Run rabbit run

Mark and I decided a couple of weeks ago to have a "staycation" (the credit crunch version of an actual holiday) - which was actually pretty awesome. We went for a long (calf murdering) walk across the South Downs, visited a few galleries and, of course, I used the time to try out a dish I wouldn't normally try.
So there I was, on my way back from a jog, and I decided to pop into the butchers (this makes me sound healthier than I actually am) - and lo and behold,they had fresh rabbit (but no hare) at a pretty good price. So I bought it. And used it on a hare recipe. In hingsight, this was an error. Rabbit is clearly a very different meat to hare - however, cook it for half the recommended time and it works fine, especially as the sauce towards the end gives it  moisture.


But I don't want to give away too much yet....the recipe I chose was Spaetzli of hare (aka rabbit at weekends) with a rosemary, Beaufort and chestnut crust. It ended up looking something like this:

But that's enough of a teaser for now... First of all, it's important to note that this is meant to be an overnight dish. Something that made Saturday dinner into Sunday lunch for me, as yet again I didn't read the recipe properly in advance. Nice one.
Next point - unless you like butchering, get the butcher to do all the chopping / bone breaking for you. I bought the rabbit whole, gutted but with kidneys and liver inside -so I had to cut it up and break it into pieces with the help of rabbit butchering instructions off the internet. That said, I didn't mind as it's something I couldn't do before and I'm not that squeamish about this sort of thing - but the sounds of breaking rabbit bones proved slightly too much for bunny-lover (not like that) Mark. 


Right - now for the ingredients:


2 rabbits (the recipe suggests 1 haunch of hare - the rear legs- plus any extra front bits)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large leek, peeled and chopped
1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 bay leaves
1/2 bunch of fresh thyme
1 dessert spoon tomato paste
375ml (half a bottle) red wine
1 glass port (125ml)
rind from 1/2 orange, pith removed
3 star anise
1 litre chicken stock
100g pancetta lardons
100g button mushrooms
50g unsalted butter
100g breadcrumbs
1 bunch fresh rosemary,leaves picked and finely chopped
200g piece of Beaufort - alternatively the recipe suggests Comte or Gruyere. I used Comte
6 cooked chestnuts, grated


For the Spaetzli:
3 medium eggs
300g strong flour
125ml full fat milk (I used semi-skimmed, which in hindsight may also have been a mistake as the dough was stickier than a stick insect. But then the dough may have been that sticky anyway. Who knows)
1 dessert spoon vegetable oil
a pinch of salt
fresh nutmeg


Day 1


As hinted at above, first I butchered the rabbit to separate the hind legs, the ribs/front legs and the back/torso. I also saved up the liver (lovely, fried in a little olive oil and garlic) and kidneys (a bit rich) to serve with the main dish. I then seasoned the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper.

I preheated the oven to 130C and heated a heavy braising pan over a high heat until hot. I added a thin film of vegetable oil and sealed the rabbit pieces on all sides. I then removed the meat, and then added the leeks, carrots, onions and celery and sauteed the vegetables until they had softened. I then added the garlic, bay leaves, stalks of thyme and tomato paste and cooked for another few minutes before adding the wine and port to reduce.

Once the alcohol had pretty much evaporated, I returned the rabbit pieces, added the orange rind and star anise and then poured over the chicken stock. Once it had come to a gentle simmer, I skimmed off the fat bubbles and the whole pan was covered and placed into the oven.

Now for hare,this is meant to cook for almost two hours - for rabbit, it should be closer to an hour, as I discovered very much by accident. Once I realised the rabbit was already cooked, I removed the pan from the oven and left it for a couple of hours to come back down to room temperature.


While it was cooling, I decided to make the spatzli. I whisked together the eggs and added the flour, milk, vegetable oil and salt, added a generous pinch of grated nutmeg and left the mixture to rest for an hour or so. I brought a large pan of water to boil, prepared a lightly oiled tray and started the incredibly messy job of making spaetzli.
And oh was it messy - I was literally smothered head to toe in sticky spatzli batter before I had even made one spaetzli. The way to do it is to use a colander and push the batter through the holes into the boiling pan of water. When the batter is done, it rises to the surface.
Having experimented with an ikea colander (the blue one with the handle), a more traditional metal colander, and a steaming pan - I'd say the steaming pan worked best. But it was still made me lose my temper. I did end up with a few more spatzle than anticipated, so clearly Bruce factored in that half of the batter would end up all over the kitchen.

