What We Ate for Lunch : Hainan Chicken of sorts

I was going to take this into work yesterday, but as it was my final day, I felt I had to have for one final time Singapore Fried Rice from the take away opposite. It was disappointing to say the least. A bit like working for that company for 18 months. Can you sense the bitterness in me.
Anyhows I have had a yearning for Hainan chicken for a while now, no idea why, but this urge was brewing so I thought I would quench it.
So a small poussin was poached for half an hour in some simmering stock that I had left over from my daily noodle soups.
Once cooked the chicken is plunged directly into some iced water. This keeps the skin a little flabby and jelly like, as my Singaporean friend says it has to be. Whose to argue.
The stock therefore seasoned with a little salt and mirin vinegar makes a perfect soup, and  with the rice (cooked in some of the stock) makes a great quick and easy lunch.
It's a shame I never had this yesterday for lunch as it would have been more memorable than my Singaporean fried rice I ate.
My last day was a day of two halves. I was so glad to leave, but very sad to be leaving some good people behind. It was all a bit emotional.
But my new life starts now, all i have to do now is find another job. Easy huh?

What We Ate Last Night : Lamb Fillets

I have been lucky enough to be sent a wonderful box of lamb and vegetables from Silver Fern Farms this week to try out.

The Kiwi based Silver Fern are a new supplier to a certain supermarket, who shall remain nameless of around 95% fat free New Zealand lamb. Fat free you say.

They are pre packaging portions of Loin fillets, rump, racks and leg roasts in individual portions that can be easily chilled in the fridge and used as and when.

To be honest I’ve never been a fan of New Zealand lamb, as I’m sure the best quality lamb is never shipped over here, plus this being fat free I was pretty skeptical. But I agreed as I was intrigued and wanted to give it a fair shot.

So in the week a wonderful box of 2 packs of loin fillets, a bunch of spring vegetables, fruit yoghurts, butter and ice coffees arrived on our doorstep. Awesome package all nestled on a bed of hay. Looked like a really country hamper.

Cannot comment on the yoghurts as they went pretty quickly for someone else’s lunch the following day. But I’ve been well informed they were very good. Same really with the iced coffee, but I’ve never been a fan of, unless it is in Hanoi with lots of condensed milk in it.

I never really buy the fillet, as I’m a rump man myself. I love the fatty parts, as it’s where the flavour is.

In each pack were two fillets, and I was became very curious and wondered if they would cook the same as a fillet of beef. Guess what. They did.

After 10 minutes lingering on a plate of olive oil and black pepper, then seasoned with salt at the last moment, they were put onto a hot griddle pan and cooked away for a few minutes on each side until they were done rare. Just how I like them.

Maybe they could be cooked to medium rare, but any more and you may as well bin them, just like beef.

As I am fast becoming addicted to bulgur, I thought I would use that instead of the medley of vegetables we were sent. Well it was kind of mild and I so want Spring to come as soon as possible.

So I soaked the bulgur in a bowl of boiled water for 10 minutes or so, and then dressed it as I normally do my couscous.

Mixing in plenty of olive oil, chopped tomatoes, parsley, mint, cumin powder, paprika, crumbled feta cheese, some small cucumbers, salt and pepper.

I think this was the quickest meal I’ve had this week and there was enough to last for lunch the next day. Brilliant.

To be honest there is a reason I go for the fattier parts of meat. Fat equals flavour. But this surprisingly had a subtle lambyness about it that with the nutty bulgur worked very well, as nothing over powered each other. A good combo.

The lamb was very soft and melted in my mouth, pretty surprised. It actually tasted better the next day, and we had a few slices left over that went into a noodle soup the day after and again tasted a little stronger.

We have the 2^nd pack in the freezer and I’m wondering what else I could do with it, apart from griddle it. Maybe a lamb Wellington could be in order. Defiantly have to pull my finger out for that. But I’ll let you know.

I’m not sure if I would buy these packets, but as I do the above but with bavette steak in the summer for lunches this could be a very good alternative.

