Thai Green Chicken Curry

We have a few 'big league' dinners coming up this week, so we're filling in the in-between days with some simpler, classic dishes. This is a Marcus Wareing recipe from his book 'One Perfect Ingredient'. Now, friends of ours know we like a good curry. This was fantastic! I mean, the balance of heat to coconut coolness to herby magnifcence. It's all in here and relatively healthy. Don't be stingy with the cilantro, it's key. Also, I added about 6 kaffir lime leaves and an extra Thai chile too the spice paste, which was the X factor.

CURRY
vegetable oil
1 can coconut milk
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks on the diagonal
250 g tenderstem broccoli
200 g mangetout, halved on the diagonal
6 chicken thighs, skinless, boneless
150 g beansprouts
1 small bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped
sea salt

SPICE PASTE
2 green chillies, roughly chopped with the seeds
1 stalk lemongrass, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro
80 g fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, quartered
1 onion, cut into eighths
5 tablespoons fish sauce
50 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt

Blitz the spice paste ingredients to a chunky puree in a blender or food processor. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and stir-fry the paste for 5 minutes. Pour in 200ml cold water, stir, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and bring back to the boil, then strain into a clean, large pan. Bring to a gentle simmer and taste for seasoning - you may want to add more fish sauce, sugar. or salt. Keep the pan of sauce over a low heat.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Blanch the vegetables separately - boil the carrots for 3 minutes, the broccoli for 2 minutes, and the mangetout for 1 minute. As each is blanched, remove with a slotted spoon and refresh under the cold tap. Set aside.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat and sear the chicken for about 10 minutes until golden brown on all sides. Add to the sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes until almost tender. Add the blanched vegetables and simmer for a further 4 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the beansprouts briefly in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until hot. Add the chopped coriander, sprinkle with oil and sea salt, and toss to mix.

Remove the chicken from the sauce and slice into bite-sized strips on the diagonal. Serve the vegetables and chicken topped with the hot beansprouts, with the sauce spooned over and around.

Papardelle with Duck Ragu (Pappardelle al Ragu d'Anatra)

This is a recipe originally meant for garganelli pasta, which is like a penne pasta, but rolled up. Looking at what one would have to go through to make that pasta, I settled on a much easier pappardelle, using some leftover fresh pasta dough I had in the freezer.

This is a great introduction to autumn type of dish. The sage and the duck working nicely with the deep red wine and tomato base to the ragu. Yummy.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 duck legs, skinned, cut apart at the joint, visible fat removed, rinsed, patted dry
salt and black pepper
1 medium Spanish onion, 1/4" dice
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, 1/4" dice
4 sage leaves
2 cups dry red wine, Sangiovese
1 cup CHICKEN STOCK
6 ounces tomato paste
1 ¼ pounds BASIC PASTA DOUGH
semolina flour, for dusting
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for grating

In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Season the duck pieces with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion, carrot, garlic, celery, and sage to the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the vegetables are softened, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the wine, stock, and tomato paste, stir well, and bring to a boil. Add the duck, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

Transfer the duck pieces to a plate (keep the sauce at a simmer). When cool enough to handle, pull all the meat off the bones, return the meat to the pot and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is quite thick. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and set aside.

Divide the pasta dough into 4 balls. Roll each ball out to the thinnest setting on a pasta machine, and layout on a lightly floured work surface. Cut the pasta into 2-inch squares. One at a time, lay a thin dowel or a pencil diagonally across a bottom corner of each square, and roll up to form a quill, then slip the garganello off the dowel onto a baking sheet dusted with semolina. Cover with a damp towel.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt. Meanwhile, transfer the ragu to a 10- to 12-inch saute pan, and heat through over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Drop the garganelli into the boiling water and cook until tender; 2 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the water, and add the pasta to the ragu. Toss over high heat for 2 minutes to coat, adding a splash of the pasta cooking water if necessary to loosen the sauce.

Divide the pasta among four bowls, grate Parmigiano over each, and serve immediately.

Rich Red Mole with Chicken (Mole Rojo con Pollo)

I am not going to go on and on about it, but this kicked some ass. We pride ourselves on making top-notch Mexican food here at Casa Bruyette, and this was no exception. Vanessa came in with her textbook Mexican Rice and Margaritas. Can't lose here. I would write more about it, but I am still drinking margaritas...there's just no time for this.

