MAC AND CHEESE PIE

Next Level Comfort Food…

What is more comforting than a hug from warm gooey cheesy gloriousness encased in a buttery flakey suet crust pastry, what a winner dinner.  A total carb overload that is worth every groaning moan from this over indulgence !

Ingredients 

(serves 6-8)

 FOR THE BEST EVER SUET CRUST PASTRY

330g supreme self raising flour

100g cold butter grated

130g atora suet

Water as needed (150ml+)

1 tsp salt and white pepper 

1 beaten egg (for pastry wash)

Six Cheese Mac n Cheese

500g small elbow macaroni pasta cooked and drained

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp all purpose flour

1 ltr full fat milk

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1 tsp white pepper

100g smoked gouda cheese block

200g sharp white cheddar block

100g fontina or Parmesan block

60g Provolone block

60g Emmental cheese block

60g Gruyère cheese block

3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

Pastry

Make the pastry first so that it can rest in the fridge.  Place all the ingredients except the water in a large bowl and very gently mix, you do not want to over work the mix as this will make it rubbery, and this pastry is the best ever because it is light and crispy with a flakey texture finished off with a hint of almost dumpling texture underneath, that soaks up the gorgeous braise stake gravy.  Add the water a glug at a time probably 150ml ish and just crush the pastry mix together, wrap in paper and plonk in the fridge for 30 minutes or until needed.

Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil generously season with sea salt, cook the macaroni for approx 8 minutes until al dente, soft but still has a bite to it.  Drain, toss through a drizzle of olive oil to stop the pasta clumping together, reserve to one side.

Mac n Cheese

Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes, start to add the cold milk a cup at a time and whisk in each time until smooth, repeat until all the milk has been incorporated, and you have a medium thick sauce, add the nutmeg, white pepper and stir to combine. 

On a gentle low simmer cook the sauce for 15 minutes stirring all the time, do not let the sauce catch on the bottom of the pan,

Grate all the cheeses, this really makes a difference as pre grated cheese is generally coated in potato starch to stop the cheese from clumping, add the cheeses and stir in to combine, taste and season with salt if needed.  Stir in the cooked macaroni and combine.

Take one third of the pastry for the pie lid, roll out your pastry and line your pie tin,  pour in half the mac n cheese drizzle over the sweet chilli sauce and the add the remaining mac n cheese, egg wash the pie rim, place on the pastry lid and egg wash.

Pre heat your oven 180 C / 356 F.

Bake the pie for 35-40 minutes until golden brown, serve immediately.

HOMEMADE SPAM LOVE IT OR HATE IT ?

Spam Spam Spam!

The good, the bad and the ugly…

 Love it or hate it, it is and has been such a staple in our diets since 5th July 1937 when Homel launched Spam to increase sales of pork shoulder which at this time was not a popular cut of pork.

Tinned Spam Ingredients 

Pork shoulder

Ham

Salt

Water

Potato starch

Sugar

Sodium nitrate

As a child of the 1970’s this was a staple along with canned corn beef in my childhood home, I would wake up to a fried spam, cheap white bread, buttery sandwich, where the fat and heat of the spam melted the butter in the sandwich making a hot greasy gotta shove this sandwich in my mouth gorgeousness, a personal favourite even now but alas I don’t allow myself this luxurious spam treat anymore due to cleaner healthier eating, but I did find myself reminiscing of a fried spam sandwich, so I thought why don’t I make some fresh Spam!

No nitrites, no nitrates and lower salt.

Spam a unsung Hero!

Putting aside the processed high fat and salt, tinned cooked health points, Spam got all our troops through world war 11 as getting fresh meat to the servicemen on the front line was just not logistical, a “wartime delicacy” as quoted by our former British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher.  Even today spam is still a choice on military vessels and bases.  At the end of the war Spam was sent to help feed the the people struggling in Europe.

During rationing the Spam fritter was born, served to the armed forces and British children during the school years of rationing.

US service men referred to Spam as “Ham that didn’t pass its physical” “Meatloaf without it’s basic training”.

The British were supplied with canned corn beef and the Americans with canned spam, often there would be a trade off for a change in taste between the troops.

Spam commonly referred to as low income food, unjustly so, has supported people in countries that are war torn in conflict and facing strict rationing, moreover spam is affordable, easily accessible and has a long extended shelf life.

