Tag Archives: food

food+drink, personal, pleasures

Culinary Adventures #112: Living Like the Gentry

N often comments that our Victorian (and earlier) ancestors, who were all ordinary working people like fishermen and labourers, would look at us and say we live like the gentry. This is probably true when you consider both their monetary means and the variety of foods available.

We’ve been married 45 years next month, and we have always made sure to eat well. Not so well in the early years when money was more of an issue – but never predicated on the supply of fast food and ready meals. Now when we have more means, let’s be honest and say that yes we do eat well, even when the food is utilitarian. When Covid hit 4½ years ago and we were all under house arrest, we agreed that we should continue to eat as well as we could. Not just because food is essential for life, but because, for us, it is one of life’s pleasures and can provide some relief from the mundane. [I wonder why they’re the size they are? – Ed] Eating interestingly is not so easy now due to N’s medical situation, but we continue to do our best with good and varied ingredients.

All this was brought home to me last evening, having created, eaten and thoroughly enjoyed our evening meal. What was so special? Well I did prawns in a cream & tomato sauce with lemon & chilli; followed by alcoholic summer fruit salad & cream. As N said, and I had to agree, it really was restaurant quality.

This is how it went …

Prawns in Cream & Tomato Sauce with Lemon & Chilli

Serves: 2 generously
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

You will want:

  • 130g dried pasta (of your choice)
  • 250g frozen prawns
  • 4-5 soft tomatoes, chopped
  • an onion, chopped (actually I used a couple of round salad onions & some spring onions)
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped small or crushed
  • Juice and zest of 2 lemons (1 will do if it is large & juicy)
  • a small chilli, chopped fine, seeds removed (I used a freshly picked hot lemon yellow chilli)
  • a big bunch of parsley, stems removed, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp thick double cream
  • Black pepper
  • Olive oil

And this is what you do:

  1. Have everything prepared and ready, and get the pasta on to cook.
  2. While the pasta cooks, sauté the onion, garlic & chilli in a some olive oil until translucent (about 5 minutes).
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they’re beginning to break down.
  4. Now add the prawns and once they’ve thawed and are cooking add the lemon and parsley, with a good grind of black pepper. Continue cooking until all is hot and the juice is beginning to reduce.
  5. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.
  6. Drain the pasta and add it to the prawn mix, stirring to combine.
  7. Finally remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream.
  8. Serve immediately in warmed pasta dishes, with some grated parmesan and a glass or several of good white wine.

We followed this with …

Alcoholic Summer Fruit Salad

I prepared this before starting on the prawns & pasta, so it had some time to chill.

Serves: 2 generously
Preparation: 10 minutes + chilling

You will want:
At least 3 different summer fruits. Choose from strawberries, raspberries, cherries, blackberries, blackcurrants, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, greengages, gooseberries – depending on your fancy and what’s available.

I used:

  • 2 nectarines
  • small punnet of raspberries
  • 5 Victoria plums
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 25-50ml peach schnapps (or other liqueur of your choice)
  • thick double cream, to serve

And this is what I did:

  1. Stone the nectarines and plums, cut into slices and place in a bowl.
  2. Add the raspberries.
  3. Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit, followed by the peach schnapps.
  4. Mix, cover and place in the fridge until needed.
  5. Serve with thick double cream.

Sorry, no photos as we enjoyed it too much!

food+drink

Culinary Adventures #110: Duck Schnitzel with Orzo Pseudo-Risotto

It’s been too long since I did a Culinary Adventures post. So to put that right this is what I concocted for Friday evening. As always it’s based on ideas culled from recipes I see, and adapted à la mode d’ici.

