Paul's cooking .......

Chengdu leng mian - cold Chengdu noodles

It's a hot sultry summer's evening and I want something cool but with heat and chili flavours attached. What could be better than a bowl of cold Chengdu noodles?

Now not surprisingly, few in the west have tried their noodles cold - at least not deliberately. Well we're missing out on a fabulous treat - I can guarantee it!

Chengdu is the capital of the Sizhuan Province of China, famed for its blisteringly hot chillies - delicious!

 
 

Ingredients

500 g fresh wheat-flour noodles, boiled, drained and chilled

75g bean sprouts, blanched for a few seconds and chilled

a few slices of cold roast pork, chopped into small pieces

1 spring onion, finely sliced

Sauce:

2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons very finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon sesame paste

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

teaspoons black rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon chilli oil (place 2 dried chillies and 2 tablespoons sichuan peppercorns in a jar of oil,store for up to 6 months)

This is a quick and easy dish to prepare, just requiring a little fore-planning and preparation.

Place the noodles in a pot of boiling water, cook according to instructions. Cool immediately in cold water, drain in a sieve and place in a covered bowl in the fridge, cooling for at least 3 hours. Next blanch the bean sprouts for a few seconds, cool in cold water and chill in the fridge.

Now combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, mixing well ensuring the sugar is dissolved thoroughly.

When ready to eat. pour the sauce over the cold noodles, mix in the chopped cold pork and finally add the bean sprouts, mixing carefully so as to not break them.

Divide amongst 4 bowls, sprinkle over the chopped spring onions and enjoy a truly delightful combination of cold food with a warm spicy sauce and the little nuggets of cold roast pork.

Simply sensational on a hot summer's evening, I can assure you !

Enjoy!

Provencal, roast leg of lamb with a wonderful vegetable tian

It's a beautiful summers day in late July, just before the maddening crowds make Provence un-bearable. I'm up early and have visited my favourite butcher just off the main square of St Remy de Provence, and secured a beautiful leg of lamb. Until very recently this lamb was munching on the wild herbs of Les Alpilles, thyme, rosemary, marjoram and oregano.

Even if not in Provence, this is a simple stunning meal, just add a few more herbs!

   
 

Ingredients:

1 leg of lamb

2 bulbs of garlic

2 rosemary sprigs (plus thyme, marjoram and oregano if not in Provence)

100 ml best olive oil

for the tian:

2 white onions, finely sliced

2 eggplants, chopped into mouthful pieces

2 zucchini

2 ripe tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

a sprig of rosemary

salt and black pepper

I've bought my lamb on Saturday as I'm planning to eat it on Sunday with the family under a huge plane tree which happens to hold a colony of bats, but at lunch it's shade not bats which provide the major attraction!

So on Saturday afternoon, stud the leg with the garlic cloves and rub well with the olive oil. Chop the herbs roughly and scatter over the leg of lamb. Wrap the leg in a plastic wrap and leave in the fridge until tomorrow.

Now take a few garlic cloves, chop finely and combine in a bowl with chopped thyme and rosemary. Mix with about 80 ml of olive oil, cover and set aside. The following morning (Sunday) rub the flavoured oil well into the lamb. Ensure that the mixed herbs form part of the marinade over the lamb.

Now let's prepare the tian!

Firstly fry the garlic in an oven-proof dish in a little olive oil, without browning! Add the sliced onions, eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes, wedging them in tightly. Sprinkle over the rosemary sprigs, season with a little salt and black pepper and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C

Take a good thick roasting tray and heat over a high flame, adding olive oil until just smoking. Place the leg of lamb into the tray and brown generously, turning until well caramelised but not burnt.

Immediately transfer to the oven and cook for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes. After 1 hour, remove from the oven, loosely cover in foil and rest for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Add the vegetable tian to the oven after the lamb has been in for 10 minutes and cook for 1 hour until slightly caramelised but beautiful!

Serve together with a local Cote de Rhone or perhaps a Provencal Rose - either way a fabulous lunch in Provence or anywhere else for that matter.

Dessert - have a snooze under said plane tree whilst children swim and play in pool - bliss !!!!!!!!!