Paul's cooking .......

A traditional kedgeree

 

The origins of kedgeree are hotly contested amongst those that care! Christopher Trotter, author of The Scottish Kitchen has traced the origins for the kedgeree recipe to books by the Malcoms dating back to the year 1790. However the general opinion is that it was originally an Indian dish, and indeed remains so, as evidenced by the popularity of the dish throughout the subcontinent.

What is without doubt however amongst afficionados is how tasty and delicious this dish is! Traditionally considered to be a grand breakfast, today it is considered a lunch or light supper dish. Regardless of the time of the day, it is a delightful dish to cook, serve and eat!

Ingredients: (serves 4-6 people)

500g smoked haddock

80g butter

1 onion, finely chopped

175g basmati rice

½ - ¾ tablespoon mild curry powder

150 g peas (frozen or fresh)

3 chopped hard boiled eggs

chopped parsley

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Firstly take the smoked haddock, place in a large dish and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Now drain, but reserve 900 ml of the liquid (add water if not sufficient). Take the haddock, and skin and flake into a separate bowl, removing any bones. Set aside.

 Take 30g of the butter; melt in a large pan with a little vegetable oil. Add the diced onion and cook gently until tender but not browned. Make a paste with the curry powder and a little of the reserved liquid and add to the cooked onions. Now add the rice and stir, mixing thoroughly for 2 minutes. Pour in the reserved liquid and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a minimum, and cover with a tight fitting lid.

 Allow the rice to cook undisturbed for 8 minutes, and then stir in the flaked haddock and the peas. Cover again and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes until the rice is completely tender. If necessary add a little more water, but sparingly!

Whilst the rice is cooking hard-boil 3 eggs.

Remove from the heat, dot with the remaining butter, cover and allow to stand for 4 minutes. Now add the eggs and the parsley and fluff up the rice with a fork.

 Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Serve immediately – perhaps with some mango chutney!

Besugo al horno - oven baked sea bream

 
Picture of gilt head bream by Mat of The Chelsea Fishmonger

I was given a wonderfully fresh gilt head bream by our local and excellent fishmonger Mat of The Chelsea Fishmonger and was asked to come up with a recipe to offer his customers.

Well a little bit of research led to me to this interesting dish, which I discovered is served on Christmas Eve in Spain, as the main dish of the Christmas celebrations, so in effect it is the "Spanish turkey". Lo and behold, it turned out an excellent dish, and what is more wouldn't require getting up at 6am on a Christmas morning should you consider swapping the turkey for this!

Ingredients

1 sea bream weighing 1.8 kg, or more likely 2 weighing in at a kg each (gutted and scaled)

juice of 1 lemon

800 g potatoes (I used King Edwards) peeled and thinly sliced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped, not too finely

pinch of saffron strands

5 tablespoons chopped parsley

extra virgin olive oil

a little water

lemon zest

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by pre-heating your oven to 190 C. Take your bream, or breams and with a sharp knife slash each side a couple of times across the thickest part of the flank. Season the fish well with the sea salt and black pepper inside and out. Now squeeze over the lemon juice and rub well into the fish, again inside and out. Set aside.

Take a pestle and mortar and create a paste with the garlic, saffron, parsley and a teaspoon of sea salt. Slowly work in 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 4 tablespoons of water. Now take a greased oven-proof baking dish (not too deep) and carefully layer the sliced potatoes and onions. Spoon over the mixture from the mortar, ensuring an even covering. Place in the oven and bake at 190 C for 40 minutes, by which time the potatoes and onions will be nearly cooked.

Remove the dish from the oven and place the fish on top of the potatoes and onions. Spoon over a little more olive oil and bake in the oven for another 20 to 25 minutes until the bream is just cooked through.

Sprinkle with a little parsley and the lemon zest and serve at the table immediately.

I always get a great deal of pleasure when simple dishes, look and taste so much greater than the effort involved in making them, and this is one of those dishes. Of course, the freshest fish are required to maximise the taste experience - but it's a dish that's worthy of the centre piece of any celebratory meal!

