Recipe LXXII - Chicken Clare Balding

This is a recipe I designed myself with very careful thought. I wanted to honour the person who most epitomised my wonderful summer of sport on TV and my time in London during the Games. This person is, for me, someone who straddles classes, who is at home sitting next to other presenters and pundits in the studio, interviewing an elated tongue-tied competitor or mingling with crowds inside and outside venues. She explains everything so clearly and is most obviously hyper-intelligent without having any airs or graces. She is also one of those who is on my list of living people I'd most like to invite to a dinner party. I hope she gets to read this recipe one day and if she makes it, that she likes it. I apologise for the three horrid photos, but I have a new light in the kitchen and it is somewhat over-bearing for my poor little camera... Just like Clare Balding, this is an extremely adaptable recipe for the season, the taste and the consistency, but below are the original ingredients I used, the essential items having asterisks (*).

Ingredients (for 2 people):
200g Greek krithiraki / manéstra pasta * (an Olympic commentator should have something Greek in her eponymous recipe, although I used Turkish as that's what they sell locally!)
Half a courgette
Half a pâtisson (yellow squash or in the US pattypan squash) *
(in different seasons I see no problem in using sweet potatoes, aubergines or the like to add seasonal taste)
1 sweet red pepper *
1 onion
1 spoonful of chili powder *
2 breasts of chicken (sliced into strips) *
(A handful of green beans is a pleasant variant)
1 carton of single cream *
Some olive oil *
3 sprigs of English garden mint *



Instructions:
I think it was a pleasure to make this dish. Slice the squash into thin strips. You can halve those strips or keep them the same size, but they should be no thicker than a third of a centimetre. Cut up the chicken breasts into chunky pieces. Slice the courgette, pepper and onion in any way you wish.
Take two frying pans, on a medium heat, with olive oil - in one, begin frying the chicken, in the other, the squash. In the one with the squash, add some chili powder, and in the other once the chicken is sealed, add the vegetables. Stir-fry both pans, the squash for a good ten minutes. Add the chopped mint to the squash after seven, and in the other pan stir-fry the chicken for up to half an hour, or until everything is nice and soft and the flavours have run.



Once it is cooked, add the squash to the chicken for the remainder of the cooking time, and with ten minutes to go, turn down the heat and add the cream to gently heat up without evaporating. While the other ring is hot, heat some salted water and cook your Greek pasta. You can either mix it in with the other ingredients once cooked, or as I did, serve the chicken on a bed of pasta.


Above is one I made with green beans.

Serve in wide bowls or flat plates, with a nice bottle of medium Kent, Sussex or Hampshire wine.


My person of 2012, Clare Balding - photo: www.tvnewsroom.co.uk

Recipe LV - Beef Dopiaza

Food of Indian origin is my passion. If I were told I was going to have to spend a year on a deserted island and could only take three items, I would take my spices with me as item number three. Item number two would be the kitchen knives and item number one would be a giant box of matches. In any case, the spices are very important, as they have different functions, depending what combination you use them in, how you cook them and what other ingredients are also in it. Sauces are often the best thing about this type of food, and in this classic dish, the sauce is the star.

Ingredients:
500g diced beef (both small and large pieces)
3 onions (two chopped finely, one large, quartered)
2 small red peppers with the seeds left in, or if you want it extra spicy, 3 dried chillies
10 cardamom pods
7-10 garlic cloves, put through the crusher
10 black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
2 cloves
1 can of tomatoes
A dribble of water if necessary

Spices:
Cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, ginger (about a tablespoon of each, all ground)
Fresh or dried coriander leaves to season at the end



Instructions:
Pour some oil into a high-sided frying pan or casserole and put it on medium flame. Fry the quartered onion pieces until they are nice and soft. With a slotted spoon, take them out, keeping the temperature of the pan consistent. Add the red peppers (or chilis), the shelled cardamom, peppercorns, bay leaves and cloves, stirring constantly.



Once they start giving off their aroma, add the other onion, the garlic, ginger, coriander and cumin. Before it starts to dry up, add the tomatoes and put on to simmer mode for a few minutes.



Then add the beef and the onions you removed earlier and continue to simmer for a good half an hour to an hour. The longer you leave it, the more the flavours will run.



Towards the end, put in some green coriander, and serve with Basmati rice.



Enjoy!

