This particular Bavarian feast was inspired by EssexEating wandering through a German Christmas market and being tempted by the wurst and sauerkraut on offer. I could take his Tweets no longer, and dove off to the supermarket to build it up. I’ve not made true sauerkraut, but dressed cooked white cabbage in a sharp and tangy sauce instead. I’ve tried to amp up the notes by introducing a few foreign elements too: horseradish to add fiery depth, and soy sauce for hits of umami goodness.
Sausage & sauerkraut:
1 Matheson’s smoked pork sausage , sliced on the diagonal
1 white cabbage, shredded finely
2 floury potatoes, diced
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon creamed horseradish
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
To serve:
Soy sauce
Balsamic vinegar
Get the cabbage and potatoes on to boil until both are tender.
While they cook stir together all the sauce ingredients and adjust the seasoning as required.
In a frying pan heat some garlic oil (if you have it, normal oil if not) and fry the sausage slices for a couple of minutes aside.
To serve, mix the sausage, cabbage and potato with the sauce. Grind over a nie bit of black pepper and drizzle with soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.
I quite like jacket potatoes, but the observant among you will note I’m more of a roast potato man. To my mind a jacket should be crisp and earthy on the outside, yet fluffy and yielding inside. Is there any other way? Mrs. RP is an absolute fiend for the jak pot however, and could have them every day.
Something else that divides the Roast Potato household is BEANS. BAKED BEANS. I have a rabid, horrific hatred of them. It’s the one food I will turn over tables rather than eat. Even the smell brings me out in a bilious fit. They’re one of Mrs. RP’s favourite foods. This gives me an idea… see next post.
Anyways, I’ve prepared baked potatoes the same way every time: slap a bit of oil on, s&p, bake for a bit. I’d never questioned it. Very un-Heston of me. But then the Guardian comes along comparing tons of methods. Felicity Cloake tries out a few, and summarises her perfect pot. So I tried it.
It was quite good – I still don’t think it’s there. By placing it directly on the rack, you lose that chunky callousy bit which I really like. And somehow the skin goes a bit papery. I prefer mine a little thicker. It’s tasty though, but needs a little work. Give it a try, see what you think. Or, how do you do it?
Perfect jacket potato:
1 large Vivaldi potato per person
A shedload of Maldon salt
Pre-heat the oven to 220°C.
Wash the potatoes thoroughly, and don’t bother drying. Roll in salt and pop in the oven straight on the rack.
Bake for 1 hour, until tender inside. Don’t serve with beans.
I fancied something a little special for our anniversary and it had been a long time since we’d had duck. We also fancied some beetroot so I put the two together, along with a variation on the mash I did for the fish pie recently to make a delicious dinner.
Duck breast with pomme purée and roast roots:
For the roast roots:
4 fist-sized beetroot, skinned and diced
2 carrots, diced the same size as the beetroots
4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
Sprig of rosemary
Sprig of thyme
Balsamic vinegar
For the potatoes:
4 charlotte potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm thick slices
25g butter
100ml milk
For the duck:
2 duck breasts, skin scored with a diamond pattern
2 rashers of bacon
6 juniper berries, squished a bit
1 teaspoon flour
400ml chicken stock
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
Pop the beetroot, carrot, garlic, thyme and rosemary in a baking tray and toss in olive oil. Put in the oven for 45 mins – 1 hour until the veg is tender. After 30 minutes add salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sugar, then douse generously with balsamic vinegar and toss well.
For the potatoes, rinse in cold water then plunge into salted boiling water for 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain and pass through a sieve onto butter. When you’re ready to serve, get the milk to the boil in a pan and beat the potato into it.
For the duck, heat a dry frying pan to very, very hot. Season the duck generously on both sides and place skin-side down into the pan. When the skin has crisped (about 5 minutes), pop the bacon and juniper in the same pan and put the lot in the oven.
After 18 minutes remove the duck and allow to rest while you make a sauce. Take the pan on to a hob on a high heat and sprinkle over the flour. Stir in well then add the stock. Bubble furiously until it’s thick and reduced. Serve everything together and eat while piping hot.
Jamie Oliver’s latest turn is to ratchet up the speed and get us making 30 Minute Meals. It’s always great fun watching Jamie when he’s enthusiastic, and there’s a real purpose to what he’s doing.
The one that caught my eye was the roast beef dinner. After much pleading from a pregnant Jools after a late finish, he worked up a method that captures the essence of a roast dinner. So I gave it a go.
