Ever felt like a roast dinner, but with a slightly healthier slant? Ever felt that making a roast, especially for one or two people is just a bit too much of an ask following a heavy Saturday? Well, this recipe might just be a happy medium, with relatively less stress and preparation required in order to get a plate of warming, tasty roasted chicken at a reasonable price (should you have some of the ingredients to hand of course). What you need: 2 Chicken quarters (available at a pretty cheap price at most supermarkets or butchers – make sure they have the drumstick and thigh on) 1.5 to 2 pints of Chicken or Vegetable stock 1 large Courgette (15-20cm long) 2 Sticks of celery 75-100g Pearl Barley 300g of Black Eyed Beans 3 medium sized Cloves of Garlic 1 medium sized White Onion 1 Lemon 1 Lime 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil Salt and Pepper to season What to do: 1. Thinly slice the onion and garlic, fry them in a pan until turning slightly brown with the chicken quarters, score the chicken skin slightly diagonally across the quarters 3 times. Whilst the chicken is frying, in a saucepan bring the chicken stock to the boil and add the pearl barley to the stock and simmer for 45 minutes (picture 2). 2. Strip away some of the lime and lemon peel using a zester or grater, put this to one side. Cut the lemon and lime in half or quarters and place around the chicken quarters in foil (see picture 1). Make sure to add the garlic/onion too, wrap the foil up into a packet with a small vent to allow some steam to escape. Place this on a baking tray in the oven at 225 degrees Celsius or gas mark 7 for 30 minutes. 3. Chop the courgette, celery and drain the black eyed beans (if from a can, if cooking from dried, ensure that you follow the instructions to soak and then cook as appropriate). Add these to the stock and pearl barley (picture 3), top up with a little water if needed and simmer for 10-15 minutes with the zest of the lemon and lime from step 2. The barley, beans and vegetables should be in a very thick sauce at this point to ensure the entire dish remains moist. 4. To finish the chicken, open the foil and remove the lemon and lime and allow the chicken skin to crisp up – this should take 10-15 mins or so. 5. Make a bed of the barley, beans and vegetables, place the chicken over the top and season lightly. Bon appetite!
Pedro.
1 Comment
You’re never really sure what to expect from the experience of an opening night in a new restaurant, the build up often involves some excitement and apprehension, hoping that the food and ambiance are going to deliver something of an epiphany or at least a deeply satisfying experience. More often than not, you’re confronted by awkward mediocrity and not-exactly-dashed-hopes, but a very very mild sense of dissatisfaction before realising your expectations were probably unreasonable. Having had some dialogue with the proprietors of Neon Jamon through various social media and watched in passing the boards go up and then come down outside the Smithdown Place premises, the sense of hope (for a relatively local establishment) was pretty high, although balanced by the understanding that restaurants and bar often need some significant ‘bedding in’ before they hit a stride. Based upon the event of the opening night, there are a remarkably high number of positives to take home and a sense of satisfaction with the overall experience. The drinks on offer have a good range for those who are enthusiastic about all things Spanish, Alhambra, Mahou and Estrella all present (along with variations thereof, including the most excellent Estrella Inedit – see the earlier blog on Wheat Beer tasting: [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/1/post/2012/08/wheat-beer-tasting-session.html]) alongside sherry (as per the traditional Valencia Tapas experience), Cava and other wines and a reasonable selection of Brandy. Having ordered a variety of the tapas on offer, from obligatory crisp and acidity complimented patatas bravas and the earthy combination of morcilla and chorizo (cooked excellently to avoid the chewiness so often the plague of chorizo dishes) to a platter of Iberican cured Jamon, Semi-curado Mahon cheese and delicately meaty pulpo (octopus), reminiscent of a cerviche. The latter of these dishes, supposedly drawn from a recipe experienced by the proprietors in San Sebastian, was cooked brilliantly and thinly sliced to provide an almost poultry-porcine-like texture and steeped in a sauce of finely chopped sweet pepper and lemon oil. There are enough dishes on the menu to provide a new visit for at least 4-5 occasions for those feeling mildly greedy, but the main remit of Neon Jamon is seemingly to instil a sense of Continental calm to the Liverpudlian drinking ethic. The wish is to provide a watering hole with the option to eat as a secondary though, although based on the food provided on this first visit, it really isn’t something they should set out to put on the back burner. A balancing act is definitely to be had, but one suspects the provision of Kikones (fried salted corn kernels) and Habas Fritas (roasted broad beans) amongst olives, bread and cheese will provide some very pleasing bar snacks for those who are not visiting for a meal as such. Should you choose to dine here, there are plenty of seats for groups up to six with seated wall and window facing ledges more than sufficient for a few drinks and small plates of tapas. They do not accept bookings for groups of less than eight people, as they wish to maintain the remit of being a bar that offers good food as opposed to a restaurant that works as a bar. The surroundings are comfortable and