Kedgeree

It's Christmas Eve. The thoughts of the food mountain you're going to consume tomorrow lingers in your mind. What to have today? You don't want the bother of cooking a big meal but you need something substantial for the boozey night ahead (or is it only in my house that Christmas Eve is a session?!). Let me present to you the humble Kedgeree.

The Kedgeree is a traditional British dish from colonial India but it works great at anytime of the day (or night) and can also be used as a base for using up leftover meats and fish the next day. Feel free to be a bit more generous with the fish. I was purposely stingy here but you could easily double the amount for a more pronounced smokey flavour. The curry paste is very nontraditional but I find that it adds a great deal to the flavour with minimum effort. I would also serve with some finely chopped coriander but this proved impossible to get hold of in Newbridge on the day!

Serves 4

250g Basmati Rice (well rinsed)
4 Eggs
275g Undyed Smoked Haddock
Milk
2 Bay Leaves
3 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Onion (finely chopped)
1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
2 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Ground Turmeric
1 tsp Thai Green Curry Paste
handful of Frozen Peas (defrosted) 
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Put plenty of boiling water into a saucepan and add one bay leaf, a little salt and the rice. Bring back to the boil and cook for 12 minutes, adding the eggs to the saucepan for the final 6-7 minutes. Drain the rice and eggs and leave to run under cold water for a few minutes until cold. Discard the bay leaf. Peel and chop the eggs into quarters.

2. Meanwhile put the haddock into a pan and cover with milk. Add the other bay leaf and bring to a light simmer. Poach the fish for about 6-10 minutes until it flakes.Remove from the milk, remove the skin and flake the fish into chunks.

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Season and stir well. Cook for 5-7 minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the curry powder, turmeric and curry paste. Stir well and allow to cook for a further two minutes. Add the cold rice, stir well to coat and continue to cook until the rice heats up, stir frequently to avoid burning. Add the fish and egg and fold into the rice. Add the peas and cook for 5-6 minutes over a low heat, stirring gently every so often. 

BBQ Season!!

BBQ Season

My favourite time of year is finally here! Although I relish the coziness of dark evenings in front of the fire, I particularly love the al fresco nature of summer and barbecue season. Nothing beats the whole family sitting outside in the (hopefully) sun enjoying good food and a few beers. For my birthday this week we took a chance, we decided to have a small family barbecue and hoped that the weather held up (it is the middle of May after all!). Thankfully the sun shone, the rain stayed away and we had a great evening together. 

Even though it was my birthday, I decided I'd take care of the cooking and with €50 to feed 12 people (including 2 fussy kids) I knew I had my work cut out! First thing to sort were the salads:

Egg Salad - Hard boil 10 eggs, peel and roughly chop. Mix with plenty of mayonnaise, finely chopped chives and season well. Sprinkle a little paprika on top.

Potato Salad - Boil 1kg of baby potatoes until tender, drain and put into a large bowl. Add plenty of extra-virgin olive oil and season well. Add some dried oregano and some finely chopped chives. Mix well.

Pasta Salad - Boil 500g fusilli pasta in salted water until cooked, drain and put into a large bowl. Add lots of extra-virgin olive oil, plenty of halved cherry tomatoes, chopped basil and season well. Mix thoroughly and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon just before serving.

Spicy Rice Salad - Saute some garlic, chilli, onion and chopped red pepper over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add some turmeric and stir well. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes before adding 250g of rice. Add 500ml of vegetable stock and allow to simmer. Add more stock as necessary until cooked.

With the salads complete and in the fridge, I moved onto meats. For me, the most important piece of equipment for a BBQ is an instant digital thermometer. It allows you to get everything cooked perfectly without having to overcook for safety's sake I prefer to cook chicken in the oven first and then finish off on the BBQ. This method ensures they are cooked through without burning:

For the dry rub mix together; 1tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2tsp white pepper, 1tsp thyme, 1/2tsp smoked paprika, 1/2tsp dried oregano and 1/2tsp salt.

Lightly oil a large baking tray and lay out 15-20 chicken drumsticks. Sprinkle over 3/4 of the dry rub and massage it all over the drumsticks. Put into a 150 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until just cooked through. Char on the BBQ for a couple of minutes to add a bit of life. You can also brush some of your favourite BBQ sauce onto the drumsticks before they go on the BBQ for an extra hit of flavour.

