Chicken, mushrooms persillade and potato puree

Nice main course to follow a salad of some kind.

Serves 2

For the chicken:

2 skin-on chicken breast fillets
Vegetable oil
Salt
Pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

Pre-heat the oven to 175C.  Marinate the chicken briefly in the other ingredients as it comes to room temperature.  Place a small roasting tin over a flame until hot.  Pour in a tablespoon of oil then lay in the breasts skin side down.  Leave for a good 7 minutes for the skin to crisp.  Turn over, season, and place in the oven for 7 minutes.  Remove to a board to rest for a further 4 minutes (timings all approximate).  Cut each fillet into slices on the board.  Doing this skin side down is easier.

Spoon all but around 1tbsp of fat from the tray.  Add a splash of water, some salt and pepper and another squeeze of lemon juice then after plating up everything else simmer hard over a hob to reduce to a small amount of sauce.

For the mushrooms:

1 tbsp. olive oil
10g butter
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp. finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Squeeze of lemon
Oyster mushrooms (or wild mushrooms of any kind)
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in the olive oil in a frying pan.  Wash and dry the mushrooms.  Place in the pan and sauté over a medium heat with a pinch of salt until their liquid is reabsorbed and they are just tender but not firm.

To make the persillade, wash and shake dry the parsley and pick the leaves off the stem.  Chop finely.  Cut the stem end off the garlic clove.  Crush lightly for a first time so the skin can be removed.  Half the clove lengthways and remove any green sprout inside - there may be none.  Then crush again fully, which will make it easier to chop.  Finally chop both parsley and garlic together.

Again, when everything is ready toss the mushrooms in the persillade over the heat for less than a minute, add a squeeze of lemon juice and some black pepper, and serve.

Potato puree:

Think I've given this before but here it is again!

Wash, peel and dice potatoes into 2cm cubes.  Boil thoroughly in salted water for 15 minutes.  Drain, return to the heat to drive away moisture, then mash when dry like this.

In a small pan place some full fat milk, butter, a skin-on fully crushed garlic clove and seasoning to taste including heavy amounts of (preferably) white pepper.  Warm this through to melt the butter and infuse with the garlic flavour.

Having removed the garlic from the liquid, add the liquid to the mash in stages until the right consistency is reached, mashing further after each stage and finally beating with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.  Taste for salt as this will make a big difference.

How to cook fish pie

I could be completely wrong here, but I think if you put raw fish pieces in the base of a pie dish, cover with sauce, top with mashed potato and cook it, then some liquid may find its way out of the fish and you will end up with a pie whose sauce is a little inconsistent.  But then of course, the key to cooking fish well is to not over-cook it.  So in the below recipe, where basically the fish is poached in milk before that milk is turned into your sauce, one trick is to keep the poaching brief.  It also means you don't have to worry about fish stock.

To poach the fish:

Mixed fish pieces
Whole milk to cover
1 bay leaf
4 peppercorns
2 allspice berries
2 cloves

Other pie contents (suggested):

1 leek, halved vertically then sliced and washed
1 carrot, peeled, quartered lengthways, chopped and simmered until tender
Some button mushrooms or quartered ordinary mushrooms.  Sauteed in butter until their liquid is reabsorbed.
Halved hard boiled eggs (Cover eggs with cold water, bring to a simmer, simmer for 4 minutes, leave for a further 3 minutes in the pan then drain and rinse with cold water.)

To make the sauce:

30g of butter and 20g of plain flour per 400ml of milk (see below)
White pepper
Lemon juice

To top:

Stiff mashed potato, melted butter

Preparation:

Assemble the poaching ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring just to a simmer quite quickly then pour into a colander over a bowl.  Pick out anything other than fish from the colander.  Pour the milk from the bowl into a measuring jug so you know how much butter and flour to use, but place the colander back into the bowl to catch any further juices to use as well.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan then add the flour.  Whisk over a low heat for 1-2 minutes as it bubbles.  This is called 'cooking out' a roux.  For some recipes, though less so in cookery these days I believe, you aim to keep cooking a roux it until it darkens in colour to the degree desired and becomes nutty in smell.  Here any darkening or nuttyness is to be avoided, so keep the heat low.  Though if you don't cook it enough the sauce will be floury.  Enough said!  Add the milk 1/3 at a time, whisking and heating after each addition until thick.  Once all is added, simmer for 2 minutes and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice to your taste.

Assemble the pie contents in a nice dish.  Pour over enough sauce to cover then use a spatula or spoon to just make sure the sauce is distributed around and under things.  Use a serving spoon to lay out large blobs of mashed potato on the surface, then use a large fork to flatten them down and into each other, and create a rough surface.  Finally use a spoon to cover some or most of the surface with melted butter.

