Sweet-and-Sour Pork (tang cu Ii ji)

Fuschia Dunlop is a genius. Her non-Westernized Sichuan food is authentic and amazing. While usually pretty easy to prepare (provided you have a few staple pantry items) they have always been PACKED with flavor. This is one of our favorites and is NOTHING LIKE the gloopy, radiation-orange version found in lesser shopping mall food courts.

PORK
300 g pork tenderloin
groundnut oil for deep-frying

BATTER
2 eggs
50 g potato flour

MARINADE
⅓ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine

SAUCE
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons Chinkiang or black Chinese vinegar
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 ½ teaspoons potato flour
3 spring onions, green parts only
3 tablespoons groundnut oil
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ginger, finely chopped
200 ml EVERYDAY STOCK or chicken stock
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Trim any fat from the meat. Cut it into slices 1 cm thick, and then cut these into 1 cm strips. Place in a bowl. Add the marinade ingredients, mix well and leave for 30 minutes.

Combine the salt, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and potato flour for the sauce in a small bowl. Finely slice the spring onion greens.

Heat oil for deep-frying to 150C. Beat the eggs together. In a bowl, mix the 50g of potato flour with enough beaten egg to make a custardy batter - about 1 1/2 eggs. When the oil is hot, mix the batter with the pork strips. Drop some of the battered strips into the oil, adding them individually to prevent sticking, and stir with long chopsticks to separate. Fry the strips at about 150C for 3 minutes or so, until they are just cooked through. Remove and drain. Repeat with more pork strips until you have cooked the lot.

Reheat the deep-frying oil to 190C, add the pork strips in one or two batches and deep-fry them until they are crisp and golden. Remove, drain and place on your serving dish. Keep them warm while you prepare the sauce.

Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in a clean wok over a medium flame. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, until they are fragrant. Add all the stock, bring the liquid to the boil and then add the prepared sauce ingredients from the small bowl. Stir briskly as the liquid thickens, then add the spring onions and sesame oil, stir once or twice and pour the sauce Over the waiting pork strips. Serve immediately.

Chicken Piccata

We like a quick-hitting, good-tasting meal during the week... especially since I have been working longer hours. Luckily, Vanessa has started to embrace the kitchen a bit and has really turned out some nice stuff. If nothing else, she has done all of the prep work making the actual cooking a snap. She has also taken on the role of Chief Baker, with wonderful results.

Chicken Piccata is quick and delicious. A squeeze of lime is all it needs at the end to bring it altogether.

2 boneless chicken breasts, in half
salt and black pepper
flour, for dredging, plus 1 tsp
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons butter
½ onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 scallion, chopped
½ cup sweet vermouth, sherry, white wine
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and lightly crushed
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 lemon, thinly sliced (or cut in half for squeezing)

Place the chicken breasts, one at a time, on a sheet of plastic wrap; fold the wrap over to cover. Using the mallet, pound each breast to a uniform thickness 1/4 inch. Season the chicken liberally with the salt and pepper, dredge in the flour, shaking off any excess.

In a heavy skillet just big enough to hold all the chicken, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. When the oil and butter stop sizzling, add the chicken and cook, turning once, until just brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to a plate. Pour off any grease from the pan and add the remaining tablespoon of butter.

Add the onion to the skillet and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and the scallions and saute 1 more minute. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the flour over the vegetables and toss to combine.

Deglaze the pan with vermouth and the lemon juice. Add the capers and toss to combine. Return the chicken to the pan, cover, and reduce heat to low, simmering until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary, and serve on warm platter garnished with the parsley and lemon slices.

Fish Fillets with Fresh Tomatoes, Capers and Olives (Pescado a la Veracruzana)

This is a great Rick Bayless recipe, which really tastes of summer. Even though it has been raining like crazy around here recently, this was a nice respite from the crappy weather. While this is a Mexican dish from Veracruz (on the Gulf coast), you really get the Mediterranean influence with the capers and olives. I could have just as easily tossed this sauce with some pasta and been quite happy with it. As it was, we wound up with the some really meaty, lovely halibut fillets.

Easy to throw together and delicious.