Monty Python and SPAM

The UK television show Monty Python’s Flying Circus was an funny television series in the 1970’s, one of their sketches featured a fabulous scene in a cafe selling spam with every dish and ends in the classic song, sing…spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam!

Processed Food

Spam is a salty processed canned pork and ham (luncheon meat), that is high in fat, sodium and preservatives that is cooked in its tin on the production line at the factory, all this does not sound healthy in todays cleaner more informed fresh is best eating, which leads spam to lean towards not terribly healthy if eaten on a regular basis.

How cool is this a SPAM history museum based in “Spam Town” Austin, Minnesota!

HAWAIIA

Spam is a super popular part of Hawaiian cuisine, a top favourite lunch dish is musubi a sort of sushi, two slices of spam sandwiched between rice and a center wrap of nori dried seaweed, it is belevied a can of spam is opened every 4 seconds, with 3.8 cans consumed every second in the US, making a approximate 122 million cans of spam consumed annually, this accounts for 30% of the US population.

In Hawaiia spam is often referred to as portagee steak or Hawaiian steak.

Spam is very much in favour in South East Asia with the Phillippines consuming 1.2 million kilos annually again due to the service men during world war 11.

Fun Facts

Spamarama

A annual competition in Austin, the founders felt there was so many BBQ cook out competitions they could promote a competition to create brilliant spam recipes.

August 8th National Spam Day in Hawaiia.

Hawaiia island Oaho every spring hosts a Waikki Spam Jam.

Burger King has a spam and cheese breakfast burger.

Mac Donald’s has a spam burger.

Johnny’s restaurant has a Spamarama menu.

Question?

Would you consider a British Melton Mowbray Pork Pie the same as Spam?  What’s the difference, pastry case instead of tin?  As a pork pie purveyor I will advocate that a traditional hand raised lard pastry pork pie is miles ahead of a tin of spam, but why when the ingredients are virtually the same bar some extra seasoning and added natural jelly gelatine and pastry case not tin?

10 minutes prep / 3 hrs cooking / Overnight fridge pressing

Ingredients

1 kg pork shoulder

100g ham

100g pork back fat finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp sugar

5g pink curing salt (optional)

Pre heat your oven 110 C / 230 F

Place the pork, ham and garlic through a meat grinder / mincer twice until finely ground, mix well with the rest of the ingredients, (I do not use the curing salt as I don’t want nitrates and nitrate preservatives, opting out of this means your spam will not be as pink).  

Place the mix in a small loaf tin and pack down well, place the loaf tin in a deep saucepan 3/4 filled with hot water (known as a bain marie) and place in the oven for up to 3 hours.

Using a temperature probe once your spam loaf has reached 85 C / 185 F remove from the oven and the bain marie saucepan, cover the loaf pan with foil, take a brick, Yes I Said Brick! Cover with foil and place on top of the loaf tin to use as a weight press to compress the spam.

Place in the fridge overnight to set, that’s it, glorious fresh spam, no preservatives and lower in salt, ready for you to use, this will keep for 5 days in the fridge.

Spam Spread may just be over my boundary’s line !!!

PERFECT ROAST BEEF

 Traditional Sunday Roast Beef

There is something very special about cooking a family Sunday roast, a relaxed afternoon with the family all helping out and a glow of love around the table where all the trimmings are being passed around the table and over each other in some form of dance, this is my favourite day of the week.

I like to roast off the bone ribeye I find the flavour is outstanding and it makes a no fuss carving for serving.  What’s more it only takes 45-54 minutes to roast to medium rare.

I always cook to the core temperature and use the minutes per pound as the guide time to reach that core temperature, generally they are always spot on.

Roasting Times

2 kg / 4.4 lb

Blue very rare 9 minutes per lb = 40 minutes cooking and core temperature 45 C

Rare 10 minutes per lb = 45 minutes cooking time and core temperature 50 C

Medium Rare 12 minutes per lb = 54 minutes cooking and core temperature 60 C

Well done 16 - 18 minutes per lb = 72 minutes cooking and a core temperature 70 C

The Beef

Approx 2 kg / 4.4 lb ribeye of beef off the bone

1 glug olive oil

1 tbsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

The Mirepoix 

1 bottle good red wine

500ml beef stock

2 carrots roughly chopped

2 ribs celery roughly chopped

1 leek roughly chopped

1 onion roughly chopped

1/2 bulb garlic bashed

1 small bunch parsley with stalks

2 bay leaves

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

The Best Ever Roast Beef Gravy

750ml red wine roasting stock

200ml Madeira

All the resting juices from the beef

2 tbsp butter

Sea salt and black pepper

Roast Beef

Pre-heat your oven 220 C / 428 F

Rub the olive oil all over the beef and in a hot pan sear all sides of the beef nicely brown, remove and reserve to one side.

