Sweet Natured

Sweet, gooey and scented, I think I’m slightly obsessed with honey. Everywhere I go, I like to pick up a jar of local honey and I always like to keep a pot of it to hand in the pantry. Decent local honey may not be cheap, but it is the pure unadulterated product likely to carry the signature flavour of our indigenous countryside and even our gardens.
I’m forever amazed at just how those busy honey bees gather the nectar and turn it into such a seductive food for us to plunder.

Generally, bees can fly up to six miles from the hive but one or two is more common if food sources are close by. They collect the pollen and nectar in the spring (when most plants are in flower) and take it back to the hive where they process and store honey in honeycombs to be used as their winter sustenance. Bees make more honey than they actually need and a typical hive can hold up to around 25lb (11kg) surplus.

Depending on the types of plants that the bees forage on, the honey can be either runny and clear or opaque and set. The flowers also impart their unique flavour characteristics too, so honeys can vary considerably from region to region.

As well as spreading it on my toast in the morning, I love using honey in cooking – it is great for baking as it has hygroscopic qualities, meaning that it attracts water, thereby keeping cakes moist for longer.

Apart from the kitchen, honey also has a place in the medicine cabinet too. Its antiseptic properties make it a soother of sore throats and it is even good for the skin when applied externally.
Honey lasts practically forever too, (although not in my house!) an explorer found a 2000 year old jar of honey in an Egyptian tomb and they said it tasted delicious.

For my recipe, I have decided against the assumed route of a dessert and used honey in a delicious main course savoury dish instead, to demonstrate the versatility of this gorgeous substance.

Zingy Honey Chilli Chicken
Chicken really lends itself to the sweet stickiness of the honey and the recipe is really easy to make too.
Don’t be put off by the amount of chilli used as honey has the ability to tame the heat into an overall mellowness.
It can be served with rice or new potatoes with a crisp green salad.

Serves 4

Ingredients
6tbsp runny honey
2 red chillies, deseeded, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2tbsp worcester sauce
1tbsp cider vinegar
1tbsp lemon juice
1tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless chicken breasts
1 red capsicum pepper, cored and cut into chunks
1tbsp olive oil
1tsp cornflour

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4.

In a small bowl, mix the honey, chilli, worcester sauce, vinegar and lemon juice. Add the rosemary, garlic and season with salt and pepper.

Take each chicken breast and score the flesh diagonally 3 times. Place in an ovenproof dish along with the capsicum pepper and pour over the marinade. Leave for an hour or so to allow the flavours to mingle.

Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil and place in the oven for 20-30 mins, basting 2-3 times during cooking. As ovens vary check to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of a breast. The juice should run clear.

Take the dish from the oven and remove the chicken and peppers, using tongs to another dish and keep warm. Pour the juices into a small saucepan and bring to the boil and allow to cook until the liquid has reduced by half and has thickened slightly. Turn down the heat to low.

In a small bowl mix the cornflour with a small amount of cold water. Pour a little into the reduced marinade and stir until it has thickened, simmer gently for a minute. Pour over the chicken and serve.
Photo: ©childsdesign 2011

Chicken Vindaloo

First things first, I want to set the record straight about Vindaloo. It is not a tongue-blistering, ear-ringingly hot curry. Traditionally, it should be a sensitive blend of sweet and sour and of course some spicy heat, but I can not emphasise enough that it is not so hot as to render one unconscious.

Let us cast aside images of post pub curry house eating competitions and Keith Allen chanting "vindaloo, vindaloo" all in the name of football. The song was written by Keith Allen and Alex James, Blur's bassist under the name Fat Les in 1998, by the way.

Originating from Goa, the recipe is derived from a Portuguese dish (the first Portuguese colony in India was settled in the 16th century) usually made with pork, wine and garlic, called Carne de Vinha d'Alhos. Over time, the dish was adapted by the Goans using vinegar instead of wine and copious quantities of spices. The potatoes actually shouldn't be there and this may have arisen due to the word 'aloo' being Hindi for potato. (Vind = vinegar & aloo = potato)

I have adapted this recipe from one by Madhur Jaffrey from her Ultimate Curry Bible, the only difference being that I used chicken instead of duck.
I remember watching Madhur Jaffrey's cooking programmes on television back in the 80s and let's say, I learnt an awful lot about Indian cooking from her. Before then, most people I knew would buy takeaways or chuck in a Veeraswamy concentrated curry sauce, at best, into the pot with some meat.

