Slow roasted pork belly with crispy cod cheeks, bearnaise sauce, peas, celeriac and apple

Sorry for the lack of blog action over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been away in Devon for the past week or so, so my home cooking has taken a bit of a backseat. 

Carrying on from last blogs brunch, we all decided to set another theme which this time was set as surf and turf. Like brunch, this was a bit of a funny one for me as surf and turf isn’t normally something I decide to cook, so it was time to get my thinking cap on again! I often cook fish and add something like chorizo or bacon to add another flavour, but I wouldn’t class this in the same way as the fish is always the main part. In my mind surf and turf should share equal prominence whilst complementing each other perfectly. I also wanted to stay away from the cliche of beef and lobster. Not only does my budget not stretch as far as this too often, but I also feel like a good bit of steak doesn’t even need anything else and vice versa. It will certainly be interesting to see what everyone else comes up with, and it’s really always inspiring to chat about it on Twitter. 

White fish and pork are always good companions, but I wanted to do something a little different with this dish. I’ve always loved pork belly, but I often find that the big slab normally dished up is a bit much. Combining this with soft white fish lessons the portion size and makes a much more balanced plate of food. Pork belly also has a more subtle flavour than bacon or chorizo, so each ingredient on the plate stands out. Most flakey white fish would be a suitable pairing, and in this instance I opted to use cod cheeks. This came after a chat a while ago with local fishmonger Jon Norris, who recommended that I use them instead of monkfish in a dish that I was planning at the time. Like monkfish they have a meaty texture and can stand up to bold flavours. I also like the idea of using a less used part of the fish, especially with cod where the amount of flesh in the cheeks is too good to ignore.

Although I was pleased with the way that the dish turned out and ate, in reflection there are a few changes that I would make if cooking again. The cod cheeks were really good but I feel like the proportions were still a little uneven, so I would reduce the amount of cod a little. I would also be tempted to scrap the panko and deep fry element and gently poach the fish instead. This would reduce the richness further still, whist the crunchy texture would still be a part of the dish in the form of the pork crackling. I think in cooking sometimes you get tied-up in habit, and recently I have been breading and frying perhaps a few too many things when something a little simpler would have been better. That said, fried cod cheeks and bearnaise as a meal in itself would still be immense. 

When buying pork belly and pork in general, always buy as good quality as you can afford, and always buy a lot more than you need. I went to the brilliantly fantastic Ginger Pig in Victoria Park for this. Slow roasted pork makes incredible leftovers, and if you use 1.5kg for 4 people in this recipe you will get a fair bit. I plan on using it in a slightly healthier but equally delicious vietnamese style soup with loads of chilli, ginger and lime. 

Bearnaise is a classic french sauce that is well worth mastering. The creamy yet tangy tarragon and butter goes so well with anything from steak to white fish, and really helps tie everything together in this recipe. I used Michel Roux Jr’s version as a base for the recipe below, which as usual is easy to follow and tastes great. This original can be found here:

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/428220/Michel-Roux-s-bearnaise-sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the pork belly:

1.5kg piece of pork belly

2 fennel bulbs, sliced thickly

5 garlic cloves

1 large glass dry white wine

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

For the cod cheeks:

6-8 cod cheeks - you want 3 x 1 inch pieces per person

1 large handful panko breadcrumbs

100g plain flour

1 egg, beaten

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying, about 1 litre 

For the bearnaise sauce:

4 egg yolks

1 small banana shallot, very finely chopped

4 tbsp tarragon, chopped

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

250ml clarified butter

1/2 lemon, juice only

3 tbsp cold water

Salt and pepper

For the peas:

150g frozen peas, defrosted

1/2 small banana shallot, finely chopped

1/2 lemon, juice only

1/2 clove garlic

1 tbsp tarragon leaves

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

To finish:

1 braeburn apple, cut into 1cm squares

50g celeriac, julienned

1/2 lemon, juice to squeeze over the prepped celeriac and apple

Peashoots

Preheat the oven to 140ºC.

Take the piece of pork belly out of the fridge bring to room temperature. Using a sharp knife slash through the fat at 2.5cm intervals. This will help the crackling crisp up and will also make slicing easier once cooked. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and rub into the fat so it gets between the slash marks. Drizzle with a little olive oil and set aside while you prepare the trivet. Slice the fennel and arrange with the garlic in the bottom of an oven tray. Season and toss in a little more olive oil. Place the pork belly skin side up on top and put in the oven for 2.5 hours. Add the white wine to the bottom of the oven tray half way through cooking. 

