Eats #17: Crunch!
Ingredients: [Lemon Salt] zest of a lemon, 4 tablespoons sea salt. [Other] sun flower oil, 800g potatoes, few sprigs fresh rosemary.
Difficulty: 1/5
Rating: 4.5/5
Make the lemon salt by crushing the zest of a lemon and 4 tablespoons of sea salt in a pestle and mortar until fine and slightly coloured.
Prepare the potatoes by removing the top and bottom of the potato - giving you a sturdy surface to work with. Slice the potato into thin slices and then into match sticks and place on kitchen roll to remove excess water and starch.
Heat some vegetable oil in a pan until hot and add the matchsticks. Cook until almost done then add the rosemary leaves and cook for a further 30 seconds. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen roll.
Once drained sprinkle with lemon salt to taste and serve!
Review
I really enjoyed this recipe. The matchsticks were tasty and really crunchy and the lemon salt was a really nice surprise. The recipe quantities meant left over lemon salt which I’ve used since and works surprisingly well with fried foods - perhaps the citrus bites through the oil, who knows.
I’d definitely give this recipe a go in the future although I’m not overly keen on cooking with large quantities of hot oil… perhaps it’s time to by a deep fat fryer!
Eats #16: Zingy Steak…
Ingredients: [Oregano oil] small bunch fresh dried oregano, sea salt, juice 1/2 lemon 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. [Other] 2 handfuls podded frozen peas, handful podded broad beans, 75ml extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, small bunch mint, juice 1/2 lemon, 2 tuna steaks.
Note: I reduced the ingredients by half to serve 2 people.
Difficulty: 1/5
Rating: 4.5/5
Make the oregano oil by bashing the oregano and sea salt in a pestle and mortar before adding the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
In a large bowl prepare the dressing for the peas/beans by mixing the extra virgin olive oil, pinch of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and the roughly chopped mint leaves (leave a few back for dressing).
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the peas for 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Repeat with the broad beans, drain and leave to cool. When cool remove the skins from the broad beans and discard. Add the peas and the beans to the dressing and mix thoroughly.
Season the tuna steaks with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper then drizzle with some of the oregano oil and cook to preference. Flake the steaks into large chunks and mix with the remaining oregano oil and mint leaves. Serve the tuna flakes on a bed of the peas/beans and enjoy!
Summary
This was the first time I’ve prepared, cooked or eaten tuna steak. The texture and flavour of the tuna was deliciously and it’s nothing like it’s tinned counter parts. The peas and broad beans were soft and perfectly cooked and the mint and lemon oil gave it a lovely zing.
The tuna worked really well with the oregano and the flakes were moist and tasty.
This was a relatively easy dish to prepare and the taste was amazing - this is definitely one I’ll be trying again and again!
Eats #15: Salty & Sweet
Ingredients: 6 leeks, 2 gloves garlic, small bunch fresh thyme, 1/2 glass wine, 1/4 pint chicken stock, 8 rashers smoked streaky bacon.
Note: I reduced the ingredients by half to serve 2 people.
Difficulty: 1/5
Rating: 1/5
Grease a baking dish with butter and cut the leeks (keeping back some of the green leaves) into approx 5cm pieces to fit the height of the dish.
Fry the sliced green leaves with the garlic and thyme in butter and olive oil until soft and use to line the base of your dish.
Stand the leeks upright in the dish and pour over the wine and chicken stock. Lay the rashers of bacon over the leeks until covered. Use some softened (with water) baking parchment and tinfoil to cover the leeks and cook for 1 hour.
Remove the tinfoil and baking parchment and cook for a further 20 minutes until the bacon is crisp and the leeks tender - serve!
Summary
This was an easy to cook recipe that was reasonably tasty (with a few tweaks) but lacked the pow or excitement of some of my previous recipes. In comparison to my cabbage and bacon recipe this was just a little disappointing.
The leeks were sweet and tender on the inside but a little tough and chewy on the outside. I’m not sure this was the fault of the recipe though as I decided not to remove the outer layers of the leeks (as I’d bought pre-cut and washed leeks) which was probably my mistake.
The bacon went really well with the leeks but again I think I overlapped the bacon too much so it didn’t crisp up as much as it probably should.
I do however think the sauce was tasty and delicious and would of been really nice finished off with some cream or crème fraiche.
If I try this recipe again (which isn’t likely) I’ll make sure I execute things differently.
Eats #13: Surprisingly Yummy Cabbage!
Ingredients: 1/2 pint chicken stock, 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, 1/4 handful fresh thyme, 1/2 white cabbage, knob butter, olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper.
Note: I reduced the ingredients by half to serve 2 people.
Difficulty: 1/5
Rating: 4/5
Thinly slice the cabbage and pick the thyme leaves. Add the chicken stock, thyme and bacon to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Sprinkle in the cabbage and cover with a lid and boil furiously for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the stock has reduced and the cabbage is cooked. Take off the heat and stir in a knob of butter and drizzle with olive oil and serve.
Summary
There’s not a great deal I can say about this recipe other than it was delicious. Very simple to make and a great way of enhancing what’s usually a boring vegetable.
The cabbage was cooked perfectly with a hint of thyme and the bacon gave the cabbage a lovely saltiness and deep flavour. A great dish… so good I’m cooking it again tonight!
Eats #7: Cauliflower Cover Up
Ingredients: head of cauliflower, sea salt, olive oil, knob of butter, 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, 1-2 dried chillies, handful blanched almonds, lemon.
Difficulty: 1/5
Rating: 1/5
This weeks last weeks recipe was “Roasted cauliflower with cumin, coriander and almonds” (page 342, Cook with Jamie)
Remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower and cut into florets - pop into boiling salted water for a few minutes, drain and allow to steam dry.
Crush the cumin and coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar, add the chili, almonds and a pinch of salt. Heat a dry pan until hot and pour in the spice mixture and toast for a few minutes. Toss the cauliflower in olive oil and a knob of butter and add to the pan, fry until slightly golden and add the zest and juice of a lemon.
Roast in the oven for 15 minutes and you’re done.
Summary
What can I say about last weeks recipe… Not a lot to be honest! It was always going to be a challenge to make what’s essentially a boring vegetable exciting and this recipe failed to wow my taste buds.
The chili, lemon, cumin and coriander gave the cauliflower an extra dimension in terms of flavour but the combination was a little odd for my liking. The lemon was too tangy and dominated the other flavours and the almonds gave each mouthful a weird texture.
I have to admit that there were a couple of diversions from the recipe - I used fresh chili instead of dried and I could only find almond flakes instead of whole almonds but I don’t think either would of changed the outcome.
Perhaps nothing could make cauliflower exciting for me or perhaps the recipe just isn’t to my liking… one things for sure, I won’t be cooking this dish again in a hurry.
