Mutton

I don't wish to bore you with everything going on in my life, but big changes are afoot around here. I'm a bit in turmoil, which is why I'm not cooking many interesting things and posting as much as I should be. My job as a youth hostel manager has sadly ended as the place is being sold and I'm currently looking for somewhere to live. I went to look at a lovely cottage today, but the kitchen scared me somewhat - it only has an oil fired stove! I'm used to a very small basic kitchen (I'll show you 'the galley', the creative hub of my operation before I move out of here, it's 6 feet square!) but will I manage on just 2 top hotplates and an oven of uncertain temperature? Any advice welcome from those who use them!

I also started a new job today in a nice little café on Loch Earn. It's just a temporary job until the proper new job starts - I hope I'll have official news on that soon and will be able to share it - but I'll be making yummy soups and baking cakes 'til my heart's content for the next couple of months.

Mutton is becoming more easily available, so do try it, if not just use lamb - cubed shoulder would be my choice for this recipe. Browsing through a book of Keralan recipes, I came across a couple of suitable ones. I couldn't make either by the book, one because it was cooked in a pressure cooker and the other because I couldn't be bothered to grind my own fresh garam masala! I ended up mixing the 2 recipes, using a mixture of whole cloves, cinnamon and cardamom instead of the garam masala, as the flavours would come out during longer cooking. These fragrant spices, along with the flavour of curry leaves (buy a pack from an asian shop and freeze them) never fail to cheer me up. This is a slightly time consuming recipe to prepare, but easy to make once you are ready and if you can I implore you to use whole spices and grind them fresh, if not just make sure ready ground spices are fresh and still fragrant.

Malabar Mutton Curry

500g stewing mutton or lamb shoulder, cubed (leave a little fat for flavour)
1tsp black peppercorns
1tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 medium onions, sliced
10 fresh curry leaves
2 green chillies finely chopped (go on, be a devil and leave the seeds in!)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2cm piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
3 cloves
3 cardamom pods
10cm cinnamon stick
1 tin coconut milk
oil
salt

If using whole spices, toast the peppercorns, coriander seeds and cumin in a dry pan and grind them. Heat the oil until hot in a heavy based pot and brown the mutton cubes in a couple of batches. Set aside and fry the onions slowly over a low heat in the same oil until very soft, but not browned, turn up the heat a little and add the curry leaves, stirring until they become fragrant then add the garlic, ginger, and fresh chillies and fry another minute or two. Add the ground spices, the whole ones and stir until you catch the aromas, then add the mutton and some salt.

Don't shake the coconut milk before you open it, but scrape off any thick stuff from the top and reserve along with about half the tin. Add the other half to the pot along with half a tin of water (if you want to go the whole authentic hog and and make your own coconut milk, grate a coconut, blend with 1 cup of warm water, strain giving the first extract, and repeat with 2 cups of water, the second extract, add this now reserving the first until later). Bring to the boil cover and simmer gently until the meat is tender, about 45mins to an hour for lamb and 1 1/2 to 2 hours for mutton. Add the thick coconut milk, check the seasoning, heat through and serve with basmati rice.

Buffalo

I returned from skiing in Italy last month with a gorgeous fragrant bag of porcini ( a bad harvest left me very short of home dried ones last autumn ) as well as lots of other edible souvenirs. I have been itching to use some of them in something really deep and tasty - a stew inspired by the ragus I ate in Aosta seemed the perfect opportunity. I was lucky to have some lovely buffalo from Puddledub (www.puddledubbuffalo.co.uk). It's a lovely meat, more lean and flavoursome than beef, but can be cooked almost the same. Apparently it should be treated a little more gently than beef, mostly because if its' lack of fat, using a lower cooking temperature for less time, to get the best from it.

