I have been getting into making interesting things for brunch over the past few weekends. The general run of things goes: lie in; exercise (sometimes); delicious treat-style breakfast/lunch food stuff. These often use smoky fishy fish of some kind,  and this time it was smoked mackerel. This was so simple, really only a smidgen more effort than making plain toast, but oooh so much tastier!

Cheesy mackerel toasts

Serves 2

4 slices wholemeal bread
pack of smoked mackerel, pulled into chunks
spring onions, half a bunch, finely chopped
150g cheddar, grated
mayonnaise, 2 dessert spoonfuls plus little extra for spreading

Toast the bread on both sides in a toaster or under the grill. Meanwhile mix the chopped mackerel, spring onion, cheese and mayo together in a bowl. Once the toast is ready spread each slice thinly with mayonnaise, then divide the mackerel mixture between each, spreading and smooshing (the techincal term) down onto the toast, covering all of the bread.

Pop the toasts under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese goes all melty and bubbling.

Serve with a fresh crunchy salad. I used cos lettuce, a cored and chopped braeburn (apple goes really well with this) and some crunchy radish. But use whatever you have to hand. All dressed with a touch of balsamic mixed with oil. With a side of strong coffee and weekend newspapers.

The key to jam-making seems to be keeping the quantities of sugar and fruit the same  so, as I did, you can use whatever amount of fruit you have at home and just match the quantity with the sugar. And it’s so simple to make you’ll be doing it every week, trust me! I’m addicted.

I’ll be giving these as pressies to friends this weekend (hence the fancy little tissue-paper hats), but plan to make a load more for myself, it is so delicious!

Rhubarb Jam

This recipe made 2 pots (old honey pot sizes).

500g rhubarb, chopped into chunks (washed and trimmed, this is the final weight once chopped up)
500g golden caster sugar
1 lemon, grated zest

Put the rhubarb and the sugar in a heavy-based pan (or a preserving pan, but let’s be honest, there can’t be many of us with one of those). Heat gently and stir constantly to make sure the sugar doesn’t catch or burn. This will take a few minutes but eventually the sugar should start to clump and then dissolve, keep stirring until all the sugar has melted and is turning gloopy. Then add the lemon zest and bring to a boil

Boil for about 15 mins, but keep and eye on your mixture as you don’t want it to go too far. The liquid jam with froth and when the fruit starts to sink to the bottom it is pretty much ready. Once you get to this stage test for setness. Do this by putting a spoonful of the jam liquid on a plate that has been in the freezer, put it back in the freezer then remove and push with your finger. If the mixture wrinkles as you push it, it is read, if not leave it a few more mins then try again.

I finished the jam a little earlier than I usually do as I wanted quite a loose texture. Once you are happy with the consistency put the jam into sterilised jars and put on the lids on while the mixture and jars are still warm, this way it will create a seal. Once you have opened the jam and broken this seal it needs to be kept in the fridge but should keep for a good while.

To sterlise jars I usually wash and dry them, then put them in an low oven (about 130) for 20 mins. But you can also use soapy water and drip dry, here a a good guide from BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/get_cooking/cooks_guide/preserves.shtml

Having made a dhal last week I went and used the leftovers to make some vegetable/lentil soup, stretching the dhal out with more stock and some carrots and celery, and it worked out nicely. So I thought I would do a proper recipe, using the delicious, yellow, lentily goo as the basis. So here we are:

Spicy sweet potato and lentil soup
Serves 3-4 (depending on how hungry you are)

oil, a splash
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (I used with seeds, but de-seed if you don’t want a little bit of heat)
fresh ginger, a thumb-sized piece, grated
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
3 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
100g red lentils
1 ltr veg stock + boiled water at end to thin

Sweat the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger in a glug of oil for a few mins. Then add your spices and leave for a few minutes more until everything softens, stirring occassionally to prevent sticking. Chuck in your lentils and potatos, stir in with the sticky spicy onion stir and leave for a minute, then pour in your stock.

Boil hard for 10 mins, then reduce the heat and simmer for a further 10-15 mins until everything is soft. Then blend until smooth (or leave a bit chunky if you prefer). I added 100mls more of water from the kettle, then blended again, to thin the soup out a touch and make it go further for a few lunches this week.

Quick suppers dish number 2. Speedy salmon with stir fried veg.

