Also only using one egg as binding agent makes the meatballs softer, as the bread soaked in milk will make them bind enough. The simple tomato sauce acts like a rich tomato gravy – adding some zing to the meatballs whilst moistening the whole dish and imparting its own strong and complimentary sweet, tangy flavours. And the meatballs can be frozen raw, or even cooked and saved for a few days – just make sure they are properly defrosted and then heated properly. My girlfriend likes to make up a really good mini-salad of mozzarella and sliced tomato, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar that is great with this dish too.

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INGREDIENTS

  • 200g white bread – stale if possible
  • Milk – enough to soak the bread
  • 500g minced beef
  • 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 medium onions, chopped finely
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbsp grated parmesan
  • 4 anchovies, chopped finely
  • 2 tins of tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp of caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup of beef stock
  • 1 cup of red wine
  • 1 tbsp of dried oregano
  • 400g/14oz dried spaghetti
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

PREPARATION METHOD:

  1. Start by preparing and cooking the tomato sauce. In a saucepan, heat a tbsp of olive oil, then add half the chopped onions and garlic and saute until the onions are caramelised and starting to brown – around 3 mins.
  2. Add the red wine vinegar. Add the tinned tomatoes, a squeeze of lemon juice, some Worcestershire sauce, stock and the sugar.  Reduce to a simmer and leave to reduce while making the meatballs for around 7-10 minutes, and until you have a thick sauce.
  3. Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4. In a suitable container leave the bread  to soak with the milk. In a larger mixing bowl, mix the minced beef, parmesan, anchovies, half the parsley and the rest of the onions and garlic, then the egg.
  4. Add the bread, carefully squeezing most of the excess milk from it first. Then the red wine. Mix in well, really get stuck in, and then season with salt and pepper. Mould into balls – the mix should make around 12 balls.
  5. Heat four tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, and when hot, add the meatballs, turning as they colour; this should take about five minutes. If necessary, cook in batches so they are not all squashed together – otherwise to much moisture will infiltrate the pan and you’ll end up stewing them. Transfer the pan to the oven and flash them for 5 mins.
  6. In a pan of salted boiling water start to cook the spaghetti.
  7. Then, drain the oil from the meatball pan, then transfer them to the same pan as the sauce.
  8. Place the whole mixture in the oven for 5 minutes – stick a knife in to check that they are hot in the centre.
  9. To serve, drain the spaghetti when cooked, place a small mound of the pasta on to a plate, spoon on a good quantity of the tomato sauce, place the meatballs on top.

MUSIC I COOKED TOO:

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