Buffalo Stew
Serves 3-4

500g stewing buffalo (or decent beef like shin)
cubed into 2cm pieces
25g pancetta, chopped, or lardons
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
handful of dried porcini, generous as you can afford to be, soaked in hot water
glass of red wine, about 150ml
Approx 250ml beef stock (a quality cube is fine)
sprig of rosemary
flour
oil
salt and pepper

Season a little flour with some salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Heat a generous glug of oil to a fairly hight heat in a sturdy pot. Lightly coat the meat cubes and fry in a couple of batches until browned in the oil, turning to do each side. Put aside, turn the heat down a little and add a little more oil and the pancetta, stirring for a minute or two, then the onion. Soften for a few minutes and ensure that any flour stuck to the pan doesn't burn. Add the garlic and the mushrooms which you should squeeze a little, reserving the liquid and roughly chop, then the red wine.

Bring it to the boil the add the mushroom soaking liquid (carefully to avoid any bits from the bottom!), the rosemary and enough stock to cover the meat. Ensure the stew comes up to the boil and then turn the heat down and cover. Cook over a very low heat so that it only just simmers - just a few bubbles should be gently rising - for about 1 1/2 hours, adding a little more stock of it's getting too thick or removing the lid to let it thicken for about the last 20 minutes if you want to reduce it a little. If you are using beef it will probably want half an hour or so longer. Check that the meat is really tender and the seasoning, I put in lots of pepper .

If you can't get the porcini add about 250g of chestnut mushrooms, quartered and fried in butter until browned, for the last half hour.

Serve, as shown, with polenta if you fancy something different, or mash and some greens. Oh, and the rest of the bottle of wine you had to open!

Thrift

After receiving stick for slacking, I decided it was about time I started blogging again! It may be a bit sporadic at the moment, but I'll try to keep with it.

When it comes to poultry I admit to being a leg girl! Roast a chicken and the first thing I'll tear off and chew from the bone is a leg - Artemis probably gets as much breast meat as I do. Duck breasts are a bit of a luxury, especially for those on a budget, but tasty feasts can be conjured up using the much cheaper legs.

I have a large bag of Szechuan peppercorns, begging to be used in my cupboard and some pak choi in the fridge so the duck legs were crying out for an aromatic oriental treatment. This is a fairly time consuming recipe, but can be done in two stages as the duck will keep for a few days after the braising. However, I would suggest it is done in one as I must say that the smells wafting around my flat as I made these were just magic!

Twice cooked duck legs

for 2

groundnut oil
2 duck legs
2 spring onions, sliced
1cm slice of root ginger
2 cloves garlic, sliced
3 star anise
heaped tsp Szechuan peppercorns
2 tbsp rice wine, or very dry sherry (fino is good)
1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 dsp coarse sea salt
1 dsp Szechuan peppercorns

pak choi
sesame seeds (toasted in a dry wok)
sesame oil
noodles

First braise the duck legs. Heat a tablespoon of groundnut oil in a heavy based saucepan and fry the spring onions ginger and garlic until soft. Add the star anise and peppercorns and fry until aromatic then the rice wine or sherry and soy sauce, a little salt, then some water, about 100 ml and bring to the boil. Add the duck legs, skin side down first, keeping the heat up high for a few minutes then turn them over and reduce the heat so that the liquid just simmers and cover with a lid. Simmer the duck legs for about an hour and fifteen minutes, turning them over after 45 minutes.
Allow them to cool for a while in the braising liquid, them remove to a bowl and allow the skin to dry for a bit (they can be cooked to this stage in advance and refrigerated). Skim the braising liquid as there will probably be quite a lot of duck fat floating on it, then reduce until it is concentrated, but don't allow it to become over salty with soy sauce.

Heat a heavy frying pan until hot and add the salt and the Szechuan peppercorns. Stir these until the peppercorns turn fragrant and the salt goes off white. Place in a pestle and mortar or grinder and grind to a fine consistency. Have I said already that I find doing stuff like this in a pestle and mortar very theraputic, but I know not everyone can be bothered?!

Cook some noodles by the instructions given. Heat about 1 1/2 cm groundnut oil in a frying pan. Fry the duck legs for about 4 minutes on each side, turning the heat down if the skin is getting too dark. Quarter the pak choi and steam them for about 4 minutes, or until the stems are tender, then drizzle with some sesame oil. Drain the noodles and toss them with some of the reduced braising liquid.

