January has been very difficult, Flu has been the significant event and I think I have seen Floyd cooking in India, The Far East, France, Italy and South Africa to name but a few! There is a common thread in many of the recipes he shows, the Mirepoix.
I am starting to get a bit more adventerous in my approach to cooking in that I am looking for ‘guidance’ when attempting something and then veering off-piste and seeing where I end up!
The Pie is one such example, cooked well they are a thing of beauty but make a mistake and yuch, and unless you can find a pie brand you really like going it alone and making your own is definitely the way to go.
I decided to use a home made rough-puff pastry using a Michel Roux recipe, it’s brilliant and only takes a few minutes to make if you follow the link HERE. I scaled down the amount as I was making a small(ish) Pie and went for 125g each of flour and butter.
The filling was Beef Mince and Peas, but the flavour started with a Mirepoix of Onion Carrot and Celery cut Brunoise (small dice), this was to feature a lot in Januarys cooking experiments. You just sweat the vegetables gently and not brown them, if you then add tomato pureé as I did, it becomes a pincage! I did add some finely chopped bacon before this stage to build on the flavour layers which adds a smoky element. Don’t forget to Season to taste at this stage.
To shape the Pie I used one of those White Enamel tins, lined with some cling film after I had rubbed some oil over the surface, the Pastry was then laid into the dish on the film, add the (cooled) filling and cover. The Pie can then be (gently) lifted out, inverted and the edges sealed with a fork, It worked a treat as you can see above adding an Egg Wash to brown before cooking.
So back to our Mirepoix again, this time with a dish inspired from more distant shores, but first some mise en place.
Stuffed Mediterranean Vegetables are another one of those dishes that can be ergh, nice or amazing. I’ve done them a few times but decided to see what could be done with some refinement and playing with flavours. Previously I have only done a Pepper version as they are easy, just cut the top off and bake with a filling, job done.
Let’s introduce the Aubergine into the recipe and look at the process of baking and using the centre as part of the stuffing. I used the paring (small) knife to gently cut around the edge of the Aubergine about 1 cm in, you can see in the top right picture, then carefully cutting a criss-cross pattern using the larger knife, remembering the shape and altering the depth as you cut, the middle is deeper than the edge! 
Brushing liberally with Olive or Rapeseed Oil and seasoning with Salt and Pepper they were baked for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees. I turned them over flat side down and gave them another 15 minutes after another brushing of Oil as the top did not seem cooked, you can see the final result below. You then need to carefully scrape out the cooked centre and chop, ready to add to the filling later.
So we now start with the Mirepoix again, this time I swapped an Onion for a large Shallot, which is a bit sweeter. Add the Lamb and brown, some Garlic to taste, the chopped Aubergine, some Tomato Paste. Going for a Middle Eastern angle further enhancements included Rose Harissa, Coriander, Cumin and Preserved Lemon finely sliced and some chopped Mint and Coriander Leaf. Texture came with some toasted Pine Nuts.
I have not included quantities as I tasted as I went, so for example Cumin is quite Pungent, so I used less then Coriander Powder. Don’t forget to season with Salt and Pepper before moving onto the next stage.
The lamb mixture can then be used to fill the hollowed out Aubergine and in my case Red Pepper’s with the tops and pith/seeds removed, then baked in the over for about 35-40 minutes. 
Served with some Greek Yoghurt with added Rose Harissa and chopped Mint its absolutely delicious and worthy of any dinner table as you can see below.
A new book came through the letterbox and hit the floor over Christmas, ‘Comfort’ by John Waite it’s a great addition to the bookshelf although it’s spent more time in my hands thumbing through the pages seeking more cooking inspiration.
I was looking for something different to try one Saturday and had Fish and Potato on my mind, remembering a recipe I found it in John’s book, but not having all the ingredients I slipped off-piste again and here is how it went!
Firstly, a baked Potato which I always start by piercing all over with a fork, and then rubbing butter all over the skin to ensure a crisp finish, followed by a sprinkling of Sea Salt.
I had some red Romano Peppers in the Organic Veg Box so started to think about a nice Piquant Sauce to make, so popped one in the oven to roast for about 15 minutes, this makes removing the hard indigestible skin easy and heightens their sweetness.
The Mirepoix was again the starting point, this time the humble Leek was also finely chopped and added to the rest of the sweating vegetables. I also added some Plum Tomato’s from a tin, but removing the seeds by hand first so only the flesh went into the saucepan. Finally I added the roasted pepper which had been chopped up first.
A couple of pieces Cod had been removed from the Freezer earlier and popped in the Microwave to cook, not ideal but time meant that it was the easiest thing to do and as the Fish was going to be mixed with Potato it was the way I went on this occasion. Once cooked it was mixed in with the scooped out potato and Ras-Al-Hanut spice added along with Salt and Pepper to season.
Once the Mirepoix/Pepper/Tomato mix was cooked it went into the Ninja processor and got a good whiz as you can seen above.
I wanted to add some more texture so used some old Sour Dough Bread to make Breadcrumbs, added grated Grana Padano Cheese and mixed in some Rapeseed Oil.
The Potato Skins were fried to make them crispy again, and then filled with the Potato?fish mixture before being topped with the Breadcrumbs/Cheese and going in the oven to finish. The sweet (piquant is more appropriate) Pepper Sauce was gently warmed on the hob and we were soon ready to serve.
