Salt Fish Croquettes with Mushy Peas and Tartare Sauce

I have another cold (boo hiss).  This means I need comfort food , something from childhood like fishfingers and mash or tomatoe soup.

With perfect forward planning or premoniton this Saturday,  I made some salt fish croquettes ready to heat through today.  I have been looking for something to do with the salt fish and with a free Saturday cookings I love making fishcakes you can make large batches and freeze for later , it meditatively messy making them and they always come out looking so picture perfect.

Once heated through in the  to re-crisp I ate these crunchy salty spicy bits were  ate them with mushy peas and tartar sauce, but I think that mashed potatoes,  ketchup or a spicy chilli sauce would also work well.

This is really a store cupboard meal, with a bit of forward planning . Even the peas are dried in the same aisle as the peas and also requiring steeping overnight like the fish, the tartar sauce is made with gerkins and capers.

Salt Fish Croquettes in Tartar Sauce

Makes 10 big croquettes

100g of salt white fish soaked for 12 hours in water , and chopped into small pieces
200g of potatoes peeled
2 tbsp of paprika
1 tbsp of chopped parsley
2 slices of bread
2 eggs

1. Boil the potatoes until soft
2. Meanwhile toast the bread and process into breadcrumbs
3. The mash with the cod, one egg,  parsley & 1 tbsp of  paprika
4. Leave to cool , then form into two heaped tablespoons sized croquettes
5. Beat the egg on a plate , on another plate mix the  breadcrumbs with the remaining tablespoon of paprika
6. First place the croquette in the egg then the breadcrumbs
7. Bake in the oven at 200degC for 15 minutes, these can be eaten immediately  left to cool and re-fridgerated or frozen to be re-heated later

Tartar Sauce

3 large gerkins finely chopped
1 tbsp of capers finely chopped
1/2 tbsp of fresh parsley chopped
1 tbsp of mayonnaise
Squeeze of lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix together the ingredients and refridgerate

Dried Peas
150g of dried peas
2 pints of vegetable stock

Soaked overnight ,  simmered in vegetable stock until soft approx 1 hour

Chinese Slow Cook Pork Shoulder with Five Spice Sauce

I really wanted to go for a walk this Saturday but we got a call to say a long awaited item was finally being delivered as usual they promised the morning , but morning means anytime between 9am and 2pm. Determined not to be my usual grumpy self I decided it would give me a chance for some attentive slow cooking

Though this recipe takes a really long time and some  attention the results are definitely worth it , spicy caramalised pieces on the outside of the joint of  tender melting pork that falls apart dipped in spicy unami sauce . In fact definitely hide anylefover or you will find yourself dipping pork into sauce straight from the pan or fridge. Any leftovers that do make it through can be added to weekday stirfrys or noodles soups making this a great alternative to a traditional roast but giving great leftovers.

Chinese Slow Cook Pork Shoulder with Five Spice Sauce

1 boneless pork shoulder  about 1kg , fat and rind removed ( you can make Pork Scratchings)
2 tbsp of thick soy sauce
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 thumb of ginger finely chopped
1 tbsp of dried chillli flakes
2 tbsp  of rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp of brown sugar
3 star anise
1 tsp of fennel
1/2 black pepper
1/5 pint of chicken stock boiling

To finish the sauce
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
1/2 thumb of fresh ginger
4 tbsp of honey

1. Turn the oven onto 190degC
2. Rub the pork shoulder all over with the soy sauce , ginger, fennnel,  chilli and garlic
3. Place in a cast iron casserole pot and pour over the chicken stock
4. Bring to a gentle simmer , cover & place in the oven for 1 hour at 190degc
5. Then turn down the oven to 150degC for 3 hours
6. Remove the pork from the juice and refridgerate the juice so you can skim off the fat.
7. The next steps can be done an hour before you are ready to serve
8. The simmer the sauce until it is reduced by half and add the finishing ingredients this will ensure the most flavoursome sauce, simmer until the consistency of sticky honey.
9. Turn the oven  to 190degC , carefully place the pork in a roasting dish the brush over with the sauce
10. Roast for 45 minutes turning basting two or three times, very carefully the meat will be very tender at this point

