Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is all to do with healthy, hearty, winter warmers. With any luck all of your new years’ resolutions haven’t been lost yet. Hopefully you can continue to keep the resolution for a slimmer you with this week’s recipes, nonetheless just because you’re counting the calories and fat content doesn’t mean that you can’t have something warm and hearty on a cold winter’s night. I’ve also included something naughty to tickle your fancy. The features recipes this week are Bacon and Sweetcorn Chowder, Italian Stew with Borlotti Beans and Sausage and Tinker’s Tea. The herb of the week is Fennel.
My first recipe is Bacon and Sweetcorn Chowder, recipe courtesy of Slimmer Dinners, published by Olive Magazine January 2011.
This recipe serves 2, takes 5mins to prepare and can take approx. 15mins to cook.
3 x Rashers of Streaky Bacon – chopped (or lardons)
Oil
1 x Small Onion – finely chopped
1 x Large Potato – peeled and cut into small cubes
350ml x Organic Chicken or Vegetable Stock
400ml x Milk
200g x Sweetcorn (frozen or tinned (drained))
Chives, snipped to make 2 tbps
Fry the bacon in a little oil in a pan – as soon as it starts to colour, add the onion and potato and cook until the onion starts to soften. Add the stock and milk and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5mins or until the potato is tender, then add the sweetcorn and heat. Season and stir in the chives.
My next recipe is Italian Stew with Borlotti Beans and Sausage, recipe courtesy of Slimmer Dinners, published by Olive Magazine January 2011.
This recipe serves 2, takes 5mins to prepare and can take 25mins to cook.
2 x Italian-Style Sausages – skins removed
Oil
1 x Onion – roughly chopped
1 x Garlic Clove – chopped
1/2 tsp x Fennel Seeds
A Pinch of Chilli Flakes
1 x 400g tin of Cherry Tomatoes
300ml x Organic Vegetable Stock or water
1 x 400g tin of Borlotti Beans – drained and rinsed
100g x Green Beans – trimmed and cut in half
Roll the sausagemeat into little balls. Heat a non-stick frying pan sprayed or brushed with oil and brown the meatballs until golden and any oil is released. Remove the sausage and add the onion, garlic and fennel seeds to the pan, along with chilli flakes and some seasoning. Cook for 5mins and then add the cherry tomatoes with 300ml of water or stock. Bring to a simmer and add the Borlotti beans and meatballs. Cook for 10mins then add the green beans. Cook for 5mins more until the beans are tender, then serve.
Herb of the week - Fennel (foeniculum-vulgare)
This tall, hardy, graceful perennial, indigenous to the Mediterranean and now naturalized in many parts of the world, is one of the oldest cultivated plants. The Romans enjoyed fennel shoots as a vegetable; the Chinese and Indians valued fennel as a condiment and digestive aid. The herb should not be confused with the bulbous sweet or Florence fennel.
In Spring fennel gives a fresh, lively note to salads and sauces. Later in the season a garnish of flowers or a sprinkling of pollen gives an anise fragrance to cold soups, chowders, and grilled fish. Fennel is an excellent foil for oily fish. The Sicilians use it liberally in their pasta with sardines. In Province whole red mullet, bass, and bream are baked or grilled on a bed of fresh or dried fennel stalks, which imparts a delicate flavour. Pollen gives a more heady flavour to fish, seafood, grilled vegetables, pork chops, and Italian breads. Fennel seed can be added to pickles, soups, and breads; try combining ground fennel and Nigella seeds to flavour bread, as is done in Iraq. In Greece leaves or seeds are combined with feta cheese and olives to make a well flavoured bread. Fennel seeds flavour sauerkraut in Alsace and Germany, and Italians use them with roast pork and in finocchiona, the renowned salami of Florence.
Fennel seed is one of the constituents of five spice powder, the principal Chinese spice blend used mostly with meat and poultry. Bengal in northeast India also has a five spice blend, panch phoron, with fennel as an ingredient; the mixture is used with vegetables, beans, and lentils. Elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent fennel appears in garam masala, in spiced gravies for vegetable or lamb, and in some sweet dishes. Indians also chew fennel after a meal as a breath freshener and digestive aid.
Other uses for fennel are that the seed and leaves can be used in facial steams and in baths for deep cleansing. A facial pack of fennel tea and honey is good for wrinkles. A yellow dye can also be extracted.