To serve, place some noodles on a plate, top with some pak choi and scatter with the toasted sesame seeds. Top with a crispy duck leg and a little more of the braising liquid. Take to the table and sprinkle the duck with some of the peppercorn salt, a little goes a long way - breathing deeply as the citrus pepper aromas rise. Gorgeous! This makes a nice starter portion, or small meal, without the noodles, as in the picture shown.

Al Fresco

With all this glorious sunshine we've had for the last week (yes, even here in Scotland!) I've been dining al fresco as often as I could. To my mind pork is a great meat for such occasions, think hog roasts and big gatherings. For something on a far smaller scale a piece of leg or belly is perfect for 'forget about it' slow cooking and can be served very simply - while you get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Slow roast pork with beetroot and potato boulangere.

For 4

1.25 - 1.5kg piece of pork leg or belly (leg must have skin for that all-important crackling!)

Half a dozen sage leaves

2 cloves garlic

olive oil

5 or 6 medium beetroot

3-4 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

approx 400ml chicken or vegetable stock

butter

To get the skin crispy, score using a very sharp knife (a Stanley knife does the job very well), either criss-cross at 1cm intervals or in one direction a bit closer together. Be careful not to score into the flesh, just down into the layer of fat. Bash the sage and garlic in a pestle and mortar or chop it finely, add some salt and a good glug of olive oil and rub this all over the piece of meat and into the skin. Leave it for an hour or so in its roasting tin if you can, but don't worry if you have to skip this. Preheat the oven to 220c and put the meat in.

Peel and slice the beetroot, potato and onion into 5mm slices. Place half of the beetroot in a layer in an oven-proof dish or baking tin, scatter with a few slices of onion and cover with a layer of potato and some salt and pepper, then repeat. Pour over the stock, so that it just comes to the level of the top layer and dot with a few pieces of butter.

After the pork has been in for about 2o minutes lower the oventemperature to 180c (170 for a fan oven) and place the meat lower down if you can. Put the beetroot and potato on the higher shelf.

You can then go away and ignore the whole thing for about 2 hours.

When you come back check the meat is cooked and tender and increase the oven temperature back up to 220c, and swap the meat onto the top shelf to crisp up the cracking. About 15 minutes should do it. The top layer of potato should also brown off a little in the higher temperature. Remove the meat and while it is resting somewhere warm for a few minutes, throw a quick bit of salad together, throw a glass of wine into the roasting tin with the juices and bring it up to the boil to make a thin gravy. Carve the meat into nice thick slices and serve with some of the beetroot and potato and finish with a dollop of apple sauce (I'm sure you know how to make it).

Enjoy whilst sat in the sunshine!

Risotto

Sorry for the lack of updates on my culinary exploits - I had to get back to my real full-time job last week, running a Youth Hostel and was a a bit busy. Never too busy to cook, of course, just to write about it! I'll try to bring you up to date over the next few days.

I love cooking risottos, they became something of a speciality during my vegetarian years - I'll give you the recipe for my signature risotto one day, but it's more of a summer dish. Even now I usually do them meat free, or with just a bit of pancetta for flavour, as I think they can be too heavy with lots of meat, but last week I got an idea for a fishy risotto that turned out rather fabulous, so I though I'd share it. It's made with hot smoked salmon, which I hope you will find available in a deli somewhere. Hot smoked trout would probably give a good result too, but if you can't get either, some cold smoked would suffice, gently stirred in at the end so that it cooks a little, although the result would not be quite the same.

Hot smoked salmon and leek risotto.

For 2 as a main course

2 leeks, not large ones.

