Fancy Mushrooms with Oak Smoked Garlic

This is a fast, simple recipe, which proves that with good quality ingredients little fussing is required*.

I picked up a load of mushrooms on a recent trip to Borough Market. There were loads of types, and I don't know most but they included ceps, autumn chanterelles, horn of plenty and oysters. They cost a forearm and an ankle (really must sign up to that foraging course next year...) and were supposed to be served for breakfast the next day. But a late night and a hangover made a bacon and egg sarnie the only breakfast option!

Later that day, once the hangover abated, I managed to sort myself out enough to prepare this simple supper: mushrooms with oak smoked garlic, served on bulgar wheat with a dash of lemon and a tickle of thyme.

Fancy Mushrooms with Oak Smoked Garlic

Serves 2

• Various mushrooms, cleaned
• 1 clove smoked garlic, crushed
• 1 cup bulgar wheat
• Vegetable stock
• Half a lemon
• Half tsp fresh thyme leaves
  
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the bulgar wheat and thyme in a bowl and cover with vegetable stock. Cover bowl and leave for 10 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork, add a good squeeze of lemon juice, adjust seasoning and fluff again.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms. Fry gently for 5 minutes until cooked through, adding the garlic and any seasoning for the last couple of minutes of cooking.

Place the bulgar wheat in a bowl, and top with the mushrooms. A garnish of lemon and you're set to go...




* I like fussing. And I like lots of flavours! I'm saying is it isn't necessary.It's kind of like that new pair of toweringly high shoes. Not required... but very, very nice!

That Cookbook Thing II: Rapee Morvandelle

It's time for another round of the Cookbook Review II! It's an event dedicated to exploring recipes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

The event by initiated by Mike of Mel's Diner, joined by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast, Sara of I Like to Cook, Breadchick Marye, Deborah of What's in My Kitchen?, Mary of Cooking for Five, Elle of New England Kitchen, Shaun of Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow - and, of course, me!

Last time we recreated Julia Child's Sauce au Cari - a light creamy curry sauce - this time our mission was to make a Rapee Morvandelle - a gratin of potato, onions and ham.

As my mum was on her way down to visit with a vegetarian friend, I decided to substitute mushrooms for the ham - throwing in a bit of porcini too to make sure it had the depth of flavour. I made up the mushroom mix the night before, then put it all together when I got home from work.

When the weary travellers finally got in after 10 hours of travelling (flooded rail tracks in Scotland...) it was just about ready to come out the oven. A crisp green salad and some corn on the cob made this a perfect summer dish.

Rapee Morvandelle
(avec Porcini et les Champignons sans Jambon!)

Ok, so I have quite a few little variations on Julia's recipe - not least the substitution of mushrooms for ham. However, most of these were to do with proportions... Maybe my potatoes were large... or my eggs small - but I had to add an extra egg to give it all a good binding. And a touch more cream. (Though it ended up being a touch more milk - I accidentally knocked the tub of cream all over my cooker... doh!)

The original recipe called for half a clove of garlic. Half. Hmmm... I'm sure it's because modern tastebuds are so desensitised... but this just wasn't going to be enough for me (Plus, what kind of garlic? My local shop sells 4 kinds - of varying strengths and sizes!!) So I used 2, and it was by no means overpowering!

I used two types of cheeses - half gruyere and half emmental... ummmm.... I think next time I might grate some over the top as well. It didn't need it, but I hardly ever treat myself to creamy cheesey dinners, so I want to make the most of it! (I like Ruth's idea of sprinkling some paprika over the top too!)

I used fresh tarragon when preparing the mushrooms, and fresh flat-leaf parsley in the egg mix.

To grate the potatoes quickyl and easily (and stop them going grey!) I peeled them all first, then grated them in my food processor. A quick rinse of water before squeezing them in a tea towel and straight into the egg mix!

• 100g grated cheese
• 5 eggs
• 5 tbsp single cream
• 3 potatoes
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 300g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
• small handful porcini, soaked in hot water for half an hour (reserve the water!)
• 1 tsp chopped tarragon
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• butter
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste (i.e. much more that the original recipe!)

Preheat oven to 375f

Prepare the Mushrooms...
In a heavy based skillet, heat a knob of butter with a tbsp of olive oil. Add the onions and fry over a low heat for a couple of minutes. Now finely chop the porcini and add to the onions, cooking out for another couple of minutes before adding the chestnut mushies.

