You can never please fussy eaters, but at least I tried... Cod with Black Olives and Tomatoes

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I so lurrrrvvvvvee fish. But, chez Lola and Finn, I am the only one who does. It means that fish is usually only cooked as a special treat for me if Phill is working away. It's a little thing that says, "Yes, you are without the person who keeps you on the straight and narrow, but here is some sea bream to make you feel a little better about it all. Open some wine, it'll all be cool." 

 

But sometimes you need to dispense with a situation in which means that you please everyone but yourself, and make clear to all those doubters the fact that fish is good for you, and judicious choices of fish based on sustainability, coupled with some pretty damn fine ingredients are all you need to create something simple and delicious. That was the line I used to convince the fishyphobes around me with varying degrees of success. Lola and Finn were willing participants and Phill, well, if he didn't like it, he would probably make himself cheese on toast.

 

The simplicity of this dish, which I adapted from my little 'GoodFood 101 Mediterranean Dishes' is ideal for a weeknight where it seems that everything is going on around you like a vortex. Brownies, football, kids' homework, dirty PE kits, those year 8 books that it looks as though I won't get round to marking AGAIN can all be happening whilst this wonderful dish is created by just basically assembling it and leaving it a little while. The rest of your life might be a complete shambles but at least dinner is quite good.

 

The verdict? Well, Lola and Finn actually ate quite a bit of this, and whilst it might not rival the mighty chicken nugget in culinary awesomeness, there weren't as many moans as I anticipated. Phill? Well after dissecting it all with the meticulousness of a brain surgeon, because he was on the hunt for the inevitable bone which he ALWAYS finds, he ate some of it but the old adage is seemingly true: You can't please all the people all of the time. But don't let him put you off; his sandwich filling of choice when I first met him was peanut butter and cheese. It is possible that I am not dealing with a gourmand here...

 

Fish with Black Olives and Tomatoes, adapted from 'GoodFood 101 Mediterranean Dishes or from here

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad and 1 other

 

Ingredients:

 

175g black olives in oil, stones removed

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1/2 red chilli, deseeded, or 1/4 tsp chilli powder (optional - I used a half a red chilli)

1 tbsp. tomato puree

1/2 tsp dried oregano

400g can chopped tomatoes (Buy the best chopped tomatoes you can - I buy the San Manzano ones or chopped cherry tomatoes if you can get them).

4 boneless white fish fillets such as Icelandic cod or hoki, each weighing about 175g/6oz (I used cod)

chopped parsley

lemon wedges

 

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6.

 

 

 

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil from the olives in an ovenproof pan. Tip in the onion and stir well, leave to cook for a minute or two and then give it another good stir. Add the tomatoes and some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then add the olives.

 

 

 

Put the fish, skin side down, onto the sauce and drizzle over a splash more oil from the olive jar. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes until the fish is cooked. Check the seasoning once again. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve straight from the pan, with lemon wedges for squeezing over. To accompany this, I roasted some small potatoes in olive oil and seasoning.

A Tale of Two Kormas - Creamy Chicken Korma

 

Whilst we all know that the quickest way to a man's heart is a six inch knife through the chest; the other, less gruesome way is through his stomach. In fact, the wooing of Phill involved, amongst other things, some carefully selected and cooked meals - lasagne, beef stroganoff, croissant bread and butter pudding, all of which I don't believe I have ever blogged about and maybe, right there, lies a series of themed posts for Valentine's Day. Anyway, one night, very early in our fledgling relationship, he told me that a) he likes cooking and b) he cooks a mean korma. The description he then gave was quite mouth watering: you have to start the day before because it is such a complex process, it involves rendering a pound on onions down to almost nothing, yadda yadda yadda...

 

Nearly 13 years on, I am yet to taste this korma.