Duck Schnitzel with Orzo Pseudo-Risotto

Serves: 2
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 duck breasts
  • 100g orzo
  • 2 handfuls frozen peas
  • 2 large salad onions, or one medium-size onion, chopped
  • enough cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
  • a yellow, orange or red pepper, chopped
  • zest & juice of a lemon
  • plain flour
  • an egg, beaten
  • about 75g Panko Breadcrumbs (or ordinary breadcrumbs)
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • leaves from half a packet of fresh tarragon (discard the stems) or other fresh herbs of your choice
  • splash white wine or dry sherry (optional)

What to do

  1. Lay out 3 small plates. On the first put the flour, and season it with ground black pepper.
    On the second put the beaten egg.
    On the third the breadcrumbs mixed with the lemon zest.
  2. Put the orzo and peas on to cook together in plenty of boiling water. When done, drain and keep warm.
  3. Sweat the onion, garlic and pepper in some olive oil. As it cooks season with black pepper.
  4. (If desired remove the skin from the duck, and give it to your local fox.) Put the duck breasts between layers of clingfilm and beat them with a steak hammer (or rolling pin) to reduce their thickness.
  5. Coat each duck breast in the seasoned flour, then the egg, and finally the breadcrumbs. Fry in olive oil in another frying pan. Turn regularly and cook until the juices run clear (or a meat thermometer reaches at least 70°C) – but don’t overcook it so it goes dry.
  6. Just before the duck is done, add the tarragon and lemon juice to the onion, followed by the orzo & peas. Mix well and cook until heated through and steaming. If it seems too dry add a splash of white wine or dry sherry. Season with more black pepper.
  7. Serve the duck and “risotto” and enjoy with a glass or two of wine of your choice.

Notes

  1. I was surprised how well the lemon and tarragon came through in the “risotto”; it felt like the right combination. But thyme, sage, or coriander should work well too.
  2. I used Panko breadcrumbs. I’ve never used them before and I wanted to experiment. I think they gave a superior result to making your own breadcrumbs from stale bread – probably because they’re dried.
  3. This could be adapted (as I have) to use any pasta; broken up spaghetti works well.
  4. I’ve also done something similar with other meats, or for a veggie option I guess you could use slices of aubergine.
  5. Also optionally add a tablespoon of tomato paste to the onion mix at the same time as the tarragon and lemon.
food+drink

Culinary Adventure #109: 40 Ingredients

I picked up the idea for this from Ali Slagle’s Substack, 40 Ingredients Forever.

Using fewer ingredients, rather than buying some oddity that you might use once and then forget in the back of the cupboard/fridge, is economical common sense. In my mind it will also avoid a lot of the faff around cooking and recipes; I can’t be doing with 27 obscure ingredients, 39 steps, and two dishwasher loads, of buggering around just to make dinner. (Except possibly very, very occasionally.)

You see, if you have your 40 go to ingredients always available, you have at your fingertips both the means to make a good meal, or cook almost anything, and make it interestingly tasty.

My list differs substantially from that of Sohla El-Waylly, which is the list Ali Slagle originally posted. And your list will not be the same either, although there are likely to be some commonalities.

In creating my list I’ve assumed that in the cupboard there are already six very basic basics:

  • Salt (although I rarely use any)
  • Black pepper
  • Plain flour
  • Milk
  • Sugar
  • Baking powder

So here’s my list. (Frozen, where appropriate, is fine.)

40 Essential Ingredients

  1. Hot lemon chilli flakes
  2. Tandoori spice mix
  3. Creamed coconut
  4. Worcs sauce
  5. Mixed spice
  6. Almond essence
  7. Dark chocolate
  8. Extra virgin olive oil
  9. White wine vinegar
  10. White wine
  11. Dry sherry
  12. Cashew nuts
  13. Kalamata olives
  14. Fresh ginger
  15. Fresh coriander
  16. Hot lemon chillies
  17. Basmati rice
  18. Linguine
  19. Tinned plum tomatoes
  20. Tinned cannellini beans
  1. Charlotte potatoes
  2. Button mushrooms
  3. San Marzano tomatoes
  4. Bell peppers
  5. Banana shallots
  6. Garlic
  7. Lemons (& limes)
  8. Smitten apples
  9. Blackcurrants
  10. Chicken thighs
  11. Lamb neck fillet
  12. Bacon
  13. Chorizo
  14. Prawns
  15. Eggs
  16. Butter
  17. Double cream
  18. Parmesan cheese
  19. Cheddar
  20. Brie

Having said all that, this starts getting difficult when you have to take dietary restrictions into account. That’s where we are now with a medical need to reduce phosphate and potassium levels, sugar and salt – which cuts out a huge range of foods from avocados to crab by way of nuts and seeds. Because of the potassium alone almost all vegetables have to be boiled (yeuch!) and many fruits are off limits. This of course hits the 40 ingredients – but here are some possible substitutions.