I put the spatzle in a tupperware box and in the fridge for the next day. Now, once the hare had cooled, I lifted out the meat and put it to one side. I strained the stock through a sieve into a clean pan and brought it to a boil, skimming the fat off before it reached boiling point. Once it had reduced by half, I strained it once more left it to cool and then put it in the fridge for the next day. I also picked the meat from the rabbit - also destined for the fridge - and discarded the bones.

 

Day 2


About an hour before Sunday (meant-to-be-Saturday-dinner) lunch, I preheated the grill and fried the lardons (using barely any oil), lifted them out and set them aside when done. I then fried up the button mushrooms and set them aside as well. 
I then melted the butter and added the breadcrumbs, fried them until they were crisp and golden, stirred in the rosemary and then laid them onto absorbent kitchen roll to strain the fat off.

 

I then heated up the stock and the rabbit in the fridge on a low heat, then added the lardons,mushrooms and spatzli. 

Once it was done, I spooned the ragout into a gratin dish, covered with the sliced cheese and sprinkled the rosemary crumbs over the top,then placed under the grill until the cheese had melted. Just before serving, I grated the chestnuts over the top. 
It tasted lovely - however I probably won't make it again because it's a lot of effort for something a little underwhelming. But at least I got to butcher a rabbit.

Epic harissa lamb roast

Last weekend, Mark suggested he take me out for a Sunday lunch - my counter-suggestion was that he buys the ingredients for me to cook for him instead. This may seem odd, but I had been wanting to try the slow roast harissa lamb recipe for a couple of weeks, and this was the perfect opportunity (and how I lived to regret it). 


In hindsight, this dish is wonderful - it tastes just beautiful and is (if I say so myself) one of the tastiest dishes I have ever made. So let's get started on the recipe for Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Harissa, Spiced Pilaf Rice and Yoghurt (yes it deserves all capital letters). To add a bit of colour, I also made a grilled courgette salad and fresh beetroot -but I'll go into that later.


1 large shoulder of lamb - the recipe suggests 2kg, I used c 1.6kg - this also means the times I used were slightly less than in the recipe, but I have kept the original times for writing up
1*90g jar of rose harissa (I used Belazu, available in Waitrose)
salt& freshly ground black pepper
2 heads of whole garlic, cut in half;plus 3 extra cloves (peeled and minced)
Olive oil
1 lemon, quartered, plus 1 extra for squeezing
1/2 cucumber, lightly peeled
125g Greek style yoghurt (I used reduced fat, which may seem counter-intuitive given the amount of fat and calories in this dish)
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped
3 large onions (I used red ones), peeled and finely sliced
vegetable oil
100g sultanas (for info,the recipe suggests chopped dried apricots as a substitute)
1 heaped dessert spoon ground cumin
1 heaped dessert spoon ground allspice
A large pinch of saffron threads (c12)
Caster sugar
400g basmati rice (I used brown basmati)
500ml cold water
1 bunch coriander, leaves picked off and chopped
100g flaked toasted almonds - I only really needed half that, it depends how much you like almonds in food


Right - about 4 hours before eating, I preheated the oven at 175 C. I rubbed the shoulder of lamb with half the jar of harissa - the recipe suggests seasoning the lamb with salt as well,which I did, but I found it a bit too salty,so I'd probably leave this out - and then arranged the garlic halves in the bottom of a roasting pan. I added  the lemon quarters, sprinkled the pan with a little olive oil and salt and then placed the roast on top of the garlic and lemon. 

   

                       
I roasted the lamb in the oven for about 25 minutes, then turned the oven down to 130 C and roasted for another 3 1/2 hours. I basted the lamb about every half hour and, when the lamb was cooked, I turned the oven off with the door of the oven cracked slightly open and (as at this point the rest of the food was ready) put a couple of plates in the oven to warm.