So what started out as a John Waite dish (which I do intent to make), turned out as my own version with a quite spicy Sweet Pepper Sauce, with the crispy Potato and Fish filled skins it tasted delicious.
Next time I will cover off Mexican experiment and see where it took me and the Ox Cheeks, I hope you enjoy the January efforts and please feel free to let me know if there is anything you would like to me have a go at.
……………………………Until next time…………………….L8ers………………
It did not take long after the trip to Malaysia to get the urge to cook something that would remind me of fun times. I have cooked 
I have several Malaysian cookery books in my ever growing collection, one being Normans’ 
To accompany the Rendang I decided on plain Basmati Rice and Pak Choi, enhanced with some of the flavours above, 
A unique flavour to Malaysian cuisine is 
You can see the start and the end of the process in the pictures above. The aroma of Kerisik is like a ‘Toasty Caramel Coconut’ flavour and to me Is very unique in this style of cuisine. I am working on a dessert using Kerisik at the moment and have been publishing the ‘slow’ progress, it is heading in the right direction nicely though and the full version will get released when it’s completed over the next few months.
The spice paste, once processed in the bender needs to be fried off, the deep orange colour is due to the fresh Turmeric I used, rather than powdered it’s more intense in both colour and flavour being very ‘earthy’! The recipe calls for 20 dried chilli’s soaked in water which might seem a lot, but the dish was not as hot as you might think.
The Chicken is then added and given a good mix to cover the meat in the delicious spices, then some bruised Lemongrass to add some freshness, finally the Coconut Milk and the whole thing bubbles away until all is done.
The Tamarind, Kerisik and Kaffir Lime leafs are almost used as a seasoning, I found the dish needed more Tamarind to balance the flavours but that may just be my palate, it was a delicious dish with flavours dancing around on the tongue, I think the best Rendang I have done so far by a long way.
The Pak Choi is simply put into a saucepan with a little water and as it cooks add some Kecap Manis and sprinkle the Sesame Seeds. It only needs a few minutes to cook and adds a slightly bitter, irony dimension to the whole meal.
If I had a New Years resolution, it would be to practise plating, and remember to wipe things clean before taking pictures but I usually end up just wanting to serve and eat, and things end up a bit rushed #musttryharder!!
In this weeks Organic Veg Box delivery there was a surprise, Oca, what the hell is Oca!! There was a description on the box and a quick look on the internet and all was clear, 
So I decided to cook some for tea just to see what they were like, not really expecting much as they don’t look particularly appetising, but how wrong that was to be!
I think it’s the Chef James Martin that says everything tastes better with Butter! In a small pan they went with some Oil and a bit of Butter, roasting for about 25 minutes and giving them a shake every 10 minutes to make sure they were cooked all the way through, then briefly drained on some kitchen paper.
So, Oca, wow! They were absolutely delicious, slightly crispy on the outside, tender flesh in the middle, with a hint of lemon. I had noted some people commenting on there being no Lemon flavour, with ours it was definitely present, and very nice too. They could probably have been seasoned a bit harder with s touch more salt, but this is one vegetable I will be looking our for, thank-you 
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is on, streaming to my iPad as I pen the 1st blog of 2018. River Cottage HQ is about to open and rather than let one of his prize pigs go, the menu will be based on Beef rather than Pork, along with an Asparagus starter, all 40 portions. Fish is also on the menu, trying to find a ‘monster’ Lobster in the locale fails and it’s actually a massive Conger Eeel that ends up on the plate!
I have very fond memories of past trips to the South of France where my brother lives, the preferred time being late Autumn when the Olive picking season is in full swing. He has some trees in his garden and the process of picking and taking down to the ‘Olive Pressing Co-Operative’ is an annual ritual. It was during one of these trips that I discovered 
Taking 1Kg of cheap pork cuts (shoulder and belly), and some Duck or Goose fat a very slow confit takes place over several hours, the addition of flavours such as Garlic, Thyme and Rosemary add extra interest to the final dish.
You might find, as I did that the Pork had not broken down completely due to the low and slow process (3 – 3/12 hours give or take), the temperature was not high enough to break down the connective tissues so I turned the heat up a bit and within 30 minutes the job was done.
At this stage you will need to KEEP the cooking fat AFTER draining it, don’t throw it away, it’s integral to the dish!! The Pork does not look particularly tasty at this point but carefull pulling and tugging to seperate the meat from any unedible bits and we are nearly there.
Given some time to cool a bit you will have a dish of ‘pulled Pork”, the drained and strained Fat, and Salt and Pepper. I added 60%-70% of the fat into the meat before starting the next process, I did warn it’s fatty stuff but believe me, it’s delicious and you don’t have it that often.
I had some Kilner jars which were sterlised in the oven for about 20 mins at 115 degrees. In Richard’s book there is a section where it talks about various ways of potting the Rillettes but you will have to invest a few pounds to find out like I did, it’s worth it, it’s a very good book with lots of hints and tips.
Once the Rillettes is packed into the jar, some of the Fat is poured over the top to seal in the goodness before adding the lid and popping into the fridge to cool down, job done.
The dishes were varied and delicious taking in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam tastes dancing over the pallette. During lunch we had a tropical downpour which was a welcome release from the heat, it poured it down.
The following day we were on the island of Langkawi and had some free time to wander around. A group of us hired a taxi for the most of the day and toured around the island a bit which was great fun, especially finding the hawker stalls selling home made fresh food to passsers-by.
Julian Rolfe 