Bubble and Squeak!

Christmas is well and truly over. They have even collected the trees. The kids are back at school and there is absolutely no excuse at all for not having written a blog last week - apart from the fact that I just haven't managed to find the time.  

I seemed to be endlessly cooking over the Christmas break but funnily enough, of all the meals, I think it was Bubble and Squeak on Boxing Day which I enjoyed the best.  A classic use-up dish of all the left over vegetables from Sunday Lunch, my Boxing Day creation was a luxurious version of half my Riverford Christmas Vegetable Box including Brussel Sprouts, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots and celeriac with added bacon, sautéed onions and a fried egg on top.  

The name originates from the sound of the vegetables cooking which are supposedly meant to make a bubbling and squeaking sound as they fry, although I have to confess mine have always let me down but even so, it is undoubtedly a perfect Brunch.  

This got me thinking about other variations of vegetables that I could use up this way.  Obviously you can add all sorts of flavourings, spices and herbs but there are endless vegetables which could also be substituted as well.  I have a glut of beetroot in my fridge this week, so I started thinking how I could incorporate them. I also had left-over cabbage from Sunday Lunch so in that went as well and I decided to served it all up with some Smoked Salmon, a big dollop of Horseradish and a poached egg. Maybe my Beetroot Bubble and Squeak was more a Beetroot Rosti or perhaps even it was more of a hash but whatever it was, it was damn good. 

So many other left-over vegetables can be given a new lease of life this way. The variations are endless, so get inventing!

Classic Bubble and Squeak
If you are worried about flipping your bubble and squeak over, you could just make hamburger shaped cakes from the mix and fry them off individually. Also makes a great vegetarian meal if you just leave out the bacon.

1 tbsp Olive oil,  ducks fat or goose fat
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, chopped into lardons
1 onion, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
15-20 cooked Brussels sprouts or leftover cooked shredded cabbage
400 g cold leftover roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, celeriac, swede  turnips or any other vegetables that you have.
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Heat the oil or fat in a heavy bottomed all metal frying pan, allow it to get nice and hot, then add the bacon. Fry until brown and crispy.Turn down the heat and add the onion and sauté until soft and golden brown. And the garlic and briefly fry. Put all the cold potatoes and vegetables together with the cooked onion into a food processor and pulse briefly. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Add back to the frying pan and push down and fry over a medium heat for a few minutes, ensuring an even heat all over the bottom of the pan. Put the whole frying pan in the oven and cook through for about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place a large plate over the frying pan.  Flip over so that the bubble and squeak is on the plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Beetroot Bubble and Squeak
The ratio of beetroot to potato should be roughly equal.  If you add too much beetroot it will be too wet as beetroot has a much higher water content.
1 tablespoon of 
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic
4 roasted beetroot, skins removed
6 or 7 cooked roast potatoes
A large handful of steamed cabbage
A teaspoon of caraway seeds (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Heat the oil or fat in a heavy bottomed all metal frying pan and add the onion and sauté until soft and golden brown. And the garlic and briefly fry. Put the onion, potatoes, cabbage and caraway in a food processor and pulse until well mixed.  Remove the processor blade and put on a grater attachment  Grate the beetroot.  Mix everything briefly together and season well with salt and black pepper. Add back to the frying pan and push down and fry over a medium heat for a few minutes, ensuring an even heat all over the bottom of the pan. Put the whole frying pan in the oven and cook through for about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place a large plate over the frying pan.  Flip over so that the bubble and squeak is on the plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Clever Confit

Cooking seems to be getting ever-more complicated. Nobody just puts food in the oven now a days.  It must be at the very least - brined for a week, smoked for a day, braised in the Sous-vide overnight and finished on the Josper grill. Well, maybe only if you are after a Michelin star but here is a trick which is super easy and extraordinary good. And what is more is really great for entertaining because it is cooked already and all you have to do is reheat it. 

Confit is a medieval method of preserving meat by salting it and then cooking it and conserving it, by submerging it in fat. The fat prevents any oxidisation and this method was commonly used to preserve meat before the invention of the refrigerator, especially in the South-West of France. The original word "confit" was the term used for preserving fruit in sugar, hence the French word for jam - "confiture", but now refers to mainly fatty cuts of meat such as goose, duck and pork, as traditionally it should be confited in its own fat. These tougher cuts of meat tend to be the cheapest but I have to admit, as much as I love a bargain, I am not fond of lumps of unctuous fat and I usually tend to steer clear of pork belly.  The beauty about this method of cooking though, is that practically all the fat is rendered away during the cooking process, just leaving you with succulent meat and the crispiest skin you ever ate. The most important thing however, is that you start with a nice meaty piece of free-range belly. You do not want a piece of solid fat, so choose carefully. For a more Kosher option try duck legs. They are equally delicious and equally versatile to use up in Cassolet and Garbure.

