Wilting Summer

05/10 WILTING SUMMER

As summer begins to fade there is an urge to start slowing down and returning indoors. In many respects  this recipe is the perfect manifestation of this feeling of retreat. It could almost be a hot dish, but instead is let to sit and mellow. The scorched leaves allowed to settle with a cooling douse of citrus. Then in a nod to the imminent winter they are paired with some roasted walnuts. 

Both warm and comforting yet light and cooling – it is autumn on a plate. I don’t have much more to write about this because I’m too sleepy. The sun has set and winter is coming, but not too soon.


Ingredients (all approximate) - 2 Chicory
1 Fennel
50g Walnute (chopped)
1 Orange
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

What I did - 

Get a wide pan, or griddle smokingly hot. slice the fennel into thin bands and dry fry them until they begin to wilt and char. Take them off before they melt away and set aside in a salad bowl. Cut the chicory in half lengthways and blister them face down until they do the same. Turn them over and blister again.

Add the chicory to the salad bowl. In the dry pan add the chopped nuts and 'roast' them for a couple of minutes until hot. Leave in the pan until the end.

Grate a few strands of thin orange rind over the salad. Juice have the orange (no seeds or pip) and add. Liberally douse with olive oil, salt & pepper. Mix the warm greens through so that it's all slicked in orange and oil. Scatter the roasted nuts on top.

Ready for a mellow evening.

JG

Narco Nachos

13/09 NARCO NACHOS

Apologies for my absence. This is generally the feeling after August leaves us be. The Leo season is over. Parties have all but ceased. The chance for recuperation. As the main perpetrator of the hangover, I must also apologise.

This recipe is a culinary token of my gratitude to those who held me up and kept me going through the month. Week after week and weekend after weekend. It's hard to remember details, but then all come floating back like the embers of a fire returning to earth. These punchy nachos will help you through recovery and kick you back into life.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

1 Packet Nachos (chilli flavour)
1 Jar Salsa (spiciness to taste)
200ml Sour Cream
1/2 Onion
4 Tomatos (diced)
1 buffalo Mozzarella


What I did - Oven preheated to 200 OR grill on high

While Nachos theoretically are a 1-2-3 kind of recipe. This steps it up a level, but nothing too strenuous. Firstly empty the packet of corn-chips (i find that mildly flavoured ones boost the excitement) into a wide raised dish so that they sit about 3-4cm thick.

Empty the jar of salsa on top of the chips, spread around but leave a ridge of chips around the rim. On top of this scatter the diced tomatoes over the whole dish. On top of this grate the gooey mozzarella into the peak of this corn chip mountain.

Grill or bake the dish until the mozzarella is blistered and the visible chips are on the verge or charred. Mix the finely dived onion with the sour cream and dollop as the cooling summit of this spicy hot volcano. Eat with your fingers and a cold beer. Recovery. Your brain will catch up soon.

JG

Leo Catch

13/08 LEO CATCH

Hear us roar. Or Purr. The Leo’s are out for the kill. In this case a very boujie hunt at an over-priced but fabulous food store. This recipe is old-time fabulous and decadent to the extreme. Exactly how the Pride of Leo’s take on the world. We are fabulous and decadent to the extreme, and in our season there is nothing that will hold us back. 

This recipe is this Leos favorite, raw meat, a slathering of flavours makes it irresistible. This version is vaguely Japanese inspired, half sashimi half steak tartare. The heady mix of Japanese oils and prices plays perfectly with the tang of the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Breaking the perfect yolk through the raw meat is one of life’s most satisfying pleasures – causing a squeamish reaction from half of you only heightens the thrill. This is so very delicious, with a dry stiff drink, a perfect way to toast the leo Pride.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

250g Steak (lean)
1 Egg
1/4 tsp Wasabi
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp Black Sesame Seeds
1/2 tsp Japanese Chilli Powder (a sprinkle more to finish)
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Tabasco
1/2 tsp minced onion
Salt + Pepper

Crisps & Martini to serve


What I did - 

This is an assembly recipe, no heat required. Take the steak and give it a good beating. Once it's tender, but not beaten to death finely dice into small quarter centimetre cubes. In a small mixing bowl mince in the onion. Add the wasabi, sesame oil, seeds, chilli, tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir through thoroughly until all the meat is slicked in the mix. Taste and season with salt & pepper (hold back a bit to add when finishing).

