Peas in a Pod

When I was a primary school we sang a lot. It remains a joke with those I see from school we all remember the various songs we were made to sing in assembly, and though many of them seem too religious for schools today they do not fail to make me laugh. One of my faves was a song about vegetables, yes you read that right, I have no clue what the song in question was called, I'm gonna call it Cauliflowers Fluffy as i'm having a total memory blank as of the actual title. The line that was stuck in my head goes something like 'the broad beans are sleeping in their blankety bed', it makes me nostalgic, it makes me hum incessantly and most of all it makes me bloody hungry...

So without further adieu here is my recipe for a very tasty summer salad.

You need broad beans, lots of broad beans (about 200gms shelled weight). It's an utter pain to prepare them, the podding and shelling takes a while but they are definitely worth it for the short period of the year they're available. So sit down put on some music and shell away.

You'll end up with something like this.

Boil the podded peas, and then take off the shell to be left with perfectly boiled, shelled, podded broad beans.

Now this really isn't a strict recipe, it's more of an assembly job.

Broad beans go so well with a lot of summery big flavours, chilli, mint, basil, chorizo, smashed as a base for some grilled fish.

For my dinner I had some creamy mozzarella in the fridge, some red chilli, and some delicious parma ham. Dressed with a tangy olive oil, lemon, sea salt and pepper dressing. Delish! Try it while you can.

While you're at it please youtube 'Cauliflowers fluffy' see if you remember it from school. I guarantee it'll be in your head for days.
 

Dreaming of Sunshine: Squid, Chillies & Garlic

So, it's supposed to be Spring right...?

All week I have been sitting and staring out of my window, and all I can see is grey, now we're being told it is the coldest March on record, like we couldn't tell. Add on some weather related travel dramas to my week and i'm about ready to scream, so in a pre-emptive strike I made what can only be described as pure Summer heaven on a plate. And, like magic it has not only brightened my mood but also reminded me that this time next week myself and my beautiful baby sister will be on a jet plane to spend some quality time relaxing in the gorgeous One&Only Cape Town.

So, to help you to bring some warmth to the end of your working week I present you with...

 Chilli & Garlic Squid and Olive Oil Potatoes. 

The recipe doesn't take many ingredients but boy does it pack a punch. 

What you'll need is:

4 Squid tubes, tentacles on if you can find them, or not for the more squeamish among you

500 grams of new potatoes

3 Garlic cloves

2 Red chillies

Half a red onion, finely sliced

Large handful of parsley

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

To start what I did was to concertina the squid, now this might look a bit bizarre and a little bit of a faff, but I promise you it makes for some great presentation without even trying and perfectly cooked squid that remains tender. Because I don't know about you but there are few things in this world that I hate more than rubbery squid, just don't do it!

That's my bossy boots moment done, for now...

Once the squid have been prepared I marinade them in a mix of grated garlic, finely chopped chillies (I use 2 but if you want it a little less fiery then you can adjust it to taste) a slug of olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and a teaspoon of hot paprika, just to add some colour.

This can be done in the morning and left until the evening to enhance the flavour or a good hour or two will do the trick.

For the potatoes next I boiled them until just a little overcooked, again bear with me here. About 20-25 minutes in salted water. Then once done drain and add to a hot frying pan in a mix of olive oil and a knob of butter. Let the potatoes catch and turn a delicious golden brown, then add in the finely sliced red onion and let that caramelize too. Then turn the golden mix onto a plate.

Next up the squid. Add a little more olive oil if needed and take the marinated squid and add to the hot pan, cook it quickly and at a high heat along with the marinade. Once these are bronzed return the potatoes and onions to the pan to warm through, add the chopped parsley (as much as you want) and a spritz of lemon for  freshness. 

I like to finish it off with a drizzle of balsamic.

What you're left with is a reminder of the  Mediterranean, hot, spicy and fresh. You can almost hear the sound of the sea. Ideal served with a cold class of white riojas  or a crisp dry sherry.
Just what we all need to remind us Spring is coming. 

For The Love of Pastry

I have a confession...

It's not pretty but it's true.

I love pastry.

I would eat pastry anywhichway anywhictime my addiction goes that deep. On the scale of 'sexy' foods this would be the food equivalent of a builder in his lowest jeans, however who can honestly say that a meal has not been improved by the sight of something draped in pastry- shortcrust, puff, rough puff we can all agree its buttery richness can only ever add to the overall success of any given food.

With this in mind today you're all in for a treat because yesterday I made a cracking batch of Stilton Sausage Rolls, sinfully simple to make and here's how:

Chop some leeks and fry very slowly in oil, 10 mins ought to do it

Whilst these are cooling down take 6 of the best bangers you can find, preferably with a high meat content to really make these sausage rolls sing.

Remove them from the skins and put in a bowl with the cooled leeks, season as much or as little as you like with salt, pepper and some picked thyme leaves.

Then rolls some all butter puff-pastry into a rectangle roughly 25x30cm but no need to be exactly precise. Cut in half horizontally then in half vertically and you'll be left with 4 identical rectangles.

Roll your cooled sausage and leek mixture into four equal size sausage shapes, its messy work but someones got to do it, and place down the centre of your pastry. Crumble some Stilton roughly and sprinkle liberally over the top (125g in total should do the trick).

Paint some egg wash down the length of one side of pasty and join the two ends together, ensuring that you press together the edges. Leave to rest in the fridge for 15 minutes, whilst you bribe someone else to do the washing up!

When these have firmed up a bit bring them out of the fridge and cut each roll into 5, this will leave you with perfect mouth-sized morsels. Egg wash the top for that lovely golden brown shine and place in a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees.

Leave them for 20 minutes in the oven. Once golden on top and crispy leave to cool for 5 minutes, if you can bear it, and then enjoy warm in whatever way you want. I think these would be lovely with some piccalilli, a fiery rocket salad or just scoffed from the wire cooling racks.

And remember if there are an odd number of rolls... its chefs perks to even them out.

These little babies may not win any beauty pageants but I'd be willing to wager they will definitely make someones belly a little happier.