2 ancho chiles, dried, stemmed, seeded, deveined
2 guajillo chiles, dried, stemmed, seeded, deveined
1 habanero chile, dried, stemmed, seeded, deveined
1-½ tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
⅓ cup lard, for use throughout
2 tablespoons peanuts
2 tablespoons raisins
¼ cup onion, thickly sliced
1 garlic, peeled
½ corn tortilla, dried out or stale
1 white bread, slice, dried out or stale
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 tomatillos, simmered until tender
¼ tablet mexican chocolate, chopped
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
8 peppercorns
3 cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3.5 lb. chicken, quartered
5 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

First, deal with the chilies. Tear them into pieces, discarding the seeds, stem and veins. Heat 3 tablespoons of lard in a skillet over medium-high heat and turn the exhaust hood on over the stove. When the oil is hot, fry off the chilies until they are a nut-brown color. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, leaving as much oil as possible in the pan. Put them aside in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Weight the chilies down with something so that they stay submerged in the water. Let them sit for at least 1 hour.

In a small skillet, toast the sesame seeds over medium-high heat until starting to brown. Remove from the heat and put into a large bowl with the can of tomatoes, the tomatillos and the chopped chocolate. Pulverize the oregano, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Add to the tomato mixture.

Return the skillet (still with the oil inside; the one used for the chilies) to the heat. Add more lard if you need to. Fry off the peanuts until they turn a darker brown. Add to the tomato mixture with a slotted spoon. Add the raisins to the same pan and cook for about a minute until they plump and turn a lighter shade of brown. Lift out with the slotted spoon and add to the bowl. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and fry them off until browned, about 3-6 minutes. Press them against the pan to squeeze any oil out and add to the bowl. Put the tortilla pieces in the skillet and brown on both sides, about a minute each. Put in the bowl. Rub both sides of the bread in the oil first and then toast each side for about a minute each. Add to the bowl.

Puree this mixture in a blender or food processor with 1 cup of the chicken stock until smooth. Pass through a medium-mesh strainer and set aside, discarding the solids. Take the chilies in the bowl now, drain the water away and puree in a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of the stock until smooth. Pass through a strainer and set aside.

Take the chicken pieces and pat them dry and season with some salt and pepper. In a large pot, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of lard over medium-high heat. When hot, fry the chicken pieces until golden brown, flipping halfway through, about 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

Drain off any excess oil in the pot, leaving a thin coating of it in the bottom. Return the pan to the heat for a minute or so, then add the chili puree, stirring it until it thickens and turns even darker brown, about a minute or so. Add the pureed tomato mixture and cook that, stirring, for another 5 minutes or so, until it thickens and darkens. Add 2 1/2 cups of stock to the pot and stir through. Simmer this over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

(KEVIN'S NOTE: At this point you could make all of this ahead and keep it in the fridge for up to three days. Just bring the chicken to near room temperature before putting it into the reheated sauce)

Just before serving, bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Add the dark meat quarters and cook 10 minutes, partially covered. Add the breast pieces and cook about 14 minutes longer, until tender.

Remove the chicken from the sauce and place in a deep serving platter. Skim off any fat from the surface of the sauce then spoon it over the top, sprinkle with some sesame seeds and serve with Mexican rice.

MEXICAN RICE

3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chicken flavor base
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups white rice
½ green or red bell pepper, sliced
¼ onion, sliced
1 tablespoon cumin

Combine the tomatoes, chicken base, garlic, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the water and blend well.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until It begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and onion and allow to cook for 2 to 3 more minutes until tender. Drain off any excess oil.

Add the tomato mixture and cumin to the rice and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups hot water, stirring well, then cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Elegant Indian

Fans of the blog (and close friends of mine) know that I was lucky enough to attend a masterclass with Atul Kochhar last week at his restaurant Benares in London. A great time was had by all. A few of the recipes he demoed were actually based on recipes he submitted for Great British Menu, a show in which chefs from around the UK compete against one another to earn the right to cook a dish at some event (the event changes each year). Anyhow, now that I had the knowledge, I had to cook this stuff up.

I can't tell you how wonderfully everything tasted. It is just such INTERESTING food, with the harmony of spices, contrasts in temperature.... I could go on. In all, we were all VERY pleased with how it all turned out. Prepping most of it ahead of time was the key.