I salt and flavour the meat over-night with a dry rub. Some prefer to brine it but I don't think it is necessary. This cut of meat is also immensely popular in Asia, so when it comes to flavourings, I tend to go one of two ways - classic French incorporating Thyme, Black Peppercorns, Juniper and Fennel Seeds or Chinese style with Star Anise or five spice, ginger, Sichuan pepper and Soy. Interestingly these combination of flavours, from two such diverse countries, have much in common.  Time and time again we can see that the great recipes from across the world have evolved with so many similarities, simply because they work and stand the test of time. Indeed, both countries would agree that fatty meats such as duck or pork belly are best served with a sweet/sour accompaniment to cut the fat. In France this would traditionally be braised red cabbage; in China maybe a plum sauce. 

This method of cooking is once again tremendously fashionable and a modern twist would be to serve your pork belly with smoked eel, beetroot and horseradish or maybe with seared scallops, cauliflower puree and crisp pork popcorn but whatever you serve it with I guarantee it will be amazing.  After all it has withstood the test of time.

Duck Confit
If you are wish to preserve the duck legs then you will need to salt them for a couple of days, but if you are planning to eat them imminently then 12 hours is plenty. I always chuck a few cooked new potatoes in with the duck in the oven.  Cut them lengthways and place them cut side down in the pan. They will roast beautifully in the duck fat and are ready when they are crisp and golden brown.

4 large duck legs
30g rock salt
1 tbsp Juniper, crushed
1 tbsp black peppercorns
4 Garlic cloves, sliced
4 Sprigs thyme or rosemary
800g duck fat (in most supermarkets) melted

Scatter the salt into a flat dish. Lay the duck legs on the salt, skin side down. Distribute the crushed juniper, peppercorns, garlic and herbs evenly over. Cling film, press with a weight and marinate overnight (12 hours). 

Wash off the marinade and pat dry with kitchen cloth, place the duck legs, skin side down in a saucepan. Cover with the melted duck fat and bring the temperature to 85ºC, cook for 3 hours in a preheated oven (95- 100°). You know you have reached the temperature 85/90ºC, there is no bubble breaking the surface; the fat is kept just under simmering point. I cook mine in the slow-cooker on low for 5 hours. Alastair Little says you know when they are done as it will be "showing a lot of bone as the meat rides up like a mini-skirt on a white thigh." With a slotted spoon lift the leg out of the duck fat and reserve.

In a dry heavy based pan on medium heat, crisp and colour the duck legs on the skin side 5 – 7 minutes until golden brown. If your duck legs have been in the fridge then roast the duck legs in a hot oven, skin side down for about 15-20 mins until hot all the way through and the skin is totally golden brown and crisp. 

Chinese Style Crisp Confit Belly of Pork with Caramel Sauce
You can use any herbs or spices you like to flavour the pork belly. Just decide what you want to serve it with and use complimentary seasonings.

1 piece free-range British pork belly,pork belly (skin on) around 1.25kg in weight
2 tbsp. rock salt
1 tbsp Five Spice (Peppercorns, Star Anise  Cloves, Cinnamon, and Fennel Seeds.)
Large know of fresh ginger, pealed and sliced
Small head of Garlic, sliced through lengthways
800g duck fat (in most supermarkets) melted, or pork fat if you have it.

Rub the flesh of the pork all over with the five spice apart from the skin.  Scatter a flat dish with the salt.  Place the pork skin side down on the salt and place the garlic and ginger on the top.  Cover with cling-film and press in the fridge for 12 hours. Wash off the marinade and pat dry with kitchen cloth and place the pork, skin side down in a saucepan. Cover with the melted duck fat and bring the temperature to 85ºC, cook for 3 hours in a preheated oven (95- 100°). You know you have reached the temperature 85/90ºC, there is no bubble breaking the surface; the fat is kept just under simmering point. I cook mine in the slow-cooker on low for 5 hours. You should be able to insert and remove a skewer very easily all the way through the thickest part of the meat and skin.  Remove from the fat and press once more in the fridge to insure a flat skin surface. This helps when roasting.  When ready to use, cut into strips or cubes (it is very difficult to cut the skin neatly once cooked as it is so crisp). Place skin side down in a heavy based saucepan with a little of the fat.  Start crisping up the skin, but be careful as it can spit. Roast in a hot oven until hot all the way through and the   skin in totally crisp and brown.

