Dairy Lard and Olive Oil, Oh, and Bomba – All about Spain with Omar Allibhoy at The Bertinet Cookery School

Posted on March 19, 2017 by julianrolfe

The weather was miserable as I jumped onboard the train to Bath Spa station, on arrival the sun was shinning out of The Bertinet Cookery School as Spanish Chef Supremo Omar Allibhoy was in town, teaching 12 eager cookery enthusiasts and I was on the list!

I booked this course a while back having invested in ‘Tapas Revolution’ over 4 year’s ago, which was Omars’ first book. I spent most of my wife’s birthday in 2013 preparing various Tapas which featured in the book and posted on an earlier blog post HERE. It was also our silver wedding anniversary that year so a good excuse to have some tasty food, I still remember it to this day.

There were 12 of us on the course (a full house) and as usual some familiar faces, friends that had been on previous courses we all settled in very quickly and learnt what the agenda was for the day.We were going to prepare several dishes from different parts of Spain and at the end sit down on the communal table and ‘feast’, which is always a pleasant and fitting end to several hours graft in the kitchen! On the menu was Gazpacho de Sandia (chilled Watermelon soup), Higaditos al Jerez Dulce (Chicken Livers with Sweet Sherry and Spices), Arroz Melosos de Seta (Paella with Mushrooms and Cod), Ensaidmada Mallorquina (Rolled Flaky Pastry).Blimey, apart from the really tasty and slightly un-familiar menu some new techniques to get to grips with, we started on the Mallorcan dessert. An enriched dough was made using an ‘industrial’ grade mixer purely due to the quantity we were making, you could do this in a Kenwood or Kitchen Aid quite easily. We had to get the gluten working hard so this was not a 5 minute process, once done (about 10-15 minutes), the dough was left to rest whilst we worked on the other dishes.As we followed through the menu, Omar spent lots of time explaining some of the interesting facts about Spanish Cuisine, it’s ‘subtle’ not in your face and I personally think it’s a shame that a vast number of tourists only seem to focus on fast food chains and ‘British fry up’s’, Spain has so much more to offer if you make a little effort.

You can think of Spain as lots of regional cook books we learnt, the climate also dictates the methods of cooking but you will have to try and book a course with Omar to find out more, its really interesting.The Ensaidmada was challenging to make, several processes were required after the dough had rested as you can see from the pictures above. I imagined dear old Spanish ladies working away in their kitchens making everything from hand including making the dough without a mixer!

It’s hands on with resting between each process, you are making a VERY thin pastry by hand, which also has a layer of ‘Pork Lard’ spread thinly on top. Yes, you heard it right, ‘Lard’ is an integral part of this very special dessert.We had some prepared Stock on the hob which was going to be used to make the Paella dish. This was not a traditional ‘dry’ Paella so familiar to tourists but a ‘sloppy’ one even beyond the wetness of a Risotto.

Omar took time again to explain the Spanish Rice ‘Bomba‘, don’t believe all you read though, speak to a Spanish cook who know what they are talking about as it’s a challenging Rice to use and timing is critical to get a perfect result. We had to reduce the Stock and add ‘hard’ fried Onion, Pepper and Mushrooms with Tomato, Paprika and Saffron before going back to the dessert to finish the preparation.So, we are making a dessert and then add Sobrasada melted into more Pork Lard and spread it all over the stretched dough, Yummmmm!

There are several variants of this dessert, we were going to make both a sweet and savoury version. Once spread gentle rolling is required, I was fortunate to be working with Vivien, who unfortunately had broken her arm a few days previous but still joined in as much as she could. If you have an interest in Preserves, please check out http://www.vivienlloyd.com as she is an expert in traditional methods and runs courses etc. (I didn’t get paid for the plug btw, she was great fun to work with).Who loves Chicken Livers? Surprisingly Omar put his hand up as he asked the question. Fine in Parfait and pâté but cooked, nope, except this way. This was to be an appetizer to get the taste buds singing before the Gazpacho. Marinated in some ‘special’ ingredients you can find the recipe in Omar’s new book ‘Spanish Made Simple’, I invested in a copy before departing and look forward to cooking some of the recipes within.Rather than just show and tell, Omar was also hands-on, assisting and guiding all 12 of us during the 5-6 hours of cooking we were to complete before sitting down and eating our efforts. He was very enthusiastic and great fun, telling us more about his experiences in the restaurant industry and giving us hints and tips as we prepared each dish.