Hailed as the Delia of Indian cookery, Madhur Jaffrey uncovered a whole world of exciting cuisine to me. I remember my Mum's spice rack expanding with things that I'd never seen before, like cardamom and suddenly fresh ginger was sitting happily next to the salad in the fridge, not to mention lots of garlic.
Some things were still difficult to get hold of at that time, especially fresh coriander, unless you lived in or near a multi-cultural town like we did. How things have changed, now these things are commonplace in the supermarket.

Madhur Jaffrey opened my eyes to making a curry from scratch and even with the long ingredients lists I was never fazed and saw it as a thrilling challenge to create something authentic.
Even now I find the art of Indian cuisine very relaxing and rewarding.

Serves 6

Ingredients
half teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon bright red paprika
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 & a half teaspoons garam masala
4 tablespoons corn oil
12 or more skinless and boneless chicken thighs, each cut in half
half teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds
quarter teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds
15 curry leaves
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced into fine half rings
2 tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
10 medium cloves garlic, peeled and crushed to a pulp
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
120 ml/4 fl oz cider vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 medium potatoes, par-boiled and cut into chunks

Method
Mix together the turmeric, cumin, paprika, coriander, cayenne pepper and garam masala in a small bowl and set aside.

Pour the oil into a large, wide, lidded pan and set over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in as many chicken thighs, as the pan will hold easily in a single layer. Lightly brown the chicken, about 2-3 minutes per side, and remove, using a slotted spoon, to a bowl. Brown all the chicken this way and remove.

Add the mustard and fenugreek seeds to the hot oil and, as soon as the mustard seeds start to pop, which will happen in a matter of seconds, put in the curry leaves and onions. Stir and fry them until the onions begin to turn brown at the edges. Now put in the ginger and garlic. Stir and fry for a minute.

Add the mixed spices from the small bowl and stir for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until they have softened, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you do this.

Now add the browned chicken thighs, the vinegar, salt, sugar and 475 ml/16 fl oz water. Add the potatoes. Stir and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 30 minutes, lifting the lid occasionally to stir.

Increase the heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, a bit more vigorously, stirring more frequently, for a further 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.

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Photo: ©childsdesign 2010

Cobbled Streets, Cider and Butter

Having recently returned from an enjoyable stay in Brittany, I was still ignited with enthusiasm for the local cuisine and wanted to create something at home. Aside from the ubiquitous moules frites, crêpes and galettes, Brittany has so much more to offer on the food front.

While I was cooking, I was taken back to the steep cobbled streets of Dinan or the rugged shores of Île-de-Bréhat...

Poulet au Cidre Breton

Brittany produces some very fine cider, everything from a good country style not unlike our Somerset or Herefordshire ciders to the more refined ‘Champagne’ varieties. Brittany, although in France is not a wine producing region and so it invests it’s time in using apples to make a pleasing array of brews.
This dish is fragrant with apples as the cider infuses the chicken making it tender and fall-off-the-bone succulent. The chicken is best cooked on the bone to give a robustness of flavour. After I removed the breasts and legs from the whole bird, I used the rest to make stock, picking off any remaining meat after it had cooked.
Although not the most photogenic of dishes, my husband did his photographic best to make it look appetising, but I can assure you it tastes very good, even if I do say so myself.
Sauté potatoes and french beans go very well with it, I think.

Ingredients
1 chicken, jointed, use the legs and breasts
2 apples, preferably Golden Delicious, cored and cut into 1cm dice
3 large onions, sliced
50g butter
500ml dry cider
4 tblsp crème fraîche
a good grating of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Method
In large heavy saucepan, melt half the butter and add the onions and apples and fry gently for about 5-7 minutes until golden.
Melt remaining butter in large frying pan and brown the chicken breasts on all sides for about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken pieces to the onion and apple mixture and stir well to combine.
Pour in the cider, add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer and cover with a lid.
Allow to simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes.
When the chicken is cooked and tender remove from the cooking liquid and set aside, keep warm in a low oven.
Skim any excess fat from the liquid and reduce the liquid by half, cooking on a medium heat to allow it to evaporate.
Stir the crème fraîche into the cider sauce and allow to cook for a further few minutes until the sauce thickens.
Serve the chicken in bowls with the sauce spooned over.


