Author: Gary @ BigSpud

A bit of a geek who loves food.

Categories
food sausages tomato

sausage ragu

sausage ragu

One of the joys of modern life, where unfortunately the pressures of today allows no time for proper food shopping, is the home delivery. I’ve only recently tried Sainsbury’s home delivery, which has wonderful customer service, though leaves a number of t’s uncrossed. After a recent drop-off we realised we had been left two packs of sausages we’d not ordered. Not a problem in itself but I had meals planned out for the rest of the week, and as the Best Before date loomed I felt I had to do something with the poor porkers. I opted for a multi-pupose ragu.

I started by squeezing the sausages out of their skins into meatbally lumps. I then browned them all over in a hot pan with crushed fennel seeds and black pepper, for tone and bite. Then I removed them to one side while I adding sliced garlic and two tins of tomatoes. After warming up the meat went back in and I allowed to bubble away for a while before seasoning with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.

I ate a small bowl of it for a quick supper, while the rest went into the freezer for a future emergnecy meal.

Sausage ragu:

16 sausages

1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

1 teaspoon crushed black pepper

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tins tomatoes

balsamic vinegar, as desired

  1. Halve the sausages, then squeeze them out of their skins to make thumb-dized meatballs.
  2. Roll the meatballs in the fennel and pepper, and fry in a hot pan until browned all over.
  3. Remove from the pan and add the garlic. Fry a minute and then add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
  4. Add the sausages and simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Taste for seasoning, adding vinegar if required.
Categories
burger chilli food potatoes turkey

turkey chilli burgers with spicy potato wedges

This is a precursor to the chocolate orange mousse; the main course of turkey chilli burgers with spicy potato wedges and a caesar salad.

The burger mix was turkey mince, the slightly bland and lean meat gives space for spiky red chilli and citrussy coriander. I mixed this together with smoked sea salt for a deep savoury flavour. I then used my trusty burger press (given to me for my birthday by the person who got this food!) to make the patties. As a soothing contrast to the fiery chilli, I stirred some chopped mint into mayonnaise to be spread on to the bun. I hoped the crisp toasted bun would give way to meaty turkey with a pokey bite, then cooled by the refreshing mayo that coats the mouth. A thick slice of tomato finishes off with a fruity taste, accentuating the meaty element with a nice dash of umami.

On the side were some potato wedges. Sliced maris pipers were tossed in a blend of vegetable oil, paprika, oregano, coriander and sea salt and roasted in a hot oven until tender and crisp.

Happy birthday!

Turkey burgers:

450g turkey mince

½ red chilli, deseeded and finely diced

2 teaspoons smoked sea salt

2 tablespoons of finely chopped coriander leaves

1 beefsteak tomato, thickly sliced

baps, buns or muffins split and lightly toasted

For the mint mayonnaise:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

6 mint leaves, shredded

  1. Combine mince, chilli, salt and coriander in a bowl and form into patties.
  2. Fry on a medium heat on both sides until browned.
  3. For the mayo, mix mint and mayo together
  4. Assemble in a bun with a thick slice of tomato and a slather of minty mayonnaise.

Spicy potato wedges:

5 maris piper potatoes, sliced into wedge shapes

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground coriander

  1. Mix the dry ingredients into the oil. (I like to use a freezer bag to do this)
  2. Tumble with the potato wedges, and bake in an oven preheated to 200C for 20 mins, or until crisp on the outside and tender inside.
  3. Serve with leftover mint mayo.
Categories
chocolate egg food orange

chocolate orange mousse

As a birthday treat for a friend, I decided to make him chocolate mousse with an orangey twist.

It’s a fairly classic recipe; dark chocolate melted over simmering water with a knob of butter. As it cools I stir in three egg yolks, the rind of an orange plus orange juice.

Meanwhile over in the blender I whisk up the egg whites with icing sugar until light and glossy. The whipped egg whites are going to trap thousands of lovely air bubbles that make the velvet finish. Then the chocolate mix is folded in a bit at a time until stirred through. The whole lot is dribbled into pots and left in the fridge overnight to set into a dark, sweet, moreish dessert.

chocolate orange mousse:

150g dark chocolate (lots of cocoa solids please!), broken

knob of butter

1 orange

3 eggs, separated

100g icing sugar

  1. Melt dark chocolate in a bowl over simmering water with butter and two teaspoons of juice from the orange.
  2. When the chocolate has cooled, mix in 2 egg yolks.
  3. Meanwhile whisk the egg whites with icing sugar until glossy and soft peaks form.
  4. Fold the chocolate into the egg whites a spoonful at a time until incorporated.
  5. Pour into ramekins and set overnight in the fridge, or for at least 4 hours.
Categories
artichoke food lamb

lamb tikka with artichoke alla romana

Indian meat and carbs with an Italian side dish may not appear to go; but there’s room for them to meet in the middle somewhere. The key is that the meat’s not too spicy and the vegetables are well-flavoured.

I had some leftover tikka paste and decided to use it on some juicy lamb leg steaks. I marinated them in a blend of paste and creme fraiche overnight. Heston Blumenthal performed some study into yoghurt-based marinades when researching In Search Of Perfection’s Chicken Tikka Masala. He proved that using yoghurt in the marinade gave much deeper flavour penetration than just the marinade on its own. There’s some disagreement why; all that matters is it works!

For the artichoke, I was inspired by the gregarious Valentine Warner and his current series of What To Eat Now. I’ve pretty much followed his recipe to the letter, save for using pre-grilled artichokes and adding them at the last minute rather than cooking from the beginning, and adding a dash of white wine vinegar to amp up the sharp note. These simmered away in a pot while I got on with griddling lamb and cooking rice. I seared the lamb on once side, then turned it over and left to finish in the oven.

The artichoke was very nice indeed – the firm meaty texture of artichoke giving way to sweet and perfumed vegetables, with a little vinegary kick at the end. The lamb was spicy and juicy, with the rice providing a comforting backdrop to it all. Very tasty – I will probably bring the artichoke out another time as a hearty side-dish.

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