 

He mentions it every so often, usually when I am making curry and he comes wandering into the kitchen, enticed by the heady smells of herbs and spices, gets a spoon out the drawer, tastes the sauce I am cooking and gives the 'quality control' verdict, but he has never got round to making me his korma, which has taken on mythical proportions since it was first mentioned all those years ago. He does cook on occasions - he once made steak pizzeola, which tasted absolutely lush but my enthusiasm was dampened a little when I realised he had used every plate, dish and bowl in the kitchen to create his masterpiece and I was in charge of washing up...  But he can cook, but never the dish I thought he might cook...

 

Which brings me to this korma. This is from Neven Maguire's 'Food from the Sun'. He is an Irish chef who I discovered whilst on maternity leave, watching the 'GoodFood' channel in the afternoon, drifting in and out of consciousness whilst I had a plus 9lb baby writhing inside me who kept waking me up,,,(thank you Finn). I remember that I liked his kitchen and I liked the dishes he created, so I bought his book and have cooked from it here and here.

 

He calls this an authentic korma - to be honest I wouldn't know. What I do know is that it is pretty easy, does not involve a pound of onions and I did not have to start the day before. In fact, start to finish it took about an hour. It's a very comforting dish and Lola and Finn really like it, despite the touch of latent heat it exudes, just when you think it is only going to give flavour. I might use it as a lever to try and get Phill to make a korma...

 

Creamy Chicken Korma - adapted from 'Food from the Sun' by Neven Maguire

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum, Dad and one other

 

Ingredients:

 

 

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped (I used three - I like an oniony curry)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp finely grated root ginger

1 green chilli, seeded and chopped finely 

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp chilli powder

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp tomato puree

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

150ml double cream (or to taste - you might need more, depending on how far down you have reduced the sauce)

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Method:

 

 

 

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic until for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Stir in the ginger and green chilli, and cook for 1 minute, stirring.

 

 

 

Add the garam masala to the pan with the turmeric, chilli powder and a pinch of salt and cook for another minute, stirring. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and bring to the boil stirring continuously.

 

 

 

Add four tablespoons of water, (actually - I added about 150ml of water and a chicken stock cube at this point) stir well to combine, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes until the sauce is well reduced.

 

 

 

Cut the chicken into 2.5cm (1in) cubes and then add to the reduced down sauce. Slowly bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and completely tender.

 

 

 

Stir in the cream and simmer gently for another few minutes until well combined. Season to taste.

 

 

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To serve, arrange the basmati rice and chicken korma on warmed plates and scatter over the coriander.

 

Bank Holiday, Some Lindeman Wine and a Roast, Spanish Style! - Pot Roast Spanish Chicken #capturethesunshine

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I didn't really rate bank holidays when I was younger; they became increasingly more appealing when as a student I could work them and get double time to keep myself in weird clothing and Victorian literature, but that was where their allure ended. Until now, that is. Bank Holidays are a little gift which says to you - yes, here is a day off to do what you want with, and the proceeding week is only a four day week so blink and it is Friday again. If only every week started with a Bank Holiday...

 

But, alas, Bank Holidays are all too few and far between and for that reason they must be made the most of, whether it is simply doing nothing because you can, going out and doing something completely different, or inviting a few people around, opening a bottle of wine and cooking something really tasty that fills the house with mouth watering smells. Which is why this weekend I cooked Pot Roast Spanish Chicken, accompanied by Lindeman's 95 Sauvignon Blanc, and filled the house with the chatter of people catching up with the gossip, the clatter of forks and spoons, and the clinking of glasses to toast what was a day of good mood and good food.

 

I adapted this recipe from my recently acquired 'Ginger Pig' Farmhouse cookbook which is full of alsorts of amazing recipes that I cannot wait to try. I cut down the chilli heat of the dish to factor in the fact that there were children around, so the sauce as a result gave a lazy warmth which went well with both the wine and the children. Because of my love of garlic, I mushed the slow cooked cloves of garlic into the winey, chickeny sauce to create something really rather unctuous and full flavoured.

