"Posh" fish and chips!

Haddock loins were being sold off cheap at Tesco yesterday, so hubby bought three large ones and wrapped them tightly in pancetta.  He then cut each one in half and laid them all on non-stick baking trays. These went into a med/hot oven along with a tray of sweet potato wedges (generously seasoned with salt, black pepper and cajun spices) for about 10-15 minutes ... maybe nearer 20 for very thick wedges of pieces of fish.  (Watch out, though, as I burned our wedges ... but I quite liked the caramelised taste, actually!)

We had two each, with some wedges and peas, plus a little lemon and tarragon sauce left over from the salmon en croute of a couple of days ago.  Absolutely scrumptious!

Roast loin of pork

Although I scored and salted the fat beautifully, there was no crackling to be had on this joint, as there was no rind on it ... but the fat was quite tasty!!  Being a loin joint, it was exceptionally tender and tasty, with pretty much zero wastage.

Simply roasted (with onions surrounding) and served with stuffing, apple sauce (from our own tree ... apples, that is, we don't have an apple sauce tree!!), roasted sweet potatoes and parsnip, steamed carrots and cabbage and lush gravy.  Another delicious and satisfying meal.

Salmon & broccoli en croute

We had lunch out yesterday, so were only going to have a "light" meal for supper ... and this delicious pastry dish was certainly not "heavy", but was substantial enough for a main meal.  We served it very simply with a little extra sauce, a large salad and dollops of coleslaw/potato salad on the side.

I lightly steamed some fresh salmon and broccoli florets, and made a thick white sauce, seasoned and flavoured with dried tarragon; when the sauce was cooked, I removed it from the heat and added the juice of a lemon.  I flaked the fish, then bound it and the broccoli with some of the sauce.

I used a pack of ready-made puff pastry, which I halved and rolled out quite thin, then laid one piece on an oiled oven tray.  I brushed the edges with beaten egg, piled the filling all along the centre, then placed the other pastry sheet on top.  I rolled up the edges, brushing generously all over with the egg wash, then made diagonal slits across the top and "knocked up" the edges with a knife.  I cooked it for about 20-25 minutes in a med/hot oven (200 on my fan oven) and it was gorgeous!

V  To make a delicious and luxurious vegetarian "en croute" dish, lightly cook some of your favourite vegetables (maybe asparagus and mushrooms, for example?), make a beautiful creamy sauce, flavoured with whatever you like (you could even use wine or brandy, as long as you boil it in the sauce to cook off the alcohol); or make a simple, everyday version with roasted Mediterranean veg and cubes of feta cheese.  Use your imagination and try something different!

Warm Duck Breast Salad

This is one of my husband's specialities, although we haven't had it for quite some time ... after last night's heavenly meal, however, I think we will be revisiting it much more often now!  These are his instructions.

Make criss-cross cuts through the skin of the duck breast, and pan-fry (skin side down first) in a non-stick pan; turn over and seal underside as well, then place in a small oven tin.  Make up a glaze, using balsamic glaze, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, a little tomato puree, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper.  Pour the glaze over the duck and cook in a medium for about 15 minutes, or until juices run clear when pricked with a skewer/fork.  Do not overcook!  Leave to rest for 10 minutes, then carve into thick slices and serve warm over salad, drizzling with the cooking juices if you like.

The salad ingredients are down to individual preference, of course, but a lovely fresh orange juice dressing is a perfect foil for the richness of the duck.  Two thirds good olive oil, mixed with one third of mostly orange juice (freshly-squeezed is best) and a little cider vinegar, mustard, horseradish cream/sauce and seasoning.  Shake well in a lidded jar and pour a little over salad.  Personally, I still like a little balsamic glaze first over my salad, but that's just me!

Oh yeah, and he also made scrumptious croutons using slices of ciabatta, olive oil, salt & black pepper and a very fine sprinkling of Italian seasoning.  He drizzled/sprinkled it all lightly over the bread slices on an oven tray and baked it for about 7 minutes each side.  These were divine, by the way!!

Turk's Turban risotto

Found this lovely recipe on The Telegraph's website, after searching what to do with turk's turban squash!  It's a little bit more complex than I like recipes to be (!!!) but actually, well worth the effort because it was completely divine!  The balance of flavours from the leek, bacon, garlic, wine and squash, coupled with the  assorted textured and creaminess of the arborio rice ... phwoarrrrh!  Heavenly!

I also found a recipe (BBC Good Food website, I think) for this "zesty" vegetable salad, using lightly steamed green beans, courgette and peas ... all of which I had just picked from our allotment.  How serendipitous!  It had a lovely fresh lemon and herb dressing, which was a perfect foil for the rich flavours and creaminess of the risotto.