About an hour before serving, I started preparing the pilaf - I used a large, heavy bottomed saucepan and put it over a high heat before adding a glug of olive oil, the onions, garlic and raisins. I fried this (it's important to stir constantly, as otherwise it can burn) over a high heat until the onions began to soften, then added the ground cumin and allspice, the saffron, a large teaspoon of harissa and a pinch of sugar. Again, I stirred constantly (scraping the spices off the bottom as I went) for about 5 minutes, before stirring in the rice until fully coated with the mixture.

I then added the water and covered the pilaf with a lid until the water began to simmer, then turned the heat down to its lowest setting and left it for 15 minutes - the recipe points out that as much steam should be retained as possible, so I barely lifted the lid. I then turned the rice off and left it for half an hour, lid firmly down.

Just before serving, check the seasoning of the rice (mine needed a bit more lemon) and sprinkle over the toasted almonds. I should note that brown basmati does work - but clearly needs a little more time and water than regular basmati, as it was noticeably too al dente....

In the meantime, I also made the yoghurt sauce - I quartered the peeled cucumber, removed the seeds and then chopped into 3mm cubes which I put into a colander over the sink. I seasoned the cucumber with a little salt, rubbed it in and left it for 30 minutes. After this point, I mixed together the cucumber, yoghurt, mint and a squeeze of lemon juice. Simples.

So, that the lamb, the pilaf and the yoghurt sauce. While that was all going on, I also made two other things, which you can fit around the rice:


1. TONY's AMAZING BEETROOT DISH (for which there is no official name)


My father is responsible for re-introducing me to beetroot with this dish alone. It's so yummy, I could eat just this dish for dinner. A bunch of beetroot will serve 2-4 people. You will also need olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried basil and a large tablespoon of creme fraiche (I used half fat).


First, slice the beetroot finely (use a mandolin if necessary - I've done both with and without, and both work fine - just don't mandolin your finger like I did), then heat a glug of olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the beetroot and make sure all slices are coated with olive oil. Fry for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly to make sure they don't burn, then add a large glug of balsamic vinegar, freshly ground pepper and a little dried basil. 

 

About 20 minutes later, add another glug of balsamic vinegar, a bit more dried basil and the creme fraiche, then stir for a couple of minutes.....and that's it! It looks a bit messy, but tastes wonderful. I wouldn't have beetroot any other way...

2. Bruce's grilled courgette salad


This is a simple but rather time consuming dish - you need to mandolin each of the courgettes and then individually griddle each of the courgette slices. So this should probably be done in advance, although without adding the dressing, otherwise the courgettes go soggy.


4 courgettes, topped and tailed, and mandolined into c 2mm slices
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 dessert spoon red wine vinegar
caster sugar
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced (I used two)
olive oil
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped


Place the courgette slices into a colander, season with salt and leave for 1 hour, then dry on absorbent kitchen roll. Heat a griddle pan until very hot and then griddle each individual courgette slice until charred on both sides, then place the slices into a large mixing bowl.

Just before serving, add the vinegar, a pinch of caster sugar and the garlic -mix this with your hands - add pepper, a slug of olive oil and the chopped mint. Combine well and serve.

And now (drum-roll), the finsished product(s) - I loved this dish/combo, and have decided to engineer a dinner party just so that I can cook this again! Well worth the effort....

  

Bruce weekend returns - not so meaty

I am finally getting around to writing about last weekend's meal, so I thought I'd do it all at once - last weekend I put my foot down and insisted that we have a non-meat Bruce theme.

Last Saturday was a cold, cold night, for the UK anyway, so I went for something slightly comfort food-y. For starters, I chose Polenta with asparagus, poached egg and black olives (controversially vegetarian) and for mains, I opted for Roast cod with olive oil mash.

The cod was something my friend Megan had (when we visited Chez Bruce for my 29th Birthday on the most recent Megan and Kelly London Invasion), and didn't enjoy much - so it was something I wanted to tackle. Also, cod is something I haven't ever cooked, which is strange given it's so easy to get hold of, so I wanted to give it a try.