Now, when the chestnut mushrooms are almost cooked, they will start to release their juices. At this point, add half the garlic, seasoning and a couple of tablespoons of the porcini soaking liqueur.

Cook until the liquid is absorbed and set to one side.

Prepare the Egg Mixture...
Beat the eggs with the cream until smooth. Add the rest of the garlic, salt and pepper and beat again.

Gently fold in the mushroom mix, along with the cheese and parsley.

This is when you should grate your tatties - any earlier any you'll end up with a greytin... boom boom? Ok, so I'm not funny...

Mix the potato into the egg mix - this is where I had to add the extra egg as the potato was still too dry.

Cook!
Heat a knob of butter in the skillet. Once it is foaming, add the potato mix - spread to the edges.

Dot the top of the gratin with some more butter and put into the over for 30-40 minutes.

Take out, slice and enjoy!

I really enjoyed this cheesy, creamy goodness! And it went down well with my guests too. I'd like to try it with ham - although the mushrooms were really good with it.

I have just under half of it left in the fridge... I haven't tried it yet - but I'm guessing it's going to be delicious cold when I get home after cocktails with my mum tonight!!

WTSIM... Breakfast... And I think it's a Zebra!

I don't usually blog breakfast - mostly because it's usually fruit and yoghurt... but also because it's my least adventurous meal of the day - even when I do cook! A cooked breakfast is bacon and egg muffins, smoked salmon bagels or mushroom & tomato toast. Now, when I saw these zebra tomatoes for sale yesterday I had to have them and as I have dinner plans for the next few days, I decided to do some mid-week brekkie cooking!

Zebra Tomatoes - how pretty!

Excuse the rubbishness of my photos in this post - it was pouring with rain outside, which was giving off that horrible light which is too dark for taking naturally lit shots, but makes the flash seem... well... a bit odd really! (Can you tell I'm not a photographer?? ;)

Anyway, while catching up on my blog reading I saw that Waiter... There's Something In My... event is breakfasts this month. It must be fate - the only time I've had breakfast food waiting to be blogged about!

Now, this isn't the most exciting recipe in the world - but it is super tasty - and good for you too. I use quite a bit of garlic - so maybe not one to try if you have a lunchtime date ;)

Tomatoes and Mushrooms on Toast

Quantities are approximate and per person!

• 6 cherry tomatoes
• 6-9 decent sized chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed (!)
• 1/2 tsp of mixed italian herbs or oregano
• 1 thick slice of bread - granary or chewy brown are always my favourite - I'd skip white bread for this one!
• Olive oil
• Loads of freshly ground black pepper
• sea salt

Prepare the garlic...
Smoosh up the garlic with a good pinch of sea salt per person, a glug of olive oil and a bit of black pepper.

Prepare the tomatoes...
Cut out the eye of each tomato and place onto grill rack (I used a top heat grill - alternatively, you could roast them!)
Push a little bit of the garlic mixture into each tomato - you should probably have about half the garlic mixture left.

Place under a medium grill for at least 15 minutes.

Prepare the mushrooms...
Heat a glug of olive oil to a low heat in a frying pan. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook slowly until they start to release their juices (probably 10-15 minutes). Add the rest of the garlic mixture, the Italian herbs, a decent pinch of salt, and a load of freshly ground black pepper. Turn up the heat and sauté until the liquid has gone.

Put it together!
Toast and butter your slice of bread, then gently scoop up the tomatoes and place along side. Top with the mushroom, a drizzle of olive oil and some parsley if you have it (I didn't this time).

Enjoy with a strong mug of coffee - didn't you know coffee helps garlic breath??

No Croutons Required: Spicy Mushroom Bulgar Salad

Hello and Happy Sunday!

This will be a short post - I'm about to go out and mow the lawn... in a vain attempt to restore order to the jungle before my parents come to visit on Thursday! But on the positive side, it is gorgeous outside - I even managed to get my pics taken outside!

But I just realised that today is the deadline for No Croutons Required, jointly hosted by Lisa and Hollers. It's the third one - and a great event. This month the theme is mushroom soup or salad - I couldn't miss it!

So without further ado - I present...