FOR THE FISH
1 ½ lbs. fish fillets like red snapper or halibut, boneless, skinless, preferably in 4 pieces each 1/2 inch thick
lime juice
1 pinch salt

FOR THE SAUCE
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, preferably part olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 medium ripe tomatoes, roasted or boiled (page 352), peeled and cored OR 3 cans good-quality tomatoes, lightly drained
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
20 meaty green olives (preferably manzanillo), pitted and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons Spanish capers
2 medium pickled jalapenos, store-bought or homemade (page 48), stemmed, seeded and sliced into strips
1 tablespoon pickling juices from the chiles
1 ½ teaspoons mixed dried herbs (such as marjoram and thyme)
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped, plus a few sprigs for garnish
3 bay leaves
1" cinnamon stick
2 cloves
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns, very coarsely ground
1 cup light-flavored FISH BROTH, bottled clam juice or water
salt, if necessary

1. THE FISH.
Rinse the fillets, lay them in a noncorrosive dish and sprinkle them with lime juice and salt. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour.

2. THE SAUCE.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium, aid the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 7 or minutes.

While the onion is cooking, cut the peeled fresh tomatoes in half crosswise and squeeze out the seeds into a strainer set over a small bowl. Cut the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Collect all the juices on the cutting board and add to the tomatoes, along with those strained from the seeds. Canned tomatoes need only be lightly drained, then cut into 1-inch pieces, collecting the juices as you go.

Add the garlic to the lightly browned onion and stir for a minute or so, then add the tomatoes and their juice. Simmer for 5 minutes to reduce some of the liquid.

Divide the olives and capers between two small bowls, and set one aside to use as garnish. To the other bowl, add the jalapeno strips, pickling juice, mixed herbs and chopped parsley. If you don't wish to have the whole bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves or cracked pepper in the finished sauce, wrap them in cheesecloth and tie with a string; otherwise, add them directly to the bowl containing the herbs.

When the tomatoes are ready, add the mixture of pickled things, herbs and spices, along with the fish broth (or clam juice or water). Cover and simmer 10 minutes, then taste for salt (and remove the cheesecloth-wrapped spices).

3. FINISHING THE DISH.
Fifteen minutes before serving, remove the fillets from the refrigerator and rinse them again. Either poach them in the sauce on top of the stove or bake in the sauce, as follows:

STOVE-TOP METHOD: Nestle the fish fillets in the sauce so they are well covered. Set the lid on the pan and place over a medium heat. After 4 minutes, turn the fillets over, re-cover and cook 2 or 3 minutes longer, until a fillet will flake under firm pressure.

THE BAKING METHOD: Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the fillets in a single layer in a lightly greased baking dish. Spoon the sauce over them, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the fish just flakes when pressed firmly with a fork at the thickest part.

Serve the poached or baked fillets on warm dinner plates with lots of the sauce, garnished with a sprinkling of the reserved capers and olives and a sprig of parsley.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin a la Rodriguez with Guava Glaze and Orange-Habanero Mojo

This was a great and simple dish. Vanessa gets the credit for putting the components together while I was at work. All it took was cooking the tenderloins in the oven and throwing some arugula on a plate. The simplicity : awesomeness ratio of the guava glaze was amazing. Fruity with the zip of Dijon mustard and a bit of sweetness from the orange juice. Genius. I would have happily just sat there and eaten the glaze, personally.

FOR THE GLAZE:
1 cup guava jelly or apricot jam
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup orange juice, preferably fresh
salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE MOJO:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small red onion
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups orange juice
½ cup lime juice
½ habanero chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE PORK:
2 pork tenderloins, about 1 1/2 pounds each
2 tablespoons canola oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

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

MOJO
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook,
stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes; do not brown. Add the orange juice,lime juice, and
habanero and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half.Whisk in the cilantro and cumin
and season to taste with salt and pepper. (The mojo can be made a few hours in advance
and set aside at room temperature.)

PORK
Heat your grill to high. Set aside a few tablespoons of glaze for brushing the cooked pork.

Brush the pork with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill, brushing often with the glaze, until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Remove the pork from the grill, brush with the reserved glaze, and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on a serving platter. Drizzle with mojo and serve immediately.

