Recipe XCVI - Celeriac Purée

Last week I had what I can only believe must have been the world's greatest chicken, a superhero amongst all the other farmyard fowl, a titan of the coop, a caped crusader of a bird which provided us not only with an unbelievable amount of the best chicken meat I have ever tasted, but gave me the best stock in living memory, and I wanted to do something with that stock to give it the perfect send-off. Anything less would have been an insult to this magnificent specimen of a bird, so I decided to make one of those dull dishes with one of those vegetables which is almost laughed at due to its likeness to the Ood from Doctor Who, the type of vegetable that makes people pleasantly surprised when they realise it's actually pretty damn tasty when served properly...




Ingredients:1 celeriac, peeled and chopped into 2cm cubes
2 onions
1 litre of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of cumin
Half a tablespoon of turmeric
Ground white pepper
40g butter
A carton of cream (optional; preferably thick)



Instructions:
Put some butter into a high-sided frying pan, put on a low-to-medium heat and when hot add the spices. Throw the onion and celeriac into it and stir until all the ingredients are nicely covered. 





Continue stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, then pour the stock on top. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat to simmering temperature for about 20 minutes.





Keep the liquid, but put all the solid ingredients into a blender and allow the mixture to turn into a saucy consistency. Put the cream in at this point, but adding some of the liquid from the stock is a good idea too.



Keep it warm until all your other food is prepared; when serving, you can put a large spoonful on the plate and with the underside of the spoon run it through the purée to create a decorative look.





It is best served with something like boiled potatoes so that it can act as a kind of dip. With the rest of the leftover stock, I let it boil down in a pot of Savoy cabbage until the fat from the stock fried it gently.

Recipe XCII - Beef Rendang

I have a list of things I wish to do before I die. Some are probable, some definitely possible, but some are unfortunately both improbable and one is impossible, and quite frankly unspeakable and highly illegal, but such is the nature of our innermost thoughts. However, one of the things on my list is to taste all the great curries of the world, including a Thai green curry, a British tikka masala, a Jamaican goat curry, a Japanese chicken curry, a Lao curry with dill and a Malaysian rendang. But I mean I'd like to be there when I eat it. But that may take a little time and planning. I could always fly them in, but I'm sure there's only one thing better than being there eating it, and that's having it put in front of you on a plate. (Incidentally, did you know the British introduced curry to Japan?)

Anyhow, I decided to go shopping to the Asian shops in town and pick up the ingredients for a rendang and make my own version of it. It's basically everything traditionally in it, except I was unable to find the kaffir lime. But I'll add it to the list of ingredients. It was utterly worth the hard work making it, and I'd do it again tomorrow - my kitchen, indeed the street, smelled divine for most of the afternoon.

Ingredients:
600g-750g diced beef, but that's for MUCH later.

Ingredients for the paste:
80g grated fresh coconut, but the packet version will suffice if you have no access to a fresh one
1 tsp of turmeric powder
6 hot red chilis, seeded and roughly chopped (I used half a sweet pepper because they had run out of small ones)
2 tbsp coriander seeds, or the same in powder (the crushed seeds are so much better in terms of flavour though)
1 tsp of cumin seeds, or the same in powder (the same applies here too)
5 shallots or small onions, chopped enough for the mixer
50g peeled ginger, sliced up for the mixer
30g garlic, chopped for the mixer



Instructions for the paste:
Put the coconut into a large, heavy pan and roast for a couple of minutes, continually stirring, until the coconuts turn a golden-brown. Pulverise the coriander seeds and cumin in a pestle and mortar for a long time, or if you have a spice grinder, put it through that.



Put all the above ingredients, including the coconut, into a mixer and give it a really good pulping. The mixture should end up looking something like this:



Put it to one side. You are now ready to prepare the rest.

Ingredients for the rest:
About 200ml tamarind paste + water (2 parts paste, 3 parts hot water)
4 thick pieces of lemon grass - break it with a rolling pin before you put it in
2 sticks of cinnamon - break in half to release the flavour
2 cans of coconut milk
3 spoons of brown sugar
10-12 kaffir lime leaves, chopped or broken up
and the beef, of course
Feel free to add a few vegetables. I didn't, but there's nothing stopping you.



Instructions:
Take your heavy pan and put some coconut oil or vegetable oil in it. When hot, add the beef and seal.
Then put in the paste, cinnamon, lime, coconut milk and lemon grass. Once stirred in and settled, turn the heat right down to simmering level, add the tamarind paste and let it reduce for up to two hours. One and a half hours should be more than adequate. Stir very frequently.



After 90 minutes, it should have reduced.



Serve with some aromatic rice.