25g butter and a little olive oil

200g risotto rice, carnaroli is my favourite

50ml dry vermouth or white wine

700ml chicken or vegetable stock

(must confess I'm a fan of Marigold stock powder if I don't have fresh)

Splash of double cream (optional)

1dsp wholegrain mustard

50g parmesan

150 - 200g hot smoked salmon

salt and pepper

Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a heavy based saucepan. Slice the leeks into 1cm slices and fry in the butter until well softened and going a little browned. Remove some of the whitest pieces and reserve. Add the rice to the pan and with the heat on medium toast the rice for a few minutes - do not skip this as it is one of the essential steps to the perfect risotto! Add the vermouth or wine and reduce the heat so that it just simmers. When all the wine has been absorbed add a ladleful of the simmering stock and stir it. Keep an eye on the temperature, it should just simmer and give it a stir quite frequently to get a good creamy consistency. Keep adding ladles of stock when the previous one has been absorbed. Check a few grains of rice to see if it is nearly cooked when you have added most of the stock. The rice should still have some bite, not be soft, and when it is add a final half ladle of stock, the cream, mustard, grated parmesan and the reserved pieces of leek. Pull the pieces of salmon into flakes and put these on top of the rice. Place a lid on the pan and turn out the heat - the residual heat should finish cooking the rice and give you the perfect consistency, still slightly 'al dente'. Stir in the flakes of salmon and check the seasoning - watch the salt as the fish can be a little salty.

This would make a rather good dinner party starter and, with a bit more fish, would probably stretch to 5 or 6 as it is very rich, and you'd only need a small portion!

I'd love any feedback if anyone makes this, as it's a creation I'm quite proud of.

Roast

I make no apologies for the subject of this blog - the Great British Roast, but for singles or couples! Folk often say to me that they can't be bothered to cook a full roast for a small amount of people, or just one, but maybe my simple guide will convince a few folk with just over an hour to spare on a leisurely weekend that it is worth doing. It's just a case of knowing when to do things to get it all to come together perfectly. If you can get a piece of meat of about 750g - 1kg, say half a leg or shoulder of lamb (perfect for 1 or 2), piece of beef or a small chicken I find it very satisfying to do the Full Monty of British dinners just for me and have some tasty leftovers for the week........and the cat.

Ok, so this is not so much a recipe, and doesn't give amounts as I'm sure you can get these elsewhere, but is a timing guide of how to do it fairly easily. I tend to work on the principle that most pieces of meat or a chicken cook in about 20 minutes per 500g, plus an extra 20 minutes, that's if you like your red meat fairly pink, add an extra 5 or 10 minutes to each of these timings if you like it just pink or well done. So for a 750g piece of lamb (my fave!) it would be 20+10(500g + 250g)+20=50 minutes cooking time. A chicken will be a bit longer, but that just gives you a bit of a break to have a glass of wine, or go play on the 'puter! I also make no apologies for the fact that an old-fangled gas oven, with none of your fans or gadgets is undoubtedly the best thing to do it in, because of the temperature differences between the top and bottom - you can roast your spuds to a perfect crisp up top and keep your meat lower down, after its initial blast at a high temperature. Those with a fan will probably do best to turn the oven down to 190c.

I will cover roast chicken and the things you might add to it in another blog, but to cover the basics now, a small chicken of about 1.25 kg (about 1hr 10mins cooking time), or if you like your meat well done, just put the meat on about 20 minutes earlier at the high temperature and turn the heat down when you start doing everything else. The approximate timings for a 750g piece of meat go;