Caramel Sauce:
100g palm or soft brown or demarara sugar
5tbsp dark soy sauce
1 red chillies, chopped
2cm (3/4in) piece grated ginger
1tbsp Sesame oil
Freshly squeezed Lime

Put the sugar in a pan and gradually melt until boiling. When caramelised add the soy to stop it cooking.  Be careful as it may splutter. Return to the heat and add the chilli and ginger.  Heat until all the sugar is incorporated. Add the sesame oil and lime to taste.

Perfect Pasties

As I was making the kids sandwiches, yet again, for their school lunch-boxes, I thought how nice it would be to be able to give them something different for a change. A home-made Cornish pasty sprang to mind.  What a great way of using up vegetables and nourishing the kids at the same time. 

Cornish pasties date back to the 13th Century, during the reign of Henry III. They were eaten by poorer working families who could only afford cheap ingredients such as potatoes, swede and onion. Meat was added later. Miners and farm workers took this portable and easy to eat convenience food with them to work because it was so well suited to the purpose. Its size and shape made it easy to carry, its pastry case insulated the contents and was durable enough to survive, while its wholesome ingredients provided enough sustenance to see the workers through their long and arduous working days. The crust (crimped edge) was used as a handle which was then discarded due to the high levels of arsenic in many of the tin mines.  Luckily, now a days we can eat all the pastry but the classic mix of beef, swede, onion and potato is set in stone and it would be considered sacrilege to modify these ingredients in any way.  

But your pasty does not have to be Cornish.  In fact it could come from almost anywhere and contain whatever you like or have to hand.  It is a fabulous way of using up left over root vegetables which always are in abundance throughout the winter months. Carrots, celeriac, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes and squashes all work fantastically well.  It could be meat free but it certainly makes a little meat go a long way. Just remember whatever you put in your pasty, it must be cut pretty small and must all cook in the same time. Because the ingredients go in raw, unlike most pies the filling must cook before the pastry burns.  But fear not. As long as the pieces in your filling are never any larger than about 1cm, it always somehow seems to work. 

My next top tip for busy cooks, is ready made, ready rolled shortcrust pasty.  The supermarkets have really got their acts together on the pastry front and you can find a good selection of all-butter pastries in the chilled or freezer section.  Check the ingredients and make sure that they contain little more than butter and flour and you can guarantee that they will be good.  

Last of all I recommend that you make up a large batch because they disappear really fast. They freeze brilliantly - I wasn't expecting you to get up a 5.00am and make them from scratch each morning for the kids lunch-box. I freeze them, uncooked and simply put them in the oven first thing in the morning and they are ready to go about 45 minutes later. Then straight in the lunch-box and they might even be still be warm by lunch time.  What better way to sustain your little miners.

Cornish Pasties

400g/14oz good-quality beef skirt or rump steak (very lean, no fat or gristle.)
200g/7oz waxy potatoes such as Charlotte (I didn't even peel mine.)
200g/7oz swede 
175g/6oz onions
salt and freshly ground black pepper
knob of butter
Ready rolled all-butter shortcrust pasty
1 egg, lightly whisked
Chop the potatoes into cubes, no bigger than 1 cms.  Peel the sweed and do the same.  Trim any fat or gristle from the meat and cut into small cubes, about 1cm.  Chop the onion fairly finely and mix together with the other ingredients and plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lightly grease a baking tray with butter or line with baking or silicone paper. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. (If baking from frozen then 160C.) Cut your pasty in to discs roughly 15cms wide.  I use a small bowl to cut round. Spoon some mixture into the middle of each disk and top with a knob of butter. Then bring the pastry around and crimp together.  I find the ready rolled pastry stick fine. Do not get the pastry wet or that will stop is sealing. A genuine Cornish pasty has a distinctive ‘D’ shape and is crimped on one side, never on top but I like mine the other way.  It is up to you. Just make sure it is well sealed and has plenty of filling. Put the pasties onto the baking tray and brush the top of each pasty with the egg. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the pasties are golden-brown. (If baking from frozen allow up to 45 minutes.) 

Eat Your Veg

As I may have mentioned, one of my many jobs is trying to inspire people how to use up a weekly organic veg box. I go to peoples houses and in two hours cook up a lunch for up to 10 people, from a medium veg box. None of the recipes are complicated, but I have to admit that when I get home from work, often the last thing I feel like doing is cooking. So I am going to share with you the ultimate easy, quick recipe for using up lots of veg, which also keeps kids and adults happy alike and it is none other than "a bake".

A "bake" really doesn't conjure up a good image for me - vegetable bake, tuna bake, cheesy bake - just the names fill me with repulsion. But there is no reason why a bake should not be a beautiful thing and happily it is always all baked in one pan, which saves on washing up.

