Quite often, fusion dishes can be very off-kilter in terms of ingredients clashing and jarring once tickled your taste-buds. On this occasion, I was faced with a dilemma of choosing between something traditionally British of the roast variety, or to have something Chinese to see in the New Year. I chose to try and sate both needs in one dish and think it came off rather well. The dish is essentially roasted beef sausages (you can use roast beef – which would probably be just as satisfying), with a giant Yorkshire pudding and oriental greens in a spiced gravy. Trust me, it worked. What you Need (to make two portions): 4-6 Beef Sausages 1 pak choi, washed and shredded 2 stems of celery, chopped coarsely small handful of Mange Tout 1 green pepper 1 red chilli, sliced finely 1 clove garlic, chopped finely or minced For the batter: 150ml whole milk 3-4 eggs pinch of sugar pinch of salt 110g of plain white flour 1 tsp szechuan pepper ½ tsp black pepper Beef Dripping and vegetable oil for cooking For the Gravy: Stock made from the vegetable off cuts (100ml) 1 beef stock cube 2 bay leaves 2 tsp dark soy 1 tsp light soy 1 tsp szechuan pepper ½ tsp Chinese five-spice 1 tsp rice vinegar additional water or stock to loosen as required What to do: 1. Prepare the Pudding batter at least 90 minutes before cooking, combine all the ingredients and fold into one another without being too rough, once homogenised, leave in the refrigerator for at least 60 mins. Take this out and allow to reach room temperature before cooking. 2. Roast the sausages in the oven at 225 C until dark brown, set aside or leave in oven to cook with the Yorkshire puddings which are ready around 20-30 minutes after putting in the oven at the highest setting, ensuring the pudding trays are hot before adding the batter – this is crucial!! Use a liberal amount of beef dripping and the vegetable oil in the pudding trays, heat these up on a hob until smoking and ensure they are hot all over before adding the batter mix equally between two 6-7” pie dishes/pudding trays. The puddings are done once they have risen and are dark brown and golden all over where you can see. 3. Stir fry the vegetables, doing the celery first over a medium heat in a pan or wok, add the garlic and chilli followed by the other vegetables one at a time, not over cooking and allowing them to retain a crunch and freshness. Add the pak choi last, turning off the heat and immediately place a lid over the top, allowing the vegetables to steam. 4. Pour the stock (made from boiling the offcuts of the vegetables and the bay leaves for 15 mins if you don’t have prepared stock) into a saucepan and simmer with the stock cube, soy and szechuan pepper until reduced and thickened, you can use a roux or browning to thicken the sauce if you want plenty of gravy. Turn off the heat once your preferential consistency is almost reached and add the rice vinegar and five spice, stir these in whilst the gravy is still hot and serve immediately by pouring over the sausages, veg and pudding. Satisfyingly earthy, meaty, tasty and fresh. Enjoy and feel free to share any anecdotes of attempts below the line! Pedro. x
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Generally speaking, those people that are acquainted with me know my feelings regarding chain restaurants and PubCos (let’s just say it’s not usually a pleasant tirade I venture on when asked). On this occasion, I was more than a little curious to wander into town to investigate the opening of a new branch of the Brown’s (which has now been operating in one form or another since 1973) in Liverpool One to coincide with its 40th Anniversary. Upon doing a bit of research and speaking to a couple of colleagues who had been to other branches in the UK, very consistent opinions were brought forth; mainly consisting of ‘decent if unspectacular’, ‘well-put-together pub menu food’ and ‘classic dishes done well, but nothing mind-blowing’. Possibly less than generous and not a singing appraisal of what Brown’s brings to the table; but not entirely misleading either. In fact, I’d venture it’s actually less than they deserve based on the strength of the preparation of the food myself and cohort were given upon our visit. Thankfully on this visit, having a few friends along for the ride made exploration of the menu a less greedy affair than if I’d attempted to try more than 2-3 courses alone. Upon being seated in the wood, glass and brass (a nod to the classic 1930s feel the restaurant seems to aspire to) surroundings we were enthusiastically encouraged to try and order as much variety from the menu as possible, thankfully the variety of the menu made doing so quite easy. A difficult selection had to be made for the starter with crab, lobster, scallops, venison, tuna carpaccio and goat’s cheese all making an appearance. The tuna, lobster and venison dishes were all chosen by my colleagues, whilst I elected to pursue a crab and avocado stack. As a confession, I am less than enamoured with avocado usually, but on this occasion it performed its role perfectly in allowing the salty sweet white crab to sing atop its platform. A brittle rectangular crostini presented some additional texture and a means to dilute the rich stack of cucumber, crab, tomato, avocado and dressing. The soft, sweet and tangy tuna carpaccio was excellently executed aside from an over-generous glug of vinegar-acidity, most likely from the Dijon mustard. The slaw and other elements complimented the sashimi grade tuna very well indeed. The rather Spartan portion of lobster croquettes was initially a disappointment, with two golden-brown parcels leaning on a small salad, however; having broken into the crisp shell there awaited a superbly seasoned and flavoursome filling of lobster meat and potato only serving to highlight a requirement for at least one more croquette to be entirely sure that you loved it. The venison, as with the tuna, was deliciously pink and served easily on the eye and with a flavour to accompany. The mains were rather more standard options; with