0 mins - heat up the oven to a high heat, 220-230c. Place the meat in a roasting tin, not too big as the juices will burn and not too small or your meat will end up swimming. Season it with salt and pepper and any herbs or garlic that you fancy. Peel your spuds, floury ones will be best, cut into halves or quarters for roasting.
10 mins - Put the meat in the oven (on a high shelf). Put your spuds on to boil in some salted water, bring them up to the boil and simmer for about 8 minutes, until they are going soft around the outside. Peel your parsnips if you're having them and cut them.
20 mins - Put some oil (sunflower is good) in a roasting tin and pop it in the oven to get hot. When the potatoes are done drain them and give them a bit of a shake, then put them and the parsnips into the hot oil in the roasting tin and make sure they are coated in oil then pop them into the oven.
30 mins - Lower the oven temperature to 200c and put the meat onto a shelf low down in the oven, then put your potatoes on the higher shelf. Prepare your other vegetables - can't go far wrong with carrots and broccoli.
40 mins - not much going on, but you'll probably need to turn the potatoes and parsnips somewhere here.
50 mins - put the carrots on to steam (preferable) or boil. Put a plate somewhere to warm for the meat to rest
1 hour - check that the meat is cooked to your liking, or if you have chicken check that the juices are clear when you pierce it through the thigh. If it is put it on the warmed plate and place it somewhere warm or cover it with foil. Put your broccoli on to cook. Put the roasting tin back on the hob and add a splash of wine - or some stock. Scrape up all the roasting juices and bring to the boil, add any flavourings that you fancy - redcurrent jelly and a rosemary sprig for lamb, thyme for chicken, beef should probably be left alone. Check that the spuds and parsnips are getting nice and crispy, turn up the oven a bit if they're not quite done enough.
1hr 10 mins - Put some of the vegetable cooking water (my mum taught me this!) into the gravy if you've not yet added stock, check it for seasoning and add a bit of cornflour slaked in water to thicken if so desired. Carve the meat and serve it all up onto warmed plates.
1hr 15 mins or so - seated with glass of wine and enjoying your roast - see, easy!

I do, however, apologise for the lack of photos with this, but a roast should be plentiful and not neccessarily pretty.........and I wouldn't want you to know what a glutton I really am if I showed you what mine looked like tonight! As to those leftovers........ that's a whole subject itself that I'm sure I'll cover one day, but great sandwiches are a good place to start!

Mullet

I've been away most of the last few days, so forgive the lack of updates, but I've been spoiling myself and picking up some tasty treats along the way. I feel like I've been on one of Jessies Diets from the Fast Show..........This week I have mostly been eating............fish and seafood! Thursday I picked up a live crab on the way back from Fort William. Thought it would be sacrilige to spoil it, so he was just eaten (after being despatched and cooked!) with homemade mayonnaise, crusty bread and a salad, oh and a few langoustines too. The cat has been going a bit mental with the smells that have been wafting through the flat, but she does get a few treats. Yesterday I was passing through Perth and stopped off at Kerachers for some tuna to cook for the friend I was visiting. They also had some beautiful red mullet and I just had to buy some, so I've cooked that tonight. Few fish can match this for it's beautiful colour, or it's ability to take strong flavours, so when I saw some fennel at the farm shop I visited, just had to get it.

Red mullet with braised fennel.

For 2

1 large fennel bulb
250ml orange juice
juice of half a lemon
1tbsp runny honey
pinch of chilli flakes
pinch of saffron strands
4 red mullet fillets, scaled and pin boned
Olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 180c, gas mark 4. Reserve any feathery fronds from the fennel and slice the bulb into 1/2cm slices. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the slices on each side until getting a little colour. Remove them and put into an ovenproof dish. Pour the orange and lemon juice into the pan and add the honey, chilli and saffron (the latter is optional if you don't have it, but does add another dimension to the sauce). Bring this to the boil, add some salt and pour it over the fennel. Cover the dish with foil and place into the oven for about an hour.

Relax and go and have a nice glass of sauvignon blanc!

Check that the fennel is tender, when it is drain off the liquid into a bowl and pop it back into the oven to keep warm. Heat some more oil in a frying pan, over a fairly high heat. Score a few slashes across the skin of the fish fillets and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Pop these in the hot pan skin side down and leave them for about 3 minutes, then turn them carefully and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove them and put by in a warm place. Put the juices from the fennel into the pan, bring this to a rapid boil and reduce until it's a little syrupy. Check that it has a good sweet and sour balance, add a little more lemon juice or honey if neccessary and adjust the seasoning.

Place the fennel on a plate, top with the fish and spoon some of the juices over. Finish with some of the chopped reserved fennel tops.