What We Ate Last Night : Chicken Wings a la Moro

Recently I received an email asking me if I would like to have the complete set of the (3) re-released Moro Books. Didn’t take a genius to know how my response was going to be. Man was I a happy sooty indeed.

I have had a copy of the original Moro cookbook for too many years now. I seem to go in cycles with my cooking. Sometimes it’s French, then Italian, then Indian, then Asian and in between my cookbooks get an outing as well. It’s kinda funny, but the Moro cookbook was due a dusting off pretty soon. But I’m never one to turn down a good offer.

I normally buy 2 or 3 chickens at a time and joint them, bag and freeze them. My freezer is packed with little bags of different joints of chicken.

I am a fastidious saver of everything and hate to waste. I have bags of chicken carcasses waiting to be used to make stock, although this summer as most of the time the weather has been to good to stay in doors for 4 hours letting a huge pot of water bubble away. After last summer I want to be out doors.

I am also a serial collector of chicken wings. After a month or two I have a good size amount to make some very nice suppers or more interesting work lunches. So with my new Moro cookbooks and a large amount of wings begging to be let out of the freezer, it only took me 39 pages to find what I was looking for.

So for this recipe you will need the following. It does say it feeds four. Yeah right, four little sparrows on a diet. So it did us two or just one of you are Nobu.

12 Chicken wings

3 Garlic cloves, crushed with a little bit of salt

1 Tsp paprika

1 Tsp cumin powder

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp Tahini paste

1 Tbsp olive oil

1. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl
2. Add the chicken wings and mix thoroughly until they are all coated
3. Cover with cling film and pop in the fridge overnight
4. Heat an oven to 220°C or Gas mark 7 or on a bar-b-q if you have one. You lucky buggers
5. Take the wings out of the fridge and allow to get to room temperature
6. Put onto a tray and pop in the oven for about 15 – 20 minutes, turning half way through
7. Once cooked season with salt and pepper and serve with a thick wedge of lemon

An unusual way to eat wings, but the nutty paste and lemon make this a winner for summer. I love Moro, I just wish I could eat at the restaurant more often. 

What We Ate Last Night : Bar-B-Q Rubbed Ribs

I love bar-b-q, not the typical English bar-b-q of burnt but raw sausages and charcoal colored burgers that are as dry as cardboard.

No, I’m talking about the good ol’ yankee bar-b-q type. The low and slow cooking that can take up to 24 hours to cook a Boston Butt, and 6 hours to cook some baby back ribs if you use the 3-2-1 method.
This is my preferred method of cooking them, although I unfortunately do not have a garden and therefore no kettle bar-b-q. Sad times indeed, especially with the weather as it is at the moment.

So I have to make my bar-b-q in the oven. Very sad times. It’s not the same as the smell of charcoal on food makes it all taste so much better.

With an oven you have better control, but the skill in keeping a bar-b-q at 110 degrees for 6 hours is an art form in itself, and I think those cooks that can do it are vastly under rated.

In England bar-b-q is not taken too seriously as I’m sure we’ve all seen this at many a crappy back garden event we’ve been to. So a lot of people are ignorant of the skill it takes to do a good bar-b-q. It's really not just add some lighter fluid, light it and burn away. Good god no.
There are one of two places in London that sell American style bar-b-q, but they are mediocre at best. Oh how I long for the real thing over here.

I’ve been cooking these ribs the same way for eons now, and they always turn out not too bad. I sometimes change the rub but generally I always use the same recipe, which can be found here.

You will need :

Baby back ribs (as much as you want to eat)

Your desired rub (enough to cover every part of the ribs)

Tin foil

Lemon juice / vinegar for the mop sauce

So the 3-2-1 method is quite straight forward. 3 hours uncovered, 2 hours covered and a final hour uncovered. During the first three hours and the last hour I always mop the ribs with the sauce, just to add a little bit of moisture back into them so they do not dry out. After the 6 hours the meat would have shrunk away from the bone and will be falling apart. The leftovers make great sandwiches.