I don't know about you, but when it comes to it my kids, aged 5 and 7, they are happiest eating nothing more complicated that some meat or fish, some potatoes and some vegetables. But it is so important to keep it varied, interesting and full of flavour. So this first recipe is just very simply a selection of all your families favourite vegetables, baked all together with a lovely piece of fresh wild salmon.. Choose a selection of seasonal vegetables which compliment rather than overpower the fish. This dish also makes a great alternative to a roast at the week-end especially when entertaining. If you want to impress, make a lovely Salsa Verde , some Salmoriglio or even a delicious Anchovy and Rosemary Sauce to drizzle over your fish.

The second recipe is similar but involves sausages instead of fish. I choose a selection of sausages. Some plain ones for the kids, some spicy ones for the adults. Chorizo style sausages work particularly well and add a smoky note. The sausages stand up to stronger flavoured vegetables - onions, shallots, swede, celeriac or parnips. This is a really good way of using up vegetables at the end of the week from your veg box. And, if you have got a lot of veg to use up, you can always leave out the fish or meat and just have the baked veg. It is just delicious on it's own.

Fillet of Wild Salmon and Vegetable Bake 
I only eat wild salmon, when in season, as I find farmed salmon is too fatty for me. There seems to be a good supply of sustainable Alaskan Wild Salmon available, very reasonable and full of flavour. ObviousIy I would prefer to shop more locally than Alaska so If you are worried about your carbon footprint then at least make sure that the vegetables are locally sourced. The selection of vegetables is up to you but the is my favourite. Beetroot or bitter leaves such as Radicchio or Trevise are also lovely with salmon.  One last tip about salmon: don't over cook it.  As soon as you see white liquid coming out of the salmon, that is albumin and it’s a protein, and is a sign that you salmon is done. Remove immediately from the oven and your fish should be still pink and juicy inside.

2 generous slices of wild salmon, with or without skin
2 bulbs fennel, trimmed of excess outer leaves, save fronds 
2 baby courgettes, cut in half
Large handful of cherry tomatoes
Couple of handfuls of New Potatoes, boiled in salted water until cooked
1 Bunch of Asparagus, woody stem snapped off
Extra Virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Cut the fennel into 4 or 6 pieces lengthways, depending on size.  Cut the potatoes in half or if very small leave whole. In a large baking dish toss all of the vegetables with 3-5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Make sure the tin is big enough.  If the vegetables are too crowded they will sweat instead of bake. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Try and make sure that the potatoes are facing down and that the fennel is also flat side down.  The more surface area that comes into contact with the bottom of the pan, the easier the vegetables will brown. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove the pan from the oven and push the vegetables to one side. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and place it in empty space you made in the baking dish. Return the dish to the oven and bake
for another 10 minutes, based on thickness of the salmon. Scatter with the chopped fennel
fronds.

All sauce recipes are adapted from The River Cafe.
Salsa Verde
I vary this recipe according to what I am serving it with.  I prefer to go easy on the mint as it can end up tasting a bit toothpasty and instead I opt for basil, dill, chives or the fronds from the fennel tops.  Just get a good tasting balance.
1 large bunch Flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 bunch Mint leaves
Very good extra-virgin olive oil
3 Garlic cloves
100g Capers
50g Anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Red-wine vinegar

In a food processor chop the garlic, capers and anchovies. Add the mustard and vinegar, season and add some olive oil and purée until well amalgamated.  Add all the herbs and whiz and more olive oil to achieve desired consistency.

Salmoriglio
In a pestle and mortar, pound 4 level tablespoons fresh Thyme or Marjoram or a very good quality dried Oregano with 1 teaspoon sea salt until completely crushed. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Pour 8 tablespoons of very good, peppery extra virgin olive oil slowly into the mixture. Add a little freshly ground black pepper. 

Anchovy and Rosemary Sauce

2 tbsp. fresh young rosemary leaves, very finely chopped
12 anchovy fillets
Juice of 1 lemon
150mls very good extra-virgin olive oil

Place rosemary leaves in a mortar and grind as finely as possible. Add anchovy fillets and grind to a paste. Add lemon juice, mix well, and then, stirring constantly, add oil, a few drops at a time. Transfer sauce to a small bowl.

Sausage Bake with Vegetables
You can use all sorts of vegetables in this dish. I like to use up whatever I have left in the fridge.

Some good quality sausages
1 Red Pepper, cut into largish chuncks
A handful or two of cherry tomatoes
1/2 a butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 2 cms chunks
2 parsnips, cut in 4 or 6 lengthways, depending on size
4 small shallots, pealed
1 or 2 Red onions cut into 8 wedges
A handful of New Potatoes, cooked in pleanty of salted water, cut in half
1 Bunch of Asparagus, woody stem snapped off
Extra Virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
A bunch of thyme

Preheat your oven to 200°C. Toss all the vegetables in plenty of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in a large roasting tray with the sausages.  Make sure they are not overcrowded or they will sweat rather than bake.  Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring well half-way through.

