Squashed Risotto

It was Wednesday, it was January it had rained (again) and spring seemed rather a long way away. As is the way at this time of year it was dark by the time I got home from work, although to be fair as I was leaving the office the last vestiges of daylight were clinging to the rooftops of Rawmarsh as I climbed into the car.

Rather than making something quick from, to borrow one of my secretary's catchphrases, "out the freezer" I decided to treat myself to making a dish I would usually reserve for the weekend when I had more time on my hands.

It was a recipe I learned from my dad in the days when I lived at home. The ingredients I used were as follows:

1. 8 ounces of risotto rice.
2. 3 cloves of garlic.
3. Half a red onion.
4. 1 litre of vegetable stock.
5. Teaspoon of paprika.
6. Teaspoon of white pepper.
7. Half the flesh of a butternut squash.
8. Half a bottle of red wine.
9. 10 ounces quorn pieces.
10. 3 ounces of grated Red Leicester cheese.
11. Salad leaves to garnish.

The album on my MP3 player was something that was a little downbeat to say it was the middle of the working week and I tend during this time to listen to energetic music to keep me pumped up and in the zone for the challenges of the day job. The album was Radiohead's 2003 effort Hail to the Thief that had arrived in the post earlier in the day. It is an album that combines their nascent guitar driven work with their, at the time, more recent dalliances with the world of electronica. The project is a real success and beneath the fog of electric swirls and Thom Yorke's wintry whine is hidden a great record that rewards repeated listens.

As I had not had time, or cash, to invest in a Le Cresceut since I moved to my new place I had to use the wok and I covered the bottom of it with rapeseed oil. Next I diced the garlic and onion and fried them gently for around five minutes together with the paprika and the white pepper.

After five minutes I added the butternut squash pieces, quorn pieces and the rice and another five minutes of frying, whilst constantly stirring the ingredients to stop them sticking, ensued. I then emptied half a bottle of red wine into the wok and stirred it into the food steadily until it had been absorbed. I used a Riocha Wine which had a rich taste to say the least.

After the wine was absorbed I poured in half of the vegetable stock and stirred it in until it too was absorbed. Next came the second half of the vegetable stock and when around two thirds of this had been absorbed I added the grated Red Leicester which ensured that, once it had melted, the risotto was thick and not overly runny.

I then served it with some salad leaves to garnish as well. The trick with risotto is making sure that you have some surplus liquid so it is not overly dry while at the same time ensuring the risotto rice is fully cooked and not unecessary al dente. This was something I managed to achieve with this dish, which proved to be real comfort food on a dark winter's night that left me in a positive and energetic frame of mind for work the next day.

The red wine gave the Quorn Pieces and the risotto rice a claret hue and a rich taste.

Scrambling Spinach

The mild weather returned towards January's end and as a result it suddenly became easier to get out of bed in the morning and the sunshine returned too which is always as bonus at this time of year.

That said towards the end of the month the weather was better for walking in and one of my closest friends and I on a Sunday, not far from payday, took to the hills with our respective dogs for a long, cathartic walk where we shared our recent experiences and set the world to rights. It was after a post-walk cup of tea that I decided to prepare a healthy but rich lunch that was one step beyond my usual Sunday Lunchtime fare of cheese and biscuits.

The dish I settled upon was scrambled eggs with spinach which is a simple dish to make and very healthy. The ingredients I used where as follows:

Three eggs
Four ounces of light margarine.
Three tablespoons of semi-skimmed milk
A tablespoon of dried Tarragon.
A tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
Half a tablespoon of squeezed mustard.
One ounce of grated cheese.
Two handfuls of spinach.

The album on my MP3 player was one I bought at the start of my second year at university, nearly fourteen years ago, being Love's 1967 effort Da Capo. This album is best categorised as a psychedlic record and it encapsulates both the best and the excessive elements of this sub-genre. On one hand you have the first six songs that are short, sharp and memorable as well as ground-breaking. However this is balanced out by the nineteen minute jam which closes the record that is typical psychedelic excess although having said that it is much more interesting than many similar jams by other artists as it includes amongst other things a saxophone solo.

