Mussels must be one of the cheapest, easiest and most satisfying ways of eating fish. I love them. They're so versatile you can put almost anything with them, and for a fiver you can usually buy at least a kilo and half that makes a good portion for 1 person.
This dish of Mussels with Chorizo is a simple variation on the classic Moules Marinieres. I served this as a starter for 4 but it would make a fine main course for 2. You'll need:
A kilo of mussels - cleaned
2 good chorizos - I use chorizo rosario from T & P.A. Murrays on Gloucester Road in Bristol. They're the best I've been able to find in Bristol. If you know any better, please tell me.
1 shallot - finely chopped
1/2 a carrot - finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
1 glass of white wine at room temperature - given the slightly Spanish nature of this dish I'm sure you could use a fino or light sherry
Splash of olive oil
1 handful of chopped parsley
This is easy, so you're going to have it ready in minutes. Perfect for after work cooking.
Heat a high-sided saucepan over a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. When that's hot add chopped chorizo and give it a 4-5 minutes so that it releases some of it's oil. The add the shallot, carrot and garlic. The carrot isn't strictly necessary so don't worry if you don't have one. Let the chopped vegetables soften for a few minutes.
Put the lid on the pan for about a minute or so to allow some steam to build up. Throw in your white wine or sherry and the mussels, give everything a good stir then put the lid back on. The mussels will take about 5 minutes to cook. Give everything another stir after a couple of minutes to make sure everything gets coated in the cooking liquor.
When the mussels are open, you're done. Stir in the chopped parsley and then serve the mussels in bowls along with the cooking liquor. Some bread for soaking up juices, a glass of cold white wine and you've got a very satisfying tea.
Showing posts with label Eating on a budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eating on a budget. Show all posts
Monday, 9 April 2012
Friday, 14 October 2011
Use a sprat - and leave it at that
It's sprat season. Not that it receives much attention. These little oily fish can't really compete with the glamour of the game season. But what they lack in glamour they make up for in taste, and versatility.
It was the missus who spotted them for sale in Asda, at 45p a pack. There was about 20 of them in the 225g pack, which is a reasonable portion when split between two.
Traditional recipes keep things simple and don't involve much more than frying them and serving them with brown bread and butter - wedge of lemon optional. But we fancied something with a bit more kick, specifically a kick of chilli.
We could have gone Indian, oily fish seems to work really well with curry flavours. Or Moroccan, with a rub of ras el-hanout. But we went instead for Chinese.
The chilli kick was delivered by the best chilli sauce I have ever tasted, made by the missus with bird's eye chillies, rice wine vinegar, sugar, lime juice and dried chillies. Shop bought stuff pales in comparison. It was sharper than it was sweet, and perfectly hot.
This worked really well with the little sprats, which were simply dusted in flour and fried.
We had some noodles hanging around at the back of the cupboard so just chopped up some onion, garlic, ginger and peppers and put that together with a bit of soy and some more lime.
I honestly don't think we could have had a better meal for about 40p a portion. It was such a good way of getting some oily fish into our diet, which we're not very good at, and one that didn't break the bank. It was also a very satisfying dish for the determined carnivore, as sprats must be the biggest fish you can eat whole. Like whitebait for grown-ups. Don't waste them on catching a mackerel.
It was the missus who spotted them for sale in Asda, at 45p a pack. There was about 20 of them in the 225g pack, which is a reasonable portion when split between two.
Traditional recipes keep things simple and don't involve much more than frying them and serving them with brown bread and butter - wedge of lemon optional. But we fancied something with a bit more kick, specifically a kick of chilli.
We could have gone Indian, oily fish seems to work really well with curry flavours. Or Moroccan, with a rub of ras el-hanout. But we went instead for Chinese.
The chilli kick was delivered by the best chilli sauce I have ever tasted, made by the missus with bird's eye chillies, rice wine vinegar, sugar, lime juice and dried chillies. Shop bought stuff pales in comparison. It was sharper than it was sweet, and perfectly hot.
This worked really well with the little sprats, which were simply dusted in flour and fried.