Spicy Mushroom Bulgar Salad

• 1 cup bulgar wheat
• hot vegetable stock (approx 250ml - enough to cover the bulgar wheat by a cm or so!
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• Approx. 500g mixed mushrooms - I used 2 portabellos, and equal amounts of oyster and chestnut!
• 12 sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• Small handful of pinenuts, lightly toasted
  
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• maldon sea salt (or normal!)
• rocket leaves

Make the Bulgar What...
In a dry frying pan, toast the bulgar wheat for a few minutes until it turns golden. Transfer to a bowl and cover with the stock. Cover and leave for 10 minutes. Check that it is cooked through and all the stock is absorbed - you may need to add more water and leave for a bit longer. Once cooked, fluff up well and cover.

Make the dressing...
Chuck the oil, vinegar, a couple pinches of salt and the chilli flakes into a jar and shake til emulsified. Or whisk it. It's really up to you!

** As soon as both the dressing and the bulgar wheat is ready, pour 1/2 the dressing into the bulgar wheat and mix well. Cover again and set aside.

Frying the mushrooms...
Prepare the mushrooms by peeling those that need peeled, cleaning those that need cleaned, and chopping into decent sized bits. Heat frying pan to a low to medium heat, add a glug of olive oil, then add the mushrooms. Fry slowly, stirring frequently. Once the water starts to come out of the mushrooms, add the garlic, chilli and a good pinch of maldon salt. Fry for another couple of minutes, then add to the bulgar wheat mix.

Putting it all together...
Add the sun-dried tomatoes and most of the pinenuts to the bulgar wheat and mix well. Use the remaining dressing to dress the rocket leaves. Put a handful on each plate. On top of that add the bulgar mix, and garnish with a few of the remaining pinenuts.



Right, got to go and make the most of this sunshine... by gardening!

Porcini Pappardelle with Chorizo, Feta & Roasted Red Peppers

I went to the cinema last night to watch In Bruges - I managed to get hold of advance screening tickets - yay! After the movies (which I really enjoyed - it was funny... though very, very dark humour!) I met a friend for a couple of drinks at the pub... so by the time I got home at half 10 I was really glad that I had left over pasta to throw together!

It ain't going to win any prizes - but it definitely did the trick!

Porcini Pappardelle with Chorizo, Feta & Roasted Red Peppers

When I made the porcini ravioli a couple of days ago, I had some dough left over, which I made into (very rustic!) pappardelle and dried overnight.

So when I got home, I dry roasted some pinenuts for a couple of minutes then chopped up a piece of chorizo and flash fried it with a couple of glug of olive oil to get a crispy edge. Then I added 1/2 a clove of garlic, 3 sun-dried tomatoes and 1 roasted red pepper. Meanwhile I had chucked the kettle on, and cooked the pasta for 2 minutes in boiling salted water.

Still with me? Hang on in there - I know it's complicated...

So... chuck the cooked pasta into the chorizo pan and stir to mix through. Oh yes, add some of the pasta cooking water here to loosen it off. Crumble a chunk of feta over and mix through until it becomes part of the sauce. Put in a bowl, throw the pinenuts over the top, take a picture for posterity, and there we go - within 12 minutes of arriving home my dinner is on the table! (Or at least my lap - a dining table is a luxury I can only dream of!)

Store Cupboard Cooking Day 4

Ravioli with Walnut, Spinach and Porcini

So on my first proper cooking day of my Store Cupboard Challenge (I didn't think that Kraft mac n' cheese last night counted ;) I decided it was time to use up the block of white stilton that I had picked up at the weekend. I had never cooked with it before - but as it was only 30p from the deli counter, so figured I would work out a use for it!

I was going to make cheesecake with it, but my biscuits for the base had gone stale. So I set my mind to a savoury plan... What I really fancied was gnocchi, but I didn't have any potatoes. Eventually I hit on ravioli - but other than white Stilton, I couldn't think what to put in it! I wanted to keep it quite soft and rich - most of my available ingredients were too demanding for this!

The combination of porcini, spinach and walnut wasn't one I'd tried before - but the flavours worked well together. Though I think it was a little rich for a main - I think in future I would serve two or three as an appetiser.

Also, I had never made stuffed pasta before - but I'm happy to report it was fairly event-free!