I broke the three eggs in a mixing bowl and then whisked them together very rapidly. In the meantime I melted the margarine into a sauce pan and once it had melted I added the Tarragon to it. Then came the whisked eggs followed by the milk, white vine vinegar and the mustard. While keeping everything on a low heat I stirred it constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture had thickened.

After this I put the spinach into the mixture and once it had blended in sufficiently I added the grated cheese and melted this into what was now scrambled eggs with spinach. Soon the dish was ready to serve and I added some more spinach to the top of it for decorative purposes.

Spinach has plenty of iron in it and it also gave the meal a fresh taste that was offset by the richness of the eggs and margarine, albeit low fat margarine, while the tarragon, vinegar and mustard added a matureness to the meal that worked very well.

More interesting than your average Sunday Snack complete with decorative spinach leaves

Garbanzas Compuestas

On the 16th January it was a bitterly cold day on which the sun shone and it was easier to walk on the local paths than it had been for some time as the dampness had been replaced with icy but solid ground. In short the wet and mild weather had given way to a typical, sunny, crisp winter day. It was certainly wonderful to get out in it and as the sun shone through the pine trees in the local wood I realised being out in the fresh air was the perfect therapy for the exciting challenges that I was experiencing.

It was also my dog's 4th birthday so I treated her by making the walk seven miles long and then giving her cooked bacon for her lunch when we returned to my home. In the evening the light vanished early and was replaced by extreme cold and snowfall. To remind me of warmth and sunshine I dug out a recipe book relating to Tapas of the Canary Island that I brought back from a holiday in Fuerteventura the October before last.

I settled on a recipe called Garbanazas Compuestas which is essentially the Canary Islands of a meat casserole. The soundtrack to cooking today was Suede's 1994 masterpiece Dog Man Star which was as dark and cold as the weather outside my window. The album has elements of The Smiths' sound, early R.E.M and most tellingly mid to late 70s David Bowie; an artist at the forefront of my mind after the announcement of his sad death earlier that week.

The Ingredients were as follows:

1 Can of chick peas.
8 ounces of diced bacon.
8 ounces of pre-prepared chorizo.
1 diced red onion.
Half a diced red pepper.
6 halved baby tomatoes.
2 cloves of garlic.
1 teaspoon of paprika
2 sprigs of  fresh thyme.
1 teaspoon  of black pepper.
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar.

The method I used to make the meal was as follows:

1. Fry the onion, garlic and pepper for 10 minutes in a wok with some olive oil.
2. Add the bacon and fry for 10 minutes.
3. Gradually add each spice and vinegar stirring them in one at a time.
4. Add the tomatoes
5. Add the chorizo.
6. Add the chick peas.
7. Stew for 20 minutes.

The outcome was a dish with plenty of warmth and spices that was substantial and succeeeded in banishing the winter blues because of this and also because it brought back memories of my trip to cloudless Fuerteventura, a trip that is still one of the best I've been on.

A delicious looking meal that attracted a lot of attention when I first posted this picture on Facebook

The Sunday Tarragon Project

The first Sunday of the New Year had me wake up with a feeling in my mind that I had slept well. However the tiredness trawling through my body suggested the opposite. The reality was that I had just awoken from a classic case of Alcoholic Sleep. What I mean by that is that I had consumed a reasonable amount of real bitter the night before and therefore got to sleep quickly on my return home. However as often happens when you have a few drinks you sleep very lightly so when you wake up your body usually makes you feel you have been up for last twenty-four hours.

It had been worth it though as I had a very entertaining night out in town as we sampled real ale at two different pubs including a local pub that has a juke box that plays tasteful progressive rock and has the pick of the beer from the local breweries on offer. It is certainly my town's best kept secret and one of the jewels in the crown of its public houses.

Another plus of consuming the beer the night before was that I had something to sweat out on a walk that morning with my dog, who I had custody of for the weekend, and by the time I had pounded up and down the nearby hills I was ready for a substantial meal.

