Pan Fried Duck Breast with a Green Bean and New Potato Salad

It's started to get a bit warmer now (finally!) and with that comes the salad season where a delightful salad will suffice without needing to delve into heavier foods to keep warm throughout the winter. We came by some succulent duck breasts and we wanted to keep it simple without over complicating the dish. What better way to serve a duck breast than to pan fry it, ensuring a perfectly crisp skin and blushing pink centre? We were very loosely inspired by salad niçoise, which eventually turned into something nothing like the inspirational dish at all... anyhow this is what we ended up with and it was delicious.

Pan Fried Duck Breast with a Green Bean and New Potato Salad 

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 small duck breasts, skin on
10 small new potatoes
a handful of green beans
2 eggs
a good bunch of mixed salad leaves
butter
salt and pepper


Method

1. Boil or steam the potatoes until tender and hard boil your eggs (approx 7 minutes). Drain and cool the eggs under cold water and peel the shell off. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile score the skin of the duck breasts and season with salt and pepper. Place them skin side down into a cold frying pan (see Note). Turn the heat on. Cook the breast most of the time on the skin side and flip to seal the other side and cook to your preference. We cooked ours to medium-rare, blushing pink in the centre (roughly 7-8 minutes - this obviously depends on the size of your duck breasts. It is a bit like cooking a steak and feeling for when they are ready - have some confidence and get in touch with your food - never rely on timings from anyone! Prod, touch, poke - just get to know how to gauge your cooking times). Remove from the pan and set aside to rest.

3. Whilst the breasts are resting, boil some beans for about 4-5 minutes to ensure they don't squeak when you eat them! In the same pan you used for the duck breasts melt a knob of butter and pour in the drained beans and potatoes, season with a little salt and pepper to taste and toss to dress them.

4. Dress your plates with a nice bed of your favourite salad leaves and decorate with your beans and potatoes. Slice your breasts into diagonal slices and cut your eggs into wedges. Place on top of your salad as you desire and drizzle with the juices from the frying pan or a little olive oil if that takes your fancy.

Enjoy!

Note: Bringing the pan up from cold is important to ensure the fat is rendered from underneath the skin, making it perfectly crispy. If you place your duck into a searingly hot pan, it crisps the skin without rendering any of the fat which can be unpleasant when you have a thick white layer of fat under the skin when served.

Chorizo Stew

Pulses are one of the most satisfying and comforting ingredients to cook and eat. What could be better on a cold evening than a lovely hot bowl of stew flecked with chickpeas or cannellini beans? Couple this with the wonderful aroma of fresh rosemary and the intensity of chorizo and you really have something. There is little else to say about this dish: it really is just an amalgamation of some delicious ingredients to create a heartwarming supper. The recipe as you see it below comes directly from my kitchen scrapbook notes that I scribbled out whilst happily creating the final dish, a little snapshot into our kitchen antics.

Chorizo Stew

Serves 2 with leftovers

Ingredients

2 shallots, 1 finely chopped and 1 sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 pepper, sliced into long strips
200 g raw chorizo sausage, diced
a generous splash of red wine
1 tsp finely chopped parsley stalks 

1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 tsp hot smoked paprika

pinch of cinnamon

1 tsp tomato purée
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
chopped parsley
salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar
oil

Notes: Use any colour pepper you like, I used an orange one as that's what I had in the fridge at the time. The chopped parsley stalks are optional but I used them because I had them and didn't want them to go to waste. Feel free to substitute any of your favourite beans for the chickpeas - cannellini or butter beans would be excellent.

Method

1. Heat a large frying pan and dry-fry the chorizo until it has lightly coloured and given up some of its oils. Remove and set aside.

2. Add a splash of olive or rapeseed oil along with the diced shallot and a pinch of salt. Soften the shallots for a couple of minutes before adding the garlic, remaining shallots, peppers and parsley stalks if using. Keep cooking over a medium heat for around 5 minutes until soft.

3. Add back the chorizo with the hot smoked paprika and a pinch of cinnamon and fry for 1 minute.

4. Splash in some red wine (say about 60 ml or 1/4 cup) along with the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs and cook until the wine has reduced down.

5. Add the chickpeas, chopped tomatoes and tomato purée. Fill the empty tomato can with water, capturing any remaining tomato juice and add to the pan. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a good pinch of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Bring to the boil then simmer over a low heat until the vegetables soften and the flavours develop and mingle.

6. Once cooked, finish with fresh parsley and serve with cous cous, bulgur wheat or crusty bread.

Sasha

Making Pasta...