two steaks (rib-eye) both cooked succulently and presented with proper chips to mop up any residual steak juice, a pasta dish combining crab and king prawns and the wild boar and chorizo burger. All dishes were presented well and cooked equally so, although running out of pie was a slight disappointment to my colleague, he had soon forgotten about crusty pastry when presented with a generous slab of boar, cheese and chorizo. The selection on the menu covered salads, seafood and grill options that if they are all executed thus, form the bedrock to a very pleasantly solid dining experience. On this visit, I did decide to be greedy and partake in dessert, along with two of my cohort. Brown’s do specialise in chocolate brownies, with the option taken to test this boast on the dark chocolate and pistachio ice cream offering. The brownie was soft and giving with a lovely balance handled by the ice cream, nothing to set fireworks off, but satisfying nonetheless. The salted caramel cheesecake is very a la mode, but well presented and given an added dimension with the lime sauce and drizzled caramel around a well made tranche of cheesecake. The Eton Mess was a variation on a theme and again, well put together with cherries, white chocolate, meringue and cream, looks of softened satisfaction were present all round the table. As with any restaurant that had just opening (or about to open in this case), there were some teething problems present with the staff co-ordination, but expect these to be ironed out in due course as the enthusiastic members of the team become comfortable in their roles. Everyone was friendly with a pleasant attitude on the evening and made dining at Brown’s an enjoyable experience. In terms of price, some dishes are more reasonably priced than others and they hide the cost of the beers altogether in the drinks menu which can lead to a little unpleasant bill reading if you’ve put a few pints away. A well thought out menu, cooked well, presented well and paired with a comfortable environment in which to dine, this is another good option for a dining experience in the city. Until next time!! Pedro. --------------------------------- Browns can be found at: 43a Paradise Street, Liverpool, L1 3EU Telephone: 01517 091 693 Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrownsLiverpool Everybody knows somewhere decent they can pick up a handmade burger with fries, chips, wedges and a side salad or whatever else tickles the chef’s fancy in whatever establishment people find themselves in. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with burgers down the years; some really good ones eaten in a variety of pubs/bars which do excellent beers to accompany a tasty meat patty (or bean burger where the fancy has taken me), where others including a dabble with the trial and error of homemade burgers using eggs, flour, onions and beef mince have met with curiously mixed results (including terribly flavourless ones). Two places of note where I have had excellent burgers and they continue to supply fine beers alongside great burgers and fluffy crispy french fries or skins-on-chips are firstly The Holyrood [ http://fullerthomson.com/eating-and-drinking/holyrood/ ] located on Cowgate just off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh which has an extensive burger menu including chicken and numerous vegetarian options and the second is The Shipping Forecast [ http://www.theshippingforecastliverpool.com/ ] in Liverpool on Slater Street. Both places stick in my mind at the moment as the best places I have eaten a burger in recent memory anyway, but should I find any more, I will add them via a comment. With regard making your own burgers, there are a number of recipes that I have tried, as mentioned above. The results were mixed, no doubt. However, upon taking advice, mainly from two people; one being my sister in law and using her approach to making meatballs/meat in a ragu sauce (which I incidentally used in my Mexican Chilli but never considered before); and the second from my friend’s Brother. He spent a great deal of time in Texas, being a geologist and drilling for oil, but was told if he was going to stay in Texas, he must learn to Barbeque properly. This involved making burgers; he always said to use the cheapest and fattiest mince (don’t forget fat = flavour!!) and to pound it within an inch of its life (if it had one) and then reform the mince into a patty. Further inspiration was taken from the different styles of meatballs that people make, I recently read an article on the Guardian website written by Felicity Cloake in her ‘The Perfect…’ column [ http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/felicity-cloake+lifeandstyle/series/how-to-cook-the-perfect ]. Although for ultimate burger satisfaction, I will forego any breadcrumbs in my recipe. Fret no more guys, because below you will find my standard burger recipe that has what I regard as an excellent savoury flavour and good texture. I’ve made it as simple as possible and removed a lot of superfluous stuff that used to pollute my wares. If you want to alter the recipe to your taste though, feel free, there is lots of ‘wiggle room’! Ingredients (Makes 4 ~½ pounders):
