Category: ginger

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fish ginger honey noodles

ginger coley with noodles

ginger pollock

I do love fish. Cod and haddock are two of my favourite things to eat. Growing up on the East coast of England we regularly had fish and chips, and the smooth, flaky texture of a piece of white fish takes me right back to my childhood.

But fish supplies are not what they used to be. Certain Atlantic cod is becoming rare, and as haddock and cod swim together they can become easily overfished. You probably recall Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fishfight campaign, which successfully fought to change the European discards policy. But this is only a small part of it – a drop in the ocean, if you will (sorry). Many fish stocks are depleted and we need to change our own buying habits if we want to enjoy these species in years to come.

For more information read the Marine Conservation Society or Sustain Web.

In a bid to get some traction, Sainsbury’s are launching a #SwitchTheFish campaign. They want us to think looking out for sea bass, coley, hake or loch trout in place of the “big five”. In fact on 12th June if you ask for salmon, tuna, haddock, cod or prawns they’ll offer you an alternative for free. That’s right, free. No excuse not to try them out!

As a starter they’ve asked me to come up with a recipe, so here’s my ginger coley with noodles.

Coley is a firm white fish, very reminiscent of cod and takes on flavours in a similar way. In this recipe the hum of ginger is tempered with a sweet-salty dressing.

You can substitute the vegetables for whichever stir-fry veg you like. On a weeknight I like to use those bags of stir-fry veg to speed things up.

Whatever you substitute, make it a meal to remember.

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ginger coley with noodles

Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

  • 250 g coley fillets
  • 1 inch ginger peeled and chopped
  • 1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon miso paste
  • 2 egg noodle nests
  • 200 ml vegetable or fish stock
  • 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 400 g mixed stir fry vegetables such as cabbage carrot, beansprouts

Instructions

  • Combine the miso, sesame oil, ginger and garlic and rub all over the fish. Leave to marinate for an hour.
  • Mix the stock, ginger, honey, and soy sauce for your dressing and put to one side.
  • Cook the egg noodles until al dente, drain and rinse in cold water, again leaving to one side until ready.
  • You'll need to cook the vegetables & sauce at the same time as cooking the fish so have two pans on the go.
  • In a small frying pan cook the fish over a medium heat. Don't shake the pan or move it about or the fish will break up. After three minutes or until the fish is white halfway up the side, turn over and cook for another two minutes or until done to your liking. Allow to rest for one minute.
  • Meanwhile, get your wok on high and add a splash of oil. Stir frty the veg briskly for three to four minutes until tender, and then add the sauce. Allow to bubble and reduce for a minute until starting to thicken and then toss in the noodles to reheat and coat.
  • Serve the noodles and veg with the coley on top. Garnish with dried crispy onions.
Categories
cinnamon condensed milk five spice food ginger nutmeg pastry pumpkin

pumpkin pie

With a gift of a pumpkin under my arm, riding the train back into Essex was difficult that evening. I was spurred on by the thought of what to do with it by Spud Jr. sending me a link to a video recipe for pumpkin pie. I’m not sure I’d ever had it before so it seemed like a good idea as any.

I used a couple of tricks from the Heston lemon tart to make it as good as I could; particularly using a temperature probe to set it perfectly.

I can’t say I was blown away by it. The flavour was definitely pumpkin but I couldn’t help thinking something was missing. It needs perhaps a layer of chocolate icing to offset the smooth, uniform flavour. And I added lemon zest to the pastry but I think orange would be a better choice. Maybe I’m just not darn American enough.

Based on a recipe by Food Wishes.

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pumpkin pie

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 1 kilogram pumpkin My 1.8kg pumpkin yielded about 1kg flesh when roasted
  • 1 can pumpkin puree 15 ounce
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • Pinch Chinese five spice
  • Pinch salt

For the pastry:

  • 120 g icing sugar
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 300 g plain flour
  • 150 g unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 lemon zest grated

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 150C. Carve the pumpkin into even fist-sized chunks and roast in the oven for 3 - 4 hours, until a knife sinks into it with no resistance. Cover with foil and leave to cool.
  • To make the pastry, whisk the egg yolks with icing sugar until frothy. Rub the butter into the flour, lemon and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs. Combine the yolk mix with this until you get a smooth pastry and then wrap in the fridge to rest for 30 mins.
  • Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick. Press into a pie dish, prick all over and blind bake for 30 mins until browned.
  • When the pumpkin is cool peel away from the skin and pulse in a food processor. When smooth whisk with the remaining filling ingredients and pour into the pastry case. Bake for 20 mins or until the centre of the pie reaches 70C when checked with a temperature probe. Leave to cool and serve with whipped cream.
Categories
chilli clotted cream coriander cumin garlic ginger nigella seeds turkey turmeric

turkey masala burgers

A turkey isn’t just for Christmas. It’s for all year round.

That was the message put out by the British Turkey board. Headed up by Paul Kelly – a good Essex boy – me and a bunch of others were entertained as a guest of Cyrus Todiwala to help promote the use of turkey throughout the year. Cyrus was an affable host, preparing dinner and chatting away. We were blown away by dishes like turkey heart pie and turkey cafreal tikka. All of us were stuffed with the amount of turkey dishes served, it really did showcase the bird!

It inspired me to cook an Indian-flavoured dinner. I have to be honest and say I’d not used turkey outside of December for a few years; it’s appearance in supermarkets seems to have declined. I would quite often but the breast strips for marinating, stir frying or for pies. Using mince here I made a burger with rich masala flavours, inspired by Cyrus Todiwala’s tikka recipe. I marinated mine in clotted cream, because I had some knocking about, but traditionally you’d use yoghurt.