While the pork belly is on make the bearnaise sauce. Pour the white wine vinegar into a small saucepan with three quarters of the tarragon, some seasoning and the chopped shallot. Reduce by half over a low heat then take off the heat and allow to cool. If clarifying your own butter then do this at this point too and cool slightly (Roux suggests it should be tepid). When the reduction is cool add the egg yolks and whisk well. Return to a very low heat and carry on whisking continuously and making sure that the mixture doesn’t get hot enough the scramble. After about 10 minutes the eggs will have emulsified with the reduction and formed a thick frothy texture. Take off the heat and very slowly add the butter, whisking still until all the butter has been incorporated into the sauce. Pass through a sieve then add the remaining tarragon and taste. Squeeze in the lemon and season if necessary. Cover and set aside. 

Next prepare the cod cheeks. Put the flour and panko onto two separate plates and beat the egg in a small bowl. Season each element. Coat each cheek with the flour then dip in the egg before transferring to the panko plate and covering well with the breadcrumbs. Cover and set aside.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients while the pork finishes cooking. 

When the 2.5 hours is up, raise the heat of the oven to 210ºC and cook the pork for another 15-20 minutes, or until the crackling is bubbling and crispy. Take out of the oven and allow to rest while the rest of the dish is finished. 

Heat the frying oil for the cod cheeks in a medium saucepan to 160ºC. 

Heat another small saucepan with a little olive oil to a medium heat. 

When the deep frying oil is up to temperature carefully lower the cheeks in and fry for a couple of minutes until golden and crisp on the outside. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. 

While the cod cheeks are cooking fry the shallot and garlic in the other saucepan for a minute until softened. Add the peas, lemon and seasoning and cook until the peas are tender. Stir in the tarragon leaves. 

To plate up, spoon some of the bearnaise onto the middle of the plate and place a piece of the pork belly on top. Arrange the cod cheeks on the plate and add the peas. Finish with the apple cubes, some of the celeriac matchsticks and peashoots.

Chorizo and rosemary baked beans with a poached egg and rocket

For this weeks blog post a few of us on Twitter decided that we would set a topic and all cook and blog something along those lines. As someone who mostly cooks and blogs alone I relished the chance to do something interactive with other foodies. However, for the first time since starting the blog I felt a sense of pressure to perform, so hopefully this post will be good enough! It’s been really good fun though and I can’t wait to see what everyone else has come up with. 

The topic for this week was brunch. This suited me fine, although I don’t eat brunch too often so it was a challenge to try and think of interesting things to come up with in such a broad category. Over the past week or so my mind has been racing with loads of different ideas, with some sounding pretty wacky and others frankly disgusting. In the end I’m almost sad to say that I went for something pretty safe, but I think equally delicious; good old baked beans. My version lifts the simple tinned version to a new dimension, with the chorizo, paprika and rosemary giving the finished dish a brilliant depth of flavour. 

I think I’m the only person I know who really dislikes Heinz baked beans. I find them too sweet and tangy to the point where they overpower any dish that they’re with. With this recipe the finishing touches are what really make the beans special. Some tinned beans cooked with onions and tomatoes would normally be quite bland, but the addition of the treacle, salt and vinegar at the end of the cooking transforms it into something really tasty. This is what I can never understand when talking to people that don’t eat salt; the difference it makes in the taste of food is staggering. 

This is a really simple dish to make, and once you try it you’ll make it again and again. The only thing that it needs is patience with the slow and gentle cooking, firstly with the onions and then with the beans. I have used tinned pulses in this recipe for ease, but you can use dried beans that have been soaked overnight if you have them.

It’s worth making a big batch as it keeps well for quite a few days, and like any stew or curry will get better with time.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

For the beans:

50g butter

4 red onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

1 medium red chilli, finely chopped

110g good chorizo, skinned and cut into 1cm pieces

1 heaped tbsp hot smoked paprika

4 tins cannellini beans, juice retained from 2 of the tins

2 tins butter beans

2 tins chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 large tbsp black treacle

Splash of white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

For the poached eggs:

1 large egg per person

Splash of white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

To finish:

Small handful of rocket leaves

Parmesan cheese

Slices of good quality toasted bread

Butter

Olive oil

Heat up a large, high sided frying pan or skillet on a low heat and add the butter. When melted add the onions, garlic, chilli, rosemary and paprika and cook slowly until very soft, about 20-30 minutes. Add the chopped chorizo pieces and fry for another 5 or so minutes, or until softened and the oils have been released into the onions. 

