Bert's Pizza Oven

A few weeks ago, we decided to 'test' Bert's new pizza oven. He has never, ever made a pizza  in his life and he didn't make it now either. 

The oven is obviously meant to be used outdoors and the fuel used are wood pellets.

A torch is used to light the pellets and when they've caught on you just fill up with more pellets.

 As soon as the pellets are glowing and the oven is hot I started assembling the pizza. Ah yes, I always have a well topped pizza.

If you do this too early, it won't slide off the pizza peel.

Close the oven.

 Ticktock ticktock ticktock ticktock ... x 90  or thereabouts 

Ready !

Next time we won't be putting the oven in such a windy spot. The flames licked the pizza a tad too much. 

Very tasty, nonetheless. 

Patricia xxx...x

Whoa There !

Every now and then I surprise myself. Yesterday was such an occasion as I got off my lazy bum and made a bit of food for the freezer. Not for the freezer as such but for us, to eat at a later stage and to make dinnertime prep easier for when I am busy doing other things.

Like sitting on my bum.

Bert has recently bought a pizza oven via t'internet (I really should keep him away from the 3 w's). It works with wood pellets. Which is great because we have them hanging around the house, seeing we normally use them as cat litter. As you do.

Anyway, I decided to make a head start with the dough. Just in case there will be a day somewhere in the future, without wind or rain, when he lights the pizza oven.

I made two batches of dough and divided each into 6 balls.

I wrapped them individually and placed them in the freezer.

 Last week I also organised two of our three freezers, by the way.

I still had massive beetroots from my friend Sophie which I had stored in the fridge.

They had a good roasting in the oven while I was busy doing other things. I saw this recipe on line for beetroot ravioli and thought if I portion off the right quantity of roasted beets, they can be frozen too.

The oven was hot from roasting the beets and I made use of that by chucking in two loaves of bread.

With the kitchen a mess, I thought, "what the heck! I'll make shortcrust pastry too"

Six portions went into the, yes, freezer and I made one pastry case for a quiche for today and one beetroot, goats cheese and smoked salmon tart for last night's dinner.

Layer sliced goats cheese, roasted beetroot and red onions sauteed with balsamico.

In a hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Add fresh goats cheese blobs and return to oven for 5 more minutes. Leave to cool for 10. drape with smoked salmon and drizzle with reduced balsamico. Sprinkle with black pepper. I just wish I had rocket to set it off a bit better, flavour wise and for photographic purposes.

The pastry was yummy. There is a reason why this is usually served as a small portion for a starter. It's rich !

Patricia xxx...x

Wot's This Then ?

Is it a quiche ? Is it a sorta Spanish omelette ? A frittata  ?

Call it what ye will. I needed to use up eggs !
We're obviously not keeping up with our chickens. They are laying more eggs than we are prepared to eat on a daily basis. While I try to come up with a recipe that uses a hundred eggs in one go, they keep on accumulating in the pantry.
Sunday was the day I hard boiled fifteen eggs to use in an egg mayonnaise - salad type of thing.
But I also wanted to make something that would do as  dinner. Not too much fuss as I was still in the grips of a flu. With the feeling of a boa constrictor squeezing the bejeesus out of my chest, the only thing I wanted to do was lay down and play dead.
Unfortunately my appetite never dies so I set to work. Cooked everything in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan assisted)
Line a roasting tin with baking paper (my tin is 21 x 36 cm)

First step
Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 0.5 cm disks
• 3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 0.5 cm disks
• olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Provençale or Italian dried herbs
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Preparation

• Put the potatoes, oil, herbs and spices onto a baking tray toss around that you have an even coating of oil and spices.
• Put the tray in the preheated oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes.

• Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and set aside.

Second step

Ingredients

• 2 large onions, peeled and sliced in rings
• 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, sliced (in rings or  lengthways)
• olive oil
• 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp Provençale or Italian herb mix, 1 tsp smoked paprika

Preparation

• Spread the veg out onto your tray with olive oil and spices

•  In the oven with it ! For 15 minutes

• Set aside

Third step

Ingredients plus of course yer roasted veg

• olive oil
• 200 grs goats cheese, sliced
• 12 eggs
• splash of milk
• salt to taste
• a small bunch of coriander leaves

Preparation

• Take your roasting tin with the baking paper and drizzle with olive oil
• Layer with potatoes, other veg and goats cheese

• Beat the eggs with the salt and milk. Add the chopped coriander leaves and pour over the veg.

• Place it in the hot oven for 30 minutes or until the eggs have set.

• Leave to rest for 10 minutes before lifting the 'whatever-you-gonna-call-it' out with the lining paper.
• Slice and serve however you like.

