Magenta Red Curry

We have really been hitting curries hard over the past few days. We had a great curry night at George's on Thursday, went to the fabulous Vatika Restaurant for lunch on Friday, then whacked up a curry for ourselves Friday night. And you know, I still don't think I've worked it out of my system... I love 'em!

This was a special curry in that Vanessa was responsible for all of the cooking. I just did the prep work, that's it. This was pretty good, too! The beets added kind of an interesting sweet-ish note while obviously coloring the whole dish. And, as always, we only use fresh, corn-fed, free-range chicken because you CAN taste the difference.

Vanessa also made up some Turmeric Rice, which is referred to in an earlier post and has since become a staple rice to be made alongside of of Indian meals.

Enjoy!

1 dried red chile
1 onion
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 plump garlic cloves
50 g piece fresh ginger
750 g boneless chicken
1 tablespoon ground coriander
200 g Greek-style natural yogurt
2 raw beetroot
1 small lemon
salt

Place the chile in a cup and just cover with boiling water. Leave to soak while you peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or similarly wide-based saucepan placed over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and fry, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes until soft and golden.

Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the ginger and slice thinly into small scraps. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Remove the chilli from its soaking water. Split it lengthways, scrape away the seeds and chop into tiny pieces. Stir the garlic, ginger and chile into the softened onion and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Add the ground coriander and fry for a further 30 seconds. Increase the heat slightly, add the chicken to the pan and stir-fry for 5 or 6 minutes until all the pieces have turned from pink to white. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir in the yogurt. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan - use a double fold of foil if your pan doesn't have a lid - and cook for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a potato peeler to peel the beetroot and grate them on the large hole of a cheese grater directly into a small saucepan. Add 300 ml water and the juice of half the lemon and cook, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes until the beetroot is tender. Tip the beetroot and water into the chicken. Stir thoroughly and cook, uncovered, for a further 5-10 minutes until the curry is thick and all the flavors amalgamated. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and lemon juice. This curry reheats perfectly.

Gong Bao Prawns

In honor of Chinese New Year (it's my year! Year of the Ox!), we went with one of our old favorites done in a new way. Specifically, Gong Bao (also known as 'Kung Pao') Prawns. We usually do this with chicken but we had this recently with prawns and it was unbelievable.

This recipe is taken from Fuschia Dunlop, whom regular readers of this blog know is a completely legitmate Sichuan-trained cook. We double the marinade and sauce proportions and use some brown sugar in place of some of the sugar called for.

I wished I had a second bowl of this. The prawns were fresh from the fishmonger, raw and awesome. They came out with this great sweetness against the spiciness of the dish. The brown sugar in the sauce is the X-factor. Use a nice, rich, dark brown sugar. I have printed the recipe here which takes into account my little modifications.

I did a quick pot of rice which I seasoned with star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and five-spice powder.

All of the Asian ingredents can easily be found in a good Asian market and should last you awhile.

350 g raw prawns, peeled and deveined
3 cloves of garlic and an equivalent amount of fresh ginger
5 spring onions, white parts only
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
a good handful of dried Sichuanese chillies (at least 10)
1 teaspoon whole Sichuan pepper
75 g roasted peanuts

MARINADE
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
3 teaspoons potato flour
1 tablespoon water

SAUCE
4 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon potato flour
2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoon light soy sauce
6 teaspoons Chinkiang or Chinese vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons water

Place the prawns in a small bowl and mix in the marinade ingredients.

Peel and thinly slice the garlic and ginger, and chop the spring onions into chunks as long as their diameter (to match the prawns). Snip the chillies in half or into 1.5cm sections. Discard their seeds as far as possible.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl - if you dip your finger in you can taste the sweet-sour base of the gong baa flavour.

Season the wok, then add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat over a high flame. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, add the chillies and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry briefly until they are crisp and the oil is spicy and fragrant. Take care not to burn the spices (you can remove the wok from the heat if necessary to prevent overheating).

Quickly add the prawns and fry over a high flame, stirring constantly. When the prawns are beginning to turn pink, add the ginger, garlic and spring onions and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes until they are fragrant and the prawns is cooked through (test one of the larger pieces to make sure).

Give the sauce a stir and add it to the wok, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce has become thick and lustrous, add the peanuts, stir them in, and serve.

Slow-Roasted Garlic and Cumin-Spiced Lamb with Moroccan Swede Mash and Braised Kale with Bacon

We were feeling it for Moroccan and had decided recently that we needed to roast a whole shoulder of lamb to continue with my in-home professional development. The lamb is a Rick Stein recipe, but the mash and kale ideas were my own. Also on my list of 'things to cook with' was ras el hanout, a common Moroccan spice mix, which I made from scratch.

The lamb was lovely, soft and spicy. The mash had just enough Moroccan spice to compliment the dish with swede sweetness and buttery-ness with a nice crunchy and bitter counterpoint with the kale. I really loved the balance of the three things together, which is what I was going for.

Slow-Roasted Garlic and Cumin-Spiced Lamb

2.75 kg whole shoulder of lamb on the bone
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, freshly ground
1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
50 g butter, softened
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

CUMIN AND SEA SALT SEASONING
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 160C. Cut away any excess fat from the underside of the lamb, then make deep incisions all over the meat on both sides.

Mix the garlic, cumin, paprika and butter together with 1 teaspoon salt and spread this all over the meat, working it down well into all the little slits. Place the lamb, skinned-side up, on a shallow trivet in the base of large roasting tin, and roast for 4 hours, basting it every 30 minutes with the buttery juices from the tin, until it is well coloured on the outside but still juicy on the inside. This will give you meltingly tender lamb. If you would like it to be falling off the bone, cover the top of the lamb loosely with a sheet of foil and cook it for a further hour.

