PAW's Recipe of the Month November - Herb Baked Salmon

Whilst the weather cannot make up its mind quite whether it is autumn or winter one should be mindful that Christmas is looming. Cries I here of how it all comes too soon, and everything must be on hold till the very last moment. Seems to me as ever, how short our memories are. One thing I do know is that shops – and commerce put their Christmas dates in their diaries a year in advance and the same time every year and not earlier as it often seems.

My old harp sings ‘planning’ I know some who buy their Christmas Cards in the January sales for the following year, whilst others have a box or drawer and add specially purchased gifts for Christmas presents as they are on special offer. All this with thoughts in advance as too must be the festive food arrangements. Things that can be stored or put in the deep freeze to negate that last minute expense and panic. Menu planning and lists, an absolute necessity for a calm and managed time. You can also be sure to have the right quantities of everything preventing excessive waste – or certainly plan to use up leftovers in culinary creations with a selection of store cupboard basics.

What would you find in my cupboard that would be of use to you. Well here are some suggestions for you. Tinned or cartons of ready cooked Pulses. Chopped Tomatoes, Passata, Tomato Puree, Mayonnaise, a selection of Pesto’s, Breadcrumbs, Tinned fruits like Pears and Fruit Pie fillings, Pasta of varying sorts – rice selection too. Stuffing mixes can be useful. Oils and Vinegars, Oriental Sauces, Tinned Tuna, Sardines, Coconut Milk. Chocolate White and Dark, Baking Flours, Dried Fruits, Sugars, Nuts, Semolina, Powdered Potato mix, Ground Rice, Cornflour, Custard Powder, Stock Cubes.

Having pondered - time for a recipe I guess. Light but flavoursome and easy to do.

Herbed Fish Bake

Chunky Fish Fillets – Cod – Haddock (this is enough for two)

4 tablespoons of Natural Low-Fat Yoghurt

2 Tbsp Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

2 tbsp chopped Parsley or Dill

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Mix together the Yoghurt, half the chopped Herb and Pesto

Place fish into a shallow oven proof dish

Pour over mixture

Bake in Oven for about 15 – 20 mins till cooked

PAW's Recipe of the Month October - Asian Salmon

Only the other day I was asked what my signature dish was. I am always dumbfounded by this question as I tend to create food of the minute depending on ingredients available and the occasion. Ah you might say that slightly contradicts my often table bashing comments about planning and kitchen management. There is always a plan in the air and the store cupboard and fridge stocked with temptations for diversion. So there will be a key ingredient like fish or meat with a temptation of what to do with it. Occasionally there is a plan and sometimes creation develops according to weather, time available and my mood. I might be inspired by something I have seen on TV or in a magazine. With eyes open and sensitive to any stimulation that might spark a flavour, colour or aroma.

A confession occurs to not being a great fan of Salmon. That being said there is always a time that it does fit the bill for fare of the day. Cooking it perfectly often alludes many when it is overcooked – dry, pale and hard to consume. Cooked till just the right moment is art to be acquired where flavour and succulence is maintained. So practice and get it right.

Asian Salmon

2 ¼lbs half side fillet

8fl oz soy sauce

2 fl oz rice vinegar

2 fl oz freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon toasted (dark) sesame oil

1½ teaspoons chilli paste

4ozs sliced Spring Onions

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (8 large cloves)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

12 ozs Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Directions

Line an 8 by 12-inch baking pan with aluminium foil. Place the salmon in the pan.

In a mixing cup, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chilli paste, spring onions, garlic and ginger.

Pour 1/3 of soy sauce mixture over the salmon fillet. Sprinkle the Panko evenly over the fillet. Pour the rest of the soy sauce mixture evenly over the Panko. Be sure to soak the Panko completely and if any runs off, spoon back onto the salmon. Set aside for 15 minutes, leaving all the sauce in the pan.

Preheat the oven to 200C . Roast the salmon for 18 to 20 minutes

Remove from the oven, wrap tightly with aluminium foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

PAW's Recipe of the Month September - Breakfast or Brunch Hash

Do you recognise arriving at a point in the week or day when you stop and realise you have lost the plot. Suddenly you panic forgetting what you were planning to do, or even didn’t have a plan but suddenly realise something has to happen. This is defined as panic management. So many people have it just about the time they realise that supper or dinner has to be on the table for the hungry vultures. Many resort to convenience foods or take-away.

So many times I have written about planning. A quiet moment constructing a plan for the ensuing week or two, where you at least have a structure of ingredients at hand to conjure up that little bit of magic. The other special magic of course is to prepare something for another day at the same time. A Casserole doubled and half frozen for another day. Double potatoes or vegetables and create something the next day. Extra baked potatoes can become stuffed potatoes or sauté. Blanched vegetables can become vegetable bakes with pasta or mashed and made into hash or cakes.

The other cross that is born is by one very simple question. “What would you like for Dinner?”  It starts at childbirth and then forever becomes a burden of life for the producers of food. If you are cooking, no one should be asked what they want, they should have two choices. Take it or leave it! And NO alternatives. That’s assuming you are not being paid for the production. The choice is yours to become a slave to the culinary diversities of your family or not.

