Wild, Wild Pesto

 It was the morning after an action-packed pie and pea supper at the cricket club. I was somewhere but I was nowhere. I was here but I wasn't and any other similar oxymoron you'd care to think of. What I did know was that I was at a hilltop over a disused quarry surrounded by nature and clear views fifty miles to the south, west, east and north-east. I could also see my house and the two schools where I grew up. All those sights made me realise I was closer to the destination I needed to reach than I thought.

After the Dogg and I searched thoroughly in quarry turned nature reserve for exotic butterflies, we descended into the valley and soon found ourselves in a wooded area with a stream gently flowing south. There the smell of Wild Garlic, synonymous with the start of summer and lots of bright sunny days to come, was everywhere. It flowered around the banks of the stream and I gathered clumps of the leaves. They had the feel of moist recycled paper and the smell of the best Italian Restaurants in the City.

At home I was inspired by a good friend of mine and a talented cook, who is making one of the bravest decisions of her life to leave town to live on a Western Island, who recently made Wild Garlic Pesto. All recipes for this are slightly different. My one goes like this:

Ingredients:

Five large Wild Garlic Leaves.

The juice of half a Lemon.

100 grams of Pine Nuts.

25 grams of grated Charcoal Cheese that I sourced from the brilliant Stretton Hall Farm Shop. Check them out at: Stretton Hall Farm | Facebook 

Three tablespoons of Sunflower Oil. 

With Van Morrison's excellent recent venture into the Great American Songbook, 2017's "Versatile", playing quite loudly, I embarked on preparation of the Pesto. It went like this:

1. Shred the Wild Garlic with a small, serrated knife into as small pieces as possible. 

2. Pour the Sunflower Oil into a small bowl. 

3. Squeeze the Lemon Juice into the same bowl. 

4. Add the Wild Garlic, Charcoal Cheese and Pine Nuts and mix well together.

5. Serve with your choice of main. I served mine with Roast Chicken Pieces, Mashed Potato with homegrown Fresh Mint and a side of Homegrown Pak Choi. 

The Wild Garlic has a less strong but more flavoursome taste than Garlic Cloves. It also blended well with the Cheese, Lemon and Pine Nuts. It certainly help to give my Sunday Dinner a certain sophisticated richness. 

Pesto Power

 The hot weather had returned and a recent weekend had yielded a warm evening slurping craft beer in a hipsters' paradise close to a fourteenth century tavern and the discovery of a jade insect that had appeared two weeks earlier than usual. Also some unexpected time on my hands last Sunday saw me emulate the late Duke of Windsor, who killed much spare time during his retirement by working hard in the garden. 

The fruits, or should that be herbs, spices and vegetables, of my labour in the garden yielded some homegrown chilis, rocket and basil. With the warm weather I elected to use these in a Mediterranean Pesto and Pasta Dish. 

The second of two 10cc supported Sedaka Albums was on the player in the shape of "The Tra-La Days Are Over" which was the straw that broke the camel's back in as far as shaking Sedaka's backing band out of their funk to form their own band and fly high with commercial success of their own. Recorded at the famous Strawberry Studios in Stockport, it's hard to believe this very listenable and commercial pop offering came out of the same studios that around six years later yielded Joy Division's bleak and iconic masterpiece "Unknown Pleasures". 

This dish is a simple and filling one to make and the ingredients are as follows:

200 grams of Cherry Tomatoes cut into halves.

2 dried homegrown Chili Peppers, diced. 

3 fresh homegrown Basil Leaves.

4 fresh homegrown Rocket Leaves plus extra to garnish. 

A pinch of Black Pepper

0.1 litres of Sunflower Oil.

4 spheres of Tagliatelle. 

200 grams of Halloumi cut into cubes.

5 tablespoons of tap water. 

Pine Nuts to garnish.

The way to make this dish is as follows:

1. Blend the Tomatoes, Chili Peppers, Sunflower Oil, Tap Water, Rocket, Black Pepper and Basil in a food processer until they are pureed into a Pesto Mixture. 

2. Add the Halloumi and Pesto Mixture to a Le Cresceut Dish and warm through on a low heat for about fifteen minutes.

3. Boil the Tagliatelle for fifteen minutes while the Pesto Mixture is cooking, drain and then mix with the Pesto.

4. Once the Tagliatelle and Pesto is stirred together, serve it with a garnish of homegrown Rocket and some pine nuts. 

This dish is light yet has a rich taste offset by the freshness of the Rocket and Chilli Peppers. 

