Month: January 2022

Posted on

Pheasant Paella (or chicken or rabbit)

Before you get upset and say this isn’t Paella, remember my recipes aren’t authentic – they are just mine. The names are how I will find them in my blog…

This is a great recipe for late autumn, just into pheasant season, or a cold spring day. If you use rabbit – I joint 2 rabbits into 5 pieces (legs and saddle) for this dish, miss out the prawns and cook the rabbit to flavour the stock first. Otherwise it’s the same.

If I use a pre-made chicken stock it is from the bones of a roast – adds more flavour.

Prep: 15min Cook: 2hours if your making the stock as you go

Ingredients:

1 portion of chicken or 2 pheasant breasts

1 onion chopped

1 pepper chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed

1tsp smoked paprike

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

20g chorizo finely cubed

125g prawns

25ml sherry or white wine

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves chopped

1 chopped fresh tomato

175g basmati rice

~500ml stock

Method

  1. make the stock – if your using chicken I put 1 leg one wing and a carcass with 1/2 tsp of bouillon in water to simmer for 90min. If Pheasant I use pre-made pheasant stock. Strain and strip the meat from the bones.
  2. In a wide iron dish, fry the onions, peppers and chorizo in olive oil until the onions and pepper are softened.
  3. Add the pepper, paprika and garlic and fry for 15sec
  4. Deglaze with the sherry and add the rice, stir for a few seconds to drive off the alcohol and add the stock and thyme, turn it right down, and cook for 20min.
  5. When the stock is almost all absorbed, add the tomato and 2min later add the prawns. Be brave, as soon as the prawns aren’t grey serve with a drizzle of lemon juice, the prawns will carry on cooking on the way to the table.

This recipe has lots of ingredients – but they all play an important part in the flavour. The thyme and chorizo are the core of flavour here, with the paprika’s just adding more depth.

It’s important not to over-cook the tomato, if the tomato breaks down into the sauce it’s too much – you want it as warm chunks. And I use basmati rice because I only keep that and sticky rice in the house – a decent long grain will do well – you want something that stays separated.

If you want to be fancy you can decorate the top with nasturtium flowers – looks impressive and the flavours go really well.

Posted on

Pizza Toppings

This is a list of the toppings and mixes I use for my pizza base. I’ll typically pick two different ones to do at once.

Venison and Blue Cheese: 1/2 onion sliced; 100g of venison fillet into thin strips; 100g soft blue cheese as small chunks; 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

Add the onion first, then venison, then cheese. First had this in Finland – awesome combo.

Balsamic Onions: finely slice an onion and soften with olive oil and 1dstspn of really good balsamic – drive off the acetic acid, then top the pizza and sprinkle 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

If you use a watery balsamic add 4-5times as much and cook it off part way before adding the onion to the pan.

Ham and Pineapple: 1/2 onion finely sliced; 3 slices Parma ham torn into pieces; 2 pineapple rings cut into small pieces and patted dry; 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

A classic, you can do it like this or if you want you can use a tomato base as well – cook down passata to 1/3 to 1/2 volume and a couple of tblspn will cover the base.

Partridge and Pear: 2 partridge breasts cut as thin strips; a ripe pear, peeled cored and cut into ribbons with a potato peeler; 2 smoked streaky bacon rashers cut as tiny pieces; a 1/4 onion or shallot finely sliced, 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes. (optional add a few cubes of soft blue cheese or goats cheese)

Smoked Bacon and Mushroom: 3 rashers smoked bacon cut into thin strips, fine slices of 1/2 a portabella mushroom, small handful of fresh basil leaves ripped in half, 50ml thick tomato sauce, 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes

Partridge and Chilli: 1 partridge breast as small batons, 1 chilli finely chopped, 50ml thick tomato sauce, 1 small sprig of thyme finely chopped, a small handful of rocket, 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes. (optional – goats cheese)

Margarita: 50ml thick tomato sauce, small handful of torn basil leaves, pepper, grating of parmesan and 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

Courgette and Bacon: 1 or two small (baby) courgette as ribbons (use a potato peeler), one or two courgette flowers ripped, small handful of basil leaves ripped, 2 slices smoked streaky bacon as fine baton. Tiny drizzle of tarragon oil, 1/2 mozzarella as small cubes.

Rocket, pear and ham: 3 slices Parma ham torn, 1 small dessert pear peeled cored and as fine slices, handful of rocket, 1/2 a mozzarella as small cubes.

Venison tomato and chilli: 100g venison sirloin as thin batons, 1 finely chopped chilli, 1/2 finely sliced onion, a few fine slices of a beef tomato patted dry, 1/2 mozzarella as small cubes.

Prawns, rocket and garlic: 1/2 pack of prawns, 1/2 onion finely sliced, 30ml olive oil with 2 crushed garlic cloves, handful of rocket, 1/2 mozzarella as small cubes.

Posted on

Pizza Base – light and crispy

Pizza is a great dish – but it’s only as good as the base – this is my favourite, enough for 2 large bases that cover the biggest baking trays that fit in my oven.

