Mussels Dressed In Beurre Blanc..

Hello everyone, again I hope you are all keeping well and dandy. I have been rushed off my feet these past few days with homework and other events etc.. So now it has reached that time of day when nothing else will do apart from an oversized mug of tea and a spot of blogging. I have been venturing into the world of running recently and so far I am thoroughly enjoying it. I can feel all of the winter carbs and fat slowly dislodging it’s way from my body and a new Spring me arrive. So now that I am refreshed, the upcoming recipes for the next few weeks will be influenced by the warmer approaching weather that is Spring! Hoo-ray :). From past posts I have never come to the subject of sharing with you some of the links to my friends blogs, with there influential and satisfying style of writing and not to mention the abundance of it! http://www.twodoorblogclub.wordpress.com Is a fabulous blog from a dear friend who is very pleasant to be around and has that warm welcoming touch.. Her blog consists of anything and everything which to me gives the reader a perfect chance to reflect on the ins and outs of her lovely personality! Then we arrive at http://www.sugarcoatedwolfgang.wordpress.com which is written by one of my most influential friends, through her thoughts on fashion and the culture of fashion within our current society, she helps to make your understanding of fashion that little bit more exciting. And everytime I read her posts I feel this tingle of satisfaction and I hope it brings the same to you to!

Soon the nights are soon going to be getting longer and then sun will shine for endless hours, so why not celebrate and get a group of friends over to your house and rustle up some of these beautiful mussels in a beurre blanc sauce. This recipe came to me as a bit of a surprise one late Friday night last summer when the warm summers breeze was whistling it’s way throughout my house. It shouuld be made with the freshest mussels you can get ahold of, so I advise a walk down the road to your nearest, local fishmonger for the days catch. A beurre blanc sauce if your wondering is basically a sauce of butter and softened shallots with a herb of choice and it does not just work with mussels, it works with many other varietes of fish and even veg and poultry. A great little shallot of Nigella’s is the banana shallot which is particularly hard to find unless you have a Parisian style market on your doorstop or London for that matter. It is just easier to peel and chop. So unleash your spring-ness and get out there and retrieve those mussels.

INGREDIENTS:

for the mussels:

1kg mussels de-beared ( by the fishmonger) and cleaned of barnacles.

for the beurre blanc:

2 banana shallots or 3-4 regular small ones.

250g diced butter unsalted.

100ml dry white wine ( must be drinkable for cookery purposes).

1/2 lemon for juice.

salt and pepper.

METHOD:

Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil, then tip in the mussels and salt the water. Leave the pan covered for about 10 mins then check to see if they are ready (opened from there shells) and if not pop back on again for a further few mins.

Meanwhile make the sauce, Put a saucepan onto the hob and peel and chop the shallots finely. then sweat with no oil or butter for a few mins then add the wine and boil away for 2-3mins. Reduce the heat to low and take a balloon whisk and slowly whisk in the butter cube by cube until the sauce is thick and emulsified. Now add the lemon, salt and pepper. serve immediately over the strained mussels into hot bowls! for the ultimate comfort food 🙂

Merci, Ryan!

Mocha Marbled Loaf Cake With White Chocolate Ganache… :)

My Hearty Wholesome Granola:)

Hello folks, it seems like ages since I last posted, I blame it on lots of homework followed by the endless boring Duke of Edinburgh training I have to attend… A few days ago I had this sudden urge to start running and gain a higher fitness level! So today is going to be spent wandering round town trying to find running shoes and tops etc for a run tonight. But there is a spot of baking going on in my kitchen in the style of a mocha marbled loaf cake with white chocolate ganche for a good old spot of Sunday lunch tomorrow! Now this isn’t the most longest and detailed of posts but I do warn you in advance this granola is highly addictive and so it speaks the words for me.. It mainly contains maple syrup, pecans, and cranberrys although these dried fruits and nuts can be subsituted for others!

