Jaime's back, with Jaime's Ministry of Food. It makes terrific telly, with the people of Rotherham being as abrasive as you might expect with a poncey southerner.
The South Yorkshire accents are wonderful. Already he has been called a knobhead - this would never happen to Valentine Warner.
Rotherham saw a local revolt against his school meals revolution, when famously local mum Julie Critchlow was seen passing burgers through the school fence.
Jame now aims at another culinary revolution, by turning the whole town onto fish in a bag and basil oil. The plan is to teach a dedicated few a handful of recipes, who will then teach another two, and so on.
Does Mrs Critchlow think it will succeed? "No".
It started well. Jaime's meatball recipe was enjoyed and passed on, even if as Mrs Critchlow suggested it was just because Jaime's new students were simply sucking up. But at by the end of the show, none of the students had passed on the salmon recipe, and many of the participants were pointing out that their priorities were paying the bills, not shopping for fresh veg.
This is the secret of Jaime's TV shows. Few other personalities are quite so prepared to be humbled - this is an ongoing theme of his shows, from rebellious students on Jaime's Kitchen, to kids preferring junk to home made foccacia on Jaime's School Dinners, to Italians stubbornly refusing to enjoy his food on Jaime's Great Italian Escape.
For even putting himself in a position to be called a knobhead, Jaime should be saluted.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Monday, 29 September 2008
Sloe progress
The virtue of the sloe was highlighted by TV's newest (and poshest) chef Valentine Warner in last weeks episode, here is a recipe.
It really is worth doing, provided you can cope with the idea of waiting for 3 months for something to be ready.
The recipe is old-school Constance Spry, who suggests that you use the boozy leftover sloes in a pies. That is perhaps taking avoiding waste a step too far. The age of the recipe is given away by measuring the berries in pints.
My attempt at picking them last year was marred only by having no idea what I was looking for. I ended up with sloes, elderberries, and lots of rose hips. I've included a pic to save on phone calls from the middle of a field.
Sloe gin
1 and a half pint sloes
Quart gin (a 750ml bottle will do - cheap stuff is fine)
3/4 pounds caster sugar
Few drops almond essence
1l kilner jar
Prick each sloe a couple of times with a sharp fork. Put all the ingrediants into the jar, and shake. Leave to develop somewhere cool and dark for at least three months, shaking every so often. Once the time is up, strain using muslin or filter papers. Make sure you have a nice bottle on hand to decant into.
It really is worth doing, provided you can cope with the idea of waiting for 3 months for something to be ready.
The recipe is old-school Constance Spry, who suggests that you use the boozy leftover sloes in a pies. That is perhaps taking avoiding waste a step too far. The age of the recipe is given away by measuring the berries in pints.
My attempt at picking them last year was marred only by having no idea what I was looking for. I ended up with sloes, elderberries, and lots of rose hips. I've included a pic to save on phone calls from the middle of a field.
Sloe gin
1 and a half pint sloes
Quart gin (a 750ml bottle will do - cheap stuff is fine)
3/4 pounds caster sugar
Few drops almond essence
1l kilner jar
Prick each sloe a couple of times with a sharp fork. Put all the ingrediants into the jar, and shake. Leave to develop somewhere cool and dark for at least three months, shaking every so often. Once the time is up, strain using muslin or filter papers. Make sure you have a nice bottle on hand to decant into.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Creamed goats cheese tagliatelle with summer vegetables
Yes, I know it ain't so hot out there anymore, but I made this in honour of the final few peas desperately clinging on in our back garden and the penultimate courgette in the bottom of the fridge.
Anything else green and fresh will do; asparagus, broad beans, tender stem broccoli etc, but for the rest of the year you might just have to pick out what is in the freezer.
I used up a little cylinder of Cornish goats cheese. You could also use a piece from the goats cheese logs which are in most supermarket delis, but I find the flavour odd and the texture too chalky.
The dish is designed so you can cook up everything in the time it takes for the pasta to boil.
Creamed goats cheese tagliatelle with summer vegetables (serves 2)
Approx 100g goats cheese
2tbsp double cream
Two cloves of garlic, peeled
1 medium courgette
Handful of peas
Butter
200g tagliatelle
Put on lots of hot water to boil. You'll need some for the pasta, veg, and the garlic. Salt a pan of water generously and put the pasta on. Next, add an inch or so worth of water into a small pan, and gently poach the garlic for 5/6 minutes, until soft.
Cut the courgettes into rounds, then quarter the rounds. Cook the courgettes in plenty of salted water until soft, adding the peas for the last minute if using fresh.
Mash the goats cheese until soft, stir in the cream and add the finely chopped garlic. It will still have a stiff texture.
Heat a knob of butter in a large frying pan until foaming, throw in the veg and stir around for a couple of minutes, to allow the veg to soak up the butter. Add the mashed goats cheese, turn the heat down and stir until the cheese has oozed to a melting quality and coated the veg all over. By now, the pasta should be done, so drain and add to the pan. Toss some more.
Serve on hot plates, grind over lots of black pepper.
Anything else green and fresh will do; asparagus, broad beans, tender stem broccoli etc, but for the rest of the year you might just have to pick out what is in the freezer.
I used up a little cylinder of Cornish goats cheese. You could also use a piece from the goats cheese logs which are in most supermarket delis, but I find the flavour odd and the texture too chalky.