But - first things first - Polenta with Asparagus, Poached Egg and Black Olives. This recipe is super-easy, but looks and tastes incredibly impressive. It's also easy to make it look presentable, which is something I always struggle with. Also, the recipe isn't snobby about instant polenta - in fact it encourages it, which is good because I love the stuff. I used polenta valsugana from Waitrose, but I expect other similar brands are fine too. The ingredients below are enough for 4 as a starter or a light lunch according to the recipe - I was cooking for 2, and it worked to just halve the ingredients.

1 litre of water

250g instant polenta

100g unsalted butter

150g grated Parmesan cheese (plus a little extra shaved Parmesan)

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

16 spears of fresh English asparagus

A few drops of any vinegar to poach eggs

Olive oil

2 tsp tapenade, thinned down with a bit of olive oil into vinaigrette consistency

Now -at this point, the recipe refers to page 53 for a tapenade recipe. Which doesn't exist (unless I've gone blind, as I couldn't find it anywhere in the book). So I used one on the BBC recipes site, which was lovely, and I did this first:

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 lemon, juice only

3 tbsp capers, chopped

6 anchovy fillets, chopped

250g black olives, pitted

small bunch fresh parsley, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used half the recommended amount, I think that's sufficient).

I put the garlic, lemon juice, capers, anchovies, parsley and the olives into a bowl and simply blended them using a stick blender until it formed a rough paste. I then added the olive oil and some pepper (no salt needed thanks to the anchovies) and stirred well, then put into a tupperware box for later. I did have some photos of this, but somehow they seem to have disappeared from my iphone - so you'll have to live without them I'm afraid.

I then turned to the polenta dish - first I brought the water to the boil and added salt before mixing in the polenta, whisking constantly. Once it started blubbing (the recipe refers to it as bubbling a bit like lava), I left it for 2-3 minutes, then turned the heat down to its lowest setting and cooked it for c15 minutes, stirring constantly. It got a bit thick a couple of times, so I just added a touch of boiled water and kept stirring. At the end, I beat in the butter and the parmesan, added a bit of pepper (no salt, but add to taste) and covered it while I did the rest.

Next, I brought two pots to the boil (Mark, dedicated washer upper, was not impressed by the consumption of pots in this recipe) - one to poach the eggs, and one for the asparagus. I boiled the asparagus as normal, and added a few drops of vinegar to the poaching pan. I then cracked each egg into a cup and carefully slid them into the pan. When the eggs were poached (a few minutes, I just guessed and was lucky), I removed them with a slotted spoon and dabbed them try with a kitchen towel. Again, I had more photos of this, and they are, unfortunately, lost. So instead you get a token remaining asparagus photo.

I seasoned the asparagus with a tiny bit of olive oil, flaked sea salt and pepper and arranged them on two warmed plates (plate warming is a new fad of mine now that I've realised it's actually quite effective). I then put a spoonful of polenta next to the asparagus, placed the poached egg on top, spooned a little tapenade over the top and then "artistically" (read clumsily) added some shaved parmesan.

This dish was met with much content - despite the lack of meat - and will definitely be made again.

Now for the next course - Roast cod with olive oil mash. Again, this recipe serves 4 as a main course, but I halved for two people.

1 large courgette, topped and tailed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 sweet potato (the recipe suggests 4 large potatoes, such as Desiree or Romano, but I prefer sweet so substituted. It's pretty good)

100ml milk (I used semi skimmed)

100ml olive oil

4x175g pieces of fresh cod, cut from the head of the fillet. They should be similar sized so they roast evenly, and the recipe suggests buying fillets with skin. The ones I got were skinless.

Gremolata (see below)

2 large plum tomatoes (I used mini plum tomatoes because they were on special offer)

Dried herbs de provence

1 peeled clove of garlic (I used 2)

Firstly, I tackled the tomatoes - I preheated the oven to 240 C, pierced the tomato skins, seasoned them with salt and pepper and put them into an ovenproof dish (I used a small paella pan). These I sprinkled with the herbes de provence, dribbled them with a little olive oil and added the (very thinly sliced) garlic, and then roasted them in the oven for about 20 minutes (the recipe said 10-15 minutes, but I missed the timer). I then removed them from the oven and set them aside until later.

