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Recipes for you to make and enjoy the food at home!
Strathdon Blue Cheese Burgers
Recipe from Byron's Fine Food, 68 High Street, Ware
Serves 4
500gm minced beef
1 onion, peeled & finely chopped
1 large free range egg
1tsp mustard powder
60gm Strathdon blue cheese
2tb groundnut oil
crushed sea salt & ground black pepper
4 soft white rolls
Beef burgers stuffed with Strathdon blue cheese, a mature and creamy artisan made blue cheese from Scotland, produced by Rory Stone.
To make really good burgers there are only a couple of things you need to know. The beef must not be too lean, the leaner it is the drier your burgers will be, so select mince that has at least a 20% fat content, and the seasoning should to be on the generous side otherwise they can be a little bland.
Peel the onion and chop very finely, do this in the small bowl of a food processor or use a knife, a board & lots of patience. Put the minced beef, onion, and mustard powder, about half a teaspoon of salt & plenty of ground black pepper into a large mixing bowl. Break in the egg and mix thoroughly together with your hands.
Put a quarter of the mixture onto a chopping board and divide in half, roll each half into a ball and pat down with the flat of your hand to form two thin rounds. Crumble 15gm of the Strathdon blue onto the centre of one of the rounds and place the other one on top. Pat down and bring in the sides with your hands a couple of times until you have a neat round burger, about 2cm thick with the cheese sealed in the middle. Repeat this with the rest of the mixture to form three more burgers.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the burgers over a medium to high heat for no more than 4-5 minutes on each side, until browned and just cooked through, meanwhile split the rolls and toast them on both sides. Serve with some big fat chips, your favourite relish & fresh salad.
Greek Feta Cheese Salad
Recipe from Byron's Fine Food, 68 High Street, Ware
Serves 2
120gm feta cheese
½ a cucumber
2 tomatoes
50gm sun-blushed tomatoes
50gm black olives with herbs de provence
50gm green olives with garlic & herbs
1tb roughly chopped mint
juice & zest of ½ un-waxed lemon
3tb extra virgin olive oil
ground black pepper
Quarter the cucumber lengthways and cut across into chunks roughly the size of the olives, chop the tomatoes into similar sized pieces and put them both into a large salad bowl. Put the sun-blushed tomatoes and the green & black olives into a sieve to drain of any oil or brine, add them to the cucumber & tomatoes and toss to mix.
Make the dressing by whisking the olive oil into the lemon juice & zest and season with plenty of ground black pepper but no salt as the feta & olives provide enough natural salt.
Roughly dice the feta into pieces the size of the rest of the ingredients and sprinkle them over the top along with the chopped mint, pour over the dressing, toss the whole lot together and serve with some good crusty white bread & a large tub of Byron’s ‘Moorish’ hummous.
Fish Pie with egg and lemon
Recipe from Byron's Fine Food, 68 High Street, Ware
Serves 4
800gm white fish, cod, haddock or whiting fillets
1 pint / 570ml of full cream milk
pinch of saffron threads
3 bay leaves
75gm unsalted butter
50gm plain flour
4 large eggs, hardboiled & quartered
3tbs chopped parsley
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
juice of ½ the lemon
crushed sea salt & ground black pepper
Lay the fish fillets in a large deep sided frying pan with a lid, pour in the milk add the bay leaves cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, crush the saffron with a little of the hot milk and add to the pan, cover and leave for a further 5 minutes. Transfer the fish to a plate and strain the milk into a jug, when cool enough to handle flake the fish into fairly large chunks.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour, gradually add the milk a little at a time stirring constantly until it forms a smooth sauce, season with salt & pepper and simmer gently on the lowest possible heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest & chopped parsley, fold in the flaked fish & hardboiled eggs and pour into a well-buttered baking dish. Leave to cool & firm up in the fridge while you make the mash, this helps prevent the topping from sinking into the sauce.