I marinated the salmon for a short time, which may not sound like a very speedy thing to do, but actually if you chop up the marinade  ingredients and whack them into a bowl with the salmon as soon as you get in from work, or even just do it then leave for 10 mins while you chop up the rest of the veg for the stir fry, it works out fine. And when I say fine, I mean really delicious, I was mighty pleased with this speedy number.

Honey and soy salmon with stir-fried veg
Serves 2

Marinade
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp honey
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated

2 salmon fillets
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
half red chilli, finely chopped
4 carrots, cut into sticks
sugar snap peas, one pack
soy beans, couple of handfuls (straight from the freezer)
spring onions, half a bunch, chopped

Mix the ingredients for your marinade in a bowl, put your salmon in, turning it a couple of times, cover and put in the fridge until needed.

Put your salmon under a medium hot grill skin-side first for 5 minutes. Then turn adding more of the marinade to the top, then grill for a further 7 minutes until it’s cooked with the marinade just going sticky and brown, but the fish is still moist. After turning the salmon get your veg going. Heat a tbsp of vegetable oil in a wok, add your garlic and chilli for a minute, then throw in the rest of your veg and shake around for a few minutes. Add a few splashes of soy and heat for another minute or so. Then serve with your salmon.

I used what veg I had in the fridge (and freezer in the case of the soya beans) so use up anything you have to hand. Courgette, radish, even some coarsley shredded lettuce might be good. And add noodles if you’re feeling a lack of carb.

Albert and Michel Roux senior opened Le Gavroche on Lower Sloane Street in 1967, bringing French fine dining to Britain and challenging the way we thought about food in this country. And it’s still here, under the patronage of Michel junior, who’s maintaining the standards his father and uncle set all those years ago. Nowadays, Le Gavroche is located on Upper Brook Street in Mayfair, where it’s been for nearly thirty years. It has a lived-in feel about it, and I say that in the nicest possible way. There would be something extremely disconcerting about walking into Le Gavroche and finding it full of chrome. The carpet is a little worn, but that instantly makes you wonder by whom. Charlie Chaplin, Ringo Star and Spike Milligan are amongst the celebrity royalty who have graced le Gavroche, so you’re treading on well-trodden ground. The restaurant is downstairs, and it’s dark and cosy with diners nestled into their own spaces. As soon as you’re seated the waiting staff move around you like dancers, flicking a napkin, straightening a glass, pouring water, and taking your order for an apperitif – we chose pink champagne, which, Michel says in his Le Gavroche cookbook, is always his first choice. “As much as I enjoy a refreshing gin and tonic or a single malt whisky, they are too high in alcohol to serve as an apperitif. Not only is champagne a wonderfully convivial drink – its effervescence is infectious – it is also the perfect foil for its edible counterparts, canapes or amuse-bouches”. It’s good to know Michel would have approved!

The champagne arrived with an amuse-bouche that appeared to be a spring roll. I have never experienced a spring roll like this. The first bite exploded into an intense meat flavour that was never-ending. It’s like the flavour takes on a life of its own and just flows on and on. This was followed by a pastry that disappeared as soon as it touched your tongue, releasing a fresh taste that complemented the spring roll. We decided to order the tasting menu next – dad and I opted for matching food and wine, and mum decided to stay on the champagne. Then we sat there, looking around and grinning like idiots, and making excited little noises! The great thing about ordering a food and wine matched menu is that you really don’t have to think. Over the following two hours, eight courses and eight different glasses of something arrived on the table, and each brilliantly matched combination was incredibly special. The wine (or in one case, beer), surrounds the flavour of the food, sitting on the same tastebuds, and then it lifts it to a new dimension. I hope this makes sense, its hard to describe, but the experience is really quite incredible.