Place all the mirepoix ingredients, except the wine and water, in a large roasting tin and toss to combine.

Season the beef with salt and black pepper all over and place in the center of the roasting tin on top of the mirepoix, add the bottle of red wine and 500ml of beef stock.

Turn the oven down to 180 C / 358 F place the beef in the oven for your required cooking time (calculations above).  Once your preferred cooking time or core temperature is reached take the roast beef out of the oven and cover with baking paper and a tea towel to keep warm while resting.

Rest for at least 20 minutes but as a rule I rest fora minimum of half the cooking time and more.

To Make the Gravy

Strain the red wine roasting stock all the juices in to a fat separator jug that also has a sieve top to catch the Mirapoix pour off the stock  into a saucepan leaving the beef fat drippings behind, this fat can be stored in the fridge and used next time for beef dripping roast potatoes, reduce the stock gravy by half, add the Madeira and reduce by a third, add all the resting juices from the beef and using a whisk stir in the butter for this gorgeous old fashioned honest gravy.  

If you want a thicker gravy…

Add 1 tbsp of plain flour to the butter and mix well, (this is called a beurre manie) this will thicken the gravy to your choice, start with half the mix and add to the simmering gravy, whisk in well until smooth, taste and season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper if needed, if you want a thicker gravy add more of the (beurre manie) butter flour roux.

Alternatively for gluten free gravy reduce the gravy slightly thicker and whisk in the butter which will slightly thicken the gravy and add a lovely gloss sheen, you can also blitz a little of the mirepoix and add to thicken the gravy further.

CHEESE STUFFED CRISPY PAN FRIED CHICKEN

Oozy gooey crispy butter pan fried chicken breast stuffed with three cheeses and jammon serrano.

This is a family favourite and it’s amazing how much cheese you can actually stuff inside a chicken breast!  Simple to make and sure to be a winner dinner.

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 2)

1 glug olive oil

30g salted butter with 10g reserved

2 large chicken breasts

100g fresh grated mozzarella 

100g fresh grated medium cheddar

100g fresh grated red Leicester cheese

4 slices jammon serrano torn into pieces 

1 red serrano chilli sliced optional

2 eggs beaten

100g flour (for gluten free use gram flour)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4  tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp sweet paprika

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

1 pinch sea salt

Good glug of rapeseed oil

Pre heat your oven 180 C / 354 F.

Take the fillet of the back of the chicken breast and trim of the membrane, leave to one side, take the chicken breast and holding the thickest part at the top on the right side slide a paring knife into the breast towards the center making sure not to pierce through the breast.  Gently move the knife side to side and up and down cutting the inside pocket wider and deeper, go as close to the inside edges of the breast as you dare!

Mix the three cheese with the jammon and stuff as much as you can into the pocket, then cut the reserved chicken fillet to the size of the hole and stuff into the hole at the top of the breast to create a plug.

Place the beaten eggs in a shallow bowl or tray and season, gently whisk the flour, onion and garlic powder, paprika, salt, black pepper and dried thyme.

Dust the chicken in the flour, then dip in the egg and coat all over then back into the flour making sure the whole breast is coated.

(If you want to deep fry these, I would at this point dip back into the egg and then coat in panko breadcrumbs and deep fry at 180 C for 6-8 minutes).

Heat a oven proof pan medium hot, add the butter and a glug olive oil, place the chicken in the pan and leave to sear for around 3-4 minutes on each side, turning only once to ensure that crispy crust.  Add the reserved butter to the pan and once melted baste he chicken several times.  Pop the pan in the oven for 5 minutes to ensure the cheese is fully melted.

Leave to rest for a couple of minutes before serving. Enjoy.

