Storecupboard kedgeree

There are some dishes that just remind me of being a little girl and this is perhaps my most favourite of all of those dishes. When we were little mum used to make kedgeree, beautiful tender flakes of smoked fish with fluffy rice, boiled eggs and spices, but far more longed for was the bastardised version she used to make on a school night. The store cupboard version with tinned (line caught) tuna, which just became known as kedge.

Kedge is my ultimate comfort food, wrapping me in a cocoon of childish pleasure. This still has some of the spices of a traditional kedgeree, though to just tumeric and a little pinch of garam masala, without the heat that many recipes include. The boiled eggs, with thier bright yolks only just set and lots and lots of double cream and butter giving it a sticky and creamy texture that can't help put a smile to my face.

DON'T be put off by the use of tinned tuna - I know that warm tuna may not be to everyone's taste but trust me on this one!

Kedge

Kedge

serves 2 generously

ready in 20 minutes

200g basmati rice, well rinsed until the water runs clear

2 free range eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

25g unsalted butter

1 large onion, finely sliced

1tsp ground tumeric

good pinch garam masala

1 tin line caught sustainable tuna, drained and flaked

100ml double cream

small handful fresh coriander, chopped

Place the rice in a pan and cover with water so it comes up about 2cm above the level of the rice (this is about double weight of water to rice) and add a pinch of salt. Cover and bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes then turn off the heat and leave to steam for 10 minutes until all the water has been absorbed. Remove the lid and then fluff up with a fork.

Meanwhile, place the eggs in a pan of cold water and bring to a rolling boil. boil for 4 minutes then drain and run under cold water for a few minutes to stop them overcooking.

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and gently fry the onions for 10 minutes until tender and golden. Add the tumeric and garam masala and a good pinch of salt and cook for a further minute. Add the spiced onion into the fluffed up rice and mix well. Add the tuna and double cream and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. stir in the coriander. Peel and quarter the eggs. spoon the kedge onto two plates and top with the egg quarters.

FOOD BYTE - warming watercress soup with little cheesy scones

A new little Food Byte video for you to watch and share! This was so much fun to make and I just love it. I hope you will too!

Filming in progress 

Last weekend we spent a very happy Sunday cooking up and filming  lots of delicious dishes for you to watch and cook so watch this space for more mouthwatering Food Bytes to come!

This recipe for a simple but ever so delicious watercress soup is perfect for banishing the winter blues. The soup is packed full of goodness and full of the peppery fire of watercress. Imagine coming in from the cold to a big warming bowl of soup with a still warm from the oven scone, butter melting and ready to dunk.

This is the perfect little dish for a mid week lunch and great to pack into a thermos for a blustery winter walk. It also makes a great starter when you have friends round for the weekend. You can make the base of the soup well in advance, just adding the watercress at the end so it keeps its vibrancy and pep. The scones can be made in advance too, just warm them through in a low oven just before you serve.

Watercress soup with little cheese scones

Happy eating 

serves 4 for lunch or 6 as a starter

1tbsp olive oil

good knob of butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 medium floury potatoes, cubed

1 chicken stock cube (or veggie)

1.2 ltr boiling water

150g frozen peas, defrosted

300g fresh watercress

creme fraiche to serve

for the scones

250g self raising flour

good pinch salt

1 scant tsp baking powder

good pinch each paprika and mustard powder

60g unsalted butter

100g grated cheese (gruyere, cheddar, lancashire)

small bunch of chives, snipped

100-150ml milk

Preheat the oven to 220c/fan200c

Start your soup. Heat the oil and butter in a pan and fry gently for 10 minutes until softened. Add the potatoes and the stock cube then pour over the boiling water. season well and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, make the scones. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the salt, baking powder, paprika and mustard powders. Add the butter and rub together with your fingers as you would when making pastry, until it has been incorporated.

Stir in the cheeses and chives and plenty of black pepper then pour in enough milk to bring together into a soft but not sticky dough. Knead briefly then pat into a round 2.5-3cm thick. Cut out scones with a 5cm cutter, re shaping the trimmings to get as many as possible. place on a baking sheet dusted with flour then brush with milk. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden and risen.