1. Trim off any excess fat that you do not want. Take off the piece of membrane that is on the back of the ribs. This will help the rub penetrate more easily.
2. Rub your rub powder over both sides of the ribs.
3. Set your oven at Gas Mark 1 or 110°C. Yes very low.
4. Pop ribs into oven and every 30 minutes or so, just give them a mop with the sauce.
5. After 3 hours give them one final mop and then cover them with tin foil.
6. 2 hours later uncover and cook for a final hour. Mop after about 30 minutes and just before you take them out of the oven.
7. Serve with your favourite bar-b-q sauce and of course any leftovers are amazing in a roll the following day. If there is any left. 

Next up slow cooked shoulder of pork.

What We Ate Last Night : Venetian Liver

I am partial to a little bit of liver. I love the stuff. I was such a fussy eater as a kid, but for some reason I always ate my liver. I grew up eating lambs liver, potatoes and peas. Although my dad used to overcook the liver, well it was the 70’s. I now prefer it a little pinker these days.

Some of my most loved dishes are rather liverish. A quickly seared calves liver and mash is a dish made in heaven for me. Deviled chicken livers on toast or made into a creamy pate.

Oddly enough pigs liver I rarely eat, as it generally has no taste, maybe that is more to do with the pigs than the liver itself.

The Italians love their liver as well, or should I say the Venetians. I’ve seen many different versions of this dish, but the most simple is the one I cooked last night. Although I used lambs liver as it was in the fridge. Normally this is done with baby tortured cows liver, as Cartman once said.

You will need :

Liver, as much as you want. Dusted with seasoned flour.

Finely sliced onions

A few knobs of butter

Olive Oil

Seasoning

Finely chopped parsley

1. Sweat off the onions in the butter and olive oil until you feel no resistance when you squeeze them
2. Remove from pan
3. Dust the liver with seasoned flour. Add more of the butter to the pan, and when it is foaming add the liver
4. Cook for a minute or so on each so, depending how pink or how thick it is
5. Add the onions back to the pan
6. Add a tiny amount of water. Bring to a simmer, Cook out the flour
7. Simmer down to thicken the sauce. Add the parsley
8. Season and serve with creamy polenta or mash
9. Enjoy your offaly meal

Sardines on Toast

When is a sardine not a sardine? When it is a pilchard. A sardine is a young pilchard. Apparently once a sardine reaches one year it becomes a pilchard. But who really wants to eat pilchards. So uncool.

Many years a go, pilchard sales were at a record low, so some bright spark did the spin of all spins. Even Blair’s Government would have been proud of this. They Renamed and rebranded an unpopular fish to become something that before was so untrendy and only fit for cat food into a very cool and trendy fish, that it now graces the menus of all the best restaurants in the land. So was born the Cornish Sardine. So cool.

So how best to eat this super cool fish. Simply is how.

For a quick and easy mid week supper, what can beat pan fried sardines on lightly toasted sourdough bread. I’ll tell you what. Nothing.

Filleting sardines is a bit of fiddly job, but with patience it is easily done, or some fishmongers do sell them already filleted. Which does make life a tad easier.

Putting those little seasoned fillets skin side down into a hot pan and watch them as they cook, the smell is amazing and so fishy. The belly begins to rumble and yearn for this treat long before they are ready. Then flipping them over to cook the pink flesh on the other side, you know that in a short while you will be munching on a delight.

A scattering of chopped parsley only brings out the best in these little oily fishes. Heaven pure heaven as you bite into this open sandwich and chow down on that delightful fish. It’s amazing that it is so unpopular compared with other fishes, but boy is it good for you and tastes fantastic.

Memphis Dry Rub

The sun is starting to show its head out a little bit more of late. Although it is still getting mugged by gangs of dark grey clouds, and extinguished by frequent showers recently. But it is putting me in a jollier mood. I am so looking forward to 27^th March when the clocks change and we get more daylight. Although we loose that hour in the morning, but who cares about that as I never wake up till after 7 anyhows.

The extra 4 minutes of sunshine everyday is making me feel like summer is on its way. I’ve not actually suffered with SAD this year, mainly as I have had other things to keep my mind occupied lately.

