Holiday Chilli

One positive habit I've taken up over the past three years is to save a lot of my holidays for the end of the year. The darker mornings and commutes home in the pitch black can be, even for a self-confessed positive person like me, grueling and tiring. I put my theory into practice this Autumn and Wintertime by taking a holiday on the East Coast. We were blessed by a lot of dry weather, interesting nature, clean beaches and quaint coastal villages, not to mention important company.

Those who'd booked the holiday cottage we stayed in have made lots of sacrifices for me over the years; more perhaps than I appreciated at the time. On the night before I drove home with the dog, I drove not the dog- she can't be trusted with such a big vehicle, I decided to cook for them as they had done so many times for me before I was able to.

The dish I chose was a vegetarian Chili Con Carne. What inspired me to make this, apart from my love of Tex-Mex Cooking, was the discovery in a local seaside supermarket of Blue Corn Tortillas. These were to be the side dish for Chili Con Carne. Blue Corn is grown in Mexico and Southwestern United States. It is often used to make Tortillas. In its natural state the corn cob that it comes from has numerous shades of purple and the patterns make it look like Jackson Pollock has been let loose on it with a variety of purple paints. The Tortillas I used as the side dish for this recipe were largely a uniform colour of Deep Purple.

Somehow Simply Red's 1991 bestseller "Stars" had found itself onto the player. Perhaps the music chosen was to meet the tastes of those I was cooking for. On the other hand perhaps it was due to driving and,fairly, funky numbers like "Thrill Me" and "Something Got Me Started" taking me back to my "Fat Elvis Years" . In those years alcohol consumption was higher, nights out lasted longer, often took place on a Sunday and the job I worked in was uninspiring; even if my colleagues were great to work with.

So to the job in hand, the ingredients sourced for this recipe were as follows:

For the Chili:

15 Tomatoes sliced into quarters. 
5 Shallots, topped, tailed and sliced thinly. 
3 Cloves Garlic, topped, tailed and sliced thinly. 
3 Sweet Peppers with their tops removed, the seeds removed and sliced into small squares. 
1 teaspoon of Cumin
1 teaspoon of Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon of Chili Flakes
1 tablespoon Tomato Purée with Chili.
A packet of Quorn Mince
A tin of Red Kidney Beans

I first fried the spices, Tomatoes, Vegetables and Puree for 35 minutes on a medium heat in Olive Oil in a frying pan. I stirred the ingredients constantly to make sure they didn't stick to the pan. I then added the Quorn Mince and fried the ingredients for a further 20 minutes while stirring the ingredients regularly. Next I added the Kidney Beans and after another 10 minutes the dish was ready.

I served the dish with 12 ounces of boiled White Rice that I'd boiled for 20 minutes so as to make it ready at the same time as the Chili. As well as the Blue Corn Tortillas I had a tub of plain, low fat Greek Yoghurt and some grated Chili Cheese with Lime available as a side dishes. 

The unique and salty taste together with the freshness of the Greek Yoghurt and the sweet spiciness of the Chili Cheese served to enhance the strong but flavoursome and taste of the Chili. It certainly warmed our hearts as the winter inched its way across the courtyard towards our cottage that evening as we ate the meal. 

Purple Days- the Tortilla Chips, Grated Cheese and Greek Yoghurt sit brightly on the bed of Chili and Rice. 

Mid- Month Mackerel

Saturday Morning. A week after Remembrance Weekend. The morning after I drove home staring up at the stars that were dotted above the fields and contemplated the wonder of it all. The dog woke me up early, she doesn't do lie ins, and I stumbled out of bed to let her out. I also thought of the cooking project for the day, which would soon find its way into your midst on this blog.

I had recently been for a very special meal at a local restaurant. I'd left the place feeling very lucky. I also left it feeling inspired to cook some new fish dishes in light of the excellent Bream and also Smoked Haddock Recipes we'd consumed there.

That said I decided to cook a dish involving fresh Mackerel and a sauce containing fruits and spices. Here's how I made it:

First thing, prior to a trip out for some excellent frames of snooker and productive Christmas Shopping in rural areas, I decided to make the sauce. The reason for this was that I planned to allow it to ferment and set so as to give it a richer flavour when I came to cook it later. The ingredients for the sauce were as follows:

One Red Grapefruit- sourced from my wonderful local Greengrocer the "Strawberry Basket"
One Orange
A tablespoon of Dried Mint.
A teaspoon of Mustard Seeds.
A teaspoon of Piri-Piri powder.
A teaspoon dried Parsley
A tablespoon of White Wine Vinegar.
Two tablespoons of Olive Oil.

I halved the Grape Fruit and Orange. I then peeled them and ripped them into segments while ensuring that I removed pith to ensure they were not too chewy. Then I added them to a mixing bowl with the herbs and spices, White Wine Vinegar and Olive Oil. I then whisked them in the mixing bowl, until the ingredients were totally blended. I left the bowl containing the blended ingredients in the fridge.

Later, when I returned from Snooker and Christmas Shopping Adventures, I realised it was nearly teatime and time to prepare the final part of the dish.

On the player was Rod Stewart's 1976 corker "A Night on the Town". This was the last record he made prior to, in the eyes of serious music critics and his more hip fans at least, selling out. It has to much on it to commend it from a rollicking cover of Manfred Mann's "Pretty Flamingo", the touching story song "The Killing of Georgie" and "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" a fine opener to the album that was the inspiration for a successful West End Musical inspired by Stewart's Music.

I took two fillets of Mackerel and Fried them in two ounces of melted and Unsalted Butter, I think it is a sin to use excessive salt in cookery you see, and a tablespoon of Olive Oil. I fried them on a medium heat,  with a teaspoon of Piri-Piri Powder, turning them twice over the course of 14 minutes.