CHRISTMAS AGA BAKED WHITE WINE GARLIC THYME CAMEMBERT

Ooey Gooey Gorgeousness

Elevate your baked Camembert with white wine, garlic and thyme infusion and serve with roasted baked pear wedges wrapped in jamon serrano, warm crusty sour dough or for me just a spoon.

There is not many things that rival a spoon and a ooey gooey baked Camembert, this is not to be shared!  

Oven baking 30-40 minutes / Aga residual warming 1 hour

When choosing your Camembert if your going to bake in the box make sure the box is stapled not glued as the heat of the oven will melt the glue and you will end up with a mass of melted cheese.

Alternatively you can use a Camembert ceramic baker, there are lots a pretty designs available, the advantage of using a ceramic baker is the cheese stays hotter and gooey for longer, great if your serving on a Christmas buffet.

Ingredients 

(one)

1 Camembert in a stapled box room temperature 

150ml dry white wine

2 large cloves garlic sliced in to 3 lengthways 

2 sprigs fresh thyme cut into 6 pieces 

To serve with

2 pears quartered 

8 slices jamon Serrano

100ml apple calvados 

Warm crusty sourdough torn in to pieces 

A spoon…

Take the cheese out of the fridge at least 1 hour before baking.

Un wrap the cheese, place back in the box or ceramic baker, pierce holes with a knife, approx 12 in the top of the cheese, push the garlic slices in to half the wholes,  push the thyme in to the remaining holes, pour over the wine slowly making sure most of the wine soaks into the holes.  Pop the lid on, you can do this hours in advance.

If your using a Aga, place the Camembert on the hot surface of the Aga not the hot plates!  Leave to bake for around 1 hour until ooey, you can move the camemberts to the warming plate to keep warm or for a slower bake time.  My Aga has a piano back which is a wide shelf at the back of the Aga which is great for warming mulled wine and baking camemberts.

If your baking in a oven heat to 180 C /  356 F, pop the Camembert in and bake for approximately 30 minutes, possibly 40 minutes for a ooey Camembert.

For the pears

Quarter the pears, soak in the calvados, wrap a slice of jamon Serrano around each quarter, bake in the oven 180 C / 358 F for 20 minutes.

ROASTED GARLIC CHILLI AND GUANCIALE ZOODLES

 Simple gluten free alternative to pasta, loaded with layers of flavour from the crispy garlic, chilli and Guanciale then loaded with fresh Parmesan, what’s not to love about this dish.

Prep time 5 minutes / Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 2)

2 courgettes / zucchini zoodled

1 shallot finely finely diced

4 cloves garlic finely sliced

100g finely diced guanciale

100 ml cold pressed olive oil

1-2 tbsp dried crushed chillies

100g grated Parmesan 

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

ZOODLES 

METHOD

Simply spiralize the courgettes into noodles and reserve to one side.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil.

Heat the olive oil medium hot in a large saucepan add the shallot, garlic and Guanciale and fry until crispy, add the crushed chillies.

Drop the courgette noodles into the boiling water and cook for 1.5 - 2 minutes, drain quickly, place on a tea towel, cover with a second tea towel and press gently but with a hint of pressure to soak up any excess water.

Toss the courgette noodles in the sauce, add the Parmesan, parsley and salt and black pepper to taste, serve and enjoy immediately.

Variations reduce the olive oil to 20 ml, add cream and a egg yolk whisked together to turn this into carbonara.

BARBECUE MEAT AND THREE RIBS WINGS AND DRUMS

 Barbecue Cooking Big Green Egg Recipes

Slow hickory smoked and basted ribs, wings and drums with three sides of creamed corn, potato salad and burnt ends smokey barbecue beans.

Now I understand meat and two or meat and three!  Being a brit my first experience of authentic barbecue was at a pit called Nancy’s in Sarasota, unfortunately I’ve not made it to the south yet!  Nancy’s award winning pit barbecue is cooked over wood and served from a disused fuel station with a lanni covering the forecourt and basic wooden picnic bench’s 

There I was standing in a long line not knowing how to order, confused by the options, holding up the long que (I mean it really is not rocket science, but it might as well have been), the servers took pity on this fumbling holiday maker and guided me for a meat and three, this still made no sense, but I ended up with awesome brisket, ribs, sausage, Mac n cheese, the best barbecue beans ever and corn, ta-da meat and three.