Medicinally it can be used as a digestion aid (to prevent heartburn or constipation) by making fennel tea, by putting a teaspoon of fennel seeds in a tea cup, add boiling water, cover for 5mins then strain. A teaspoon of this cooled tea is good for babies with colic. Steep a compress in the tea and place on the eyelid, to ease inflammation or watery eye, or let the solution cool and bather the naked eye. WARNING Taken in large doses, the essence can cause convulsions and disturb the nervous system.
My last recipe for this week is more of a cocktail than a dish, something to warm the cockles on a winter’s night. Tinker’s Tea, recipe by Ray Foley, courtesy of Ultimate Bartender’s Guide. Published by Sourcebooks Inc.
This recipe makes 1, takes minutes to prepare.
45ml x Bailey’s Irish Cream
170ml x Hot Tea
Make yourself a cup of tea as you normally would, but instead of adding milk add 45ml of Baileys Irish Cream and stir until thoroughly mixed, and enjoy.
Finally, it is with great sadness and regret that I must inform you that last week's Pooky's Playbox Blog will be her last. Pooky has decided to hang up her blog writing gloves and to head off to pastures' new. Thank you to all of you who have viewed the recipes printed there. Cooking up a storm will continue to grow from strength to strength.
If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D
http://chefgarfy.blogspot.com/
http://chefgarfy.blog.co.uk/
Showing posts with label Potato. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Potato. Show all posts
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Soup Sorrel and Seabass
Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is all to do with soup, sorrel and sea bass. The recipes featured this week are Spinach Soup with Beetroot Ribbons, Sea Bass with Seville Orange Sauce and Mulled Apple and Calvados Warmer. The herb of the week is Sorrell.
My first recipe is Spinach Soup with Beetroot Ribbons, recipe by Trina Hanemann, courtesy of Sainsbury’s Magazine Dec 2010.
This recipe serves 8, takes 20mins to prepare and can take 1hr to cook.
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
2 tsp x Cumin Seeds
1 x Onion, roughly chopped
2 x Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2 x Large Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1.5kgs x Spinach Leaves (or 1kg Frozen Spinach)
1 tsp x Freshly Ground Nutmeg
200ml x Double Cream
For the Beetroot Ribbons
2 x Large Raw Beetroots
500ml x Grapeseed or Sunflower Oil
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the cumin, onion, garlic and potatoes. Cook gently for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1.5 litres of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the spinach (a handful at a time if fresh), nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper, and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, leave to cool a little, then blend until smooth. Peel into thin strips using a potato peeler. Put the strips on kitchen paper to dry.
Pour the soup back into the pan, add the cream and reheat while stirring. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep saucepan and fry the beetroot, 5 or 6 strips at a time. Remove with a slotted spoon as soon as they turn light brown on the edges. Drain on kitchen paper. Season the soup and serve garnished with the beetroot ribbons.
Herb of the week - Sorrell (rumex acetosa)
Also known as Bread and Cheese, Sour leaves, Tom thumbs, Thousand fingers and sour sauce. Sorrel is a native of Europe, Asia and North America. It has naturalized in many countries throughout the world on rich, damp, loamy, acid soils. The generic name, Rumex, comes from the Latin rumo, “I suck”. Apparently, Roman soldiers sucked the leaves to relieve thirst, and their doctors used them as a diuretic. The name Sorrel comes from the old French word surelle meaning “sour”. The Tudors considered the herb to be one of the best English vegetables; Henry VIII held it in great esteem.
Rumex Acestosa is also known as broad-leafed sorrel, common sorrel, garden sorrel, meadow sorrel, and confusingly French Sorrel. It is a hardy perennial that can grow to a height of 60-120cms with a spread of 30cms. It bears small, dull greenish flowers which turn reddish-brown as the fruit ripens. Its mid-green lance-shaped leaves have 2 basal lobes pointing backwards.
Sorrel is considered to have blood cleansing and blood improving qualities in a similar way to spinach, which improves the haemoglobin content of the blood. It also contains vitamin C. A leaf may be used in a poultice to treat certain skin complaints, including acne. WARNING:-Care has to be taken that sorrel is not used in too great a quantity or too frequently. Its oxalic acid content may be damaging to health if taken in excess. Very large doses are poisonous, causing severe kidney damage. This herb should not be used medicinally by those predisposed to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or gastric hyperacidity. The leaf may cause dermatitis.