For the topping
1 kg Maris piper or King Edward potatoes
25gm unsalted butter
150ml soured cream
nutmeg
crushed sea salt & ground black pepper
50gm parmesan cheese, finely grated
cayenne pepper
Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, 400°F. Peel, dice and boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or so until tender and drain well. Mash with the butter & soured cream and season to taste with salt, pepper & grated nutmeg. Spread evenly over the fish mixture, sprinkle over the parmesan and dust the top with a little cayenne pepper. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is crisp & golden and serve with shredded runner beans, minted garden peas or a crisp green salad on the side.
Baked Strawberry Tart
Recipe from Byron's Fine Food, 68 High Street, Ware
Serves 2
1 20cm sweet pastry case
200gm ripe strawberries
2 large free range egg yolks
100gm vanilla sugar
100ml double cream
Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, 400°F, hull the strawberries if necessary and slice them, cover the base of the pastry case with them reserving half a dozen slices for decoration. Beat together the egg yolks & vanilla sugar until pale, stir in the cream until incorporated do not beat, as this will make it too thick. If you do not have vanilla sugar use the same quantity of caster sugar and add a few drops of vanilla extract when stirring in the cream. Pour this mixture over the strawberries taking care not to over fill the pastry case. Bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 20 minutes or so until the custard is firm to the touch with a little give.
Leave the tart to cool completely before cutting, decorate with the reserved strawberry slices and serve with some crème fraîche or soured cream.
In the winter when the only strawberries available are tasteless imports, use seedless grapes halved to line the pastry case and proceed as above.
Salmon and Prawn Fish Cakes
from Everyday Harumi by Harumi Karihara
'Salmon is usually cooked as a fillet but I like to chop it up like mince – it can be used like this in many different recipes. Here I mix it with prawns, but equally you can replace them with chopped pork or chicken. I like to leave the onions in quite large pieces as they give the fish cakes an extra bite and I love serving them with lots of fresh shredded ginger on top. You will be amazed how different really finely shredded ginger tastes – be brave and try these delicious fish cakes with more shredded ginger than you would usually take'.
Salmon and Prawn Fish Cakes
Makes 18 small fish cakes
360g salmon
120g shelled raw prawns
120g onion
1 tablespoon sake
salt and pepper – to season
sunflower or vegetable oil –
for frying
ponzu soy sauce
some finely shredded fresh
ginger – to garnish
For the ponzu soy sauce:
100ml mirin
100ml soy sauce
60ml lemon juice
5cm piece konbu seaweed,
wiped of any salty deposits
1. To make the ponzu soy sauce: In a small saucepan, bring the mirin to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for a further 2–3 minutes over a low heat to burn off the alcohol. Remove from the heat and add the soy sauce, lemon juice and konbu
and leave to cool.
2. Remove any skin or bones from the salmon and finely mince.
3. Devein the prawns and chop finely. Both the salmon and prawns should resemble minced meat.
4. Chop the onion into 7–8mm size pieces.
5. Put the salmon and prawns into a bowl, mix well then add the onion and mix again. Add the sake, some salt and pepper to season, and combine thoroughly.
6. Shape the mixture into small fish cakes, each one being around 4–5cm in diameter.
7. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and when hot place the fish cakes in the pan, allowing them to brown well before turning over.
8. Once cooked, place on a large plate and drizzle over the ponzu soy sauce and garnish with some shredded fresh ginger on top of each fish cake.
This recipe is taken from Everyday Harumi by Harumi Karihara, published by
Coran Octopus, with photography by Jason Lowe.
Green Beans with Minced Pork
from Everyday Harumi by Harumi Karihara
'This dish is something of a tradition in my household. It is easy to prepare, only needing soy sauce for seasoning, and makes use of wonderful ingredients like ginger, garlic and Japanese leeks. It is a great dish that can be rustled up quickly if guests drop in unexpectedly. I usually serve it with white rice and if there are any leftovers, they don’t last long in our house'.