Starter: Crisp-Fried Spicy John Dory with Grilled Tomato Chutney, Cucumber Salad and Crushed Peas (Machchi Amritsari)
JOHN DORY
4x120 g John Dory fillets, skin on (or any white fish - I used sea bass)
1 tablespoon lime juice
groundnut oil for deep-frying
1 teaspoon chaat masala
salt and pepper

CUCUMBER SALAD
1 small cucumber, peeled, deseeded and cut into julienne
2 medium tomatoes, deseeded and cut into julienne
½ medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
10 sprigs cilantro

DRESSING
2 tablespoons chilli jam
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons vegetable or olive oil

GRILLED TOMATO CHUTNEY
4 medium tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small green chile
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted, crushed
2 tablespoons lime juice

BATTER
1 ½ teaspoons each ginger and garlic pastes, mixed together
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon red chile powder or crushed black pepper
¼ teaspoon garam masala
¼ teaspoon mango powder
¼ teaspoon ajwain seeds (optional)
100 g gram flour
1 tablespoon cornflour
120 ml sparkling water

CRUSHED PEAS
100 g freshly shelled peas
15 g unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 pinch asafoetida
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon red chile flakes
1 tablespoon vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon single cream

Mix together all the ingredients for the cucumber salad. In a separate bowl, mix the dressing, adding just enough lime juice and oil to slacken the jam, and to your taste. Chill the salad and dressing.

Preheat the grill. To make the tomato chutney, lay the whole tomatoes and garlic on a baking tray and drizzle with a little oil. Grill until well charred. Peel the garlic, then place on a large board with the grilled tomatoes and the rest of the chutney ingredients. Chop together finely to combine. (Or pulse in a food processor to a chutney consistency.) Keep chilled until required.

Marinate the fish in the lime juice with a pinch of salt for 20 minutes.

To make the batter. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, then slowly pour in the sparkling water, whisking as you do so. Wipe the fish with kitchen paper to remove excess moisture, then add to the batter. Leave for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the crushed peas. Lightly blanch the peas in boiling salted water for 1 minute, then drain. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan. Add the asafoetida and, as it foams, add the cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds crackle, add the chile flakes and the blanched peas. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then stir in the stock and cream, and season. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon, crush the peas. Keep warm while you fry the fish.

Heat some groundnut oil in a large wok over a medium heat, then deep-fry the fillets for 3-5 minutes or until golden and crisp on both sides. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with the chaat masala.

To serve, toss the cucumber salad with dressing to taste. Spoon the crushed peas onto large warm plates. Place the fish on top, then pile some of the cucumber salad on the fish. Spoon a little tomato chutney around the plate.

Main: Tandoori Chicken with Black Lentil Sauce and Herb Pulao and Mango-Apple-Rocket Salad

CHICKEN
4 chicken breasts, on the bone, skin removed
mixture of melted butter and oil, for basting
1 ½ teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon chaat masala
salt

FIRST MARINADE
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice

SECOND MARINADE
250 g thick plain yogurt
1 teaspoon GARAM MASALA
100 ml vegetable oil
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon red chili powder
1 pinch edible red coloring, optional

BLACK LENTIL SAUCE
200 g black lentils
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 green chiles
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
½ green chile, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon GARAM MASALA
½ teaspoon fenugreek leaf powder
30 g butter
2 tablespoons single cream
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

HERB PULAO
15 g butter
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
100 g sliced onions
1" inch cinnamon stick
2 black cardamoms
1 blade mace
500 g Basmati rice, washed and soaked for 10-20 minutes
3-4 tablespoons mixture of spinach, cilantro and mint, pureed
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese or cream

MANGO-APPLE-ROCKET SALAD
20 g baby rocket leaves
1 Granny Smith apple, cut into julienne
1 green mango, cut into julienne
vinaigrette, made with lime juice

Make three or four deep incisions in each chicken breast, without cutting all the way through. Mix together the ingredients for the first marinade with 1 tsp salt. Rub all over the breasts, then leave in the fridge for 20 minutes so the juices can drain.

Mix the ingredients for the second marinade with 1 tsp salt. Add the chicken and turn to coat, then leave in a cool place for 2-3 hours.

Meanwhile, make the black lentil sauce. Put the lentils, 2 tbsp oil, the ginger, garlic and whole chillies in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the lentils are soft. Discard the garlic and chillies.

Prepare the seasoning by sauteing the cumin seeds, ginger-garlic paste and chopped chile in the remaining oil until soft. Stir in the tomato paste and spices.

Add the cooked lentils to the seasoning and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the butter, cream and coriander with salt to taste. Blend with a hand blender to give a sauce consistency. Set aside, and reheat for serving.

Preheat a tandoor until moderately hot or preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.

Next make the pulao. Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan and fry the onions with the cinnamon, cardamom and mace until golden brown. Add the rice and 1 liter of water with 1 tsp salt. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan tightly and cook until the rice is tender and all liquid has been absorbed. Add the spinach puree and cheese or cream just before serving.