On a completely separate aside, I went to bed fairly soon after eating this, and it did cross my mind to be concerned about cheese-induced nightmares... But that was not to be - I had very bizarre dreams, which were exceptionally vivid - but not bad at all! Today I found this article comparing the effects of eating British cheese on dreams - and according to the study 85% of females who eat Stilton before bed have very vivid and crazy dreams... So go on gals - knock yourselves out!

Ravioli with Walnut, Spinach and Porcini

I'm sending this over to Ruth at Once Upon A Feast for Presto Pasta Night - though I think she has put me to shame with her proper ravioli making equipment!

• 250g white stilton
• 50g dried porcini
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 large bunch spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 banana shallot
• 1 small handful shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 handful shelled walnuts, blitzed to crumbs!
• 1 tsp corn flour, dissolved in a couple of tbsps water
• 200g tipo 00 flour
• 2 eggs
• semolina flour for dusting

Pour a cup of boiling water over the porcini and leave to soak for 30 minutes, or until rehydrated. Strain, reserving soaking liquor.

Making the pasta!

In a blender, blitz half of the mushrooms to a puree. Heat some olive oil and fry the puree for a couple of minutes.

In the blender, mix the flour, mushroom puree and 2 eggs to make a dough - adding a little of the mushroom liquor if required. Remove from the blender, knead for 2/3 minutes until elastic, wrap in film and refridgerate for at least 30 minutes.

Take a look at my post on roasted garlic pasta for more details on making and rolling pasta - I won't write out the details again here!

The filling!

While the pasta is resting, use your blender (yes again! I can't imagine life without my kenwood! ;) to mix 200g of the white stilton and two egg yolks until fluffy.

Chop the shallot, crush one of the garlic cloves and finely chop the remaining porcini. Over a medium heat, fry these for a few minutes until soft. Add to the stilton mix.

Wilt the spinach for a couple of minutes until soft. Strain and squeeze to remove excess water. Add 3/4 of the spinach to the stilton mix reserving the other quarter for the sauce.

Blitz the mix a few times to combine the ingredients, then add the handful of roughly chopped walnuts.

Season well with salt and black pepper!

Make the Ravioli!
Roll out the pasta to the 3rd thinnest setting (See how to roll here!). Cut sheets into manageable sizes! Lay one sheet of pasta out, and place teaspoons of mixture onto it, leaving enough space round the edges to seal it.


Brush the edges with water, and lay another sheet of pasta on top. Starting from one end of the sheet, use a cupped hand to seal the stuffing inside the pasta - making sure there is no air pockets. Cut the raviolis out, trimming the edges as required.

The Sauce!
Dead easy - do this just before serving! Heat a glug of olive oil, crush the remaining garlic clove and fry gently for a minute. Add the remaining spinach, the strained mushroom soaking liquor and the cornflour mix. Stir in the rest of the walnuts, and bring to the boil, then crumble in the remaining stilton. Remove from the heat and stir to melt the cheese into the sauce.

Finishing the Dish!
Cook the ravioli in plenty of boiling salted water for about 3 minutes. Place into a warm dish and drizzle with some olive oil and some of the walnut sauce. Note that the walnut sauce is pretty rich - you don't need much!

Store Cupboard Cooking Day 3

My First Daring Bakers Challenge: Peter Reinhart's Pizzas!

My first Daring Bakers challenge - and what a week for it to be in! I've been hectic trying to sort out my itinerary and organising work stuff. So I'm a day late in getting this posted - apologies Rosa!

Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums is the host of Daring Bakers this month, which is to make Reinhart's Basic Pizza dough with our own toppings. This idea was originally from Sher who tragically died earlier this year. She was supposed to be co-hosting with Rosa for this October challenge. Rosa honoured Sher by using her idea, and hosting the challenge alone.

I have completed the challenge - and, wow, I did love it. The crispiest pizza crust imaginable, with just enough of a chew. And so easy to make - a bit of prep the night before, a couple of hours rest, then only minutes to prep and cook each pizza at the very top of my oven.

The tossing took a bit of practice. I would say probably more practice than I've given it so far. I draped it over my fists, and did a few tentative moves... by which point it was basically ready! Paper-thin in the middle, but with no tears. The edges were a fair bit thicker - I evened this out by picking up the edges and gently shaking the dough towards the middle. Scientific? Maybe not... but it was successful! I loved this dough - it was as good as any pizza I've paid money for. And substantially better than my last attempt - which was about an inch thick when it came out the oven!!