 

I served this with roasties and lots of bon homie. Now, what to cook next Bank Holiday???

 

Pot Roasted Spanish Chicken, adapted from 'Ginger Pig Farmhouse Cookbook' by Tim Wilson and Fran Warde.

 

Feeds Lola, Finn, Mum, Dad x 2 (8 people)

 

Ingredients:

 

3kg (6lb 8oz) good-quality chicken

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sweet paprika

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

.

For the bed of vegetables

 

3 onions, peeled and cut into quarters

3 carrots, peeled and cut into quarters

3 large tomatoes, cut into quarters

2 red chillies, cut into quarters (I used one chilli and scraped the seeds out)

2 heads of garlic, cut in half horizontally (I used only one, but it was truly HUGE!!)

3 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs of thyme

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

400ml (14fl oz) Lindeman's Sauvignon Blanc wine

300g (10½oz) black olives, stoned (I decided, reluctantly, to leave them out...)
Parsley, for scattering over

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

 

Put all the ingredients for the bed of vegetables into a large lidded casserole dish.(I actually used a large roasting tin which I then covered tightly with foil to create the steam).

 

Mix well.

 

Rub the chicken all over with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the paprika and seasoning and rub these into the chicken too.

 

Place the chicken in the dish on top of the vegetables and cover with a tight-fitting lid. (I refer you to how I cooked mine above.

 

Place in the oven for 1½ hours, then remove the lid and cook for a further 20 minutes to crisp up the skin. At this point I removed the chicken to a separate place to rest, whilst I reduced the sauce in the bottom of the roasting tin on top of the hob. Then, as described above, I squeezed the soft garlic out of its skin and mashed it into the sauce.

Serve the pot roast chicken immediately with rice or pasta....or roast potatoes and a glass or two of Lindeman's Sauvignon Blanc!

 

We had Summer last week and this is what we cooked... - Thai Style Marinated Pork with Chilli Dressing

 

 

Ah Summer. That one day of the year in England when the sun comes out, and the results are profound. Flesh that has been hidden for the 364 days previously is revealed and consequently burned, Argos sells out of inflatable swimming pools, and any shops that sell either bread, burgers, beer and charcoal have their shelves decimated of these items as soon as the doors open and if you leave it too late on in the day to decide you are getting the barbecue out, then you will be left with some squashed sliced white and the odd vegetarian sausage to try and get the best out of. Which I suppose is okay if you are a vegetarian...

 

I have to say though that I am a bit of a miserable bitch and the thoughts of getting the barbeqce out does not fill me with brimming joy. It is mainly to do with the feeling of having to create stuff to go with it, like salad, or else scrabbling through the cupboard for the burger relish that you remember using the previous summer and there is no way you are going out and getting another one (if you are me, that is...) And then there are the accompaniments to the burger, and slicing the bread, and keeping the flies off the food, and keeping the kids away from the barbecue and because of my disorganised nature I always seem to be traipsing back to the kitchen for something. And another thing, whilst I am not averse to a tasty burger, I am sick of having them off barbecues. It is like that is all there ever seems to be...

 

So I got out some pork fillet. I buy so many pork fillets for great prices because I don't think anybody who shops where I shop actually knows what to do with them. I decided to adapt Bill Granger's recipe for Thai Marinated Pork and Chilli Dressing from his book Easy Food, where he marinated pork chops for this, and it worked a treat. Cooking the pork fillet over the coals created meat that was succulent and tasty and it was just so nice to taste something different. This is different, and next year when Summer comes again, you should try it.

 

Thai Style Marinated Pork with Chilli Dressing, adapted from 'Easy Food' by Bill Granger

 

My adaptations in red

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad.

 

Ingredients:

 

4 brown shallots, sliced (I used a medium sized onion)

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Handful coriander, including stems, coarsely chopped

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp caster sugar

4 pork cutlets (I used 420g pork fillet)

Olive oil

 

For the sauce

 

2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. caster sugar
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp. thinly sliced spring onion
1/4 cucumber, seeds  removed, finely chopped

 

Method:

 

Tastes better than it looks!!!