Gateau Breton

This cake is wickedly rich and celebrates one of Brittany’s finest products, butter. Part way between a dense sponge and shortbread it has an irresistible flavour and texture.
I decided to add the extra filling of prunes after being inspired by one I bought in Brittany last year. The cake is often plain without the stripe of sticky fruit, but I love the extra dimension that the prunes give – it’s like the most decadent fig roll you’ll ever eat.
The cake is supposed to have diamond shapes scored into the top, but I don’t know what happened to mine – they filled in on cooking, however, that didn’t affect the taste.

Ingredients
250g soft ready to eat prunes
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
200g lightly salted butter, softened
175g caster sugar
250g plain flour
half teasoon baking powder

Method
Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Chopped the prunes, very finely and put into a bowl and mix in the vanilla extract.
Beat the egg yolks together in a bowl, then reserve a little of the egg in a small bowl to use as a the glaze.
Add the softened butter to the egg yolks and beat until soft and well blended.
Add the sugar and flour and work into a slightly sticky dough.
Lightly butter a 22.5cm/9inch loose-bottomed cake tin.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
Press one half of the dough into the tin, using your fingers. It does get very sticky to work with, so put a sheet of cling film over the top to stop your fingers getting too messy.
Spread over the prune mixture evenly over the dough.
Press on the second half of the dough, smoothing the top with a palette knife.
Using a knife,score into diamonds across the top, then brush with the reserved egg yolk.
Baked for 50 mins.
Cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack


Meringues
(or what to do with the 
left-over egg whites)

I did think about freezing the egg whites, but knowing my track record of remembering what’s in the freezer, I thought they would be exiled to a frozen doom and be wasted, so meringues were the answer.
Inspired by the stacks seen in patisserie windows (like the one in the quaint medieval town of Moncontour, pictured below) I set about making big crunchy-on-the-outside and chewy-in-the-middle confections. Not wanting anything plain to look at, I got arty with some food colouring.
The texture is achieved by folding in a little cornflour and vanilla extract is added for a more interesting flavour.

Food photos: ©childsdesign 2010




Now for a little favour…

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own home in France, this could be the perfect location for you. (I should know, I've stayed in it and it's lovely)
This 4 bedroomed very detached house, set in grounds covering almost an acre is located in the small town of Lanvollon in the heart of rural Brittany.
Picturesque, peaceful, quiet and in an area of natural beauty Lanvollon is within easy reach of both airports and ports.
See www.buyfrenchhouse.co.uk for more details

Friday Night Chicken Curry

Sometimes the end of the week doesn't seem complete without a good curry. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something strangely addictive about Indian food and when work has left you depleted mentally and physically, a gloriously spicy dish is the perfect perk up, which I love to regard as a treat.
However, it is all too easy to get a takeaway or pick up a ready-meal version from the supermarket. This is absolutely fine, but often the guilt seeps in and I have to put in the effort to make my own.

The following recipe is my concoction which is inspired by a jalfrezi. It is quite spicy as there are chunks of chilli pepper in it. For this one I used the long Spanish chillis which are reasonably fiery but are easy to regulate the amount used, in terms of heat required. Of course it is all a matter of personal taste, so feel free to adjust the quantity to satisfy your needs.

Ingredients
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp kalonji seeds (nigella seeds)
2 tblspns groundnut oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed finely to a pulp
inch piece fresh ginger, grated
2 medium onions, finely chopped
6 dried curry leaves
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tspn cayenne pepper
1/2 tspn paprika
can tomatoes
2 tblspns tomato puree
4 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
red capsicum pepper, de-seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 red chilli peppers, de-seeded and roughly sliced
low fat yogurt (strained)*

Method
Heat a frying pan and put in the cumin and coriander seeds and dry roast them over a medium heat until they just begin to colour and give off their aromas. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Tip them into an electric coffee grinder and grind them to a powder and set aside.