Phở Good

Vietnamese is the new Thai.  Restaurants such as Pho Cafe and Bahn Mi 11 are popping up everywhere. With their use of lots of fresh vegetables and herbs, the food is somehow even cleaner, fresher and zingyer than Thai.  From the Goi Cuon (Summer Rolls), which are like a salad, rolled up in rice paper to the" Pho", Vietnam's national dish, a delicious broth with flat rice noodles,  flavoured with spices and finished with loads of fresh herbs and chilli, it is all really exciting and vibrant.  


Phở (actually pronounced fuh) is traditionally a beef based broth made with left over bones including leg bones with plenty of marrow, charred onion, charred ginger and spices including cinnamon, star anise, black cardamom, coriander seed, fennel seed, and clove. The broth takes a few hours to cook and is finally served with lots of accompaniments including flank steak, beansprouts, spring onions, fresh coriander, mint, Thai basil, fresh chillis and finally, a squeeze of lime.  These garnishes are added by the dinner, which is what keeps the whole dish so fresh and lively. The Vietnamese are also fond of adding the famous "Rooster Sauce" (to use it's more polite name), to their Pho, as well as Hoi Sin Sauce which seems a bit of a shame considering the lengths they go to to make their super tasty stock. But what really attracted me to this dish in particular is that it was so good at using up left-over bones.  Roast chicken is a family favourite in our house. A good medium free-range bird is about £5.00 and can still feed my family, with two smallish kids, very generously.  But the thought of getting another meal out of the scraps, always makes me happy.  My mother of course, would have religiously made Chicken Soup with any left-overs and don't get me wrong, nothing can beat it, but sometimes you fancy a change.  


Every culture seems to have a variation on making the most of an expensive luxury, such as meat and in our current situation of economic downturn many of us are looking at ways to make the pennies go further.  With a hint of spring in the air, I am pining for cleaner, fresher flavours but still needing a damn good kick of heat to warm me up, in this somewhat bracing start to March and take my word for it, nothing is more perfect than Pho.

Phở Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)
Makes enough for 4
Broth
1 left over organic free-range chicken carcass plus any bones
1 large onion peeled and cut in quarters
1 large head of garlic, cut in half
Very large knob of fresh ginger, sliced in half lengthwise
roots and stems of 1 bunch of coriander
2 whole star anise
8 cloves
1 stick of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

3 Black cardamon pods
1 teaspoon palm sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
salt (or to taste)

for serving
16 ounces dried phở noodles
4 spring onions, chopped
Large handful of beansprouts
Coriander, freshly chopped

Mint, freshly chopped

Thai Basil, freshly chopped

Fresh Red and Green Chillis

Limes
Sriracha hot chili sauce
Hoisin sauce (optional)


Pick of all the nice bits of meat from your chicken and shred it up. Put into the fridge. Place the onion, garlic and ginger in a roasting tray and put under a full grill, turning often. You want the surface to be partly blackened as it adds a wonderful smoky flavor to the soup without making it bitter.  Just before they are ready, add all your spices and toast lightly.  Place the chicken bones into a large saucepan.  (You can use a slow-cooker set for 8 hours on slow). Add all the other ingredients for the soup around the chicken. Add water until the top of the bones are just covered. Bring to a boil over high heat. When the water comes to a boil turn right down and cook very slowly for 3 hours. Soak the dried pho noodles in warm water for about 30 minutes to rehydrate them. Chop up your condiments and have them ready. When your broth is done, strain it through a fine mesh sieve and skim off any excess fat. Taste the soup, add more fish sauce if necessary and then check for salt. Add more as necessary.

Drain the noodles and add them to the hot soup. Split the noodles between 4 bowls and top with the chicken and then ladle on the hot broth.

Serve this all the accompaniments and everybody just helps themselves.                                         

                                    

   


Tales of Pigling Bland is hosting Fuss Free Flavours' "Frugal Food Fridays" this month.  I thought this was a perfect recipe.


Being so green, I thought it fitting for an entry at Very Good Recipes for a Saint-Patrick's Day Challenge.

Less is More!