Making pasta... is possibly one of life's most satisfying skills that any foodie must acquire in the kitchen... The simple combination of two ingredients, flour and eggs is transformed into the most versatile ingredient that can be used for a simple dish such as this... to filled ravioli...

The flour used to make pasta is special, it's a Type or Tipo '00' grade flour which is extremely fine, high gluten flour. Fresh pasta is made with eggs which makes it more tender than dried and it takes less than half the time to cook. 

This post is designed to give a step by step guide to the simple process to produce a fine product which can be used in your cooking. You can choose to use a variety of flours to alter the texture and utilise other ingredients such as spinach, beetroot or squid ink to make things a bit more interesting.

There is no recipe for this or list of ingredients, the simple rule of pasta is that you use 1 egg per 100 g of flour, if the mixture is a little dry add a little bit of water. The key behind pasta making is to play with it and learn it, by doing. You feel when the dough has been worked enough to make it smooth therefore it's ready, allow to rest, then go and be inventive at what you choose to put with it! We hope this is easier to follow than the recipe we posted previously, so you can see the process from start to finish. 

1. Pour flour onto a sturdy surface, make a well, crack an egg into it.
2. Beat your egg with your fingers and bring the flour in from the edges to combine
3 & 4. The pasta will slowly come together as you work it

5-8. Work until fully combined and smooth, chill for at least 15 minutes.

9. Flatten with your palm until about 1 cm thick.
10. Feed through your pasta machine on the thickest setting (1) or use a rolling pin if you don't have a machine.

11. Lay your oblong of pasta out ensuring it is floured nicely. This next step is laminating.
12. Fold in the right side a third of the way in.
13. Fold the left side in a third over the top of the other fold. (3 layers)
14. Twist 90 degrees and press flat.

15. Feed into your machine still on thickest setting, open edge first. 

16. Repeat 12 and 13 to get 3 layers again.

17. Flour to ensure the pasta doesn't stick in your machine

18. Repeat steps 14 and 15. Roll twice through this setting.

19-20. Work your pasta sheet through each of the settings ensuring you flour your pasta between each rolling until you reach the thickness you desire.

  

Vietnamese Pho Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup

Having been to Vietnam, I've tasted the crème de la crème of phos (Vietnamese: phở pronounced [fəː˧˩˧] listen). It is a classic street dish which I ate regularly whilst on my travels there, even for breakfast. It was a complete delight, consisting of rice noodles, broth, vegetables and meat. There were plenty of variants; it depended on the chef, but the purists would claim it has to consist of white rice noodles (the dishes I ate were made with a thinner version of shahe fen), a clear beef broth, finely sliced beef and a few herbs. I've seen the Vietnamese create this dish by placing all the raw ingredients into the bowl and pouring the scorching hot broth over, which essentially cooks the finely sliced raw meat and blanches any vegetables ensuring pure fresh components to the dish without overcooking, an incredible experience which will stay with me forever. If you ever get out to Vietnam, it would be a crime to leave the country without eating a bowl of pho.

This dish is inspired by what I ate, but I will say now I do not believe it is Vietnamese, it is just a take on the variations I ate on my travels with what ingredients I had on the day I made it - it varies each time I make it. This recipe can be adjusted to whatever you have in the fridge, or prefer, it is possibly for want of a better way to describe it the best chicken noodle soup you could ever have if you were also nursing a cold.

Vietnamese Pho Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 2 (easily increased)

Ingredients

1 litre of homemade chicken stock
2 nests of noodles - egg is used above, rice if you have it
1 large chicken breast - sliced into thin strips
1 red chilli - finely grated and a few slices for garnish
2 large garlic cloves - finely grated
1 tbsp fresh ginger - finely grated
zest and juice of 1/2 a lime
2 spring onions - julienned
6 pak choi leaves - split into sizable pieces (can substitute with little gem or cos lettuce leaves)
2 eggs
1 tbsp groundnut oil

Note - Experimentation! Give everything a go! You can use a variety of vegetables to bulk this out if you wish; finely sliced carrots, mange tout, sugar snap peas etc, the eggs can be optional, adapt the main ingredients to what you enjoy/have, though you must have the noodles, chilli, garlic and ginger. You can also omit the meat altogether and use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian. Read through the recipe first and it is best to prepare everything before cooking because it comes together very quickly, not really time to prep and cook at same time. 

Method

1. Heat your stock until hot but don't boil it. Marinate your chicken strips in the chilli, garlic, ginger, lime zest and juice. Meanwhile prepare your vegetables and whisk your eggs in a mug and season well.

