Mackerel With Ciabatta and Creme Fraiche

A nice simple lunch that we've just had. Fast food at it's best. Very cheap, too!

Get a couple of mackerel fillets per person. You can either buy the mackerel whole and fillet them yourself, get the fishmonger to do it (they'll normally do it at the fish counter in supermarkets) or just buy fillets. Either way, they'll only cost you a couple of quid.

You may still need to pin-bone the fish. There are two ways to do this. You can pick your way down the middle of the fillet with a pair of tweezers, plucking out all the bones but this takes a while and is a bit messy. The way I've just done it is to run a very sharp knife down either side of the row of bones at a slight angle, being careful not to cut through the skin, then pull the whole 'V' of bones right out.

Put the fish to one side while you make the sauce.

In bowl mix a couple of large tablespoons of creme fraiche with a finely chopped clove of garlic, a bunch of chopped parsley, a pinch of salt and pepper and a splash of white wine vinegar. Mix it all together and set aside.

Now for the ciabatta. Cut the bread in half horizontally and place the slices cut-side up under a hot grill for a minute or so. Keep an eye on them and take them out when they're golden brown. Rub the toasted surface all over with a clove of garlic and drizzle with some olive oil.

Keep the bread warm somewhere while you cook the fish.

Simply drizzle the mackerel on each side with a little olive oil, season with a touch of salt and pepper and cook under a hot grill for about a minute on each side.

Put a couple of mackerel fillets on a slice of ciabatta, drizzle with the creme fraiche and serve with a nice bit of green salad and a cold, crisp sauvignon blanc.



The Bloke

Poached Smoked Haddock With Parsley Sauce

This was another make-it-up-as-you-go-along affair after some nice smoked haddock took my fancy the other day.

Find yourself a frying pan just big enough to house your fish fillets. Put the fish in the pan along with a couple of peppercorns and a bay leaf. Add some milk to the pan, just enough to cover the fish and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 8 minutes.

When the fish is cooked, remove it from the pan, reserving the milk, and keep it warm in a very low oven while you make the sauce.

Make a beurre manie by mixing a tablespoon of flour with a knob of very soft butter. Add the butter to the milk and bring it back up to the boil, stirring constantly. When the sauce starts to thicken, add a good handful of chopped parsley and stir through.

Serve the fish with the parsley sauce, creamy, herby mashed potatoes and griddled asparagus.

I had intended to serve this with a poached egg instead of the sauce but I completely forgot! Nevermind, the sauce was fab anyway.


The Bloke

Courgette Chutney

It's been a while since I've posted anything new; too long, I know. I've been trying to think of a reason other than I'm just plain lazy but, in all honesty, I'm too lazy to think of anything.

Right, courgettes. If you've been following me on Twitter (@blokeinkitchen) then you'll know I've been growing, amongst other things, courgettes this summer. It's turned out really well and I've had a fine crop but sometimes they've been coming through so quick that it's difficult to know what to do with them all.

I've made soup and had courgettes cooked in every way I can think of but following my recent success with gooseberry chutney, using gooseberries from my mum's garden, I've got the chutney bug and decided to put some of the larger courgettes to good use.

So, here goes, in approximate quantities:

140g raisins
2 Granny Smith apples (peeled and diced)
4 Cloves of garlic (peeled, smashed and roughly chopped)
1 Onion (peeled and diced)
1lb fat courgettes (peeled, de-seeded and diced)
1 inch of ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
300ml white wine vinegar
100g brown sugar
1 red chilli (finely chopped - seeds in/out - up to you)
Tablespoon of green peppercorns.

Because I'm lazy, I just put everything listed above into a large stainless steel pan, brought to the boil and simmered for about an hour, stirring frequently to make sure it doesn't stick. When the whole thing has reduced to a jammy consistency, pour into a sterlised glass jar, seal tight, allow to cool then put it in the fridge.

The texture of this chutney is more chunky than the gooseberry one and the chilli, ginger, garlic and peppercorns give it a good kick. I think it would be a good curry accompaniment, alongside the usual lime pickle and mango chutney but also with sausages, strong cheese and cold meats.

Hope you like it.



The Bloke

Pancetta-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Here's one that actually came about from buying a couple of chicken breasts on my way home then seeing what we had in the fridge and the garden and taking it from there.

First, the stuffing. Mushroom, garlic and rosemary. Roughly chop a few handfuls of mushrooms, a couple of cloves of garlic and the picked leaves from a sprig of rosemary and soften them in a pan with a couple of glugs of olive oil with a pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Now on to the chicken. Take the skin off the chicken, if it has skin, then you'll need to cut a pocket into the underside of the breast. To do this, turn the breast over so it's 'smooth' side down and you'll see a thick bit sloping down to a thinner bit. Cut into the thick bit at the same height as the thin bit, making sure you don't cut all the way through. This should make a good hole for you to put your mushroom filling into.

When the mushroom mixture has cooled, spoon it into the aforementioned pockets in your chicken breasts then wrap the breasts in slices of smoked pancetta (you can get this in supermarkets - definitely Tesco and Sainsbury's). The best way to do this is to lay four or five slices of pancetta on a baking tray, carefully lay the chicken breast onto the pancetta, smooth side down, wrap the ends of the pancetta over the back of the chicken breast then turn it over and you're done.

Cook the chicken in an oven at 180 degrees (gas mark 4) for, depending on the size of your breasts (oo-er, madam) around 15 - 20 minutes.

Leave to rest for a couple of minutes while you plate up the veg of your choosing - I did herby mash and garden peas but The Missus has just suggested asparagus. Lovely!

The Bloke

Steak in Green Peppercorn Sauce

A fave of The Missus, this one. It's pretty straightforward, so here we go.