Deep-fried soft shell crab

Ingredients

8 soft shell crabs, halved

batter

150g plain flour
150g cornflour
150ml iced soda water

 

dressing

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

3 or 4 small red chillies, finely chopped

coriander sprigs for garnish

 

It is very difficult to find fresh soft-shell crab in the UK, almost all is frozen. However don't despair as they still taste delicious and in frozen form readily available in asian supermarkets.

Firstly make the dressing. Simply place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine. 

Before making the batter start to heat the oil in the wok (or deep fat fryer) to 160 C. Now make the batter by sieving both the plain flour and the cornflour into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the ice-cold soda water. Mix with a fork very lightly. Leave it lumpy as this will lighten the batter during the frying.

Dip each crab into the batter and lower into the heated oil. Cook in batches depending on size of wok/deep fat fryer to prevent the temperature of the oil dropping. Cook 2-3 minutes or until crispy; remove and drain on absorbent paper. Repeat with the remaining crabs and batter.

Serve immediately with the dressing garnished with a little coriander and enjoy the wonderful south-east asian shell fish flavours - a great way to lift a gloomy wet day!

 

Sichuan-style squid

This is one of my favourite ways of preparing, and eating, squid. As with all simple recipes, particularly with seafood, it requires the freshest, best quality squid. Frozen stuff from the supermarket will not pass muster!

Although a simple dish I believe the preparation of ingredients is very important, please take the time to very finely dice, it really makes the difference!

Ingredients

800 g small whole squid

50 g cornflour

groundnut oil for frying

2 tablespoons very finely sliced coriander stalks and leaves

3 tablespoons very finely sliced spring onions

1 1/2 tablespoons very finely diced fresh ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons very finely diced red chillies, de-seeded

1 1/2 tablespoon very finely diced garlic

a good pinch of sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sichuan pepper - freshly ground and mixed with 2 teaspoons sea salt

3 iceberg lettuce leaves, very finely sliced

1 lime

Ideally get your fishmonger to clean your squid for you, however if you have do it yourself, do as follows: Gently pull the head and tentacles away from the body and cut the tentacles from the head, just below the eyes. Discard the head. Pull out the quill from inside the body and discard the entrails. Remove the side wings and fine membrane from the body. Now rinse the body, tentacles and wings thoroughly and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Cut the squid down the centre so that it opens flat. Slice the body and wings into strips no more than 5mm wide. Set aside.

Prepare each of the remaining ingredients, ready for cooking and serving.

In a bowl, combine the squid including tentacles, with cornflour and toss to coat, shaking of any excess.

Pour sufficient oil into the wok for deep frying, and place on the heat until the oil seems to shimmer slightly (watch carefully). Add half of the floured squid and deep-fry for 1 minute, until just tender and starting to colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on kitchen paper. Repeat the process with the remaining squid.

Pour off the oil from the wok and refresh with 1 tablesppon of clean oil. Heat until almost smoking and add the coriander, spring onions, ginger, chilli and garlic. Stir-fry for 1 minute, until fragrant. 

Return the squid to the wok and season with a pinch of sea salt and the sea salt/sichuan pepper mix. Stir fry for another 30 seconds.

To serve, place the finely shredded lettuce in a bowl with a wedge of lime on the side. Sprinkle a little extra sea salt/sichuan pepper mix on top and serve immediately.

Delicious with an ice cold beer!

Moules Marinieres

The sight of a big bowl of moules marinieres is a joy to behold! I love the gleaming black of the mussels with a glimpse of orange flesh, and steam furling upwards. Cooked in minutes, and devoured in minutes, the ultimate fast food!Simple to make, but so tasty to eat, a good reward to effort ratio!

Ingredients

2kg mussels

2 onions chopped 

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 tablespoons fresh parsley

250 ml dry white wine

30 g unsalted butter

a few tablespoons of double cream (to taste)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Clean the mussels in plenty of cold water. One by one scrape of any barnacles and remove the "beard". Discard any that don't close when tapped, or any with broken shells. Drain and set aside. Never leave mussels in fresh water as it will kill them.