Ad Hoc Dinner

Well, we finally got settled in enough to have a bunch of people around, what, with our big new table and all. The guests included new, recent and old friends, and was a good mix of folks. The theme for the evening's menu was home cooking and everything came out of the Ad Hoc cookbook by Thomas Keller. Readers of the blog have heard me rave on and on about what an excellent chef he is, but you must know that this book contains AMAZING recipes that aren't too hard (a bit time-consuming perhaps) but DELICIOUS.

The clam chowder, I will go on record as saying, is the best I have ever tasted. A few other people told me this, too, so it HAS to be true. I think the key was the bacon. Oh, and a lot of cream and some butter. If you love chowder, you OWE it to yourself to make it.

The chicken and sausage dish was great, with lots of bold, springy flavors with good Italian sausage thrown in. The dish itself had MANY components, but was well worth it in the end. If you have never brined a chicken, I must tell you that the result is wonderful; juicy and flavorful.

We never actually got around to eating dessert, as things ran a little late. The next day Vanessa turned it into some ice cream (with an assist from some peach brandy) and we happy hoarded it for ourselves.

Clam Chowder with Bacon (Sorry no photo! We were too busy eating it!)

CHOWDER INGREDIENTS
8 ounces slab applewood-smoked bacon
canola oil
2 cups leek, coarsely chopped
2 cups onion, coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic
kosher salt
2 pounds Yukon Gold potato, 1/2 inch dice
1 SACHET (1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs thyme, 10 black peppercorns, 1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled - all wrapped in cheesecloth and tied up)

CLAMS
4 pounds littleneck or Manila clams
1 ¼ cups kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅓ cup shallot, chopped
2 sprigs thyme
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

SOUP LIQUID
4 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup flour
3 cups whole milk
3 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons chives, finely chopped

Cut the bacon into lardons that measure 1 x 1/2".

Heat some canola oil in an 8x10 quart stock pot over medium heat. Add the bacon, reduce the heat to low, and let the fat render for 20-25 minutes, stirring from time to time; the bacon should color but not crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan.

Add the leeks, onions and garlic to the pan and stir to coat with the bacon fat. Sprinkle with salt, cover with a parchment lid and cook very slowly for 30-35 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Remove and discard the parchment lid.

Put the potatoes, sachet and 2 teaspoons salt in a large saucepan, add cold water to cover, bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are just tender, 10 minutes. Drain and spread on a tray to cool; discard the sachet.

Use a clean souring pad to scrub any sand from the shells of the clams. Put the clams in a large bowl. Mix 8 cups of water and salt in another bowl, stirring to dissolve the salt. Pour enough of the water over the clams to cover, and soak for about 5 minutes, to purge them of any sand.

Lift the clams from the water, drain the water, and repeat the soaking one more time. Drain the clams and rinse under cold water.

When the vegetables are tender, increase the heat to medium and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour to coat the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes to take away the raw flour taste. Whisk in the milk and cream, season to taste with salt and pepper and bring to a very low simmer.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Ad the shallots and thyme sprigs, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring for about 1 minute, until the shallots are tender. Add the wine, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes to evaporate some of the alcohol. Add the clams, cover the pan and cook for about 4 minutes, removing the clams as they open. Strain all of the clam liquid through a fine-mesh conical strainer into a bowl.

Shell the clams and set aside.

Gently stir the clam liquid to taste into the soup (avoid any sand that may have settled in the bottom of the bowl). Season the chowder with salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in the potatoes, and add about 2/3 of the clams.

Spread the bacon in a small frying pan and crisp over medium-high heat.

Garnish the soup with the bacon, the remaining clams, and the chives.