I obviously made enough to have leftovers the next day.

A great meat free meal it was too. And while the written down recipe seems long, it was ready in no time (except for the hour in the oven)

If you don't like goats cheese, use another cheese.

If you don't like cheese, don't use any.

If you don't like coriander, use parsley or nothing of the sort.

If you don't like eggs, tough luck !

If any of my friends in the area want some free eggs, come and get some. I'm not going to start a delivery service. Capiche ?

Patricia xxx...x

Duck Breast with Asian Style Salad

If only you had made my Asian Flavoured Bread and Butter Pickle then this recipe would be a doddle. I used the vinegary brine as a base for the dressing for this salad, along with some of the pickled cucumbers, onions and chilli.
Never mind, you can still make a lovely dressing from scratch.

The dressing
Ingredients

• small clove of garlic, peeled and crushed or grated
• 1 cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• a dash of soy sauce

Preparation

• Put all ingredients into a jar with lid. Shake it, shake it, shake it ! Ready !

The duck breast

Ingredients

• 1 duck breast
• 1 heaped tsp Chinese 5-spice
• salt

Preparations

• Score the skin and rub the breast all over with salt and the 5-spice
• Place it skin side down in a cold pan and fry over medium heat for about 6 minutes
• Turn over and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes
• Take it out of the pan and let it rest for 10
• Slice the breast meat in thin slices.

The salad

You can use many variations of vegetables for such a salad. The choice is yours.

Ingredients

• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• my pickled cucumber (you can use fresh cucumber and slice in fine batons)
• 200 grs (or thereabouts) beansprouts. You can use them raw or slightly blanched.
• a piece of both red and green pepper, sliced in thin batons.
• red or green chilli (to taste),  sliced in rings at an angle
• a handful of cooked rice noodles (cooled)
• 1 or 2 spring onions, sliced at an angle
• coriander leaves

Preparation

• Put all the ingredients (except the coriander) into a bowl and mix it well with the dressing.
• Leave to stand for at least 15 minutes.
• I arranged some lettuce leaves on a plate before spooning on some of the salad.
• Add the sliced duck breast.
• Sprinkle with some coriander and drizzle with sweet chilli sauce (if you have it)

Thinly sliced white cabbage and radishes would be a great addition too.

This recipe is enough for 2 servings as a lunch or dinner even. You can easily adapt the quantities  to your needs.

I was on my own when I made this - Bert was away (haha !). The next day I served myself the second portion like this :

And if you are vegetarian, you can always use some marinated tofu instead of duck, of course.

Have a good weekend all !
Patricia xxx...x

Poached Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (preferably free range or organic)
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 3 celery stalks, washed and cut into 4
• 1 large carrot, washed or peeled, quartered
• 1 fennel bulb, washed and quartered
• a handful of parsley stalks
• 4 bay leaves
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 tbsp black pepper corns
• 1 tbsp coarse sea salt

Method
It is dead easy.

The carrots here are hiding at the bottom. You'll just have to take my word for it.

• put the chicken in a cooking pot, large enough to contain all ingredients plus water
• arrange all other ingredients around and over the chicken
• cover with cold water
• bring to the boil
• turn down the heat, and let it simmer ! for about 1 hour.

• take the chicken out of the stock straight away and transfer to a plate or shallow dish.

• Drain the stock through a colander and use it for soups, sauces, gravy...The vegetables are for the chooks.
• Pick the meat off the bones while still hot/warm. It'll come off easier than when it is cold.

Use the succulent meat for salad, sandwich, soup, ragout, chicken pie

Skin and cartilage  for the dogs

Discard of the bones. Bin or compost.

And there you have it. Simple and doesn't take a lot of effort. You'll get quite a few meals out of this.

Patricia xxx...x

Salmon and Prawn Laksa - It is Just a friggin' Soup.

I've been wanting to make laksa for some time now, but 'exotic' ingredients, like rice noodles, are often hard to come by in this neck of the woods. Let alone, laksa paste or lemongrass. So most of the time improvising is on the agenda. But that is okay, because I'm an improvisatrice extraordinaire, even if I do say so myself.
I can't think of a time that I have ever had the honour of eating laksa, but looking at recipes on the web, I could 'imagine' the flavours. A choice had to be made though, last Monday, whether  it was going to be a fish based, chicken or vegetarian laksa. I opted for this recipe from BBC GoodFood .
While I had foraged the not-too-far shops over the last month or so, I had most ingredients in the house, except for laksa paste or Thai red curry paste, but in the freezer was a small (very small) plastic container with homemade Malaysian curry paste