Meanwhile, for the cumin and sea salt seasoning, heat a small, dry frying pan over a high heat and as soon as it is hot, add the cumin seeds and shake them around for a few seconds until they darken slightly and start to smell aromatic. Tip them into a mortar and grind them slightly with the pestle, but don't render them to a fine powder. Stir in the sea salt and pepper and tip the mixture into a small shallow bowl.

Remove the meat from the bone and break it into small chunks. Arrange the lamb on a warmed serving platter and serve at once with the cumin and sea salt seasoning for sprinkling.

Ras el Hanout

1-½ teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds
¼ teaspoon hot paprika
4 whole cloves
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Grind all the ingredients together with a mortar and pestle. Use as instructed in recipes.

Moroccan Swede Mash

500 g swede, peeled and chopped into chunks
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon RAS EL HANOUT
100 milliliters milk
100 g unsalted butter
salt and black pepper

Cover the chopped swede and potatoes with cold water in a large saucepan. Throw in a handful of salt and put the saucepan over high heat. When the water starts to bubble, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until the veggies are easily pierced with a sharp knife.

Meanwhile, put the ras el hanout, milk, butter, salt and pepper in a small saucepan and heat over low flame until the butter has melted and the mixture is getting warm, bordering on hot.

When the veggies are done, drain them and return them to the pan. Put the pan back on the stove and let it cook for 30 seconds or so, just to dry out any remaining moisture. Mash the veggies vigorously and beat with a wooden spoon to smooth it out. Start adding the hot milk mixture, a little at a time, and working it in until incorporated with a wooden spoon until all of the milk mixture is worked in and the potatoes are velvety smooth. Taste and adjust for seasoning and serve.

Braised Kale with Bacon

500 g kale, trimmed and chopped
150 g bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
100 milliliters chicken or vegetable stock

Trim and chop 500g kale. Fry 150g chopped bacon with 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan until golden brown. Stir in the chopped kale, add 100ml chicken or vegetable stock and season well. Cook over a high heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the kale is wilted and tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve.

Spanish Vegetable Stew

One of the things I enjoy most about cooking is taking what is lying around (vegetables, leftovers, small animals, etc.) and turning them into something good with a recipe of my own design. Well, after last night, we had some things we had to use up soon before they went bad, namely a bunch of spinach and the romesco sauce.

A few years ago we went to Italy and were introduced to a Tuscan classic soup called Ribollita. Essentially, it is a soup with bread, black cabbage (AKA cavolo nero) and loads of vegetables. Well, this is my Spanish-influenced answer to Ribollita, which really went down a treat a few minutes ago. Most importantly, it tasted great. Also, it is pretty nutritious in the end. Great for a rainy, lazy afternoon like today.

The romesco gives off a nice mellow heat in the background, coupled with the smokiness of the paprika and the herbiness of the parsley and general good veggie flavor. Yummy!

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium onion, chopped
5 small carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 small red chile, finely chopped
salt and black pepper
1 cup ROMESCO
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 liters chicken stock or water
1 half baguette, torn into pieces
200 g spinach leaves, washed, spun dry
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 cup parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until hot. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, chile and a pinch each of salt and pepper to the pot and stir occasionally to sweat them down, until the onions are translucent and soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the romesco sauce and let this cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously, until it turns dark and is giving off it's aroma.

Add the potatoes and stir through to coat them in the sauce. Add the stock and turn the heat up to bring the liquid to the boil. Add the bread pieces, stir through, ten turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the spinach, chickpeas, salt and pepper and paprika, stir thoroughly and cook for another 20 minutes, covered.

Check for seasoning (it will need a fair bit of salt to bring the flavors out) and serve hot.

Winter Feast

Well, it had to be done. Every once in awhile we manage to cram a bunch of people around our table (realistically designed for 4) for a night of good food, loads of wine, friendship and a little trash talking about Wii Bowling.

Readers of the blog will probably have read recently that I purchased a water bath for cooking 'sous vide' (in a vacuum bag). We had brined pork chops before and then roasted them with great results. This time we tried brining and sous vide together to see what we could get out of that. Well, we were not disappointed.

My biggest challenge tonight was to get Jackie, a previously unabashed non-eater of pork, to not only try this, but love it. I think I have made a pork believer out of Jackie. Mission accomplished.

So there is a lot of work to be done here, and if you're lucky enough to live in America where people are fortunate enough to have a regular-sized refrigerator, you could do a good bit of this in advance.

So what are we looking at here?

BRINE - Brining works so well with pork to tenderize and flavor it. This is a 24-hour soak... and you really do need to give it a full day to sit in the brine.

ROMESCO - This is a Catalan sauce which eats quite a bit like a Mexican mole (pronounced 'MO-lay'). It is a sauce made with chiles, tomatoes, garlic and toasted nuts all pureed up with a little oil. It is a delicious, deep-flavored sauce, perfect for winter. It is also used as a fairly common condiment to meat in Spain.

SALAD - This was yummy. Toasty hazelnuts, fruity and crunchy persimmons, pomegranate acidity, peppery arugula. This was a really well-balanced salad with a lot going on in it for your mouth to think about. We had a few non-salad enthusiasts (who I guess don't get exciting salads much) go back for seconds.