 

Place shallots, ginger, garlic, coriander, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, sea salt and pepper in a food processor and whiz to a paste.

 

Still tastes better than it looks...

 

Transfer to a shallow, non-metallic dish and add the pork.

 

Mix well, then cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. (I left mine for an hour and a half)

 

Preheat a barbecue or chargrill pan to medium-high heat and brush lightly with oil.

 

 

 

Grill the pork for about 4 -5 minutes on four 'sides' (you might have to squash it a bit to do this) or until cooked to your liking.

 

For the chilli dressing, place vinegar, sugar and fish sauce in a bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved.

 

 

 

Stir in chilli, spring onion and cucumber.

 

 

 

Serve pork with cucumber, chilli dressing. In a completely authentic Thai way, I got some tortilla wraps and just put the meat and the dressing on that. Messy but really tasty!

Great Nosh, Rogan Josh!

 

 

 

I think lamb, tomatoes and coriander are a great mixture wherever you put them together, but in a curry they are sublime. I didn't always feel that way though and I was put off rogan josh for a long time because off the vats of it they used to serve up of it when I was at university. Huge cauldrons of brick red slop being sloshed onto overcooked rice was enough to put even the hardened curry "How hot is this exactly?" aficionado off for life. And then there was the smell... Normally on 'Curry Tuesday' I would grab a sandwich and leave for somewhere far more pleasant, even if it was outside and it was cold. The more I think of it now, the more I think this concoction can only have come from dubious origins as curry really shouldn't smell that way. It should be enticing, complex, heady. This wasn't.

However, this rogan josh smelt great as it was bubbling away for an hour or so. I went outside to do a couple of jobs and when I returned to the house was bursting with exotic smells. And a scattering of coriander to finish brought the colours and flavours to life.

This recipe is a hybrid of my knowledge of making curry, what a rogan josh is, and what I had in the fridge and cupboard. I tempered the heat a little as Lola and Finn are not fond of anything too spicy, and any of the offending heat was all but extinguished with generous dollops of cream after I had served those who like it spicy. Though when I say spicy, this was never going to be 'blow your head off' territory for I have ever believed that sweating and eating go together. Eating should be a pleasure, not a feat of endurance.

 

Rogan Josh

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

 

Ingredients:

 

20g ghee or unsalted butter

400g cubed lamb leg

1tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp. ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chilli powder (or more to taste)

2cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated

2 - 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

225g - 275g onions, finely sliced

coriander stalks

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 can of tinned tomatoes, chopped or whole

150ml lamb stock (I made it with a stock cube)

salt and pepper

50 - 90ml double cream (or to taste)

coriander leaves for garnish

 

Method:

 

Melt the butter/ghee is a suitable pot/casserole, etc.

 

 

Fry the lamb so that it gets a good colour. Remove to a plate.

 

Turn the heat down low and add the spices, garlic and ginger and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Be sure not to let the garlic burn.

 

 

 

Increase the heat and add the lamb back to the pan with any juices. Cook the lamb for a further 3 or 4 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any residue. Then add the sliced onions and cook for five minutes or so until they are soft and becoming translucent.

 

 

 

Add the coriander stalks, puree, the tinned tomatoes, mix well and cook for two or three minutes then add the lamb stock and season. Bring the pot up to the boil, cover and simmer for about an hour, checking every now and then that the mixture isn't catching.

 

 

 

After an hour or so, taste for seasoning. Add the cream and taste again. If there is too much sauce or the sauce is runny, boil the mixture, uncovered, for a few minutes until the mixture is of the desired consistency. Taste again and season if necessary.

 

Gotta have Tiger with a curry!

 

 

Serve over rice with a scattering of coriander leaves.