This is an excellent herb with which to experiment. Use sparingly in soups, omelettes, fish sauces, and with poultry and pork. It is useful for tenderizing meat. Wrap it around steaks or add pounded leaf to a marinade. Eat leaves raw in salads, especially the buckler-leaf sorrel, but reduce the vinegar or lemon in any accompanying dressing to compensate for the increased acidity. Cook like spinach, changing the cooking water once to reduce acidity.
My next recipe is Sea Bass with Seville Orange Sauce, recipe by Sam & Sam Clark, courtesy of Sainsbury’s Magazine Dec 2010.
This recipe serves 4, takes 15mins to prepare and takes 30mins to cook.
4 x Sea Bass Fillets (or Bream Fillets) approx 200g each (or alternatively 8 x smaller fillets)
3 tbsp x Olive Oil
For the Seville Orange Sauce
100ml x Seville Orange Juice (3-4 Oranges, or use a mixture of half orange and half lemon juice)
1 heaped tsp x Grated Seville Orange Zest (or ordinary), briefly blanched in boiling water to remove the bitterness
2 x Bay Leaves
A sprig of Thyme
A Good Pinch of Cinnamon
150g x Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into cubes
2 tsp x Caster Sugar, or to taste
To make the sauce, put the orange juice and zest, bay, thyme and cinnamon in a small pan and bring to a simmer. Stirring constantly with a balloon whisk, add the butter in 3 batches. Keep the pan over a very low heat and make sure that the sauce emulsifies nicely. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the flavourings, add sugar to taste and season with salt. It will take more salt than you might think to balance the acidity. Keep over a pan of barely simmering water and simmering frequently.
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Season the sea bass with salt and a little freshly ground black pepper, drizzle the olive oil into the pan to cover the base and, when the oil is smoking hot, gently ease in each fillet, skin-side down, shaking the pan as you go to prevent sticking. You may need to do this in batches. Lower the heat to medium and fry the fillets for 4-5minutes (or 2-3 minutes for smaller fillets), until cooked halfway through. Turn them gently and fry for a couple more minutes, until just cooked through. Serve with the warm sauce spooned over the fish.
My last recipe is Mulled Apple and Calvados Warmer, recipe by Trina Hanemann, courtesy of Sainsbury’s Magazine Dec 2010.
This recipe serves 8, takes 15mins to prepare and takes 55mins to cook.
2kgs x apples, cut into quarters
200g x Caster Sugar
2 x Cinnamon Sticks, plus extra to use as stirrers
200ml x Calvados
In a large pan, bring the apples, sugar, cinnamon sticks and 2 litres of water to the boil, stirring. Simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through muslin or a fine sieve and discard the apples and cinnamon sticks. Pour into the cleaned pan and bring to the boil. Add the Calvados and pour into 8 heatproof glasses, each with a cinnamon stick stirrer.
If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D
http://chefgarfy.blogspot.com/
http://chefgarfy.blog.co.uk/
My first recipe is Spinach Soup with Beetroot Ribbons, recipe by Trina Hanemann, courtesy of Sainsbury’s Magazine Dec 2010.
This recipe serves 8, takes 20mins to prepare and can take 1hr to cook.
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
2 tsp x Cumin Seeds
1 x Onion, roughly chopped
2 x Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2 x Large Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1.5kgs x Spinach Leaves (or 1kg Frozen Spinach)
1 tsp x Freshly Ground Nutmeg
200ml x Double Cream
For the Beetroot Ribbons
2 x Large Raw Beetroots
500ml x Grapeseed or Sunflower Oil
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the cumin, onion, garlic and potatoes. Cook gently for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1.5 litres of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the spinach (a handful at a time if fresh), nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper, and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, leave to cool a little, then blend until smooth. Peel into thin strips using a potato peeler. Put the strips on kitchen paper to dry.
Pour the soup back into the pan, add the cream and reheat while stirring. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep saucepan and fry the beetroot, 5 or 6 strips at a time. Remove with a slotted spoon as soon as they turn light brown on the edges. Drain on kitchen paper. Season the soup and serve garnished with the beetroot ribbons.