Now in a very large pan, gently and briefly fry the onions and the chopped garlic, enough to soften but not to colour. Add half the chopped parsley, a little black pepper and the white wine. Now add the mussels, shake the pan well. Place a firm fitting lid on, and cook over the highest of heats for as long as it takes for all the mussels to open. The time will depend on the size of the gas burner and the size of the pan.

Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon into a large bowl and keep warm. Immediately boil down the liquid left in the pan, reducing by half. Whisk in the butter, add the cream and pour back in the mussels. Garnish with the remaining parsley, season with a little salt and black pepper and serve immediately.

In France and Belgium, moules marinieres is traditionally served with a plate of thin frites (french fries), alternatively a good crusty bread can be used to mop up those fabulous juices.

Great as a family meal, or just a quick supper.Enjoy the scent of the sea!

Steamed razor clams with pancetta and broad beans

The long razor clams are often ignored in the UK, yet in Spain and Portugal loved and used as extensively as palourdes and mussels. The key, as with most shellfish, is simplicity and freshness. Here's a simple but delicious recipe that combines very well the sweetness of the razor clam with broad beans, thyme and pancetta.

Try it, it's delicious and very interesting to serve to friends, a perfect starter - they won't be disappointed!

Ingredients 

1kg live razor clams 
1/2 glass of dry white wine 
A few sprigs of thyme 
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 
A squeeze of lemon juice
1tbsp chopped parsley, reserving the stalks 
250g broad beans, shelled 
4tbsp olive oil 
150g cubed pancetta  
60g butter 
Freshly ground black pepper

Start with the razor clams. Rinse the razor clams well in cold, running water for a couple of minutes. Like all shellfish discard any that don't close when handled. Place in a pot with the wine, thyme, garlic, salt and parsley stalks. Cover and cook over a high heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the shells have opened. Drain in a colander and leave to cool.

Whilst cooking the clams, preheat the oven to 130C. Carefully remove the clams from the shells, keeping the shell intact. Cut away the central, dark, intestinal sac and discard. Chop each clam into 4 or 5 pieces, place back into the open shell and arrange the shells on a baking tray. Keep warm in the low oven.

Now cook the shelled broad beans in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then drain in a colander. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan and cook the pancetta on a relatively high heat for 3-4 minutes until crisp. Add the cooked broad beans,a squeeze of lemon juice, butter and chopped parsley, toss and season with freshly ground pepper.

Now, place the clams in their shells on warmed serving plates and spoon the pancetta/broad beans mixture over, and serve immediately.

Enjoy with some nice warm crusty bread!

Steamed whole sea bass with ginger and spring onion

A deliciously healthy way of eating fish, subtle asian flavours that do not overpower the delightful sweet, delicate moist flesh of sea bass. This dish is an excellent example of how steaming preserves purity of flavour and texture.

Ingredients

1 whole fresh wild sea bass (weighing 800 g - 1kg )

1 leaf chines white cabbage (cut into 4 squares)

60 ml chicken stock

60 ml shaoshing wine (rice wine)

5 cm fresh ginger - peeled and finely julienned

2 teaspoons white sugar

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

splash sesame oil

3 spring onions - finely julienned

60 ml groundnut oil

good handful coriander leaves

small pinch ground white pepper

Purchase the freshest, wild sea bass possible (the freshest fish will still be stiff from rigor mortis, have no fish smell, clear eyes and red gills) and ask the fishmonger to scale and clean the fish for you.

With a sharp knife, make 3 diagonal slits into the side of the fish and then score in the opposite direction to make a diamond pattern. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side.

Bring a large steamer pot of water to the boil. Take a shallow heatproof dish and arrange the cabbage squares, before placing the fish on top. Combine the chicken stock and half the light soy sauce and pour over the fish. Now sprinkle half of the ginger over the body of the fish.

Place the dish into the steamer basket over the boiling water, put the lid on and steam for 10 to 12 minutes, until the fish is cooked. The flesh should be white through to the bone (which is exposed by the cuts). If the flesh is still translucent, replace the lid firmly and steam for a further minute or two.