Once the potato is tender, add the peas and watercress to the pan. Whiz with a stick blender until smooth. Ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche and the warm scones with lots of butter.

making it stretch

I bought a lovely British rose veal chop as a treat for myself the other day and events conspired against me to mean I never got to eat it. I was going to yum it up with crushed new potatoes and a salsa verde but that's a story for another day. So there it is... sitting... looking at me every time I open the fridge, asking me to eat it before it's past its best. But there is three of us for supper tonight and bugger all else in the fridge, so how on earth do I pull off a feeding of the five thousand feat and feed many with one?

Less is more

Eating less meat is something we are always being advised to do, both for our own health and for the health of the planet. One of the best ways I have found to eat less meat is to slice. Put half a chicken breast or a single sausage on someone's plate and you will probably find them looking at you accusingly as if you are trying to starve them. But slice up a chicken breast or a sausage and toss it through a veg packed salad or serve it on top of a pile of pasta and they won't even bat an eyelid. So this is the track I take, to confuse the brains of those I am feeding so they won't even realise they have eaten just a 1/3 of a chop.

I am a risotto addict - I tend to always lean towards a risotto when I am in need of something simple and comforting and don't have much else in the fridge. And veal is a perfect match for Italian cooking so it is the perfect way to go.

Simple parmesan risotto with pan fried veal and crispy sage

serves 2- 3

1 small onion or 2 banana shallots, finely sliced

drizzle of olive oil

250g arborio risotto rice

glass of white wine or dry vermouth

500-600ml hot chicken stock (from a cube is fine)

1 large veal chop (make sure it is rose veal and ethically farmed)

generous knob of butter

small handful of little sage leaves

45g grated parmesan cheese

Heat a little oil in a pan and gently fry the onion or shallot for 10 minutes until softened. Add the rice and stir for about 30 seconds until translucent and toasted. Splash in the wine or vermouth and bubble away, stirring, until it has all been absorbed.

Gradually add the hot stock. a little at a time, stirring constantly, for about 15-20 minutes until the rice is just tender.

Whilst the rice is cooking, rub your veal chop with a little oil and season well. Heat a pan over a high heat and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until it is golden but still pink in the middle. Turn off the heat and throw the butter into the pan with the sage leaves and allow it to melt in the residual heat and the sage to become crispy. Transfer to a plate with the juices and sage and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Once the rice is just tender, add another good splash of stock, season well and add the parmesan cheese. Cover and turn off the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes.

Slice the veal thinly, pouring any of the resting juices into the risotto. Spoon the risotto into warmed bowls and top with the veal and sage and serve.

Food Bytes

I am really really excited to introduce you to my new Food Byte videos! These fun little recipe postcards to are to get your taste buds going and hopefully to make you want to try the recipes!

This is the first of (hopefully) many Food Bytes. Created by my good friend and all round boy wonder Alex Hammond who is being utterly amazing and working on them in return for being cooked regularly for and given generous helpings and lots of seconds!

This brunch was for my lovely friend Cat who has a deep unwavering love of all things sweetcorn and avocado so for her birthday what could be a better treat!

The sweetness of the corn kernels is balanced with a tang of soured cream and a rich generous blob of cream cheese. If you wanted you could smother the fritters with maple syrup but they are completely delicious, moist and tender as they are.

check out the full recipe below!

sweetcorn fritters with smashed avocado and crispy bacon

sweetcorn fritters, avo and bacon

serves 4

8 rashers of streaky bacon

150g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

4 free range eggs

75ml whole milk

50ml soured cream

a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese

2 sweetcorn ears

bunch spring onions

small bunch of flat leaf parsley

2 ripe avocados

juice of a lime

a little rapeseed or olive oil to fry

Grill the bacon under a hot grill until crispy, set aside and keep warm.

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the baking powder and a good amount of sea salt. make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. With a wooden spoon, gradually start to stir the flour into the eggs. Once you have started to get a smooth paste you can start adding the wet ingredients.

Mix the milk, soured cream and cream cheese in a jug and gradually pour into the bowl, stirring, until you have a smooth batter.

slice the kernels off the sweetcorn ears with a sharp knife and add them to the bowl. Finely slice the spring onions and chop the parsley and add this to the bowl and mix well.

Scoop the avocado into a bowl and mash up with some lime juice and plenty of salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat a little oil in a non stick pan over a medium heat and fry spoonfuls of the fritter mixture in batches for 1-2 minutes each side until golden brown and slightly puffed and lovely and golden.

Serve the fritters with the crispy bacon and avocado and a glass of Sunday brunch time bubbles!