I the meantime I cut up two Pak Choi into thin slices and fried them in my Le Cresceut in two tablespoons of Olive Oil with the sauce for a period of twenty minutes. In order to help the flavours of the sauce infuse into the Pak Choi I kept the lid on the Le Cresceut while I was frying the food and stirred it occasionally.

Once the Pak Choi, Sauce and Mackerel were properly cooked I served them. Even the undoubtedly healthy Red Grapefruit was present the dish was not sour. In fact the Piri-Piri and Mustard Seeds gave it a fine balance between fiery flavours  and a fresh and mellow taste that was created by the Mint, Parsley and Oranges. The Mackerel was rich in vitamins and had a fresh but smoky taste too that complimented the other ingredients well. I'll definitely be cooking this dish again, but next time I'll blend the sauce to make its texture smoother.

Red runs the plate- the Red Grapefruit's sour taste complimented the smoky yet fresh taste of the Mackerel. 

Stewed Shallots, Fried Sausages

It was the end of a great holiday on the East Coast. I had returned home. As if on cue the rain plummeted out of the sky and hammered into the western wall of my home with a vengeance. It was not even light when my dog dragged me from my slumber and we nipped out into the downpour. After that I went back to bed and woke mid-morning.

While I was waiting for the weather to clear I decided to commence preparation of the Bonfire Night dish I was treating my wonderful dining partner to that evening.

This time on the player there was yet more Van Morrison; this time his flawless double live album from 1974 "It's too Late to Stop Now". It is a stellar performance from a rather erratic live performer and as well as great album tracks and hits there are some top drawer blues covers thrown into the set-list.

The dish I made was one that was meant to be a typically savoury Bonfire Night Recipe. When I think of Bonfire Night, I think back to when I was a kid and we had Baked Potatoes filled with lots of beans and for pudding we would have Bonfire Toffee.

Another Bonfire Night staple is sausage sandwiches. However my Dining Partner and I are largely vegetarian and so I decided on a variation on Bonfire Night Sausage Sandwiches. The ingredients were as follows:

Ten Shallots that were peeled and topped and tailed.
A Pint of Cider.
Four Vegetarian Sausages.
A tablespoon of Dried Thyme.
Two tablespoons of Honey.

The first job was to put the Shallots in a greased baking tray with the Cider. I then placed foil over the top of the baking tray. I then cooked the Shallots and the Cider in the oven for three hours on Gas Mark 5. Once they were ready I turned the oven off and left the baking tray containing the Cider and Shallots in the Oven as it cooled down so as to keep them warm.

I then went and picked up my dining partner and we took my dog a walk at the local reservoir in the weak, yet warming, Winter Sun. When we returned it was time for the next stage of the cooking.

I lightly fried, in a frying pan with some Olive Oil, the four vegetarian sausages for ten minutes with a pinch of Mustard and a tablespoon of Dried Thyme.

I then added two tablespoons of Honey to the Cider and Shallots. Next I added them to the frying pan containing the Vegetarian Sausages and warmed the mixture through. This then meant it was ready to serve.

I toasted some slices of Seeded Bread and used them to make sandwiches with the Sausages and Shallots. I served them with a side of Red Cabbage Stewed in Cider and Herbs.

Although it uses a lot of power in stewing the Shallots for such a length of time, the reward is worth it for the rich and lived-in taste that is the end product. They certainly serve to add a depth to a dish that would otherwise be bland. The dish is rich and very sweet and a fun treat for adults and children alike on Bonfire Weekend. The meal also served to warm us before we headed out into the night and watched the fireworks from a local landmark. We were detached from the Bonfire Night celebrations in some way, however in our own way we were part of them.

Centre Sandwich- the Sausage and Shallots are fully glazed and ready to eat on a chilly Bonfire Saturday Night.

Pumpkins frying with Chestnuts

Part two of my cooking project to impress on 21 October 2017 again involved Pumpkin. It also involved, again, playing a Van Morrison Album. This time it was his 1990 record "Enlightenment". Plum tracks on this one include the devotional "Real, Real Gone", a number I could well relate to, and the stilted but fun slice of nostalgia "In the Days Before Rock 'n' Roll".

The main course was a Pumpkin and Chestnut Stew and it featured the following ingredients:

The cubed flesh of one Pumpkin
One diced Red Onion.
A pack of Pre-Cooked Chestnuts.
One Sharon Fruit topped and tailed.
A tablespoon of Dried Thyme
A tablespoon of Dried Sage.

This was a pretty easy dish to make and one, bear with me readers, that may seem on first look to be bland and banal. However the reality was quite different.

I poured some Olive Oil into the bottom of the Le Cresceut and then added all the ingredients bar the Chestnuts. The reason for this was that they were pre-cooked and so didn't need much extra cooking.

I stewed the ingredients on the hob on a medium heat with the lid on my Le Cresceut for about twenty-five minutes.

I then added the Chestnuts and cooked all the ingredients for another twenty minutes until the Pumpkin Flesh could be cut with ease by my plastic serving spoon.

I served the food with Honey Roast Parsnips (see 22 October 2017 entry for how to make these) and on this occasion these also included  chopped Cooking Apple with the Parsnips.

Again my dining partner provided the best insight into this dish. Her view, as was mine, that the dish was a rich and flavoursome evening meal. I would add that the Sharon Fruit, an underrated fruit that has a very short season, also gave the dish a unique twist and a taste of Autumn.

Sweet and Savoury- Honey Roast Parsnips sit well with the rich and tasty stew.