Stew You, Provence

The second Bank Holiday Sunday had rolled around quickly. I woke that morning by sitting bolt upright in my bed with a feeling that I'd just been teleport-ed there directly from the bar we'd ended up in the night before, but without the benefit of the eight hours' sleep i'd clearly had in the interim.

That evening my parents were to attend my rural and urban chateau for tea. In the summer of 1993 we ventured to Provence in Southern France. While there we stayed in a gite not for from Pablo Picasso's last house deep in the countryside. I didn't appreciate what a great part of the world it was at the time. Maybe I'll go back someday.

The extreme heat and the fact my parents were coming round had jogged my memory back to that holiday and I decided to use the memories as inspiration to make a Provencial Stew for our main meal that evening.

On the player was Suede's 1994 masterwork "Dog Man Star". It proved to be a watershed for the group; as it was the last with founder guitarist Bernard Butler. At the time the album was made he and lead singer Brett Anderson were at loggerheads and taking lots of drugs. Therefore the quality of record proves the old adage that great art rarely springs from contentment.

The album opens with the rousing "Introducing the Band" with Anderson's best 'David Bowie in a bad mood' voice in full cry. Other top tracks on this largely flawless album include the anti-anthem "We are the Pigs" and the nine minute "Asphalt World" where Butler's guitar work invokes the spirit of Jimmy Page on the peerless Led Zeppelin track "No Quarter".

The ingredients of this stew were as follows:

2 Fennel Bulbs, topped, tailed and peeled then sliced thinly.
1 Red Pepper, de-cored, de-seeded and sliced into small squares.
1 Red Onion, topped, tailed, peeled and then diced.
4 Cloves of Garlic,topped, tailed, peeled and then sliced thinly.
20 Vine Tomatoes cut in half.
15 Fresh Broadbeans.
1 Teaspoon of Dried Coriander.
2 Teaspoons of Dried Parsley.
10 ounces of Black and Green Olives.
A quarter of a pint of Bordeaux White Wine.
A bunch of Fresh Basil Leaves.
A quarter of a pint of Vegetable Stock.

The method was as follows:

1. I shallow-fried the vegetables, save the Olives, herbs and half the Basil in my Le Cresceut in Olive Oil on a medium heat for around thirty minutes. I stirred the ingredients regularly to stop them sticking to the pan and when I wasn't stirring them I put the lid on the Le Cresceut to keep the heat in.

2. After thirty minutes were up I added the rest of the Basil, the Olives and the Tomatoes. I continued  to stir the ingredients and found the tomatoes released lots of juice that helped the dish stew with added flavour without going dry. I carried on this process for fifteen minutes.

3. I then added the Vegetable Stock and simmered everything for a further fifteen minutes prior to serving it.

I served the stew with a side of white wine bread, which you will see on the blog soon. The dish proved to be a light yet filling one that on a hot night was just what was needed. If we had all closed our eyes we could probably have imagined ourselves being back in Provence nearly twenty-five years ago.

Bubbling in the pot and ready to serve

Out and about with plenty of Fennel, Fresh Basil and Olives

Red Sky, Crimson Tomatoes

Last week I was considering re-naming myself the "King of the Gypsies" as during the course of that week my working life and, part of my personal life, had taken me to two cities, two towns and two villages. These locations were largely ones that were once epicentres of classic British Industry while the exception to the rule was previously famous for lead mining but had now re-invented itself as a countrified attraction for tourists.

Needless to say by the time a Friday so wet it could have fooled one into thinking it was the monsoon season rolled round, I was in need of a stiff brew and a well-earned lie down in a darkened room. However before I did that I perused the fridge and the cupboards, not to mention my recipe books, to work out what I was going to be cooking over the weekend and the upcoming working week. I also noticed I had lots of overripe tomatoes that needed using up and elected to turn these into a soup.

Tomato soup is often seen as a tired recipe and one that is over-familiar to millions. It's true to say that often the canned version is something that many people keep at the back of their cupboard in case of a food shortage. I decided to dispel that myth with a tomato soup recipe that contains more taste than your average canned soup recipe. The ingredients were as follows:

5 Tomatoes cut into cubes.
6 Spring Onions, topped, tailed and sliced finely. 
Teaspoon of Oregano.
Teaspoon of Paprika.
Teaspoon of Tomato Purée
Clove of Garlic, topped, tailed, peeled and sliced finely.
A quarter of a pint of Vegetable Stock
Fresh Basil leaves to garnish.