Serves 4
500g green beans
40g leek
15g fresh ginger, peeled
8g garlic
sunflower or vegetable oil – for frying
200g minced pork
30–45ml soy sauce
sliced fresh or dried red chillies – to taste
sesame oil – to taste
1. Prepare the green beans, lightly cook in boiling water, then rinse under cold running water.
2. Drain the beans, pat-dry and cut diagonally into easy-to-eat pieces.
3. Finely chop the leek, ginger and garlic.
4. Put a little oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Add the chopped leek, ginger and garlic, allowing the flavours to infuse in the oil, then add the minced pork and stir-fry.
5. Add the green beans, then add soy sauce and red chilli to taste.
6. Continue to cook until the beans have heated through. Add a little sesame oil to taste and serve with hot white rice.
This recipe is taken from Everyday Harumi by Harumi Karihara, published by
Coran Octopus, with photography by Jason Lowe.
Prawn and Chicken Ankake Donburi
from Everyday Harumi by Harumi Karihara
'Ankake is a typical Japanese sauce and can be served with a variety of ingredients. The sauce is made by thickening a seasoned dashi stock with a potato starch and water mix – if you cannot find potato starch you can use cornflour but you would need to make adjustments to the quantities, as it is not as strong a thickening agent as potato starch. Ankake style sauces are the backbone of many Japanese housewives’ recipes – they are very suitable to serve as a donburi (on rice)'.
Serves 4
250g boneless chicken thighs with skin on
100g shelled raw prawns
salt and pepper – to season
sake – to marinate
100g fresh shiitake mushrooms
120g onion, peeled
200g pak choi leaves
45ml soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
400ml dashi stock (see page 19 of the book)
1 tablespoon sunflower or
vegetable oil – for frying the green stem of a leek
40g fresh ginger, peeled and halved
15g fresh garlic, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons potato starch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
600g hot cooked rice
1. Cut the chicken into 2cm-square pieces and devein the prawns. In separate bowls, season both the chicken and the prawns with a little sake, salt and pepper.
2. Clean the mushrooms and trim the stalks. Finely slice them, cutting them on the diagonal.
3. Chop the onion lengthwise, then into wedges and then cut the wedges in half.
4. Prepare the pak choi first by separating the leafy parts from the stems, cutting the stems in half lengthwise and then further chopping them into 5cm-long pieces. Cut the leaves into pieces of around 5cm in size.
5. Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar and salt to the dashi stock, mix together thoroughly and set aside.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan. When hot, add the leek, ginger and garlic, in that order, and cook until you can smell their aroma. Then add the chicken and the prawns, followed by the mushrooms, onion and pak choi.
7. Add the dashi stock mixture. When it comes to a boil, stir in the potato starch and water mix to thicken the sauce.
8. Discard the ginger, leek and garlic. Serve the ankake on hot cooked rice in individual serving bowls.
This recipe is taken from Everyday Harumi by Harumi Karihara, published by
Coran Octopus, with photography by Jason Lowe.
Caribbean Lamb Shanks
from Caribbean food made easy by Levi Roots
Serves 4
2 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
3 banana shallots or 2 onions, chopped
3 garlic gloves, finely chopped
3 carrots, cut into long, thin slices, about 1/2cm (1/4in) thick
4 lamb shanks
2 tsp crushed allspice
salt and pepper
200ml (7fl oz) red wine
300ml (1/2 pint) beef stock
500g (1lb 2oz) sweet potato, peeled and cut into 5cm (2in) chunks
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 bay leaves
2 red hot chillies (ideally scotch bonnet or red thai bird's eye), 1 cut in half
1 cinnamon stick
2 sprigs of thyme
2 tbsp fresh corriander leaves, to garnish (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Wash the meat and pat dry with kitchen paper.