But with summer on its way, it’s getting into Bar-B-Q season. Although I do not own a bar-b-q nowadays, as we have no garden of our own, and have nowhere to store one. Our shared shed I noticed recently has no back to it, and it wouldn’t last long if the new crime figures are anything to go by.

So I am being forced to cook my all time favorite bar-b-q item in my oven. Ribs. Baby back ribs to be more precise. Man I love those meat morsels as the tender flesh falls off the bone and melts in my mouth. Yum yum yum.

I’ve made my first batch yesterday, which were ok, but not fantastic. So I am going to try again this week. The problem was the rub. I had some of the “Classic Steak Rub” left over from my last order from The East London Steak Company. It was good, but not great, as I prefer something with a little more spice on my ribs. So I am going back to my mainstay of the Memphis Rub. It’s earthy and has a good amount of heat to it.

So for the rub you will need:

2 tbsp Paprika

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp cumin

¼ tsp cayenne powder

Mix everything together with your fingers and store in an airtight container in a dark place. It normally keeps for a good few weeks before starting to loose its bite.

It goes excellent with ribs or chicken.

Ribs to follow soon. 

Homemade Burgers

I love burgers. There is something about a mound of minced beef, seasoned and either grilled, bar-b-q’d or fried, then slapped between two bits of bread, sauced up and then biten into it. It’s heaven. Pure heaven.

I’ve never been a big fan of the burgers from a certain well known chain with a pedo looking clown as its marketing piece. I used to have nightmares about that.

I was surprised that in the states their burgers are exactly like those chains we despise so much. But after tasting burgers from the Shake Shack and the Burger Joint, I realized we are doing it all wrong.

We use way too many fillings, sauces etc over here. I mean who wants or needs their burger dripping with some concoction of a sauce. That’s for ribs, not burgers. I want to be able to taste the meat, not swim to get a bite out of it.

I used to have to make the burgers for a while at Café Boheme. They were piss easy to do, and it’s still the way I make them today at home.

1. Take minced beef
2. Season with salt and pepper
3. Weigh out to 150g
4. Mould into a burger shape. We used to do this with a lid from a large jar of black peppercorns
5. Cover and pop in the fridge for a while to set
6. Cook on the griddle until done. Medium rare is my preferred doneness
7. Pop between a toasted bun, pop in some sliced onion, a slice of tomato and enjoy

Sometimes now, I may add an extra seasoning like cumin powder or merquen (Chilean smoked pepper flakes), but that is generally about it. My mince normally comes pre ground from either HG Walter by Barons Court tube or the Ginger Pig. Both sell excellent meat, so I’ve never needed to experiment with buying different cuts of meat and then grinding it yourself. It would be interesting to try that though.

As I do not have a griddle, I am using a large frying pan to cook the burgers. It works very well. Just need to remember two things. Let it get smoking hot, and only oil the burger not the pan.

I cook them for a time on one side until they self-release, then flip them over and add a slice of cheese to the top, and as it finishes cooking the cheese slowly melts over the burger. I then pop it under the grill to melt a tad more then whack it between two buns.

The toppings all depend on how organized I am. Which at the moment is pretty much none of the time. But these could range form a slice of tomato and some onion. I like to sweat off onion slices until they are soft and starting to take on some colour, then I whack up the heat and fry them until they are a dark brown colour. Man they taste good on a burger.

Burgers done this way may not look like gourmet burger but they will taste a 100 times better than a certain kiwi chain I know of.

Happy eating. 

Ajiaco Santafereño

Ajiaco Santafereño to give its full name is the national dish of Colombia, unless of course you are from Medellin, where it would be Bandeja Paisa. No question. Ajiaco is an odd soup. Then again most soups in Colombia are pretty bizarre, but they all taste pretty damn good. It really falls into being a light stew rather than a soup, as the broth and contents are pretty light, but in Colombia they call it a soup, and it is theirs to call what they wish.

In Medellin I have only ever had this at family gatherings, so I always liken it to a celebration food rather than an everyday meal, whereas bandeja paisa or mondongo are easily available from restaurants all over and outside of Medellin. Ajiaco is a special treat worthy of a special occasion.