Press the mix into a small bowl and cling film in the fridge for half an hour or so to set and macerate.
In the meantime sedate yourself with a martini.

Take the bowl out of the fridge and leave to warm up for about 5 minutes. scatter some green on a plate and then turn out the tartare. Using a fork, press out and make a small depression in the centre. Separate the egg yolk and gently rest on the meat. Season with the chilli powder, salt and pepper. This takes it from looking like cat-food to something deliciously savage.

Perfect as is. Better with plain crisps on the side. Best with a second Martini. It's the leo season, allow the inner savage out.

JG

Jammed

09/08 JAMMED

This - for me - is absolutely eating the forbidden fruit. I have always longed to know what the appeal of peanut butter is, and being an allergic one, have never been able to indulge. Until now. I have discovered my equivalent in Almond Butter. So please indulge this "recipe" and let me have this moment of pure bliss.

The blackberry jam is probably the only cooking that need happen, and was only because there happened to be a very fruitful blackberry bramble in the front garden. I collected all the fruit it spawned and couldn't eat them quick enough - found myself in a jam. This recipe is really a revelation, my coming-out and learning that I do really love nut butter. Jokes aside, this is beyond deliciousness and I'm very sorry to have discovered it.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

Good Sourdough Loaf (like really really sell-your-soul good)
250g Blackberries
250g Castor sugar
Crunchy Almond Butter


What I did - 

I know that toast is not a recipe. But this is more an assembly instruction then recipe.

The only cooking required is the jam (which you can buy, but i'm feeling domestic). Boil the berries and sugar together in a small pan for about 10 minutes until glistening, scalding and thick. Allow to cool in the pan and then transfer to a couple of (sterilised) jars. Use a small bit of baking paper to seal under the cap.

Cut a hearty slice of the bread. Toast as desired (slightly just past golden is perfect here). Spread the heady nut butter thick on the bread. Let a heaped tablespoon of the jam fall on to and allow to drip through the bread down the sides.

Eat in bed with some early morning viewing. I have just discovered heaven and it tastes so good.

JG

A Leg Up

31/07 A LEG UP

Absolute comfort. I feel the best culinary route to extreme contentment is a chicken. In any form it brings instant gratification and warmth. This recipe is a kick-off-your-shoes and get seriously comfortable. It is packed with mellow flavour, only lightly salted. It is in essence a baked casserole, but using drumsticks means that extracting the meat from the sauce is incredible clean and easy. 

The mean on the drumsticks remains so incredibly moist, cooked submerged in a light and heady sauce. The mellowness of a charred leafy vegetable is a heady compliment to the lightness of the meat. Together they are warm, delicious and mellow. I feel serving this to friends you can truly exclaim Bon appetit!

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

1kg Chicken Drumsticks
1 Can Chopped Tomato
50g Olives
Thyme
1 Carrot
1 Fennell
2 Chicory
Preserved Lemons (or plain old Lemon)
Salt + Pepper
Olive Oil


What I did - Preheat Oven to 200

Evening fiddling. Not an involved recipe at all. Start by browning the chicken on a griddle or dry pan.
When they colour lightly gold transfer them into a deep baking dish - bones up. Peel and chop the carrot and tumble across the chicken with the olives. Open the tomatoes and drown the dish. The chicken should be half covered. Liberally add pepper, thyme and a couple of slices of preserved Lemons. Cover and bake for 1.5 hours until bubbling away (don't worry you can't overcook this).

While the chicken is cooking prepare the charred greens. Divide the Fennel and Chicory lengthways and char on the same griddle as the chicken. Shouldn't need any oil as the chicken will have left enough. Once wilted and blackened transfer to a shallow baking tray. Salt & Pepper lightly and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Throw into the oven for the last hour or so with the chicken. Once it's all ready, leave to sit for about 15 minutes. This is best on the hot side of warm, rather than scalding. Serve up a half charred vegetable with a couple of drumsticks and some broiling sauce. Best eaten watching a storm outside.

JG

Summer Catch

26/07 SUMMER CATCH

Returning to something after a time away is always approached tentatively. Seeing your past again. Returning home. Restarting a project. Can seem daunting. But you have to start somewhere, and where better than in the midst of summer. Not a scorching, skin melting summer - a light breezy ethereal afternoon.