2. Heat a wok very hot, add your groundnut oil and fry your chicken strips quickly, they will be cooked through in less than a minute (you will be pouring scorching hot stock over them later which will definitely cook them through more if you are worried - what you don't want is tough dry chicken). Once fried set aside.

3. Cook your noodles following package instructions. Meanwhile, fry your vegetables for 30-60 seconds and set aside.

4. Add your whisked egg to the wok and tilt around to make an "omelette" shape, cook through and then chop up with your spatula to make large chunky scrambled eggs. Basically you don't want tiny bits of egg, you're aiming for big chunks/strips. Set aside.

5. Place all your ingredients back into the wok and toss together to evenly distribute them within the noodles. Serve evenly into bowls and pour your scorching hot stock over it all, garnish with julienned spring onion and fresh chilli slices.

Enjoy experimenting!

Jacob

Homemade Fettuccine with a Basil and Pistachio Pesto

Since we recently came by a pasta machine we have been practicing our pasta-making skills and we're really getting a great hang of it now. Such a simple combination as flour and eggs and the use of your own hands makes you never want to have shop-bought dried pasta again! Why would you when it's so simple to make and it transforms a dish from standard to incredible? We've personally never really been fussed with pasta dishes, finding them a bit boring. However, having dabbled at making our own pasta in the past it opened our eyes to the difference in taste and flavour available and what we had been missing out on.

Here is a simple delicate but impressive dish which will leave you satisfied but dying for more. A slight twist on the usual pesto we chose to use toasted pistachio nuts which adds such a definitive texture and taste you will be impressed. We must also add, that as pesto is so simple to make, it is pretty much sacrilege to get shop-bought which has no texture and lacks the intense freshness of making your own. You will not ever regret making your own pesto and this dish is testament to that - in fact to making as much as you can from scratch. So here we present a recipe which is completely from scratch and will make your taste buds dance with delight.

In retrospect it would have been logical to take photos of the pasta making process, it is not as complicated as it seems below. Watch this space - there will be a step by step pasta making post soon. 

Homemade Fettuccine with a Basil and Pistachio Pesto
 
Serves 2

Ingredients

For the pasta
200 g Tipo '00' pasta grade flour
2 large eggs

For the pesto
60 g fresh basil
30 g shelled pistachio nuts (toasted in a frying pan)
30 g mature cheddar cheese (such as Davidstow)
1 garlic clove
125 ml extra virgin oil

Method

1. Pour the flour onto a solid work top surface and make a well in the centre. Crack your eggs into the centre and then using two fingers mix the eggs together with the flour working from the centre to the outside, working together until you have a soft dough. If it is a little dry add a few drops of water to help you along. Flatten your dough ball into a rectangular shape with your palm, wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile make your pesto by blitzing the garlic clove and cheddar together in a food processor with the toasted pistachio nuts. Add your basil and blitz, then pour in your oil and combine with a few pulses. If you need a little more oil to loosen it, do so. Season to taste, if required.

3. If you don't have a pasta machine, you can still do this, it will just take a little longer and you might not get it to the desired thickness before giving up. Same thing applies for both ways, first you need to laminate your pasta by rolling it out to a oblong shape using the thickest setting on the machine (1). Fold a third of your oblong in onto itself from the right side then the other end over the folded section so you get a 3 layered square, press gently together and twist 90 degrees and roll through the machine, open edge first. Another oblong will be formed, repeat the above to laminate a second time.

4. Once laminated, ensuring pasta is floured between each rolling setting, work down the settings until you reach the desired thickness. We felt that the thinnest setting for fettuccine was too thin (best for filled pasta we reckon) and that setting 8 was sufficient for this recipe. You may want to cut your pasta into manageable pieces to feed through your machine unless you want monster long pasta.

5. Attach your cutter and use the fettuccine roller to slice your well-floured pasta into strips and flour your pasta again after cutting to keep the strips separate.

6. Bring a large pan with plenty of hot water to the boil, salted extremely well. As Anna del Conte would say, it should be as salty as the Mediterranean. So we chucked a tablespoon of salt in there. It really does make a difference to the end product. (Do not be alarmed, you will not be eating this salt!)

7. Boil your pasta for 2-3 minutes or until cooked al dente. Drain, reserving some of the pasta water. Add your pesto (the pesto recipe will make enough to have leftovers unless you choose to add it all) to the pasta in your pan and toss throughout, loosening with a little of the reserved water. Serve with a light grating of cheese and freshly torn basil.

Apologies for the long method, it is so easy to do, we will be posting a pasta-making post soon to make it clearer than written word.    