People at the moment seem to be choosing to eat less meat. It has become a bit fashionable to concentrate more on the vegetables, hence the massive serge in celebrity chef cook books about vegetables, as they all fight to jump on the bandwagon. Admittedly Jane Grigson wrote her vegetable book a good while ago and then her daughter Sophie followed suit with her own version some years ago. Nigel Slater has been banging on about growing and cooking your own for quite a while now, but then Sarah Raven, the queen of gardnening pawn, has just published her "Garden Cookbook" and even Hugh Fernley-Whitingstall dumped his signiture meaty dishes for the veg. And mark my words, there will be a glut of more veg books to come, in the near future. 

Some of this veg revival is economical. Growing your own is de riguere right now and shame on you if you are not on an allotment waiting list. Also the price of meat is demanding a reassessment in how much and how often we can afford to eat it. The fashion is to eat better quality meat but less of it and let the vegetables take pride of place on the plate. Secondly of course there are many good health reasons to eat less meat, mainly in an aim to cut down on the dreaded saturated fats.

Apart from vegetables, other great ways of making your meat go further, is to add carbohydrate such as grains, pasta and rice. Poorer cultures have learnt out of necessity how to make a little feed more and it is to these cuisines which we should turn if we want to learn a thing or two. So I have relentlessly been researching dishes from all around the world to bring you the very best ideas in saving money, saving your health and yet still producing delicious food. I have come to the conclusion that rice is a very good place to start.

Rice is such a fantastic food. It is an excellent source of fuel for our body and easily digested so the energy it supplies becomes quickly available to our working muscles, brain and body organs. Carbohydrates fill you up and around 85% of the energy that rice supplies comes from carbohydrate. Carbohydrate powers the body and helps to keep us moving. It is stored in our muscles and liver and released when we need it. Rice does actually provide a little protein as well but it is low in fat and cholesterol free.

I am convinced that although fad diets will come and go, eating a well balance diet of mainly fruit and vegetables and carbohydrate with a less amount of protein and dairy, is and will always be, the healthiest and most sensible way to not get fat and to loose weight if you need to.

Rice is present in so many countries cuisines that you can find fantastic recipes from all over the world. One recipe which seems to turn up in several different countries alone is Arroz Con Pollo, simply meaning Chicken with Rice. I found recipes from pretty much every country which Spain ever colonised at one time or another and that is quite numerous, including Central and South America, North Africa, the Caribbean, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. I love it when a recipe, clearly from one county, in this case Spain, turns up, almost identical, across the other side of the world in a country such as the Philippines. Why has it been passed country to country, one generation to the next? Because it has stood the test of time and it works.  

Arroz Con Pollo

I cooked mine in the slow cooker but you can just as easily cook on the stove top.
Serves 4
4 free-range chicken thighs, skinned, boned and all excess fat and sinew removed

Olive oil 
3 good quality chorizo sausages, about 200g, cubed
3 fat cloves of garlic, crushed
2 medium onion, finely sliced
Few sticks of Celery, finely chopped

2 red peppers, cored and finely sliced

1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, finely chopped or dried oregano
2 cup water
Large pinch of Saffron

A few fresh bay leaves
2 cup uncooked paella rice (or Risotto rice)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat up a large heavy bottomed saucepan and add a good glug of olive oil. Add the onions and celery and fry until the onions are translucent and just turning golden brown. peppers and cook for five minutes more.  Add the chorizo, herbs and garlic and fry for a few minutes more.  Don't cook for much longer as all the fat will come out of the chorizo. Season to taste. Meanwhile, heat the cup of water in a saucepan and when boiling add the saffron.  Add a teaspoon of salt and remove from heat and allow to infuse. Add the chicken to your peppers, the saffron water and the rice.  Add your bay leaves.  Cover and cook slowly on the stove top for one hour or tip the whole lot into a slow cooker and set on low for 3 hours. 

Waste not ........

It's half-term again and what with horrible cold weather, two fairly ill children (a lot of coughing, especially at night), we are completely broke as usual and the fact that I have no car (Hugh needs it for work), my prospects are looking fairly grim. We need something cheap, fun and entertaining to keep the kids happy. Cooking of course!  Our first venture was sausage rolls.  Primarily because it is one of the few things that my daughter, Amelie, happily eats.  However she is customarily fussy, even about them.  Usual complaints vary from too gristly (often valid); too peppery (her delicate pallet can be a little over-sensitive but even so, she may often have a case); there is some minuscule speck of green in them (down-right picky).  So as a treat I thought we would make them just the way she likes them.  Organic, out-door bread pork mince, not too fatty, no gristle, no seasoning at all, apart from her beloved salt, but not too much and absolutely no herbs. We used ready rolled good quality, all butter puff and in a matter of minutes we had a fabulous hot little snack for lunch.  

I had a little pastry left so we made some pig's ears or to use the more official name Palmiers for tea. Considering how quick and simple the whole procedure was, it was as always, remarkable quite how much clearing up there was to be done afterwards. Still, I felt after this impressive achievement of spending quality time with the kids that I was justified in sitting them in front of a DVD for the next two hours. Well, it was raining!  