We had some noodles hanging around at the back of the cupboard so just chopped up some onion, garlic, ginger and peppers and put that together with a bit of soy and some more lime.
I honestly don't think we could have had a better meal for about 40p a portion. It was such a good way of getting some oily fish into our diet, which we're not very good at, and one that didn't break the bank. It was also a very satisfying dish for the determined carnivore, as sprats must be the biggest fish you can eat whole. Like whitebait for grown-ups. Don't waste them on catching a mackerel.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Rabbit with pasta
There is something gloriously retro about eating rabbit. Not that it featured a lot, in fact at all, in my 1980's childhood. It went out of fashion long before that. I suspect that once the country was spared the hardships of rationing, and was introduced to convenience foods, rabbit went off the menu completely, only to be seen again following the rise of the TV chef.
It was a TV chef (Jamie Oliver) inspired recipe which provided the basis for this dish of rabbit with pasta.
First of all the meat is marinated in olive oil, lemon zest, garlic and fresh herbs. We picked some lemon thyme and fennel from the Incredible Edible beds in Todmorden yesterday so that's what I used. Incidentally, we picked the herbs from the beds at the police station, which must be one of the few times some has reached in through the bars of a police station, rather than reaching out.
After marinating for about 4 hours the meat was browned in a big saucepan and then following it into the saucepan went a glass of white wine, 3 bay leaves, a chopped up lemon, salt and pepper and enough water to just about cover the meat. This went into the oven, at about 170-180 degrees, for a couple of hours.
After the rabbit had cooked for a couple of hours it came out of the oven to cool down, and I then picked the meat from the bones and strained the cooking liquid. The shredded meat I added back into the liquid, with a good knob of butter and heated it through whilst I cooked some pasta.
It made a really nice change from chicken and beef, and with a couple of tweaks is something I'd do again. I'd leave out the fennel next time, as it had a slightly medicinal edge to it, which may have been exacerbated by the Aussie viognier I used. Pinot Grigio never fails when I use it in Italian food, it has such a well rounded taste it can go with just about anything. The viognier had too much of a mineral taste.
From a rabbit costing £3.50 there was enough meat to feed 4 people, which makes it really good value. As it is the extra is now sitting in the freezer waiting for a day when cheese on toast for lunch just won't do.
It was a TV chef (Jamie Oliver) inspired recipe which provided the basis for this dish of rabbit with pasta.
First of all the meat is marinated in olive oil, lemon zest, garlic and fresh herbs. We picked some lemon thyme and fennel from the Incredible Edible beds in Todmorden yesterday so that's what I used. Incidentally, we picked the herbs from the beds at the police station, which must be one of the few times some has reached in through the bars of a police station, rather than reaching out.
After marinating for about 4 hours the meat was browned in a big saucepan and then following it into the saucepan went a glass of white wine, 3 bay leaves, a chopped up lemon, salt and pepper and enough water to just about cover the meat. This went into the oven, at about 170-180 degrees, for a couple of hours.
After the rabbit had cooked for a couple of hours it came out of the oven to cool down, and I then picked the meat from the bones and strained the cooking liquid. The shredded meat I added back into the liquid, with a good knob of butter and heated it through whilst I cooked some pasta.
It made a really nice change from chicken and beef, and with a couple of tweaks is something I'd do again. I'd leave out the fennel next time, as it had a slightly medicinal edge to it, which may have been exacerbated by the Aussie viognier I used. Pinot Grigio never fails when I use it in Italian food, it has such a well rounded taste it can go with just about anything. The viognier had too much of a mineral taste.
From a rabbit costing £3.50 there was enough meat to feed 4 people, which makes it really good value. As it is the extra is now sitting in the freezer waiting for a day when cheese on toast for lunch just won't do.
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Grilled mackerel with minted potato salad
This lovely dish couldn't be easier or cheaper.
We had some egg yolks left over after making some coconut macaroons (2 egg whites, 160g dessicated coconut, 100g sugar - whisk then put some blobs onto some baking paper and bake in the oven at 180 for 12ish minutes) which were, well still are in fact, delicious. With the egg yolks we made some mayo. Homemade mayo really will put you off shop bought for good.