This dish is inspired by the soothing comfort retreating to a cool room after a day in the sun. It is both light yet filling, cool and full of heady flavour. Paired with a bottle of wine and some company there isn't much else I would rather - altogether cheekily playful.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

2 Salmon Fillets
1/2 Cucumber
1 Romaine Lettuce
1 Avocado
1/2 Fennell (or celery if preferred)
Bunch Fresh Dill
1tbls Hot Mustard
1tbls Mayonaise
1/2 tsp sugar
1tbls Gin
Preserved Lemons
Salt + Pepper
Olive Oil


What I did - 

Nothing too involved, simply salt and pepper the two Salmon fillets. Place a couple of slices of preserved lemons (or thin fresh if you don't have - I mean who really does) on top and then lightly oil. Wrap the top of each fillet with a leaf of lettuce - this will help the fish heat all the way through but retain the moisture.

grill under a hot grill for about 20 minutes until the lettuce is charred and the fish coral-pink. Leave out of the grill to cool while you prepare the salad.

Which is so easy it barely needs instruction. Shred the lettuce into a bowl, scoop curls of avocado, slice the cucumber and fennel (medically thin) and then dice the dill over the top. In a jar shake the mustard, mayonaise, gin, sugar, pepper violently together until it has emulsified into a pale gold.
Turn the dressing through the salad well and spread in a serving dish.

Add the two Salmon fillets to the top. Eat relaxed, on the floor (indoor picnic) with a glass of wine.
Summer bliss.

JG

Green Park

07/04 GREEN PARK

The end of a long, long weekend draws to a close. The sun is setting on the last day of peaceful freedom before the world start grinding back in motion. After spending a blissful few days in the spring countryside - lavishly indulging in much wine and lazy rowing down a still river - the cold greyness of any city can be overwhelming. I always feel the need to bring a little of the country back - and this verdantly green soup does just that.

A mixture of hearty green vegetables - broccoli, sprouts and peas - are blitzed into a smooth green soup with extra green flavour brought in with a heavy handed helping of pesto and sweet wholegrain mustard. Almost cruelly i have also added a pig to this country bowl, bacon, not only to add smokey salt but to give the calm green some texture. A country weekend does wonders for the soul - this keeps is going for just a little longer.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

1 Broccoli
500g Brussel Sprouts
500g Frozen Peas (can be fresh if you have the time)
100g Basil Pesto
50g Bacon*
3 cloves Garloc
1 tbls Wholegrain Mustard
400ml boiling water
Salt + Pepper
Olive Oil


What I did - 

Keeping the country pace - this is a very simple and no fuss recipe. Firstly clean and divide half of the spouts and scatter them in a baking tray. Finely dice the bacon into small pieces and toss through the sprouts. douse lightly in olive oil, salt + pepper. Scorch them in a hot oven (around 200degrees) for half an hour until slightly charred and crispy.

Peel the garlic and lightly sauté whole with some oil in a large pot on the stove. When infused add the rest of the cleaned sprouts, the broccoli heads (and stem peeled and cut into chunks) and peas. Stir around the pot for a few minutes until they start to catch. The flavour of the vegetables mellows when liquified so best to get all you can out at this point. Add the boiling water and let come to a simmer for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft but not mush.

Using a stick blender (easiest) blitz the pan until there is nothing but a smooth green pond. Add the pesto and blitz again. Add salt and pepper now (to taste) and blitz one last time. Finally stir in the mustard, leaving the small grains flecked through the green soup.

Before serving mix the majority of the baked sprouts and bacon into the soup, leaving a small scattering to garnish. When the grime of the city comes too much, there is always a bowl of this to bring back the bumbling country soul in all of us.

JG

Rapid Retro

30/03 Part 1: P-COCK-TAIL

This is the first part of my super easy - campishly retro - instant suppers. I know that both of them may make some people squeam in their chairs reading, if only for the raw factor. Trust me i have gone much farther, raw meat. But if thats not your thing, not to worry.