 

Next, I boiled the sweet potato until they were soft but not too soft. I drained them and then added them to the pan again to steam for a while, boiling the milk and olive oil in the meantime. I then used a potato masher to combine the potatoes with the milk and olive oil, plus a little salt and pepper, over a low heat, then took of the heat and covered until later.

And now, the cod.....I heated an oven proof frying pan until it was very hot and added a small amount of olive oil, then brushed it across the pan to create a thin layer of oil across the pan. I then seasoned the cod with salt and pepper and immediately placed the two fillets onto the pan. The fish sizzled immediately, and I left them there, without moving them, for 3-4 minutes. I then placed the whole pan into the oven to roast for c8 minutes. At this point, the oven should be very hot - it needs to be preheated well in advance - otherwise there's a risk that the cod is steamed rather than roasted. When it is removed from the oven, the cod should be firm, but should separate easily, and then when I turned it around it was a beautiful golden colour.

In the meantime, I sliced the courgette into even, oblique slices and put them under a medium grill until they had coloured a little. Next time, using a griddle pan would be better I think, as it also creates the pretty charcoaled grid-lines on the courgette.

I also made the Gremolata - which was something I had never heard of before- a northern Italian mix of lemon zest, chopped parsley and garlic. For this, as the previous sentence suggest, I used the zest of an unwaxed lemon, two very finely chopped garlic cloves, and the leaves of a bunch of finely chopped parsley and mixed it all together. And that's it - it's so easy and tastes delicious, and will be using this for other fish or white meat dishes in the future.

Now to bring it all together - I placed a spoonful of the mash onto each plate, and then added the cod, golden side up, next to the mash. On top of the mash I placed three baby plum tomatoes, and the courgette was reserved for on top of the cod. I then spooned a little Gremolata on top.

 

It tasted lovely - I'm not sure I'd make it again, as cod isn't my favourite fish - but it was definitely worth the effort. Thank you again Bruce!!

Bruce weekend II - something a bit different

So after much deliberation (and after I couldn't find rabbit at the last minute for love nor money), I made the Malaysian chicken curry. Sounds simple, and it is, but curry is something I've never been comfortable with and has resulted in mixed success on previous occasions.


So here's what was needed:
8 skinned and boneless chicken thighs (c 900g boneless weight), cut in half and seasoned with flaked sea salt - I skinned and de-boned at home
sea salt
3 tbsp vegetable oil
6 dried kaffir lime leaves
2 large cinnamon sticks
1 fresh lemongrass, split and bruised with the back of a heavy knife
400ml chicken stock
400ml coconut milk
I also included a few mushrooms that I had left over in the fridge from the duck dish last week, which were lovely


For the spice mix:
5g coriander seeds
6-8 shallots, peeled and sliced thinly
c4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly (I used 6, it was lovely)
c30g peeled fresh ginger, grated
2 bird's eye chillies, chopped with seeds (the recipe suggested 3-4 - I used 2, and I could have included maybe 1 more if pushed, but them maybe I'm just a wimp)


First, I lightly toasted the coriander seeds in a small, dry frying pan over a medium heat until they released a warm, rich smell - then let them cool and ground them in a pestle and mortar. I then put the ground coriander seeds, shallots, garlic, ginger and chillies into a food processor and blended it into a paste before scraping the paste into a container for later use.

 

I then heated a large frying pan, added half the vegetable oil and, once hot, sauteed the chicken until it was lightly coloured. In parallel, I also heated the rest of the oil in a large braising pan and then fried the paste mixture for about 5 minutes, until it was a bit more oily and less wet. The smell was absolutely beautiful - a rich, spicy aroma that made my mouth water.

 

I then added the cinnamon sticks, the lemongrass, the kaffir lime leaves and the chicken to the pan with the paste in it, along with the juices from the frying pan. Once everything was mixed in together, I poured over the chicken stock and half the coconut milk and left to simmer lightly (as opposed to boil) for an hour.