PORK - What can I say? It was the crown jewel of the dinner. Cooked until JUST done (62 C, 145F) and still a touch pink in the middle, the combination of long brining and cooking it in the vacuum bag, searing it off just at the end and topping it with the romesco was a triumph. The oohs and aahs lasted well past the first few bites, which is always a good sign.

SWEET POTATOES - This was the perfect compliment to the pork and kept nicely with the winter theme. Sweet potatoes, bacon, sage, brown butter... all classic wintery flavors here.

CHURROS - This is a Spanish classic. Essentially, deep-fried dough rolled around in cinnamon sugar and dipped into hot chocolate. I have been wanting to do that for quite some time now and I was really pleased with the crunchy exterior and soft doughy middle.

HOT CHOCOLATE - This is the only part of the dinner I would change. It is made without any sugar added - the idea being that you want the bitterness of the chcolate to counteract the sweeteness of the churro. Well, it was quite bitter, and next time I'll either use a sweeter chocolate or simply get some sugar in there.

Here we go:

PREP: Brine

2 tablespoons juniper berries
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
⅓ cup granulated sugar
½ cup kosher salt
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
2 chiles de arbol
1 onion, sliced
½ bulb fennel, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
4 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley

Crush the juniper berries coarsely in a mortar. Repeat with the allspice and then the fennel seeds.

Dissolve the sugar and salt in 2 cups hot water (just hot enough to dissolve the sugar) in a large, very clean container. Add the juniper berries, allspice berries, fennel seeds, cloves, bay leaves, chiles, onion, fennel, carrot, thyme, and parsley. Add 3 quarts very cold water, and stir to combine all the ingredients.

NOTE: Soak the pork chops in the brine for 24 hours.

PREP: Romesco

5 ancho chiles
2 tablespoons raw almonds
2 tablespoons blanched hazelnuts
1 ¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 slice country bread, about
1 inch thick
⅓ cup San Marzano canned tomatoes
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ lemon, for juicing
A splash of sherry vinegar
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Remove and discard the stems and seeds from the chiles, and then soak them in warm water for 15 minutes to soften. Strain the chiles, and pat dry with paper towels.

Meanwhile, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until they smell nutty and are golden brown.

Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and wait a minute. Fry the slice of bread on both sides until golden brown. Remove the bread from the pan and cool. Cut it into 1-inch cubes and set aside. Return the pan to the stove over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the chiles and saute for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato juices have evaporated and the tomato starts to color slightly. Turn off the heat, and leave the mixture in the pan.

In a food processor, pulse together the toasted nuts, garlic, and fried bread until the bread and nuts are coarsely ground. Add the chile-tomato mixture, and process for 1 minute more.

With the machine running, slowly pour in the remaining 1 cup olive oil and process until you have a smooth puree. Don't worry, the romesco will "break" or separate into solids and oil; this is normal. Add the parsley, and season to taste with lemon juice, sherry vinegar, and more salt if you like.

Starter: Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts


⅔ cup blanched hazelnuts
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon hazelnut oil
1 tablespoon finely diced shallot, plus 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh pomegranate juice (from 1 to 2 pomegranates), plus 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small Fuyu persimmons, thinly sliced
¼ lemon, for juicing
½ lb. arugula
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they smell nutty and are lightly browned. When the nuts have cooled, chop them coarsely and toss them with 1 teaspoon hazelnut oil and a generous pinch of salt.

Place the diced shallot, pomegranate juice, both vinegars, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl, and let sit 5 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon hazelnut oil. Taste for balance and seasoning.

In a large salad bowl, toss the persimmons, sliced shallots, and pomegranate seeds with the dressing, and season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Gently toss in the arugula and taste for seasoning. Arrange the salad on a platter, and scatter the hazelnuts over the top.

MAIN: Cured Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes, Bacon, and Romesco


6x10 ounce pork rib chops
1 recipe BRINE
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
SWEET POTATOES WITH BACON AND SPINACH
1 recipe ROMESCO
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Submerge the pork chops completely in the brine, and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Light the grill 30 to 40 minutes before you're ready to cook, and take the pork chops out of the refrigerator to bring them to room temperature. If they're wet from the brine, pat them dry with paper towels.

When the coals are broken down, red, and glowing, brush the pork chops with the olive oil, and place them on the grill. Cook the pork chops 5 to 7 minutes on the first side (depending on how thick they are), rotating them a couple of times, until they're seared and have a nice color. Turn them over and cook another 4 to 5 minutes or so, rotating them often, until medium-rare to medium.

You can peek inside, near the bone; they should be a little pink. Arrange the sweet potatoes on a large warm platter, and drizzle about 1/4 cup Romesco over them. Place the grilled pork chops on top, and slather each one with a generous spoonful of romesco. Serve the rest of the Romesco on the side.

Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Spinach

4 lbs. sweet potatoes, Jewel or Garnet
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 cup sherry, reduced by half
8 ounces unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sliced sage leaves
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
¾ lbs. slab bacon
½ lb. young spinach, cleaned
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into , 1-inch cubes. Place them in a large bowl and toss with the sugar and reduced sherry.

In a medium saute pan, cook the butter over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, until it's brown and smells nutty. Remove from the heat and let cool a few minutes. Add the sage and thyme to the butter and pour it over the sweet potatoes, scraping the pan with a rubber spatula to get all the brown bits. Toss with a large spoon, being careful of the hot butter. Season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a large roasting pan and bake in the oven 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the potatoes are caramelized and tender. Stir with a metal spatula every so often to coat the potatoes evenly with the butter and sugar.