Recipe XLI - Fennel and Potato Gratin with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Fennel: one of the most underrated vegetables you can find. I simply adore fennel - it needs no seasoning if you don't want, it has its own distinct flavour and compliments so many other dishes. In this recipe, I wish to illustrate how to entice reluctant visitors or children to eat this sadly ignored yet adorable bulbous vegetable.



Ingredients for the gratin:
1 or 2 bulbs of fennel
5 medium-to-large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm³-2cm³ pieces
1 onion
1 pot of cream
250g of a decent yellow cheese (e.g. Gruyère, Emmental) - I used sliced Fol Epi
10 ground peppercorns
A couple of knobs of butter
Some olive oil

Instructions:
Switch on the oven to 180°C and put a ceramic baking dish in it. Parboil the potatoes, drain them and let them rest for a few minutes. While that is going on, put some butter and olive oil into a deep frying pan and add the fennel. Fry on a medium heat for 5 minutes before adding the onion. Add the ground pepper and some salt, and continue to fry on a medium heat for another ten minutes. Take the baking dish out. Put some fresh olive oil in the bottom and a knob of butter. Add some potatoes, then some fennel, then some cheese. Repeat the process, until all the ingredients have been used up, not forgetting to put a layer of cheese on top (see below).



Pour the cream into the dish and put it in the oven for about an hour.



Ingredients for the meatballs:
500g minced beef
1 shallot
4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of oregano
1 egg
Half a carton of tomato passata
A glass of red wine

Instructions for the meatballs:
As soon as the gratin goes in the oven, you will have exactly enough time to get this bit ready, and a bit of time to spare.
Crush and chop the garlic, slice the shallot into very small pieces. Put the minced beef, the garlic, the oregano and the chopped shallot into a bowl. With a fork, work all the ingredients together until they form a homogeneous consistency. Add the egg and mix that in to act as a binding agent. If you have done your job well enough, you may think you do not need the egg. Using both hands, pick up a piece of the mixture and make it into a round shape, as below, as big or as small as you would like. Repeat until all is used up. Remember how many guests you have, and make the balls accordingly. I made 12 in the end, for three guests.



Using the frying pan you had previously for the fennel, heat some oil and fry the balls on a medium heat until all the balls are sealed on the outside. Add some tomato passata, some red wine and some herbs. Once the liquid has heated up, turn down the heat, cover and cook for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add some herbs to taste.



Enjoy!

Recipe XL - Venison in Guinness

To celebrate my 40th recipe, and the fact that it's Yule, I would like to present my own recipe. Most things have already been done before, so at the risk of coming across like the man who goes to a desert island and invents the wheel, I would just say that I found some general ideas on the Net, but adapted them to my own preferences. This meal is for my three guests today. I was wondering what to call it - "Deer Raymond" seemed a bit too pretentious. So I settled on "Deer in Beer", and I hope you like it.

Ingredients:
1kg cubed venison
2 bottles of Guinness
A glass of Port wine
5 small red onions, quartered or 7 shallots, halved
A handful of porcini mushrooms
5 cloves of garlic (crushed and chopped)
A handful of raisins and/or sultanas
2 Braeburn apples, chopped (leave the skin on - only chop one apple, a the other one is needed the next day)
At least a tablespoon of cinnamon
20 whole black peppercorns
7-10 crushed peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Some salt

Instructions:
Put the venison in a large bowl. Sprinkle a handful of salt onto it and then add the crushed peppercorns. Mix together well with a spoon. Put a tablespoon of cinnamon into the mixture and again, stir well. Add the onions (or shallots) and one of the apples, the dried fruit and the whole peppercorns and mix them all in. Very carefully, pour one of the bottles of Guinness and about two shot glasses of Port into your mixture. Put some clingfilm over the top and put it in the fridge overnight.



The next day, take it out of the fridge and set the venison on some kitchen paper to dry. Take some cinnamon and roast it in a rounded pan until it goes a little darker. Put it in a casserole dish to wait.



Fry some onion strips in butter and then add the venison for five minutes, constantly turning, to seal it.



Put part of the venison in the casserole dish. Add some of the ingredients from the marinade then the rest of the venison, followed by the last of the marinade, so they are nicely mixed in. Give it a stir.



In a very little oil, fry the other apple and the garlic for a couple of minutes maximum, constantly turning.



Pour over some more fresh Guinness until it covers the rest of the ingredients, cover the pot and cook for about two hours.