Removed Ingredient Replace with
Baking Powder Yeast
Creamed coconut  
Worcs sauce  
Dark chocolate  
Dry sherry Gin
Cashew nuts  
Kalamata olives  
Tinned plum tomatoes  
Tinned cannellini beans Tinned chickpeas
Button mushrooms Shiitake mushrooms
Blackcurrants Cherries or blueberries
Bacon  
Chorizo  
Parmesan cheese  
Cheddar Mozzarella
  Salmon
  Fresh thyme
  Asparagus (in season)

It’s going to get interesting.

food+drink

Culinary Adventure #108: Asparagus Tips

We’ve recently had the joy of the first English asparagus of the year. So I thought it might be worth a few tips which I find useful in getting the best from asparagus. This is my experience; as always YMMV.

Buying asparagus. Do not be tempted to buy those thick tree trunks as they’ll be woodier and not good value. Buy sprue – that’s the very thin spears – if you have the choice. They tend to be younger, softer, and more succulent.

Cut off ends & stand in water. If you aren’t going to use the asparagus within about 24 hours, you need to keep it fresh. While the fridge will help, it will tend to dry out the spears unless they’re wrapped in damp kitchen paper. I find the best way is to cut a small slice (no more than 5mm) off the bottom of each spear and then stand them in a small amount of water in a glass or jar. This will rejuvenate them, but don’t try keeping them more than 2-3 days as the tips they will start growing again.

Bundle of asparagus

Snap off the ends. When you’re preparing asparagus you will want to remove the woodier part at the bottom of the spear. But how much do you need to remove? Let the asparagus show you. Lightly hold the spear at the bottom (in one hand) and about two-thirds the way up (in the other hand). Now bend it towards you and it will snap at the point where the woodiness is less. Voila! Job done.

Forget peeling. Just don’t bother peeling asparagus. Why would you remove much of the goodness?

Not always spears. Don’t be afraid of asparagus. It doesn’t have to be kept as long spears. If what you’re cooking needs smaller pieces (eg. stir-fry or salad) don’t be afraid to cut the spears into shorter lengths, and cook as shorter lengths.

Steam, don’t boil. Forget specialised asparagus cookers. And forget saucepans of boiling water. Asparagus is best steamed, preferably as full spears. Just don’t steam for more than a handful of minutes; you don’t want it soft and mushy but very slightly crunchy.

Cook with your pasta or noodles. This is the one time it is excusable to boil asparagus. If you’re doing a pasta dish to include asparagus (and you should), you want the asparagus to be added late on so it doesn’t get over cooked, but it may not cook best in the ragu. As you’re boiling your pasta add the prepared spears about 2-3 minutes before the pasta is done. If the pasta is being added to the ragu, just drain it and tip in the pasta and asparagus together. If you want to serve the pasta separately, then remove the asparagus with a perforated spoon before draining the pasta.
Asparagus goes will in stir-fry too, so you can do the same with noodles: if you’re cooking dried noodles in hot water (usually for 5-6 minutes), add the asparagus at the same time as the noodles. Drain as before.

Now two recipe tips …

Asparagus with butter & parmesan starter. You will want 4-6 spears per person. Lightly cook the whole asparagus spears and serve hot on individual plates with a nob of butter and plenty of shaved parmesan. The first time I did this was for a dinner party; I knew it would work but one of the guests wasn’t so sure until he tried it and said it was excellent.

Cold in salad. Asparagus goes well in a mixed salad with tomato and herbs (of your choice); but for my money it doesn’t want to be raw. You’ll want the spears cut into 2-3cm lengths (match the size to the rest of the salad); you can cut before or after being cooked. Steam the asparagus and remove from the heat just before it’s done; leave it aside to cool (it’ll continue to cook a bit). When cool add to the salad and toss with an oil and lemon dressing.

There’s so much more you can do with asparagus; it’s incredibly versatile. Just Google “asparagus recipes”.

Enjoy your asparagus while you can. The season is all too short, and I don’t like having it shipped across the globe.