The Chicken Dish (and all of it's parts - in the order you should make it)

Chicken Brine (enough for 10 pounds of chicken)

5 lemons, halved
24 bay leaf
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch thyme
½ cup clover honey
1 head garlic, halved through the equator
¼ cup black peppercorns
2 cups kosher salt
2 gallons water

Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely, then chill before using. The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. (Note: the chicken for this recipe brines for 12 hours. While it is brining, you can easily complete the rest of the steps)

Soffritto

3 cups Spanish onion, finely diced
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt
1 pound plum tomato
½ teaspoon garlic, minced

Combine the onions, oil and a pinch of salt in an 8-9" wide saucepan and set over medium heat. As soon as the oil starts to simmer, reduce the heat to low and set the saucepan over a diffuser (such as a Flame-Tamer) to maintain an even low heat. The onions should stew slowly but eventually caramelize; adjust the heat as necessary so that the oil continues to bubble gently. As the onions release their liquid, the oil will become cloudy, but once the moisture has evaporated, the oil will clear. Cook for about 2 1/2 hours, or until the onions are a rich golden brown (a shade darken than a golden raisin) and the oil is perfectly clear. Check the pan often; if any onions have caramelized against the side of the pan, scrape them back into the oil.

Meanwhile, for a quick tomato puree, cut the tomatoes lengthwise in half. Gently squeeze the seeds out and discard. Hold the cut side of each half against the large holes of a box grater and grate the tomato flesh; discard the skin. You will have about 1 cup of tomato puree.

Add the tomatoes to the caramelized onions and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours longer, or until the onions and tomatoes begin to fry in the oil; the mixture will sizzle and small bubbles with cover the entire surface. Gently stir the mixture - the tomatoes and onions will separate from the clear oil. Turn off the heat, add another pinch of salt and the garlic, and let the soffritto cool in the pan.

The soffritto with keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Drain it before using. The oil can be used to start another soffritto.

Peperonata Rustica

6 yellow bell pepper
6 red bell pepper
canola oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces piquillo peppers, drained, peeled and seeded
½ cup SOFFRITTO (from above)
1 ⅓ cups CHICKEN STOCK or VEGETABLE STOCK
¾ teaspoon piment d'Espelette
1 tablespoon chives, minced

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the bell peppers lengthwise in half to remove the stems and seeds. toss the peppers in oil to coat and salt pepper to taste. Arrange the peppers cut side down on the baking sheets, the red peppers on one, the yellow peppers on the other.

Roast the peppers until the skin is blistering, 30-35 minutes for the red and 35-40 minutes for the yellow; do not allow the edges to blacken. Transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, or put in an airtight container with a lid.

When the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel them. Tear them lengthwise into strips about 3/4 inch wide. Tear the piquillos into strips the same way.

Combine all the peppers, the soffritto, stock and espelette in a medium saucepan over medium heat, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, to soften the peppers completely an meld the flavors.

Transfer to a bowl or platter, sprinkle with chives and serve.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Sweet Sausage and Peppers

2 x 3 pound chickens
CHICKEN BRINE (from above), cold
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
canola oil
3 sweet Italian sausage
1 recipe PEPERONATA RUSTICA, (from above)
extra-virgin olive oil
fleur de sel
¼ cup parsley

Cut the chickens into 8 pieces each: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 breast halves and 2 wings.

Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken, add the chicken, and refrigerate for 12 hours (no longer or the chicken may become too salty).

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse under cold water, removing and herbs or spices sticking to the skin. Pat dry with paper towels, or let air-dry. Season the thighs and drumsticks with salt and pepper.

Heat some canola oil in a large ovenproof saute pan or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add the chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin side down and cook for 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until the chicken is golden and the sausage is brown and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes (it won't be fully cooked); once the chicken is browned, turn the pieces over and sear the other side for 1 minute. Transfer the individual pieces and sausages to a plate as they are ready.

Season the chicken wings and breasts with salt and pepper, place skin-side down in the saute pan, and cook until the skin is crisp and golden and the chicken is almost cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Drain any remaining oil from the pan and return to the heat. Add the peperonata to the pan, bring to a simmer, and add the chicken, tucking it into the peppers. Cut the sausages in half and nestle them in the pan. Transfer to the oven and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, sprinkle with fleur de sel and top with parsley leaves. Serve directly from the pan.

Peaches and Cream

MASCARPONE CREAM
4 large eggs, separated
½ cup sugar
½ cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream

PEACHES
2 pounds ripe peaches, preferably freestone
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Tondo balsamic

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup of the sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a bowl. (It is not necessary to wash the bowl or the whisk.)