Also in the kitchen were the ‘Bertinet Baker Girls’ who cleaned, helped clear up, sort out ingredients, make teas/coffees, snacks etc. They always do an amazing job and help make the sessions run very smoothly.You have to stretch the Ensaidmada before ‘gently’ coiling and allowing to prove for a couple of hours, traditionally this would be done overnight to develop more flavour but our time was limited. Once risen it goes into a hot oven until a deep brown, not the light golden colour we are normally used to when baking.Ignore the ‘rustic’ look of the Chicken Livers, they were to die for, absolutely delightful, tangy, sweet and soft. We served them on some toasted Sour Dough and decided to crack open the wine at the same time as dinner was nearly ready and quick taster of these would get us over the line.The Ensaidmada’s were ready in about 19 minutes at 190deg, the top one is the savoury version, you can seen small pieces of Sobrasada speckled on the surface. The Gazpacho was probably the easiest dish we made, assemble the ingredients and whizz in a blender. Adding Melon was unusual but it was not long before we sat done and started tasting, chatting and talking about the techniques we had learnt and discussing food in general.The Gazpacho was delicious, it was quite hot in the cookery school so a cool refreshing slightly sweet starter did the job perfectly. Bomba Rice is very picky, you HAVE to get the timings correct otherwise you end up with over cooked grains that are like sludge. Shortly after finishing our starter the Arroz Melosos De Seta was ready for the final ingredient to be added, Salt Cod. This only needed a few minutes and we were ready to serve.You can see the slightly ‘sloppy’ nature of the dish in the picture above. It is supposed to be like this, wetter than a Risotto it did taste subtle and was also delicious, the Paprika creating warmth and smokiness, the mushrooms meatiness and the Rice had textures but probably not the al dente described in Italian Cuisine, it was slightly beyond that stage.Once the Ensaidmada is cooked both versions are given a good coating of Icing sugar. The savoury version might be considered a bit like the Moroccan Pastilla dish, Pigeon Pie with Cinnamon and Icing Sugar in Filo Pastry, but in this case we are using Sobrasada which is a cured spicy Pork. It was unusually delicious again, difficult to describe unless you can taste it yourself.

So, another cookery course over, Omar was brilliant and everyone was commenting on how much fun we had, and lots learnt too. These days are hard work but really good fun, for me time to mentally escape from day to day life they provide an environment to learn new skills meet people with similar interests and most important add to the repertoire in the kitchen with dishes from around the world.

A big thank-you to Richard Bertinet who is able to attract some seriously good Chefs who are also good at teaching, these skills do not often come in the same package. A massive thank-you to Omar Allibhoy who took time out of running a significant business to teach 12 people some skills and techniques you cannot easily learn from a book, if you get the chance to go on a course with Omar, book quickly!

As usual, I paid full price for this course and received no incentive to write this blog, the description above is my personal experience and one I would highly recommend.

……………………Until Next Time………….L8ers………………….

بهارات‎ (Bahārāt) and Squash!! More Middle Eastern Delight’s to Amaze You!

Posted on March 20, 2016 by julianrolfe

This dish started life many months ago when I got hold of the cookery book ‘Persiana’, by Sabrina Ghayour (voted best new cookbook 2014). Thumbing through the pages there were lots of delicious looking recipes but one took my eye, Butternut Squash with Pistachio, Pesto, Feta and Pomegranate! It was apparently a firm favourite amongst the supper club attendees, so must be not too bad at all!

I have been trying to get this dish on the table but numerous times failed due to things like “I don’t fancy that” (not me but someone else!), “have you got time” (again not me!), “in hospital” (that WAS me)!

At last the stars must have been aligned, or Saturn congruent with a passing comet for a nano second and it finally happened, and what a spectacular event it was too! You need to read the WHOLE post as there are several processes needed to complete the dish, each with their own list of ingredients.

My version does differ from Sabrinas, not that I did not think it wasn’t an excellent recipe (who am I to judge anyway), but I craved some protein, meat in fact, Lamb, I (we) both love Lamb.