While the potatoes are cooking, slice the bacon lengthwise into 1/4"-thick slices. Stack them in two piles, then cut the strips crosswise into 1/4" even-sided rectangles or lardon,. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the bacon and cook about 5 minutes until it's tender and lightly crisped. Using a slotted spoon, transfer it to a plate.

When the sweet potatoes are done. remove the pan from the oven and toss in the bacon and spinach. Taste for seasoning.

DESSERT: Churros y Chocolate


1 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
3 extra-large eggs
1 extra-large egg yolk
2-3 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
HOT CHOCOLATE

Bring the milk, 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and the butter to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat, and add all the flour at once. Stir together with a wooden spoon, and return the pan to the stove over low heat. Work the batter back and forth, stirring with a wooden spoon, to dry the batter. When the dough begins to roll away from the sides of the pan, cook another 5 minutes.

Transfer the batter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer running at low speed, drop the eggs and egg yolk in one by one, waiting for each to be incorporated before adding the next. Let the batter rest at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before using.

Heat the oil to 350°F on a deep-frying thermometer, over medium heat, in a heavy wide-bottomed pan.

Place the dough in a pastry bag fitted with a number-4 star tip. (You may have to do this in batches.)

Combine the cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl.

Squeeze 4-inch-long pieces of dough into the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan; the churros shouldn't be touching. Fry the churros 2 to 3 minutes, turning them gently with tongs once or twice to brown all sides. Test one to make sure the center is done. It should be cooked all the way through and have a crisp exterior and soft center.

Drain the churros on paper towels, and pat to remove any excess oil. While they're still hot, roll each churro in the cinnamon sugar, and serve right away with cups of the hot chocolate for dipping.

HOT CHOCOLATE

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Place the chocolate in a double boiler and melt over medium heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup hot water to incorporate.

Sift the cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in about 2 tablespoons milk, to form a paste. Whisk in the rest of the milk, the cream, vanilla, and salt.

Whisk the milk-and-cocoa mixture into the melted chocolate, and transfer to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat, whisking continuously.

Steamed Singing Scallops with Thai Yellow Curry Broth

Right. So in the interest of full disclosure, I did not use singing scallops. Nor did I steam them. That said, this was a nifty little dish that brought the Thai heat just like I like it. I am a big fan of making things from scratch and a Thai curry paste is just one of those things that will ALWAYS taste better when made from fresh ingredients. Oops! Forgot the cilantro garnish.

This is a very simple, spicy broth with some scallops poached in it for a few minutes. The recipe appears in the Dean and Deluca Cookbook, which is a veritable encyclopedia of good stuff. Pick one up if you get the chance. I reprint the recipe here which calls for whole scallops still in the shell. If you can get your hands on them, USE THEM. The liquid they give up to the broth as they open will bring an extra depth to the flavor.

In the US, one typically cannot buy scallops with the coral attached (the orange bit attached to each scallop). I am fairly indifferent to them, but Vanessa loves them.

½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 whole clove
1 tablespoon finely minced lemongrass
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
¼ cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic plus 3 medium garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 green chili, destemmed and minced
pinch of ground cardamom
pinch of turmeric
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Thai shrimp paste
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
2 ½ cups chicken stock
2 ½ cups water
vegetable oil for frying
24 singing scallops (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), rinsed in cold water
fresh cilantro for garnish

In a small skillet over moderate heat, dry toast coriander and cumin, shaking skillet frequently so seeds don't burn, for 3 to 4 minutes, until fragrant. Let seeds cool and grind in a mortar and pestle with the clove. Reserve.

Put the lemongrass in mortar and pestle with the ginger and grind into a paste, scraping side often. Add shallots and the tablespoon of minced garlic, and continue to grind mixture until paste is quite smooth. Add the green chili with the ground cardamom, turmeric, sugar, and the reserved ground spices, and mash into the
paste. Add the shrimp paste and fish sauce, and blend, scraping the side of the mortar and making sure that the sauce doesn't splash out.

Scrape the curry paste into a medium saucepan, and add chicken stock and water. Stir
to blend. Cook over moderately high heat for 10 minutes.

While broth is cooking, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a small saucepan until hot but not smoking. Add sliced garlic and cook, stirring 2 to 3 minutes, until garlic is light golden in color. Drain garlic slices on paper towels.

Reduce the heat under the broth to moderate so that the broth simmers. Add the scallops and cook for about 2 minutes, until shells are wide open. Remove scallops as they open.

Ladle 1 cup of broth into each of 4 bowls. Put 6 scallops in each bowl and garnish with the garlic chips and the cilantro.

Vanessa's Birthday!

Well, the 19th was Vanessa's birthday. We actually celebrated it all weekend long up in London pictured below)

Where we stayed in the lavish Athenaeum Hotel (credit crunch be damned!) and enjoyed many good meals out and Vanessa had a long and luxurious spa treatment.



Also, we FINALLY made it out to the London Eye, which we had on our 'must do' list before we leave here:

By the time Monday rolled around, it seemed as though the birthday part had already passed. Not before we could lay a dinner down here at the house. During our time in London, I frantically ran around trying to find pomegranate molasses and eventually found it at Harvey Nichols. It is an awesome ingredient that I had been waiting to use and I needed it for this dinner.

Let me just say that the chicken was wonderful, but would have been even better on the grill (as the recipe was written). The potatoes were absolutely fabulous, and the best ones I've had in recent memory. We WILL be having them again!