Gluten Free Easter

 Some people are social smokers and drinkers. However I am a social gluten eater as I can only eat a limited amount of the stuff and so just consume it on meals out with friends. That has encouraged me to find new, gluten-free twists on classic recipes. Today I bring you an Easter Bank Holiday Monday gluten free recipe for a Simnel Cake.

The weekend prior to Easter was a time to rest up after a Covid Scare and use the downtime to prepare a gluten free cake to distribute to friends and colleagues alike during Holy Week. On the player were the summery sounds of Sedaka, the eternally unhip yet compelling singer songwriter, who on the offering being listened to was backed by members of the nascent 10cc. The record in question is called "Solitaire" and its title track tells the story of an indifferent lover. It's a cautionary tale to anybody who is thinking of passing up true love and fulfilling relationships by hiding behind indifference. 

So the ingredients of this cake which are as follows:

• 250g mixed dried fruit- a mixture of sultanas, currants and raisins 
• The juice of 1 Orange
• 300g pack marzipan
• 250g unsalted butter , softened
• 200g light brown soft sugar
• 4 eggs , beaten. The eggs I used were sourced from the wonderful Stretton Hall Farm | Facebook
• 175g gluten free plain flour
• 100g ground almonds
• The juice of 1 lemon 
• 2 tsp All Spice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100g glacé cherries , halved
• 3 tbsp apricot jam

The way to make this dish is as follows:

1. Grease a cake tin. 

2. Cream the Butter and Sugar together until a fluffy mixture is formed. 

3. Add the beaten Eggs and stir them into the mixture to form a paste. 

4. Carefully add the Gluten Free Flour, fruit juices, almonds, vanilla extract, spice and dried fruit and stir together to get a thick and pliable cake mix. 

5. Place half the cake mix in the cake tin. Then take a third of the Marzipan and roll it out. Place it on top of the cake mix in the cake tin. Then cover with the other half of the cake mix. 

6. Cook in the oven on Gas Mark for two hours. The cake will be ready when a skewer, poked into it, comes out clean. 

7. Remove the cake from the cake tin and leave it to cool.

8. Once the cake is cooled, cover the top with Apricot Jam. 

9. Roll out the balance of the Marzipan and put it on top of the cake. Take some bits to make eleven balls, representing the non-traitorous apostles, to put on top of the cake with extra marzipan to be used for a decoration of your choice. 

Prior to discovering my intolerance for excessive amounts of gluten, I wasn't able to enjoy cakes as I used to and for someone with a sweet tooth this was hard, quite literally, to swallow. However this recipe enabled me to enjoy one of my favourite seasonal cakes without any side effects. It also went down well with those I distributed pieces of the cake to. 

One of our Apostles is missing- there should be eleven on this cake.

Scotch Cornered

A trip to the country to grab some Quail Eggs and a meeting with an icon of the local town during a special night out inspired today's Quail Scotch Egg Recipe. 

I discovered Quail Eggs when , during the first lockdown, a local dealer at a nearby farm had left someone in an honesty box. That time I used them in Vol Au Vents. with Smoked Salmon. This time I picked some up at the ever-dependable Stretton Hall Farm Shop. Check them out at: Stretton Hall Farm | Facebook  

Another inspiration was a local pub that, pre lockdown, had become a cliquey craphouse but following lockdown it was reborn as an inclusive place to be that's chock full of interesting beers, its own micro brewery and Pizza of the highest order. The creator of the Pizza is an individual who knows of everything and everyone in Chesterfield. If you wanted an ambassador for the town then this bloke is your man.  I await eagerly the time when he will run for mayor of the town, with his take no kack attitude he will do a sterling job . He has also found his vocation as a talented chef. His enthusiasm, imparted to us as we sought a nightcap at his pub after risking our necks at another local pizza vendor, for his food including his innovative use of Quail Eggs on pizza was something I drew on for today's recipe.

