Category: STARTERS/SIDES

These recipes are suitable for starters or light lunches and in some cases even as side dishes.

Categories
STARTERS/SIDES

Terrine of fish and cucumber with watercress mayonnaise


To give time for the flavors to develop, this dish needs to be made at least 24 hours ahead, therefore it is ideal for entertaining. This is perfect as a starter to a dinner as well as for a lunch — even as a main course for dinner on a hot summers evening.

terrine-of-fish-and-cucumber-e1513152159747.jpg

The terrine:
500 g/18 oz firm white fish fillets, half in fillets and the rest cut into small pieces
whites of 2 eggs, lightly beaten (reserve the yolks for the mayonnaise)
1 egg
salt and freshly ground white pepper
a pinch of cayenne pepper
2 cups/500 ml crème fraîche (make your own)
250 g/9 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons/45 ml dill, chopped
freshly ground black pepper

The vegetable mixture:
30 g/1 oz butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
English cucumber, thinly sliced

The watercress mayonnaise:
basic mayonnaise recipe using 2 egg yolks
½ cup/125 ml watercress leaves, chopped, tightly packed
1 teaspoon/5 ml dill, finely chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon/5 ml lemon juice

The garnish:
a selection of herbs
carrots, pickled cucumber, etc, cut into decorative patterns
50 g/1.7 oz red lumpfish roe

The fish mixture:

  • In a processor, mince the cubed white fish, add the egg whites, whole egg, salt and cayenne pepper and blend well.
  • Cover with plastic film, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Process the fish mixture again, slowly adding half the crème fraîche, scraping down the sides of the bowl, then slowly add the remaining crème fraîche.
  • Place in the refrigerator on a bowl of ice for at least half and hour.
  • Season the whole white fish fillets with salt.
  • Season the smoked salmon with black pepper and dill.

The vegetable mixture:

  • In the meantime, in a saucepan melt the butter, add the onion and cook over low heat for a few minutes.
  • Add the cucumber, stirring until the moisture has evaporated.
  • Spoon into a dish, allow to cool, then refrigerate.

The mayonnaise:

  • Process the watercress, dill and onion and stir into the mayonnaise.
  • Taste and adjust the seasoning, then stir in the lemon juice.
This mayonnrecipe contains raw eggs and is not suitable for pregnant women, the elderly or very young children.

The terrine layering:

  • Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F.
  • Paint the inside of a terrine dish with a little olive oil, and on the bottom place the herbs, the small vegetable pieces and the lump fish roe decoratively (use your imagination), and press down into the oil to secure it.
  • Now, carefully place half the white fish fillets over the decorations, covering the whole bottom part of the terrine dish — the “good” side of the fish facing downwards.
  • Spoon half of the fish mixture over the fish fillets and evenly spread it around.
  • Then cover the fish mixture with half the salmon.
  • Spread the rest of the fish mixture over the salmon, and add the rest of the white fish fillets.
  • Cover with the rest of the fish mixture, the rest of the salmon, and finally the vegetable mixture.
  • Lightly knock the terrine on the worktop to force out any air and cover with buttered foil. Secure the lid on top of the terrine.
  • Fill a large baking dish with warm water and place the terrine dish in it. Bake at 160°C/320°F for 1½ hours, then remove from the oven.
  • Remove the lid, then place a piece of board cut big enough the cover the terrine directly.
  • Place a weight on top and let the terrine cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 24 – 48 hours.

To serve:
When ready to serve, turn the terrine out onto a plate and drain carefully before turning it out onto a cutting board. Cut the terrine into slices with a serrated knife and serve with the watercress mayonnaise and some extra lumpfish roe scattered over.

Categories
MAIN COURSE STARTERS/SIDES

Oxtail wrapped in a herb dumpling


Serve with rice and fried glazed ginger and lemon confit with glazed baby beetroot and horseradish cream.

This can be made with leftover oxtail.
The meat should be very tender and come off the bone quite easily after the cooking process. If you prefer, leave the meat on the bone and serve the dumplings, steamed in a bamboo steamer, separately.