Prep: 10 min Prove: 1hr Prep: 10min Prove: 1hr Cook: 12min

Ingredients

75g semolina flour

175g strong bread flour

1/2tsp salt

30ml olive oil

1 dstspn sour cream

1/2 pack (3.5g) yeast

~80ml water

1/2tsp sugar

Method

  1. Add the yeast and sugar to the water and stir, leave it for a few minutes to activate the yeast.
  2. While that’s happening mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl, then add most of the yeast mix.
  3. Mix until you have a dough, add more of the yeast if you need it, or more strong flour. Knead for 5min until you have a soft springy dough.
  4. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth, leave it to at least double (about 1hr at room temp).
  5. Split the dough in half, place each half on an oiled nonstick baking tray and roll out as thin as you dare.
  6. Put them somewhere to rise for another hour (20min in a proving oven).
  7. Preheat the oven to 225c (fan) cook for 6min then add the topping and cook for another 6-8min.

The first cooking period makes sure the bread is going to be crispy in the middle – it helps against the topping making it soggy. The oil is also important as it crisps the bread to a lovely golden crunch. Use olive oil as it’s a better flavour and gives a better colour.

Posted on

Not a Naan Bread

When I cook curry, more often than not I’ll make a bread to go with it. I suppose it comes from the Balti houses I used to go to when I was in Birmingham. For me a curry is made better by a bread.

I don ‘t have the right sort of oven for cooking naan, and pre-bought just don’t pass muster for me (sorry), so I make this bread instead. It’s not authentic by any stretch, but it’s tasty and fresh and always disappears.

I’ve listed different fillings below, my favourite is almond.

Prep: 10min Proving: 2 lots of 2 hours Cooking: 8min

Ingredients

40g semolina flour

135g strong white flour

1 dstspn sour cream

1 dstspn veg oil

pinch of salt

1/2 pkt (3.5g) dried yeast

1/4 tsp sugar

80ml water

Method

  1. Mix the yeast sugar and water and set to one side for a few minutes to wake up the yeast (gives you a quicker and more even rise)
  2. Mix the flour(s), cream, oil and salt in a bowl
  3. Add the yeast mix and work into a dough. Knead the dough for 4-5min until smooth. Add extra water/flour as needed to get the right consistency. (if you’ve got a bread-maker you can get it to do the mixing and kneading for you, just check the consistency after a few minutes)
  4. Leave it to rise (cover with a damp cloth) about 2 hours room temperature or 30-45min in a proving oven.
  5. Halve the dough and flatten each half to the size of a frying-pan (use flour to stock it sticking to the board). Add the filling to one half, put the other half on top and seal. Leave to rise for another 2 hours (or 30min in proving oven)
  6. fry for 4min each side in a little butter or ghee. Cut like a pizza and serve.

Fillings:

You can use garlic butter, finely sliced garlic, fennel seeds, sultanas, chopped figs or a spoonful of ground almonds – they all work. You just need a thin coating – don’t be too heavy handed.

For garlic it’s better to boil it for a few minutes then cool before cutting. It stops it being raw and crunchy because the bread takes so little time to cook.

I’ve also found it’s better to fill the ‘not naan’ than mix the fillings with the dough – they can really slow the rise – and they make the bread heavier and tougher. It should be light, tiny air bubbles in the dough, slightly golden in places from frying.

Posted on

Goose and Beetroot curry

In the run up to Christmas I often get grey-leg goose. They are hunted around here and are plentiful ‘fair-game’. However, unlike the goose you buy from a butcher, they can be tough. So as a rule of thumb look at the beak – the less thick and ridged the younger and more tender the bird will probably be (no guarantee).

If I’m lucky enough to get 4 then I’ll keep one to pluck and either roast or turn it into crispy Chinese goose, the others are for curries, hot pots etc. For these birds I remove the breasts, wings and legs, getting 4 portions per bird (leg+wing = 1 portion).

Goose is an awesome taste, and it goes well with a bit of sweetness. The season is right for beetroot, so they form the basis of the sauce.

Prep: 15min Cook: 40min

Ingredients

1 Goose breast cubed

2 beetroot cubed

2 beetroot grated

1 chopped onion

250ml stock (pheasant for preference)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp corriander

2 tsp garam masala

contents of 6 cardamon pods

2 chillies chopped

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

25g sultana or chopped dried fruit (optional)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

Method

  1. Fry the onion until soft and translucent in veg oil.
  2. Add all the spices and the cubed goose, seal the goose and fry off the spices (about 30 sec).
  3. Add the beetroot and stock (and fruit if using), stir well and cook on a low heat for 35min, cook the sauce to a thick sticky consistency. Add more water/stock if required.

The grated beetroot and onion make the sweet and sticky sauce. The extra fruit increases the sweetness and so can be omitted or balanced with an extra chilli.

The cardamon is important as an aromatic, it lifts the dish, you can substitute with fennel seeds.

If you find it too sweet you can add the juice of 1 lime towards the end, the acidity will cut through the sweetness, but adds an extra layer to the flavour. I find a contrasting side or pickle better.

Normally served with Naan and a veg side dish.