So off to research some ideas and I decided to make a Bahārāt from scratch. Bahārāt is Arabic for ‘Spices’, and can be a heady mixture to take any dish to mars and beyond, and for this recipe (for 2 people), you will need the following;

1/2 Tsp Allspice
2 Tsp Black Peppercorns
1/2 Teaspoon Cardamon Seeds (after outer green pods removed)
4″ Cassia Bark (like Cinnamon but less sweet)
1 1/2 Tsp Whole Cloves
2 Tsp Coriander Seeds
1 1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp Nutmeg (Fresh Grated if possible)
3 Tsp Aleppo Chilli
1 Tsp Rose Petals (The cooking variety!)
1/2 Tsp Ground Iranian Lime

Most of the spices are cupboard items (I always recommend Steenbergs wherever possible as the quality is SO good, and nothing like shop bought brands, which often are more expensive and have less flavour and character), the Iranian Lime and Rose Petals came from Ottolenghi’s, Aleppo Chilli from The Spicery.

All the whole spices need dry roasting until they fill the kitchen with heady aromas. Be careful not to use too much heat and burn the spices as they will become very bitter and unpleasant. Then add the dried spices and whizz up in a blender to a powder, but don’t go as far as dust, we want some texture and character. You can see my result in the picture above.

The Bahārāt is used to marinade 500 grms lamb shoulder, I left mine for about 2 hours using 5 heaped Tsp of the Bahārāt mixture which will leave you some left for another day.

After marinating, the Lamb is browned in a frying pan in some olive oil, and put into a dish with 250 mls of HOT Vegetable Stock mixed with 2 tsp of tomato puree then into a 130 deg (centigrade) fan oven for 2 1/2 – 3 hours! I covered mine with tinfoil for the first couple of hours, and removed the foil allowing the stock to reduce for the last hour or so. You will need to keep and eye on it and stir from time to time to make sure things don’t dry out.

A quick interlude whilst the Lamb is doing its stuff. I was rushed into hospital a few weeks back, diagnosed with Type I Diabetes and now doing what many thousands of people have to do, inject Insulin daily and sample my blood 4 times a day!

I had a 1 day course booked at Bertinet’s Cookery School in Bath some time ago, with Ghalid Assyb (he partnered with Yotam Ottolenghi to open the 1st of the Ottolengi eateries in London), bl@@dy Macaroon’s as well, so two weeks after release from those lovely people dressed in white and green with a limited/no sugar diet, I was whisking, mixing and piping all sorts of sweet delights full of sugar.The 1 day session was awesome, we all learnt loads and despite my fears of piping and making a complete fool of myself, the end results were really very good (according to wife and family who can consume more sugar in a day than I can in a month)! Some of the end product are pictured above, I managed a couple all day!

I would recommend any of the Bertinet courses, I am taking my nine year old on a children’s one in July, and I am booked on a 1 day Bread in April and have a day with Mark Hix, the well known restaurateur in October! I am not a share holder and don’t get freebies, they are just good so I am happy to say so.

So we are back with the next process and a Pesto, no Pine Nuts in sight, or Basil! This one is made with Coriander, Parsley and Mints leaves, this is a variation from Sabrinas which uses Dill instead of Mint ( I am not a Dill fan and thought the Mint and Lamb would match nicely).

For 2 people I used 50 grms Pistachio nuts, about 30 grms of Gran Padano cheese which are whizzed up with some Olive Oil to slacken, then add the ‘leaves’ of a bunch of Parsley and Coriander (I left the stalks behind). The Mint was added in stages, so as to not overpower the Pesto, you just want a hint as its very strong. You will need to add some more Olive Oil to get the consistency loose enough.

I am not sure how the Lime managed to get into the picture earlier, you need to add Lemon Juice to taste, a good squeeze or two and for salt, I used some Hebridean ‘Smoked’ Sea Salt, it is a really good product and brings another dimension to the Pesto, test the flavour and adjust as necessary to your liking. You can see what mine looked like above.

We are nearly done prep wise, You need a nice Butternut Squash, to be honest I suspect any will do but the nice ‘hole’ where the seeds normally reside was to be my ‘bowl’ for the spiced Lamb. Cut to about 1c.m. thick, brush both sides with Olive Oil and season with Salt (unsmoked!) and Pepper, and into a 165 centigrade (fan) oven for about 45-50 mins, turning over halfway through the cooking. You need to time this process in line with the Lamb cooking so they both complete at the same time (roughly).