Pour in both types of beans and the retained liquid, the chopped tomatoes and bay leaves. Stir gently and bring to the boil, then turn right down to a low heat and simmer uncovered for an hour. Be careful to only stir every so often and not to vigorously to keep the beans as intact as possible. 

When the beans are nearly done put a large saucepan of salted water on to boil.

After an hour the beans should have thickened a little and darkened in colour slightly. Season well and add the treacle and vinegar, folding into the sauce. Cook for another couple of minutes then taste; you want to find the perfect balance between sweet, salty and sharp. Adjust as needed and take off the heat. 

When the water is boiling add the splash of white wine vinegar and reduce to a gentle simmer. Very carefully crack the eggs with a knife and break very close to the surface of the water. Cook for two minutes then check by lifting with a slotted spoon and touching the yolks. If they aren’t quite done then drop back into the water for another 30 seconds. 

While the eggs are cooking get the bread toasting and buttered ready to serve.

To plate up spoon some of the beans into a shallow bowl and position the poached egg in the middle. Top with a few rocket leaves, sprinkle over some grated parmesan and drizzle over a little olive oil. Serve with the hot buttery toast and dig in.

Salted caramel and buttermilk creme caramels

I’ve been trying to get back into making puddings recently, as more and more I’ve started to find myself spending ages concentrating on a nice savoury dish and totally overlooking anything to eat afterwards. I have to admit that I haven’t got much of a sweet tooth, and would always choose a starter and main or a cheese option to follow, but I do sometimes find myself craving a dessert. So instead of relying on that bar of chocolate lurking in the cupboard I thought it was about time I tried to make something for myself. 

I hadn’t thought about making creme caramels until very recently. They seem to get totally overshadowed by the more glamorous and popular creme brulees, but there’s something about the soft silkiness of the caramel that is just to die for. I had always thought that they were quite difficult to make, but after doing some research and practicing I was amazed at how easy they are. I’ve since made them for dinner parties, where you can make them quickly and have them sitting in the fridge until needed. Their clean flavour and light texture make them a great end to a meal. 

As with any baking, it’s important to stick to measurements and practice really makes perfect. The most important things with this recipe is not to overcook the caramel and the custard. When cooking the caramel, you need to find the perfect balance between being golden enough to maximise flavour but not dark enough to burn and be bitter. You need to watch over it all the time so you can catch it at just the right moment. With the custard, the key is to cook it gently so that it doesn’t scramble and ruin the texture.

For this post I’ve used the brilliant Dan Lepard’s recipe for inspiration and guideline amounts. Every baking enthusiast should grab a copy of Short and Sweet; it really is a bible. I’ve put a twist on his recipe by making a salted caramel and using buttermilk to make the custard slightly sourer with a lighter taste. The joy of these recipes is once you have the basic technique nailed you can experiment to create your own version. 

Makes 6-8 using mini loaf tins

Ingredients

For the caramel:

Caster sugar

A good pinch of salt

For the custard:

100g caster sugar

6 medium eggs

1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

300ml whole milk

200ml buttermilk

50ml double cream

To make the caramel, pour caster sugar into each loaf tin until just under a centimetre deep then pour it all into a small saucepan. Add a small amount of water and put on a medium heat. Cook until the caramel is bubbling away and starting to turn a deep red/brown colour, then sprinkle with the salt. Do not stir with a spoon at any point as the caramel may crystalise, just gently swirl the pan. As soon as the caramel is the right colour pour equally into each tin and tip around to make sure that the bottoms are covered. Set aside while you make the custard.

Pre-heat the oven to 140ºC (fan).

Make the custard by mixing the eggs, vanilla seeds and sugar in a large bowl until combined but not frothy. Beat in the milk, buttermilk and double cream then tip into a medium saucepan. Cook on a low-medium heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture is only just hot to the touch. Carefully pour the custard into the caramel lined tins, leaving a lip of about a centimetre. Place the tins into a deep oven dish and create a bain marie by pouring boiling water around the outside. 