reasonably lit with garlands of dried chillies adorning the wood and brickwork walls and ceilings. Price-wise, it is comparable to most tapas establishments in the UK, but the portion sizes are on the slightly more generous size than I have experienced recently, which is no bad thing when looking for a decent meal as well as a pleasant dining experience. The almost puppy-like enthusiasm of the staff at Neon Jamon was refreshingly pleasant in contrast to the often jaded approach taken in some very established restaurants and bars, the staff seemed pleased to talk about any of the dishes on offer and despite a relatively low turn-out (granted for a Monday night this should not be surprising) they did give the right amount of attention to the customers for service, much to their credit. It will take time for Neon Jamon to find its niche perhaps as many new places do; physically abound by the excellent Spire and many pubs and bars nearby, but maintaining the form on show it should not take too long. The opening night might be an unfair yardstick on which to judge an establishment for current form without having a busy evening to judge service or cooking, but based on the potential displayed, this could the beginning of something pretty special. Pedro. Neon Jamon is on Smithdown Place, Liverpool just off Smithdown Road and Penny Lane. Follow them on twitter here: https://twitter.com/neonjamon or @neonjamon Since the last week saw the 2012 UK Pie Awards, I decided to give in and bake a pie for dinner. I did cast out a few comments in flippant manner over twitter, but for those who didn’t see any of those, here is the full list of the winners: http://www.britishpieawards.co.uk/index.php?pid=102 Anyway, without further ado on the matter of awards, onto the game pie! As with many classic dishes, there are a multitude of recipes available and each chef or cook has their own twist to offer. I recently had a dabble with the recipe below, since I was very kindly given some excellent Pheasant by a friend and picked up some rabbit and venison from a good quality butchers fairly local to me. As with a lot of game pie recipes, there is a tendency to add bacon, but instead I opted to use something that I love and often have available in my refrigerator in Spanish Chorizo. The temptation is to usually fry this first to obtain all the lovely flavour from the paprika infused fats, but by finely chopping it and adding towards the end of the initial cooking stages, the meat doesn’t get the firm slightly chewy texture that is often prevalent. I have to admit to cheating slightly on this occasion as I used ready-made pastry for this pie, as a puff pastry can be tricky and very time consuming to make from scratch. A shortcrust can work just as well, but I shall cover my recipe another time. Ingredients: (serves 5-6) 400g Venison 200g Pheasant 150g Rabbit 50g Chopped Spanish Chorizo, finely chopped 1 Large White Onion, finely chopped 2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped 2 Bay Leaves 100ml water/stock* Few sprigs of fresh Thyme 4 tblsp Olive oil and 10g butter 1 medium egg (beaten) for glazing Roux for thickening (cornflour and milk) Pastry (shortcrust or puff – either is fine, can use frozen ready made pastry for ease) *A fresh stock can be made from any fat trimmed from the game meat, the top and bottom of the onion and any vegetable peel from an accompanying vegetable (eg. potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, celeriac etc). Place the peel/fat/waste in a saucepan and pour cold water on, enough to cover the ingredients. Heat to a simmer for at least 15 minutes – allow to cool and then strain the stock into a jug ready to add to the game meat etc (see photo 4 and step 2 below). What to Do:
1. Fry the onion (photo 2) until brown in the olive oil, then add the chopped garlic as the edges of the onion start to go brown in a large pan. 2. Add the game meat (rabbit, venison and pheasant - photo 1) and brown on a medium to low heat for 50 minutes in the pan with the bay leaves and thyme, after half an hour add the finely chopped Chorizo (photo 3). Occasionally add water or stock to the meat, keeping the pan to a low simmer, until all the stock has been added. 3. Use the roux to thicken the sauce up from the meat gravy. Add a few spoonfuls at a time, stirring through until the gravy is of a viscous consistency and will hold in the pie. Add the butter, stirring through and allowing to gently cool (photo 5). 4. Grease a large pie tin, place the sheet of pastry into the tin, allowing enough pastry at the edges for the base to dry and shrink into the tin. Blind bake (photo 6) until the pastry is golden at 200°C with ceramic beans in to prevent too much rise. Glaze the base of the pastry in the tin with the egg and allow to cool. 5. Add the game meat from the pan into the pastry base, removing the bay leaves. Place the second sheet of pastry over the top, again, allowing some shrink and cut some holes in the top to allow the steam to escape (photo 7). Glaze the edges of the base pastry and then use a fork to press the cover layer and base layer of pastry together. Glaze completely with the egg and place in the oven. 6. Bake the pie at 200-220°C for 25 minutes, turn to ensure even baking and then bake for a further 20-30 minutes at 170-180°C until golden (photo 8). 7. Allow cooling for 10-15 minutes and then serve slices of pie with vegetables or a salad. Preference is for roast potatoes and garden peas or a sweet potato/creamy celeriac mash. Enjoy!! :o) 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. |
Archives
April 2022
Archives
April 2022
Click ^ the RSS Feed to follow me
Categories
All
|