If you want arms like Popeye then whisking mayonnaise is the way forward. But if you want to make your life a lot easier then a blender comes in very handy. All it takes is 2 egg yolks, a teaspoon of dijon mustard (and some english mustard if you fancy), a dash of white wine vinegar and some oil. We tend to use normal vegetable oil (which more often than not is rapeseed oil) so that the mayo doesn't take on a taste of oil, but some recipes I've seen suggest olive oil. So use whatever takes your fancy.
Put everything except the oil into a blender and give it a couple of short bursts, then switch to constant and start trickling in the oil. It'll take quite a bit, something like 150-200ml. It's done when you have a thickish pale yellow sauce. It will need a little bit of seasoning, which is best done at the end. If you're using pepper, use white rather than black to prevent very visible black bits in the mayo.
We had a mackerel in the freezer and felt like having a light Sunday lunch, so we thought we'd have it with a potato salad made with our homemade mayo.
It doesn't take a lot of explaining really. We boiled some new potatoes, cut them in half and then mixed them with some mayo, some chopped gherkin and some fresh mint for a very tasty potato salad. We simply topped that with a grilled mackerel fillet, and there you have it. A very rewarding tea for very little effort.
We had some egg yolks left over after making some coconut macaroons (2 egg whites, 160g dessicated coconut, 100g sugar - whisk then put some blobs onto some baking paper and bake in the oven at 180 for 12ish minutes) which were, well still are in fact, delicious. With the egg yolks we made some mayo. Homemade mayo really will put you off shop bought for good.
If you want arms like Popeye then whisking mayonnaise is the way forward. But if you want to make your life a lot easier then a blender comes in very handy. All it takes is 2 egg yolks, a teaspoon of dijon mustard (and some english mustard if you fancy), a dash of white wine vinegar and some oil. We tend to use normal vegetable oil (which more often than not is rapeseed oil) so that the mayo doesn't take on a taste of oil, but some recipes I've seen suggest olive oil. So use whatever takes your fancy.
Put everything except the oil into a blender and give it a couple of short bursts, then switch to constant and start trickling in the oil. It'll take quite a bit, something like 150-200ml. It's done when you have a thickish pale yellow sauce. It will need a little bit of seasoning, which is best done at the end. If you're using pepper, use white rather than black to prevent very visible black bits in the mayo.
We had a mackerel in the freezer and felt like having a light Sunday lunch, so we thought we'd have it with a potato salad made with our homemade mayo.
It doesn't take a lot of explaining really. We boiled some new potatoes, cut them in half and then mixed them with some mayo, some chopped gherkin and some fresh mint for a very tasty potato salad. We simply topped that with a grilled mackerel fillet, and there you have it. A very rewarding tea for very little effort.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Risotto with braised celery
The last risotto post I did seems to be popular, so I thought I'd do another. This time, however, I used a proper homemade stock and a good slug of decent wine because I wanted to try and get the best flavour possible.
I started with softening some finely chopped onion in butter. I used half a smallish onion for a risotto for two. After it had softened for a few minutes over a medium-high heat I added the risotto rice - in this instance Arborio. That got turned over for a couple of minutes to get well coated in the butter, then I added a small glass of dry white wine. I used Pinot Grigio, it seems apt to use a Italian wine.
This got stirred for a couple of minutes and then I started adding the stock.
I used the stock I'd kept from preparing a gammon. All this involved was boiling a gammon joint with stock veg - carrot, onion and celery - along with some bay leaf and a few black peppercorns. I finished the gammon off in the oven with a mustard and brown sugar glaze. It was delicious and was great in sandwiches for lunch. I simply strained the stock and froze it for future use.
After getting the risotto underway I started to braise the celery, using a method I got from Delia online. Very simply, just some softened onions, chopped celery, a hint of sugar and some of the gammon stock. Delia's recipe includes other veg and there's no reason why you couldn't use whatever you fancy. Fennel would be good.