Cook for 18 minutes before checking, they should only have a tiny wobble in the middle. If they are too wobbly pop them back in for another minute or two. Once cooked, allow to cool then refrigerate for at least four hours.

To serve, carefully cut around the edge of the tins with a sharp knife and tip quickly onto a plate. A blowtorch can be handy to quickly flash around the outside if they don’t come out straight away.

Crispy and poached oysters with oyster and leek veloute, pickled cucumber and lemon and tarragon oil

Last week I had a few days off work on holiday, but used this time to really relax with no plans to travel anywhere. Instead I just had a lovely enjoyable few days pottering around London and cooking. It was really nice to get out and visit some of the cracking local independent food suppliers that are normally closed when I get my days off on Sundays and Mondays. 

On Tuesday I took the bus down to Victoria Park where I placed an order with brilliant fishmonger Jonathan Norris. He is someone who I have spoken to many times on Twitter, mostly for help about what is in season etc, but it was great to finally pop in and say hello in person. Since I moved to Stoke Newington I haven’t been down to the area too often, but Katie used to live in Victoria Park and I really do love it round there. I’ve many happy memories of ogling at sausage rolls in the window of the Ginger Pig and breakfasting by the lake at the park pavilion. It’s such a foodie hub and you can get nearly anything in that tiny handful of shops. 

On this occasion I had ordered oysters. Now I am the first person to put my hand up and say that I’m not wild about eating raw oysters. It’s not the taste, I’m just not too keen on the texture, and they’re not something that I take that much pleasure from eating. But like I said about bone marrow in the previous blog post, I’m sure that this is a transitional thing and I will end up eventually liking them. But in the meantime, I know that there are other things that you can do with them and I was determined to make something nice. I liked the idea of gently cooking them with a creamy, chowder like soup.

I thought that this would also be a good occasion to have a go at making a veloute. It’s always something that I’ve associated with fine dining and have been nervous to attempt to make this super smooth, decadent soup. For Christmas I was fortunate to be given a number of great cookbooks, including the huge and insanely good Square Cookbook by Philip Howard. I knew that oyster veloutes existed, and when looking through the index for pointers I was pleased to see that there was a recipe for that very thing. I have used the veloute recipe in that book as the base for the one I made here, although Phil used his as part of an amazing starter with eel, salt cod and caviar. I haven’t quite gone that far here, simply deep frying some oysters to contrast the texture and adding some lightly pickled cucumber to give the acidity that is much needed in this creamy dish. 

Freshness is of the utmost importance when it comes to oysters. I would only really eat them on the same day as buying them, and only from a decent fishmonger. This is the joy of getting to know good local food suppliers, as you can learn loads about seasonal food and really trust that the produce that you get is top quality; a far cry from the majority of supermarkets. 

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

For the crispy oysters:

2 oysters

1 small handful panko breadcrumbs

1 egg

2 tbsp flour

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for deep frying, about 1 litre

For the poached oysters:

4 oysters

For the veloute:

3 medium leeks, finely sliced

1/2 onion, finely sliced

1/2 floury potato such as maris piper, finely sliced

30g butter

500ml water

250ml whole milk

1 large tbsp creme fraiche

8 oysters

For the pickled cucumbers:

1x 3” piece of cucumber

100ml white wine vinegar

3 tsp sugar

5 black peppercorns

For the lemon and tarragon oil:

100ml olive oil

1 small handful tarragon

1 lemon, zest only

For the sauteed leeks:

1/2 a leek, julienned into thin 2” sticks

1 large knob butter

Salt and pepper

Firstly make the lemon and tarragon oil. Put the oil, tarragon and lemon into a small saucepan and gently warm up, but not enough to start frying the flavourings. Turn off the heat, cover the pan with clingfilm and leave to cool down and infuse. Transfer to a squeezy bottle and set aside. This is best done a day in advance to let the flavours mix into the oil. 

To make the veloute, heat the butter in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the leeks, onion, potato and seasoning and cook for 6-7 minutes, until softened. Pour in the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the milk and creme fraiche and bring back to boil then pour the liquid through a sieve into a bowl. Spoon about a quarter of the leeks, onion and potatoes into a food processor with the strained liquid and blend really well until very smooth. Discard the remaining leeks. Strain again and set aside to cool. This part can be done in advance. 