Here is how I set to work.
Ingredients - serves 3 as a main course

• sunflower oil, 2 to 3 tbsp
• butternut squash, the neck only, peeled and cut into 1.5 to 2 cm cubes
• courgette, one that has been laying around the kitchen for a while (but you can use a fresh and firm one too), de-seeded and cut into similar size cubes as squash
• laksa, Thai red or homemade Malaysian curry paste, 2 to 3 tbsp.
• lemongrass stir-in paste, a squirt
• 1 tin of coconut milk, 400 ml
• chicken stock, 600 ml, more or less ( can be made from a stock cube)
• rice noodles, 150 gr, soaked in boiling water and drained (according to the BBC Good Food website). Don't use this cr*p, because they become too mushy :

• fresh beansprouts, 300 gr
• salmon, 300 gr, sliced or cut into chunks
• king prawns, the frozen kind, but defrosted. 1 handful (a shovel sized hand)
• fish sauce, a splash
• juice of half a lime
• chilli, red or green or yellow, as many as you like and as hot as you can stand, sliced into rings
• a small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped.
• 3 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal.

Preparation

• Heat  the oil in a pan and sautee the butternut squash for 5 minutes
• Add courgettes and cook for another 5 minutes while regularly stirring. 
• Spoon in the paste of your choice, together with the lemongrass squirt and coat the vegetables, cook for a few minutes.
• Pour in the coconut milk and stock, simmer for 10 minutes
• Add noodles, beansprouts and fish, simmer for another 2 minutes or till the salmon has lost its translucency.
• A splash of fish sauce.
• Turn off the heat and add the prawns. If you use the kind I used they are already cooked and just need heating through.
• Stir in the lime juice, some of the coriander, chilli and spring onions, keeping some behind to sprinkle over the served dish.

And there you have it.  It tasted just as heavenly as I imagined.

If by any chance my recipe scares you, I won't be offended if you use the one from the Good Food website. Well, maybe just a little bit.

Patricia xxx...x

I Love Lentils - Green Lentils with Confit Duck Legs

I do. I do love lentils. And I have them in the pantry, always. 

I love their slight peppery flavour and the fact that they are so versatile. They get a few bonus points because they are also very nutritious. 

My mother, Irma, who used to be an adventurous and progressive cook when my brother and I were growing up, never made lentils for us. We didn't miss it, because we probably never knew of their existence.

I got acquainted with these little legumes when we moved here to Ireland the first time round (1995/96 or thereabouts).  Since then they have been a regular part of our diet. 

The following recipe is of French origin, but with some poetic licence.

I bought these duck legs in Lidl. They were not bad, but between you and me, they are nothing like the confit the canard I used to have in France. 

If you don't fancy or can't get hold of duck legs, don't panic. The lentils work equally well with pork,lamb or sausages.

If you don't fancy lentils, well ....try them !

Ingredients serves 2

• duck fat, lard, butter or sunflower oil
• smoked lardons (bacon pieces), 100 gr
• 1 medium sized onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 or 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
• provençale herb mix, 1 tbsp or a few sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary and oregano
• 1 bay leaf 
• lentils (small green, brown or Puy), 300 gr
• red wine vinegar, 50 ml
• water, 500 ml
• seasoning, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• parsley, chopped

Preparation

• On the hob, fry off the lardons in the oil or fat till they are golden brown. Do this over a gentle heat.

• Take them out of the pan, leaving the fat in the pan. Set lardons aside.

• Sauté the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Add the herbs.

• You might have to add a little more oil or fat and maybe even a splash of water. Again, do this gently with lid on to create a bit of steam in the pan.

• In the photo above you can see the level of doneness.
• Stir in the lentils and coat them with the fat (like you would be doing with the rice for a risotto) 

• Add the red wine vinegar and let it reduce.
• Next add the water, stir a final time and cover with lid.

• Simmer over a low heat for 30 to 45 minutes.
• Check regularly for doneness, add a splash of water if it has evaporated before its time.
• When ready add the bacon pieces/lardons.
• Season with salt and black pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

• I reheated and 'crisped'up the duck legs in a hot oven. The confit I've eaten many times in France is more moist and 'fall-of-the-bone' tender than this was. It probably has to do with the fact that in France they use the legs and magret (breast)of the very same ducks that produce the foie gras. As I said at the start as duck legs go, they were good, but don't expect confit, because to me it wasn't.
• Serve with bread.

I had made baguettes to serve with the lentils.

See recipe here. Unfortunately I misread my own recipe and added too much water. Had to rectify by adding more and more flour, which resulted in a denser crumb. Still bliddy tasty though. Even when I had to change their shape slightly too, to get them on my baking tray in the oven.

;o)

Come again soon.
Patricia xxx...x