My turkey here was succulent and meaty, and supported by spiced flavours it was a real hit. I will definitely be putting turkey in my basket more regularly.

Based on a recipe by Cyrus Todiwala

Turkey masala burgers (serves 4):

800g British turkey mince

¼ teaspoon turmeric

2 heaped tablespoons clotted cream

40g ginger

4 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

Juice of 1 lime

½ teaspoon garam masala

For the sweet potatoes:

5 sweet potatoes, scrubbed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

For the cauliflower pickle:

400g frozen cauliflower

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon nigella seeds

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

½ red onion, peeled and sliced

Burger buns and mango chutney, to serve

  1. Season the mince with the turmeric and plenty of salt and pepper. Combine well then form into 4 patties, and leave covered in the fridge while you make the marinade.
  2. Bash up the garlic and ginger with the cumin, coriander and chilli powder in a pestle and mortar until you have a paste. Add the lime juice and cream and mix well to combine. Smother the turkey patties in the marinade, cover (twice!) and leave in the fridge overnight.
  3. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C, get a saucepan over a high heat and the grill on medium high. Slice the potatoes into wedges, dust with the cumin and drizzle with oil. Roast for 30 – 40 mins, turning frequently until starten to blacken at the edges. Sprinkle salt over as they come out of the oven.
  4. When the potatoes are in the oven, put the onion in a bowl with the vinegar and a pinch each of salt and sugar. Stir occasionally.
  5. Add the cumin and nigella seeds to the saucepan and allow to heat for a minute. Add the cauliflower and jam the lid on. Toss frequently and cook for about 15 minutes or until tender. Add the onion for the last minute of cooking and check for seasoning.
  6. Grill the burgers for about 6 – 9 minutes each side, until browned and cooked through. Serve in a toasted burger with plenty of mango chutney.
Categories
carrots chicken cinnamon cloves coriander cucumber cumin curry food garlic ginger lemon nigella seeds potatoes red onion

empire chicken with indian gravy and bombay roasties

What a triumph this is. Just when I was feeling a bit indifferent to Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain along comes this absolute belter. Jamie introduces this by saying most people when asked about their favourite foods will mention roast chicken and curries, and this utterly unites the heart of both of these.

With blackened, tangy skin the chicken comes out juicy and tickling on the tongue, although be warned it will make a mess of your oven as it sits on the rack.

Being the kind of blog this is though, I have to talk about the roast potatoes. They are a triumph. I used to get “spicy spuds” from a dubious takeaway near me and these are very, very close to those – crispy, spicy and fluffy.

I’ve made a few changes to the spices in the potatoes based on what I had, and used floury over new pots to get them really crispy. I’ve served mine with a refreshing salad.

I cannot recommend this recipe enough.

Jamie’s original recipe is here.

Empire chicken, Bombay roasties, Indian gravy and refreshing salad (serves 4):

For the chicken and marinade

1.4kg free-range chicken

1 heaped tablespoon each finely grated garlic, fresh ginger and fresh red chilli

1 heaped tablespoon tomato purée

1 heaped teaspoon each of ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala and ground cumin

2 heaped teaspoons natural yoghurt

2 level teaspoons sea salt

For the gravy

1 stick of cinnamon

2 small red onions, peeled

10 cloves

3 tablespoons each of white wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce

3 level tablespoons plain flour

500ml chicken stock

For the Bombay-style potatoes

800g new potatoes

sea salt and ground pepper

1 lemon

2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil

a knob of butter

1 heaped teaspoon each of nigella seeds, ground coriander, garam masala, fenugreek and turmeric

1 bulb of garlic

Pinch of chilli flakes

For the salad

½ a cucumber, peeled

3 carrots, peeled

1 red onion, peeled

½ lemon

    1. Slash the chicken’s legs a few times right down to the bone. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and smear all over the chicken. Leave to marinate overnight.
    2. Preheat the oven to 200°C and organize your shelves so the roasting tray can sit right at the bottom, the chicken can sit directly above it, right on the bars of the shelf, and the potatoes can go at the top.
    3. Cut the potatoes into golf-ball size pieces then parboil them in a large pan of salted boiling water with a whole lemon for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes then let them steam dry. Stab the lemon a few times with a sharp knife and put it right into the chicken’s cavity.
    4. Roughly chop the onions and add to a roasting tray along with the cinnamon stick, cloves, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, then whisk in the flour. Pour in the stock or water, then place this right at the bottom of the oven. Place the chicken straight on to the bars of the middle shelf, above the roasting tray. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.
    5. Put a roasting tray in the oven for five minutes to get hot. Add the olive oil, butter, the spices, halve a bulb of garlic and add it straight to the pan. Add your drained potatoes to the tray, mix everything together, then season well. After the chicken has been in for 40 minutes, put the potatoes in.
    6. Once the chicken is cooked, move it to a board to rest. Pass the gravy through a coarse sieve into a pan, whisking any sticky goodness from the pan as you go. Bring to the boil and either cook and thicken or thin down with water to your preference (I had to add some boiling water to deglaze the surface and make a sauce out of it.
    7. For the salad, use a vegetable peeler to make thin strips of the carrot and cucumber. Then finely slice the onion and add this to it. Add a pinch each of salt and sugar, then squeeze over the lemon and toss to combine. Leave for 15 minutes while everything else finishes off.
    8. Get your potatoes out of the oven and put them into a serving bowl, then serve the chicken on a board next to the sizzling roasties and hot gravy.
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