OXTAIL WRAPPED IN A HERB DUMPLING, SERVED WITH FRIED GLAZED GINGER AND LEMON CONFIT AND A WARM RUSSIAN SALAD

Serves 4 with possible leftovers
If you have the time (and inclination), prepare a separate stock to strengthen the flavor of your dish.  It is optional but worth it.  Start making this sauce before starting to cook the oxtail.
Additional flavor: (Optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
any trimmings from the oxtail
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 cups beef stock, heated
2 cups of water
reserved tomato peels and seeds plus 1 extra tomato finely diced
3 juniper berries
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
season to taste
In a saucepan, add all the above ingredients and bring to a boil, skimming the surface all the time to remove all the impurities.  Cook for 30 minutes and let sit for another 30 minutes whilst preparing for the cooking of the oxtail.

The oxtail:
1 oxtail, trimmed and wiped dry, reserve the trimmings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ bottle of red wine
1 large onion, chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 cinnamon stick, whole
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
2 cups beef stock, heated (or the stock you prepared earlier, if you did)
salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and finely diced
1 onion, finely chopped

The lemon confit:
6 lemons, zest and juice
150 g (5.2 oz) castor sugar

The garnish: (optional)
glazed ginger, sliced and lightly fried in butter

The beetroot:
8 baby beetroot
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sprig of thyme
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey, or to taste
1 teaspoon port

The horseradish cream:
¼ cup fresh horseradish, grated
1 tablespoon mustard
½ teaspoon lemon juice
½ castor sugar or to taste
1 tablespoon dill
salt and pepper
1 cup cream, whipped

The oxtail:

  • Heat the oil in a cast iron pan and add the oxtail pieces. Fry over moderate heat until brown all over, then add the red wine and bring to a boil until nearly dry, stirring regularly.
  • Add the onions, garlic, cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, hot stock (or the above prepared sauce, strained), and salt and pepper, and cover tightly with the pan lid. Turn down the heat to a moderate simmer.
If you prefer to cook the oxtail in the oven, now is the time to put it in an oven preheated to 180°C/356°F.
  • Cook for at least two hours, checking at regular intervals that it does not cook dry. Top up with 1 cup boiling water and repeat every time it seems to be cooking dry.
  • When the meat separates easily from the bones, remove from the heat.  Spoon the meat in a separate container and leave the sauce, which should have formed a thick sludge by now, behind and keep warm.
  • Check the seasoning of the sauce, discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaves (and cloves if you can find them!), then reduce the sauce to a syrupy consistency and remove from the heat. Set aside in a warm place.
If you plan to serve the oxtail on the bone with the steamed dumplings, your oxtail is ready to be served now.
  • If you want to serve it with the dumplings wrapped around the meat, remove the bones from the meat and discard.
  • Roughly chop the meat, and mix in the tomato and onion. Shape the mixture into a sausage about 6 cm/2.5 in in diameter, and roll it in plastic film.
  • Twist the ends to seal well, then refrigerate to set.

For the dumplings:

  • Into a food processor bowl, sift the flour and baking powder, add oil and enough milk to bind the mixture and pulse until it just comes together as a dough.
  • Add the cheese and chives and pulse again to just combine.
  • Transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface and knead very lightly. Roll out the pastry to a rectangle measuring 18 x 48 cm/7 x 19 x in.
  • Carefully remove the plastic film from the oxtail sausage and place the meat in the center of the dumpling dough. Roll the dough over the meat and seal the edges. Trim the two ends of the sausage then cut it into 8 even slices.
  • Prepare the steamer and line each steam basket with some cabbage leaves rubbed with oil. Place the oxtail dumplings flat on the cabbage leaves (this is to prevent the oxtail from sticking to the basket) so that the meat is visible and steam for 15 minutes.
  • Halfway through the steaming process change the steamer baskets around so that they both get equal steam.
  • Carefully remove each dumpling and put on a warm plate. Discard the cabbage leaves.