INGREDIENTS:

125ml maple syrup.
25g caster sugar.
25ml sunflower oil.
1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
500g rolled oats.
175g mixed seeds (such as pumpkin, sunflower sesame etc…).
150g pecans.
50g whole almonds.
25g flaked almonds.
75g desiccated coconut.
Pinch of salt.
2 tsp ground cinnamon.
150g dried cranberries.

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 170°c or Gas Mark 3. Line two large roasting trays with baking parchment and set aside.

Put the maple syrup, sugar, oil and vanilla into a large bowl abd mix together. Toss in the oats, mixed seeds, pecans and the rest of the ingredients. Get your hands in there and let the mixture fall through your fingers to coat everything throughly. Don’t add the cranberries though!!!

Pour the mixture into both tins and bake for 15mins in the oven until golden brown in colour. Swapping the trays throughout the cooking time.

Remove and leave to cool, then tumble in the dried cranberries and store in airtight containers for up to 1 month.

Enjoy…
Ryan!

My Hearty Wholesome Granola:)

Hello folks, it seems like ages since I last posted, I blame it on lots of homework followed by the endless boring Duke of Edinburgh training I have to attend… A few days ago I had this sudden urge to start running and gain a higher fitness level! So today is going to be spent wandering round town trying to find running shoes and tops etc for a run tonight. But there is a spot of baking going on in my kitchen in the style of a mocha marbled loaf cake with white chocolate ganche for a good old spot of Sunday lunch tomorrow! Now this isn’t the most longest and detailed of posts but I do warn you in advance this granola is highly addictive and so it speaks the words for me.. It mainly contains maple syrup, pecans, and cranberrys although these dried fruits and nuts can be subsituted for others!

INGREDIENTS:

125ml maple syrup.
25g caster sugar.
25ml sunflower oil.
1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
500g rolled oats.
175g mixed seeds (such as pumpkin, sunflower sesame etc…).
150g pecans.
50g whole almonds.
25g flaked almonds.
75g desiccated coconut.
Pinch of salt.
2 tsp ground cinnamon.
150g dried cranberries.

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 170°c or Gas Mark 3. Line two large roasting trays with baking parchment and set aside.

Put the maple syrup, sugar, oil and vanilla into a large bowl abd mix together. Toss in the oats, mixed seeds, pecans and the rest of the ingredients. Get your hands in there and let the mixture fall through your fingers to coat everything throughly. Don’t add the cranberries though!!!

Pour the mixture into both tins and bake for 15mins in the oven until golden brown in colour. Swapping the trays throughout the cooking time.

Remove and leave to cool, then tumble in the dried cranberries and store in airtight containers for up to 1 month.

Enjoy…
Ryan!

Banana Tarte Tatin!

Hello again everybody, I hope you are all keeping well. I began today with a good strong cup of coffee and a not so fabulous bowl of muesli but hey, we have to start somewhere in the morning and it did get better as the day passed by. This afternoon at my school lunch break which I wouldn’t really class as a break due to sprint to the nearest shop to grab a panini or cup of soup, before the masses of people come flooding from the narrow doorways… anyway I was standing outside of a little local bookshop and I noticed a HUGE! Italian cookery book staring me in the eye, it was called La Cucina, and if i’m correct is the name of the world renowned cookery school in Italy. This book was probably around 2000 pages in length and packed with the most in-depth knowledge known to even the smartest of Italians. I instantly fell in love with it and was contemplating to ones self about the price which I have no idea about and wondering whether to make a purchase?? Although if I did eventually make this purchase I would extend my cookery book library to around the 150 mark aha! So i’m thinking long an hard about this purchase… anyway back to the subject of the post, this is a Tarte Tatin that uses a strange but incredibly moreish fruit, banana. This fruit is used commonly in France as it requires less sugar to be added to the fruit to enable the caramel to form correctly. They add a silky soft, sticky texture to the dish which you just can’t achieve with apples or plums etc… The caramel in any Tarte Tatin is not sweet as you would normally associate caramel to be but it has a bittersweet edge due to the twice cooking method the caramel goes through. Rough puff pastry is used here to enable a flaky texture and add contrast to the sweet, fragrant bananas. I do warn you before you begin you will need to buy an ovenproof frying pan for this dish as the plastic handles of most frying pans cannot cope with the temperatures within the oven! Oh I must add rough puff is one of the easier pastries to grasp so this Tarte is perfect for amateur bakers!