RIBS

Set up your smoker to a constant 110-120 C / 230-250 F

What is the 3-2-1 Cooking Method?

Indirect Cooking

Quite simply 3 hours smoking at 110-120 C / 233-250 F, then dry rubbed again and wrapped in a double Texas crutch for 2 hours and finally out of the Texas crutch and back on the grill baste and sop regularly for 1 hour and now you have glorious tender smokey basted ribs that are just clinging to the bone, but not over cooked and falling off the bone.

Cooking time 5-6 hours

Ingredients

Whole rack of baby back ribs per person

1 bottle french’s hot dog mustard

200ml apple juice per rib

Barbecue Dry Rub

7 tbsp dark brown molasses sugar

1 tbsp sweet paprika

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp dried chipotle flakes

1 tbsp dried ancho flakes

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Mix all the ingredients together well, store in a ball mason jar.

Texas Style Barbecue Sauce

1 cup tomato ketchup 

2/3 cup molasses brown sugar

3 glugs Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp chipotle powder

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

200ml Coke

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and simmer until desired consistency.

The Jack Daniels Maple Sopping Sauce

200ml Jack Daniels 

300ml maple syrup

25 ml molasses 

1 tbsp tamarind or lime juice

3 tbsp honey

Whisk all the ingredients until combined, pour in to a squirt sopping bottle or bowl for dipping your sopping brush in.

Fire Up Your Big Green Egg Set For Indirect Cooking

How ever you start your smoker /grill fire up (I fill my fire box to the top as my fire starts in the middle and slowly burns outward giving me up to 12hrs hours of slow heat controlled cooking) once your fire is established bring the temperature down to 110-120 C / 230-250 F, using your air vents to control the heat.  

Air flow = temperature control, more air flow = more heat, less air less heat.

Ribs 3 - 2 - 1

Remove your ribs from the fridge 1 hour before smoking.

Do Not Skip This Step

Remove the silver skin membrane from the back of the ribs, to do this slip a small knife tip under the the thick skin membrane on the first bone, lever up gently, take some paper roll and hold the lifted skin and peel off the rib, this silver skin normally comes away in one strip.  If you leave the skin on it constricts while cooking pulling the rib tight and it is like eating a rubbery skin on your tender rib, not nice.

Cooking Ribs No: 3

Rub your ribs generously with mustard then the barbecue rub.

Next add one hickory wood chunk or chips to your smoker.

Place the ribs  in you smoker for 3 hours, I like to rotate my ribs by 90 degrees half way through, if cooking on a rack rotate 180 degrees.

Cooking Ribs No: 2

The Texas Crutch

Take two sheets of foil and one sheet of butchers paper or baking paper, lay the butchers paper on top of the two sheets of foil, place the rib in the center, generously baste the rib all over with your barbecue sauce, bring the edges of the foil up to start to make a bowl, pour in the apple juice and gently fold the top of the foil over to create a tent around the ribs.

Place back in your smoker for 1-2 hours.  After 1 hour check the ribs for tenderness, keep cooking for up to 2 hours, you don’t want the meat to actually fall off the bone, your looking for a presentable rib that the bone easily pulls cleanly away from the meat.

Cooking Ribs No: 1 

Final bark

I increase the heat in my smoker at this point to 200 C / 395 F.  This is not essential but I like a good bark on my ribs, Unwrap your ribs and place back in your smoker, now I get to sopping with my maple bourbon glaze every 10 minutes along with a additional baste of barbecue sauce, at a higher heat this stage can be as quick as 20 - 30 minutes.

minutes.

That’s it now enjoy this beautiful rack of ribs.

Drums French Trimmed

Oh boy these are glorious, so juicy so flavoursome with a marinated barbecue spice rub and a bourbon sopping glaze these will have your family or guests absolutely delighted.

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

8 chicken drumsticks

4 tbsp barbecue seasoning rub

(homemade rub recipe above)

150ml bourbon barbecue sauce

(homemade recipe above)

To turn the chicken drumsticks in to lolly pops, simply chop off the narrow end top knuckle bone about 1/4 of a inch, this will leave a straight bone handle, next to clean the bone handle make a cut to the bone about 1-2 inches down the drumstick all the way round, pull the skin up and off the drumstick leaving you with a clean trimmed bone.