On the player was some music by a band that suffers from the same over-familiarity as canned Tomato Soup. The band was Status Quo. They started their career as a psychedelic act before stepping into the blues and then settling on their most well-known incarnation as purveyors of twelve-bar boogie that you can easily shake a tail feather to. Despite never breaking the United States they have managed to sell around 118 million records worldwide. 

The record on the player was their recent unplugged effort "Aquostic (Stripped Bare)". Although it was released twenty years after the "unplugged" boom of well-known artists releasing unplugged albums peaked, this record has plenty to recommend it. It also dispels the popular myth that the band have been playing the same three chords on their electric guitars since time immemorial. The album sheds new light on the likes of "Pictures of Matchstick Men" and their unique cover of "Rockin' All Over the World" among many other songs on this strong set, which shows the surprising versatility of their back catalogue. 

So the soup, the method was as follows:

1. Sweat the Tomatoes, Spring Onions, Tomato Puree, Garlic and Herbs in Olive Oil in a saucepan on a medium heat for thirty minutes so the juice of the Tomatoes stews. Make sure to stir the ingredients regularly to stop them sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. 

2. Add the Vegetable Stock and leave to simmer for twenty minutes. 

3. Take the saucepan off the heat and leave it to cool off for an hour. 

4. Blend ingredients on the highest setting on your blender. 

5. Add half the Fresh Basil to the Soup and warm the Soup through.

6. Serve in bowls and garnish the bowls with the rest of the Fresh Basil. 

I consumed the Soup the following day and found the herbs, especially the Basil, gave the soup a fresh flavour that was enriched by the overripe Tomatoes,Garlic and Spring Onions. Certainly this recipe showed that Tomato soup can be so much more than that unwanted tin lurking at the back of your cupboard or in the bargain bin at the supermarket. 

Plenty of Basil to top off this soup.

Craft Ale Steak Pie For Vegetarians

It was a Saturday in May towards the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century. The flowers bloomed in the fields and verges near to my home, while the plentiful leaves of the branches of the trees formed a lush, green cloak . The butterflies flitted lazily over fields festooned with Dandelions and Buttercups while the Warblers squeezed out melodies from the tops of trees and the depths of the hedgerows. Summer was on its way, no question about that.

It was a weekend to just be. An enjoyable Thursday Night round of Golf followed by an explosive curry had seen me saunter through Friday and the tiredness was now catching up with me. I knew it was important to save energy as I was pushing myself hard at work and needed to power up for the working week to come. However in pushing myself hard professionally new doors had opened over the last sixteen months and I had been able to re-connect with the hungry twenty-one year old who was so keen to choose the profession I was now a part of.

I fancied making a pie for tea. Specifically a pie flavoured by the delicious Craft Lager that good friends of mine I had seen the previous month, and am looking forward to seeing this month and the one that follows it, had turned me onto. Their taste in alcohol, as with their taste in music, is impeccable has opened up many exciting flavours and sounds to me over the years.

On the player was R.E.M's flawless 1985 record "Fables of the Reconstruction". The recording of the record was difficult for the band and they nearly split up. It was recorded in the UK with class producer Joe Boyd, who's impressive production CV included some exciting early Fairport Convention Albums, the groundbreaking first Pink Floyd Single and Nick Drake's seminal first two albums.

The present record includes the bouncy thud of "Driver 8" which is held together by spindly guitars and a bass that sounds as heavy as a ship's anchor. Another of many highlights is the reflective, folky "Maps and Legends". My advice readers, if you want a copy of this album, is to try and purchase the version with five bonus tracks that include three non-album rarities and compelling live cuts of the two tracks I previously mentioned.

My aim for this pie was to get the feel of a rich meat pie without a lot of the unhealthy ingredients that normally go with that. That's why I used Unsalted Butter in the Pastry and Vegetarian Steak Strips instead of real beef for example.

The ingredients for this pie were:

Shortcrust Pastry made from 30 ounces of Plain Flour and Fifteen Ounces of Unsalted Butter.
One White Onion- peeled, topped, tailed and diced.
Two Carrots- topped, tailed, peeled and cubed.
Two New Potatoes- peeled and sliced width-ways.
Half a Pint of Craft Lager- such as Pistonhead Lager for example.
A tablespoon of Tomato Puree.
Two Tomatoes- cut into cubes.
A teaspoon of dried Parsley.
A teaspoon of Mustard Seeds.
Fifteen Ounces of Quorn Steak Strips.
Fifteen Ounces of Pui Lentils.