To serve

1. Pull apart the pork with a fork  and pour over the sauce.
2. Serve with noodles and green vegetables

Spring Onions , Cabbage and Sesame Noodles

100g of dried noodles
6 Spring Onions
1/2 Green Cabbage
Toasted sesame seed
1 tsp of rice wine vinegar
1 tsp of sesame oil

1. Finely slice a green leafy cabbage , and spring onion
2. Add the sesame seeds , rice wine vinegar and oil and leave for 15 minutes
3. Pour boiling water over the noodles and simmer til soft
4. Mix with the cabbage and serve

Potato, Kale and Chorizo Tortilla

This Sunday my head was pounding following a foolish consumption of gin on a Saturday night, truly ruinous but so delicious. All I managed to make on Sunday morning was Marmite and Toast, but I lay in bed listening to the blood thump in my ears, I  distracting myself thinking about what might be a good thing to make for someone similar afflicted and using ingredients in my fridge.

I settled on a classic tortilla with starchy potatoes , eggy protein and enough spicey chorizo to kick the fearsome hangover into touch.

I finally got around to making it Sunday evening delicious hot but something that can also be served sliced and cold for lunch or breakfast.

Potato Chorizo and Kale Tortilla

300g of waxy potatoes
6 eggs
100g of cooking chorizo
1 large onion finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3 tbsp of finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp of smoked paprika
6 handfuls of kale stems removed and roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until soften
2. Skin slice into 1/2cm slices,  fry the chorizo,  add the onions & garlic until soften.
3. Finely slice the potatoes and lay in 30cm diameter cake tin with removable base. Layer with the kale and onion & chorizo mix.
4. Beat the eggs, well with salt , pepper, fresh parsley & paprika
5. Pour the egg mix over the potatoes.
6. Bake in a pre-heated oven 190degC for 25 minutes it should stilll wobbly slighty , the tortilla will set if left for a few minutes.

Lamb Shanks with Butter Beans and Kale.

I love lamb shanks not only are they very easy to cook,  they require no carving to give perfect portions. Best with a slow cooking these fall apart sweet lamb and melting butter beans which soak up the sticky juice.

Lamb Shanks with Butter Beans and Kale

Serves 2

2 large lamb shanks
300g of butter beans soaked overnight
300ml of red wine
500ml of water
2 large springs of rosemary
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic
Salt and Pepper

Heat the oven to 160degC.
Season the lamb shanks well with salt pepper and finely chopped rosemary
Add a little oil to a large casserole dish and heat on the hob.
Fry the lamb shanks until brown on all sides.
Add the onion ,  garlic,  red wine & water and bring to a gentle simmer
Add the butter beans, cover and and place in the oven for 2 hours, removing the lid for the last 30 minutes.
If you can leave overnight to cool in the oven and skim off the fat from the surface then reheat by adding handfuls of roughly chopped kale, stirred into the gravy it will cook in a few minutes

Pork Scratchings

Last we I made a pork goulash the results were too disappointing to blog ,recipes suggested cooking til the  the pork til it was falling apart but the texture just seemed to stringy with no real bite, the flavour was good so something I will work on.

However the recipe did have one positive result, the recipe required me to remove the skin and fat from a large shoulder of pork,  this meant I could indulge in a little extra  porky goodness and make some pork scratchings. A pub classic , and  now my dad would make this from thick bacon rind using  the microwave ( 20 minutes on a medium setting makes a passable impression of pork scratchings)

But these were the real thing , a little reading  including St John – Nose to Tail suggested a long salting of the skin, which I did for more than a week , covering the skin in sea salt in the fridge, this draws out water from the skin.

After that I cooked the scratchings in the oven at 180degC for 1.5 hours draining the fat regularly. I was  thinking of making  fat balls for the hungry birds mixed with bird seed , but as BT has pointed out below this may not be a good idea, I have emailed the RSPB to check.

I think I should have sliced the pork skin more thinly , at half an inch wide , the scratching resemble thick chips,   the scratchings are quite bulky rather than the twiry crispy things, the taste however is spot on cruncy & salty.

Root Vegetable , Barley , Kale & Sausage Stew

There were a few chipolata sausages leftover from Christmas in the freezer not quite enough for  meal so I made a soup bulked out with pearly barley , root vegetables and kale . Despite some substantial ingredients this was light dish nutritious and tasty.