I had a mini-pizza party with a few friends, and decided to go down the traditional route. A slow cooked tomato sauce, made with smoked garlic and passatta, a touch of dry herbs for depth, and a dab of sugar for balance. Soft jamon serrano, crisped up at the exposed edges; spicy salami against the crunch of sweet red peppers; caramelised red onions, finished with a dash of balsamic truffle syrup; and herby roasted chicken thighs, crispy skins sneaked into hungry mouths before the dough was ready. A mix and match of pizza toppings, each pizza different from the last.

Five pizzas, several beers and a couple of bottles of wine later - satiated and full, we fell asleep on the sofa. A success, methinks!

Spicy Salami with Sweet Red Pepper

Roast Chicken with Caramelised Onions and Mushrooms

Jamon Serrano with Mushrooms, Rocket & Slow Roast Tomatoes

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH
From The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart Makes 6 (25cm) pizza crusts

I couldn't find my instant yeast, so I improvised by activating dried yeast before chilling.

• 4 1/2 cups of flour, chilled
• 1 3/4 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of dried yeast
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 cup of ice water
• 3/4 cup tepid water
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE
1. Mix together the yeast, tepid water and sugar, and leave for 10 minutes until foaming. Pop in the fridge until cold. Mix together the flour, and salt in a big bowl. Add the oil and cold water and mix well in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are distributed. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently roll each piece into a ball.

2. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan lined with parchment paper and coated with cooking spray and mist the tops generously with cooking spray. Cover with plastic. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to three days.

DAY TWO
3. Remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1.3cm thick and 12.7cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow them to rest for 2 hours.

4. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, preheat the oven as hot as possible (500F/260C).

5. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with cornmeal. Flour your hands. Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss until it reaches the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter) place it on the back of the prepared jelly pan.

6. Lightly top it with the toppings of your choice. Slide the garnished pizza into the oven and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

7. Once the crust is cooked and the cheese is browned, take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. Allow them to cool 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Tossing!

Oh yes! And we were supposed to get some pics of us tossing the dough. Well. I've never seen so many awful photographs of me in my life...

Tossing the dough? Or dropping it... It's an action shot one way or t'other ;)

As you can see, I'm communing with my dough in a big way.... Mmmmmmm.... I luuurve my pizza...........

Hey, who cares - they tasted fab!

Thanks to the awooga man for being photographer extraordinaire - and hi to the awooga man's mum - thanks for reading!

Porcini Stuffed Pork with Red Pepper Pulse-otto!

Blimey - for some inexplicable reason I've written this post in reverse order - and it already seems really long! So I'll try to keep this bit short and sweet...

After a bout of illness, and a very unhealthy Easter Weekend, I was in the mood for a decent meal. It had to involve roast meat... and avoid starchiness! Then I remembered that I had wanted to enter this month's Waiter, there's something in my... event - which this month is... pulses! It's being hosted by Jeanne, over at Cook Sister - and I think it's a great theme! Especially as I have decided to try to eat more pulses and veg!

I've came up with a pulse-otto. Yes, yes, it's kinda twee and a bit forced, but I am starving and ready to go for lunch - so just think, risotto with lentils instead of rice ;) It was actually going to include rice initially... until I forgot to buy some... So I decided to chuck in red lentils instead. It just makes it even healthier! And even pulsier - so just right for this event!

Porcini Stuffed Pork with Red Pepper Pulse-otto!

Feeds 3 - with plenty of lentils to spare!

• 600g pork tenderloin
• 150g chestnut mushrooms
• 5 cloves garlic
• 30g dried porcini, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, reserve soaking liquor
• 10 slices smoked streaky bacon
• small handful chopped flat leaf parsley
• 15 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped
• Bunch spinach
• 3/4 cup red lentils, washed
• 1 tin green lentils (I used tinned - use whatever you have to hand!)
• 3/4 cup broad beans (I used frozen - use whatever you have to hand!)
• 1 red pepper
• 1 red onion
• Approx 250 ml vegetable stock
• Salt & Pepper to season
• olive oil for frying

Prepare the pork!

Preheat oven to 180c (350f).