The method was as follows:

1. I fried the Onion, Carrots, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Parsley, Mustard Seeds, Tomato Puree and Steak Strips on a medium heat for twenty minutes. To help the ingredients cook without sticking or burning, I fried them in Olive Oil in my Le Cresceut Dish with the lid on, apart from the times I stirred the ingredients at regular intervals.

2. After twenty minutes I added the Craft Lager to the Le Cresceut and simmered everything on the hob with the lid of the Le Cresceut on for a further twenty minutes.

3. While the ingredients were cooking in the Le Cresceut I boiled the Pui Lentils in a saucepan of water with the lid on for forty minutes.

4. While the Lentils and the Le Cresceut ingredients were cooking I made the Pastry using the usual method of rubbing the Flour and Butter together to form a mixture that was consistent with breadcrumbs. Then I mixed all this together with two tablespoons of Almond Milk. After that I put the Pastry to chill in the fridge as the other ingredients continued to cook.

5. When the Pui Lentils had cooked, I added them to the Le Cresceut and turned the heat off from under the Le Cresceut.

6. I then greased a  25 centimetre wide pie dish, that was five centimetres deep. Then I rolled out two thirds of the Pastry and lined the bottom and sides of the dish with it. Then I added the Pui Lentils and the contents of the Le Cresceut dish and spread them evenly throughout the pie dish. Next I rolled out the other third of the pastry and lay it over the top of the pie dish while sealing the edges of the Pastry to make the Pie pretty airtight.

7. I then baked the pie for 40 minutes on Gas Mark Five, after which I removed it from the oven, sliced it and served some of the pieces.

This particular craft lager had a very tangy taste that pervaded the pie in a positive way. This was complimented by the richness of the protein filled Pui Lentils, Carrots and Potatoes. Although I used to love Steak and Kidney Pie when I was a kid, this recipe meant I don't miss that particular recipe at all.

Being Green on Bank Holiday

There was genuine heat on Bank Holiday Sunday. It was the kind of the heat that seems to build up from out of the Earth as the day goes on before enveloping you in a sweaty cloud. The Dogg and I had seen something shiny, rare and green at a site close to our home that had been out of bounds for years, until recently, because of legal wrangles.

On our return I knew my parents were coming over for tea and also to drink some whisky with me to commemorate what would have been my late Granddad's 91st Birthday.

On the menu was something light and vegetarian in the form of a tart with thin shortcrust pastry and lots of Green Vegetables among its ingredients.

On the player was an energetic live album from 2002 by evergreen Folk-Rock act Fairport Convention called "From Cropredy to Portmerion". Standout tracks on this one include the mournful, emotive tale of a battle in the English Civil War that is "Red and Gold" a butt-kicking medley that features the classic "Matty Groves" as its centrepiece and a rousing encore of the timeless "Meet on the Ledge".

The ingredients you need to try this one at home are as follows:

For the Shortcrust Pastry

Twelve Ounces of Plain Flour.
Six Ounces of Unsalted Butter.
Two tablespoons of Almond Milk.

For the filling:

Eight Ounces of Low Fat Hummus.
A can of Chickpeas.
Ten thin sticks of Asparagus.
Four Ounces of Samphire.
Four Ounces of Rocket.
Three Ounces of Peas.
One Ounce of Chives.
One Ounce of Grated Parmesan.

The method was as follows:

1. The night before I made the pastry base by rubbing the Butter and Flour together until it resembled breadcrumbs. Then I used the Almond Milk to bind it together. Then I kneaded the Pastry, rolled it out and spread it evenly to a greased pie dish about twenty-five centimetres wide and five centimetres deep. I left the pastry  in the dish overnight in the fridge to help it solidify.

2. About an hour and a half before my parents arrived on the Sunday I cut up the Asparagus finely and added it, the Samphire, Rocket, Peas, Chives and Chickpeas to my Le Cresceut and fried them on a medium heat in Olive Oil on the hob for about thirty minutes.

3. While the Green Vegetables were frying up with the Chickpeas I spread the Humus evenly over the pastry that was spread over the pie dish.

4. After the Green Vegetables were ready I added them, with the Chickpeas, to the pie dish and spread them evenly. Next I grated the Parmesan over the top.

5. I cooked the tart on Gas Mark Five for twenty minutes.

I served the Tart with a side of Fresh Rocket and Pine Nuts. The Samphire, which is native to Israel and looks like the fronds of a Pine Tree, has a flavoursome and salty taste that enhanced this dish. The other Green Vegetables gave it a freshness that was offset by the surprisingly rich textures of the Hummus and the Parmesan. The thin pastry meanwhile meant that this wasn't a stodgy dish and suited the tropical conditions perfectly.