Root Vegetable , Barley , Kale &  Sausage Stew

1 large swede – peeled and chopped into 1 cm cubes
2 large carrots finely chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
5 pork and sage chipolata sausages
2 cloves of garlic
2 pint of vegetable stock
4 handfuls of kale removed from any really fibrous stalks
1 tsp of wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper
Sprinkling of fresh chives

1. Simmer all the vegetables in half  stock together until soft about  30 minutes
2. Meanwhile grill the sausages til brown then cut into 1.5cm pieced
3. Puree , then add the other pint of stock  pearl barley and the sausages
4. Simmer for 30 minutes for the last 10 minutes, add the kale and mustard.
5. Taste and season with salt and pepper
6. Garnished with chives

Barnsley Lamb Chops with Root Puree and Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Barnsley chops are large double sided chop,  taken from right across the loin of the lamb, this gives plenty of meat and an insulating layer of fat. One per person is fine , I have cooked them before with kidney and bubble and squeak cakes

A visit to Derby Market provided some fresh Barnsley Chops,  these are easily cooked . Simply season with a little salt and pepper , place under a hot grill for 10 minutes then turned over and cook for another 5 minutes.  Allow the chops to rest for 5 minutes. The result is sweet juicy meat still pink inside but caramalised on the outside with crispy fat .

I wanted to use seasonal vegetables and the vegebox has been overloading me with swede, which I have to confess I find a bit strong and woody,  but I have found the perfect recipe to make a sweet and delicious puree, this works well with swede and carrot but also good with combinations of parsnip , swede  carrot , sweet potato or celeriac.

This will definitely be a winter staple with beef and soon haggis for Burns night.

Root Puree

Makes enough for two

1 large swede peeled and choped into 2cm cubes
2 large carrots peed and chopped in 1/2 cm
1 tsbp of vegetable bullion or half a vegetable stock cube
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 pints of boiling water
1 tsp of wholegrain mustard

Place the swede, carrot garlic onion and bullion into a large pan
Cover and bring to the boil simmer for 30 minutes for the last 10 remove the lid
Drain the vegetables and puree in a food processer with the mustard

Duck Breasts with Flagolet Beans

I managed to make it down to London for work on Monday however it was  very dangerous to leave the office even for a sandwich. Not because of icy pavements but since my route always takes me right past the window Greensmiths the Butchers always stacked with lovelysausages , this week it was a little sparse hampered by the weather I suspect,  but there were some lovely large duck breasts.

There are lots of recipes for duck with fruit sauces , cherries , oranges & pomegranates I even found a vietnamese recipe with pineapple . However in the end I settled on a light version of cassoulet with lovely green flagolet beans . Though these dried beans  need to be soaked overnight all the other preperation is hands off the beans slightly thickening a vegetable stock and flavoured with herbs

This simple recipe meant  could really taste the succulent  duck blushing pink inside with a thick tasty  layer of  fat  perfectly browned & caramalised.

Duck Breasts with Flagolet Beans

200g of dried flageolet beans  soak overnight
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
5 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1.5 pints of vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Fresh Parsley finely chopped

1. Ensure the dried beans have been soaked for at least 8 hours.
2. Simmer the flagolet beans for at least one hour in the stock and herbs for at least one hour with the lid on.
3. Simmer the beans a futher 15 minutes with the lid off to allow the stock to reduce, you do not need to drain the beans , since the stock should form a tasty juice.
4. Just before serving stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Duck Breasts
2 large duck breasts
Sea salt and pepper
Olive Oil

1. Season the duck breasts well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2. Heat the a dash of olive oil in a hot non-stick pan until very hot
3. Place the duck breasts skin side down in the pan , turn the heat down a little
4. Cook the breast for 8 minutes or so then turn over a cook for another 5 minutes
5. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Beef Stew with Root Vegetables and Dumplings

I am suprised I have lasted this long,  with the vegebox was stuffed with root vegetables and the weather below freezing . My body was crying out for stodge and most specifically stew.

In Nottingham Market,  this weekend we picked up some beef shin,  and then we went to the cinema and at this point I totally lost my appetite . We saw The Road an amazing film,  but given the themes of canabalism  the big red joint of meat didn’t look so appealing and I opted for stir fry for dinner.