To be honest the prawns are pre-peeled, pre-cooked and pre-packed. This makes them laughably easy to pre-pare. But there is something about either of these simple and quick plates that is so nice to sit around and pick at with a glass of wine and some delicious reality show to indulge.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

200g Peeled Cooked Prawns
2 tbls Tomato Sauce
2 tbls Mayonaise
1tsp Japanese Chilli Powder
1 spritz lemon juice

What I did - 

This hardly constitutes a recipe. In fact it is just a matter of opening a packet (don't feel any shame) and squeezing out some sauces.

Scatter the little pink bodies of the prawns on a plate and give them a light spritz with a lemon quarter. In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise and the sauce until you have a bowl of pink 70s kitch. Sprinkle the chilli powder over the pink sauce.

Have a dry martini at hand and slowly make your way through this little camp dinner.

JG

Part 2: SAH-SHIMI

This is the less glamorous sister of the prawn cocktail, and a decade later. Now enter the aggressive, fast-talking falseness of the 80s. Sashimi - instant, delicious, expensive to buy out. Super cheap and easy to make at home. Just please make sure the fish is good quality and fresh. No one likes that kind of fish fingers.

I have since discovered Tuna which makes a far nicer dinner. Also there is a strength to the flesh which cuts much easier than salmon. So in this case use this recipe more like a guideline then an actual rule.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

300g Salmon
50g Okra
Wasabi
Light Soy Sauce (preferable salt reduced)
Chilli Powder
Salt + Pepper
Sesame Oil

What I did* - 

Again this is hardly a recipe. But a simple, easy and overwhelmingly delicious supper. Take the tuna or salmon steak and lay if on a chilling board so that the grain is fanning away from you. Slice the fish as thin as possible without tearing it. Lay it gracefully (more than pictured) on a plate and drizzle very lightly in sesame oil.

In a very small bowl spread two or three (tolerance depending) smears of wasabi and top up with soy. Also good with that incredible Japanese chilli powder, you know the one in every Japanese restaurant. Serve with something picky, crunchy and salty - in this case small pieces of over roasted okra. Cook small chunks with liberal amounts of salt until there is no trace of moisture left.

*I mean no offence to anyone who knows better, this is just what I usually do as an instant supper.

JG

Leeked

06/03 LEEKED

This has taken a long time to come around, simply because life gets in the way and cooking sometimes becomes a by product. A sad thought, food is not fuel. Well it shouldn't be, and this recipe is a testament to time. It takes a slow pottering to prepare, a slow bake and then a slow picking to eat.

This tart is the edible equivalent of a long ramble - be it verbal or wandering. It is calming, simple and provides a small comfort when your world has hurried past. Caramelised into the pastry floor, these leeks succumb to their secret sweetness leaving you calm and contemplative. The world is big, but then we are very small.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

2 Leeks
125g Salted Butter
125g Plain Flour
75ml cold water
1 tsp Caraway seeds
1 tbls Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbls Olive Oil
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt + Pepper

What I did - 

While not difficult, it does involve some calm and time. If you really can't be bothered then use frozen puff pastry... but do go with me. Start by rubbing the butter into the flour until completely crumbled into buttery sand. Add the fennel seeds. Make a small well in the centre of the flour, pour the water in and mix together with your fingers until it combines. Work into a dough, patiently and messily, that isn't dry not its it hard and over worked.

It may look less than perfect at this stage, but chill it cling filmed in the fridge for half an hour. While it's chilling prepare the leeks but stripping their ouster layer and washing them thoroughly. Cut them into inch lengths and arrange on the base of a tart tin (solid so it can be turned out). Dust them in the sugar, vinegar, oil and seasoning. Roast in a 180 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until they just start to brown.

Back to the pastry, take it out of the fridge and knead it for a few turns to loosen it. Roll it out to a length 2 to 1. then fold into thirds. Roll the long way again, repeat folds. Do this a couple of times until the pastry is pliable. Then roll out into a large disc, trim the edge to roughly the size of the baking tin. Take the leeks out of the oven, blanket them in the pastry. Use a fork to poke holes in the surface.

Bake again for another 30 minutes. The pastry will be truly golden, verging on tan. The tart is ready! Take it out the oven. Let it stand until you feel confident to place a plate upside down the top and flip the whole fiasco. Tap the bottom (now top) of the tin to loosen the leeks. Slowly raise it to unveil the marvel that is the leaky upside down pastry creation!

JG