In a large pan, heat the oil and put in the mustard, fenugreek and nigella seeds and fry gently until the mustards seeds start to pop and you can see the fenugreek seeds beginning to go a shade darker.
Add the onions and fry on a medium heat until they soften. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until the raw garlic smell disappears, stirring all the time.

Now add the ground coriander and cumin along with the cayenne pepper, turmeric, and paprika. Crumble in the curry leaves. Stir-fry gently for a couple of minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, squishing them with your wooden spoon and then stir in the tomato puree. Allow the sauce to bubble gently for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.
A little water maybe added if the sauce becomes to thick.

Put in the chicken and stir to mix in, making sure it is covered by the sauce and let it all simmer gently for about 15 mins.

Add the peppers and chillies and continue to cook for a further 10 mins until the peppers soften.
Just before serving stir through the strained yogurt.*

*to strain yogurt, place a clean thin cloth inside a sieve and place over a jug. Spoon the yogurt into the cloth and leave to stand for a couple of hours or overnight in the fridge. There should be liquid left in the jug, discard this, and you’ll be left with very thick yogurt in the cloth. I find that when strained, the yogurt behaves better in cooking and it also has such a rich creamy texture – you’d never know that it was low fat.

Food Heaven

This place can't be real! Am I really here, on earth? Or have I died and gone to heaven?

An extended London visit took us to Whole Foods Market in Kensington High Street, after a sleepless night's stay in Hammersmith, following a fabulous night out at a Björk concert.
We were still very hungry after the Holiday Inn Express breakfast, which to be frank, wasn't up to my standards. I hate sliced bread and I detest it even more when it goes through the conveyor toasting machine, only to emerge as dry hot floppy bread. I want proper toast and decent jam and marmalade to spread on it. Tasteless mini sachet portions of preserve will not do!

We came to Whole Foods Market in search of skyr, a delicious, yoghurt-like product from Iceland. On first tasting it, on one of our holidays there, we were seduced by it's creaminess – a creaminess which is not sinful as it's very low in fat.

Although we were on our mission, the rest of the shop could not be by-passed, so we made a grand tour.
I have never seen anything quite like it – everything you could possibly imagine, artfully arranged in piles of temptation. Everything is so fresh, colourful and enticing, that I fell into a state of culinary rapture!

Calming down after much excitement we bought our pots of blueberry skyr and ate it outside, (thankfully it comes with a spoon) our appetites now sated and bliss achieved!

For more information about skyr visit: www.skyr.is

So far, Whole Foods Market are the only stockists of skyr in the UK: www.wholefoodsmarket.co.uk

Photo taken from Skyr.is website

Roast Dill-Scented Chicken with Leeks and Potatoes

As promised, I have made a recipe from the book, Kitchen of Light, by Andreas Viestad.

This is one of my latest additions to the kitchen library and contains some beautiful Scandinavian dishes, mainly from Norway. Nearly every page features stunning photography of the food and countryside, which proves to be very inspiring. In addition to the visual delights, the author shares some interesting insights from his homeland – memories of childhood, historical and geographical facts besides well written recipes.

This dish uses copious amounts of dill, a herb which grows prolifically in the wild, throughout Scandinavia. Don't be put off by the huge quantity, as the end result produces quite a subtle yet fragrant flavour and the use of butter keeps the chicken flesh succulent.

Serves 4

Ingredients
One 4-pound free-range chicken


Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature


½ cup (1dl) chopped dill, plus 1 large bunch fresh dill 


1 lemon, quartered


5 to 6 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, thoroughly washed and cut into 2-inch pieces


1½  pounds (3/4kg) russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch slices


8 garlic cloves, unpeeled


3 cups (7dl) chicken stock


Fresh dill for garnish

Lemon wedges and grated lemon zest for garnish

Method
Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Rub the chicken with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the butter and chopped dill. Rub the chicken with about 2 tablespoons of the dill butter. Carefully lift up the skin from the chicken breasts at the cavity, using your fingers or a blunt knife to loosen the skin; be careful not to tear it. Insert about 1 tablespoon of the dill butter under the skin of the breast and make sure that the skin covers the meat when you are done. Refrigerate the remaining butter. Fill the cavity of the chicken with the lemon quarters and the bunch of dill.