Lina opted to make this for our Xmas eve dinner we were having with some homesick friends. Some Colombian, some not. It is actually a very easy dish to make for large groups, as it is pretty quick and easy to prepare and execute. 

There are however two key ingredients you must use to get a pretty authentic Ajiaco. They are guascas and papa criolla. Both are now readily available in any good Colombian or Latin American retailer. I.e. any shop near to Seven Sisters and that pink monstrosity in Elephant and Castle. Or as we recently found out some shops on Blackstock Road near to Finsbury Park as well.

The papa criolla are needed as when they cook they dissolve and give the soup its traditional yellow colour. Guasca is needed for the taste.

You can do most of this well in advance and a day of mixing those flavours together will do it no harm at all.

Ingredients for 4 (kind of)

1 Chicken breast

4 chicken thighs

Several pounds of as many different types of potatoes as you can get

2 ears of corn, cut in half

2 handfuls of guascas

Chicken stock or water

To serve with

Capers

Double cream or crème fraîche

Cooked rice

A banana each

Slices of avocado if you are so inclined. I am not.

Method

1. Get a frying pan pretty hot and add some oil. Add the chicken thighs and crisp up the skin. Pop in the oven to finish cooking. This is better this way, as most people put the thighs in the soup to cook and the skin goes soggy. Not nice. Keep warm.
2. Bring the water or stock up to a simmer. Add the chicken breast and a handful of the guascas. Simmer till the breast is cooked.
3. Remove chicken breast. Set aside. Once cooled, shred.
4. Add the potatoes and corn to the pot. Bring back to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the corn and potatoes are cooked.
5. Remove some of the potatoes and mash with a fork. Add back to the pot to thicken. Add the rest of the guascas.
6. Add the shredded chicken breast back to the pot to warm through. Season.
7. Place one chicken thigh, ½ an ear of corn, and several good ladles of the soup into bowls.

Serve the rice, banana, capers and cream separately, you can then add or not add as you wish to your soup. I like to add a bit at a time so I have the soup with bits of cream and capers but not all the time. When you order Ajiaco in a restaurant in Colombia, the cream and capers are added on top just before service.

Don’t ask me why the banana with a soup. I don’t know. But it does work. I prefer to eat mine separately, but some people mix it in with the soup.

Slices of avocado are generally eaten with most Colombian meals, not only soups. I am not keen on this green mushy mess, but if you want to then this is up to you.

Enjoy this wonderful warming and hearty soup in these dark cold days. 

Crushed Tuscan Bean Soup

With this cold weather settling in for the long term. I really have to start forgetting about those light summer dishes and concentrate on hearty soups and stews to warm the bones and soul in the coming months.

I am a lover of pulses in a major way. T’was probably the reason I could of eaten Colombian frijoles on a daily basis, and very nearly did.

I cannot remember where I got this recipe form, maybe from some Italian cookbook or a restaurant somewhere. Who knows. I’ve never written this one down, so that is why I think maybe someone told it to me.

Anyhows this is my ideal soup, it’s thick and best served warm. Not hot, but warm. Too much heat will kill of the wonderful taste of the beans, and warm it is comforting.

The recipe is quite simple. 

Dried Cannellini beans (soaked for at least 10 hours). No exact measurements but you know how much you normally eat

A small bunch of sage

2 garlic cloves

Large handful of parsley leaves

Salt n pepper

Virgin olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil

1. Cook the beans with the sage until soft. Skim the scum off the surface as it simmers away
2. Drain the beans, but save the cooking liquor
3. Crush the garlic into a purée with salt. Finely chop the parsley
4. Heat a pan and add a generous amount of olive oil. Add the garlic. When you can smell it and it has changed colour a little. Add the parsley and stir together
5. Add the beans and mix well
6. After a few minutes add some of the cooking liquor. Remember this is a thick soup not a thin one. So err on the side of caution. Cook for a few minutes
7. Once the beans start to break up a bit and release their milky goodness, you can begin to crush them with a ladle or in my case a potato masher. Not to hard as you don’t want a purée
8. Turn off the heat and season generously with salt and pepper. Pour in some of the virgin olive oil
9. Ladle into bowls and pour on some of the extra virgin olive oil to give the soup some pepperyness
10.  Serve with some toasted sourdough bread. Enjoy

An Italian Sunday Lunch

It’s kinda surprising that I have not posted more recipes here, as I feel I am a better cook than I am a reviewer of restaurants. If that is what I am doing. Who knows.