First, we had duck fois gras ballotine with a gingerbread snap, and its making my mouth water just remembering the smoothness of the fois gras and the contrast of the sweet, incredibly crunchy biscuit. That was followed by raw tune marinated in spicy ginger, and it was very pleasing to have that continuation of ginger thought the fist two courses. And, even more pleasingly, the talented sommelier matched that with cherry beer. Cherry beer! Amazing! Then, beautiful meaty langoustines with pig trotter, which was cut into small melty cubes. Sea bass. Cheese souffle, which, I have to admit, wasn’t that brilliant. At the risk of sounding like an over-opinionated blogger trying to do my best Masterchef impression, I have to say it, the presentation was rubbish. It didn’t come in a souffle dish, it was in this flat dish thing floating on a bed of double cream. And it was way too heavy to cope with in the middle of so many courses. I’m not going to linger on this as it’s having the same effect now as it did on the night – I’m starting to feel a bit queasy and irritated. So… and then into incredibly tender venison and a red wine that was so deliciously dry, it was chalky. That helped to eradicate the souffle faux pas. And then the cheese board. Now, by this point, you can probably understand, we were starting to get merry. I remember being very excited about seeing all of these cheeses oozing on a wheely trolley, but i can’t remember what we had. And I have very little memory of the caramelised apple tart that followed either, but I’m sure they were very nice. The experience ended with petits fours, which included tiny sugar-crusted kumquats, crunchy brandy snaps, and lots of other delicious sweet morsels. And then nougat and fruit jelly, which we managed to fit in, despite being about to pop a few buttons.

At some point during the meal, we started to feel chilly. The air conditioning was a bit fierce and as the restaurant emptied (we were dining quite late), the temperature plummeted. We mentioned this to our waitress and, a few minutes later, she produced an electric fan heater. She placed it next to our table, gave us a discreet smile,, and then left us to enjoy our meal again. We were, of course, absolutely delighted. And I think this epitomises the Le Gavroche experience for me. It’s a slick and highly polished operation, but you get the sense that the staff love what they do, and care about giving you the best experience possible. This was, without a doubt, the most special dining experience we could have hoped for, and I hope I get to return there again one day in the not too distant future. (Mum, dad, can you hear me?!)

The food and wine tasting menu at Le Gavroche costs £150 per person. For more information go to www.le-gavroche.co.uk.

I’ve had in mind to make something along these lines for a while, mostly because there is a picture of a similar dish on the wall at work (I sometimes work in the Olive/Good Food offices) and it catches my eye every time I walk past it. It’s something to do with the pasta and tomatoey niceness with peas floating in it (don’t ask me why, peas in things just makes me feel happy, and they have a similar effect on my good lady strawb too I happen to know! Too much information?).

It’s kind of a twist on minestrone so I tried to chop the veg into pleasing, minestrone-sized cubes (peas and mini cubed veg, it doesn’t take much to please me).

Sorry about the dodgy food photo, which really doesn’t do it justice. Steam kept getting in the lens, but couldn’t wait until it had subsided as, well, I couldn’t wait to eat it!

Tortellini in tomato and veg broth

Serves 2 with enough left for a couple of lunches the next day (so probably enough for 4 with medium sized portions)

1 red onion, finely chopped
oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
celery, couple of sticks, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
tomato paste, a squeezing
veg stock, 500mls
frozen peas, a few handfuls
Pack of spinach and ricotta tortellini (or whatever flavour tortellini you prefer, something meaty would work just as well).

Fry the onion, garlic, carrot and celery in a splash of oil until everything starts to soften and the onion turns translucent (5 mins or so). Add the pepper and fry for a minute or two. Add the chopped toms, a squeeze of tomato paste and the stock. Simmer for 15-20 mins until you have a juicy broth (you don’t want it to be as thick as a sauce, it should still be soupy).

A few mins before your soup is ready get your pasta on and cook according to pack instructions. Chuck your frozen peas into the soup for a few mins while this cooks. Then drain the pasta and throw that in too.

Serve with a bit of cheese if you like (which I do) and some bread for mopping.

Here’s a link to what I think is the original recipe, found on the BBC Good Food website if you want to check it out.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5592/hearty-pasta-soup

Note: I wanted to use courgette in here but did my usual trick of thinking I had some in the fridge but finding out once I started cooking that I didn’t. Add it when you add the pepper if you fancy it, remember to chop it into nice cubes (that’s compulsory!).

What’s next?
More easy supper ideas and some restaurant reviews – we’ve had special visits to La Gavroche (swanky lady strawb) and Peterhsam Nurseries (me).