Serve with potatoes, red cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Recipe XXXIX - Mince Pies and Mincemeat Vodka

Christmas wouldn't be complete without several essential items: a decorated tree, a few presents, some strong, unctuous alcohol and Bing Crosby. But there's one item which has become so vital to my perfect Christmas, that I fear I wouldn't feel right without it: the mince pie.

Mincemeat: Mincemeat is called mincemeat, because back in the 16th century, there was minced lamb or beef in the recipe. Fortunately, today there isn't such a combination, but the name lives on. This recipe makes approximately 20 to 24 mince pies.

With the remaining mincemeat, don't chuck it away - get a merry drinke out of it!




Ingredients for the mincemeat:
250g dark brown sugar
1 kg chopped apples (some unpeeled for flavour)
A teaspoon of allspice
A teaspoon of cinnamon
180g-200g raisins, sultanas & currants according to taste
75g glacé cherries
6 to 10 chopped dried apricots (optional)
2 or 3 pieces of chopped candied peel (optional)
70g-90g blanched or ordinary almonds, finely chopped
Grated rind of half a lemon + its juice
3 shot glasses of rum or brandy, but put more or less in depending on your taste
Some sterilised pots to contain them (if storing for a later time)


Instructions for the mincemeat:
Put the chopped apples in a bowl, add the lemon rind and juice to stop the apples going brown, then add the sugar and spices, followed by the dried fruits. Mix them together well. Add your alcohol. Mix further.
Put them in the sterilised pots and remove when needed. If immediately, go straight on to the instructions below. Normally you should make the mincemeat at least a month before Christmas, but as it's Christmas Eve, just go straight onto the next part!


Ingredients for the dough:
250g flour
60g cold butter - the butter must be cold or the dough will go gooey
60g shortening (optional)
The juice of one orange
1 pinch of salt


Instructions for the pies:
Put the salt, flour, shortening and butter into a bowl and turn into a fine crumble dough (below)

Add the orange juice and knead it into a moist, putty-like consistency similar to biscuit dough. This should take no longer than ten minutes. At this point you can break it into two or three parts, wrap it in a sheet of thin plastic and put it in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes to get stiffer. But if you don't have time, move on. Roll it out as thinly as possible. I did this in two parts, as it saved space on the work surface. Turn your oven on to 200°C.

Take your Yorkshire pudding or muffin tray, grease it with butter (essential) and with the aid of a glass or a round cutter, cut out the base crust for the mince pies.

Take a spoon and place a dollop of mincemeat in each one. With some other shapes, put a pastry roof on top, sprinkle with sugar or glaze with an egg, and slide it into the oven for about 10 minutes.

With a knife, carefully remove from the tray and get the next batch ready. Repeat this process until as much of the dough as possible is used up.

Put them on the cake rack or in a tin and hide from all gluttonous people.



Mincemeat vodka:
With the leftover mincemeat, don't throw it away - put the mincemeat into a jar, get a cheapish bottle of vodka and pour it over the top. Add a little cinnamon and whatever else you feel like (brown sugar, allspice, more raisins, etc...) and serve to the neighbours when they spring over. Stir every day.

Recipe XXXVIII - English Muffins: Christmas Breakfast

There are several glories of the English kitchen: the puddings, pies and pastries being three, the good old English fried breakfast another, but for its simplicity, taste and convenience, nothing comes close to the English muffin. It is the highlight of my year, as I hold them in such high esteem, that I have them but at this time.



Ingredients:
About 280g of flour
1/4 of a teaspoon of salt
1 1/4 of a teaspoon of dried yeast
1/2 of a tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of shortening / butter, at room temperature
somewhere between 180ml and 240ml of milk

Instructions:
Take a large bowl and put together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
Mix in the milk and butter, knead for about ten minutes, remembering to start with 180ml of milk and then add a little more until the dough is consistent.



Transfer the dough to a surface which has been covered in flour and leave it for one hour to rise. Make it into a sausage shape and divide it into six pieces of an equal size.



Roll them into balls, flatten them to about 2.5cm in height and cover them in parchment paper or plastic foil and allow them to further rise for about 30 minutes.



Now preheat the oven to 180°C and switch on the frying pan to a medium strong heat. Brush the frying pan with oil, then brush one side of the muffins with oil and sprinkle a little light flour on top, and place it with the oiled side facing downwards into the frying pan, repeating the oiling and flouring process on the other side.