While the veloute is cooking, make the pickled cucumbers. Peel the piece of cucumber and cut in half, then scrape out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Carefully cut into an even fine dice and put into a small bowl. Pour the white wine vinegar into a small saucepan with the sugar and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the peppercorns and pour over the cucumbers. Mix well with a spoon and set aside to cool. 

Julienne the leeks for the garnish and fry gently for 10 minutes in the butter and a little seasoning until softened. Keep warm and set aside.

Heat the frying oil up in a heavy medium saucepan to 170ºC. 

Slowly reheat the veloute up to just below boiling. 

Fill a small saucepan with salty water and bring to the boil.

To make the crispy oysters, set up two small plates and a bowl. Beat the egg into the bowl and put the panko and flour respectively on the other two plates. Season each part. Open two of the oysters, keeping them as intact as possible and draining the liquid. Gently roll the oysters in the flour, then dip into the egg before moving to the breadcrumb plate and covering. 

Open the 8 oysters for the veloute and put into the food processor.

Open the 4 remaining oysters for poaching. 

When the oil is hot, water boiling and veloute up to temperature it is time to finish the dish. Put the 4 oysters into the boiling water, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for two minutes. At the same time, lower the coated oysters into the hot oil and deep fry, turning occasionally until golden brown, about a minute. While this is happening, tip the veloute into the food processor over the oysters and blend really well until combined and frothy. Taste and season if needed. 

To plate up, make a little mound out of the cooked leeks and place in the middle of the bowls. Pour some of the veloute in and position the poached oysters in the ‘moat’. Spoon a little of the pickled cucumber around each side and put the crispy oysters on top of the leeks. Drizzle a bit of the lemon and tarragon oil around the bowl and serve quickly. 

Restaurant review: Hawksmoor, Spitalfields

Last weekend saw mine and Katie’s third anniversary, and to celebrate we decided to book a table at Hawksmoor. This turned out to be quite a tricky process; did we want to go for breakfast, dinner or Sunday roast options, and which of the group’s four venues was it to be? I have only every heard glowing reports about anything Hawksmoor related, and it all looked so good! In the end we went for dinner at Spitalfields, as it was open on a Saturday night and the small, intimate nature of it looked perfect for a date night. The booking was made way back in November, and every day since I have been counting down with heightening anticipation. We so rarely go out for poshy dinners, so to say that I was excited is an understatement.

As well as the excitement was a slight sense of apprehension. Everyone that I had spoken to about Hawksmoor had raved about the place, but I really didn’t know what to expect. I mean, their meat is sourced from the excellent Ginger Pig and I imagined would be cooked to perfection, but surely a steak is a steak right? I like to think that I can cook a steak quite well, and I travelled to the restaurant on Saturday a touch cynical that I was about to pay quite a considerable amount of money for something not far off a home cooked meal. I had also looked at the menu in advance, where a lot of the meat is listed in the dreaded price per weight system. I generally have quite big issues with this, and find that it places the diner in that awkward situation whereby they order something and then panic that they will have to sell their child in order to pay the unknown bill. Unfortunately (or perhaps not) I’m not in that exclusive crowd who can rock up at these kind of places and not bat an eyelid at how much is being spent.

But as usual, and thankfully, shortly after arriving all of my cynicism fell flat on it’s arse. In fact it started the second we walked through the door. Just like the glorious smell of baking that you get when entering a bakery, my nostrils were invaded by the aroma of chargrilled beef; the sort that has you salivating, and looking around nervously wondering when they will deliver the food that you just HAVE to eat. This combined with the bustling atmosphere and casual furnishings acted as a total leveler. Often these places have an image of soulless pretension, and it certainly wasn’t the case here. 

One thing soon became apparent; Hawksmoor is no place for the indecisive. Once sat down you are given some pretty heavy literature on wine, cocktails and meat to mull over, and everything looks amazing. After much deliberation we went for Hawksmoor Collins cocktails to start, which were a delicious and refreshing way to begin proceedings. We were then given free champagne due to it being our anniversary, offered by our waiter after he enquired if we were celebrating anything. There’s nothing like free champagne to make an occasion feel special, and needless to say we were suitably boozed by the time the food came along. 