Add the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar to the mixer bowl and whisk until pale and thick. Whisk in the mascarpone cheese. Transfer to a large bowl.

Wash the bowl and whisk, using cold water to chill them. Dry and return to the mixer stand. Add the heavy cream and whisk until medium peaks form. Fold one-third of the cream into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then fold in another third and then the remaining cream. Fold in the whites one-third at a time just until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2hours, or for up to 1 day.

Just before serving, slice each peach in half, twist the halves to separate, and remove and discard the pits. Cut each peach half into 4 or 5 slices. Put in a bowl and toss with the lemon zest, lemon juice and balsamic.

Spoon some of the cream into a serving bowl. Top with the peaches and garnish the top with more cream. Serve the remaining cream on the side.

(NOTE: This is how is was SUPPOSED to be served. But we turned it into ice cream. Make the cream as shown above. Cut up the paches into chunks and cook them down in 1/4 cup of sugar syrup and a splash of peach brandy. Let it cook down for 10 minutes covered, then 10 minutes uncovered. Put the cream in the ice cream maker and when the cream hits the 'soft-serve' stage, dump the peaches and liquid in and let it churn until done. I dare you not to have some.)

Fragrant Grilled Chicken

In that I am so tied up at school this week, Vanessa has embraced her inner cook. She made some of our favorite honey-wheat bread; the smell awaited me when I walked in the door. She also made dinner, this simple yet flavorful Thai dish.

The real story here was the sauce, which was sweet and vinegary and a little spicy all at the same time. The dish is meant to make four servings, but we ended up finishing it all. We just threw it on top of some Jasmine rice and away we went.

CHICKEN
450 g chicken breasts, skin on
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cilantro stems, finely chopped
2 small red chiles, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
cooked rice, to serve
lime wedges, to garnish

SAUCE
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small red chile, seeded and finely chopped
115 g cilantro, finely chopped

Lay the chicken breast portions between two sheets of clear film (plastic wrap), baking parchment or foil and beat with the side of a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat tenderizer until the meat is about half its original thickness. Place in a large, shallow dish or bowl.

Mix together the sesame oil, garlic, coriander roots, red chiles, fish sauce and sugar in a jug (pitcher), stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture over the chicken and turn to coat. Cover with clear film and set aside to marinate in a cool place for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce.

Heat the vinegar in a small pan, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the salt and stir until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stir well, then spoon the sauce into a serving bowl.

Preheat the grill (broiler) and cook the chicken for 5 minutes. Turn and baste with the marinade, then cook for 5 minutes more, or until cooked through and golden. Serve with rice and the sauce, garnished with lime wedges.

Baked Cod Fillets with Fennel and Orange

Things have been a little hectic since school started Monday. We're finding ourselves needing to come up with quick and simple things to cook that don't sacrifice on flavor. I would have liked to use bream here, but the store was out so we used cod instead. Any white fish would do here, honestly.

Citrus, fennel and fish are always going to work, pretty much no matter what. This dish highlights this pairing and worked out rather nicely.

4x150 g cod (or bream or sea bass) fillets, (with skin, if bream or sea bass)
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed (fronds reserved if intact)
2 large oranges
75-100 ml dry white wine
2 teaspoons caster sugar
sea salt and black pepper
few basil sprigs, leaves only
olive oil, to rub and drizzle
small handful of thyme sprigs

Preheat the oven to 200C. Trim the bream fillets to neaten, and remove any pinbones with kitchen tweezers. Score the skin of each fillet at 5mm intervals. Chill until ready to cook.

Halve each fennel bulb and slice finely, using a mandoline if possible. Scatter the fennel over the base of two lightly-oiled, deep baking trays. To segment the oranges, slice off the top and bottom to just expose the flesh. Stand on a board and cut along the curve of the fruit to remove the peel and white pith . Now, holding the fruit over a sieve set on top of a bowl, cut along the membranes to release each segment. Finally, squeeze the core to extract the juices before discarding.

Scatter the orange segments over the fennel. Trickle over the reserved orange juice, then add the wine. Sprinkle with the sugar and some salt and pepper. Cover each tray with foil it and place in the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the fennel is just tender.