INGREDIENTS:

for the rough puff pastry:

225g plain flour.

pinch of sea salt flakes crushed like Maldon.

190g slightly salted butter, chilled and diced.

1 teaspoon lemon juice.

140ml icy water.

for the caramel:

100g white granulated sugar.

60g salted butter.

for the topping:

3 large, firm bananas.

1 x ovenproof frying pan.

METHOD:

Begin with the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and and toss until coated. Mix the lemon juice with the water and add to the bowl. Using a palette knife or similar, work in the liquid to the flour and cut the butter as you go, rotate the bowl as you go. When you achieve a clump of dough, turn out onto a floured surface and shape in a block around 10-14 cm.

Roll out the dough away from you to a rectangle, and fold in 3 like a business letter ( bottom third to middle and top third to centre to create a neat square. Give the dough a quarter turn and roll and fold as before. Chill the pastry (wrapped) for about 20 minutes, then repeat the rolling and folding 20 minutes until you have rolled and folded 6 times in total, then chill for 1hr or overnight is best.

When ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 200c/Gas 6. And crack on with the caramel, put the sugar in the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of water and heat gently until the sugar has completely melted. Now apply lots of heat and bring to the boil. Cook until it starts to turn a light golden brown colour. Add the butter off the heat and swirl until completely melted. leave to cool down.

Cut the bananas into thickish slices. arrange the slices in a neat pattern on the caramel.

Roll the pastry for the last time until a thickness of 3mm is there. Cut out a circle slightly larger than the pan you are using . Drape the pastry over the bananas and prick it all over the place with a fork.

Bake the Tarte for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is a good golden brown and has puffed up and crisped. Carefully take a plate and place on top of the pastry and invert the pan to transfer. Serve warm with cream or crème fraiche.

Enjoy, Merci,

Ryan!

Quick Message to Readers….

Hello everyone, I have been away this weekend and I am home now but still have a few things to be getting one with so this post was really to let you know that I will be posting tomorrow, with a Banana Tarte Tatin involved.. so stay tuned tomorrow and I will see you in due course

Ryan.

Sardinian Couscous With Clams! Nigella Lawson :)

Hello again, folks I hope that you are all keeping well and warm. Up here in Scotland we were supposed to receive 4 inches of snow today but I am thankful that it did not arrive! The past two days I have spent writing a critical essay on George Orwell’s Animal Farm, which was quite a strenuous task in it’s entirety but I am now glad to say that is long gone and finished, yes! Yesterday evening I visited the cinema and went to see Flight, the tragic movie starring Denzel Washington about a plane crash and how he is found guilty of taking drugs and mis-using  alcohol before boarding and on the flight itself.  I am going to give you this word of warning though, there is a lot of strong and distressing imagery throughout, not for the faint hearted I say. Anyway moving back onto the subject of the post, I will transport you over to the Italian region of Sardinia, famous for it’s robust flavours and pungent scents oh and not to mention there fantastic seafood which is world renowned for it’s superior quality. And so I thought why not share this fresh, aromatic dish with you since Spring is nearly approaching us. I love the thought that all of the amazing food and things to see and do all start to arrive at this newly awakening season. So throw those long over-worn Christmas jumpers in the back of your wardrobe until winter arrives again and pull out you fresh, light, spring clothes and get out and explore the world for it will won’t be long until that wardrobe begins to talk to you and persuade you to slip on your winter cosy!