On the player was the latest Red Hot Chilli Peppers album "Unlimited Love" . Of their three recent albums, it is probably the best one. "I'm With You" was unspectacular and sounded dangerously like a tribute band at times. "The Getaway" was more eclectic and experimental and definite leap forward that incorporated new sounds. "Unlimited Love"  meanwhile makes better use of the new sounds discovered on "The Getaway", cuts down on the cliched California themes and, on the whole, crucially leaves enough space for the songs to breathe and the instruments and vocals to be heard clearly. 

So to the ingredients for the Scotch Eggs, it goes like this:

• 9 Quail Eggs
• 100 grams of Breadcrumbs 
• 100grams of  Blanched Almonds
• Half a teaspoon of fresh Rosemary
• Half a teaspoon of fresh Marjoram. 
• 80 grams of Cooked Chorizo,
• 2 Hen's Eggs
• 3 tablespoons of gluten free plain flour
• sunflower oil

The method goes like this:

1. Place the Quail Eggs in boiling water and boil for ninety seconds. Remove them and place them in a bowl of cold water. 

2. Put the Breadcrumbs, Almonds, Rosemary and Marjoram in a food processor and blend them to a fine powder. Then place the mixture into a separate bowl. 

3. Blend the Chorizo and one of the Hen's Eggs in the food processor and put in another separate bowl. 

4. Put the Plain Flour in another separate bowl. 

5. Peel the Eggs.

6. Take one Egg at a time and wrap it in the Egg and Chorizo Mixture. Then roll it in the flour, then the beaten egg mixture and then the breadcrumb mixture so that the eggs are fully coated. 

7. Heat the Sunflower Oil in a pan and get it up to temperature. 

8. Fry the Scotch Eggs, three at a time for best results, on a medium heat turning them gradually so that all sides are evenly cooked. 

9. Serve with a side of Fresh Rocket. 

Although the weekend adventures, with eclectic and inspiring people new and old, this dish rounded off a wonderful time with the tang of the Chorizo meeting well the crunch of the battered breadcrumbs and the richness of the runny Quail Eggs. 

Lentil Gloss

 In late September, before the pandemic had reached its halfway stage, I wore a bow tie and shiny grey suit to travel to a French Themed Evening at a restaurant that lay on the edge of one the most ancient forests of them all. On the menu  that night was an exquisite Duck Shepherd's Pie with Lentils and gravy that helped inspire a fish dish one evening in February.

The ingredients for this were as follows:

Two Fresh Haddock Loins sourced from a local fishmonger. 

One Hundred and Fifty Grams of Lentils Verts. 

A Red Onion, skinned, topped, tailed and diced.

Two Carrots, topped, tailed and then cubed.

Quarter of a pint of Vegetable Stock, just enough to cover the Lentils, Carrots and Onion in a saucepan.

The zest of half a Lemon. 

Five shoots of Fresh Dill. 

On the player was the Eagles' 1994 comeback album "Hell Freezes Over", a record that showed after a fourteen  year hiatus they had regained enough juice in the tank to return as a important act that retained a huge following. 

So to the method which goes as follows:

1. Put the Carrots, Onion and Vegetable Stock in saucepan, cover and simmer for around twenty-five minutes. 

2. In the meantime steam the Haddock Loins for about fifteen minutes until the fish starts to become crumbly. 

3. When ready to serve, decorate the Haddock with the Dill and Lemon Zest and serve on top of the Lentil, Onion and Carrot Mixture.

The trick of using just enough stock to cover the Lentil Mixture meant a Lentil, Carrot and Onion mixture that was not too runny and soft and struck just the right balance between properly cooked and al dente. This was as close as I had come to replicating the wonderful lentil mixture I had consumed on the French Themed Evening on a sunnier day. 

The Lemon and Dill meanwhile leant a sharpness to the Haddock that was the perfect contrast to the earthy richness of the Lentils. 

The Great Gates of Kiev

 This blog is rarely, if ever, a political forum. However in light of the dire situation in the Ukraine, today's dish is one that is a tribute to the brave individuals who are putting up stern resistance to the unlawful and unprovoked invasion that is taking place. 

There are many different types of Ukrainian Dishes but, perhaps, the most famous is the Chicken Kiev. Those of a certain age will no doubt remember their parents purchasing frozen bags of Mini Kievs as a treat in the nineties as well as Alan Partridge having a hypothetical argument with Chris Rea about the virtues or otherwise of this dish. 