My music taste, as those who know me well will tell you, is eclectic and ranges from the hip to the tragically un-hip. The album on my MP3 Player was perhaps a touch closer to the latter part of the spectrum and was Chris Rea's 1978 debut Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? This album is now out of print and hard to find despite being a rare hit album for him in America, in fact it is his highest charting record there to date. Still its mellow warmth, that mainly stems from Rea's gravelly voice, and eclectic mix of rock, ballads, country and powerful guitar made it the perfect soundtrack to banish the winter blues and shake off the vestiges of a hangover.

I got a bunch of brocolli and washed it thoroughly. I then cut parts of it off so that the brocolli pieces looked like minature trees, coincidentally a fellow foodie had mentioned  this very fact the night before about the appearance of brocolli when cut in this way. I also peeled a potato and sliced it widthways prior to simmering both the potato and the brocolli for a period of ten minutes. After this time I left the brocolli and the potatoes in then pan to cool once I had turned off the heat.

In the meantime I fried whilst turning steadily two chicken breasts. I fried them in rapeseed oil, an oil that is both cheaper than olive oil and also as good for preparing meat with. Once the chicken had finished its brief encounter with the wok I added it with the potatoes and the broccolli into a glass ovenproof dish that I had greased liberally with margarine. I then added a diced white onion, a thinly sliced garlic clove, half a pint of chicken stock, some squeezed mustard, a hint of black pepper and two tablespoons of dried tarragon to the dish. I spread all the seasoning widely around the dish.

After I had ensured that the stock covered the chicken and vegetables fully I put the dish in the oven and then cooked it on gas mark 6 for one hour.

After an hour I checked the chicken by slicing part of one side of it and this revealed that the meat inside had become white, and formed tender strips when cut into. For me this is a sure fire sign that chicken is cooked and something I look very carefully for when having a chicken dinner as chicken is a meat that if you undercook it then it can have unwanted consequences for your short term health.

Having satisfied myself that the chicken was cooked through I served it with the rest of the dish. I have to say that there is nothing that is much better than a chicken dinner on a Sunday lunchtime and this recipe gave me no evidence to change that view. The use of the tarragon also worked well as it has a slight aniseed- like taste that contrasts well with the salty and savoury taste of the stock. A good dish to have after a hangover- busting walk that will set you up for a productive recovery day.

Freshly cooked, juicy chicken that was covered in flavoursome tarragon

New Year, New Thai Curry Bread

New Year's Eve was in part bright and sunny, as it happened during a trip into the city for some important work, and also mild and rainy. By the time I returned from the city my thoughts turned to plans for New Year's Eve which were to involve a trip round to the house of some good friends who live nearby me to have some excellent homemade chilli, let the New Year in with them and most importantly have a good catch up.

I decided that one of the best things you can make to compliment chilli is a good quality bread and I settled on a recipe of my own creation that had the required flavours to compliment the chilli. I first fried one diced red onion and a red pepper that I had removed the top from and all the seeds before cutting it into small squares. I put the squares of red pepper and the diced red onion into a wok and fried them with a tablespoon of savoury soy sauce and tablespoon of Thai Curry Powder for about fifteen minutes on a low heat on the hob. I then turned the hob off and left the contents of the wok to one side while I made the dough.

To make the dough I took 16 ounces of wholemeal bread flour and a teaspoon of yeast and stirred them together. Next I poured quarter of a pint of water into the mixing bowl with the wholemeal bread flour and yeast.

The trick with the water is to make sure all the dough and yeast absorbs the water and there is no loose dough or yeast. After that the next job was to fashion all the ingredients into a ball and knead them out into a flat piece of dough. I did this by punching into the dough repeatedly and with plenty of energy too. I often find that kneading dough is quite cathartic in this way and lets you use the process as an outlet for your frustrations, in the nicest possible way of course.

When the dough was laid out flat I put the contents of the wok on top of it and folded the corners of the dough into the centre to cover all the ingredients from the wok. I then put the bread on a greased baking tray and then cooked it in my gas oven at gas mark 6 for half an hour. After this I took it out and left on the rack for the afternoon while I got ready to go out for New Year's Eve.

I have yet to taste any chilli con carne anywhere that is better than the homemade chilli my friend makes and the chilli on New Years' Eve was no exception. The aim with my bread recipe was to make something that was strong and flavoursome like the chilli and with the ingredients I used I was hoping to create some of the tastes you find at a quality Thai Restaurant.