The dish is designed so you can cook up everything in the time it takes for the pasta to boil.
Creamed goats cheese tagliatelle with summer vegetables (serves 2)
Approx 100g goats cheese
2tbsp double cream
Two cloves of garlic, peeled
1 medium courgette
Handful of peas
Butter
200g tagliatelle
Put on lots of hot water to boil. You'll need some for the pasta, veg, and the garlic. Salt a pan of water generously and put the pasta on. Next, add an inch or so worth of water into a small pan, and gently poach the garlic for 5/6 minutes, until soft.
Cut the courgettes into rounds, then quarter the rounds. Cook the courgettes in plenty of salted water until soft, adding the peas for the last minute if using fresh.
Mash the goats cheese until soft, stir in the cream and add the finely chopped garlic. It will still have a stiff texture.
Heat a knob of butter in a large frying pan until foaming, throw in the veg and stir around for a couple of minutes, to allow the veg to soak up the butter. Add the mashed goats cheese, turn the heat down and stir until the cheese has oozed to a melting quality and coated the veg all over. By now, the pasta should be done, so drain and add to the pan. Toss some more.
Serve on hot plates, grind over lots of black pepper.
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Sauce gribiche
For breast of lamb Ste-Menehould or breadcrumbed fish.
Sauce gribiche
1 shallot
1 tbsp of chopped parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp finely chopped gherkins/ cornichons
Zest of half a lemon
Yolk of a hard boiled egg, chopped
Stir all the ingrediants together
Sauce gribiche
1 shallot
1 tbsp of chopped parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp finely chopped gherkins/ cornichons
Zest of half a lemon
Yolk of a hard boiled egg, chopped
Stir all the ingrediants together
Breast of lamb Ste-Menehould
"It is very cheap (breast of lamb was 8d a pound at Harrods last Saturday)" - Elizabeth David
I love the irony of going to a luxury store to buy one of the cheapest cuts of meat available.
This recipe is from An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, and is reprinted in its entirety by Simon Hopkinson in Roast Chicken and Other Stories. I've blogged the recipe, having just cooked it for tea, because although the Elizabeth David reads well, and Simon Hopkinson is right to say "it really is very easy", I think the recipe could do with a bit more instruction.
Incidentally, while I don't know if it is still available in Harrods, you can get it in Morrisons. I bought a good pounds worth for a little under £2.
Breast of lamb Ste-Menehould (serves 2)
Approx 1lb/450g breast of lamb in one piece
2 small onions, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
Bouquet garni (any combination of thyme, parsley, bay leaf or rosemary)
2 ounces of streaky bacon, in one piece (optional)
Breadcrumbs
Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten
Switch on the oven, setting it on its lowest heat. In a generous, oven proof pan heat some olive oil or butter. Sweat the carrot and onion over a medium heat until softened. Add the meat, herbs, and bacon (if using) and add enough boiling water to cover. Season. Bring to the boil on the hob, then transfer to the oven. Cook for at least two hours on the lowest setting. After two hours or so the meat should be meltingly tender, and offer a skewer no resistance.
Turn the oven up to a moderate heat - gas mark 5 will do. Remove the meat from the cooking liquor, and allow to cool. Pat the meat dry, and cut the meat with the grain into strips 2" thick. Paint one side of the meat with mustard, toss in the egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs, coating all sides of the meat. Once this has been done to every piece, cook in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are dry and crunchy. Drizzle the top of each piece with some melted butter, then flash under the overhead grill until the butter sizzles. Dish up on hot plates, and serve with green veg and mashed potatoes.
This would go really well with a sauce gribiche.
I love the irony of going to a luxury store to buy one of the cheapest cuts of meat available.
This recipe is from An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, and is reprinted in its entirety by Simon Hopkinson in Roast Chicken and Other Stories. I've blogged the recipe, having just cooked it for tea, because although the Elizabeth David reads well, and Simon Hopkinson is right to say "it really is very easy", I think the recipe could do with a bit more instruction.
Incidentally, while I don't know if it is still available in Harrods, you can get it in Morrisons. I bought a good pounds worth for a little under £2.
Breast of lamb Ste-Menehould (serves 2)
Approx 1lb/450g breast of lamb in one piece
2 small onions, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
Bouquet garni (any combination of thyme, parsley, bay leaf or rosemary)
2 ounces of streaky bacon, in one piece (optional)
Breadcrumbs
Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten
Switch on the oven, setting it on its lowest heat. In a generous, oven proof pan heat some olive oil or butter. Sweat the carrot and onion over a medium heat until softened. Add the meat, herbs, and bacon (if using) and add enough boiling water to cover. Season. Bring to the boil on the hob, then transfer to the oven. Cook for at least two hours on the lowest setting. After two hours or so the meat should be meltingly tender, and offer a skewer no resistance.
Turn the oven up to a moderate heat - gas mark 5 will do. Remove the meat from the cooking liquor, and allow to cool. Pat the meat dry, and cut the meat with the grain into strips 2" thick. Paint one side of the meat with mustard, toss in the egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs, coating all sides of the meat. Once this has been done to every piece, cook in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are dry and crunchy. Drizzle the top of each piece with some melted butter, then flash under the overhead grill until the butter sizzles. Dish up on hot plates, and serve with green veg and mashed potatoes.
This would go really well with a sauce gribiche.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
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