Urgent action was required today, to save a cauliflower head that was about to bite the dust. being on a real blend it, bowl it, eat it vibe at the moment my soup alarm immediately started going off. With milk and some past-it parmesan cheese from the fridge, and some garlic and onion, I had all I needed for a soup saviour-style lunch. To be honest a couple of leeks would have been good to go in here too, maybe even a potato for a thicker broth, but a trip to the shop wasn’t really an option (a pile of writing to get through + outfit of baggy leggings and bed socks = no outside contact) so I had to work with what I had. The results, despite the lack of leek or anything else, were damn fine splendid.

Cauliflower Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
butter
1 medium cauliflower head, chopped
600ml milk
400ml vegetable stock (bouillon cube)
40g parmesan, grated

Cook the onion and garlic in a knob of butter until nice and soft, and the onion is clear. Then add the cauliflower for a minute or two, and then the milk and stock. Bring to boil, reduce and simmer for around 30 mins (I did this with the lid on for 20 mins and off for 10 mins, and had to check on the soup every now and again to check the milk wasn’t catching the bottom of the pan).

Stir in the grated parmesan, salt and pepper and then blend until silky and smooth. Serve with some nice bread, or ageing stuff you’ve toasted if you’re following my lead. I might try it with crispy bacon on the top next time, if I ever venture out into the real world, but will ease up on the salt and parmesan to make it’s not too much of a salt fest.

I was so pleased with the results I think I might make it for a starter on Chritmas day.

What’s next? A lovely friend has asked that we run some quick supper ideas so expect to see some speedy supper recipes appearing very soon.

There’s nothing I enjoy more after work than coming home and concocting something out of the random ingredients I have in my kitchen. I find it so soothing, and then, when I make something I like, I get very overexcited and feel the need to share it with EVERYONE! Luckily, that’s what blogs were made for.

The ingredients available tonight were mostly in my Abel and Cole mixed fruit and vegetable box. These were an onion, an orange, a carrot and a pumpkin. Following my new theory that all things seasonal must taste good together, and inspired by a recent trip to Fernandez and Wells, I decided to stuff the pumpkin with the other ingredients. I dug out some sage and black pudding from the freezer, bulgar wheat and garlic from the store cupboard, and then created this fine and tasty feast!

Ingredients

1 pumpkin
1 onion, chopped into small pieces
1 carrot, chopped into small pieces
1 clove garlic, chopped into small pieces
1 orange, zested and juiced
Handful fresh sage leaves
Sprinkling grated nutmeg (optional)
Salt and pepper
100g bulgar wheat
Vegetable stock (I used Knorr Touch of Taste)
Olive oil (or rape seed)
Knob of butter
Black pudding, couple of slices, chopped into quarters (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Then, cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds, reserving them so you can roast them. Put a knob of butter inside the pumpkin, season it, then replace the lid, and place it in the oven.

Next, separate the pumpkin seeds from any pulp and string so you can roast them. Rinse them under cold water, and pat dry. Toss in oil and lie in a roasting tin. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and then put these in the oven, too.

While the pumpkin’s cooking, make the bulgar wheat according to the pack instructions, adding a glug of vegetable stock to the water. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the pumpkin seeds – they’re done when they puff out and go crispy.

Then, heat some oil in a frying pan and add the onion and carrot. Fry until soft, and add the garlic, orange zest and sage. If you’re using black pudding, add that to the pan now as well. You can leave it out if you want to keep this as a veggie dish. When everything’s cooked through, transfer to a bowl, and combine with the bulgar wheat and roasted pumpkin seeds. Add the orange juice and nutmeg and stir, then season to taste.

Your pumpkin should have been in the oven for about 45 minutes now. Test it to check that the flesh is soft, then put your stuffing inside it, replacing the lid once more. If the skin is starting to catch, wrap it in foil, then bake for a further 20 minutes.

Et voila! The taste of Autumn in an edible bowl.

A taste of Autumn

Double ginger cake

This is a Nigel Slater receep first published by the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2003/nov/23/foodanddrink.shopping) - he says he made this cake on a rainy November weekend. I made it on a lovely crisp afternoon in November.

It uses stem ginger, a pot of which I bought in a “I must stock up on things I’m always missing for recipes” crazed moment in the supermarket a few months ago. Needless to say, it has languished in the cupboard ever since, so it seemed about time it was put to good use.