The celery continued to braise whilst I kept adding stock to the risotto, stirring all the while.
Towards the end I added some frozen peas into the last of the stock, warming them through before adding them to the risotto. Adding frozen peas straight into the risotto would cool it down too much I think. Whilst there was still a little stock unabsorbed by the rice I added a good handful of grated parmesan and some chopped parsley. Then I put the lid on the pan and let the risotto settle for a couple of minutes.
All that I had to do then was serve. Risotto, then braised celery and some of the rich braising liquor. A little bit more parmesan and it was done. It seemed to go down well with the missus, and the braised celery went really nicely, especially with the braising juices which added a nice depth to the overall taste. The Pinot Grigio that hadn't gone into the risotto went nicely with it as well.
I started with softening some finely chopped onion in butter. I used half a smallish onion for a risotto for two. After it had softened for a few minutes over a medium-high heat I added the risotto rice - in this instance Arborio. That got turned over for a couple of minutes to get well coated in the butter, then I added a small glass of dry white wine. I used Pinot Grigio, it seems apt to use a Italian wine.
This got stirred for a couple of minutes and then I started adding the stock.
I used the stock I'd kept from preparing a gammon. All this involved was boiling a gammon joint with stock veg - carrot, onion and celery - along with some bay leaf and a few black peppercorns. I finished the gammon off in the oven with a mustard and brown sugar glaze. It was delicious and was great in sandwiches for lunch. I simply strained the stock and froze it for future use.
After getting the risotto underway I started to braise the celery, using a method I got from Delia online. Very simply, just some softened onions, chopped celery, a hint of sugar and some of the gammon stock. Delia's recipe includes other veg and there's no reason why you couldn't use whatever you fancy. Fennel would be good.
The celery continued to braise whilst I kept adding stock to the risotto, stirring all the while.
Towards the end I added some frozen peas into the last of the stock, warming them through before adding them to the risotto. Adding frozen peas straight into the risotto would cool it down too much I think. Whilst there was still a little stock unabsorbed by the rice I added a good handful of grated parmesan and some chopped parsley. Then I put the lid on the pan and let the risotto settle for a couple of minutes.
All that I had to do then was serve. Risotto, then braised celery and some of the rich braising liquor. A little bit more parmesan and it was done. It seemed to go down well with the missus, and the braised celery went really nicely, especially with the braising juices which added a nice depth to the overall taste. The Pinot Grigio that hadn't gone into the risotto went nicely with it as well.
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Lentil and egg curry
If you thought pear and beetroot salad sounded odd, I guess lentil and egg curry is going to sound even odder. But don't judge a dish by its name - this one is based on a Delia recipe and tastes fantastic.
We both love a good curry but so far have struggled to make anything which can compete on taste with a curry from a good curry house. I suspect that's because we shy away from using (a lot of) ghee. However, this lentil curry has come up trumps, if you'll pardon the expression.
The key to getting a good result with this is time. You need to cook the onions for a minimum of 30 minutes on a low heat to get a good caramelisation which gives good depth of flavour to the curry.
To start with chop an onion (or more than 1 if you're cooking for a crowd) quite finely. Get some oil, or ghee, hot and then add your spices. We use about 1/2 a teaspoon of ground fenugreek, ground ginger and ground turmeric. A teaspoon of cumin seeds also goes in along with a teaspoon of garam masala. We've been using Schwartz curry powder for our garam masala as it has a strong taste of clove which is essential in a curry. Stir this around for 30 seconds or so. Add the chopped onion, mix thoroughly then turn the heat down really low. Add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and a chopped chilli or two. Put a lid on the pan and leave the spiced onions to caramelise for at least half an hour.
Make up some coconut milk. We use blocks of creamed coconut to do this as its pure coconut. How much you'll need will depend on how many people you're cooking for, so use the guidelines on the amount of liquid your lentils will need to cook in. Add the coconut milk to the cooked onions. Add the lentils (we've been using red lentils which are a bit sweeter than green), a generous teaspoon of lime pickle and throw in a Cinnamon stick. Simmer.