Breakfast or Brunch Hash

Cubed Boiled Potatoes

Fine Diced Onion

Sliced Mushrooms

Sliced Chorizo

Worcester Sauce

White Wine

Eggs

Toasted Brioche

Olive Oil

Sweat off the onions till translucent. Add the Chorizo – a few shakes of Worcester Sauce and splash of White Wine. Bring to the boil and reduce the liquor to concentrate the flavour. Add the mushrooms – stir and cook. Finally add the Potatoes and heat them through slightly browning them taking care not to break them up.

Toast the Brioche slices and when ready pile the hash on top and serve topped with a fried egg to finish is all off.

PAW's Recipe of the Month August - Courgette & Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

If I only had a garden with sunshine and room for a vegetable patch, life would be blissful, but alas I don’t and that is that. An allotment plot also would be a huge responsibility for me but I do indeed enjoy the spoils of those who labour hard, home growing.

It does however puzzle me that all these efforts once fulfilled express such huge amazement at the quantity that is produced with little forward planning on what to do with it all. Perhaps sharing with a neighbour or giving it away is one remedy. Surely however the growing plan should also include storage and production for sustained supply during the future period. Tomato Sauces, Sauces, Pickles or simply freezing or drying. Some storage methods work better than others and have to be tried. Whether it be in boxes of moist sand for roots – or if you are salting as we used to do with runner beans. You must surely also have a collection of recipes ready at hand for pickling and bottling with containers ready and waiting.

Good Kitchen management and planning is as always essential. Of course you don’t have to grow, but can take advantage of farm shops and bulk buy produce for preserving yourselves when prices are keen and advantageous. Sitting in the garden on a summers day preparing produce can be a great past time and of course the labours enjoyed later in the year. This can be a good way to occupy young little people during holiday times.

So with a surplus on hand the produce arrived and here is my use of Courgettes courtesy of BBC Good Food.

Courgette & Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cake

350g courgettes

(no need to peel them)

200g soft brown sugar

125ml sunflower oil

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

grated zest 1 orange

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g sultanas

300g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

for the frosting

200g full-fat cream cheese

100g icing sugar, sifted

good grating of orange zest

Method

1.    Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly oil and line a 1kg loaf tin with a strip of baking parchment. Finely grate the courgettes, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can with your hands (too much will make the cake soggy).

2.    Stir the courgettes with the sugar, sunflower oil, eggs, orange zest, vanilla and sultanas, then fold in the flour and baking powder until they disappear, but don’t overmix.

3.    Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

4.    Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar (don’t overbeat as this can make the mixture too soft), then chill. Spread over the cooled cake, scatter with the zest and chill until ready to serve. Will keep for a week in the fridge.

PAW's Recipe of the Month June - Strawberry Buns

One of the most fundamental skills that never seem to be taught in a domestic environment are knife skills. Choosing the right knife for the job – how to look after your knives. U Tube has numerous tips and recommendations here’s one for starters

Knife Skills I am sure you will learn allot by spending only a few minutes. Never Never put your Kitchen Knives in the Dishwasher. The heat will cause the shank in the handle to expand and crack the handle. Don’t store them altogether in a drawer. It’s dangerous and does not protect the blades. Keep them sharp – find somewhere to have them sharpened (knifemandirect.com) – you don’t cut yourself with a sharp knife if handled correctly as no pressure is need. Your investment in a good knife is for a lifetime. My college knives of over 45 years ago are still in my collection and used regularly. When buying a new knife. Look at the price and divide by 50 or 40. That will give you a yearly cost not bad for a 40 year or 50 year lifetime.

As we start the Strawberry Season I am sure many of us regularly try to conjure up a new way of serving them. The diversity of Choux Pastry is one of those skills often passed by but can be used in so many shapes and applications – so give it a try.

Strawberry Choux buns

For the choux pastry

50g butter

75g plain flour

2 large eggs

For the filling

2 tbsp custard powder

300ml milk

½ tsp sugar free vanilla extract

150ml Greek yogurt

15g coarsely grated white chocolate

125g small strawberries, halved

dusting of icing sugar (optional)

Method

1.    Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Heat oven to 200C, 180C fan gas 6. Heat the butter in a non-stick pan with 125ml water until melted. Increase the heat until boiling then remove from the heat and quickly beat in the flour until the mixture comes together as a ball. Cool 5 mins then beat the eggs with 1 tbsp water then beat into the pastry a little as a time to make a thick glossy mix.

2.    Spoon onto the baking tray in 8 equal size blobs. Bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and golden. Take from the oven make a slash in the sides and return to the oven for 5 mins more to dry out.

3.    While baking make the filling. Mix the custard powder with a little of the milk then, with the remaining milk and vanilla put in a non stick pan and cook, stirring over the heat until thickened. Stand for 5 mins then beat in the yogurt and set aside to cool, stirring frequently to make sure a skin doesn't form. When cold, stir in the grated chocolate.