Bake for 30 minutes at 210C, turning around after 15 minutes if necessary, and rest for 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Pan-fried rosemary and garlic potatoes

I had this with a marinated leg of lamb steak and jolly nice it was too.

Waxy or firm potatoes
Vegetable, sunflower or groundnut oil
Garlic
Rosemary
Salt and pepper

Cut the potatoes into 2cm cubes or other shapes, peeled or not as you desire.  Do wash the potatoes first though.

Blanch them for 1 minute (boiling time) in salted water.  Drain.  Wash with cold water then dry in a tea towel.

Heat a 3mm film of oil in a heavy-based frying pan to smoking point.  It needs to be very hot because when you add the potatoes the temperature will drop.  Fry the potatoes at a steady pace, in batches if required, until nicely crisp and cooked through.  It should take around 15 minutes.  To test just remove one to a board, leave for 30 seconds to cool and taste it.

Remove the potatoes to a bowl with a slotted spoon.  Pour the oil into another bowl to cool before throwing away.

When everything else is ready return the potatoes to the pan along with the garlic and rosemary, both very finely chopped, season, and toss for less than a minute over a gentle heat before serving.

Cod baked with fennel, tomatoes and potatoes

Serves 1 but easily scaled up.  You'll need a big tray even for 2 people.

1 portion cod, skin on, bones pulled out
1 large tomato, stem base cut out and quartered
3 cooked new potatoes, halved lengthways
1/2 bulb fennel, base trimmed but leaving enough to keep parts together, halved again into quarters
3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled but lightly crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Blanch the fennel for 3 minutes in salted water until tender but still firm.  Drain and leave in the colander briefly for the steam to escape.

Place everything except the parsley in a tray.  Mix around and season generously.  Leave the fish skin side up as it will crisp nicely during cooking.

Bake for 40 minutes at 175C.  At 15 minute intervals use a spoon to spoon the oil and juices over everything.

Remove from oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.  Then throw in the parsley and mix around again to coat the contents with the juices and parsley, being careful not to crush the fish or tomatoes too badly.

No tomato this time

Roast chicken and new potato purée

Roast chicken and new potato puree

The idea here was to make a really simple plate of food.

1.3kg free range chicken
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
Generous sprigs of thyme
1 glass dry white wine
Scant juice 1/2 lemon
Olive oil
Butter
Salt and pepper

Bring the bird up to room temperature in advance.  I didn't untruss it but I did wash it, dry it and cut off excess fat with scissors.

Place the bird in the tray you are going to roast it in.  Pour on some olive oil then season well with salt and corsely ground pepper.  Use your hands to roll it in the tray and smother around the seasoning.

Roast for 15 minutes at 200C.  Remove, add a knob of butter to the tray.  When it's melted baste the bird with the mixture of fats simply with a spoon, spoon some fat into the bird's cavity, then spoon off excess fat from the tray.  Add the wine to the tray then throw in the garlic cloves and thyme, possibly tucking it under the chicken a little.

Roast for a further 30 minutes at 175C, basting half way again and possibly turning the tray around in the oven to ensure even browning of the skin.  Turn the heat down to 160C for a final 15 minutes and check for done-ness by prodding the thigh with a skewer or carving fork, to feel if it's tender and see if the juices run clear.

Remove the bird to a plate to rest for ten minutes.  You don't need to cover it with foil and you don't want the steam to gather on the skin really either.

Tilt the tray and spoon off all but around 2 tablespoons of the fat.  You can use this in dressing the salad if you are serving one beforehand (google Daniel Rose I thank him for that tip!).  Add the lemon juice and extra salt and pepper to the tray then place over a hob to simmer briefly and scrape together the juices.  This actually doesn't take long at all so you might as well do it at the last minute when the chicken is carved.  Or you can always add a tablespoon of water if it's over-reduced.  If serving the gravy in an open jug it's nice to use a spoon to help serve out semi-mixed fat and juices.

I served with a new potato puree which didn't quite work I think because I didn't scrape them well enough! But the recipe is available here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/spuds-you-like-1092310.html

Bubble and squeak featuring mashed potato

Sprouts are still in season.  For advice on cooking them see the Christmas cooking tips blog.  But sprout tops, those leaves at the top of whole stems of brussel sprouts, were the reason I made bubble and squeak on Boxing Day last year.  They are absolutely delicious, but you could substitute savoy cabbage.

Bubble and Squeak

1 large shallot, sliced finely lenthwise
Some sprout tops, washed and sliced into 1cm shreds
1 carrot, peeled and diced (quarter lengthways then slice into 5mm quarter-rounds)
Pinch dried herbs
Olive oil
Some mashed potato, not too loose.  Add in any leftover roast potatoes.
Well seasoned flour on a plate

For the mashed potato, peel the potatoes (Maris Pipers are great), cut into 2cm dice then boil until well cooked in heavily salted water.  Drain.  Return to the pan and place on the heat.  Shake to drive off the moisture.  Mash at this stage, with the saucepan on a board.  In another small saucepan, heat some butter, milk, cream and seasoning.  If you like add a garlic clove, unpeeled but flattened, to this pan for flavour.  Add as much liquid to the mash as required and beat with a wooden spoon for a few minutes.