Keep and eye on this as you might need to add more water if the curry looks like it is getting too thick.
About 10 minutes before your curry is done do some soft boiled eggs - eggs into cold water, bring to the boil then cook for 7 minutes. When done, put them into a bowl of cold water then peel them when they're cool enough to handle.
Stir some chopped coriander into the curry, if you fancy, then serve in bowls with the halved boiled eggs on top. Flatbreads go nicely with this curry and I prefer using them rather than serving the curry with rice.
Lentils, friend of the student and the vegetarian. And now firm friend of the unemployed.
We both love a good curry but so far have struggled to make anything which can compete on taste with a curry from a good curry house. I suspect that's because we shy away from using (a lot of) ghee. However, this lentil curry has come up trumps, if you'll pardon the expression.
The key to getting a good result with this is time. You need to cook the onions for a minimum of 30 minutes on a low heat to get a good caramelisation which gives good depth of flavour to the curry.
To start with chop an onion (or more than 1 if you're cooking for a crowd) quite finely. Get some oil, or ghee, hot and then add your spices. We use about 1/2 a teaspoon of ground fenugreek, ground ginger and ground turmeric. A teaspoon of cumin seeds also goes in along with a teaspoon of garam masala. We've been using Schwartz curry powder for our garam masala as it has a strong taste of clove which is essential in a curry. Stir this around for 30 seconds or so. Add the chopped onion, mix thoroughly then turn the heat down really low. Add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and a chopped chilli or two. Put a lid on the pan and leave the spiced onions to caramelise for at least half an hour.
Make up some coconut milk. We use blocks of creamed coconut to do this as its pure coconut. How much you'll need will depend on how many people you're cooking for, so use the guidelines on the amount of liquid your lentils will need to cook in. Add the coconut milk to the cooked onions. Add the lentils (we've been using red lentils which are a bit sweeter than green), a generous teaspoon of lime pickle and throw in a Cinnamon stick. Simmer.
Keep and eye on this as you might need to add more water if the curry looks like it is getting too thick.
About 10 minutes before your curry is done do some soft boiled eggs - eggs into cold water, bring to the boil then cook for 7 minutes. When done, put them into a bowl of cold water then peel them when they're cool enough to handle.
Stir some chopped coriander into the curry, if you fancy, then serve in bowls with the halved boiled eggs on top. Flatbreads go nicely with this curry and I prefer using them rather than serving the curry with rice.
Lentils, friend of the student and the vegetarian. And now firm friend of the unemployed.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Chorizo and Butterbean Soup
This is a real winner - quick, simple, cheap and tasty. Chorizo and butterbeans is a classic combination, the sweetish blandness of the butterbeans seems to accentuate the rich spiciness of the chorizo.
I usually make this soup for two but if you're cooking for more just add extra ingredients as required. To start, finely chop a red onion and soften it in olive oil. Add some chopped garlic, you can be generous with this, or not, depending on your preference for garlic. Put a couple of sprigs of thyme in if you have them. If you don't have thyme you could use bay 2 or 3 bay leaves, oregano would be nice as well.
When the onions and garlic have softened and have started to give off that wonderful aroma that cooking onions always do turn up the heat and add some chopped chorizo. There's no need to be shy here, if you like chorizo put plenty in. The better the chorizo the better the taste of the soup, so use as good as you can get.
When the red oil is coming out of the chorizo add a tin of drained butterbeans, if cooking for two, and pour on enough boiling water to cover the beans. A bit extra won't hurt, but make sure you use enough water or there won't be a lot of liquid to your soup. Cook for about 10 minutes.
Before serving add a good amount of fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon, then season and serve.
It's something I cook again and again because its easy and very tasty. You can use it as the basis for some other dishes as well. You could use chick peas instead of butterbeans and add some squid for something a bit fancier. Or some chicken for a more filling soup. Merguez sausages could be used instead of chorizo and you could pep things up with a dollop of harissa and a stir of sour cream. Mmm, I'm going to have to get hold of some merguez sausages and give that a go myself.