Remove the steamer basket from the steamer and carefully remove the dish from the basket. Sprinkle the sugar carefully over the body of the fish. Quickly combine the remaining light soy sauce and the sesame oil and drizzle over the fish. Sprinkle the remaining ginger and half the spring onions over the fish.

Carefully heat the groundnut oil in a small pot until it reaches smoking point. The temperature of the oil is critical - it must be hot enough to scald the ginger and spring onions. Slowly and carefully drizzle the very hot oil over the fish.

Sprinkle the coriander and remaining spring onions over the fish, season lightly with the white pepper, and serve immediately.

Delicious as the centre piece of a banquet, or served simply with boiled white rice, and stir fried bok choy or gai choy!

Enjoy!

Stocks - recipe for a brown stock and a fish stock

One of the key differences between home cooked food and good quality restaurant food is the use of stocks. A good stock makes a huge difference in the flavour of a dish or sauce adding great depth, yet most home cooks steer away from making the stock themselves preferring inferior shop bought or "cube" stock.

Making a stock is easy, patience is sometimes required, but believe me the end results are worth it and will be much appreciated by your guests or family.

Almost all butchers and fishmongers will be happy to give you bones, it helps reduce their waste disposal costs!

I'll start with two contrasting stocks - a brown stock made with beef and veal bones, and a delightfully light, quick and easy fish stock.

Brown Stock:

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, chopped

1 large onion, quartered but unpeeled

1 celery stalk

1 leek, chopped

2kg mixed beef and veal bones

1 large tomato, halved

2 bay leaves

6 garlic cloves

3 thyme sprigs

4 parsley stems

a few black peppercorns

sea salt

Brown stock is created by roasting the bones before cooking them in water. In this stock try to use veal bones as well as beef. Veal bones have a higher collagen level and therefore produce a richer more gelatinous stock.

This recipe will produce about 1.5 litres of stock. It can of course be reduced further, concentrated and frozen. This being the case do not add salt until thawing and re-hydrating.

Pre-heat the oven to 220 C. Use a large roasting dish and scatter the carrots, onion, celery and leek over the dish. Wash the beef and veal bones well in cold water, pat dry and place on top of the vegetables. Roast in the oven for 1 hour, turning the bones at least once during the cooking process,

Transfer the bones and vegetables to a large stock pot. Pour off any fat in the roasting dish and de-glaze with 300 ml of water over a high heat. Add this liquid to the stock pot along with the tomato, garlic and herbs. Pour in another 2.5 litres of cold water. Bring slowly to the boil, and then immediately reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Add the peppercorns, and skim off the surface from time to time.

Simmer, uncovered for 5 hours.

Strain through a sieve, discard the debris, and cool the resulting bowl of stock quickly in iced water. When cool taste the stock and add salt to taste. If reducing further, do not add salt.

Refrigerate overnight, allowing the fat to rise to the top and any debris to sink to the bottom. The resulting stock will last in the fridge for 3 days, or 6 months if frozen.

Fish stock

Ingredients for fish stock

1 kg fish bones

1 glass white wine

1 large carrot

1 onion

2 celery sticks

a handful black peppercorns

thyme

parsley

bay leaves

Of all stocks, fish stock is the easiest and quickest to make. Indeed it should never take more than 30 minutes, as any longer runs the risk of it turning bitter.

In an ideal world, turbot and dover sole bones will make the best stock, but the bones, skin and head of any non-oily fish will make good stock.

Place the bones etc, in a large pan and add the other ingredients and seasonings. Place over a moderate to high heat for 3 minutes to burn off the alcohol in the wine, and then add enough cold water to cover generously. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes, skimming off the scum throughout the cooking time. Bring off the heat and strain through a fine sieve and allow to cool.

Store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for a maximum of 6 months.

Yangzhou fried rice (incorrectly known as cantonese rice)

Many people have asked me the secret of making great fried rice, and to be honest I'm not sure there's a secret as such, except it is essential to use rice that has been previously cooked and left to go cold. Preferably, the rice is cooked the day before.

