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.

Gnocchi

It's freezing outside, there's snow on the hills again and I'm off skiing tomorrow! Winter is back with us and I fancied something to stick to your ribs today, so made potato gnocchi. I finally got the knack of making these during Masterchef last year, when I was shown during the restaurant experience. My efforts had always ended up rather heavy, but I discovered the secret is to add only as much flour as you need to hold them together to cook.

Gnocchi with spinach, pumpkin and walnuts

For 4 as a main course

1kg floury potatoes
250g plain flour, preferably '00'
salt and pepper
1 small butternut squash
couple of sage leaves
300ml vegetable or chicken stock
100ml double cream
knob of butter
250g fresh spinach, washed
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
8 walnuts, roughly broken
4 slices of parma ham (optional)
Grated parmesan or gorgonzola cheese (or both!)

Preheat the oven to 200c. Prick the potatoes, and place on a large baking sheet. Half the butternut squash and place skin side up on the same sheet and bake until tender - the squash will take about 40 mins and the potatoes about an hour. Remove and allow to cool enough to handle. Half the potatoes and place through a potato ricer or scoop out the flesh and mash. Place the potato in a bowl add the flour and some salt and pepper. Combine the ingredients and knead briefly to a smooth dough. Break off manageable pieces of dough and roll them out on a floured surface, to a 2cm round. Cut this into 21/2cm lengths and toss them in a little more flour and place on a tray. Repeat until you have used all the dough.


To make the sauce scoop the flesh from the squash into a saucepan add the stock and sage leaves and heat until thickened a little, then add the cream. Remove the sage and season with salt and pepper. If you would like the sauce very smooth blend briefly with a stick blender.
Heat a saucepan until very hot and add the butter. Add the spinach and cook quickly on a high heat to evaporate the water. Remove from the pan, leaving any excess water and place over the bottom of a gratin or ovenproof dish. Season with salt, pepper and a grating of nutmeg.


Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and drop in the gnocchi, bring back to the boil, stir briefly and simmer until they rise to the surface, then remove immediately and place into the butternut sauce and stir to caot very gently. Place this on top of the spinach, scatter the walnuts over and place in the oven at 190c for approximately 15 minutes until hot. Meanwhile heat the grill to very hot and grill the slices of parma ham, if using, until crispy. Remove the dish from the oven, crumble the crispy parma ham over and top with as much grated parmesan or crumbled gorgonzola as you fancy. Finish under the grill until the cheese is melted and browning.



These gnocchi are very versaile and can be eaten with any sauce. If you don't use all of them they also freeze very well before cooking. Just place them individually on a baking sheet and freeze, then put them in a freezer bag once frozen. They are also very delicious fried until crispy. To do this boil as usual, and toss in olive oil as soon as you remove from the water. This can be done in advance, then they are ready to fry on a fairly high heat, using a non-stick frying pan, until golden brown and tossed with pesto.

Bream

One of my favourite fish is bream. I think it's because it reminds

me of warm, sunny places where I have eaten it. I picked one up at a bargain price yesterday and as the weather was so miserable today decided to take myself back to one of those places while I cooked it.

Bream baked with vegetables, cumin and mint.

For 2.

2 bream, cleaned and scaled

3 medium potatoes, sliced into 1/2cm slices

1 aubergine, sliced into 1cm slices

1 red onion, in 1/2cm slices

1 clove garlic finely sliced

generous 1/2tsp cumin seeds

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

bunch of mint

olive oil

Salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 200c, gas 6. Place the potatoes, aubergine and red onion in a roasting tin, scatter over the cumin seeds and garlic. Liberally drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Place in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked. Make about 4 slashes across the flesh of each fish and rub a little salt, pepper and olive oil into these. Place some slices of lemon on the vegetables, the fish on top and some more lemon on the fish. Scatter the tomato halves around the fish. Return to the oven for about 20 minutes until it is almost done. Meanwhile blitz the mint with a generous glug of olive oil - or pound in a pestle and mortar if you are feeling virtuous! Drizzle the mint oil over the fish and vegetables and put it back in the oven until the fish is cooked.

If you don't like to see fish heads on your plate, use fillets instead. Place them skin side up to cook, they will only take about 10 minutes.

Mash

A friend called today to ask for help to impress his new girlfriend. Apparently she's a lover of mashed potato and he needed some hints on how to make it perfectly. So I decided to start this blog with my thoughts on the stuff. Most of us eat it pretty regularly and even though it's so simple it's also easy to get it wrong!

One of my favourite kitchen gadgets is my potato ricer. It looks a bit like a giant garlic press and I'd recommend everyone to invest in one. For lazy cooks it's invaluable as it means you don't have to peel your spuds!

The Perfect Mash

Per person

2 medium or 1 large potato, must be floury variety such as King Edwards or Maris Piper

Knob of butter

Splash of milk (or cream if you are feeling lush!)

Salt and pepper.

Do not peel the spuds, just give them a bit of a scrub if they are dirty and cut them into halves or quarters if they are large. Put them in a saucepan and just cover them with water, put on a lid, then bring them to the boil with a healthy amount of salt. Lower to a simmer and cook until tender right through, about 15-20 minutes, drain them and put in bowl. Those who do not have a ricer will get the best results if you peel them after they have been cooked - but watch out they'll be a bit hot!

Put the saucepan back on a very low heat and add the butter and milk or cream to warm a little. Using the ricer put in one or two pieces of potato, flesh down as much as possible, squeeze it through and remove the skins before repeating. You will end up with a perfectly fluffy looking pile of potato and with a fork mix it all together to bind with the butter and milk. Check for salt and add a good grinding of pepper.

And that, as they say, is that!

If you fancy a change add a dollop of wholegrain mustard, great with sausages, or some garlic - boil a couple of cloves in their skins along with the potatoes for the last 10 minutes, then pop them out of the skin and crush with the spuds. I also often cook equal amounts of parsnip or celeriac with the potato. In fact, I did parsnip mash today, to go with a beef, leek and red wine stew. Mmmm

Happy mashing!