Category: rosemary

Categories
food garlic potatoes rosemary thyme

roasted new potatoes

For all the different things I make on this blog, I do still love a roasted potato as often as I can. Usually fluffy varieties are the ones, but a new potato can be a great alternative if treated right. Although to be honest slathering anything in rosemary, garlic and thyme is often a good idea.

Really though, I made these as a vehicle for ranch dressing. When relatives come back from the States they bring food gifts like sweets, and the occasional sachet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. It’s MSG-tastic but when made up with mayo and milk makes a creamy, thick and delicious dip that goes well with crudites, salad potatoes, crisps, salad, chicken, green veg… it’s really good stuff.

Roasted new potatoes (serves 4 as a side dish):

250g new potatoes, scrubbed and halved

3 cloves garlic, squashed

3 sprigs rosemary

2 sprigs thyme

  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Heat a large lidded casserole on a hob and add a little oil and a knob of butter. Add the herbs and garlic, fry for 30 seconds and then add the potatoes. Turn several times in the flavoured oil to get them started, then cover and transfer to the oven.
  2. Roast for 35 – 45 minutes, turning occasionally until browned and fudgy in the middle. Serve with ranch dressing.
Categories
duck food orange rosemary salt star anise

potted duck

It’s been something of a duck week. I nearly picked up two duck breasts at the weekend, but when they cost £7 and a whole duck cost £8, it seemed a false economy (as buying meat portions almost always is). So after enjoying some lovely roasted duck breasts with red wine sauce and sauté potatoes, what to do with the rest of the duck?

Heston had a bloomin’ good suggestion in Heston at Home: potted duck. Being a Heston recipe, it has quite a few stages of curing and confiting, and I got bored waiting for it so tossed aside the smoking stage at the end. I can’t say I miss it; there’s mountains of flavours rolling along in waves as you munch down through rich, soft meat.

If you have some duck legs knocking about – and let’s face it, who hasn’t… – you could do much worse than piling this into a nearby kilner jar. So here’s what I did based on Heston’s recipe, smoking stage removed and all.

Potted duck (can serve about 8, depending on how generous you are – it’s pretty rich):

9 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

5 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

Zest of 1 orange

60g salt

2 duck legs

500g duck fat

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 cloves of garlic

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns and bay leaves on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes. Tip the lot into a pestle and mortar with the salt and orange and pound to dust. Rub all over the duck legs, store in a sealed container and refrigerate overnight.
  2. The next day, put your slow cooker on low. Add the duck fat, rosemary and garlic and allow to melt. Thoroughly rinse the duck legs and pat dry. Add to the slow cooker and top up with oil if required to cover the legs. Slow cook for 18 hours.
  3. Remove the duck legs from the fat and shred with two forks. Pack into a ramekin or kilner jar, and pour over a little of the cooking fat (save the rest for roast potatoes or pork belly). Refrigerate for a couple of hours then serve with your best toast, pickles and chutney (I used a fig chutney like this).
Categories
beef food mushroom mustard pie rosemary

patchwork pie

I was coming home on the train and decided it would be pie or nothing for dinner. Luckily all the ingredients were on hand. Patchwork for two reasons: I had some squares of puff pastry to use because I’d absent-mindedly cut loads more than I need when making sausage rolls; and ended up using a hodge-podge of all odds and ends things I like.

Patchwork pie (serves 4 – 5):

500g beef mince

100g mushrooms, sliced

1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked

1 clove garlic, minced

50ml red wine

1 pack of ready-cooked chestnuts

300ml beef stock

1 teaspoon cornflour

1 sheet puff pastry, cut into squares

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon English mustard

  1. Get your oven on to 180°C, and two frying pans over high heat with a dash of olive oil in each.
  2. In one of the pans get the mince in and stir often until browned and starting to crisp up. In the other pan fry the mushrooms and rosemary together. After 5 mins add the garlic.
  3. When the mince has browned add the red wine to deglaze the pan a bit, then add the stock, chestnuts and the contents of the mushroom pan. Mix the cornflour with a splash of water to make a paste, then stir this in thoroughly.
  4. Bubble away for a couple more minutes until thickened, then pour into a baking dish. Layer the squares as neatly as you like over the filling. Mix the mustard into the egg and brush over the pastry. Sprinkle with some coarse sea salt and bake for 30 minutes until golden and puffy (well, it is puff pastry after all). Serve with carrots braised in butter and dusted with nutmeg.
Categories
bread food rosemary shallot

shallot and rosemary foccacia

This is a cracking bread recipe, perfect with dips and spreads. One of those that can be tweaked according to what you’re in the mood for. I’ve also used it as pizza base and it’s great there too.

Shallot and rosemary foccacia (makes a loaf about 20cm square):

750g plain flour

15g salt

½ teaspoon sugar

2 x 7g sachets yeast

About 500ml tepid water

5 tablespoons olive oil

2 sprigs rosemary

1 large shallot, sliced into rings

  1. Chop the leaves from one sprig of rosemary. Mix these with the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then gradually add the water until you have soft, sticky dough. Knead for 5 – 10 mins until smooth and elastic. Cover with the olive oil, then cover the bowl with cling film. Leave in a warm place for an hour until it doubles in size.
  2. Heat the oven to it’s highest setting. Get the dough out, punch it down and spread into a large loaf on a baking tray dusted with flour. Top with the shallot rings, sprig of rosemary and a few grains of sea salt. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 10-15 mins while the oven warms up.
  3. Bake for 25 – 30 mins, or until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Allow to cool before eating.
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