We didn't have enough squash, but supplemented it with a bit of butternut ... and I only had dried herbs and dry wine, rather than the fresh herbs and sweet wine suggested.  Didn't matter, though, it still tasted wonderful.  Also, I couldn't serve it in the scooped out shells, as our allotment woodlouse population had  burrowed several tunnels into them!

V  Easy to make this meat-free ... simply leave out the bacon and use some tasty mushrooms instead.  Chestnut or large flat-cap would both be good!

Just steak and salad

After nine days of grandchildren staying with us (and consequently a few "misdemeanours" in the nutrition department!) we were actually quite glad to get back to food combining last night.  Just a simple griddled sirloin steak, with griddled onions and tomatoes, served with a lovely salad and some garlic mushrooms ... perfect!

Cupcakes by Kyle!

Grandchild summer visit No 2 resulted in a batch of scones and these fabulous cupcakes from Kyle.  The BBC Good Food recipe suggests using bought fondant icing, but we made lovely buttercream (soft butter, loads of icing sugar, a little milk for piping consistency) and flavoured it with four varieties of natural flavouring.

We used lemon juice and natural orange extract for the St Clements cupcakes, blended fresh strawberries for the Strawberry cupcakes, cocoa powder for the Chocolate cupcakes and a little strong coffee for the Coffee Cupcakes.  Kyle then decorated them in his own style and I think they look amazing ... they also tasted fab!

Lasagne by Charlotte!

My son and step-daughters have always asserted that no-one (absolutely no-one) can make lasagne as good as mine!  Well, I don't know about that ... but I do know I make a pretty decent one!  And today, my granddaughter Charlotte took the cooking "reins" and made a stonking lasagne all by herself ... to Grandma's recipe, of course!

While she's staying here, Charlotte is creating her own recipe "book" (with photos) to take home and, as it's her Mum's all-time favourite food, I think she will be asked to make this dish many, many times in the future ... before long it will be as much second nature to her as it is to me!

The meat sauce was simply fried onion, steak mince and seasonings (black pepper, Italian seasoning, Lea & Perrin's, beef stock), cooked until brown, then a box of passata added (or a tin of chopped tomatoes).  This was then simmered gently while we made the cheese sauce.

The cheese sauce was made using a simple roux method (melt a large knob of butter in a saucepan, add a tablespoon or so of flour and cook gently until absorbed, stirring out any lumps), then gradually adding up to a pint of milk (depending on how thick you want the finished sauce to be), stirring constantly then bringing to the boil (still stirring!).  Season with black pepper and add plenty of grated cheese, then leave to simmer for a few minutes to thicken.

To put it all together, we layered it all into a greased ovenproof dish, as follows: meat sauce, lasagne sheets, cheese sauce, repeated - finishing with the second layer of cheese sauce.  We topped it with a little extra grated cheese and cooked it in a med/hot oven (180) for 20-25 minutes.  (Actually, on this occasion, we added an extra layer of lasagne sheets between the first layer of cheese sauce and the second layer of meat sauce, as the cheese sauce was thin enough to warrant it.)

My top tip for serving lasagne is to let it stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.  This will allow it to "solidify" a little and be easier to serve, whereas attempting to serve it immediately will result in a sloppy mess all over the plates!  Alternatively, make it in advance and re-heat thoroughly to serve, as this has the same effect ... it also freezes exceptionally well.  Serve how you like, but we opted for a lovely salad and a couple of garlic bread slices.  Absolutely scrumptious!!

V Yes, yes, yes ... make up a gorgeous mix of roasted Mediterranean vegetables (chopped quite small), add the tinned tomatoes or passata and use this instead of the meat layer.  I've made it loads of times and it's absolutely delicious, enjoyed by vegetarians and carnivores alike!

Summer vegetable curry*

V  This was adapted from a recipe in the BBC Good Food Magazine and is also available on their website here: *Summer Vegetable Curry  (I'm sure their photo shows a couple of small new potatoes in the curry, but there's no sign of them in the recipe!!)

I chose to adapt it simply because I had a few things to use up, but it was still delicious and (my version) made more than enough for four people.  I didn't have any spinach, but did have a cauliflower and a couple of courgettes from the allotment, plus I added a few sliced carrots because we like them in curry.

My husband especially enjoyed this, particularly the lentils, which added a nice "thickness" to the texture that is sometimes missing in a vegetable curry.  We served it with wholegrain basmati rice (Tilda boil-in-the-bag, 2 portions per bag, very nice indeed!) and some cucumber raita (natural yogurt, mint sauce and chopped cucumber), so it was a pretty healthy meal, too!