To level of the bottom of the drumstick so the lolly pop can stand upright simply cut the bone at the bottom straight.  Smooth the skin down the drumstick to the base of the drumstick. 

Toss the drums in your barbecue dry rub.  Heat your grill to 230 C / 446 F.  I cooked these with indirect heat.  Stand the lolly pops upright and cook for 20 minutes, now start to sopping your drums with the gorgeous glaze, you can dip and roll them or sop, do this every few minutes for the next 10 minutes until they are cooked to 75C / 167 F, take off the grill and serve immediately.

Wings

Ingredients 

(serves 2)

1 kg fresh chicken wings, flats and drums

2 150ml bottle  Cholula green pepper hot sauce

1 whole bulb garlic peeled and finely sliced

50ml olive oil

100g salted butter room temperature

1 tbsp chopped coriander optional

Method

Marinate the wings with one bottle of hot sauce for at least 1 hour or overnight in the fridge for more depth of flavour.  Fire up your grill I cooked these beauties on indirect heat so that my smoker would maximise the flavour of the barbecue, maintain your heat at around 180 C / 350 F and cook turning occasionally for around 20 minutes until juices run clear when pricked.  Cook over direct heat if you want more of a charred flavour instead of smoke.

Heat the olive oil medium and sauté the garlic until a nutty and chewy not crispy, remove from the oil and place in a large tossing bowl along with the butter and coriander.  Once the wings are cooked add these to the bowl and toss well to coat, pour over some more green pepper hot sauce to your likin and dig in!

BRISKET COWBOY BURNT ENDS BAKED BEANS

Texas Style Barbecue Sauce

1 cup Heinz tomato ketchup 

2/3 cup molasses brown sugar

3 glugs old Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp chipotle powder

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

(reserved brisket juices optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and gently simmer until thick.

Cowboy Beans

500g diced brisket barbecue burnt ends

2 cans Heinz or bush baked beans

100g diced pancetta

100g dark brown sugar

1 cup of your homemade barbecue sauce (above)

2 cups of your diced brisket and some burnt ends

75 ml Jack daniels

Fresh ground black pepper

Pan sear the pancetta until just crispy, add to a deep saucepan along with the rest of the ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer cook until piping hot, serve with a spoon!

Creamed Corn

Ingredients 

1 large can of sweetcorn reserving the juice

1 glug olive oil

1 small onion finely diced

1/2 cup pickled jalapeño diced

300ml double cream

1/3 cup fresh chopped coriander

1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a pan on a medium heat, add the onions and gently soften for 10 minutes without colouring, add the corn and cook for a further 5 minutes, add the jalapeños, reserved corn juice and simmer the juice until reduced by two thirds, add the cream, coriander and black pepper and bring to a rolling simmer for 1 minute until the cream has thickened, take off the heat, this is great served either hot or cold.

Potato Salad

Ingredients 

500g new potatoes 

1 tbsp sea salt

4 tbsp mayonnaise 

1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 

Sea salt to taste

Place the potatoes in a pan of cold water along with the tbsp of salt, bring to a rolling simmer and cook the potatoes until fork tender, drain and leave to cool partially, chop in half.  In a bowl mix the mayonnaise, black pepper and parsley then toss through the new potatoes, coating well, taste and add salt if needed.

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY PEEL QUAIL EGGS

 How difficult can this be…

Well I never!  I will admit to almost giving up on cooking my own soft boiled quail eggs, I can buy them already just boiled from a local store and I love to have these in my fridge as a go to snack as I pass, but I really struggle to peel these oh so difficult quail eggs, as the set white always comes away with the shell.

Not Anymore !

As always the secret is in the method.

Apple cider vinegar !

For a soft boiled set white and runny yolk quail egg, bring a pan of water to a light bubbling simmer, gently place the quail eggs in the hot water and cook for 1 minute 30 seconds for a runny yolk, 2 minutes for a set yolk.

Remove from the pan and plunge into cold tap water, then place in a bowl of apple cider vinegar and soak for a couple of minutes.  The acid breaks down the shell and makes for easy peeling.

To peel the quail eggs, tap gently on your worktop a couple of times, then using the palm of your hand with gentle pressure roll the egg back and forward a couple of times, this will make the shell become like shattered glass, then just peel, the shell will come away from the egg smoothly, unlike before when chunks of egg white come away with the shell.