This recipe gives a really moist, loose cake. Maybe a little too moist and loose as the currants kind of sank to the bottom (I might ease off the milk slightly next time), but still delicious. I didn’t have a 22cm square baking tin as the stated in the method, so went for a medium and slightly smaller loaf tin. There was the perfect amount for two cakes/loaves, and this way you can leave one for a couple of days to mature, and scoff one as soon as it’s cool enough to eat. Mmm mmm mmm, gone.

Double ginger cake

250g self-raising flour
2 level tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
200g golden syrup (I wasn’t sure how to measure this without making my scales really sticky, and unable to judge by eye what was left in the tin, so put about 3 tbsp in)
2 tbsp syrup from the ginger jar
125g butter
3 lumps of stem ginger in syrup (about 55g)
2 heaped tbsp sultanas
125g dark muscavado sugar (I only had light muscovado so the end cake was slightly lighter)
2 large eggs
240ml milk

You will need a square cake tin measuring approximately 20-22cm, lined on the bottom with baking or greaseproof paper.

Set the oven at 180°C/gas mark 3. Sieve the flour with the ginger, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and the salt. Put the golden and ginger syrups and the butter into a small saucepan, and warm over a low heat. Dice the ginger finely then add it to the pan with the sultanas and sugar. Let the mixture bubble gently for a minute, giving it the occasional stir to stop the fruit sticking to the bottom.

Break the eggs into a bowl, pour in the milk and beat gently to break up the egg and mix it into the milk. Remove the butter and sugar mixture from the heat and pour into the flour, stirring smoothly and firmly with a large metal spoon. Mix in the milk and eggs. The mixture should be sloppy, with no trace of flour.

Scoop the mixture into the non-stick or lined cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. Unless you are serving it warm, leave the cake in its tin to cool, then tip out on to a sheet of greaseproof paper. Wrap it up again in foil and leave to mature for a day or two before eating.

Pigeon with peas and lovage

Autumn is my favourite cooking season. The weather and darker evenings push everyone inside, so food is back at the top of the agenda. It’s the season of earthy squashes, punchy herbs, sweet, tart fruits and, for the carnivorous amongst us, wild game. Until this week, though, I was a game novice. I didn’t feel confident stepping outside my comfort zone of roasting birds or griddling steaks. Now, thanks to a two hour cookery course with Rachel Green, I have a better understanding of these lean and wild meats. And the beauty of them is, they’re complemented by all those big, bold flavours of the season.

Where to source

Rachel recommends buying game from a game dealer; I’ve since bought venison and partridge through Abel and Cole; and Waitrose have started selling it. Or, you can shoot your own, if you have a license, an eight ball, and good reflexes. Why not take a lesson? We’d love to hear from you if you are a game hunter  - whether expert or novice.

Cooking tips

All meats should be rested for the same amount of time as they were in the oven. They’ll retain their heat for a surprisingly long time, and will be moist and tender if allowed to relax after cooking. All game can be, and is better, served slightly pink. Venison can be served rare, like beef.

Cooking times

Pigeon breasts in a frying pan – for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Venison steaks in a frying pan – for about 1-2 mintues on each side.
Roast whole partridge – seal over  a low heat, then roast for 20-25 minutes at 200C.

Flavours

Game can take big flavours – punchy herbs, tart fruits, honey, earthy vegetables. These are some of the flavour combinations Rachel used.

Pepper-crushed venison with roased beetroot salad and raspberry dressing.

Here, Rachel combines a slight peppery heat with the earthy taste of venison and contrasts this with sweet glazed onions and beetroot, and the sharp flavours of raspberry and balsamic vinegars.

Pigeon with peas and lovage

Sweet peas, fresh lovage, salty bacon, cream, garlic, white wine and earthy pigeon. This was so quick to make, and packed full of flavour. See the recipe here -

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/10554/pigeon-with-peas-and-lovage

Warm salad of wood pigeon with black pudding, green beans and walnuts

In addition to the ingredients listed above, Rachel added a dressing made of sweet honey, white wine vinegar, walnut oil, mustard and parsley.

Roasted partridge salad with celery, figs and stilton

Rachel poured a dash of port over the partridge when it came out of the oven, before leaving it to rest. She used chicory salad leaves, which had a lovely contrasting texture with the soft cheese, fig and partridge. She dressed it with oil, cider vinegar, garlic and honey.

Course details

Fun and game! was at Divertimenti, Marylebone High Street, and cost £40 for two hours. This included wine, and tastings of all the dishes.