Fishcakes with Wood Sorrel Salad and Dressing

Common Wood-sorrel Oxalis acetosella is one of my favourite wild foods , food in woods it small white flowers with pink streaks. The leaves have a lemony acid taste , I found plenty of growing in the the woods on Saturday.

Once picked wood sorrel has lovely bright pink stems beautiful and
delicious in salad, once cooked the sorrel loses its punch so I think
it’s best in salads or dressings however tonight I tried sorrel cooked
in the fishcakes, raw in salad and as flavouring in the dressing.

I mixed plenty of sorrel leaves into the salad leaves ( grown in the garden) and the dressing and they really do pack a lemony acidic punch in both the salad and the dressing . Couldn’t taste then a great deal in the fishcakes which were delicious nontheless crunchy edges light fluffy potato and delicious salmon.

A perfect light dinner for a Sunday night

Salmon Fishcakes

300g of floury potatoes cut
200g of skinless salmon fillets
1 handful of wood sorrel
1 small bulb of wet garlic
1 tbsp of butter
Salt and pepper

To coat

100g of breadcrumbs
1 egg

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft
2. Steam the salmon above the potatoes for the final 3 minutes
3. Mash the potatoes with plenty of salt and pepper
4. Mix in the salmon , wet garlic, sorrel
5. Shape the mixture into cakes with your hands about 1.5 cm thick 5cm across
6. Lay the cakes on a baking sheet and refridgerate for at least  20 minutes
7. After the cakes come out the fridge dip each first into beaten egg then roll into the breadcrumbs.
8. Returns to a baking sheet and either fry in sunflower oil or bake at 190degC for 30 minutes.

Sorrel Dressing

2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp of olive oil
3 tbsp of chopped wild sorrel
1 tsp of wholegrain mustard

Mix together the dressing ingredients

Crab and Cold Noodle Salad

Having a lovely Friday night in by myself , researching for our grand summer adventure. Nick and I have negotiated a whole month off over the summer and are
planning on going travelling,  beggining in Thailand ( catching up with a freind and moving onto and more of SE
Asia) neither of us have had ever had this long off work or had the
chance to travel.

Hopefully our travels will open up more culinary experiences but this will have to do for now it was zingy and fragrant plenty of fresh flavours and ready in just a few minutes.

Any travel suggestions gratefully received.

Crab and Noodle Salad

1 sheet of egg noodles
1 tin of crabmeat
1 clove of garlic grated
1/2 thumb of ginger
1 tbsp of chilli oil
1/2 red chilli finely chopped
1 spring onion
1 handful of fresh coriander
1 tsp of rice vinegar
1/2 lime juice and zest

Bring the noodles to a boil and cook as per packet instructions
Mix together the chlli onion, ginger, oil line juice and zest
Mix in the crab meat and coriander
Rinse the noodles in cold water to cool them
Stir into the crab meat and servce

Summer Brisket

 Beef Brisket  is a cut from the breast of the animal usually rolled and tied. Marbled with fat,  it is best suited to slow casserole cooking and so I have always counted as a winter joint for the depth of winter with carrots and onions.

So I was surprised when Nick said he had picked  up a Brisket joint from the butchers and curious how it could be converted into a dish more suited to the summer weather.  Luckily we are getting some summery vegetables in the vegebox, using fresh red peppers and tomatoes to the usual slow gave a sauce bursting with sunshine with no addition of water or stock. Next time I might add some butter or cannellini beans which might require the addition of water but this was delicious with some boiled new potatoes.

Summer Beef Brisket

800g rolled beef brisket
4 rashers of streaky bacon
500g of onions roughly
500g of fresh plum/beef tomatoes roughly chopped
150g of red pepper roughly chopped
1tsp of salt
1sp of pepper

Lay the bacon at the bottom of an ovenproof dish
add the brisket and heap the chopped vegetables all around
Season with salt and pepper
Cover and cook at 160degC for 2.5 hours

Hot Smoked Salmon

Bank Holiday weekend busy DIYing after the full day inside with a wallpaper steamer we squished in a BBQ yesterday ,but Nick was really keen to play with his new hot smoker so we finished a bit early .