Which after extensive clearing up still left me with about an hour spare.  I decided to knock up a couple of scotch eggs which I thought we could have with some salad for dinner.  First of all I seasoned up the pork mix with lots of freshly ground black pepper and a little mace and wrapped it around a couple of soft boiled eggs, which I then panned and deep-fried.  So, lunch, tea and dinner all sorted from half a pound of mince, a few eggs and a packet of puff pastry. And it is a good way of using up old bread.  Pretty economising, even for me!

Sausage Rolls
Add whatever extra flavouring you like to the pork; herbs such as thyme, sage or parsley, mace, nutmeg, lemon zest etc. 
I packet of good quality all butter puff pasty
2 eggs (one for filling and one for egg-wash)
150g outdoor bread pork mince
Couple of handfulls of freshly made breadcrumbs

Put the meat into a large bowl and mix well with your hands. Add a few handfuls of breadcumbs and one of the beaten eggs and seasoning well with black pepper and a little salt.  Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to about a thickness of about ½ cm, and cut into 3 lengthways. Divide the meat into little sausages, as long as your pastry, and roll each one up allowing an overlap.  Paint this with egg-wash before sealing. Slash the top with a knife and brush the outside with more egg-wash. Repeat with the rest of the pastry and meat.  Put the rolls on a baking tray, and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack, and serve warm.

Palmiers
You can flavour these with all sorts of different sugars such as cinnamon, vanilla, cardomon or nutmeg.  Alternatively you could make a savoury variety with parmesan cheese and a little cayenne and decorate with poppy seeds.
Sugar
Puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle. Paint lightly with egg-wash. Sprinkle with lots of sugar (and spices if using) over the dough. Roll up the left vertical side inward, stopping in the middle of the dough. Roll up the right side of the dough. The two rolls should be meeting at the middle and touching. Press the two sides together gently. Starting at one end, cut off pieces of the log, in slices about 1/2 inch in thickness. Lightly sprinkle sugar onto each side. Pinch and press the sides of the two rolls together to ensure that they don't unroll during baking. Place on large parchment lined baking sheets or non-stick tray. They will increase size a little, so leave plenty of room between each. Set the tray in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the sugar has caramelized. Turn if necessary. Allow them to cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

Soft-boiled Scotch Eggs
Add whatever extra flavouring you like to the pork; herbs such as thyme, sage or parsley, mace, nutmeg, lemon zest etc. 
2 large free-range eggs
150g outdoor bread pork
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Couple of handfuls plain flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 free-range egg, beaten (some for the mix and some to pane)
Few handfuls of breadcrumbs (some for the mix and some to pane)
Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Place the eggs, still in their shells, in a large pan of boiling water over a medium heat keep at a gentle rolling boil for exactly five minutes. Drain and cool the eggs immediately under cold running water, then peel. Mix the pork with a few handfuls of breadcrumbs, one of the beaten eggs and some salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Wrap the pork around each egg. Make sure the coating is smooth and completely covers each egg. You want it to be about 1/2 to 3/4 cms thick but It should not be thicker than 1cms or it will not cook. Dip each coated egg in the flour, then the remaining beaten egg, rolling to coat completely, then dip and roll into the breadcrumbs to completely cover.

Heat the oil in a deep heavy-bottomed pan and using a thermometer, heat until about 170 Degrees. Carefully place each scotch egg into the hot oil and deep-fry for at least 10 minutes, turning frequently, until golden and crisp and the sausage meat is completely cooked. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Carefully remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve cool. I like mine with HP sauce.  Class!

Real Slow-cooking

There is a new man in my life.  I have called him Russel. Hugh, the other man in my life, is thrilled.  He is of course my new fantastic slow cooker.  I do sort of see my kitchen machines like fellow cooks, working alongside with me.  I am guilty in the past of having named my Kenwood Chef, Ken and my Robot Coupe, Robert and now I have Russel.  It gets a bit lonely in the kitchen sometimes.

Anyway, I have decided that slow cooking is the future.  First of all, it uses very little electricity, second of all, because it transforms all those cheaper cuts of meat into something totally delicious and third of all, because there is nothing like coming home at the end of the day and having your dinner all hot and ready for you and the house full of the smell of contentment.