600g Beef Mince (or chuck – put through a mincer on finest setting) 400g Pork Mince 1 Red Chilli, finely chopped and de-seeded 1 Red onion, very finely chopped 3 Cloves of garlic Salt and Pepper to season as required What to do: 1. Make sure the chilli, onion and garlic are all very finely chopped to ensure even distribution during the mixing of the burger patties. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine the beef and pork mince with the onion, garlic and chilli. Add seasoning as required at this stage, but don’t make it too salty, as the pork will provide much of the savoury kick needed. 2. If you’re making ½ pounders, then divide the thoroughly mixed forcemeat into four equal portions and shape each one into a burger patty using your hands. Now add a pinch of salt to each side of the burger patties and leave to rest for around 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes is up, take a paper towel and pat dry any water that is drawn out of the burger patties. 3. Fry the burger patties in a little oil in a skillet pan if possible on a medium to low heat to ensure they are cooked thoroughly (being so thick, you’ll need a while to ensure they are cooked). A giveaway to the burgers being cooked though is that the juice will run clear as you press the burger patty down using a slice or spatula; juice from an uncooked patty will be cloudy or bloody. 4. Allow the burgers to rest for 5 minutes once they’re cooked and then add to your bun with a relish or seasoning of your choice. With these burgers, I have found that some more red onions, a little mayonnaise and coarse grain mustard along with fresh rocket is absolutely fine! Enjoy amigos! Pedro. x Buenos Dias/Tardes Mis rasa! I hope at least some of you have found some time to have a crack at making the last recipe I put on here. In a similar vein, I am sticking with a hispanic comfort foody theme for this second recipe. I have made this a couple of times now and I have given it my own slight twists in order to bring out some flavours in the dish which I though were the best bits, so before anyone goes shouting at me that it's not truly *authentic* - I know it isn't!! :op That shouldn't put you guys off though, as stated previously, it's all about picking ideas out and even putting your own take into action on any given recipe and tailor it to your, or whoever you're feeding's pallette. First, a bit of background on this dish. As the title suggests, it's a South American, specifically Chilean recipe which is taken from a traditional dish of Chile, if not the national dish of the country. It works based on the sweet and salty balance of the various ingredients and contains some unusual ingredients that may raise a few eyebrows amongst more conservative cooks among us. The Ingredients: 3 medium red or white onions, chopped, 2 cloves chopped garlic, olive oil, 700-800g or 1.5 pounds of beef mince, splash (1 tblspn) of balsamic vinegar, 100ml red wine - preferably chilean, a carmenere maybe! 3 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, 1-2 tsp ground black pepper, 3 cups sweetcorn (fresh or frozen will be fine), 100ml whole milk, 10g butter, 10-15 leaves finely chopped basil, 1 small spring of Thyme, 2-3 heaped tblsp of raisins, 175-200g chopped black olives, 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped, 4 shredded roasted chicken thighs. What to do: 1. First thing to do is to get the chicken thighs nice and crispy and extract some flavour to go with the beef mince, so add some olive oil to a frying pan and get it fairly hot before adding the four chicken thighs. Cook these through until the skins have gone crispy and golden (Picture 1). Place them onto a plate or a wooden chopping board to rest. Do not discard the oil in the pan as the onions and mince will now be cooked in this. 2. Fry the onions until they are translucent and starting to brown, now add the beef mince and cook through, breaking it up and mixing with the onions as thoroughly as possible (Picture 2), add the black pepper, cumin, two chopped cloves of garlic, raisins and olives once the mince has all browned. fry for another 5 minutes and then add the balsamic vinegar first, then the red wine and simmer until these are reduced by half with the juices from the beef mince. 3. Now, allow this to rest in the pan while you boil the four eggs until they are hard all the way through. You can even perhaps do this step first, drain off the water and remove all the shells from the eggs. Roughly chop them into quarters or slices as to your preference. 4. Pour the beef mince, raisins, olives and onions into a casserole dish. On top of the mince, place the chopped hard-boiled eggs. Now you will need to shred the chicken off the bone, the best technique is probably using two forks to pull the chicken off the bone and break it up as much as possible. Place the shredded chicken thighs (without the bones!!) across the beef and eggs and move to one side (Pictures 3 and 4). 5. To make the topping for the Pastel De Choclo, you will need to add the milk, butter, salt, sweetcorn, thyme and basil together in a blender and blitz them until you have a fairly smooth liquor, I usually hold back a small amount of the sweetcorn to add in after this blitzing. Add this topping liquid to a saucepan and simmer until this is reduced by approximately a third of it's original volume. You can then pour this over the top of the rest of the casserole, ensuring even coverage. The topping should be quite thick so as it stays on the top of the other meatier parts of the dish. 6. Transfer the Pastel De Choclo into an oven at gas mark 8 or around 220 degrees celsius. Cook until the crust has gone a golden brown colour, don't be put off by the green tinge given by the basil!! (Picture 5.) There you have it... it is definitely best served hot on a cold day to provide some comfort. I usually just serve it with some crusty bread or a crunchy side salad to provide some contrast. You can play about with this recipe depending on how sweet or salty you like the contrast in the meat and the corn topping. I tend to tone down the sweeter flavours, but you can add some brown sugar or molasses to the topping if you fancy making it a sweeter proposition!
As a wine recommendation (for those waiting for one), something Chilean would be spot on, at the moment, Asda are doing a very very affordable Cabernet Sauvignon-Carmenere called Gran Tierra, it hits the spot and goes pretty well with this dish. The beauty of the Asda stuff is that it's only £4 a bottle at the moment whereas I have seen it in other supermarkets pushing £9. Bargain (at the time of writing the blog that is!!). For me, any decent Carmenere would go well with this dish as it is robust enough to handle the red meat, saltiness and the sweetness of the crust. Have fun and enjoy guys!! Pedro. |
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