Chicken, Spinach and Cheddar Gratin

We had a selection of cheeses, one of which was a strong Cornish Cruncher cheddar and thought of the many dishes which could be made with such a cheese. In the end we chose this rich succulent dish which for those savoury fiends out there ticks all the boxes. This dish is rich, creamy and intensely savoury for a warming meal on those cold evenings when we all need some comfort. 

Chicken, Spinach and Cheddar Gratin

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 large chicken thighs, boned and skinned

1 rasher of thick cut smoked back bacon, chopped into pieces 

a large handful of spinach

1 thick spring onion, sliced

50 g Cornish Cruncher cheddar, grated

1 tbsp cornflour

1/2 tsp English mustard powder

1 tbsp butter

150 ml milk

fresh breadcrumbs

olive oil

salt & pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C conventional.

1.  Heat a frying pan and wilt the spinach. Set aside to cool and then squeeze to remove the excess water. Lay the spinach in the bottom of an oven proof dish.

2. Add oil to the pan and heat. Season chicken thighs with a little salt & pepper and then sear in a pan to colour them. At the same time, add bacon pieces and fry. Remove the chicken and place on top of the spinach and sprinkle with the bacon and raw spring onion slices.

3. Melt the butter in a saucepan add the mustard powder and cornflour to make a roux. Cook out for one minute then pour in the milk. Heat gently, stirring all the time until thickened, then stir in most of the cheese. Season to taste. 

4. Pour the sauce all over the ingredients in the dish. Scatter with breadcrumbs, the remaining cheese and a little coarsely ground black pepper. 

5. Bake for around half an hour or until the chicken is cooked through and the top is golden and bubbling. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes before serving with fine green beans and sautéed new potatoes.

Chocolate, Almond and Raisin Cookies

We fancied doing a little baking the other day, and what better than a batch of freshly baked, slightly gooey cookies?  As we are on a budget these days, we decided to flavour them with whatever odds and ends we could find in the kitchen cupboard and that happened to be: a few milk chocolate chips and a bar of milk chocolate, a bag of almonds and some raisins. Yummy! So, very simple recipe (adapted from a Nigella recipe) and here it is for you to try!

Chocolate, Almond and Raisin Cookies

Makes about 12

Ingredients

150 g margarine

150 g caster sugar

75 g dark brown soft sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk 

300 g flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150 g milk chocolate - chips or chunks

100 g almonds, soaked, skins removed and chopped

50 g raisins, chopped

Method

1. First of all preheat your oven. We baked at 160C fan, or for conventional bake at 170C/gas mark 3. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Meanwhile, melt your margarine in a small saucepan.

2.  Beat together your melted margarine and both sugars until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla so that you have a creamy mixture before folding in the flour and bicarb. 

3. Fold in the chocolate chunks, almonds and raisins. Dollop 12 cookie dough blobs onto the prepared tray and bake for 15 minutes until golden and still soft. Cool on a wire rack but don't expect them to last long!

Pan Fried Vietnamese River Cobbler with a Poached Egg

Here is a simple supper for when you fancy something fresh and delicious but you don't have much time on your hands.  Vietnamese River cobbler is an inexpensive yet tasty fish with firm white flesh.  The poached egg lends richness, resulting in a healthy dish with a touch of luxury.

Pan Fried Vietnamese River Cobbler with a Poached Egg 

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 skinless river cobbler fillets
2 large eggs
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
olive oil
a salad of your choice - we used lamb's lettuce, spinach, peppers, spring onions, cucumber and tomatoes - a simple green salad would work well too

Method

1. First boil a kettle. Next, on a plate, mix together the flour with some salt and pepper.  Lay the fish fillets on the plate and thoroughly coat them in this mixture, shake off the excess and set aside.
 
2. Put a large non-stick frying pan on to heat with a little olive oil.  Pour water from the kettle into a medium-sized saucepan and put it on to heat, ready to poach the eggs. 

3. Poach the eggs for 3 minutes for a soft and melting yolk. Meanwhile pan fry the fish for a few minutes each side depending on thickness of the fillet, finishing with a small knob of butter. 

4. Serve the fish on the salad with a poached egg on top. The richness of the egg yolk works really well with the fish. 

Enjoy!  
  