It was a good way to line the stomach prior to us cracking open the fifty per cent strength whisky that we used to drink to my Granddad's Memory.

Lots of innovative Green Ingredients can be found in this recipe.

Butter Chicken for Vegetarians

It was the end of April and the chilly, wet weather had returned. I made the most of the situation by having a wander down to my old snooker club, rejoining it and having a few frames. Later on, myself, a very good friend of mine and his very pleasant tag time partner hit town and dined out at a Greek Restaurant.

The next morning the Dogg and I headed out to one of the highest places in the county for a walk that took in heath lands, the remains of an ancient chapel, farms, a reservoir and dark, damp woodland.

On player when we got home was some typically mellow Sunday music in the form of Richard Hawley's sophomore effort from 2003 "Lowedges". I only started listening to Hawley seriously at the end of 2016 but he has quickly blossomed into one of my favourite artists. I think part of the reason is that he is from and his albums are largely about his home city of Sheffield. It's a place that's close to my own heart because of many personal and professional connections with the city. In fact the album takes its name from a part of Sheffield where a relative of mine used to live.

The album contains lots of fully formed songs with brooding lyrics and restrained performances that blend electric and acoustic guitars in a very measured way.

The recipe I made for tea was inspired by the popular Butter Chicken recipes I have consumed at numerous curry houses over the years. It's a dish that's hard to do well as often it can be too rich. The only place I have been that gets the right balance of richness and flavour is a local Gurkha Restaurant.

I decided to put my own slant on the dish by substituting chicken for Quorn style chicken fillets and pieces.

The ingredients were as follows:

The Butter Chicken itself:

• One Quorn Chicken Fillet.
• Eight Ounces of Quorn Chicken Pieces.
• Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
• Four square centimetres of root Ginger, peeled and cut into small cubes
• A teaspoon of  Hot Chili powder.
• The juice of half a Lemon.
• A quarter of a pint of zero fat Greek Yoghurt. 
• A teaspoon of Garam Masala.
• A teaspoon of Ground Turmeric
• A teaspoon of Ground Cumin. 
• Four tablespoons of Olive Oil. 

The Sauce

Four Ounces of Unsalted Butter. 

Two Garlic Cloves, peeled and finely sliced.

Four Centimetres squared of Root Ginger, peeled and finely chopped into small cubes.

Two Cardamon Seeds.

One teaspoon of Ground Coriander

One teaspoon of Garam Masala.

One teaspoon of Ground Turmeric.

One teaspoon of Hot Chili Powder.

A tablespoon of Tomato Puree with Chili.

The juice of Half a Lemon. 

A quarter of a pint of zero fat Greek Yoghurt. 

A chopped Lettuce Leaf to Garnish. 

The way I prepared it was as follows:

1. I fried the "Butter Chicken" ingredients in my Le Cresceut with the lid on the Le Cresceut on a medium heat for thirty-five minutes. I stirred them regularly to ensure they didn't stick and to make sure the flavours blended properly.

2. After the above ingredients had been frying for about ten minutes I prepared the ingredients for the sauce. I then melted the Butter in a frying pan on the hob before adding all the other ingredients but the Greek Yoghurt and fried them for ten minutes. Then I added the Greek Yogurt and stirred it in thoroughly. I then left the sauce to warm through on the hob for a further ten minutes.

3. After "Butter Chicken" and the Sauce had cooked through for the correct length of time I served them with some boiled White Rice.

4. I put the "Butter Chicken" on top of the Rice on a plate, then added the Sauce and Lettuce Leaves to Garnish.

The dish was flavoursome rather than rich as the Yoghurt was zero fat and the Lemon, Fresh Ginger and wide variety of spices gave it a spicy taste that wasn't overpowering.

Going for Gold: somewhere under that low fat sauce are the Quorn Pieces

Tag Team Tapas (Part Two)

Part Two of the Tapas was not only inspired by the hot April Weather but also by a top-drawer tip to Birmingham the weekend after the Easter weekend. With the Dogg on a kind of holiday of her own for the preceding three weeks, in addition to the Birmingham Trip I had taken in some epic nights out, tea at new Pizza Restaurant, Curry, a frame or two of Snooker and the evening do of a wedding of two awesome people.

The Birmingham Trip saw me hook up with some close friends for a meal and plenty of pool as well as a night out that ended in the local branch of a Walkabout. The morning after that night out, April 9th I believe, one of my friends and I took in some Spanish Tapas at a bar in Grand Central by the Train Station. One Tapas dish contained meatballs and it was this dish that gave me the recipe idea on the blog today.