When it came to the food, we decided to skip the starters and go for it with the mains. My worries about pricing awkwardness was also alleviated as a chalkboard displayed the weights of the available cuts, so it was easy to calculate and I could relax. Before our visit we decided that we would try one of the famous big sharing joints, and in the end settled for a 900g bone-in rib. T-bone, porterhouse and chateaubriand are also offered, but I think that the rib holds more fat, and more flavour than the fillet type cuts so is my favourite. The sauces and accompaniments also sounded pretty special, so anchovy hollandaise for me, bearnaise for Katie, chips, greens and grilled bone marrow were also winging their way to us. 

Our table was a total mountain of food by the time it came along, and the centerpiece was a skillet filled with glorious charred beef. We asked for our meat to be cooked medium-rare, and I must say that when we first saw it we both were concerned that it was quite underdone. This wasn’t an issue, we both love our meat rare, and when we had our first bite the meat, and our concerns literally melted away. This steak truly lived up to it’s reputation and is honestly the best steak I’ve ever had. The sheer charcoal barbecue flavour was incredible, I almost wanted to wrap some up in tissue to keep with me at all times so that I could always be reminded of the taste. Absolute brilliance. 

The bits on the side perfectly complimented the main event. Both sauces were smooth and tangy and the chips had had as much care in preparation as the meat. The interaction in serving and sharing the food on the table also helped in making the meal that bit more memorable. The only unfortunate revelation of the evening was my discovery that bone marrow isn’t really my cup of tea. I hadn’t tried it before and thought that if I would have it anywhere it would be here. When it came to the table it looked spectacular, huge bones sawn open full of golden caramelised marrow. I didn’t not like it exactly, I just didn’t find the jelly/fatty texture that pleasurable. I’m glad that I ordered it though, and the fact that I didn’t massively enjoy it was at no way the fault of Hawksmoor. I’ve a sly feeling that it may be a slow burner, and that I will end up liking it in the future, so I’ll definitely order it again. I’ve heard that the bone marrow and salsa verde served at the St John is terrific....

We were stuffed and very satisfied after the main, and only had room for some salted caramel ‘rolos’ and aperitifs, which were yet again sublime. 

As with any meal out, especially at this level, the experience and service are so important in making it memorable. The food can be amazing, but if there service is rude or non-existent then that’s what is mostly remembered. But on Saturday the service really made the meal. From minute one we were made so welcome by our waiter, who had the skill to be attentive without crowding. He also made great and honest wine recommendations, choosing a very reasonable bottle, and even offered to take the bone marrow off the bill when I joked that I hadn’t really enjoyed them (which of course I refused). It was the kind of service that all front of house should take note of, and the sort that leaves diners wanting to throw money at them.

We left overjoyed and with a paunch, and already planning how we can justify another visit.

Ballotine of quail with bacon infused polenta, crispy kale and girolles

Well this monday lunch was a bit of a challenge. When I started this blog it was just to write about the everyday things that I cooked, but it seems like I have unleashed an absolute monster. Now I find large chunks of my days off taken with making extravagant lunches, and the days in between mulling over what to do the next time. It’s funny to see how things have changed, but I do really enjoy it and I am definitely a better and more imaginative cook as a result of having to motivate myself every week. Having a weekly blog to write means that I have a deadline and drives away any laziness!

It also means that I have to try and vary things as much as possible. Pasta and fish are probably the foods that I love the most, but what would be the fun in writing about them every single week... Frankly, I dread to think how boring it would be to read too! 

I thought it was about time that I returned to poultry, probably the thing I cook the least outside of very simple day to day cooking. If I'm planning a special dinner then something like chicken is often one of the last things that I think of. So this week I have made a quail dish. Quail is something that I’ve never really cooked with before, but I had an idea in my head for a recipe using quail with polenta, mushrooms and kale so thought that it would be worth an experiment.

Boning a whole bird to use as a ballotine was something that I was worried about the most. I don’t think that my knife skills are too bad, but I’d never tried doing anything like this before. After doing a bit of research and watching some videos on youtube, when it came to it the process wasn’t too bad. Somehow I managed to bone the tiny quail without any ruptures on my first go, I just took my time and was very careful. I feel like this is a bit of a personal achievement; my dad often bones a whole duck for Christmas dinner and it’s always so impressive, now I feel like I can talk to him about how he does it.