Fry until both sides are browned. Theoretically, they should get flatter as they cook.



Finally, put them in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes then let them cool for 30 minutes. To preserve them, put them in the bread bin or a Tupperware container overnight, but as I've done, put them on a cake rack ready for consumption in the morning! When serving, slice them in half and toast the inside for a short time. Serve with butter, a nice young Cheddar, a Maasdamer or jam.

Recipe XXXVII - Meat Korma: spice up your Yuletide

Yuletide is coming, the only thing to worry about is if the guests enjoy the food you prepare. For the day itself, you'll do whatever, but the day after, when you realise you've got a load of chopped meat in the freezer, there are only two possibilities: a stew or a curry. I know what I'd choose, and here it is...



Ingredients:
500g pork/chicken/beef/whatever
20 coriander corns, crushed in the pestle & mortar
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dessicated coconut
3 onions
A piece of ginger, about 3cm long, 4cm wide
2 tomatoes
2 bay leaves
5 to 7 peppercorns (whole)
5 cloves (whole)
7 pods of cardamom (whole)
1/2 tbsp ground turmeric
7 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stick of cinnamon (6 cm long)
2 pots of ordinary yoghurt
A sprinkling of garam massala
A handful of chopped green coriander
1 red pepper (optional)
A cup of coconut milk (optional)

Instructions:
Heat a frying pan to a red hot temperature with nothing in it. Take the coriander, cumin and coconut, and dry-roast them for 2-4 minutes or until they go darker. Put the dry-roasted spices in a bowl to wait for later.



Put the onions, garlic, ginger, tomato and turmeric into a blender and turn them into a pulpy paste. Put these in another bowl and wait for later.



Heat some oil at medium power in a frying pan. Add the peppers, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, peppercorns and cloves. Once they are nicely browning, turn up the heat, add the meat and seal it in the oil. Remove the meat and cinnamon from the pan and leave it for later.



Building up the sauce:
Put a dribble more oil in the pan, add the blended paste and let it reduce slowly for 10 or so minutes at a medium heat. Keep stirring. Put in some water now and again to keep it moist and stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Now you can add the dry-roasted spices.



After 5 to 10 minutes, add the yoghurt. After another 5 to 10 minutes, sprinkle some salt on the meat and add it and the cinnamon to the pan again. Add some garam massala and green coriander and if you want some water or coconut milk, and leave it to simmer for up to an hour, or until it is done.



Serve it with boiled basmati rice, roast cauliflower and/or some chapatis.

Recipe XXXIV - Stuffing Your Bird

In the run-up to Yuletide, I would like to suggest some ways to make your own traditional Christmas dinner. This week, we're looking at stuffing birds. There are many ways of doing this, without having to rely on ready-made material.



Ingredients:
A small loaf or a thick slice of white bread
2-3 eggs
A splash of milk
Some dried herbs (sage, oregano, rosemary, etc., or whatever you choose)
Some dried fruits (dried apricots, raisins, etc., or something similar)
Some crushed almonds or walnuts
An onion, cut into small squares
4 cloves of garlic
Ground black pepper
Salt to taste, and of course...
...a bird to put it in! I chose a pheasant, because it needed cooking.

Notes on game birds:
Don't forget to get your game bird off a good huntsman. Hang it up in a cool, dry place for several weeks if you can. The longer you hang it up for, and the worse it stinks, the better it will taste on your plate. I couldn't, because the finicky Germans have banned game birds due to avian flu, so I had to import mine from the UK frozen.

Instructions:
Take the bread and break it up into a bowl. Crack the eggs on top (two should do, but with a big bird, you will need more bread and more eggs) and pour on some milk. With a potato masher, work the ingredients into each other. Leave it whilst you cut up the onion and garlic, and crush your pepper.



Add all the other ingredients into the mixture and mix wekk using a fork or the potato masher.



Take the bird, spread it out and open up the space where the innards normally are. Stuff the mixture inside. Follow the recommended cooking instructions for your bird, with the stuffing.



Once you remove the bird from the oven, your stuffing should have a thick crust (see the photo below).



Finally, cut up your bird into (un)equal portions, making sure everyone gets some, but the cook gets the most!



Above is how the stuffing looks across the middle.

Point of interest:
You don't have to have a bird to make stuffing. You can put it into roulades of beef or pork, or you can roast or steam the stuffing as a dish on its own. It is so heavy, it makes an ideal vegetarian meal.