I think this was probably the best thing I have ever cooked, although nothing beats the real thing - one day I will get there!

Recipe XC - Spicy Turkey Fillet Hotpot

It's still really cold here, which means more winter recipes. However this was a tremendously rewarding one, because the smell in the house is utterly divine. It is a little bit of an effort in the beginning but the main part is in a casserole dish, and for that you need absolutely nothing except a hot oven.



Equipment:
1 large sealable casserole

Ingredients:
750g-1200g turkey breast/fillet (chicken does just as well, but the pieces will remain whole or simply be halved.

Vegetables, your choice:
3 carrots, chopped
6 small or medium potatoes, cut into slices
1 red pepper, cut into strips
4-6 small onions, roughly chopped
5 cloves of garlic, sliced in two
Savoy cabbage, finely chopped into strips
1 courgette, sliced
Anything else that takes your fancy.

Spices, your choice:
1 small bowl, mix up some of the following to your own specifications:
cardamom, coriander, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, plus some garam massala, or mild Madras.

Maximum 1.5 litres of hot, salted water

Optional:
Some coconut milk, almonds, sultanas, apples and grapes

Instructions:
Turn the oven on to 170°C. Take your turkey breast and slice it into differently-sized pieces and rub a little salt into them. Take your bowl of mixed spices and spread liberally over the pieces, saving about a third for later.



Fry them in butter or oil for five to ten minutes until sealed and place them in the casserole.
Take your onions, garlic, peppers and carrots, and give them a short period in the pan to sweat. Pour over half of the remainder of the spices and add more oil to stop the ingredients scorching. Then put this into the casserole. Add the cabbage and do the same. Mix up the vegetables making sure your meat remains at the bottom and the top is flat enough for the potato level. At this point you can place any fruit (dried or fresh) and nuts.



Finally, place your potatoes on the top to cover it all. Pour over the remainder of your spices, or add a little more to the top, to give it a brownish hue. Fill the casserole with the salted water up to the level of the potatoes but no higher, and cover it. You can add the coconut milk at this point, but it really isn't necessary as the whole thing will remain quite moist with the lid on.



Place it in the oven for between 90 minutes and 2 hours. This will give everything enough time for the flavours to run. When you remove it from the oven, leave it for a few minutes before serving.



It would go well with a nice sweet white wine.

Recipe LXXVI - Roast Masala Chicken, Spicy Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

There's something refreshing and wholesome about a roast dinner on a Sunday. After a long autumn walk in the country, coming home to a house full of the smells of your delicious immediate future is how it should be. This recipe is my own take on a version by my favourite Indian cook, Madhur Jaffrey. Her recipes are shining examples of how complicated dishes are actually very simple when you have a little time and patience.

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHICKEN MARINADE:
A whole chicken - Madhur Jaffrey removes the skin, but I choose to keep it on, because it's the best part!
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tablespoons of ginger
5 cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
1 small, hot red pepper - Madhur Jaffrey used 3 hot green chillies, but I live in deepest, darkest Germany and can only get what I'm given.
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt



...and for later:
chili powder
freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE POTATOES:
Oil for roasting (olive/sunflower, etc...)
5 medium potatoes, peeled, and sliced to your preference
Half tsp turmeric
1 tsp Kashmiri (mild) chili powder
10 freshly ground black peppercorns
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
A pinch of salt

Instructions for the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 150-170C. Put all the ingredients for the marinade into a blender and blitz it to a paste. With a sharp knife, make two deep incisions into each breast. You should do this in the thighs and legs too.



Put the chicken on a baking tray making sure there is enough foil to cover the bird completely. I made two layers, in a cross-shape.
With your fingers or with a spoon, spread the paste evenly over the chicken and into the incisions.



Let it marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes. Just before you put it in the oven, sprinkle the chili powder and black pepper over the chicken. Seal the chicken tightly in the foil and put it in the oven for the time it takes you to go for that afternoon stroll! For the last 10 to 20 minutes, you can roast it with the foil open. You can save that last roasting bit for later when you are browning the potatoes.



Instructions for the spicy roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts:
Boil the potatoes and Brussels sprouts for a maximum of ten minutes in some salted water.
Put the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chili powder in a small bowl and mix them up well.
Make sure the potatoes and sprouts are well oiled and roll them in the mixed spices. Put them in a baking tray in a single layer and roast for a minimum of 30 mins - you may wish to share the oven with the chicken for the last part.



The chicken will simply fall off the bone and the juices make an ideal gravy.



I added Brussels sprouts to Madhur Jaffrey's wonderful recipe, and I made a few changes to the procedure, but I can say it was a joy to cook, and I will do it again very, very soon.