Here we go, another variation on a fantastic recipe, sorry Sabrina. So I wanted another textural component and a flavour “whack”, sorry seems better than a hit under the circumstances, cook this and you will see why.

We are going to coat some more Pistachios with Ras Al Hanut, and Salt using Olive Oil. Warm the pan, add some Olive Oil, you want heat but not enough to burn so if you are not confident, just try a couple of nuts until you get it right. Add the Nuts, warm a bit add the Salt (Maldon Sea Salt rubbed between fingers), then the Ras Al Hanut, shake the pan, leave for 15 seconds and add some more Ras Al Hanut. We are talking a couple of decent pinches, no spoons involved, that’s it. This is a finishing touch and adds a great texture and flavour element to the final dish.

I said you would need to read the whole post to get the complete recipe, forgot the Feta and Pomegranate, its an integral and important part of the finished delight.

The picture above should give you enough detail, if not, leave me a message and I will answer any questions as soon as I can.

Take a warm plate, lay the squash, fill the hole in the Squash with the Spiced Lamb. Dot ‘blobs’ of the Pesto with a teaspoon around the plate and on the Squash, lay pieces of broken Feta into the Pesto. Scatter the plate with Pomegranate seeds, then the spiced Pistachios and a ‘few’ Rose Leaves, which will warm and give a floral hint.

This dish is delicious (the boss said so), I think so too, its amazing. The original is probably also amazing but I have not tried that version yet, I had the craving for some protein and ’embelished’ the dish a little bit changing Dill to Mint, adding the spiced nuts and the home made Bahārāt with exotic spices.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Until next time…………………………….L8ers…………………………

Earl Grey is Not Just For Drinking – My Take on Kashmiri Pilaff, Mums Masala King Prawn Curry And Kachumber

Posted on July 29, 2015 by julianrolfe

Its been a while since the last posting mostly due to some health challenges which are being sorted, as a result of having to put work on pause, much time has been spent looking at cookery books, watching cooking on T.V. digging for some inspiration to get into the kitchen, and generally ‘chilling’ out (Doctors orders!). My last post was a review of ‘Steenbergs’ Nasi Goreng mix, which had been sent to me as part of a tasting panel and very good it was too. Since then I have also had the opportunity to try their Organic Lemon Oil, in a home made Chilli, you can see the rest of the ingredients below. Apologies for the picture quality in this post btw, its proof that my beloved Nokia Lumia 1020 takes better pictures than an iPhone 6 in kitchen conditions, (unless I am doing something wrong that is)!
The Chilli was the usual mix of Mince Beef, Tomatoes and a trusty can of those well known Beans but the magic was in the mix of spices above. Five (yes 5) different types of Chilli, both whole (thanks to the South Devon Chilli Farm), dried, care of Steenbergs and The Spicery (who also do Piment d’Espelette, a very special French Basque Pepper) which is quite challenging to get hold of. I might post the recipe one day but its really easy and very tasty so maybe have a go yourself using the ingredients above and just add slowly and keep tasting. The three whole chillies were Ancho Mulato, Chipotle Morita and Pasilla, soaked in hot water for about 20 minutes, I removed the seeds and chopped them up before adding to the Chilli.

Anyhow, back to the Curry and Pilaff, this is where the idea came to try another of the tasting panel samples from Steenbergs, the Fairtrade Organic Earl Grey Tea. I decided to steep the Golden Raisins (Part of the Rice Pilaff), in the Tea, about 1/2 an hour did it becoming soft, juicy and fragrant. The following ingredients will be needed for the Kashmiri Pilaff and was inspired by a similar recipe in Anjum Anands ‘New Indian’ cookbook.

