Month: August 2009

Categories
chicken food mushroom parmesan pasta

porcini marsala pasta

porcini marsala conchiglie with parmesan

Why do porcini mushrooms stink so bad while they are marinating in hot water? It’s like cat food!

That said, many dishes would be all the poorer without their meaty, chewy flavour. I’ve combined them here with chestnut mushrooms, chicken breast pieces, and surrounded it all with rich, sweet marsala-infused chicken stock and just a touch of cream. It was very tasty, but a little thin. If I did it again (and I will) I’d add a touch of flour to help thicken it up, and some finely chopped curly parsley for a fresh, green edge.

Porcini marsala conchiglie:

300g pasta (penne or conchiglie, anything that can catch some sauce)

1 pack dried porcini mushrooms

200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

250g diced chicken breast

300ml chicken stock

100ml marsala

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

2 tablespoons cream

shaved parmesan to serve

  1. Pour boiling water on the porcini for 15 mins. Drain and rinse of grit, then finely chop two thirds of them.
  2. Brown chicken pieces in a hot oiled pan and put to one side.
  3. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
  4. Add the rosemary and garlic to the pan and fry for one minute.
  5. Add the chestnut and porcini mushrooms (sliced and whole) to the pan and fry for a further 5 minutes. Season.
  6. Add the marsala and allow to bubble until the taint of alcohol evaporates. Add the chicken stock and allow to simmer until reduced by half.
  7. Add the cream and stir through.
  8. Scoop into bowls and top with parmesan.
Categories
basil food garlic olives pancetta pasta tomato

roast squash rigatoni

An open confession: I arrived home to this hearty treat as a dish prepared by Mrs Roast Potato and eldest New Potato (is that metaphor too tortured?). Regardless, I present it here on their behalf. A real punchy mediterranean pasta blowout.

Roasted squash rigatoni:

1 butternut squash, skinned and diced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

250g rigatoni

Handful of mixed olives

Handful of basil leaves

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
  2. Pop the squash, tomatoes and garlic in a baking dish in the oven for 30 mins.
  3. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
  4. Combine the pasta with the vegetables, toss with olive oil and seasoning.
  5. Stir through the olives and torn basil.
Categories
chocolate food meringue strawberry

strawberry and caramel meringue

I haven’t had meringue in ages. So I had to make some, along with some strawberries left over from my salad. I’d also been given as a recent brithday gift some of Willie Harcourt-Cooze’s 100% cacao Venezuelan Black chocolate; a fruity and nutty delight that is so wonderfully bitter. So after making meringues I dipped the bases in melted chocolate and left them upturned in the fridge to harden. When it came time to serve I knocked up some caramel sauce and drizzled over, finishing with some strawberry slices. In truth some cream would’ve worked wonders here, but I was knackered and just wanted to eat!

Strawberry and caramel meringue:

For the meringue:

3 egg whites

100g golden caster sugar

For the caramel:

100g golden caster sugar

250ml single cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

15g butter

  • To serve:

100g melted dark chocolate

6 strawberries, thinly sliced

  1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
  2. Whisk the egg whites in an absurdly clean bowl until stiff. Add the sugar gradually and keep whisking until firm and glossy.
  3. Spoon into discs on a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven for about an hour until crisp and slightly cracked.
  4. When cool dip the base into melted chcolate and leav upturned in the fridge to set.
  5. For the caramel melt all the ingredients on a low heat until bubbling and golden. You may want to add a blob of golden syrup if it’s either not sweet or dark enough.
  6. Drizzle the sauce over the meringues and top with sliced strawberry.
Categories
bread food rosemary

barbecue bread

After watching a fascinating article on Rick Stein’s Far East Odyssey, I grew into the idea of cooking bread on a grill. Not something I’d done from dough – I’d grilled existing bread but not taken it straight from the proving on to the fire. What the hell.

Went with a pretty basic bread recipe – might as well start simply – and allowed a hefty double-proving. Then whacked blobs of it on to a mega-hot barbecue until darkened on both sides. After turning once I used a rosemary sprig to douse them with olive oil. The results were puffy and interesting, not doughy at all considering a total of about 4 mins cooking time. My only complaint was that I was after something a bit more flatbready. Next time before second proving I would roll flat and pitta-esque to achieve that Turkish-style puffy bread.

Barbecued bread:

400g strong white bread flour

1 packet dry yeast

Pinch salt

Pinch sugar

300ml warm water

  1. Mix the dry ingredients together and add water until a sticky dough is formed.
  2. Continue to work the dough, kneading and stretching for about 10 minutes.
  3. Leave in a bowl drizzled with vegetable oil covered with a damp tea towel for about an hour.
  4. Punch the dough back down and allow to prove again for another half-hour or so.
  5. Preheat a barbecue as hot as it will go.
  6. Tear off pieces of dough and place on a flat grill.
  7. Turn when it has darkened on one side. Use a sprig of rosemary to baste the cooked side with olive oil.
  8. When done on the other side, devour like an animal.
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