Remove the foil and scatter the basil leaves over the oranges and fennel. Rub the bream fillets with a little olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Lay them on top of the oranges and fennel. Drizzle over a little more olive oil and sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Scatter over the thyme sprigs.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the fish is opaque and feels slightly firm when pressed. Divide the fennel and orange between warm plates and top with the fish fillets. Serve at once.

Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Almonds

Well, I can't tell you how nice it is having all of our stuff under the same roof for the first time in almost four years. Among our things is the tagine, a North African cooking vessel whose name is often used interchangeably with the types of dishes cooked within it.

The conical shape of the tagine allows the aromatic steam to be contained within the cooking vessel, and as it condenses, it drips back down onto the food, reintroducing the flavor to the food being cooked. Pretty interesting and often very tasty.

This dish, without the prunes, would have been somewhat average. But WITH the prunes, it brought it to a whole new level. That fruity burst was magic with the richness of the lamb and the spices. I served this with a simple couscous which I put some almonds, cumin, salt, pepper and lemon zest into with a splash of olive oil. I topped it with some parsley, a few more almonds and sesame seeds.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 kg shoulder of lamb on the bone, cut into 6 pieces
50 g butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 beef tomato, sliced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon RAS-EL-HANOUT
½ teaspoon saffron strands
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 small bunch coriander
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 large cinnamon stick, halved
250 g dried prunes
40 g blanched almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons lightly toasted sesame seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Trim the excess fat from the pieces of lamb and season them well. Heat the oil in a large tagine or flameproof casserole, add the lamb pieces and brown lightly all over. Lift the meat out onto a plate, add the butter and the onions and cook, stirring, until they are soft and lightly browned.

Overlap the slices of tomato on top of the onions, followed by the pieces of lamb. Mix the ginger, ras el hanout, saffron and turmeric with 100 ml water and drizzle the mixture all over the lamb. Push the bunches of cilantro and parsley and the cinnamon stick into the centre of the meat, season once more lightly with salt and pepper, and pour over enough water to almost cover the meat - about another 500 ml. Cover and leave to cook over a gentle heat for 1 1/4 hours until the lamb is tender. Remove the herbs.

Meanwhile, remove the stones from the prunes and replace them with some of the toasted blanched almonds. After the lamb has been cooking for 1 1/2 hours, uncover and skim away the excess fat from the surface of the sauce. Put the prunes in among the pieces of meat and leave to simmer a little more vigorously, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes or so until the meat is almost falling off the bone, the prunes are tender and the sauce is reduced and concentrated in flavor.

Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Scatter the tagine with the remaining toasted almonds and the sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Sea Trout Ceviche

Well, we have managed to finally move up to Newport, Rhode Island. It has been a long week, but I am happy to say that we have managed to fully unpack and are finally getting around to the relaxation phase.

This was a quick one we whipped up during the week, which didn't require a lot of prep space, and no cooking at all. Ceviche is wonderful, and generally refers to marinating raw fish in some sort of acidic marinade (in this case, lime juice and spices). The acid "cooks" the fish if you leave it in there for a bit. This has a bit of an Indian twist to it, and comes from Atul Kochhar. It was delicious and simple.

400 g sea trout fillet, skinned
juice of 3 limes (or 3 tablespoons coconut vinegar)
½ tablespoon coconut oil or sunflower oil
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 small red chile, deseeded and finely sliced ~
1 small green chile, deseeded and finely sliced
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted in a dry frying pan and then ground to a powder
1 small pinch garam masala
1 small green mango, peeled, stoned and cut into thin strips
½ teaspoon palm sugar
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
sea salt

Remove any bones from the fish and then slice it across the grain into strips 1 cm thick. Put them in a ceramic, glass or plastic container (don't use metal, which will taint the flavor). Mix the lime juice, oil, onion, chillies, cumin, garam masala, mango, palm sugar and a pinch of salt together. Mix carefully with the fish. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour (but no more than 10 hours). The fish will 'cook' in the marinade and turn opaque.

Correct the seasoning to taste and stir in the chopped cilantro. Serve in chilled small, deep bowls with some of the marinating juices.