  

After about 40 minutes, I stirred in the mushrooms. After an hour, I added the rest of the coconut milk, cooked for another couple of minutes and then took off the heat. It didn't needed any more seasoning, but I'd taste just to make sure.

The recipe has what seems like a great way of cooking slightly sticky, fluffy jasmine rice - I used wholegrain basmati, which I love, instead. I also steamed some asparagus and pak choi and sprinkled with light soy sauce -not strictly necessary, but nice if you prefer to have your meals with greenery. This curry tastes beautiful and is incredibly more-ish -I have quite a lot left over for the next couple of days (although it will probably only last less than one...). Great recipe, I'll definitely be making this again!Yum.

 

And so it begins... Chez Lucy

So, Julie and Julia style (but clearly far cooler),I've chosen my book to work through - hopefully to teach me a variety of cooking methods, how to make food look nice and hopefully be in a position to start hosting dinner parties with more civilised dishes than the lasagne specials I've made to date.


And here it is - Bruce's Cookbook, the first cookbook by Bruce Poole, Michelin starred chef of the award winning Chez Bruce (which just so happens to be my favourite restaurant of all time). To anyone who buys it, this is an incredibly well written cookbook. The intro is wonderful and really sets the scene for the rest of the book - and each recipe is written with such care that it is a joy to cook from. Right...enough gushing...

For Saturday 21 Jan, I decided on one course, as we had plans that evening. So I chose something that looked simpler than most of them to kick off with. I went for the Duck breast with roast shallots, wild mushrooms, peas and pancetta, for which I used:
4 large unpeeled banana shallots
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil
50g unsalted butter
100g fresh or frozen peas
4 duck breasts (c200g each) -I went for Gressingham
2 rashers of smoked, streaky bacon, cut into lardons
100g fresh wild mushrooms (I chose oyster and buna shimeji, and used more, c150g - you can never have too many mushrooms)
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
100ml Madeira or Port (I used port, Cockburns)
100ml chicken stock
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked off


Firstly, I preheated the oven to 175C (mine's fan assisted, and this was the perfect temperature for the 
recommended time). 
I then put an ovenproof frying pan (I used a paella pan, as that's the closest I had at that point - it worked fine) over medium heat, added a large tablespoon of vegetable oil and waited until it was hot. I cut each shallot in half lengthways (the shallots should remain unpeeled - I removed some of the flakier outer shell) and then laid them, flat side down, into the frying pan. I pan fried them for c 5minutes until they had visibly coloured (a sort of dark brown colour), then added half of the butter and to the pan and put it in the oven for 35 minutes.

In the meantime, I prepared the peas (I used frozen petit pois, cooked slightly less than the packet suggested) until they were al dente, put them aside for later and started preparing the duck. The shallots were done while I was preparing the duck (the onions were soft when touched), so I put a couple of plates into the oven to warm.

For the duck breasts, I then seasoned them thoroughly on both sides. I put them into a cold, non-stick frying pan (although as, at that point, I didn't have a pan big enough for four duck breasts, I used two pans), skin side down, over medium heat. Once the fat started releasing from the skin, I turned the heat down a little and basted the duck with its own fat regularly until the skin had reached a golden brown colour. I have never cooked duck in this way before, and found it very effective.
I then flipped the breast over and fried for another couple of minutes, then left the breasts to rest in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them onto a warmed plate and covering them in foil to stay warm.

I put the used duck pan back onto a medium heat, before adding the lardons for a couple of minutes and then added the mushrooms and the thyme and turned up the heat slightly. I sauteed them for about 5 minutes, added the port and, once the liquid had cooked away, added the stock and reduced this by half. I then turned the heat down, added the peas, parsley and remaining butter and then added a little more pepper.The recipe notes that the sauce should not boil at this point - it should be over a very low heat. 

  

I had also boiled some ready made spaetzle in the meantime, so it was time to plate up - I added the spaetzle and spooned the mushroom and pea sauce onto the plate. I then carved the duck and laid it on top of the sauce, added a roasted shallot, and it was ready to go. In hindsight, I should have layered this dish slightly differently -  spaetzle first, then sauce on top, then duck on top of that - but meh, it tasted awesome.