I usually make this soup for two but if you're cooking for more just add extra ingredients as required. To start, finely chop a red onion and soften it in olive oil. Add some chopped garlic, you can be generous with this, or not, depending on your preference for garlic. Put a couple of sprigs of thyme in if you have them. If you don't have thyme you could use bay 2 or 3 bay leaves, oregano would be nice as well.
When the onions and garlic have softened and have started to give off that wonderful aroma that cooking onions always do turn up the heat and add some chopped chorizo. There's no need to be shy here, if you like chorizo put plenty in. The better the chorizo the better the taste of the soup, so use as good as you can get.
When the red oil is coming out of the chorizo add a tin of drained butterbeans, if cooking for two, and pour on enough boiling water to cover the beans. A bit extra won't hurt, but make sure you use enough water or there won't be a lot of liquid to your soup. Cook for about 10 minutes.
Before serving add a good amount of fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon, then season and serve.
It's something I cook again and again because its easy and very tasty. You can use it as the basis for some other dishes as well. You could use chick peas instead of butterbeans and add some squid for something a bit fancier. Or some chicken for a more filling soup. Merguez sausages could be used instead of chorizo and you could pep things up with a dollop of harissa and a stir of sour cream. Mmm, I'm going to have to get hold of some merguez sausages and give that a go myself.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Bolla e squittiscono (Bubble and squeak)
I have no idea whether the translation in the title is accurate or not, but a couple of online translations suggested 'Bolla e squittiscono' as a translation for 'bubble and squeak'. And even if it isn't right, I like it.
This isn't a dish of fried sunday lunch leftovers, it's done with fresh ingredients - potatoes, dried pasta, greens, herbs and cheese. Just reading what's in it you know it's going to taste good, even if pasta and potatoes together seems odd at first.
Cooking it couldn't be simpler because you'll only need one pot.
Peel and slice some potatoes, enough for the number of people you're cooking for. Then get everything into a pan of boiling water. Our favourite version so far used potatoes and pasta (fusilli) with spring greens, frozen peas and frozen broad beans.
Once everything is cooked, drain it and get a serving dish. Put a layer of the mixture into the serving dish then scatter over some cheese. The original recipe calls for Fontina, but we haven't managed to get any of that so we used cheddar when we first made the dish. Second time around we used ricotta which was delicious. Anyway, a layer of the boiled mixture gets scattered with cheese, some salt and pepper, fresh or dried herbs (sage is good, or mixed italian herbs) and some olive oil. A grate of nutmeg adds a nice flavour as well.
Keep layering as above and then cover with grated parmesan (if using) at the end. You could pop it under the grill now to get the parmesan melted and browned slightly.
It might not sound much, but this is a very tasty and satisfying dish, so much so that's its worth making more than you think you might need.
This isn't a dish of fried sunday lunch leftovers, it's done with fresh ingredients - potatoes, dried pasta, greens, herbs and cheese. Just reading what's in it you know it's going to taste good, even if pasta and potatoes together seems odd at first.
Cooking it couldn't be simpler because you'll only need one pot.
Peel and slice some potatoes, enough for the number of people you're cooking for. Then get everything into a pan of boiling water. Our favourite version so far used potatoes and pasta (fusilli) with spring greens, frozen peas and frozen broad beans.
Once everything is cooked, drain it and get a serving dish. Put a layer of the mixture into the serving dish then scatter over some cheese. The original recipe calls for Fontina, but we haven't managed to get any of that so we used cheddar when we first made the dish. Second time around we used ricotta which was delicious. Anyway, a layer of the boiled mixture gets scattered with cheese, some salt and pepper, fresh or dried herbs (sage is good, or mixed italian herbs) and some olive oil. A grate of nutmeg adds a nice flavour as well.
Keep layering as above and then cover with grated parmesan (if using) at the end. You could pop it under the grill now to get the parmesan melted and browned slightly.
It might not sound much, but this is a very tasty and satisfying dish, so much so that's its worth making more than you think you might need.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)