Spanish inspired stuffed mushrooms

We're back! Wow it's been a little while since we last posted! We've been all over the place to be honest and now we're finally feeling settled and less stressed in our new place in Nottingham we wanted to pick up what we love doing; cooking and celebrating the tasty food that we cook for ourselves. This recipe came to us as we both love risotto but the key behind it is the enjoying the flavours of Spain and integrating them into a lovely dish that we devoured with pleasure. Imagine the most perfect oozing bed of saffron risotto you have ever tasted with a couple of succulent stuffed mushrooms perched on top. With this recipe you can really taste every individual ingredient and in our opinion it is a perfect representation of Spanish flavours. We think it's best to read through the recipe fully before starting to make sure you have everything ready then it flows so easily. Enjoy!

Spanish Inspired Stuffed Mushrooms

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the Mushrooms
4 Portabello mushrooms - stalks removed (below)
50 g chorizo
4 mushroom stalks, chopped finely
30 g red chilli infused fresh breadcrumbs (1/2 a fresh birdseye chilli chopped finely and blitzed with your bread in a processor - infuse for at least 20 minutes up to 1 hour - best to prepare this early)
1/3 onion, chopped finely
30 g red bell pepper, chopped finely
1 clove garlic
Manchego cheese or other cheese of your choice, grated

For the Risotto
2 tbsp olive oil
100g arborio rice
a good pinch of saffron
2/3 onion, chopped finely
1 chicken stock cube or homemade chicken stock
3/4 - 1 pint boiling water (or homemade stock)
1/2 celery stick, chopped finely
splash of Spanish sherry
squeeze lemon juice
knob of butter

Method

For the Mushrooms/Stuffing:

1. Place mushrooms in a preheated oven (180 C, Gas Mark 4) for 5-8 minutes whilst preparing stuffing. 

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chopped mushroom stalks with a small knob of butter, cook for 1-2 minutes on a high heat until they begin to colour. Once golden, add your onions with a pinch of salt, lower the heat and cook for 1-2 minutes until softened. 

3. Add the peppers and garlic and fry for a few minutes until soft. Add the chorizo and fry for 1 minute. Pour all the ingredients into a bowl with your pre-made bread crumbs (above). Combine with 1 tbsp of olive oil. 

4. Remove mushrooms from oven, dab excess water away with kitchen paper - spoon stuffing into centres and place back into oven. These will cook until your risotto is ready. The last few minutes place a cheese of your choice on top and grill until melted. To continue with the Spanish theme, use Manchego, or if not cheddar is fine.

For the Risotto: 

5. Make your saffron stock by placing the boiling water in a small pan with your saffron and your crushed stock cube or homemade stock. Heat gently for a up to 5 minutes until you have a beautiful orange stock. 

6. Heat some oil in a pan and fry your onion and celery for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes.

7. Add a splash of sherry, leave to absorb, shuffling the pan occasionally. Then gradually add a ladleful of the stock, allowing the rice to absorb it between each addition (stirring all the time really helps make a perfect risotto). Repeat this until all stock is used and rice is just cooked and not chalky. Season to taste, squeeze in some lemon juice and add a knob of butter to finish. Rest for a few minutes before serving. 

Serve with a lovely green salad and don't forget a wedge of lemon!

Pan fried sea bass perched on a bed of leek risotto

After a long day viewing properties ready for the next chapter of our lives commencing in Nottingham, we wanted something simple but tasty and filling to devour. This is what we chose, and by all means is not unique to us, it has been done many times before in a huge variety of ways but this is how we whipped our version together. Anyone can do it! It's so fresh and easy to make!

Pan Fried Sea Bass Perched On A Bed Of Leek Risotto

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 sea bass fillets, scaled and boned

1 small leek, finely chopped

150 g arborio rice

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 pint chicken stock

75 ml white wine

a knob of butter

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a suitable pan, add the leeks and cook for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and cook together until softened. Pour in the rice and cook until transparent, usually a minute or two. 

2. Add your wine to the pan and cook until all absorbed by the rice, then start adding your hot stock, one ladle-full at a time, each time ensuring that the stock is absorbed before adding the next ladle-full. Do this until the stock is finished and/or the rice is just cooked, roughly about 15-20 minutes. Add a knob of butter and season to taste, stir thoroughly and leave to rest whilst you cook the fish. 

3. Heat a frying pan until searingly hot with a little butter and some olive oil. Score the skin of the fillets in a criss cross pattern and season with salt and pepper, place skin side down in the pan and season the top. Now this is the important bit, DO NOT shuffle the pan, just press down the fillets and leave. Cook until almost cooked through, doing 95% of the cooking on the skin to get it lovely and crispy, then turn over and finish off the flesh side for a few seconds. Serve immediately on top of a bed of creamy leek risotto. 

Note - Do NOT add cheese to this risotto as this will mask the delicate flavour of the fish. Serve with some lovely fresh green leaves or just as it is.