All credit for the new addition to our culinary battery goes to  Domestic Goddess in Training a few months ago she posted a picture of her hubbys homemade hot smoker.  It stirred the engineer in Nick and perhaps I would have twigged sooner what he was up to if I didn’t always leave  the house before the postman comes with sneaky ebay purchases .

Arriving home on Friday night I was led into the kitchen to see his project. I am not an engineer so my first guess was bread oven, and second guess bomb. Once I twigged I was pretty happy I love smoked food but coming from a studio flat my only previous attempt at smoking left my curtain and bedding smelling of smoke for weeks.

This time we were able to smoke outside using my portable camping stove as a heat source ( it’s fueled by petrol)

For the smokers maiden voyage Nick smoked  salmon fillets after soaking the woodchips in water first the salmon  smoked/cooked in just 20 minutes eaten warm from the smoker moist and lightly smoked . My contribution was some salad leaves fresh from the garden and a dressing of wholegrain mustard oil and lemon juice  .

Jamie Olive achives a similar effect using a biscuit tin on the hob instructions here
or for a larger version here are instructions for a trashcan smoker the basic principles apparrently apply to any metal container . I am looking forward to more smoked food , thinking some nice duck breast when in season. Here’s to a smoking summer.

 

BBQ Pork Ribs with Jerk Seasoning

I am trying not be sad that on a glorious bank holiday weekend we are eschewing our usual camping trips and getting stuck into some DIY , I moved into the lovely Nicks’ house a few months ago , after several years weekends commuting the 100 miles between our respective homes. It’s lovely living with him in many ways but the  floral wallpaper from the previous owner just has to go.

My only break yesterday in six hours of wallpaper stripping was to season some pork ribs Nick has picked up from the butchers , they are becoming firm pals describing meat and as it turns out the butcher knew before I did he was secretly  building a smoker inspired by the online antics of Domestic Goddess in Trainings’ smokin Hubby . I am sitting watching him play with it right now. Thank you Wi-fi

The one kilo of pork ribs had been cleaned by the butcher so all I needed to do was rub plenty of jerk seasoning ( a blend of chillis cinamona , coriander , peppercorns, allspice( jamaican pimento ) garlic and nutmeg ) all over them . I  gave them a bit of a start in the oven 25 minutes at 200deg meant they only needed 10 minutes either side on the BBQ some recipes a read reccomended boiling them first . I have to confess I have never really like ribs viewing them as sticky
sauce covered overpriced bones, but given the noises I was making last
night I think I am a convert perhaps even as an evangelist

They were incredibly meaty with the delicious fragrant heat of the jerk seasoning  and less fat than something like pork belly .  Finally  given my truely pathetic carving of meat I am delighted ribs
pretty much have the dotted line saying  “cut here”.  If the butchers
was open on a Bank Holiday the lovely boyfreind would be dispatached to
buy more

Roasted Chicken with summer vegetables

Summer vegetables are appearing from the Riverford Farms in Spain , last weekend I treated them to homemade pasta , as the summer vegetables begin to glut this chicken dish is an excellent way of cooking lots of vegetables , it also works with sausages.

I got this recipe from a stylish french lady a good few years ago, not  only do you get a chicken that sauces the vegetables making a delicious gravy. Once you have stuffed yourself with plenty of chicken and vegetables any leftover vegetable and chicken can be frozen  heated it through with passata or fresh tomatoes in season gives rich pasta sauce for the perfect ready meal .