Next I made burgers: spicy lamb for those of us keen on a bit of heat and plain beef for the more conservative!

Saute 1 onion, 1 red chilli and 2 cloves garlic (all finely chopped) in plenty of extra-virgin olive oil with some salt and pepper for 10 minutes until soft but not coloured. Allow to cool. Put 500g of lamb mince into a mixing bowl and add the onion mix, including the oil. Season well and add in half a beaten egg. Mix well. Lightly oil a large plate and with wet hands, shape the lamb mix into five patties. Lay on the plate, cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour or two. Season each side and cook on the BBQ, brushing with BBQ sauce if you like.

You can make the beef burgers the same way but I just mixed 500g of mince with salt, pepper and half a beaten egg and continued as above.

The last bit of cooking was some Nolan's of Kilcullen sizzler and plain pork sausages which were brushed with BBQ sauce and placed on the BBQ until cooked through.

The small amount of cash left over was spent on 12 cans of San Pellegrino orange and lemon and Ali baked a beautiful orange and almond cake for dessert (and to hold the birthday candles).

 I'll have plenty of BBQ posts up over the summer, it's good to take advantage of whatever little sun we get!

Gnocchi with Duck and Tomato Sauce

Gnocchi with Duck and Tomato Sauce

On Saturday, I decided it was time for a treat, on the lookout for something to make for dinner I happened upon a Duck and, having never cooked one before, took on the challenge! It turned out to be relatively simple to get a Duck tasting great, a tiny drop of olive oil and plenty of Salt and Pepper on top and half a Lemon inserted into its behind made for a delicious meal, even if I did have an extremely frustrating time carving the plonker! I also made a delicious Paté from its liver and reserved the fat for Sunday's Roasties, all in all a very productive evening!

Although we devoured the majority of the duck there was exactly 170g of leftover meat (after our 3 cats and dog had their bit of course) and today was the day to use it up! I had planned on doing something similar to the Duck Confit Pie I'd had in Paris (replacing the Lamb/Beef with Duck in a Shepards Pie) but I was feeling a little more adventurous so I settled on Gnocchi with Duck and Tomato Sauce!

Don't be put off by making Gnocchi, its relatively simple and the worst that should happen is that its heavy and a bit stodgy but it'll get better the more you make it. This master recipe for Gnocchi is way more than you'll need but freeze the leftovers on a baking tray and once frozen put into freezer bags (stops them sticking together). They can be cooked from frozen, it just takes 4-5 mins rather than 1-2!

For The Gnocchi:

1Kg Floury Potatoes
300g Plain Flour (extra to dust)
1 Egg (beaten)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For the Duck and Sauce (Serves 2)

2tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion (finely chopped)
1 Small Chilli (Seeds in or out, finely chopped)
170g Cooked Duck (in small chunks)
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1tsp Sugar
1tsp Dried Oregano
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Freshly Grated Parmesan to serve


1. Keep the skins on the Potatoes and wash them well. Put them in a saucepan with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender throughout but not falling apart, 20mins or so depending on size. Drain and peel as soon as possible, mash while still warm. Allow to cool for at least 30-45 minutes.

2. Season the Potatoes well and add the Egg, mix well and add in the Flour. Mix through and form into a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and roll out chunks of it into long sausages. Cut with a sharp knife at 2cm intervals. If you're feeling patient you can roll each one off a fork to create ridges but its not essential.

3. Cook the Onion in the Oil over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft, season with Salt and Pepper. Add the Chilli and cook for another 2-3 minutes before adding the Duck. Season well and cook for 5 mins. Add the tin of Chopped Tomatoes, the Sugar (to balance the acidity) and Oregano. Simmer uncovered for 15 mins.



4. Meanwhile bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and 2 mins before the sauce is done add in enough Gnocchi for 2 (how hungry are you?!) When they float they're cooked! Remove with a slotted spoon and add straight to the pan with the Duck and Tomatoes. Mix well and Serve with plenty of Parmesan over the top.

Variations

This could be made with almost any leftover meat so dont go rushing out to get a Duck for it! Add whatever you like to the sauce, I usually prefer to make my sauce from Passata but I wanted this a little more chunky! Plenty of Basil in the sauce usually works well.

Finally my apologies for the terrible pictures!! I left my trusty camera in my Parents house yesterday and so had to rely on the phone! Not too bad considering!