How long did it take? 34 minutes. I did mess up a couple of things though: I didn’t fetch enough herbs for some reason, so that meant dashing off to the garden mid-meal to hack off some more rosemary and thyme; I used an attachment on my food processor I’ve not used before and it kind of mushed stuff a bit instead of chopping so had to do it by hand; and I forgot to add flour to the gravy so had to dig out the cornflour to work that in. I think it’s doable in 30 minutes, though it is a mad-crazy rush. Someone did ask me if it was possible even if you didn’t do much cooking. I think it is because there’s not a lot of skills involved, just a cool head and keeping an eye on everything.
getting ready
The downsides? For it to work properly you need to get everything ready and set up beforehand. That said it’s great advice regardless of what you’re cooking. And it leaves a heck of a mess. And it must be said it’s not quite a roast dinner – very tasty – but not quite a roast dinner. I also don’t really see the point of the salad, it feels tacked on the side.
However accurate or inaccurate the 30 minute meal claim is for most people, Jamie’s trying to raise our expectations and make mealtimes great. Even if you end up a little over half an hour, it’s still great food in a respectable time.
TO START Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Fill and boil the kettle. Turn the oven on to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7, and place a 12 hole shallow bun tin on the top shelf. Put 1 large saucepan and 2 large frying pans on a medium heat. Put the fine slicer disc attachment into the food processor.
POTATOES Wash the potatoes, leaving the skins on. Chop into 2cm chunks and throw into one of the large frying pans. Cover with boiling water, season with salt and cover with a lid. Turn the heat right up, and boil for 8minutes, or until just cooked. Fill and reboil the kettle.
BEEF Quickly pick and finely chop the rosemary, sage and thyme leaves. Turn the heat under the empty frying pan up to full whack. Mix the herbs together and spread them around the chopping board with a good pinch of salt & pepper. Cut the fillet in half lengthways, then roll each piece back and forth so they are completely coated in herbs. Add the meat to the hot empty frying pan with a few good lugs of olive oil. You must turn it every minute while you get on with other jobs. Don’t forget to seal the ends.
CARROTS Tip the carrots into the saucepan and just cover with boiling water. Add 2 sprigs of thyme, a couple of bay leaves, a good pinch of salt, a splash of olive oil and 1 heaped tablespoon of sugar. Cook with a lid on until tender.
YORKIES Put the flour, milk and egg into the liquidizer with a pinch of salt. Blitz, then quickly and confidently remove the bun tin from the oven and close the door. In one quick movement, back and forth, drizzle a little olive oil in each compartment, then do the same with the batter until each one is half full (any remaining batter can be used for pancakes another day). Place in the top of the oven, close the door and do not open for 14 minutes, until golden and risen.
POTATOES Check that the potatoes are cooked through, then drain and return to the same frying pan. Leave on a high heat and drizzle over some olive oil. Add a pinch of salt & pepper, speed-peel in strips of lemon zest and add 4 sprigs of thyme or rosemary. Halve the bulb of garlic widthways, squash each half with the back of a knife and add to the pan. Toss everything together, then roughly squash down with a masher. Toss every 3 minutes or so, until golden and crisp.
GRAVY Reduce the heat under the beef a little. Peel the red onion half. Finely slice in the food processor. Add half the onion to the beef pan with a splash of olive oil, the other half to a salad bowl. Rinse the mushrooms in a colander and slice in the processor, then add to the beef pan. Stir everything around and remember to keep turning the beef regularly for 5 minutes.
WATERCRESS SALAD Add 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and a good pinch of salt & pepper to the onion bowl. Scrunch with one hand. Add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Empty the watercress on top and take to the table, but don’t mix until serving.
GRAVY Remove the beef to a plate. Drizzle with a little olive oil, then cover with foil. Stir 1 heaped tablespoon of flour into the pan. Add a small glass of red wine and turn the heat up. Boil down to nearly nothing, then stir in 300ml of chicken stock and simmer until thick and shiny.
TO SERVE Drain the carrots, return to the pan, toss with butter and take to the table. Turn the potatoes out on to a platter. Smear 2 spoonfuls of horseradish sauce and 1 teaspoon of English mustard on to another platter. Quickly slice the beef 1cm thick, using long carving motions. Sprinkle over a pinch of salt & pepper from a height, then pile the beef on top of the horseradish sauce and mustard. Add any resting juices to the gravy and serve in a jug. Toss and dress the salad quickly, then get the Yorkies out of the oven, and take them to the table and tuck in with a glass of wine.