So for this dish you will require a ‘fat-couscous’ know in Italian as Fregola. Fregola is easily found in good Italian deli’s across the globe, it has a slightly nutter flavour that normal couscous and is just perfect for this dish as some pieces slip inside the clams while cooking and look like little golden nuggets in treasure chests. Apart from the Fregola all you need to get ahold of is good-quality clams which are easy to find at a local fishmongers. A fishmonger will usually have clams in abundance as most of the public are scared to cook with them or just they don’t know how or what to cook them with. They are like mussels although they are much smaller and I think they are a little saltier due to the waters they are found in. But my main point is that they are not overwhelmingly fishy, OK they have a slight fishy taste, but at the end of the day they are seafood and are perfect for people who are beginning to venture there way into cooking and experimenting with seafood!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1kg small clams.
• 1 tbsp regular olive oil.
• 1 banana shaloot, finely chopped or 2 normal shallots.
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced. ( using a microplane grater ).
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes.
• 1 tbsp tomato puree.
• 75oml light chicken stock.
• 4 tbsp dry red vermouth.
• 200g Fregola.
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley, plus more for sprinkling.

METHOD:

1. Soak the clams in a large bowl of cold water, and sort through them, discarding any shells that remain open or are cracked or smashed.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan that comes with a lid, then add the chopped shallot, stirring for a minute, grate in the garlic, and add the chilli flakes, stirring again over the heat so that it sizzles, though not long enough to let the garlic brown.
3. Stir in the tomato purée, then add the stock and the vermouth and let it come to the boil.
4. Add the fregola – it should be covered completely by the liquid – and let it simmer, still uncovered, for 1-2 mins.
5. Check that the fregola is nearly ready and then add the drained clams and cover the pan with the lid. Leave to cook for three minutes at a fast simmer, then uncover the pan to check that the clams have opened. Any clams that, once cooked, stay closed should be discarded.
6. Sprinkle in the chopped parsley and stir to let everything combine before ladling into four warmed bowls to serve, sprinkling with a little more chopped parsley as you go.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this spring-like lunch,

Ryan!

 

 

Fish with a lemon and brown butter sauce!

Hello again, everyone! I am really diving into a mixed cultural post tonight with elements from all over Europe. I am going to take you on a journey to Italy first, and to begin our little excursion I will let you into a little secret I found out from an Italian restaurant owner I know. You must here in cookery books and TV programmes across the globe that Italians always use fresh pasta and they never use dried as it is just “not good enough”. Well I thought this until I found out that this is an utter lie, infact most Italians prefer to use dried varieties as they require less fuss and are easier to control to prevent overcooking. So I hope that brings a little satisfaction to you out there, who think that everytime you open a packet of dried pasta it is the devil nemesis! So to conclude on this section, said in my last post i was going to visit the chocolate pasta shop, only to find it still under construction along with forever 21 department store which looks as though it will be amazing! I did do something Italian this weekend, Nigella’s Chocolate Olive Oil Cake, which is utterly one of the most fabulous cake I have come across recently and I will be registering it into my cooking repertoire!

Okay so I now move over to France and discover this fabulous recipe with courtesy of Rachel Khoo! The recipe is the stated above fish dish which is the perfect end to any hectic day or if your stomach has digested enough carbohydrates in the past week to last you a month, then this dish is for you. I love the delicate taste of the Atlantic fish slowly entering my palette then you are hit right smack-in-the-middle of the face (metaphorical of course) with the most pungent brown butter sauce or beurre noisettes. The dish itself is really not that complicated itself and you can change the fish to any delicate fish of your choice, my preference is lemon or Dover sole. And because of the simplistic method to follow, you can allow yourself to relax and enjoy the food without stressing over when you should take the potatoes off the heat or if you need to keep whisking a beurre blanc, Mais, non! The fish is the real star here so please make the effort to go to a fishmonger and get the freshest and tastiest fish around!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 fillet of dover or lemon sole (or your preference), skin removed.
• 3 tbsp plain flour.
• ½ tsp salt.
• 2 pinches freshly ground black pepper.
• 1½ tbsp sunflower oil (or a very mild olive oil) Never extra-virgin!
• 45g butter, cubed.
• ½ lemon, juice only.
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley (flat-leaf).
• 1 tbsp small capers (optional, of course).

