Cured Pigeon

This was amazing!

 

Ingredients

6-8 pigeon breasts, bonesless skin off

50g Maldon sea salt

50g granulated sugar

A 6 inch sprig of savory or thyme

3 Bay leaves

5 Cloves

9g Garlic cloves

6 Black peppercorns

1 Orange zest

1 Lemon zest

250ml Red wine

10 Juniper berries

 

Method

Crush all spices and herbs before using

1.       Add salt and sugar to wine and bring to the boil

2.       Pour yourself a glass of wine and drink it

3.       Remove wine solution from stove and add other ingredients

4.       When cool, place pigeon in marinade, cover and chill

5.       Pour another glass of wine and drink

6.       Turn pigeon every 12 hours for 48 hours

7.       When the meat is sufficiently cured it should be fairly firm to the touch

8.       If it still feels tender, continue to marinade for a further 12 hours

9.       Wipe off excess marinade, wrap in cling film and freeze until solid

10.   Unwrap and slice as thinly as possible

11.   As you slice, put it on a plate or it will clump

12.   Roll up around some wild herbs or serve on a bed of greenery

 

From Chris Horridge, Executive Head Chef at Cliveden

 

Nick’s Christmas pudding

Following the layout used during my chemistry days…

Apparatus
1 Large Sainsburys Christmas pudding
20ml dark rum
¼ tsp grated or ground nutmeg
20ml dark rum
Large pinch cinnamon
20ml dark rum
Zest of ¼ orange
20ml dark rum
Zest of ¼ lemon
20ml dark rum
50ml stout
20ml dark rum

Method
1. Open the Christmas pudding wrapping and put the whole pudding into a mixing bowl.
2. Note the cooking time and hide the packaging.
3. Break up fully with a large spoon (wooden or metal, it makes no difference).
4. Add all of the solid ingredients to the mix
5. Add such of the wet ingredients as you feel you can part with.
6. Drink the rest of the ingredients.
7. Transfer all of the ingredients to a suitable container and cook according to the instructions without referring to them or you will give the game away.

Results
Fast, easy, tasty and cheaper than buying all of the ingredients and only using 5% of each (except for the rum).

Conclusion
Delia’s One Is Fun (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delia-Smiths-One-Coronet-Books/dp/0340389591/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197039760&sr=1-1) …Nick’s one is faster

Seasoned puddings (Yorkshire puddings improved)

Should be preceded with "CP" (cooking post). Right, gather round boys and girls, this is something I've been meaning to elaborate on for ages. Bland and boring yorkshire puddings may taste great with roast beef but you rarely have them and they seem a bit ordinary at any other time?

No Sir.

We don't know whether it was a recipe passed to her in the mists of time, but Joyce Haywood aka my Grandmother taught us this one called Seasoned Puddings.

Serves 4 as an accompaniment to roast pork.

Ingredients

• One small onion
• Normal batter mix for making Yorkshire puddings for 4 people
• 2 heaped teaspoons of dried sage

Actions

• Take the onion and dice it very finely. Put it in a small amount of water in a saucepan, bring to the boil then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to soften.
• While that is warming and softening, make up a batter mix in the normal manner and beat as usual until you hear it clop, clop, clop (the noise of it being the right consistency rather than the mixture sprouting cloven hooves).
• Drain the onions into a sieve and allow to cool for a few minutes.
• Add the dried sage to the mixture and stir thoroughly.
• Add the onions to the mixture and stir thoroughly.
• Get a Yorkshire pudding tin (the ones with four holes of about 3-4 inches each across rather than the ones with a dozen, tiny holes per tin) and put ordinary vegetable oil, or lard if you are old school, into each part so that there is the thinnest covering all over - you need full covering or it sticks but any more and it all goes horribly wrong. Put this into the oven at 400 degrees fahrenheit, 200 degrees celsius (180 degrees for a fan oven) or gas mark 6.
• Once the oven is fully up to temperature, remove the tin from the oven. The oil ought to be almost smoking.
• Spoon the mixture in carefully but fairly quickly and return the tin to the oven for 25 minutes (but do check through the window).

The puddings will be done but don't be dismayed by the lack of rising - seasoned puddings don't rise as much as a traditional Yorkshire. Serve immediately.

You should also find that whether they are filled with gravy or served as they are, there should be less fighting over the crackling and the stuffing.

Curry and rice - advanced level

New recipe:

Serves four REALLY good friends...

1/2lb fresh organic sprouts
1/2lb large, washed field mushrooms
1/2lb broad beans
1tsp Garam Masala
0.5tsp Ground Cumin
1-1.5 inches of cinnamon stick
Small amount of fresh ginger very finely chopped or grated
2 medium cloves of garlic
1 cardamom pod
2 black peppercorns
1tsp chopped chilli
1tsp sea salt

Slice the mushrooms and fry lightly in a little olive oil for 5 minutes until browning nicely.
Bring the sprouts and broad beans to the boil and simmer gently for 6 to 8 minutes in lightly salted water. Drain and add to the mushrooms. Fry lightly for 2 minutes.

Add all of the spices which should be nicely soaked up by the juices released from the mushrooms. Simmer gently for 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve with wholegrain rice and open the windows.

OK, I admit, this isn't one of my more serious recipes...

Chicken Balti

This is now officially classed as "better than from a shop, Daddy". OK, so it has taken some experimentation but it is fantastic.

Serves 2

Ingredients
1tsp olive oil
1 Medium onion. No rubbish please - preferably a good, dirty onion from a market.
2 Medium to large tomatoes, preferably very ripe.
1lb Fresh free range, organic chicken fillets, cut into cubes.

Spices
1tsp Garam Masala
0.5tsp Ground Cumin
1-1.5 inches of cinnamon stick
Small amount of fresh ginger very finely chopped or grated
8 medium cloves of garlic (yes, eight!) pressed
1 cardamom pod
2 black peppercorns
1tsp chopped chilli
1tsp Maldon sea salt

Garnish
2tsp lemon juice
2tsp chopped coriander
1tsp chopped chilli (to taste)

Method:
Slice the onions to no more than half inch in any direction and fry lightly until browning in 1tsp olive oil. Add diced tomatoes, stir in and add the spices. Fry on a medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Add in the cubed chicken and fry for 7 minutes stirring occasionally. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and cardamom pod. Add the garnish, stir thoroughly and serve immediately.

Side dishes:
Decent naan bread
Rice
Curried mushrooms (slice 'em, add the spices as per above with 1tsp olive oil and fry on a medium heat until they are a minute or so before going brown).

Hmm. Salivating now, may have to have a cuddly one night this week. Yum.