For the lemon confit:

  • Peel the lemons, leaving the pith behind, and slice the zest as fine as possible. Place the zest in a saucepan and just cover it with water. Bring to the boil but drain as soon as it starts boiling.
  • Repeat the whole process twice, starting off with fresh cold water every time.
  • After the final draining, place the zest back in the saucepan and cover with the lemon juice and the sugar and, if necessary, add a little water. Cook over very low heat (barely simmering) until the zest is tender and the juice becomes syrupy.

The beetroot:

  • On a large piece of foil, place the beetroot in the centre and drizzle with the olive oil, then add thyme and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Enclose the foil and seal, then place on a baking tray. Bake for about 1 hour until very tender.
  • Remove from the oven and, unwrap the foil and tip the beetroot into a bowl. Cover the bowl with some plastic film and leave for 20 minutes to allow the skins to loosen and the beetroot to cool.
  • Remove the plastic film and discard the thyme and garlic.
  • Rub off the skins of the beetroot and cut in half. Put all the beetroot in a bowl and add the onion.
  • In a saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, honey, port and 1 tablespoon cold water. Reduce until it starts to thicken to a rich glaze. Add the cooked beetroot and stir to cover with the glaze, remove from the heat and leave to cool.

For the horseradish:

  • In a food processor blend the horseradish, lemon juice, sugar and dill.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until stiff then fold into the horseradish mixture.
  • Season to taste, then strain through a sieve (optional) and refrigerate for 4 – 8 hours.

To serve:
Pour the sauce in the center of the plate and place two of the oxtail dumplings on top. Spoon the lemon confit and ginger on top of the oxtail and serve on rice with glazed baby beetroot and horseradish cream.

 

Categories
STARTERS/SIDES

Pasta with a fresh tomato and brie sauce


This is a delightfully light and fresh tasting starter or light summer lunch. Served with some fresh crusty bread and a crispy white wine, guarantees total satisfaction.

PASTA WITH TOMATO AND BRIE SAUCEServes 4

olive oil
4 shallots, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 rashers of bacon, finely chopped (omit if for vegetarians)
375 g penne pasta
250 g/8.8 oz good quality brie, roughly chopped
8 tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 cups Parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh basil, finely sliced

For every 100 g/3.5 oz of pasta, you’ll need 5 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt in a large saucepan. It is important to use lots of water when cooking pasta to enable the pasta to move around while cooking. Bring the water to the boil and add salt before you add the pasta. The best way to judge whether the pasta is cooked, is to taste it.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan and fry the shallots, garlic and bacon for about 4 minutes, until lightly caramelized. Remove from the heat.
  • Meanwhile, cook the pasta until tender but still have a bite to it. Drain but reserve one cup of the cooking liquid.
  • Place the saucepan with the pasta back onto low heat and mix in 2 tablespoons olive oil.
  • Reheat the pan with the fried onion mix and deglaze with the reserved liquid.
  • Add this mixture to the pasta, stir in the brie and let it melt slightly, then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, parsley and half of the Parmesan cheese.
  • Let simmer for about 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
  • Dish up immediately with the basil and the rest of the Parmesan sprinkled over.
Categories
STARTERS/SIDES

Pork spring rolls with Oriental dipping sauce


It is important to serve the spring rolls immediately after cooked and drained, as the vegetable filling can cause the crispy wrappers to go soggy if it sits for a while.

PORK SPRING ROLLSServes 4

The filling for these spring rolls can be made from leftover Crispy pork belly or any leftover meat from the pork dishes on this blog.

The pork spring rolls:
250 g/9 oz free-range pork, minced
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons cabbage, julienned
2 tablespoons carrot, julienned
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh bean sprouts
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (available at well-stocked supermarkets)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoonl chilli sauce (available at well-stocked supermarkets)
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
12 spring roll wrappers (available at well-stocked supermarkets)
vegetable oil for deep frying

See Safety and practical tips for deep frying

 

The dipping sauce:
½ teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin (available at well-stocked supermarkets)
black pepper to taste

The garnish:
a mixture of coriander leaves, finely sliced spring onions, sliced basil
eaves, garlic chives, etc.