But I am definitely a better cook than I am a photographer. As you can see from some of my fotos on these pages.

So in a way to put matters right, I am intending to put a few more recipes on this blog. Starting with last Sunday’s lunch that we had. I had intended to cook this on Saturday night, but a cinema outing laid waste to any thoughts of cooking late at night.

So I decided to cook on a more casual basis on Sunday afternoon. We had two courses, Gnocchi in a Tomato Sauce, and Fennel Sausages and Lentils. I was in an Italian mood.

So for the Gnocchi and Tomato Sauce, just to make a note here I brought the gnocchi from Camisa and Sons in Soho. I don’t see the point sometimes of making things, when other people make then fresh for you at such low prices that it isn’t worth it.

100 – 150g Gnocchi per person

1 Tin of Italian plum tomato’s

1 Garlic clove, crushed with a back of knife and salt

4 Shallots

A few good glugs of good olive oil

Parmesan Cheese

1. Pop pot on low flame. Layer the bottom of the pan with the olive oil. Let it gently warm up.
2. Add the diced shallots, stir around and turn down to lowest possible flam and cover.
3. You will have to stir once in a while, but the lid on will help sweat the shallots. Once they are soft enough to squish between your fingers, add the garlic.
4. Stir for a minute or two until you can smell the garlic.
5. Add the tomato’s and a pinch of sugar. Stir. Bring to a simmer and lower heat and cover.
6. After about an hour or less, you will have a good thick tomato sauce perfect for some gnocchi. Season to taste and set aside.
7. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add salt. When on a rolling boil, add gnocchi, cover until returns to a rolling boil.
8. As you do this heat another small pan with a glug of olive oil in it. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the tomato sauce to heat.
9. Drain the gnocchi and add to the tomato sauce. Increase heat to evaporate any excess liquid. Swirl or flip the pan constantly as you do not want this to stick.
10. Pour into bowls, grate over fresh Parmesan cheese. Eat and enjoy.

For the second course, a classic dish of sausages and lentils.

Olive oil to coat the pan

1 onion finely diced

A garlic clove, skinned and smashed with the side of a knife

100ml Wine

50ml water

2 Italian sausages each

100g Lentils per person

1. To cook the lentils. Warm a large pan and add some olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the diced onion. Cover, lower heat and leave to sweat, Stir once in a while.
2. Once the onion is soft, add the lentils. Raise the heat a little and stir the lentils until you think they are beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan. Cover with water. Simmer till cooked.
3. When the lentils are nearly ready, put a frying pan on the heat. Add more olive oil and the garlic clove.
4. Cook for a minute or two then add the fennel sausages. Brown on all sides. Add the wine and let it bubble up for a few minutes. Add the water. Cover and cook on a gentle heat for about 10 – 15 minutes.
5. With a fork, mash up the garlic. Season.
6. Put the lentils in a warm dish, add the sausages then pour over the garlicky winey sauce. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley y voila. Enjoy.

We absolutely love this dish, and it is a perfect main course for anytime of the year, but works wonders on the soul on a cold autumn day. Enjoy.

Ham Hock Terrine

Terrines are awesome. There is something about off cuts of meat being packed into a loaf mould and cooked slowly to produce a delicious cold cut of taste and texture. They can be as rustic or as fancy as you like. Meat, veg or fish can be all made into a terrine. I even once made a three flavour jelly terrine. Brilliant it was, even if I do say so myself.

Terrines are the one thing that I like to judge a restaurant by. If the terrine is good, then you can bet the rest of the meal will be pretty nice also. Even though they are simple to make, care and attention has to go into them. Just a bit of love is needed.