I served it with some polenta my first time using it like Anne Kitchen I have had some in my cupboard for a while check out her lovely Mediterranean Vegetable Polenta Cakes . As an accompaniment I cooked simply cooked as instructed stirring in boiling water and adding a little salt and pepper

Roasted Chicken with summer vegetables

1 Happy Organic Chicken
1 aubergine
2 courgettes
1 red pepper
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
300g of passata
Half a preserved lemon
4 tbsp of sun dried tomatoes
Handful of black or green olives
4 tbsp of olive oil
3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
Handful of fresh herbs ( oregeano parsley & thyme)

1. Chop all of the vegetables into 1 cm cubes
2. Finely chop the sun dried tomatoes , lemon , olives and herbs together mix with vegetables
3. Place the vegetable mix in the bottom of a roasting dish and pour over the passata , herbs & balsamic vinegar . Season with salt and pepper
4. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and rub the vegetables over the bird to coat it with oil and flavours
5.  Roast at 190degC for one and a half hour until the bird is golden brown ,a few times durhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/beckayork/3354599046/ing cooking stir the vegetables  to ensure they are mixed with the chicken juices.
6. Allow the dish to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving this will allow the chicken to release more juice.
7. Serve with mashed potatoes , crunchy french bread or polenta

Ox Tongue Braised In Red Wine

Not a dish for the squeamish this one or those looking for a quick dish . On Thursday up in Sheffield I saw whole Ox Tongues for sale  for just 1pound each . Since I had braised Ox Tongue at the Pumphouse, I have wanted to try cooking it.

Thank heavens for the internet which advised a lot cooking ,first a gentle simmer for a couple of hours to cook and add a gentle flavour

then braise to finish.

Cooking Ox Tongue

1 tsp of peppercorns
1tsp of cloves
1 tsbp of mustards seeds
1 medium onion
Mixture of herbs parsley , sage and thyme
Enough water to cover the tongue

1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan
2. Bring the water to the boil then turn to a low heat and simmer for 2.5 hours
3. While the tongue is still warm , remove the skin this   is really just a case of peeling the tongue ( click here for the full grusome images)
4. Once peeled you can then slice the ox tongue, some recipes talked about removing a bone , but there was no bone in my tongue.

Once cooked ox tongue can be  eaten cold and over at Nose to Tail at Home Ryan faithfully recreats Fergus Hendersons Nose to Tail recipes . This is one of my favourite & unusual blogs , Ryan channels fergus to offer a range of options for cold tongue.

I wanted something pretty substantial and so went for a braised tongue , but couldn’t find any recipes that really appealed so I improvised. The result some lengthy slow cooking resulted in some  melt in the mouth meat .that somehow retained a delicate beef flavour . Slow cooking gave a  delicous sauce soaking into the mounds of mashed potato. Morever  while the outside of the tongue slices turned almost black from the wine the inside remained pink.

I will be making this again when I can find Ox Tongue closer to home, it may have taken a while to cook but it was definitely worth it.

Ox Tongue Braised In Red Wine

Serves 4

1 Ox Tongue , first cooked , peeled and sliced as above
200g carrots finely chopped
200g of mushrooms finely chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 clove of garlic finely chopped
500ml of red wine
200ml of the cooking liquid from above strained
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 tsp of mustard seeds
3 tbsp of olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1. In a cast iron lidded pot , heat the olive oil  add the mustard sees , garlic , onion and carrots
2. Fry for a few minutes but do not allow to brown
3. Add the mushrooms and  the sliced tongue
4. Pour over the red wine and cooking liquid
5. Adhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/beckayork/3434249844/d the rosemary and plenty of salt and pepper
6. Place in an oven at 150degC for 2 hours.
7. If possible leave overnight and heat the next day like most braised or stewed food it improves with time and resting
8. Heat through and served with mashed potatoes

Penne with creamy smoked salmon and asparagus

So for two days on and off I have been cooking Ox tongue , the weather has been throwing it down so I thought we would be ready for a slow-cooked stew . However this evening the sun broke through the sky turned blue and braised meat went out the window ( metaphorically rather than literally )

Rooting through the freezer I found some smoked salmon and we had  scored some asparagus in the vegebox this week , also some soft cheese with garlic and herbs.

This was a rather throw-together meal  , but asparagus and smoked salmon work really well together.