The vinegar will not flavour the egg, season with a little celery salt and enjoy.

PERFECT ROAST BEEF WITH MARROW BONE MADEIRA GRAVY

Easy cooking method that gives you perfect juicy roast beef and a awesome gravy

Local Dexter beef from West Dorset

Glorious Roast Rib Eye of Beef, this is one of my most favourite roasts, the gorgeous memories of nan and grandad from the old fashioned smell of grass feed roasting beef basting in the glorious fat, this anticipation is just mouth wateringly beautiful, I do confess to having a hankering for the hot crispy salty seasoned fat on the top of the joint, Chefs Perk, the flavour is divine.

Approx oven roasting time for a 2kg / 4.4lb joint

(serves 6)

Blue very very rare 9 minutes per lb = 40-45 minutes cooking and core temperature 45 C

Rare 10 minutes per lb = 45-50 minutes cooking time and core temperature 50 C

Medium 12 minutes per lb = 55 minutes cooking and core temperature 60 C

Well done 18-20 minutes per lb = 81 minutes cooking and a core temperature 70 C

 Ingredients

(serves 6)

The Beef

Approx 2 kg / 4.4 lb rib of beef on the bone with chine bone removed

1 glug olive oil

1 tbsp sea salt & fresh ground black pepper

The Mirepoix 

1 bottle good red wine

500ml water

2 carrots roughly chopped

2 ribs celery roughly chopped

1 leek roughly chopped

1 onion roughly chopped

1/2 bulb garlic bashed

1 small bunch parsley with stalks

2 bay leaves

50ml of oil or beef drippings

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

The Best Ever Roast Beef Gravy

500ml beef marrow bone stock

(recipe below for homemade stock)

200ml Madeira

All the resting juices from the beef and the roasting tin

2 tbsp butter

Sea salt and black pepper

Roast Beef

Pre-heat your oven 220 C / 428 F

Place all the mirepoix ingredients, except the wine and water, in a large roasting tin and toss to combine.

Rub the olive oil salt and black pepper all over the beef joint and place in the center of the roasting tin on top of the mirepoix, add the bottle of red wine and 500ml of water.

Turn the oven down to 180 C / 358 F place the roast in the oven for your required cooking time (calculations above).  Once your preferred cooking time or core temperature is reached take the roast beef out of the oven and cover with baking paper and a tea towel to keep warm while resting.

Rest for at least 20 minutes but as a rule I rest for half the cooking time and more.

To Make the Gravy

From the roasting tin spoon off most of the fat into a dripping bowl, strain all the juices through a colander to remove the mirepoix, place the liquid back in the pan, pop the dripping in the fridge ready to use for the next roast, place your roasting tin on the stove on a medium heat, add the beef stock and Madeira, bring to a rolling simmer and reduce by a third, add all the resting juices from the beef and using a whisk be sure to scrap off all the flavoursome bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan adding further depth to this gorgeous old fashioned honest gravy.  Take the soft almost melting butter and mix in the flour, this will thicken the gravy to your choice, start with half the mix and add to the simmering gravy, whisk in well until smooth, taste and season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper if needed, if you want a thicker gravy add more of the (beurre manie) butter flour roux.

Alternatively for gluten free gravy reduce the gravy to slightly thicken and whisk in the butter which will thicken the gravy slightly and add a lovely gloss sheen, you can also blitz a little of the mirepoix and add to thicken the gravy further.

Roasted Bone Marrow Beef Stock

1 good glug olive oil

25g butter

2 marrow bones

Various beef bones and knuckles from the butchers

(or left over roast beef bones)

2 carrots roughly chopped 

2 ribs celery roughly chopped 

2 onions roughly chopped 

1 garlic bulb sliced in half

1 leek roughly chopped 

2 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

10 whole black peppercorns

2 ltrs water

1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt

If you are making your own stock do this the day before so you can leave the stock to very gently simmer for 8 hours to maximum the flavour..

Roast the bone marrow and bones for 1 hour to increase the flavour of the stock.  

Heat the oil and butter add the carrots, leeks, onion, garlic and celery and soften for 5 minutes, place the rest of ingredients into your stock pot add water to cover the bones and leave to gently simmer for up to 8 hours, strain and return to the pan, taste and season with salt and pepper, or reduce the volume to intensify the depth of flavour.