I learnt to do this terrine at my stint in Café Boheme, and I’ve been doing it ever since. It is probably the easiest terrines to make ever. It doesn’t involve buying an expensive mould (even though I have one), and then carefully lining it with thinly sliced bacon and then gently building the terrine and cooking it at a slow temp for an age in the oven.

Nope, this one all you need to start is a big pot and a ham hock. This is the one thing that can be difficult to get. Well buying hocks are not difficult. The difficult thing is buying good ones. I’ve brought them from butchers all over London, and some from within Borough Market too. Most have been mediocre to say the least. But the best ones I’ve found have been from the Ginger Pig, and at £3.80p each. Bonus.

So what you need for the terrine is as follows:

1 Large Ham Hock

2 Carrots, chopped into thirds

2 Sticks of Celery, chopped into thirds

1 Onion, cut in half and studded with cloves

Maybe a leek

Parsley Sprigs

Black peppercorns

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Rosemary

Few fresh bay leaves

Fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Ground black pepper

Salt

As I said it is very easy to make.

Pop the hock in a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a simmer. Drain of this water and rinse the hock. You do this to get rid of some of the fat. It will give you a clearer stock later on.

Pop the hock back into pot and again cover with water. Bring to a simmer. Skim the scum off that forms on the top.  You will need to do this from time to time.

Add all the other ingredients. I am a traditionalist when it comes to studding my onions. No idea why I do it, but it looks good.

Now turn down the heat and let it bubble away for a few hours. You will know when it is done as the meat will be falling off the bone.

Once it has cooked. Take the hock out of the stock. Cut off the fat and skin and pop them back into the pot. Pump up the heat and let it reduce a little more.

Gently shred the meat in a bowl. You may have to let it cool a little, but not too much.

Mix thoroughly with finely chopped parsley, and season to taste. Remember to over season it, as you’ll be eating it cold and therefore any seasoning will be subdued by the coldness of the meat.

Now the minor hard part. You will need to cut off about 3 or 4 sheets of clingfilm about 12 inches long. Lay these on top of each other and flatten out. Add some of the now fatty stock to the meat mixture, not too much, but just enough to moisten it. This will help the mixture set in the fridge.

Now lay out the mixture on top of the clingfilm at the edge closest to you, but about 2 inches in. Stretch it out a little. Not too much as you do not want a thin sausage. Now the tricky part. This I sometimes have to do twice. Roll up into a sausage. Turning the ends in opposite direction to tighten the mixture. If there is air inside, prick it a few times with a sharp knife, and then roll it again in another two sheets of clingfilm. This expels the air and will help keep its shape in the fridge. Again roll very very tight. Tie the ends, either with string, or as I do with some Ikea bag clips.

Pop in fridge for 24 hours and leave it to set.

It will keep for about 5 days in total. But once I open mine its gone in a day.

The stock you can use for soups, curries etc. It can be a bit fatty, but you can de-fat your stock. You will need to pour it into a bowl through a sieve. Let this liquid cool down and then freeze it. Once frozen place it in a sieve lined with muslin cloth and leave to defrost in the fridge for about 24 hours. What you will be left with is a perfectly golden clear fat free flavoursome stock. My freezer is super small so I can only do a little at a time. But it’s a great thing to use. Best consommé I’ve ever had.

Serve the terrine cut into portions with small onions, cornichons, chutney and some good toasted bread. Eat and enjoy. 

Do you have the Heart?

Offal seems to be kind of coming back into fashion, although with some of us it never went out.

I know a lot of people who eat offal in restaurants, but refuse to cook it at home. Why? They say they are squeamish, hate the texture and the thought of touching a slimy product. Yuck. Oh boy.

But not only is offal high in vitamins, but it’s pretty damn cheap as well, and in these so called credit crunching times, (I want to shoot the person who came up with that saying) not only is it high in flavour, but low on the wallet too.

Offal is not that difficult to cook but it does require some respect and sometimes a little bit of pre planning and attention to detail, but the effort you put in is paid back to you in dividends in the end.

My favourite animal for offal is lamb. I love it, the kidneys, liver, and hearts. It’s amazing that from one small animal, its insides are so so good. Although lambs brains are the bottom of my list, after a dodgy episode in Kathmandu, which left me laid up for a week or two.