It helped contribute to a very enjoyable evening that was the perfect way to see out one of the most memorable years I've experienced and bring in the new one in style.

Straight out of the oven and festooned with pieces and pepper and onion

Mince Mexicane

The evening before New Year's Eve I was getting myself in the zone for nipping into the city to do some urgent work despite my employer's offices being closed for the Christmas Break. Although I did not have to go to the city for long it was still work, even though I was on holiday for most of the Christmas Period.

When it's the evening before work I have a certain way of preparing which often involves cooking specific types of dishes, listening to particular types of music and if I have time having a good soak in the bath. That way I feel I am in tip-top condition to do my best at work.

The music of choice was arguably Bob Marley's best album being 1977's laid back, motivational and deliberate sounding offering "Exodus."

As had not been in work now for over a week I decided to cook something simple that was one of my favourite meals as a sort of comfort food.

I therefore cut up one orange pepper, a red onion and a clove of garlic and fried them steadily in my wok on the hob for about fifteen minutes until the pepper began to soften and onion became translucent. In order to be sure the mixture did not burn I stirred it regularly. To give the vegetables some flavour I added a tablespoon of paprika to them and then added a pack of frozen quorn mince straight out of the freezer. I enjoy using normal mince in cooking as it has a special taste and texture all of its own but quorn mince does cook more quickly when you are in a rush and it does contain a lot of protein.

It took around another fifteen minutes for the quorn mince to cook through and while this was happening I boiled up eight ounces of white rice in a pan on the hob to have as a side dish.

After the mince was cooked through I added a can of mixed chilli beans in sauce from a can to the vegetables and the quorn mince. After warming the food through for another five minutes it was ready to serve with the rice.

I first discovered this meal as a youngster when I was at Primary School as my mum used to make the same recipe but used turkey mince instead of quorn mince. It's a dish that has many virtues ranging from the protein found in the rice, quorn and beans to sweet and spicy taste also.

Lots of bright colours and an even brighter taste in this dish

Let's go to Sprouts Town

The 29th of December was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly and there was hardly a cloud in sight. I started off the day by meeting some friends and their family for a walk that started at one of the highest points in the local area and ended with a relaxing cup of tea (and a well-earned bowl of water for my dog) in a pub in the valley below. As the day was so pleasant I decided to make the most of the weather and later headed to a nearby moor, which boasts an ancient burial ground and a village where ex-MP David Blunkett has a house.

The sun made it a day where I wanted to stay out as long as possible. I found this to be the case because prolonged exposure to the sun in mid-winter is a way to re-charge your batteries to compensate for the dull, sunless, wet winter days and dark nights which can bring you down and often make life seem harder than it actually is.

As the sun began to fade it was time to head home and I decided to make a soup that used up some of the spare ingredients from the previous Friday's Christmas Dinner. The ingredients of the soup were as follows:

8 sprouts
1 red onion
2 white potatoes
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
half a pint of chicken stock.

The first job was to prepare all the vegetables. I started by cutting the bottom off the sprouts and removing the outer leaves before slicing each sprout up finely. I peeled and then cubed the potatoes as well as finely slicing the garlic and red onion.

I put the vegetables into my wok and fried them gently for around five minutes while at the same time adding the chilli powder and white pepper to them. The chilli  powder idea bizarrely enough was partly inspired by a 1995 episode of the sitcom Bottom in which, as some of you will know well, Rik Mayall's character makes a dish called Sprouts Mexicane that involves an unhealthily large amount of spices being used to season his sprouts.

My sprouts were not quite as spicy as this and after they had fried for five minutes with the other ingredients I added the chicken stock and simmered the food steadily for around twenty-five minutes. I then let it cool  and proceeded to blend it in my new blender which, along with Jethro Tull's enjoyable 1989 album Rock Island that was on the player at this time, was one of my Christmas Presents.

After the soup had been blended I warmed it through in the wok and served it. The taste was spicy, thanks to the chilli powder, and substantial thanks to the potatoes and the sprouts. It was certainly a good way of using profitably the left-over ingredients from Christmas Day.

A delicious and thick soup which also works if Chorizo is added to the recipe