Orange Spring

The sun was shining, the sky a relaxing blue glow as we finished a long walk at the end of February during a spell of fake spring. On the way to the walk I had picked up some chicken fillets from the local farm shop, where I had also been door-stepped by an old acquaintance who wore her surgical mask like a beleaguered bandido. 

I used the chicken fillets to make a new recipe that featured a healthy amount of fresh orange juice. The ingredients are as follows:

For the marinated chicken fillets:

Two Chicken Fillets.

A tablespoon of Dried Tarragon.

The juice of one Orange. 

For the Butter Sauce

The juice of one Orange.

One Hundred Grams of Unsalted Butter.

A teaspoon of Fennel Seeds. 

For the White Sauce

The grated rind of one Orange.

One Hundred Grams of Unsalted Butter. 

A tablespoon of Cornflour. 

A quarter of a pint of Skimmed Milk. 

As a side dish

A head of Brocolli and some Kale steamed for thirty minutes prior to serving. 

On the player as I started the work on this dish was Emerson, Lake and Palmer's grand and ambitious effort "Works Volume 1". It features everything from a Piano Concerto, lots of obscure love ballads, Jazz Jams and delicate classical interpretations to barnstorming prog rock. All conjured up by three blokes. There's not been a hit album like it since. If you fancy an adventure then check it out at: Emerson, Lake and Palmer- “Works, Volume 1”(full album 1977) - YouTube 

The first job was to marinate the Chicken by rubbing it in Sunflower Oil, the Dried Tarragon and Orange Juice and then placing it on a baking tray and leaving it to cook in the oven for thirty minutes on Gas Mark Five. 

Also steamed for thirty minutes at this time was the Broccoli and Kale. 

I prepared the Butter Sauce by melting the Unsalted Butter in a sauce pan and adding the Fennel Seeds and Orange Juice. Once the Butter had melted I left this to one side until it was time to serve the dish.

Next I melted the Unsalted Butter in another sauce pan, added the grated rind of Orange and the Corn Flour and stirred these all together to form a thick paste. Then I gradually added the Milk to the pan, while keeping it on a medium heat, and stirring it until I had a thick sauce.

I served the dish by putting the Chicken Fillets on plates and pouring the Butter Sauce over them. Next I added the Broccoli and Kale and poured the White Orange Rind Sauce over them. Chicken, Tarragon, Fennel and Orange are flavours that go together well as does White Orange Rind Sauce Broccoli and Kale. There was just the right amount of Orange Juice on the Butter Sauce and the Chicken Fillets and the White Sauce had the rich flavour of a fruity cheese. 

Thai-phew

When restaurants are closed during lockdown, albeit some are serving takeaways, it's easy to get uninspired with home cooking and stick to the same old recipes. At the end of January I revived memories of a lovely Thai meal I had on the birthday of someone who came from nowhere to be a cool and inspiring presence after the best part of twenty years away. 

The restaurant we went to was a small yet popular venue and I had to do my best with my powers of persuasion to get us a table for two at short notice. I remember consuming a lot of noodles with plenty of spice but most importantly I remember the dynamic company. 

With Kiss' heavy yet melodic "Alive 3" on the player I set to work. There's nothing like some pounding drums, the sound of a lively crowd, thrashing guitars and some chant-along anthems to power through a cooking session. 

The ingredients for the Thai Curry I chose to make are as follows:

 3 Sweet Potatoes , peeled, topped and tailed and sliced width-ways. Then steamed for around thirty minutes to soften them. 

Steamed Cod Fillet. If steamed from chilled steam for twenty minutes. If steamed from frozen steam for 30 minutes.

1 Diced Green Pepper

2 Shallot, peeled, topped, tailed and diced.

4 Kaffir Lime Leaves

1 small Red Chilli (optional)

200 gram Red Thai Curry Paste

Juice of 2 Limes

Six Fresh Basil Leaves

100 grams of Noodles

400 ml Coconut Milk 

110gram Fresh Spinach 

Sesame Oil to fry. 

The way this one is made is as follows: 

1. Start the Sweet Potato and Cod steaming for the suggested times shown above. 

2. In a deep frying pan or wok pour some sesame oil and warm it gently on a low heat. 

3. Add the Green Pepper, Shallot, Lime Leaves and Chilli (if using) and shallow fry for around fifteen minutes stirring regularly to stop the ingredients burning. 

4. Put into the pan the Lime Juice, Basil Leaves, Noodles and Thai Curry Paste. Stir all those ingredients together and fry for another twenty minutes until the noodles start to become soft. Be sure to keep stirring regularly to avoid the ingredients burning and sticking to the pan as before. 

5. Add the Sweet Potatoes and Cod once they have been steamed and stir in. Take the opportunity to gently slice the Cod with the stirring spoon so the Cod pieces are spread evenly throughout the curry mixture.

6. The Coconut Milk and Fresh Spinach. Simmer for around ten minutes until the Spinach shrinks a little and the Noodles are fully soft. Then serve.

What makes this recipe special is the mixture of the sharp Thai Curry Paste, Sourness of the Lime Juice and Lime Leaves and the richness of the Coconut Milk. It made sure that once again I was taken back to that evening where the light jumped out of the shadows and the evening was like a wonderful, crazy dream.