Very finely chop the chestnut mushrooms - you could do this in the food processor, but I wanted to keep some of the texture! Chop up half of the porcini mushrooms. In a frying pan, heat a glug of olive oil over a medium heat, then fry mushrooms for a few minutes until almost cooked. Add 3 crushed cloves of garlic and continue to fry for a further couple of minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and season to taste.

Cut the visible fat and sinew from the pork tenderloin and cut in half lengthways to open the pork out into a flat rectangle. Cover with cling film and bash a few time with a rolling pin to flatten it out more uniformly.

Lay the washed, but uncooked spinach leaves over the pork (cut off any tough stems), then spread the mushroom and tomato mix over the leaves.

Now roll the tenderloin back up so it looks like a swiss roll!

Take each slice of bacon and flatten/stretch it out. (Either with a rolling pin, or by a knife - up to you!)

Cut one slice in half and stretch over each end of the "swiss roll". (Hmm... now is when I realise I really should have taken pictures at every step!) But basically, you are kind of sealing the ends to stop the filling coming out... Now, take the remaining bacon and, starting from the edge of the capped piece, roll up the pork log in the bacon. (I'm sure I'm making this sound more difficult than it is! Think wrapping chicken in parma ham!)

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan, and seal the pork round all sides.

Place on a baking tray and roast in oven for 45 minutes (if using a meat thermometer, reading should be about 160c). Remove from oven, cover and leave for 10-15 minutes to rest.

The Pulse-otto!
Meanwhile, while the pork is roasting, start making the pulse-otto!

In a deep pan, sauté the onions and red peppers until soft. Chop up the other half of the porcini mushrooms and add to the pan. Crush two cloves of garlic and add them - and the red lentils - to the pan Allow to sauté for a few minutes more.

Add the strained mushroom liquor and the stock to the pan until the lentil are covered by about an inch.

Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Add the broadbeans and green lentils, cover and set aside.

To serve!
Once the pork has rested, slice into 1cm rounds. Dish up a couple of spoonfuls of the lentil mix, top with the pork slices, and serve with roast vegetables.



**************************************

Note on re-heating!

I had about a third of this left to reheat the next day. I hadn't sliced it yet, as I was concerned that the pork would dry out or become tough.

To get6 round this, I mixed up a little vegetable bouillon (fairly weak) and put it into a frying pan (about 1cm up the sides). I then sliced the remaining pork, and put it into the pan. I poached it gently for 3/4 minutes, basting to ensure the top was warmed through also. It worked well - the pork was still tender and juicy!

I had some tomatoes going spare, so sliced them in half, chucked on a drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkled on some garlic salt and red chilli flakes. 10 minutes under a medium/high grill til they were just starting to collapse - yum!

An Accidental dinner: Chermoula Trout with Puy Lentil Veggie Stew

As I had bought a huge bunch of cilantro (just so I could garnish my thai soup) I was determined to not waste it, and went on a cilantro-rich recipe hunt! I typed in "coriander recipe" (having briefly forgotten my lesson) into google, and my googlepedia found me this Wikipedia article on Chermoula.

Yuck, I think that is quite enough links for now...

So anyway, I was initially planning to use a decent piece of white fish with my chermoula marinade, and make a cous cous salad to go with it.

But I saw an amazing piece of Scottish trout at the fishmongers - rich pink with the finest marble lines. And was reminded how much I love trout. I much prefer it to salmon. My grandfather used to be a fisherman, and my childhood holds many memories of whole trout (along with the occasional rabbit - never worked that one out actually). I don't think I appreciated it enough at the time though!

I had a think - and decided that the trout could hold the strong flavours of the marinade - and the unlikely (yet delicious!) combo of Scottish trout with Moroccan marinade was born! If you can't get a hold of trout, I'm sure salmon would work similarly.

I got home, and hit a set back. The cous cous that I need to make my vegetable cous cous side... was gone! No idea where. I definitely don't remember eating a whole packet of cous cous. So I decided to go for bulgar wheat instead.... but was similarly denied. I think there is a grocery thief with very precise requirements at work in my kitchen. Alternatively, it was fate, because although i finally decided on puy lentils through lack of choice - the earthy lentils with the slightly gamey taste of the fish and the super spicy and garlicky flavours of the marinade were really, really good!

What I'm trying to say, is this is not a dish I would have chosen to put together, but it's definitely one I'll put together again!