Spring and the longer days had ignited some fresh inspiration into my choice of dishes and, on the last weekend prior to the clocks jumping forward, I had a pop at making Chicken Kiev. It was a Sunday and after a very early walk, courtesy of the Dogg waking me up at 6am, I set to work. 

On the playlist was the Smiths Third, and by a hair's breadth, best album "The Queen is Dead". The post punk guitar firepower of Johnny Marr and sardonic wit of Morrissey combine to best effect on the title track, "Cemetery Gates", "Bigmouth Strikes Again" while "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" manages to be poignant and uplifting with its keyboard and synth-bass textures. 

So to the ingredients of this dish:

125 grams of Gluten Free Breadcrumbs. 

100 grams of Gluten Free Plain Flour.

5 beaten Eggs.

1 teaspoon of Smoked Paprika. 

2 Chicken Breasts, mine were obtained from the dependable Stretton Hall Farm | Facebook 

2 Diced Cloves of Garlic. 

5 shredded Chive Sprigs.

2 knobs of Butter. 

The method goes like this:

1. Stir the Eggs and Breadcrumbs together in a mixing bowl. 

2. Add the Plain Flour and Smoked Paprika and stir into the mixture.

3. Make an incision into the middle of the Chicken Breasts and insert the Garlic, Butter and Chives into the incision. Fold the Chicken Flesh back over the incision so as it covers the filling. This gives the best chance of avoiding the filling bursting out during cooking. 

4. Coat the Chicken Breasts in the Breadcrumb, Egg, Smoked Paprika and Flour Mixture. Then place on an oiled baking tray, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for a couple of hours. 

5. Cook for 40 minutes on Gas Mark 6 before serving.

The mixture of melted butter and herbs that had diffused inside the Chicken while it cooked, coupled with the thick, flavoursome breadcrumb batter made this a recipe to return to time and again. 

Fare Thee Well, Jamaica

 When times get challenging, some of us head to the coast and others to the hills to get our heads together. I'm in the latter category. Heading to the hills is just what I did recently before making a Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe. 

It was one of those Sundays that happen in March; not quite winter and not quite spring. The sun was high and the way was clear for miles. I could see a panorama to almost  all points of the compass to places over fifty miles away. The lingering chill in the air reminded me that it was not yet spring, but the sun and the long-distance views gave real hope of exciting travels in sunny summer weather as well as long, light days being just around the corner.

There had been some potentially game- changing decisions made since before the holiday season, in a manner not seen for about four years. Now as then, it seemed I would have to  ride the Tiger.

One way of gaining perspective on all this is to go the hills for a walk and look at the long-distance views to remind yourself there's a huge wide world outside of your comfort zone. Another is to cook good food and listen to quality music while doing so. I followed those tips by pulling out Mark Knopfler's bouncy and folky 2002 effort "The Ragpickers Dream", a record I often associate with the start of spring, positive renewal and important change. The record was the soundtrack to the making of some Jamaican Jerk Chicken. 

There are several different ways to make this recipe that all involve a mix of sweet and savoury spices plus liberal doses of Chilli. I like to make mine like this:

Two Chicken Breasts, mine were sourced from the ever wonderful Stretton Hall Farm Shop. Check them out at: Stretton Hall Farm Shop | Facebook  

The juice from two fresh Limes.

A diced Clove of Garlic.

A diced White Onion. 

A teaspoon of Jerk Seasoning.

A teaspoon of All Spice.

A teaspoon of Nutmeg.

A teaspoon of Chilli Flakes.

Twenty-Five grams of sliced Fresh Ginger. 

Half a teaspoon of Black Pepper. 

The first step is, a good four hours before cooking, to marinate the Chicken Breasts by rubbing them in Sunflower Oil with all the other ingredients so that these ingredients are spread evenly around the Chicken. Once the ingredients are rubbed into the chicken, put it on a deep and oiled baking tray and seal with clingfilm to keep the flavours in and allow them to infuse with the chicken.

When you are ready to cook, remove the clingfilm and cook the chicken for around thirty to thirty five minutes on Gas Mark Six. 

The difference early infusing makes is that the chicken is much more flavoursome than it would be otherwise and has that classic sweet and sour flavour that makes Caribbean Cuisine special. 

I served the chicken with another classic Caribbean Dish which comprised of boiled white rice mixed with Kidney Beans in Chilli Sauce.