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and lightly fry the pork until golden brown.  Remove from the heat, drain and set aside to cool.
  • In a bowl, mix together the pork, cabbage, carrot, spring onions, coriander, bean sprouts, sesame oil, oyster sauce, ginger, garlic and chilli sauce.
  • Place approximately one tablespoon of the pork mixture in the corner of each spring roll wrapper, and roll the wrapper, folding the edges inward to close.
  • Brush the edges of the wrapper with the cornstarch mixture and seal.
  • Heat the oil to 180° C/350° F and deep-fry the spring rolls in batches until golden brown.  Drain on kitchen paper.
  • In a small mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients well, cover and refrigerate for 1 – 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend.
Categories
STARTERS/SIDES

Pasta spiral with mushroom filling


If you do not want to present this dish as described in the recipe, simply rearrange the ingredients.  Cut the pasta into linguini or fettucini, mix the mushroom filling and the cheese sauce and spoon it over the pasta.  Drizzle the truffle vinaigrette around and sprinkle with some chopped parsley and chives.

PASTA SPIRAL

Preheat the oven to 180° C  (356° F).

The filling:
1 tablespoon/15 ml olive oil
500 g/17.6 oz mixed mushrooms, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup/60 ml chicken stock, heated (use vegetable stock if for vegetarian)
1 sprig of parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon/15 ml dried porcini mushrooms, finely ground (not soaked)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The truffle vinaigrette (optional):
¼ cup/60 ml olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon/5 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped
½ cup/125 ml white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons/10 ml truffle oil
1 tablespoon/15 ml Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons/10 ml preserved truffle (finely chopped) with the  truffle oil

If you do not have access to truffle, simple omit it from the ingredients list.  The rest still makes a delightful vinaigrette.

The pasta:
100 g/3.5 oz strong flour
100 g/3.5 oz Durham wheat
2 eggs

The cheese sauce:
2 cups/500 ml chicken stock
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 tablespoons/45 ml butter
3 tablespoons/45 ml flour
50 g/¾ oz Gruyère cheese
4 tablespoons/60 ml fresh cream
a pinch nutmeg, ground
salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 teaspoons/10 ml Parmesan cheese

The garnish:
the reserved mushrooms
a few sprigs of parsley
truffle vinaigrette/vinaigrette

  • For the filling, heat the oil and brown the mushrooms (also the whole ones kept for the garnish), add the shallots, garlic, the chicken stock (or vegetable stock), parsley, and the porcini mushroom powder. Simmer for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced, season to taste, then set aside to cool.  Retrieve the whole mushrooms and set aside.
  • For the truffle vinaigrette/vinaigrette, mix all the ingredients together and store in a squeeze bottle in the refrigerator.
  • To make the pasta, place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until it becomes smooth and silky.  Roll in plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, for the cheese sauce, heat the chicken stock (or vegetable stock) in a saucepan with the garlic, bay leaf and thyme.
  • In another saucepan and over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes whilst stirring, strain the stock then whisk into the butter mixture, ½ cup/125 ml at a time.
  • Whisk until smooth bringing the liquid to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat then add the Gruyère cheese, cream and nutmeg, and season with salt and freshly ground white pepper.  Cover the surface with greaseproof paper and keep warm.
  • Roll the pasta out thinly and cut into 2 x 4 cm/1.5 in x 50 cm/19.6 in long strips.
  • Spread the mushroom mixture over each noodle ribbon and roll the ribbon up in a spiral.
  • Place in a steam basket lined with cabbage leaves (rubbed with some oil to prevent it from sticking to the basket) and steam for 10 minutes.
  • Carefully remove each spiral and arrange in a greased oven-proof dish. Discard the cabbage leaves.
  • Pour the ¾ cup/175 ml of the cheese sauce over the spirals and top with the Parmesan cheese.  Bake in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.

To serve, place a spiral on each heated serving plate, spoon around the rest of the cream sauce and garnish with a whole mushroom and a sprig of parsley.  Finally, lightly drizzle the truffle vinaigrette/vinaigrette over.