METHOD:

1. Check the fish for small bones and use tweezers to pull out any that you find.
2. Mix the flour with the salt and pepper and spread out over a large plate. Pat the fish fillets in the flour so they are evenly coated, and shake off any excess.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When the oil is smoking hot, place the fish fillets in the pan and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 1-2 minutes on one side until golden-brown, then turn the fillets over and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until the second side is golden-brown. (Flatfish fillets = 1-2 mins each side Thicker fillets = 3-4 mins each side) is a good guide!
4. When cooked remove the fish from the pan and wrap the fish in aluminium foil to keep warm.
5. Wipe the pan with paper towels and return to a medium heat. Add the cubes of butter and heat until they melt and become light brown, then turn off the heat and add the lemon juice (stand back a little as it will splutter and you really don’t want a hot butter facial!).
6. Add the parsley and capers (if using), and swirl the contents of the pan around. Return the fish to the pan, spoon over the juices and serve immediately.

Merci, Grazie, for reading,

Until next time, Au Revoir

Ryan.

 

 

 

 

Just made Nigella’s chocolate olive oil cake mmmm…. :)

Chocolate Pasta With A Dark Butterscotch And Pecan Sauce :)

Hello again, fellow readers, I hope you are all keeping well and healthy ( well I say healthy ) until you start to endeavour more into this post and discover hidden sugary notes flying at you in all directions Metaphorically speaking aha! I have recently just discovered my new craze ‘Chocolate Pasta’. I am now totally in love with the stuff as I can now try out Nigella’s recipe with the above title. I may just be using the same ingredients as her just now but that is not to say that in the near future that will be changing. And the great thing is in a months time a stockist of this true Italian delight while be opening and i can therefore frequently purchase a bag or two. Now as you have already guessed, this is a pudding pasta and is to made and enjoyed on those days when you feel life has thrown you into all it’s battles and the only way to get out is to solemnly stir a pan of this beautifully melding sauce of dreams. what more could you ask for than a pan of chocolate,pasta,butter,sugar,cream and pecans! oh how enticing that sounds! To me anyway aha! I don’t know about you but I would guess the same. I did read once that there is an art to stirring and how relaxing it can be and I truly believe every word of that article as it truly is a wondrous thing! As you have probably seen my wall background and it’s Nigella and the kitchen, but to be honest with you, I don’t really mind what all of those self-centred people out there think I write about food, my passion for it and the readers of this blog which really make my day ( you really do aha! ) and that is all I care about. So lets crack on and get into the kitchen and make some solace stirring begin!

Ingredients:

• 100g cocoa or chocolate pasta ( I use Hotel Chocolat ).
• pinch salt.
• 50g pecans, roughly broken up.
• 50g soft unsalted butter cubed.
• 50g dark brown sugar.
• 100ml double cream, plus extra to serve.

Serves 1 very tired and hungry person!

Method:

Put water on to boil for the pasta and, when it’s boiling, add a pinch of salt and cook the pasta, setting a timer for two minutes before the packet instructions say it will be ready.

Put a medium-sized, non-stick frying pan on the stove and tumble in the pecans, then toast them over a medium heat. Once you can smell their scent wafting up from the pan, remove them to a cold plate.

Keep that pan hot and add the butter and sugar and melt down until you have a hot, treacly syrup. now add the cream and stir while adding a few of the pecans and a pinch of salt.

Drain the pasta and trickle over that sumptuous sauce and sprinkle over the remaining pecans and  little more drizzle of cream and serve at once to let all of those battles of the day slowly drift away!

Merci Beaucoup! Until next time,

Ryan!