Oven-Roasted Potatoes and Oyster Mushrooms

2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon ham or bacon fat, diced
¼ cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium Spanish onion, peeled and cut into strips (about 1 cup)
½ lb. Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 2 large potatoes)
2 teaspoons salt
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons white wine
6 ounces oyster mushrooms (see tips), cleaned
½ cup Chicken Stock (page 222)
½ teaspoon chopped chives

Heat the oven to 350F.

Split the garlic cloves open by placing them on a chopping board and pressing down hard with the base of your hand or the flat side of a knife. Combine the fat, olive oil, and split garlic cloves in an ovenproof saute pan over medium heat. Cook until the fat is rendered, about 2 minutes. Add the onions and cook until they are brown and soft, around 20 minutes. If the onions start to get too dark, add 1 tablespoon of water to cool things down and soften the onions. Add the potato slices, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and half the rosemary sprig. Toss together so the potatoes get coated in the oil.

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove it from the oven, add the wine, return it to the oven, and bake for 10 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.

Remove the pan from the oven, and place the mushrooms on top of the potato-onion mixture. Add the chicken stock, and spoon some of the liquid from the bottom of the pan over the mushrooms. Return it to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, basting as needed to make sure the potatoes and mushrooms don't dry out.

Remove the pan from the oven. Chop the remaining rosemary leaves and sprinkle them on top, along with the chives and the remaining teaspoon of salt. Serve immediately.

Spanish-Spiced Chicken with Tangy Pomegranate-Mustard Glaze


RUB
¼ cup sweet Spanish paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

GLAZE
1 cup pomegranate molasses
½ cup prepared horseradish, drained
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt

CHICKEN
2x3 lbs. chickens, butterflied
2 tablespoons olive oil

RUB
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid. (The rub keeps well for months stored at room temperature in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.)

GLAZE
Whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl. (The glaze can be made a few days in advance, covered, and kept refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.)

CHICKEN
Heat your grill to medium. Set aside a few tablespoons of glaze for brushing the cooked chicken.

Rub the chickens all over with the spice rub. Drizzle the chickens with oil and place skin side down on the grate. Grill, without moving the chicken, until the skin forms a crust and pulls away from the grate, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn the chickens over, close the grill hood, and grill until just cooked through, about 15 minutes more. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, brush the chicken often with glaze.

Remove the chicken to a cutting board and brush with the reserved glaze. Let rest for 5 minutes. Cut each chicken in half, using poultry shears or a heavy knife, and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Soup

You're thinking 'boring', right? Wrong. Dead wrong.

This soup is so stupefyingly simple and uncomplicated, that once you taste the finished product, you will be amazed. This is the type of dish that I love: not a lot of fuss, a few good ingredients, huge result.

When this few ingredients deliver this hugely, it makes me really happy. The brown butter coupled with the nuttiness of GOOD PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO (do NOT use pre-shredded crap) is what makes this so wonderful. I was so anxious to eat it that I forgot the Parm and olive oil garnish at the end!

1.4 kg ripe pumpkin
100 g unsalted butter
1.3 liters hot CHICKEN STOCK
100 g Parmesan, grated
3-4 tablespoons double cream
salt and black pepper
TO SERVE
extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan shavings

Cut the pumpkin into chunks and scrape out the seeds, then peel off the tough skin. Slice the pumpkin flesh thinly.

Heat the butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until it foams and turns nut brown. Add the pumpkin, sprinkle with salt and stir well, then turn the heat down to low. Cover and cook gently for 15 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time.

Pour in the hot stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add the Parmesan and stir in, then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so the Parmesan doesn't stick on the bottom of the pan.

Puree the soup in a blender, working in batches, then pass the puree through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Whisk in the cream. Reheat the soup gently, then taste and correct the seasoning if necessary.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, drizzle over some olive oil, and top with Parmesan shavings. Serve straight away.

Veloute of Pea and Coconut with Coconut Froth

This was a real winner. It is a simple soup, but has so much depth. Kind of a cool thing about it is that it gives off great pea flavor which is followed by this amazing coconut coolness on the finish. he refreshing coolness is a lot like the refreshing properties of mint, only without using mint.

This recipe comes from the restaurant Le Champignon Sauvage, which is a Michelin two-star place here in the UK. The chef, David Everitt-Matthias, comes up with some really interesting flavor combinations using some rare ingredients. This one here uses "normal" ingredients, except for the lecithin, which is a chemical that stabilizes the foam. You can still achieve foam without it, it just won't hang around too long. Try this!

100 g unsalted butter
200 g onions, chopped
75 g celery, chopped
750 ml CHICKEN STOCK (pages 23-24)
200 ml coconut milk
500 g shelled fresh peas
150 g green of leek, chopped
COCONUT FROTH
250 ml coconut milk
150 ml CHICKEN STOCK (pages 23-24)
1 g powdered lecithin

COCONUT FROTH
Bring the coconut milk and stock to the boil in a small saucepan, whisk in the lecithin and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until needed.

SOUP
Melt the butter in a pan, add the onions and celery and cook for 5 minutes without letting them colour. Add the stock and coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the peas and green of leek and cook on a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Liquidize, pass through a fine sieve and season to taste.

SERVE
Pour the soup into bowls or shot glasses. Froth up the coconut mixture with a stick blender - or, failing that, a liquidizer - and lay a good covering of froth on top of the soup.

Wild Boar Chili with Garam Masala

I use a browser application called StumbleUpon, which basically lets you feed it a list of interests and every time you hit the 'stumble' button, it will send you to a random website that is in line with your interests, which gets a 'thumbs up' rating by other users with similar interests (as a side note, if you are not using StumbleUpon, you should start).