Place the chicken breast side up on a V-shaped rack in a roasting pan. Place the roasting pan on the middle oven rack and roast the chicken for 25 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and rub with about 1 tablespoon of the dill butter, holding the butter in your fingers. When most of the butter has melted and you are at risk of burning your fingers, place the remaining lump on the breast of the chicken.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Fill the pan with the leeks, potatoes, and garlic and add the chicken stock. Turn the chicken breast side down and place it in the roasting pan. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Return the roasting pan to the oven and roast for 50 to 60 more minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Test for doneness by piercing it with a sharp knife at the thickest part of the thigh; the juices should run clear. (If there is any trace of pink in the juices, return the chicken to the oven.) Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let it rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Check the potatoes for doneness. If they are still firm, increase the oven temperature to 400°F and continue baking until the potatoes are nice and tender. Squeeze the garlic out of their skins. Leave the roasting pan in the oven with the heat turned off. 
Transfer the potatoes, leeks, and garlic to a serving platter. Carve the chicken at the table (discard the lemon and dill inside the cavity).

Garnish with dill and lemon wedges and sprinkle lemon zest on top.

DILL is one Scandinavia's favourite herbs, one that grows willingly in the cool Nordic climate. Historically, it has been important in traditional herbal medicine; dill water was used to soothe children. 

In fact, the name dill is of Nordic origin, dilla meaning "to lull" in Old Norse.


Photo taken from the book

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Sticky Chicken, Butternut Squash Roasted with Fennel and Ginger with Sesame Spring Greens

This is a dish that I created that captures all the eastern flavours of Chinese cuisine but cooked in a western style.
I love butternut squash and have tried it cooked in several ways, but roasting it really brings out its nutty sweetness. Considering this, I was wondering what flavourings would work well with it. The aniseed-like aroma of fennel and spicy hit of ginger immediately sprang to mind, and I think it works well with the richly marinated chicken.
The spring greens, I admit, were an afterthought, but I have tried to carry on the oriental theme by cooking them lightly with the addition of sesame oil.
Serves 2

Ingredients
For the chicken
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons medium dry sherry such as amontillado
1 tablespoon runny honey
2 garlic cloves, grated
Bristol blend pepper*, freshly ground
2 chicken breasts

For the squash
1 small to medium sized butternut squash
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 inch piece fresh ginger
Bristol blend pepper*, freshly ground
sea salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the greens
vegetable oil
2 heads spring greens
pinch sea salt
sesame seeds
sesame oil

Method
First make the marinade for the chicken.
Put the soy sauce, sherry, honey, garlic and a few good grinds of pepper into a bowl and mix well until the honey dissolves and combined.
Make several diagonal slashes in each chicken breast, then put them into the marinade and stir to make sure they are evenly coated. Set aside for an hour or more.

Preheat the oven on Gas 6 / 200C / 400F and put in a tray to get nice and hot.
Cut the squash into about two inch chunks, remove any seeds. There's no need to peel it as roasting makes the skin very edible.
Grind the fennel seeds in an electric spice or coffee grinder until they become a fine powder.
Peel and then grate the ginger into a large bowl, add the ground fennel, salt and a few generous twists of the pepper mill and mix in the oil.
Toss in the squash and stir around until it is coated with the spice mixture.
Remove the hot tray from the oven and tip in the squash, return straight back to the oven and place on the top shelf for about 40 minutes. About half way through cooking, turn over the squash pieces so they they brown evenly.
The squash is done when it it nice and soft.

Too cook the chicken, heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan, remove the chicken from the marinade with tongs (keep the marinade) and place in the pan. Be careful as it will splatter quite a bit. Cook on a fairly high heat so that it takes on a charred appearance, turn over and do the same for the other side.
Reduce the heat and add the reserved marinade, cook gently, turning occasionally until the chicken is cooked all the way through and the marinade creates a sticky coating.

For the greens, removed the tough central veins from the leaves and finely shred.
Heat a small amount of oil in a wok, then add the greens. Stir fry for a minute or so until they become shiny and slightly wilted. Season with salt, tip in the sesame seeds and fry for another minute, then stir in a few drops of sesame oil.

Serve the chicken on top of the greens with the squash on the side.

*Bristol blend pepper is combination of black, white, pink and green peppercorns with allspice (pimento) berries