2 Pouches Ready Cooked Rice (I used Basmati, this recipe is really quick!)
1/4 Tsp Cumin Seeds
5-7 c.m. Length of Cinnamon Bark
4 Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
1 Handful Ready Fried Onions (Or 1 Onion, chopped and fried until Brown and Crispy)
15-20 Grams Almond Flakes
15-20 Grams Pistachio Nuts, Lightly Crushed in a Pestle & Mortar
10 – 15 Grams Golden Raisins
1 Large Cup of Earl Grey Tea (Steenbergs Organic is very good and Drinks well too)
4 Green Cardamon Pods
1 Pinch Afghan Saffron (Steenbergs do this and it supports and excellent cause, click Saffron to find out more)
2 Tbls Hot Milk (The Saffron Steeps in this for 10 minutes to extract flavour and colour)

The whole meal takes no more than 30 minutes to prepare, including the ‘Kachumber’ salad side dish. The spices need frying to release their flavours so pop all the spices into a pan with a small amount of Ghee and cook over a medium heat until you can smell the aromas filling the kitchen, about 5 minutes. Next add the handful of crispy fried onion and cook gently for another couple of minutes just to warm through.

In a separate pan you can prepare the Prawn Curry, which is really easy and takes no time at all thanks to Mum’s Masala. The sauce base needs cooking for 5 minutes before adding the Prawns (or other protein), and then cooking for a further 5 minutes, then adding some water as per the instruction on the bottle and continuing until the protein is cooked, it’s as easy as that. I did my usual trick of adding some extra Kashmiri Chilli as I like my food slightly more spicy.

I mentioned ‘Kachumber Salad’ was to be included with this particular meal, a very simple dish mine was a Jack Hawkins Tomato thinly sliced, 1/4 of a Cucumber, de-seeded and thinly sliced, 1 small Red Onion thinly sliced, 3/4 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds, dry roasted in a frying pan, a glug of Rice Wine Vinegar, about 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of Kashmiri Chilli powder, 1/4 teasppon of Chilli Flakes and some chopped Coriander leaves, that’t it.

The kitchen should now be smelling very aromatic indeed, the spices nicely cooked, the Onion adding a sweetness and crispy texture to the Pilaff, the next stage is too add the Rice. For speed I chose a couple of packets of pre-cooked Basmati Rice which are easily available and take no time at all to prepare, in this case all we need to do is squeeze each pouch to separate the grains and tip the Rice into the pan, mixing thoroughly with the spices and Ghee.

Almost done now, the rest of the ingredients can be added, the Saffron Milk, Nuts and Earl Grey Tea steeped Golden Raisins (remember to drain the Raisins 1st, you don’t want to add the Tea into the Rice!!).

So it seems the Saffron is quite significant, which I found out whilst doing my usual research for this post. This saffron comes from a women’s association in Afghanistan which is promoting growing saffron as a viable alternative to opium growing. Now that’s really cool, but there is another twist in this story which only became clear when I looked at a map of the region. Kashmir is the north western region of South Asia and borders Afghanistan so geographically related, not something I had realised when I started this tasty dish.

So there you have it, once you have added the rest of the ingredients you only need a couple more minutes and everything is good to go. Again apologies for the pictures, I will be going back to the trusty Nokia in future as the results are some much better,

The Kasmiri Pilaff was delicious, had good texture and the Earl Grey steeped Raisins were amazing adding a slightly fruity shot of flavour with a citrus note. The Curry was as good as before and the Kachumber salad provided some contrast and a cooling element. In fact the mixing of hot and cold temperatures and sweet and spicy food works extremely well, as I have found out before with an Ottolenghi inspired dish that I did last year.

So thanks to Anjum (and Rick Stein for the Kachumber), have a go, it’s delish.

Until next time……………………………………………L8ers…………………………………………………..

So the Saffron is quite significant, which I found out whilst doing my usual research for this post. This saffron comes from a women’s association in Afghanistan which is promoting growing saffron as a viable alternative to opium growing. Now that’s cool, but there is another twist in this story which only became clear when I looked at a map of the region.Kashmir is the north western region of South Asia and borders Afghanistan

The French House Party – A culinary adventure to France (Day 4) part deux

Posted on May 8, 2015 by julianrolfe

Today’s cooking was ‘intense’, I mean that in a positive way as we must have been in the kitchen for about 6 hours, priceless when you have a Michelin starred Chef on hand to tutor and guide you through the most delicious (and visually stunning) dishes.

Take one Monkfish, head removed and do your ‘thing’ with a sharp filleting knife, we set to work preparing our next dish, Medallions of Monkfish with Saffron.