Of course, one can add many different ingredients into a dish such as this, but this I believe is fairly authentic!

Ingredients:

3-4 dried chinese mushrooms (shiitake)

sugar

light soy sauce

sesame oil

90 g peeled shrimp

1 egg white

2 teaspoon cornflour

vegetable oil for frying (groundnut ideally)

125 g chicken breast meat, cut into small bite sized pieces

125 g cold roast pork, cut into small bite sized pieces

60 g fresh peas

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

450 g cooked white rice

a pinch of pepper

a good splash of rice wine (shaoshing if available)

Let's start by soaking the dried mushrooms in warm water for a minimum of 20 minute. When soft and pliable, rinse and remove the stem. Now chop into small cubes. Place in a small bowl and mix with a little sugar, light soy sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.

Take the prawns, shell, wash and de-vein. Now mix with half an egg white (beaten lightly) and a little cornstarch. Fry immediately in the wok. Ideally the oil temperature should be around 160 C. Remove when cooked (no more than 2 or 3 minutes) and drain on a kitchen towel and set aside once more.

Dice the chicken into small mouth sized pieces, and as above mix with half an egg white and the cornstarch. Stir fry in the wok, taking care that the chicken pieces do not stick to one and other. Drain, and set aside.

Dice the pork similarly, and cook the peas briefly in some salted boiling water for no more than 90 seconds. Drain and set aside again.

The last preparation is the eggs. Take the 2 large beaten eggs and cook in the wok over a medium high heat. When cooked (similar to omelette consistency) remove from the wok and chop into small bite sized pieces and set aside.

Now clean the wok with a kitchen towel and add 2 tablespoons of oil, and bring up to frying temperature (not smoking!). Immediately add the mushrooms, pork, shrimp and chicken. Stir fry over a moderate heat for a minute seasoning with a little salt. 

When the ingredients have absorbed the oil and salt add the cooked rice. You have to act quickly here, constantly stirring and mixing, ensuring that the rice  grains separate but do not stick.  Sprinkle a little rice wine and light soy sauce over the rice, increase the heat and cook for a further 3 minutes. 

Add the peas and the cooked eggs, stirring and turning continuously before finally adding a little more salt and black pepper ( but not much).

Remove from the wok, and serve either in small individual bowls or one large serving dish.

This will produce a deliciously fresh, fried rice dish enabling the individual flavours of the ingredients to be detected and enjoyed!

Oven baked lemon sole

Lemon sole is often seen as the poorer cousin to the much-vaunted dover sole, and whilst it is true that the flesh is perhaps not as dense as the dover, it's a delightful fish to prepare, cook and eat. What is more, the Cornish seas produce the very best quality, and they're readily available in fishmongers outside of the summer breeding period. I'd encourage you to buy it whole, then you're guaranteed to be able to determine the freshness and quality of the fish.

This is an easy, quick supper recipe, and is ideal for families wanting their children to eat more fresh fish. 

Ingredients (for 4)

4 medium sized lemon sole

olive oil

8 ripe tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded and chopped

2 shallots, very finely diced

a few salted black olives, chopped

a handful of basil leaves

a handful of chopped parsley

juice of a lemon

splash of sherry vinegar

sea salt and black pepper

Start by pre-heating the oven to 200 C.

Take the lemon sole, trim the fish around the edges and with a sharp knife score across the fish a couple of times each side.

In a separate bowl mix the prepared tomatoes, shallots, olives and herbs with the olive oil lemon juice and a splash of sherry vinegar, season well.

Place the prepared sole in a large baking tray (or two trays, if necessary) and generously scatter and mix the tomatoes, herb and oil mix over the sole, ensuring both sides get a good coating.

Place the tray into the pre-heated oven and cook for no more than 15 minutes - check after 12, don't overcook!

Remove from the oven and rest for a couple of minutes before serving alongside vegetables or salad of choice.

Even the fussiest of children will love this recipe, it's an excellent introduction to eating fish whole as against fillets. Equally the dish presents wonderfully to adults, and is a beautiful, tasty, healthy supper dish.

Enjoy!