Kale and girolles are bang in season and are great things to be eating at the moment. They’re so delicious fried quickly with a bit of butter or in hearty soups. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the quail: 

2 quails

2-3 chicken livers, sinew removed

1 bulb garlic

50g spinach leaves

1 tsp thyme leaves

5 thyme sprigs

1 knob butter

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

For the polenta:

50g quick cook polenta

400ml whole milk

1 shallot, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 rashers streaky bacon, cut into small pieces

5 sprigs of thyme

Salt and pepper

For the kale:

1 large handful kale leaves, shredded

1 large knob of butter

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the mushrooms:

15-20 girolles, brushed clean

1 garlic clove

1 knob of butter

Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

The quail carcasses

500ml good chicken stock

1 large glass dry white wine

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5 thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

2 knobs of butter

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC Fan. 

Start by preparing the quail. Break up the bulb of garlic but leave the skins on the cloves. Put into a small oven dish with the thyme sprigs, seasoning and a little olive oil. Mix well, cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cloves are soft and tender. Peel the garlic while still hot and mash up with a fork to a rough puree. Set aside to cool down. 

Heat up a medium saucepan to a medium heat and add the knob of butter. When melted drop in the spinach and seasoning, and cook for a couple of minutes until wilted down and tender. Allow to cool then squeeze out the moisture. 

While the garlic is cooking and the spinach is cooling down prepare the quail itself. Holding the quail breast side down on a chopping board, make an incision down the length of the bird. Very carefully follow the contours of one side of the carcass with the point of the knife, making sure that you don’t break the skin. This is quite tricky without practice so worth taking time over. Repeat on the other side until you are left with a clean carcass and one boneless piece of meat. Keep the bones for the sauce.

Lay the boned quail skin-side down on a board lined with cling film. Lay some of the cooked spinach leaves on top, then spread on some of the roasted garlic. Cut the chicken livers into long strips and arrange down the centre. Sprinkle over the thyme leaves and season well. Try not to over-fill, as this will make it likely to fall apart later on. Taking one end of the cling film, carefully roll the quail so that the filling is completely encased by the skin, then seal the cling film around the ballotine and tighten the ends. This package needs to be sealed enough to keep out any water when they are poached later. 

Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to the boil. When hot, drop in the quail packages and cook for 3 minutes before removing. Allow to cool in the cling film. This will help the quail stay in a sausage shape for the rest of the cooking process. You can secure the ballotines with string if they need it once unwrapped.  

To make the sauce, heat a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add the quail bones and cook until well browned on all sides. Add the shallot, garlic, thyme and bay and fry for another couple of minutes until softened. Pour in the white wine and reduce by half, then top up with the stock. Season well. Reduce right down until only about 150ml remains and the sauce has thickened a little. Strain into a small saucepan and allow to cool to finish later. 

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

While the oven is heating up make the polenta. Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the bacon, garlic, thyme, shallot and seasoning and simmer for a few minutes until the bacon is cooked. Turn off the heat, cover the pan with cling film and allow to infuse for about 20 minutes. 

Once the milk has infused, strain the milk - discarding the flavourings - and pour back into the pan. Bring to the boil. When hot, tip in the polenta and stir well for a couple of minutes until the polenta has expanded and is a wet, spoonable consistency. Taste, season and keep warm while you finish the dish.

Heat a medium frying pan with a large knob of butter and a tablespoon of oil to a medium-high heat. When frothing place the unwrapped and secured quail ballotines and fry for a couple of minutes each side until the skin is golden. Basting with the butter continuously will help achieve this. Remove from the pan, place on a lined baking tray and put in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until a skewer poked into the middle comes out hot. 

While the quail is cooking, reheat the quail frying pan and a separate medium pan on a medium heat, with a knob of butter in each. Add the garlic and girolles to the quail pan with some seasoning and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the kale to the other pan with seasoning and 1 tbsp of water and again cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly crispy.  

Heat up the sauce, then add the butter and whisk well to emulsify. Taste and season if needed. 

Reheat the polenta and adjust the seasoning. 

To serve, spoon some of the polenta into the middle of the plate and top with some of the kale. Slice each ballotine into three pieces and arrange on top of the kale, then place some of the girolles round the sides. Pour over some of the sauce and serve.

Raspberry and lemon thyme macarons

I think that after the last few recipes that I have written for this blog, it’s about time that I did a bit of baking again. Although I have really focussed on savoury food recently, baking is how I got into cooking in the first place and still is a real passion of mine. I just love the happiness that a cake or other baked good creates in people. Even those like me without a real sweet tooth often can’t resist a slice!