While the rice is cooking, skewer the chicken breasts and cook in the tandoor for 10 minutes. If using an oven, place the breasts on a non-stick baking tray and cook for 3 minutes; reduce the oven heat to 160°C/gas 3 and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Baste the chicken breasts with the butter and oil mixture and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the tandoor or oven, baste the chicken again and sprinkle with the lime juice and chaat masala. Keep hot.

Toss all the ingredients for the salad together.

To serve, ladle the sauce on to four large round plates and spread out to cover. Place a large quenelle of herb pulao in the centre of each plate, set a tandoori chicken breast on the rice and garnish with the rocket and mango salad. Serve with naan.

Chinese-Style Noodles in Miso-Enriched Soup (Miso Ramen)

Every once in awhile, we like to get down with a good Asian noodle soup. Japanese soups are great because they are relatively quick to throw together and have clean, uncomplicated flavors that warm the soul. Last night, the weather was crappy so this really hit the spot.

I took a lot of shortcuts with the recipe. I had a chicken stock which I threw some liquid smoke into for the 'Smoky Chicken Stock'. That, and I have no idea what iriko is. If you do, good for you! Use it. Lastly, we have a ton of rice noodles we're trying to get through before the big move, so we used them instead of ramen.

4-5 iriko (page 17), trimmed (about 1/2 ounce after trimming)
4 cups Smoky Chicken Stock (page 94)
2 cups cold water
2-3 scallions
8-9 ounces bean sprouts (about 4 cups)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sake
6-7 fresh shiitake mushrooms. stems removed and sliced, or 4 ounces fresh maitake mushrooms (page 33), trimmed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 lb. fresh or 8 ounces dried ramen, freshly cooked (page 167) or reheated (page 168)
3-4 tablespoons mugi miso (page 32)

Place the iriko, stock, and water in a 3-quart pot. Set over low heat and leave to simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour while you prepare the vegetable toppings. Check the stock every 5 or 10 minutes, adding water as needed to maintain a volume of at least 3 1/2 cups throughout the simmering time.

Trim away the root end of the scallions (these can also be added to the stock pot, to be removed later) and finely chop the green and white portions, separating them into 2 piles by their color. Rinse the bean sprouts in a basin of cold water, discarding any bean pods that float to the surface, and drain them.

Place a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the bean sprouts and the white portion of the scallions. Dry-roast for a few seconds to throw off excess moisture from the vegetables before drizzling in 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Sprinkle with the salt and stir-fry for another moment. Pour in the sake and stir-fry for yet another moment. Transfer the contents of the pan to a bowl and keep warm.

Add the mushrooms to the same pan over high heat and cook for about 15 seconds. Drizzle in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and stir-fry for another 10 seconds or so. Pour the stock through a fine-mesh strainer held directly over the pan; discard the solids from the strainer. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer while you assemble the bowls of noodles.

Warm the bowls in which you will be serving the noodles with boiling water (page 169). Place one-fourth of the noodles in each warmed bowl.

Place the miso in a miso koshi (page 77) and stir directly Into the simmering liquid. Or place the miso in a bowl, ladle in some of the hot liquid from the pan, stir mix it, and then add to the simmering liquid.

Ladle the piping-hot miso-thickened broth over the noodles and then top each bowl with a mound of the bean sprout mixture. Garnish the bowls with a shower of green scallion tops and serve immediately.

Moroccan Chicken and Chorizo Stew with Couscous

The quest continues to use up a lot of our pantry items before we move on from the UK. Here we've put a spare chile (more about that later), the rest of our couscous and some chorizo picante.

I have had this chile for a bit, and it has been on my mind as one of the things we had to work into a dish to use it up. Well, it turns out it was a scotch bonnet chile, which is among the hottest in the world. Good thing I just used one! Once you get past how hot it is, the scotch bonnet chile really has some fruity and almost sweet characteristics. Next time, I'll use HALF of one.

Anyhow, I sat down and came up with the recipe on Friday, and looking at it today, there was just way to many ingredients in it. It was obvious to me that I was pushing too hard to use stuff up, versus making a dish that was going to work.

So here you go. Use a good chorizo with plenty of paprika content. Keep an eye on the chicken and stop cooking immediately when they are done and take the pot off of the heat.