Herb of the week - Sorrell (rumex acetosa)
Also known as Bread and Cheese, Sour leaves, Tom thumbs, Thousand fingers and sour sauce. Sorrel is a native of Europe, Asia and North America. It has naturalized in many countries throughout the world on rich, damp, loamy, acid soils. The generic name, Rumex, comes from the Latin rumo, “I suck”. Apparently, Roman soldiers sucked the leaves to relieve thirst, and their doctors used them as a diuretic. The name Sorrel comes from the old French word surelle meaning “sour”. The Tudors considered the herb to be one of the best English vegetables; Henry VIII held it in great esteem.
Rumex Acestosa is also known as broad-leafed sorrel, common sorrel, garden sorrel, meadow sorrel, and confusingly French Sorrel. It is a hardy perennial that can grow to a height of 60-120cms with a spread of 30cms. It bears small, dull greenish flowers which turn reddish-brown as the fruit ripens. Its mid-green lance-shaped leaves have 2 basal lobes pointing backwards.
Sorrel is considered to have blood cleansing and blood improving qualities in a similar way to spinach, which improves the haemoglobin content of the blood. It also contains vitamin C. A leaf may be used in a poultice to treat certain skin complaints, including acne. WARNING:-Care has to be taken that sorrel is not used in too great a quantity or too frequently. Its oxalic acid content may be damaging to health if taken in excess. Very large doses are poisonous, causing severe kidney damage. This herb should not be used medicinally by those predisposed to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or gastric hyperacidity. The leaf may cause dermatitis.
This is an excellent herb with which to experiment. Use sparingly in soups, omelettes, fish sauces, and with poultry and pork. It is useful for tenderizing meat. Wrap it around steaks or add pounded leaf to a marinade. Eat leaves raw in salads, especially the buckler-leaf sorrel, but reduce the vinegar or lemon in any accompanying dressing to compensate for the increased acidity. Cook like spinach, changing the cooking water once to reduce acidity.
My next recipe is Sea Bass with Seville Orange Sauce, recipe by Sam & Sam Clark, courtesy of Sainsbury’s Magazine Dec 2010.
This recipe serves 4, takes 15mins to prepare and takes 30mins to cook.
4 x Sea Bass Fillets (or Bream Fillets) approx 200g each (or alternatively 8 x smaller fillets)
3 tbsp x Olive Oil
For the Seville Orange Sauce
100ml x Seville Orange Juice (3-4 Oranges, or use a mixture of half orange and half lemon juice)
1 heaped tsp x Grated Seville Orange Zest (or ordinary), briefly blanched in boiling water to remove the bitterness
2 x Bay Leaves
A sprig of Thyme
A Good Pinch of Cinnamon
150g x Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into cubes
2 tsp x Caster Sugar, or to taste
To make the sauce, put the orange juice and zest, bay, thyme and cinnamon in a small pan and bring to a simmer. Stirring constantly with a balloon whisk, add the butter in 3 batches. Keep the pan over a very low heat and make sure that the sauce emulsifies nicely. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the flavourings, add sugar to taste and season with salt. It will take more salt than you might think to balance the acidity. Keep over a pan of barely simmering water and simmering frequently.
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Season the sea bass with salt and a little freshly ground black pepper, drizzle the olive oil into the pan to cover the base and, when the oil is smoking hot, gently ease in each fillet, skin-side down, shaking the pan as you go to prevent sticking. You may need to do this in batches. Lower the heat to medium and fry the fillets for 4-5minutes (or 2-3 minutes for smaller fillets), until cooked halfway through. Turn them gently and fry for a couple more minutes, until just cooked through. Serve with the warm sauce spooned over the fish.
My last recipe is Mulled Apple and Calvados Warmer, recipe by Trina Hanemann, courtesy of Sainsbury’s Magazine Dec 2010.
This recipe serves 8, takes 15mins to prepare and takes 55mins to cook.
2kgs x apples, cut into quarters
200g x Caster Sugar
2 x Cinnamon Sticks, plus extra to use as stirrers
200ml x Calvados
In a large pan, bring the apples, sugar, cinnamon sticks and 2 litres of water to the boil, stirring. Simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through muslin or a fine sieve and discard the apples and cinnamon sticks. Pour into the cleaned pan and bring to the boil. Add the Calvados and pour into 8 heatproof glasses, each with a cinnamon stick stirrer.
If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D
http://chefgarfy.blogspot.com/
http://chefgarfy.blog.co.uk/
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