4.    Reserve 1 tbsp of the custard mix then use the rest to fill the buns. Distribute all but 8 halves of strawberries between the buns, then blob a little of the remaining custard filling on top and add the reserved strawberries. Lightly dust with the icing sugar before serving if you like.

PAW's Recipe of the Month May - Morrocan Style Chicken

I am not sure if I envy the friends who spend their Sunday morning preparing their meals for the week. Carefully portioning each meal into containers and storing in the fridge to be re-heated as planned. However planning is essential. I remember only to well the task of menu planning for a four day weekend with the scouts many years ago. Meticulous planning was essential as we were to camp in a remote part of Essex with no pop to the corner shop for emergencies. Breakfast, Snacks, Lunch and Supper all cooked on an open fire and no refrigeration. The shopping list seemed endless. Indeed it was a task but all worked to perfection and nobody went hungry or suffered from an upset tummy.

Today many still rely on the classic “Panic Management” in the kitchen. The obligatory store cupboard items like cereals and toast for breakfast and then oh my goodness it’s

5 o’clock and hungry mouths to feed what will it be? The worst of all those mouths are asked what they would like and the a la carte menu goes into play. The slave to the kitchen and stove sets sail to oblige or suggests the simplest such as take away or throwing something readymade into the oven or under the grill. Is it any wonder that people’s palates are jaded or stifled to boredom, continually consuming the same old?

Kitchen Management as many have professed before is far the better gallant knight. A few moments scheduled to plan a structure of Menu and variety as well as preparation and cooking planning, can make a week’s catering pass with a breeze. Though deciding what is on offer will no doubt cause concern to those who expect the usual a la carte choice of familiarity. Persevere and life will become simpler and meals taken together and all the same will soon create better harmony all round.

This below can be cooked in advance and reheated but is simple and flavoursome as well as being budget efficient. Enough for 4 - adjust the number of Chicken Thighs accordingly.

Moroccan Style Chicken

8 Skinless Chicken Thighs

½ tsp Smoked Paprika

¼ tsp Ground Turmeric

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 Onions peeled and sliced

½ Lemon – Sliced, deseeded and quartered

1 tbsp Cornflour

400g Tin of Lentils drained and rinsed

Bunch of Chopped Coriander

1. In a Pestle and Mortar pound the spices together and then add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil. Put the Chicken Thighs into a freezer bag and add the spiced paste. Roll it all together and leave to marinate for about an hour or overnight in the fridge (turning from time to time)
2. Warm some Oil in a pan and sweat the onions. Add the Chicken, add the remaining marinade and Lemon slices – cook till golden brown.
3. Stir in the Cornflour and mix well. Add enough water to half submerge the Chicken. Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Add the Lentils and most of the Coriander – heat through – check the seasoning.
5. Garnish with remaining Coriander and serve.

PAW's Recipe of the Month April - Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb - Greek Style

With topsy turvy weather one doesn’t quite know what to prepare for lunches or supper/dinners. One thing for sure – shopping is without doubt an experience of folly and confusion. Even if you don’t have to be budget conscious, pennies can be saved with a little diligence. When buying almost anything do! compare the cost per lb – ounce – gram or kilo with other similar packets, parcels or even if loose. The loose items are not always the cheapest. The Supermarket ‘specials’ are not always the bargain that the spangled labelling would have you believe nor the famous 2 or 3 for the price of one especially if you don’t use the extra items before they deteriorate. I do take particular care when looking at Vegetables – Sausages, Bacon and Cheese. We all have a favourite Supermarket but oh my goodness how the prices vary from one to another and very often for the same package. I noted once that Onions were as much as twice the price in one store compared to another and the same packaging and supplier. With Vegetables you also have to be aware of how much peelings and trimmings you are discarding this will of course increase the value. I always try and find short main stem Broccoli and often buy frozen sprouts as almost 50% of fresh ones are discarded in peeling. So sometimes ready prepared are not only time efficient but also cost effective. The choice is yours of course. With special offers for the Season I thought a nice easy cook meal would be useful for entertaining – so here goes.

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb – Greek Style

1 Leg of Lamb

1 Bulb of Garlic – Cloves peeled and cut into two

2 Lemons

1 Bunch of Fresh Oregano or Thyme

1 Kg Charlotte Potatoes

2 Bay Leaves

Glass of White Wine

S & P

1. Perforate the Lamb with slivers of Garlic – Place into a plastic food bag – add Salt and Pepper – a good glug of Olive Oil the herbs and the juice of one of the Lemons. Turn it all over and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
2. The next morning remove the joint from the fridge and leave it to come to room temperature - turn it every so often. Heat your oven to 140F Gas 1
3. Line a baking tray with two sheets of foil like a cross. Cut up the potatoes into chunks and place in the foil with the Bay Leaves. Place the Lamb on the top add another spread of Olive Oil, add the White Wine and juice of the second Lemon.
4. Close up and seal the parcel leaving a slight dome above the Lamb.
5. Place into the oven and cook for 5 hours. The Lamb should fall off the bone – serve it with the potatoes and pan juices.