STEW
2 tablespoons olive oil
225 g chorizo picante, deskinned, diced
8 chicken thighs, skinned
1 large onion
2 chiles, deseeded and diced
2 carrots, diced
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon saffron, crushed
750 ml chicken stock
salt and pepper
⅓ cup cilantro

COUSCOUS
450 g couscous
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup broth, from the stew
salt and black pepper

STEW

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the chorizo an cook down for 3-5 minutes, stirring, allowing the chorizo to render some of it's fat out to the oil. When cooked, remove from the oil. Season the chicken thighs and brown them off in batches in the oil until they have all browned to a nice, golden brown color. Remove and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, chiles and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes, until softened and translucent, but not colored. Add the cinnamon and ground ginger. Stir through to combine and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the chicken stock and saffron and stir to combine. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Add the chorizo and chicken back to the pot and submerge in the liquid as best as possible. Let cook for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through. Set aside off of the heat.

COUSCOUS

Put the couscous, butter, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir to combine. Add the broth and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes or so, until the liquid has been absorbed. Taste and season as necessary.

FINISH

Stir the chopped cilantro through the stew. Make a bed of couscous on a warmed plate. Top with two chicken thighs and a ladle of some of the stew. Serve hot.

T-Bone Fiorentina with Sauteed Spinach (Bistecca alla Fiorentina)

I spent the day today in the Benares kitchen with some other foodies and we had a really nice time during the masterclass and sitting down to a great lunch and a nice chat with Chef Atul Kochhar, whose recipes have been getting a lot of airplay on this blog as of late. While I have no photos of the event, I'll be cooking a good bit of it this Friday for our friends Mark and Selena.

Back to the present.

We had some feather steak (AKA blade steak AKA flatiron steak) left in the freezer which we had been thawing, knowing that we would want to throw something simple together after coming home from London.

We had Steak Florentine in Florence, made by Florentines. It was wonderful. While the 'official' Steak Florentine is made with T-Bone steak, as long as you get the flavors in there and serve it rare, you'll do just fine.

Just a quick saute of some spinach in garlic and olive oil, finished with pine nuts and raisins (which is sort of a nod to the Spanish) and you're off and running. We had been saving a great Australian Shiraz which we had shipped back. We're leaving next month and the time had come. It paired wonderfully with this steak.

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 t-bone steak, at least 3 inches thick, 3-3 1/2 pounds

2 tablespoons pure olive oil
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Da Vera
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 lbs. baby spinach, stems removed, washed, and spun dry
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon coarse salt

Preheat the grill or a cast-iron pan over high heat.

In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper until well blended. Pat the steak dry and coat the entire steak with the herb mix. Brush gently with the pure olive oil. Place on the grill and cook until well charred, about 12 minutes on the first side, then cook about 9 minutes on the second side; this is traditionally served rare. Transfer to a platter and let stand for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch saute pan, heat 1/4 cup of the extra-virgin olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the garlic and cook just until light brown. Add the spinach and stir until just wilted. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Carve the fillet and the strip steak from bone and slice. Divide the steak among four plates, arrange the spinach next to it, and drizzle with the remaining 1/2 cup extra-virgin oil. Season with coarse salt. Serve immediately.

Indian-Style Lamb Burgers with Spicy Cucumber Raita

Things have been pretty busy around here lately, with the upcoming move and such. We're just back from another wonderful trip to Paris.

There's a restaurant in Wickham that I have raved about in the past called Vatika. It's owned by Atul Kochhar, who I have mentioned in this blog numerous times in association with several successful Indian dishes.

Well, a few weeks ago, I begged my way back into the kitchen to put some work in during a lunch service. I had a great time there and, among other things, had the task of making about 300 or so mini-lamb burgers. I ran home and wrote the recipe down before I forgot anything.

This is just lovely smoky heat which is cooled down nicely by the raita. This is a great way to have burgers and perhaps get your feet wet with Indian flavors, if you're not that familiar.

BURGERS
1" piece ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
500 g lamb, ground
4 hamburger buns, toasted, if desired

RAITA
100 g greek yogurt
1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons cucumber, finely diced
½ jalapeno, finely diced
1 pinch salt

BURGERS

Combine the ginger, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder and salt together in a small blender or food processor and whiz into a rough paste with a bit of the lamb. Next, take the paste and work into the rest of the lamb by hand until evenly worked through.

Take a small bit of the burger mixture and cook it off in a hot pan. Taste for seasoning and adjust the mixture as needed, working seasonings in well. When the seasoning is right (good balance of smoke, cumin and chili powder heat - and enough salt to make the flavors jump out), shape the meat into patties.

Sear the burgers off in a hot pan for 4-5 minutes on each side, until done.

RAITA

Combine all of the raita ingredients together and stir well. Taste and adjust as necessary.

ASSEMBLY

Toast the buns off and top with a burger. Put some raita on top and some cucumber slices, if desired. Serve hot.