As you might expect, one of my interests is 'Food and Drink'. Well, it stumbled me to the results of Esquire Magazine's 2008 Chili Cook-Off, and this was the winning entry.

I did like this chili. I can appreciate the Indian twist given to the dish. However, it moved a touch too far away from chili for my liking. I mean, if someone had handed me the recipe and never mentioned the word 'chili', I would expect I would be happy having just made a sort-of wild boar and pork curry. The flavors ARE very good. I guess I, being a chili purist, have a problem with its name being used this way.

Don't let that discourage you! It is an interesting twist, the first I've heard of which borrows heavily from Indian cuisine. If you are tired of the same ol' awesome traditional chili, this is definitely worth a try.

4 tablespoons olive oil
MEAT MIX
3 lbs. wild-boar leg, ground
1 lb. pork shoulder, ground twice
1 thick slab bacon, minced
coarse salt and ground black pepper
VEGETABLE MIX
1 large onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, deseeded and minced
kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 quarts sweet cherry tomatoes (about 8 cups), cut in half
4 tablespoons garam masala
SPICE MIX, (see below)
2 cups chicken stock
2 cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
GARNISH
cilantro
SPICE MIX
1 3-inch stick cinnamon
½ teaspoon whole cloves
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cardamom pods
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons red-chile flakes

CHILI

In a large, heavy pot over moderately high heat, heat olive oil until nearly smoking. Add meat mix and cook until deeply and evenly browned, about 15 minutes. Add vegetable mix, reduce heat, and cook until soft, six to eight minutes. Add tomato paste and cook about five minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, cover, and cook about 20 minutes. Stir in the 4 tbsp spice mix, add stock, and simmer until well combined, about five minutes. Stir in beans and cook until slightly thickened, 30 minutes more. Add garnish.

SPICE MIX

In small, heavy skillet over medium heat, dry-roast spices until slightly browned and very aromatic. Transfer to plate and cool. Grind in a coffee or spice grinder or blender.

Slow-Roasted Shredded Pork with Thyme, Taleggio and Lemon-Dressed Rocket Pizza

While Jamie Oliver has received his share of criticism, you can't knock the man's pizza. This is our 1,000th successful pizza using his dough recipe, used in conjunction with our vaunted pizza stone. This is actually one of his full pizza recipes and we'd been wanting to throw some taleggio cheese into something lately. I normally don't sauce my pizzas, but this called for it and it was yummy and quick. The taleggio melts BEAUTIFULLY and is worth making just for that.

Note: Slow-roasted pork is a beautiful thing. This recipe makes enough to top A LOT of pizzas. An even better idea would be to take the leftovers, whip up some homemade barbecue sauce and make yourself a few pulled-pork sandwiches. WATCH THIS SPACE for that within the next few days.

1 kg pork shoulder
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
sea salt and black pepper
olive oil
2 tablespoons basic tomato sauce
85 g taleggio cheese
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
small handfuls rocket
juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat your oven to 170C/325F. Score the pork shoulder. Bash the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar and rub them over the pork, then season and rub with olive oil. Roast in the preheated oven for at least 4 hours, until the meat is tender and shreds easily. Then cool, shred up using a fork or your hands. Dress the meat with a little of the cooking juices - it will have almost the texture of a confit of duck.

Smear the tomato sauce thinly over the pizza base and scatter over a small handful of your roasted pork and some small torn-up pieces of taleggio. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves, drizzle with olive oil and cook until crisp and golden. Dress the rocket with a tiny bit of lemon juice, scatter over the pizza and serve.

Best. Steak. Ever.

I recently purchased a water bath and a vacuum sealer to accomplish sous vide cooking. Essentially how it works is you vacuum seal something in a bag and take all of the air out. Then you set the water bath the the desired temperature for doneness for whatever you're cooking. If you set it for the same temp as a rare steak gets in the middle, the protein you're cooking will NEVER get above it. It CAN'T overcook.

So I set the water bath to 139.2F and cooked my two steaks for 45 minutes. After that, a quick sear in a screaming hot pan and onto a plate with some Bearnaise Sauce. The picture speaks for itself.

Thanks to Dave and Karena for getting me a certain cookbook which set me on the path for buying all of this equipment. Watch this space for more crazy experiments.

Stir-Fried Rice with Pork and Shiitake Mushrooms (Rou Si Chao Fan)

It doesn't get any easier than this. This is the second Fuschia Dunlop recipe we've had like this (the other being the Dan Dan Noodles - in an earlier post) where we finished our portion, looked at the remaining amount in the pan, thought briefly about saving it for another meal, and quickly decided to finish the rest right then and there. You just can't stop eating this... and it is so simple. There's just something about it that makes you want to keep devouring it (HINT: I think it's what the sesame oil does to the overall savoriness)

6 dried shiitake mushrooms
200 g lean boneless pork or minced pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
salt and black pepper
red pepper flakes, optional
500 g cooked rice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons groundnut oil, for cooking

Soak the shiitake mushrooms for at least 30 minutes in hot water from the kettle. When they are soft, trim off and discard their stalks and thinly slice the caps.

Meanwhile, if you are using a piece of pork rather than mince, cut it into thin slices, and then into fine slivers. Finely slice the spring onion greens; set aside.

Heat the wok over a high flame until smoke rises, then add the groundnut oil and swirl around. Add the pork and stir-fry until it has changed colour, adding half the soy sauce, all the Shaoxing wine and a little salt to taste. Add the sliced mushrooms and stir-fry until fragrant, adding a few chile flakes, if desired.