Chermoula Trout with Puy Lentil Veggie Stew

This gave me enough fish for one big meal - though there was loads of veggie lentils left over - I had that the next day - I added a handful of black olives, and ate with hummus and pita bread. So it may not have been authentic, but it tasted great!

• 250g piece trout (or salmon!)
• 1 cup puy lentils
• 1 small courgette, halved and sliced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 red chilli, sliced
• a couple of handfuls of mushrooms, quartered
• 2 tbsp chermoula
• 2 cups stock - whatever flavour takes your fancy
• Olive oil to fry

Rinse and drain the puy lentils, before placing in a pan with the stock. Bring to the boil, simmer for 15 minutes. add 1 tbsp of the chermoula and continue to cook until al dente. The stock should not be completely evaporated - we want this to help form a sauce with the vegetables.

Meanwhile, heat a glug of olive oil in a pan, and fry the onion for a couple of minutes. Add 1 tbsp chermoula, the chilli and mushrooms and fry until mushrooms are done. Add the pepper and courgette and cook for a few more minutes - the pepper should still have a bit of bite!

Add the carrots and lentils to the pan and stir to mix. Allow to cook for another couple of minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

Serve the fish atop the lentils - and enjoy!

Drunken tortilla de patatas!

I called Boyfriend yesterday afternoon and told him not to buy anything for dinner, that I wasn't in the mood for after-work drinks, and would be home early... Famous last words!

I was fairly shocked to find myself scurrying around my nearest shops trying to pick up the ingredients for dinner at 8pm, after 3 hours in the pub... I fixed on making a Spanish Omelette - mostly because I had loads of eggs to finish up... However, the drinks I had consumed made me throw a lot of chilli in there. It was a beaten egg away from a a kebab by the time I was finished!

Spicy Chorizo and Mushroom Tortilla

I'm usually rubbish at remembering quantities - and this time more than ever!

• 6 eggs
• 100ml milk
• 150g chorizo, cubed
• 500g new potatoes - sliced
• 1 large banana shallot, finely chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 2 thai chillies, finely chopped
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• Salt and pepper
  
• olive oil for frying
  

In a saucepan, place the sliced potatoes in cold, salted water, bring to the boil, then cook for 5/6 minutes until just soft. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat a glug of olive oil over a medium heat, then saute the shallot and chorizo for 3/4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and fry until the water starts to come out of them.

Throw in the garlic, chilli, some salt and pepper and fry until all the liquid has reabsorbed and the mushrooms are starting to brown at the edges.


Remove the mushroom mixture to a pan and turn up the heat. Heat another glug of olive oil for a minute, then put in the cooked potatoes. I just remembered I threw in some ground red chilli flakes at this point too!

Fry over a high heat, tossing regularly, until the potatoes are browned and crispy at the edges, then add the mushroom mix back into the pan, and turn the heat as low as it will go.

Beat the eggs, with some salt and pepper, and the milk. Pour the eggs into the pan, and allow to cook, uncovered for about 10 minutes. The top will still be raw, but the edges will be cooking up. The picture below is after about 5 minutes.


Meanwhile, preheat the grill to a high to medium heat. Once the tortilla is cooked about 2/3 of the way through, put it under the grill for another 5 minutes until cooked through. (I think this is called broiling in the US??)

Turn upside down on a plate, cut into slices, and enjoy. With another Magners!

Easy Peasy Pasta... though no peas, please!

I don't like peas. Scratch that. I hate peas. In fact, you may say I'm almost phobic. I was once almost reduced to tears when a (so-called) friend saved some peas from his meal at the pub, then pinged them at me when I was trapped in the car. Peas are small, green and evil. They make a squelchy 'pop' when you bite into them. One pea, hidden away in some chicken-fried rice, will pop and contaminate the entire mouthful with its evil juice. Bleurgh.

Though I have decided I am going to wean myself away from this irrational phobia. I managed to eat a few peas recently, hidden in a highly spiced, highly textured curry. It was a big step. The pop was almost unnoticeable.

I couldn't decide what to call this dish! It's my default pasta dish, which I almost always have In Case of Emergency. It is super-easy, super-fast (about as long as it takes to cook the pasta!), and super-tasty! A couple of possible variations mean I always have the ingredients. And it never contains peas.