Sounds simple from the description but the reality was completely different! Removing skin, discarding scrappy bits and prepping two beautiful fillets, learning more knife skills on the way it was a great experience.

The Monkfish was to be served with seasonal vegetables (Fennel, Spring Onions, Broad Beans, Carrots and Artichokes) and a rich sauce, enhanced with some Garlic, Squid Ink and Olive Oil which you can just see in the top picture, it tasted sublime.

The starter we prepared is well worth a mention as it required the use of ‘whipping’ cream, which you may recall was going to be a challenge. Bavarois de poivrons doux sour coulis de tomates acidulées, impressive to say the least, a dish of Pepper and Tomato which was very light but absolutely packed with flavour and tasted delish.

This was one of those occasions where we had to slightly adjust the menu, the cream we had would not whip so the use of a small amount of Gelatine was required to get the Pepper Bavarois to the right consistency for ‘quenelleing’.

Mille-feuille translated means a thousand leaves, and I’ve always fancied a go but never got round to it, until now!

Puff Pastry layered with ‘Crème Pâtissière’ it was surprisingly straight forward to do, and has got me thinking about how I could use the Jelly making technique we learnt in the Salmon Tartare dish on the 2nd day with Robert, to create a dessert layered with fruit flavoured Jelly and Crème Pât, watch the blog for my experiments on this.

We settled down for the evening and chatted over cheese and wine, in fact that was the routine most evenings when we were not out and about in nice restaurants. Its true to say we did eat quite a lot of cheese, and very nice it was too.

Another day beckons tomorrow and more fun in the kitchen, along with another tour, this time a Vineyard.

………………Until next time…………L8ers……….

Grousing Around – Winter Fare and Organic Birds!!

Posted on January 25, 2015 by julianrolfe

Christmas seems a distant memory and January is almost over, its been an absolutely manic month and minimal time has been spent in the kitchen. I’ve been toying with the idea of trying some new proteins, and some I have not had for many years. A trip to Casey Fields Farm Shop just before christmas provided the opportunity to invest in some Organic Game Birds such as Partridge, Grouse, Pheasant and Pigeon which quickly found their way into the shopping basket!

I wanted to introduce some different flavours into the dish, not going down a traditional route tends to mean I will use Middle Eastern or Far Eastern influences for a more vibrant and mouth tingling experience.

Beware – Pictures of Spatchcocked Grouse Lay Ahead

Ploughing through various ‘traditional’ cookery books, birds like Grouse appear to be served with either a fruit based sauce, or a reduced game & veal stock, and game ‘chips’ or ‘Pomme Gaufrettes’ as they are known in France, Potato that has been cut by a waffle blade on a mandolin which creates a criss-cross pattern.

Nope, not for me and I decided to look at some different options with influences from Bethany Kehdy and Sabrina Ghayour, and the books Jewelled Kitchen and Persiana.

For this recipe, Middle Eastern Grouse with Royal Freekeh you will need the following ingredients for 1 person.

1 Grouse (Check whether the Heart and Liver are still in the cavity, mine were!)
1 small Onion
1/2 Preserved Lemon (readily available, I made my own a year ago, it’s easy to do)
2 Cloves Garlic
75 g Freekeh
50 g Butter
1-2 Tsp Harissa
1/4 Tsp Aleppo Pepper
1/2 Tsp Anardana (Ground Pomegranate Seeds)
1/2 Tsp Za’atar
1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
A few strands Afhgan Saffron (Steenberg’s stock this, its amazing!)
1 Tsp ground Coriander
1/2 Tsp ground Cumin
1/2 Tsp Allspice
A handful of Pistachio’s
A handful of Pine Nuts
3 -4 Green Cardamom Pods
a ‘Slurp’ of Pomegranate Molasses
A handful of Almonds
A handful of Barberries
Bunch Fresh Coriander
500 ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock

If you don’t fancy spatchcocking your Grouse, your butcher will do it for you, I have shown how to do it on a previous post with a Chicken, you are just removing the backbone and pushing down on the breasts to flatten.

The Grouse is marinaded by the Butter, Harissa, 1 Clove Garlic grated (I used a fine Microban) and 1/4 of the Preserved Lemon, very thinly sliced. Its needs at least a hour, and could be done a day in advance and left overnight in the fridge.