I bit off a little more than I could chew with this recipe though. I had been wanting to have a go at making macarons for quite a while, but being relatively out of practice and slightly blase about how tricky they might be, I found them a real challenge. In hindsight this is really no surprise; the immaculate macarons that appear in patisseries are perfected and laboured over for years before getting right - what sort of chance was I going to have on my first go!? My first effort was far from perfect, with the finished macarons a little cracked on top instead of that lovely flat glossy look. But practice makes perfect, and I will definitely try again.

For the base of this recipe I turned to Felicity Cloake’s ever useful Guardian column. It was reassuring to find that she also had problems with her efforts, and I was intimidated by the amount of flack that she received from the macaron police in the comment section. But as a guide or introduction to a dish I find columns like hers very helpful, and from there you can change ingredients to suit what you are making. 

Her original recipe is posted on the Guardian website here: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/may/17/how-to-cook-perfect-chocolate-macarons

Instead of the chocolate flavouring used by Felicity, I went for something a little different. I love using raspberries in desserts, especially where anything meringue based is concerned. A meringue topped with whipped cream and stewed raspberries is often the perfect end to a summery meal. To incorporate them in this recipe I thought that dehydrating them in a low oven and them powdering them would work. This would intensify the flavour of the berry, and at the same time remove the chances of liquid getting into the macaron mixture and destabilising the finished result. Lemon thyme works really well with berries in sweet dishes, and I left the leaves whole so that the odd leaf could be seen on the surface (back off you macaron purists!)... 

Despite the imperfections they went down a storm and were quickly devoured. Surely that’s what baking is really all about.

Makes about 20

Ingredients:

125g raspberries 

2 tbsp lemon thyme, leaves picked and left whole

130g ground almonds

170g icing sugar

150g egg whites

120g caster sugar

Pinch of salt

For the filling:

150ml double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

1 vanilla pod

125g raspberries

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 lemon, juice only

The night before baking, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and scatter 125g of the raspberries on top. Put into a low oven heated to 60-70ºC and leave overnight. In the morning the raspberries should be completely dried out. Tip the raspberries into a small food processor or coffee grinder and blitz until you have a fine powder. Add the thyme leaves and set aside.

Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof parchment. Using a pencil, draw 3cm circles a couple of centimeters apart (I used the top of a squash bottle for this). This will really help with the piping later. Set aside until needed later.

Sieve the almonds, icing sugar and raspberry powder together into a bowl and set aside.

Weigh out the egg whites and pour into a large bowl. Using an electric whisk, mix the egg whites until they reach soft peaks then slowly add the caster sugar, a little at a time. Whisk on a high power until the meringue goes shiny and thick and forms stiff peaks. To test this, you should be able to tip the bowl upside-down without the contents tipping out. 

Fold in the icing sugar, almonds, lemon thyme and raspberry to the meringue, then mix well to knock out a little of the air. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and carefully pipe inside the circle templates on the baking sheet. Try to keep the piped macarons as flat as possible, you don’t want little peaks rising from them. Once all the circles have been filled, drop the baking tray onto the surface from about 6” a couple of times, which will help knock the bubbles out. Leave to rest for between 45mins - 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 170ºC (Fan).

After the macarons have rested and formed a skin, carefully place in the oven for 17 minutes. Open the oven door a couple of times during this cooking time to help the steam escape. Once cooked, slide the macarons on the greaseproof paper onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. 

While the macarons are cooling make the filling. Put the remaining raspberries, the lemon juice and caster sugar into a small saucepan and cook on a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and a lot of the juices have escaped from the raspberries. Sieve the mixture into a bowl, pushing down on the raspberries with a spoon to get all of the liquid. 

Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and bubble away on a medium heat for a couple of minutes, until it thickens and forms a syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla pod and place in a medium bowl with the double cream and icing sugar. Whisk until soft peaks form, then fold in the cooled raspberry syrup.  Spoon into a piping bag.

Gently peel the cooled macaron halves from the baking sheet with a palette knife. Pipe a little of the filling mixture onto one half and sandwich carefully with the other. They will be quite crunchy if eaten straight away, but will become very soft, light and chewy if put in the fridge for a couple of hours. Devour at will.