Penne with smoked salmon and asparagus

300g of dried pasta
150g of smoked salmon roughly chopped
1 bunch of asparagus cut into inch long pieces
3tbsp of soft cheese with garlic and herbs
Juice and zest of one lemon

1. Boil the pene for 10 minutes.
2. Steam the asparagus over the pasta for a few minutes.
3. Once the pasta and asparagus are cooked mix in the soft cheese allowing it to melt.
4. Add the zest and juice of the lemon.
5. Finally mix in the smoked salmon and asparagus.
6. Season with pepper.

Barnsley Chops with kidneys and spring bubble and squeak

Watching Eurovision tonight ( Check out the London bloggers Eating Eurovision ), first time I have ever convinced my boyfriend to watch it with me , but  somehow he missed it most  hanging out in the kitchen preparing the most traditional British Dish we have had for a long time , a suspiciously Euro-sceptic dinner on a night of European solidarity.

I blame myself a little , on Thursday I had a meeting in Sheffield , I got an early train and decided to check out Castle Market in the centre of town . Quite a few butchers there so I picked up some Porterhouse Steaks , but one stall in particular caught my eye having a wide selection of  meats and offal  so I bought  Barnsley Chops  and more unusual  whole Ox Tongue .

Barnsley Chops are traditional Yorkshire fare,  but another first try for me ,  a lamb chop cut across across the loin to create a butterfly chop .  Internet research showed they are  often served with kidneys   and luckily our local butchers has some  firm  kidneys which have become a breakfast regular.

Nick used a recipe from Mark Hix we are using a lot of his classic British recipes  from the The Independent online.   Hix uses  traditional meat  cuts,  seasonal vegetables and wild foods . This recipe  also contained plenty of the ubiquitous english vegebox staples  from this time of year , leeks , spring greens and old potatoes.

The result was certainly eye pleasing but also delicious ,  the bubble and squeak was a perfect accompaniment to sweet and flavoursome lamb and the kidneys provided an extra meaty hit when you were tired of picking meat off the lamb bone.

Barnsley Chops with kidneys and spring bubble and squeak .

2 Barnsley chops, weighing about 250g each
2 lambs kidneys
2 sprigs of rosemary

For the spring bubble and squeak

200g cooked, peeled new potatoes
200g spring greens, cooked, drained and chopped
2 leeks, roughly chopped and washed
2 tbsp of chopped garlic
Salt and Pepper

1. Cook the leeks and greens separately in boiling, salted water , drain.
2. Chop the potatoes and greens, then mix with the leeks and garlic
3. Season to taste, then mould the mixture into 4 even-sized flat patties.
4. Heat a giddle plae season the chops skewer each kidney with a sprig of rosemary, season and grill for a couple of minutes on each side with the chops cooking for about 5 minutes on each side
5. Leave the chops and kidneys to rest
6. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the patties for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden.
7. Serve

Jerk Mutton Stew

Last time I cooked mutton is was with a morrocan spice blend this time heading for the West Indies  with a hot & spicy jerk seasoning.

I love jerk seasoning its often used when BBQ, I have written before about my old neighbourhood carnival where everyone pulls out the charcoal BBQ with racks of jerk chicken and pork. There is even a jerk BBQ in the park opposite my work , it always sells out  and the smoke drifting across a sea of office workers add a holiday feel to any lunchtime

The weather is still not playing fair though so instead of any BBQ here is a hearty smokin stew with rich gravy , prepared by my lovely boyfriend .

Jerk Mutton Stew

300g of mutton , diced
3 tbsp of Jerk Seasoning (Ours was bought containing  Coriander , Nutmeg ,Star Anise, Pimento, Chilli, Ginger, Cumin & Paprika)
1 pint of chicken stock
1 large onion sliced
200g of carrots roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic
200g  of potato diced
1 Fresh Scotch Bonnet Chilli finely chopped
1 Fresh Red Chilli finely chopped

1. Mix the mutton pieces with the jerk seasoning leave for a few hour
2. Fry onion,  garlic ,  chilli in a few tsp of sunflower oil
3. Add the mutton,  cook until brown and add stock
4. Simmer on a very low heat for 1-1.5 hours
5. Add the potato and carrot for the last half hour.

Serve with boiled rice or rice and peas