Tip in the rice and continue to stir-fry, seasoning with the remaining soy sauce and salt to taste. When the rice is fragrant and delicious, add the spring onion greens and stir a few times until you can smell them. Off the heat, season with the sesame oil and pepper to taste, and serve.

Sushi

We like a good bit of sushi every now and again and it had been awhile since we made any. One of the advantages of having a fish market so close by is that we can pop in there without too much fuss and get some good seafood. After two years of being good and regular customers, we are routinely steered toward the freshest stuff. Today we went with prawns, haddock and some excellent sashimi-grade tuna loin; the best tuna I have purchased in a long time.

Sushi is an art and making good quality sushi has much to do with the rice. Sushi chefs in Japan usually apprentice for 10 years or so before they can be labeled a 'sushi chef'. That said, my skills are elementary at best. I did work up some pretty good rice this time, though, which is the key to making this work.

Going into the technique to making perfect sushi, nigiri or sashimi would take me hours. The best I can do for you right now is to give you my sushi rice recipe and let you crack on with the rest. It's fun to experiment! Read up on assembly on Google!

300 g sushi rice
330 milliliters water
1 postcard-sized piece kombu

VINEGAR MIXTURE
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Put the rice in a sieve and submerge in a large bowl of water. Wash it thoroughly and discard the milky water. Keep washing and changing the water until it is clear. Drain the water and leave the rice to stand in the sieve for 30 minutes.

If using kombu, make a few cuts in it to help release its flavor as it cooks.

Put the washed rice and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the kombu, if using, and cover with a tight-fitling lid. Bring to boil over medium heat. Resist the temptation to lift the lid, and listen for the sound of boiling instead. Cook for 3-5 minutes more, and adjust the heat if the saucepan boils over.

Reduce the heat to very low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Lift the lid and discard the kombu.

Heat the ingredients for the vinegar mixture in a non-aluminum saucepan, stirring until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Don't allow it to boil. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the cooked rice to a pre-soaked wooden rice tub or salad bowl. Pour a little of the vinegar mixture over a spatula into the rice.

Spread the rice evenly in the tub. Slowly add a little more of the vinegar mixture, using a slicing action to coat the grains of rice and separate them.

Fan the rice gently to cool it. Continue to fold the vinegar mixture into the rice with the spatula until it begins to look glossy and has cooled to room temperature.

Soba Noodle Soup with Chicken and Shiitake

This is a simple, light and healthy(!) soup that can be thrown together without too much fuss. We used dried shiitake soaked for about 30 minutes in hot water. Also, I couldn't get my hands on soba noodles without an extra trip, so we used udon noodles that we had lying around instead.

The is a real nice, clean, simple balance to the flavors here which really do credit to Japanese cooking, I think. I am looking forward to eating the rest of this in a few days.

2x150 g large chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 tablespoon tamari or light soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon sesame oil, plus extra to toss
freshly ground black pepper
1.5 liters CHICKEN STOCK
1 piece of kombu (Japanese dried kelp), lightly rinsed
3cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2-3 tablespoons miso paste
200 g soba noodles (Japanese buckwheat noodles)
150 g shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and top scored
4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, to sprinkle

First, marinate the chicken. Cut the chicken breasts across the grain into thin slices. Place in a bowl and add the tamari, mirin, sake, sesame oil and a generous grinding of black pepper. Give the chicken a good stir to ensure every piece is coated. Cover with clingfilm and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or preferably overnight.

For the soup base, pour the chicken stock into a medium pan and add the kombu. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and cook gently for 5-10 minutes. Fish out and discard the kombu, which will have imparted a lovely savory flavor to the stock. Add the ginger and stir in the miso paste. Simmer for another 3-5 minutes.

When ready to serve, bring a pot of water to the boil for the noodles. Add the mushrooms to the simmering stock and cook for two minutes, then add the chicken strips. Cook until the chicken is just opaque throughout, about 1-1 1/2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat down as low as possible.

Add the noodles to the pan of boiling water and cook until tender but still retaining a slight bite, about 3-4 minutes. Drain and immediately toss with a little sesame oil. Divide between warn soup bowls and scatter over the spring onions. Ladle the hot soup over the noodles, making sure that you divide the chicken and mushrooms evenly. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve at once.

Cauliflower and Asparagus Risotto with Bacon

This is another "clean out the cupboard" triumph. We had some spare asparagus, celery, bacon and cauliflower puree (left over from the steak the other night) and making a risotto out of it seemed to make sense to me.

The cauliflower puree added a nice touch of flavor, but the real dividends there were in the enhanced overall creaminess brought in by the puree. This is really simple to make.

And, it has bacon.

6 cups chicken stock, brought to a low simmer
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 asparagus spears, blanched, submerged in cold water, drained, stalks cut in small pieces, tips reserved
2 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, blotted dry, crumbled
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup cauliflower puree (see post from 3 January)
salt and pepper
lemon-infused or really good olive oil

Bring the stock to a simmer, then reduce to low.

In a wide pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery and sweet down for 4-5 minutes, until soft, but not colored. Add the rice and toss to combine, coating in the oil. Add the wine and crank the heat up. Let the wine cook out and add the first ladle of stock. Reduce the heat to medium.

Continually stirring, keep adding a ladle of stock, letting it cook down, adding another ladleful, etc., until the rice is al dente. If you run out of liquid, use water. This should take 16-20 minutes total.

When the rice is cooked properly, add the asparagus pieces, bacon, cheese and cauliflower puree and stir through to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Serve in a warm bowl with a drizzle of lemon olive oil (or really good olive oil) on top.