Simmer the carrot pieces for a few minutes, or use leftover carrot.

In a medium saucepan, sweat the shallot in some olive oil until translucent.  Add the pinch of herbs, season and cook for another minute.  Add the shredded sprout tops, a couple of spoons of the carrot water, stir well, cover and sweat/steam for a few minutes to wilt the sprout tops.  Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly and add the carrot and mash to the saucepan.  Season again if needed and mix.

Shape into decent sized round patties, dredge on both sides with the seasoned flour on the plate, and cook over a medium heat until well crusted, using plenty of butter.  Or potentially lard...

Tartiflette Savoyarde

Reblochon is quite an expensive cheese.  Probably because it tastes so good.

Other than clarifying that you should use waxy potatoes, I really can't improve on the brilliant recipe in the link below.

Tartiflette Savoyarde

Potato Dauphinoise

I think one of the best varieties for dauphinoise might be just plain or 'versatile' white potatoes, whatever variety that is.  Floury varieties like Desiree or Maris Piper can work fine but if baked too long they will go fluffy.  This is particularly a hazard if you are going for a more rustic, thick sliced option, which I would commend.  I have actually challenged the British Potato Council to find the perfect potato for dauphinoise however in the meantime...

The trick in this recipe is heating everything through in a saucepan before baking.  It just works better that way.  You have to get the hang of adding the right amount of potato to the liquid in the saucepan so they will be just covered when packed down into a gratin dish that is a different shape.

Potato dauphinoise

250ml double cream
250ml milk
1 garlic clove, grated
salt
white pepper
butter
Potatoes, peeled and sliced very thinly across the widest part of the potato.  Cut off a flat surface to stabilise against a board before slicing at right angles to that.  Washing or blanching them is not neccessary.

Add the first five ingredients to a roomy saucepan.  Simmer gently for 5 minutes.  Add the potatoes, mix well so all surfaces are coated, warm through, then tip into a buttered gratin dish.  Make a nice surface with some larger slices and pack everything down.  Dot with butter and bake for 30minutes in a hot oven, say 210C.

Let me know what you think of the blog, comments welcome!

Poached skate wing with Lyonnaise potatoes and aioli

Here is another fantastic recipe for new potatoes, or any waxy potato.  Maris peer or rattes work well.  It makes a delicious accompaniment to fish, particularly with a pungent aioli to offset the sweet melted onions.  Colouring the potatoes in batches will actually help reduce the cooking time.

Lyonnaise potatoes

New or waxy potatoes, olive oil, butter, onion, garlic, finely chopped parsley

Peel and halve onions vertically, then slice across the grain very finely.  Melt butter in a large, heavy based pan, preferably that you have a lid for.  Salt and sweat the onions, stirring regularly, until melted and gilded light brown.  Remove.  Slice potatoes to the thickness of a £1 coin, or as thick as you wish depending on variety.  There is no need to peel them.  Blanch them for 30 seconds (boiling time) in salted boiling water, drain, dry in a tea-towel then brown in batches over a moderate heat in olive oil and more butter in the same pan.  Return the onions and all the potatoes to the pan with chopped garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Cook covered over a low heat or in the oven, adding water if you are worried about catching, for 30 minutes or until tender.  Finish with chopped parsley.

Poached skate wing with aioli

Skate wings have a very unpromising appearance but are fantastic value and eating the meat off the wing couldn’t be easier.  To serve with Lyonnaise potatoes.

Cut the top and bottom off a lemon, place on one end and remove the bitter pith in curved cuts with a sharp knife.  Slice the lemon and place in a casserole with sufficient cold water to cover the fish, with a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of peppercorns.  Lay in the skate wings and bring up to a nearly-boil, removing from the heat and allowing the fish to finish cooking in the liquid for 5 minutes.

For the aioli, I like to use half extra virgin olive oil and half flavourless oil such as sunflower, lemon juice and grated lemon rind, salt, white pepper and grated garlic.  It’s absolutely crucial to taste for balance of lemon acidity with saltiness, and pungency of garlic.  Don’t be afraid to make bold adjustments of flavour.  

The technique is the same as mayonnaise: put 2 egg yolks in a bowl with all other ingredients except the oil.  Whisk until lightened in colour and slightly thickened; a damp cloth under the bowl will help.  Add oil drop by drop at first while whisking, then in a thin stream until thick.  Taste and adjust.