I was still feeling a bit squeamish the next day and so I turned to my lovely sous chef for preparation. While I am pretty slapdash in my cookery , if Nick is cooking everything has to be peeled & trimmed properly , the vegetables get cut into perfect cubes and most timeconsuming of all he cleans while he goes. It means food can take a while to make it to the oven but unlike some of my dishes they don’thave grit in it and the kitchen doesn’t look like a toddler Gordon Ramsay has had a tantrum in it .  Stew is a dish you wait for and I settled down with a good book  enjoying the delicious smells wafting through the house. Breaking into the kitchen only to throw a carrot cake into the oven to accompany the bubbling caramlised stew and ridding us of more root veg.

Eventually  feeling  annoyed at myself for not contributing and to give myself the right to blog this increasingly delicious looking dish I decided to add some dumplings for the final 30 minutes of cooking , using the vege-suet leftover from mincemeat making at Christmas.

On serving the stew consisted of meltingly soft meat &  sweet root vegetables perfectly soft but still dinstinguisable in thick gravy scented with herbs and a bite of black pepper.  The dumplings were perfectly risen,  puffy absorbent pillows of startchiness soft with gravy. Stew is morish a meal you have to stop yourselt eating before your stomach explodes especially because it will only improve with age.

Beef Stew and Dumplings

Makes enough for four

500g shin of beef  trimmed  &cut into 2cm chunks
3 carrots  peeled and but into 1 cm disks
2 large parsnips peels and cut 1.5 cm cubes
1 medium sized swede peeled & cut into 1.5 cm cubes
1 large onion roughly chopped
5 cloves of Garlic peeled and left whole
10 sprigs of thyme strip the leaves from the stalk
10 tbsps of flour seasoned with salt and pepper
Sunflower oil  to fry the beef
1/2 cup of red wine or beer
1 litre of vegetable or beef stock

Dumplings ingredeints
100g of self raising flour
50g of vegetable/beef suet
1 tsp of horseradish
1 few spring of fresh thyme
50ml of water
Salt and Pepper

1. Roll the diced beef in the seasoned flour to coat
2. The fry in batches to brown in a pan with sunflower oil
3. Deglaze the pan with the red wine/beer and place in large lidded casserole dish
4. Add vegetables to the beef and pour over the stock bring to a gentle simmer , add the thyme
5. Cover the casserole and place in the oven at 150degC for 2.5hours
6. For the last 30 minutes of cooking remove the lid , mix togther the dumpling ingredients,  form using your hands into golf ball sized balls and drop on top of the stew . This should make 8, make sure there is a little room between the dumplings and they will spread a little when cooking .
7. Return to the oven for the final 30 minutes of cooking until the dumplings have begun to brown

Salmon with Roasted Beetroot and Salsa Verde

Obviously trying to be healthy for the New Year, even though the winter weather is  making it pretty hard to get out.

Fortunately the freezer is well stocked and thanks to my permanent pre-apocalyptic hoarding off foods I won’t starve . Finally to stave off scurvy the vegebox man has got through the ice and snow .He is obviously more daring than me since I have been desk-monkeying it from home .

This dish is kind of borrowed from something Valentine Warner cooked a Beetroot in Green Sauce but the salmon adds a touch more protein and also gives some pretty cool colour combinations.

 Salsa verde is a good sauce to use up some slightly past it herbs by some store cubboard essentials the herbs with perk up in the oil and you can use the stalks.I used parsley because amazingly some has lasted from a bunch for Christmas stuffing,  but fresh tarragon or mint would also work well.

You can taste this dish doing you all kinds of good, must be so many anti-oxidants or some such in this,   it was certainly zingly ( Yep zingly a new word I am promoting rather than a mistype).

Salmon with Roasted Beetroot and Salsa Verde

Roasted Beetroot

2 medium Beetroot
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Chop the beetroot into 1cm cubes
2. Drizzle with olive oil and cumin seeds
3. Roast at 180degC for 20 minutes

Salsa Verde

1 large handful of fresh parsley finely chopped
8 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of capers finely chopped
8 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
Salt and Pepper

1. Mix together and leave for 20 minutes
2. Then add salt and pepper to season

Salmon Fillets

2 salmon fillets happily farmed fish
1 tsp of butter
Seasoned with salt and pepper

Finally melt the butter in a warm pan and fry on the skin side first for a few minutes, then turn and finish for a few more minutes . You could grill it but I like the crispy skin and it never seems to work for me under the grill