Asian-Spiced Duck Breasts with Ginger-Chile Glaze

I love duck.

Love it.

I am always anxious to try out a new duck recipe because I know that, at the very least, the recipe will contain duck, which is awesome. This is yet another Bobby Flay recipe which is right on the money - this time with a bit of an Asian twist to it. The recipe produces an Asian spice rib which would be at home on beef or poultry, maybe even stronger seafood. We'll see next week probably.

In any case, I just threw some green beans, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and cashews together in the wok as a quick side. This duck is delicious!

NOTE: I sadly don't even own a grill nor a place to put one even if I had one. I simply put the duck in a cold pan, skin side down, and brought up to high heat. Once sizzling, cooked for 3 minutes, turned over, basted with the glaze and cooked for another 2 minutes, then threw (skin side down again) in a 200C/400F oven for another 3 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes, basting with some more glaze.

FOR THE RUB:
2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground star anise
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon cayenne

FOR THE GLAZE:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Asian red chile paste
½ cup honey
¼ cup soy sauce

FOR THE DUCK:
4 skin-on boneless duck breast halves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Thinly sliced scallions

RUB
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid. (The rub keeps well for months stored at room temperature in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.)

GLAZE
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes; do not brown. Add the chile paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in the honey and soy sauce and simmer for just a minute, until the honey has melted. Let cool to room temperature. (The glaze can be made a few days in advance, covered, and kept refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.)

DUCK
Heat your grill to medium (page 3). Set aside a few tablespoons of the glaze for brushing the cooked duck.

Using the tip of a sharp knife, score the skin of the duck breasts in a crisscross pattern, being sure not to cut through to the flesh. Season with salt and pepper. Rub the skin side of each breast with a few teaspoons of the spice rub.

Put the breasts skin side down on the grate (use the cooler part of the grill if cooking with charcoal) and grill until the skin begins to crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the breasts over, raise the heat to high or move to the hotter part of the grill, brush with the glaze, and grill, brushing often with the glaze, until medium-rare, 3 to 4 minutes more.

Remove the breasts from the grill and brush with the reserved glaze. Let rest for 5 minutes,
then cut each breast into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve immediately, sprinkled with scallions.

Happy New Year - Eat This Steak!

Hello to all and welcome back. I didn't really have the time to say too much after our last post as the holiday season was somewhat of a whirlwind split between here in Portsmouth, Paris and London. We bid farewell to my best friend Jeff a few days ago and have been sleeping off a very busy and fun holiday season since.

Well, yesterday I finally got up the physical strength to cook something (aside from a few pizzas over the last few days) and, WOW, what a comeback.

This is the first time I have poached steak before and I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. The key is that the meat turned out an absolute uniform rare doneness throughout the entire piece of meat. Our good friends Dave and Karena got us a book on 'sous vide' cooking which involves cooking something in a vacuum sealed bag over a constant temp for many hours. I get the feeling that this is a small glimpse of what some of those meats are going to be like when I get around to purchasing some equipment.

Anyhow, back to the dish...

Yum. The snails are a MUST here, and if you haven't tried them, you need to try them immediately. If you have any reservations about trying them, you're an idiot. Just ask my friend Jeff who had them for the first time in Paris last week and now can't stop thinking about them. They haunt him. He is now condemned to walk the earth, forever in search of his next escargot fix.

Poached Fillet of Welsh Black Beef with Sauteed Snails and Asparagus on Cauliflower Puree

24 spears of young asparagus
1 liter beef consomme or beef stock
olive oil
4x250 g fillet steaks, preferably Welsh Black beef
knob of unsalted butter
salt and pepper

CAULIFLOWER PUREE
1 large white onion, sliced
50 g unsalted butter
1 large or 2 small heads of cauliflower, trimmed and chopped
250 ml full-fat milk

SNAILS
20 ready prepared snails (see note below)
knob of unsalted butter
100 g fresh wild garlic leaves, or 1 wild garlic root, chopped, or 1 garlic clove, chopped
25 g finely chopped shallots
leaves ripped from a few sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

First make the cauliflower puree. Sweat the onion in half the butter until soft. Add the cauliflower and stir briefly, then cover the pan and cook gently for 20-25 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft but not brown. Add the milk and bring back to the boil. Puree in a food processor with the remaining butter, which should be cold. Push the puree through a fine sieve into a bowl. Check the consistency - it should just hold its shape. If it is too stiff, let it down with a little milk. Set aside in a warm place.

Plunge the asparagus spears into a pan of boiling salted water and blanch for 1-2 minutes. then drain and refresh in iced water. Drain again and set aside.

Bring the consomme to a gentle simmer in a wide pan. Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a large heavy frying pan until very hot, and sear the steaks over a high heat until nicely coloured on all sides. Transfer the steaks to the consonune, reserving the meat juices in the frying pan. Simmer gently for 8 minutes for rare beef. Do not let the liquid boil. Remove the steaks from the consomme and let rest for 5 minutes.

While the steaks are resting, add a ladleful of the consomme and a knob ofbutter to the meat juices in the fiyingpan and simmer until reduced. At the same time, saute the snails in a knob of butter in another frying pan with the garlic leaves, shallots and thyme leaves. Throw in the blanched asparagus spears and parsley, and season to taste. Reheat the cauliflower puree, if necessary.

To serve, spoon some cauliflower puree onto each plate and place a steak on top. Garnish with snails, garlic and asparagus, and drizzle over the reduced sauce.