The offal from my other favourite eating animal, pig, which I find slightly too strong in flavour and not to my liking. For me lamb rocks. Although saying that, the liver from a baby tortured cow or calf is my favourite cut of all time. Dusted in flour, quickly fried in butter and served with peas and Jersey Royals. Heaven on a plate.

I was a fussy eating child, and would never eat any veggies at all. Those things changed as I grew up, although I still cannot stomach sprouts. But I did used to eat my dad’s lamb liver. Gorgeous.

I haven’t cooked hearts in a long time, but after seeing some for sale at the Ginger Pig in Borough Market. I had to grab a couple, and at 50p each. Cheapest dinner I’ll be cooking this week.

My normal way of cooking them is to give them a dusting of a Memphis bar-b-que rub. This I got it from a Steven Raichlen book. It works well and gives the heart a spicy note, which cuts through the fat a bit.

I’ve thought about stuffing and braising hearts, but I like them grilled. Pure and simple.

To prepare offal is pretty easy. I slice them in half from pole to pole. Give them a good rinse, getting rid of any traces of blood and cut away any sinew that will be there.

Then give them a thorough dusting of the rub, making sure every part is covered by the powder. Then place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge over night.

Before you cook them, make sure they are up to room temp before proceeding. After a bit of experimenting, I’ve found that about 2 or 2 ½ minutes each side will take them to about medium. Cooked but still nice and juicy.

As with meat you have to let them rest for a tad, then slice them and I serve with some sauté potatoes and a nice spicy salad. Yum yum yum.

So if you never tried hearts, give them a go….. 

Recipe for Chiang Mai Curry

Below is the recipe from Baan Thai of their version of Chiang Mai Curry described in my own way.

For the Paste you will need : 

10 Dried Red Chilli's

5 Tbsp Chopped Thai Shallots

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1/2 Tbsp Very finely chopped Galangal

2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Lemongrass

1 Tsp Shrimp Paste

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Chopped Coriander Root. 

For the Chiang Mai Curry itself : 

150g Pork Belly, cut into 3cm cubes

1 Tsp Chiang Mai Curry Paste

1/2 Tsp Masala Powder

10g Peeled Garlic

10g Sliced Shallots

15g Pickled Garlic

2 Tbsp Fish Sauce

20g Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Tamarind Juice

10g Sliced Ginger

4 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

Method

Curry Paste

1. Soak the dried red chilli's in water for about 2 minutes.

2. Pop the garlic into the mortar and pound it well. Add the shallots and lemongrass and pound again.

3. Add the galangal, kaffir lime peel, coriander root and pound it some more. 

4. Add the red chilli's and pound again.

5. Add the shrimp paste and pound it until all is combined and is a smooth paste.

6. This paste can be kept for a few months in a jar in the fridge. But fry it off in oil in a wok until it releases its aroma. This will stop it going sour.

7. If you make the paste in a blender, if you can, pound it a little to release the oils. This will make the finished curry taste so much better.

Chiang Mai Curry

1. Put the pork, Chiang Mai curry paste and the masala powder into a bowl and massage the meat until well covered. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour. More if possible.              Over night in the fridge would be best.

2. Heat a wok. Add the pork to the wok. Cook over low heat and stir constantly for 2 minutes. No oil here, as the pork will release a lot of fat.

3. Add water to the wok, just enough to cover. 

4. Simmer for 1 hour covered over a low flame. Keep checking and keep replenishing the water to the same level. Stirring occasionally.

5. Check the pork after an hour. If it is cooked, add the garlic, pickled garlic, shallot and sliced ginger. Stir.

6. Add the fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir. 

7. Add the tamarind juice. Stir. Once the sauce is nice and thick, it is ready. Check seasoning one last time.

8. Serve with Sticky Rice and Enjoy .......

This was one f my most enjoyable curries I have ever made. Not only was it fun to make, but it ate very well also. If you do get the chance, I recommend you give it a whirl. You will not regret it. Enjoy. 

Baan Thai Cookery School

www.cookinthai.com/index.php