Grouse is one of the Game Birds I had not eaten before, so this was going to be a interesting experiment to see if I could get everything to work in harmony, apparently Grouse is quite a ‘gamey’ meat with strong flavour so whatever I served with it needed to be ‘gutsy’.

The ‘Royal’ in the dish is my slant on ‘bejewelling’ Rice, but in my case the lesser know Freekeh. Freekeh, Frikeh or Farik is made from Green Wheat, its great at absorbing flavours, has a really good texture, slightly chewy and its good for you! The Jewel components are Pine Nuts, Pistachio Nuts and Almonds which have all been toasted, along with a good handful of Barberries.

Freekeh is available online from a number of suppliers including ‘The Sous Chef’, ‘Ottolenghi’s’, BUT BE CAREFUL and check the cooking instructions on the packet. Whole Freekeh takes a lot longer to cook than crushed or cracked Freekeh!

Timing for this dish is quite important, as I found out! I made the mistake of not checking the Freekeh I was using, and ended up with a Grouse that was ready 30 – 40 Min’s before the Freekeh!

Anyhow, its still tasted really good so you need to finely chop the onion and fry in Olive Oil and Butter for a good 20 minutes, you are looking for the colour above. Don’t be tempted to rush this stage, the smell and flavour even at this stage is lip smacking.

Next, add the Anardana, Za’atar, Coriander and Cumin Powder, Aleppo Pepper, Allspice, Saffron, Cardamom Pods (lightly crushed), Cinnamon a continue to cook out the spices, then add the Freekeh and coat the grains thoroughly. Add the Chicken or Vegetable stock according to the instructions on the packet.

If you are using whole Freekeh it needs about 45 minutes to cook, timing the cooking of the Grouse is really important because you DO NOT want to overcook it, it WILL be tough and nowhere near as good if cooked for the correct time and left to rest.

Searching a number of books and Internet resources i went for the following method.

Set you oven on 200 degrees and allow to heat up, then, get a frying pan hot add a small amount of Olive Oil and Butter, and place the Grouse Breast(buttered) side down into the Pan and Leave for 5 minutes.

After 5 Minutes, put the bird in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove, and leave to rest for 5 minutes covered with foil and thats it! So you need to allow 20 Minutes for the Grouse to cook and ensure your Freekeh is good to go at the same time, something I managed to royally mess up ;-).

I sometimes think of Bejewelling as similar to tempering a Dhal! You have a base of Rice or Grains (or Lentils in the case of Dhal), and add some punchy fresh flavours at the last minute. So a minute or so before you are going to serve up, add the other 1/4 thinly sliced Preserved Lemon, the other Garlic Clove, Grated, and the toasted Nuts and Barberries, you are just warning them all through at the last minute. Finally stir in a handful of fresh coriander leaf, finely chopped and a good drizzle of Pomegranate Molasses.

Despite messing up the Freekeh timings, the dish was hearty, wholesome and delicious. There was a hint of fruit, but also some freshness from the Preserved Lemon and Pomegranate Molasses, I am really chuffed with my first attempt at Grouse, the Middle Eastern influence was something quite special.

Not sure in which direction my cooking is heading next, but as the new year settles down, I hope to get some more time in the kitchen soon.

Until next time……………L8ers……………….

Making Good Taste Better – Welcome to Steenbergs!

Posted on June 12, 2014 by julianrolfe

As many of you already know, I am quite fussy about sourcing ingredients from artisan, ethical and small businesses rather than the usual brands that have taken over the UK like a rabid pestilence (you know who I mean!). With the recent (and historic) food scandals around meat, my 1st port of call for protein is always Casey Fields Farm Shop, part of Vicar’s Game who can supply almost anything (and knows exactly from where, and what it comes from!). But in order to enhance ANY recipe then you need Herbs and Spices, this maybe just Salt or Pepper but even the most basic of additions to a meal need some consideration to get the best flavor.

So for Herbs, Spices and other flavor enhancers my 1st port of call is STEENBERGS, in fact it probably is my ONLY place of call, unless I forget to order something when my current stock is depleted!