2. In a large, lidded casserole dish, heat half the oil. Add the shallots, onions, garlic and carrots and cook gently to soften for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, season the shanks by rubbing the allspice, salt and pepper. Heat the rest of the oilin a large frying pan. Thoughly brown the shanks on all sides. Add the browned shanks to the softened vegetables.
4. deglaze the frying pan with the red wine and stock by adding the liquids and stirring until the brown residue from the shanks dissolves. Add the liquid to the casserole dish.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients (apart from the corriander) to the casserole dish and stir it all around. Put the lid on the casserole and put in the preheated oven. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Served sprinkkled with the fresh corriander, if you like. Fantastic!
This recipe is taken from Caribbean Food Made Easy by Levi Roots, published by Mitchell Beazley. Photograph by Chris Terry.
Sticky jerk wings with sugared oranges
from Caribbean food Made Easy by Levi Roots
Serves 4 as a starter or as part of a barbecue spread
12 Chicken wings
2 tbsp soft light brown sugar or demarara sugar
2 pipless oranges
5 long, mild red chillies, whole and undamaged
FOR THE JERK MARINADE
4 spring onions, green part only, roughly chopped
1 hot red chilli (ideally Scothch bonnet), seeds left in
3cm (1 1/4in) piece of root ginger, cut into chunks
2 tbsp thyme leaves
100ml (3 1/2fl oz) cider vinegar
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1. Put the marinade ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. Alternately,
pound the ingredients to a paste using a pestle and mortar. Pour it over the wings,
turning them over so they are well coated. Leave to marinate, covered in the fridge
for at least 4 hours, or overnight if more convenient, turning the wings over once or twice.
2. Get the barbecue going until the coals die down to hot grey ash (or preheat an
oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5). Barbecue or cook the wings, turning them over a few times, until they are cooked through (the juices should run clear when a skewer id pushed into the thickest point) and nicely brown, basting with any leftover jerk marinade (about 15 minutes).
3. While the wings are cooking, sprinkle the sugar on to a plate and cut the oranges into quarters. Dip the cut sides of each piece into the sugar and cook on the barbecue (or in a heavy dry frying pan or under a stovetop grill) for a few minutes until the sugar has caramelized. Keep a close eye on the oranges to prevent them from burning. At the same time, chargrill the chillies.
4. Serve the wings with the caramelized oranges and chargrilled chillies.
This recipe is taken from Caribbean Food Made Easy by Levi Roots, published by Mitchell Beazley. Photograph by Chris Terry.
Avocado and mango salad
from Caribbean Food Made Easy by Levi Roots
Serves 4
2 avocados
1 just-ripe (but still firm) mango
2 little gem lettuces, separated into leaves, washed and dried
1/2 long, mild red chilli, deseeded and chopped into slivers
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
juice of 1 lime
olive oil
salt
1. Cut the avocados in half, remove the stones, peel and cut the flesh into long thin slices. Cut both cheeks from the mango sone and cross-hatch the flesh, making sure your knife goes right down the skin not through it. Press the centre of each piece of the mango skin with your fingers so that the straight cut flesh side becomes rounded (it will look like a mango hedgehog), then use the knife to disconnect the squares of mango: you will have cubes of mango. Remove any remaining mango flesh that you can reach, peel and dice it and add to the rest.
2. Put the lettuce leaves on to 4 plates. Arrange the avocado, mango, chilli and onion on top. Sprinkle over the thyme leaves, squeeze over the lime and drizzle over some olive oil. Season with salt.
Levi's tip: To make this recipe as a salsa, chop the avocados, mango, chilli and onion finely. Sprinkle over the thyme leaves, squeeze over the lime, drizzle over some olive oil, then season with salt. Mix with cooked white crab meat, if you like. Spoon the salsa into individual little gem lettuce leaves and serve.
This recipe is taken from Caribbean Food Made Easy by Levi Roots, published by Mitchell Beazley. Photograph by Chris Terry. |