ICE Pasta (In Case of Emergency)

I'm glad to have an entry to Ruth's Presto Pasta Night this Friday - the round up last week was fabulous!

• 125g pasta per person (or however much you want!)
• a hunk of chorizo, diced
• 1 punnet chestnut mushrooms, halved or quartered depending on size
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 bag wild rocket, washed
  
• Small handful pine nuts
• olive oil for frying
• dried red chilli flakes
  
• Salt and pepper
  

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water. When cooked, drain, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan to a medium heat, add the pine nuts (no oil) and lightly toast.

Remove the pine nuts to a bowl, heat a glug of olive oil in the pan, add the chorizo and fry until the chorizo oil starts to come out.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and toss so they soak up the oil from the chorizo. Fry until the mushrooms start to cook, then add the garlic, red chilli flakes to taste, and salt and pepper. Continue to fry for another couple of minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked through.

Once the pasta is cooked, add the rocket to the pasta pan, add the reserved cooking liquid,then add the drained pasta. Stir and allow the rocket to wilt slightly - the heat of the pasta and the water should do this for you. Add the mushroom and chorizo and mix well.

Serve with the toasted pine nuts scattered on top!

Pain in the neck Pasta... Part 2!!

Well, this is the second (and hopefully last!) of my pain in the neck pasta mini series! The first was last week when I managed to put my neck out... it got somewhat better but by yesterday I was in loads of pain again. But I was recommended a chiropractor, who did all manner of strange things to my spine (acupuncture, a machine called 'thumper', posture alignment, and a bit of crick cracking!) and the upshot is, my back feels better than it has done for years. Though I am still somewhat taken aback (no pun intended, groan) that I have one leg 3/4 inch shorter than the other!!

Anyway - hope I haven't put you off your dinner - basically I made this before I went to see him - and again was focusing on max taste - minimum neck movements!

Creamy Leek Tagliatelle with Bacon & Mushrooms

I had an idea a few days ago of cutting up leeks lengthways into tagliatelle sized strips and mixing them through pasta. So I considered a few options before hitting on this combination - and hope the guys at Ruth's Presto Pasta night over at Once Upon a Feast will approve!

I did fancy a creamier sauce for a change - which is something I seldom get to eat due to Boyfriend's cream/cheese phobia. (Well, not quite a phobia, but bordering on it!) I was originally going to use a goats cheese, and just mix it into my portion, but then I saw portion size boursin cheese - each one about 16g. I used 2 for my pasta - and it was fabulous! Ok, so maybe not great for the waistline... but it was a treat! Boyfriend said it was great even without the creaminess - I just used extra stock for his.

As always my quantities are approximate. I served two good sized portions from mine.

• handful of pinenuts, lightly toasted
• 2 leeks - try to make sure they aren't too old, or they will go stringy - look for a diameter of less than 1.5 inches, and no yellowing.
• Medium sized punnet of chestnut mushrooms
• 2 rashers bacon (I used smoked back bacon, pancetta would work too... I also thought about chorizo - but my supermarket had sold out!)
• boursin (optional and as required, see note above!)
• About 150 ml vegetable stock
  
• 1 clove garlic
  
• knob of butter
• olive oil
• tagliatelle
• salt and pepper to taste

Slice each leek in half, and pull out any hard core from the middle. Slice each half lengthways into tagliatelle-width strips and wash well.


Melt the knob of butter along with the olive oil, then add the leeks. Saute for 3/4 minutes, adding a couple of grinds of black pepper when they start to soften.

Add vegetable stock and simmer til tender, but still with a bit of bite.

Meanwhile, thickly slice the mushroom and roughly chop the bacon. It's probably about the right time to put the tagliatelle on to cook now!

Over a medium heat fry off the mushrooms and bacon. When the liquid comes out of them, add salt and pepper to season, the crushed clove of garlic, and turn the heat up. They are ready when all the liquid has gone and the mushrooms start colouring at the edges.

Once the pasta has cooked, drain (reserving some of the cooking liquor in case it needs loosening) and return to the pan. Add the leeks and a dash of olive oil, and combine so the leeks are worked through the pasta. Add the boursin, and mix til combined - this is when you may need some of that cooking liquor!

Place in dish, and top with the mushroom/bacon mix. Scatter toasted pine nuts on the top.