Steenbergs Organic is a family-run, friendly firm committed to Fairtrade, the environment and people. It was set up in 2003 by Axel and Sophie Steenberg in North Yorkshire and this week I had the privilege of popping in on my way to a meeting in Darlington. Just to be clear, I was not asked to do a review, received no gifts or favours (other than sharing a nice cup of tea with Axel), but from a personally perspective wanted to understand more about a supplier I use on a regular basis, and pass on my own view of the experience.

Sourcing Herbs and Spice’s is not easy, as I was to find out from Axel as we went from room to room. It was a 3 1/2 drive to Melmerby, near Ripon in North Yorkshire where Steenbergs are located, after I arrived, I completed the mandatory health/sickness declaration, donned a cloak and hair net, and we started the tour. Sophie, Axel’s partner (in both marriage and business), was busy applying the finishing touches to a box of the distinctive glass jars that are used to store the various products, the final blue seal. Legislation has an interesting impact on importing food products. You would imagine that Cardamom, Pepper, Sumac etc. would arrive in ‘romantic’ hessian sacks, but no, thanks to the EU and other legislative bodies, vacuum packing is the order of the day and the 1st task as soon as a shipment arrives, is to remove the plastic to prevent the product from sweating and going off!

Steenbergs have in excess of 200 items, I mentioned Salt and Pepper earlier and you are spoilt for choice (and flavor). Kala Namak – Indian Black Salt, Pyramid Finger Salt From Pakistan, Murray River Pink Salt from Australia, Lava Red Hawaiian Sea Salt enriched with A natural mineral called “Alaea” (baked volcanic red clay), they all have different flavor profiles and searching on Steenbergs VERY comprehensive website you can find details and descriptions on how to match the product with food, and importantly details about the sourcing. On the Pepper front you can choose from Tasmanian Mountain Pepper Leaf ( a new one for me!), Southern Sumatran Lampung Black Pepper, Madagascan Wild Pepper, Tasmanian Mountain Pepper (Very Hot), Piper retrofactum (Long Pepper from Indonesia) as well as ‘normal’ varieties.

Steenbergs, because of the size and family nature of the business are VERY flexible about obtaining new Herbs and Spices. Because they are not buying bulk anonymous products by the Ton, but locating ingredients at source in smaller quantities, they are keen to try and locate unusual and difficult to get ingredients for their customers, a really personal touch.

Whilst we were touring the facility I asked a question about Saffron, the most expensive Spice in the world. Steenbergs have several on offer including one from AFGHANISTAN, please click and find out how they are helping change a village and impacting on the illegal drug trade, its a truly amazing story.

The aromas as we walked around the factory were intoxicating, the machine above delivers precise amounts of Herbs or Spices into the jars before labeling, the picture was taken as a Madras Curry Powder mix was going through the process, mmmmmm.

Steenbergs sell Herbs, Spices and their own blends, which introduced another really interesting (and artisan) feature. If you look at the majority of Spice blends in the shops, the powder is the same size (with a very few exceptions), Steenbergs blends are personal to them, so the Ras al-Hanut (one of my favourites), has over 20 different ingredients AND they are texturally different, making for a better eating experience.

Whilst on the subject of Ras al-Hanut, if you take some butter puff pastry, preferable home-made but quality shop bought is OK, some decent Sausage Meat from a Butcher (NOT the pink stuff that fills cheap Sausages), add a tablespoon of Steenbergs Ras al-Hanut and mix well you are on your way to the BEST SAUSAGE ROLLS EVER, please try them they are just fantastic.When I made the sausage rolls above as an experiment, and gave one to the ‘boss’ to try, the look on her face said it all, expletives excused bl@@dy delicious!!

So, some of the values that drive the Steenbergs business include ensuring there is personality in the Spice Mixes, Family Village sourcing and having an impact on local communities, flexibility, connecting to real people in remote places, not driven by price….

Steenbergs have some very large well known brands as their customers, and some famous people and chefs too. I won’t say who due to client confidentiality but unfortunately I had to depart and get to Darlington, so said farewell to Axel and his family of workers. If you want to impart and enhance flavour in your cooking then I know what I do, please give them a go, thanks Axel and Sophie for allowing me behind the scenes (and for the tea!).

Till next time……L8ers

Julian Rolfe

My Foodie Life

Tag Archives: saffron