However, it is not proving to be all plain sailing. So far, I am on meal three and I must say that, Russel and I are going through a steep learning curve together, like any new relationship I guess.  There are many things I did not at first consider.  First of all, that heat processes, unlike an oven which is dry and intensifies flavours, is wet heat, like steaming and it is very important to get your recipes right.  Otherwise you can end up with something quite tasteless, as was my first experiment with a shoulder of lamb.  The consistency was perfect.  All the fat had melted away and it was wonderfully moist and fell apart at a touch. In fact it was so melt in the mouth it was almost like some sort of Heston Blumenthal experiment.  But it tasted of practically nothing.  So it was back to the drawing board. 

I did look through some slow cooking cookbooks but I found them all thoroughly uninspiring and full of the obvious stews Then to pad out the book, there were lots of completely unnecessary recipes for soups, puddings and drinks, none of which required a slow cooker in the first place. 

I tried to think more along the lines of boiled or poached and I tried a piece of smoked bacon.  I just chucked in some vegetables and some thyme and a little water and 8 hours later, I had the most amazing melting piece of meat and what is even more amazing is, that I got three meals out of it. So, here it is. My three-in-one, slow cooked bacon.

Poached Smoked Bacon with New Potatoes and Mustard Sauce

A piece of smoked bacon or gammon ( Buy the best quality you can afford.  The more exercise a pig gets the better it tastes so out-door bred is best.)

A couple of carrots (peeled and roughly chopped)

A couple of onions (peeled and roughly chopped)

A leek or two (roughly chopped and washed to remove grit)

4 or 5 sticks of celery (roughly chopped)

A bunch of thyme

A sprig of bay

A glass of wine (or water)

A handful or two of new potatoes (cut in half)

For the sauce

Double cream

Dijon mustard (and grain mustard if you like)

Place the potatoes at the bottom of the slow cooker.  Tip all the other vegetables on top.  Pour in the wine.  Remove the skin from your bacon (this can be frozen and used at a later date to make extra crackling or pork scratchings) and trim away any excess fat. The meat will be salty enough so do not add salt but do season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.  Put the meat on top and cook for about 10 hours on slow or 8 hours on fast.  If you do not have a slow-cooker, just poach very slowly on the stove top in a heavy based saucepan.

Check the meat.  It should be breaking up to the touch.  Check the potatoes.  They should be completely soft.  Place the potatoes and vegetables in a bowl.  Remove the meat and break up into portions.  Pour the juices into a saucepan and reduce until a little syrupy.  Add a little double cream and bring back to the boil.  Remove from the heat and add a good tablespoon or two of Dijon mustard.  You can add some grain mustard as well if you like the texture.  Do not reboil the sauce now as it will kill the taste of the mustard. Taste the sauce and make sure it is really punchy and well seasoned.  Pour over your vegetables and meat.  Any meat, vegetables and sauce can be used again for the next dish.

Bacon and Poached Vegetable Stovie, Fried Egg

Mush up all the left over vegetables and potatoes from the recipe. Shred up the leftover meat removing any fat and sinew. Mix together well and shape into patties. Dust lightly in flour and fry in a little oil in a fryingpan (which can go in the oven) until golden brown on the underside. Flip and place in a medium-hot oven, about 180 degrees Centigrade for about 15 minutes. Check that the stovie is hot all the way through. Remove from pan and fry an egg in the same oil. Place the egg on top of the stovie and serve with the same sauce as above. If reheating, add a little extra mustard to give it a bit more of a kick. I like to have a little spinach with this dish as well which I put under my stovie.

Poached Bacon Salad with Sauce Gribiche

Shredded cooked smoked bacon or gammon from recipe above.

Some nice salad leaves. (Watercress, Mustard leaves, baby spinach and rocket are particularly nice.)

For the Sauce Gribiche
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 cornichon
8 to 10 baby capers; squeezed dry
about 1/4 cup (gently-packed) mixed chopped herbs; flat-leaf parsley and tarragon are great
salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Cook the egg in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain away the water, and cool the egg by adding ice and cold water to the pot. Once cool, peel the egg then extract the yolk. In a medium-sized bowl, mash the yolk until smooth with the mustard. Dribble in the olive oil, beating with a fork or wooden spoon while doing so (trying to make an emulsion), then adding the vinegar. Chop the egg white and cornichon separately into fine cubes, the size of the capers, and add them to the sauce. Then add the capers themselves. Stir in the herbs and add salt and pepper. Taste, and season with additional salt, pepper, and vinegar, if necessary. Make sure it is quite pokey. Add more Mustard if necessary. Serve at room temperature.

Flake up the left over bacon being sure to remove any fat or sinew. Mix with the sauce Gribiche and serve with some lovely leaves. This is a salad with "attitude" as Jamie Oliver would say, so it can stand up to some strong leaves such as rocket and mustard leaves. Get a good mix. You can add some cooked French beans if you want a more substantial salad or even some cold cooked new potatoes.