The ingredients were as follows:

Two New Potatoes sliced narrowly length ways.
Two Cloves of Garlic, topped, tailed and diced.
A tin of Chick Peas drained.
One Onion topped, tailed, peeled and finely sliced.
One Red Pepper de-cored, de-seeded and sliced into small squares.
Two Tomatoes cut into cubes.
A teaspoon of Paprika
A teaspoon of Dried Thyme.
A teaspoon of Dried Oregano.
A teaspoon of Tomato Puree.
A quarter of a pint of White Wine.
Eight Vegetarian, no this isn't a joke, Meatballs.
Four strips of Vegetarian Bacon.

On the player was another Captain Beefheart Record; this time "Trout Mask Replica". It is considered not only his best but one of the best albums ever and has even found itself subject to an order preserving it in the United States' National Archives. In truth it's an acquired taste but one that is worth taking time to acquire for the record to reveal its charms.

The first job was to shallow fry, in my Le Cresceut in Olive Oil, the New Potatoes, the Chickpeas and the Garlic. I did this on a medium heat for around fifteen minutes.

Then I added the Onion, Red Pepper, Tomatoes, Spices and Herbs and Tomato Puree, stirred them in and sweated them for another fifteen minutes.

After that I added the wine, which for those wine lovers among you was a light New Zealand number called Wairau Cove that was a Sauvingnon Blanc, the Meatballs and Vegetarian Bacon. I then stewed everything a further fifteen minutes.

The end result was a stew that was not overly runny and had plenty of richness with tangy spices. Although it was a stew it wasn't overly heavy, in light of the extremely hot weather, and evoked memories of old adventures to the Canary Islands and new and wonderful adventures to Birmingham nearly two weeks earlier.

Stew up- this Meatball Stew was a pretty fair approximation of the quality stew I had in Birmingham previously. 

Tag Team Tapas (Part One)

During the day on Friday the city and the provincial ex-mining town where I worked were transformed by temperatures akin to those you'd find in Benidorm or the Canary Islands. After hard work and a good chat with wonderful colleagues I signed off, bagged the weekly shop, got home and thought back to holidays in the Canary Islands. It was those holidays, coupled with a recent trip to a Tapas Restaurant in Birmingham, that inspired me to concoct a double-header of homemade Tapas during the weekend.

Part one of this project was to make some Olives with traditional Canary Island Mojo. The ingredients were as follows:

Two punnets of Green and Black Olives.
0.1 litre of Vinegar.
A quarter of a pint of White Wine.
Three medium-hot Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Half a head of Garlic.
A teaspoon of Dried Thyme.
A teaspoon of Paprika.
A teaspoon of Dried Oregano.

The first job on the Friday Night was to soak overnight the Olives in a small bowl with the Vinegar and White Wine.

On Saturday Afternoon the next job, after I had first negotiated the return of the Dogg following her three week hiatus at an outpost on the moors, was to make the Mojo. Captain Beefheart's challenging second album "Strictly Personal" had found itself onto the player. It is a record that finds the Captain at the crossroads between the relatively, for him at least, straight ahead blues with sixties pop hooks sound found on his first  rate debut album "Safe as Milk" and the seemingly disjointed, yet painstakingly rehearsed, far out blues of his early masterpiece "Trout Mask Replica". There's plenty of quality on the present record however as the Captain's strong voice, sounding like a blues man from the dawn of time, and searing, dirty bottleneck, bluesy guitars carry the day. Plum tracks include the pleading "Trust Us" and the filthy, commanding "Gimme Dat Harp Boy".

So to the Mojo; I removed the top and the seeds from the chili peppers and sliced them finely while wearing plastic gloves. This was very important as even so-called "medium" chillis can sting your hands quite badly if you risk preparing them without gloves.

Then I peeled and topped and tailed the Garlic. As I'm not middle-class enough to own a pestle and mortar I mashed the chili and garlic in a bowl with a potato masher and then added the herbs and oil. I then added this to the bowl with the olives in and stirred them together. I then put the bowl in the fridge until teatime.

At tea I served the Olive Tapas as a side with the Vegetarian Meatballs Tapas I had made for tea. The savoury taste of the Olives, Vinegar and White Wine mixed well with the fire and flavour of the Chili and Garlic which, although raw, was not overpowering.

Glowing Green- the Tapas Olives are lit up by the Spring Sunlight beaming onto the dining table.