Put an oven-proof dish in a pre-heated oven at about 100 degrees (not sure what gas mark, just the lowest it will go).

Take 2 steaks of your choosing, rub them with some good olive oil then season with sea salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. The last time I did this (last weekend) I used a couple of rib-eye steaks but you can use fillets or sirloins if you like. Leave them out to come to room temperature while you get on with everything else.

In a jug, mix together 200ml of beef stock (on the subject of stock, I do make my own chicken and veg stock, when I can be bothered but I use the Knorr concentrates when I can't) with a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a couple of good slugs of red wine and a few splashes of Worcester Sauce. Whisk it all together then set aside.

In a large, flame-proof frying pan (a black-iron pan is perfect, if you've got one), melt a knob of butter in a good couple of glugs of olive oil over a high heat. When it's all hot and bubbling, chuck in your steaks and, depending on how you like them, fry them for about a minute and a half on each side. Transfer them to the dish in the oven while you finish off the sauce.

Take the pan off the heat and add a couple of slugs of brandy then set fire to it. This will burn off the alcohol quickly and looks pretty impressive too.

Add the pan back to the heat and when the flames have gone out, add the stock mixture and whisk over a high heat until it's reduced by about a quarter. Add about 100ml or so of double cream and 2 tablespoons of green peppercorns (you can get these in brine in supermarkets). Mix the whole lot together until it's thickened slightly and, although I hate this phrase, I guess it's true, coats the back of a spoon. You know what I mean!

Serve the steaks with new potatoes and griddled asparagus with the sauce poured over and a glass of a good South African Pinotage.

Triffic!


The Bloke

'Traffic-light' Curry With Spicy Potatoes

Ok, you get red curries, green curries - my sister, Rabs, even had yellow curry the other day when we ate at Host in Liverpool before we went to see Kasabian. I call this my traffic-light curry because it's red, yellow and green. You'll get the picture.

Onions first, two of them finely sliced, and about 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped. Sweat them off in a splash of vegetable oil, a good pinch of sea salt, plenty of freshly ground black pepper, about a tablespoon of freshly ground coriander seeds (bashed up in a pestle and mortar) and about a teaspoon of turmeric - (the yellow/amber).

When the onions have softened, add your chicken. I use chicken legs, boned and cut into chunks. Increase the heat a little and seal the chicken. Next, add some chopped red chilli - as much as you fancy, this obviously gives you the red part, followed by a pint of hot chicken stock. Bring it to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer to reduce the stock while you get on with your potatoes.

Peel however many potatoes you want and boil them for 10 minutes in salted water. Heat some vegetable oil in a decent sized roasting dish at 240 degrees (gas mark 9). Drain the potatoes and run them under cold water to cool them enough to handle. Cut the potatoes into chunks, about an inch square and sprinkle over about a teaspoon or so each of ground cumin and paprika. When the oven is hot enough, take the roasting dish out and add the spuds. Give them a good toss and put the dish back in the oven for about 15 minutes.

When the stock in the chicken has reduced down to about a tablespoon, add in a good couple of tablespoons of natural yoghurt and the final colour - a handful of chopped coriander. Actually, I use parsley because The Missus doesn't like coriander. Use whatever you want.

Warm the yoghurt through then serve with the crisp spicy potatoes and a nice crisp white wine. We had a Gavi with this last time.

The Bloke

Butterfly Chicken With Red Pepper Tagliatelle

I actually thought that I'd already written this recipe up on the blog but turns out I haven't. Until now, that is.

I can't really remember where this recipe came from but it's one that I've been playing around with and changing for a couple of years. It's really simple but looks impressive and tastes great.

First, butterfly your chicken breasts. This is actually easier than it sounds. Remove the skin from the chicken and put it smooth-side down on a plastic chopping board. There is a thicker part and a thinner part on the back of the breast. Using a very sharp knife, carefully slice into the thicker part at the height of the thinner part, taking care not to cut all the way through. When you're about half the way through, start opening out the breast, making small cuts as you go until you can lay the breast flat. Next, take a meat mallet and carefully beat the chicken to get an even thickness.

Now to the marinade. For this put a couple of good slugs of olive oil into a large dish along with two finely chopped garlic cloves, about a teaspoon or so of finely chopped rosemary, a good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and the juice of half a lemon. Put the chicken into the bowl, making sure each breast is covered in the marinade on each side. Put the bowl into the fridge and get on with your pasta sauce.

Take a sweet red pepper, the long pointy type, and put it under a hot grill until the skin is blackened all over. Leave it to cool then peel the skin off, take the top off, slice it open and remove the seeds. Cut the pepper into thin ribbons, like the tagliatelle you're going to add later.

Put the pepper into a large bowl and add a handful of quartered baby plum tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil, a finely chopped clove of garlic and some salt and pepper. You'll be adding some shredded basil leaves and a touch of lemon juice later.

Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it come back up to room temperature.

Now you're ready to cook. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and get a griddle pan on over a high heat.

Add a couple of handfuls of tagliatelle to the boiling water and gently coax the balls of pasta apart if you're using the dried stuff. Give them 3 minutes then get on to the chicken (remember, if you're using fresh pasta then this will only take a couple of minutes to cook so use your loaf and put the pasta on when the chicken only has a couple of minutes left).

The griddle pan should be hot now. Take each chicken breast from the marinade and lay them in the pan and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. When the final 3 minutes is up, take the pan off the heat and leave the chicken to rest while you sort your pasta out.



Drain your pasta and add it to the bowl of peppers and tomatoes. Squeeze over a splash of lemon juice and chuck in a handful of shredded basil leaves. Give the whole lot a good mix together and serve alongside the chicken and a glass of ice-cold Sauvignon Blanc.



Enjoy!


The Bloke