Winter Collection: Soft Roast Potatoes

I like my potatoes roasted this way, they get a nice sticky bottom and some crunch on the top. They're best made with my current obsession, Bartlett rooster potatoes but desirees will do.
Enough for 6
small knob of butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2.5kg rooster potatoes, peeled and cubed
200ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic bulbs
1 tbsp dried oregano

1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4. Heat the butter and oil in a large roasting tin. Add the potatoes, stock and lemon juice and cook for 30 minutes, turning once or twice.

2 Separate the garlic cloves but do not peel. Add to the pan with the lemon rind and oregano and toss well together. Roast for a further 30 minutes, without turning until the potatoes are golden brown, the garlic is tender and the stock has disappeared

Baba Ganoush

I know it's the wrong time of year for aubergines but I had a load left over from work and wasn't in a creative mood so rather than leave them to slowly shrivel in the bottom of the fridge, I made baba ganoush. Predictable I know but blooming gorgeous. Especially with some warmed up lavash bread from Sophocles.

Prick the aubergines in several places then roast at 200C / gas 6 for 30 - 40 minutes until collapsed and wrinkled. Leave to cool a little then peel off and discard the skin. Puree in a food processor then mix some Greek yogurt, salt, lemon juice, olive oil and a little bit of chopped fresh mint.

Globe Artichokes With Lemon Butter

Cut the stems off each artichoke then trim a good couple of inches from the top. If you like, trim the tip of each remaining leaf with a pair of scissors. Pull a few leaves out from the centre then using a teaspoon, scrape out all of the choke from the heart, removing the central leaves as you go. Rinse well. Add the artichokes and a quartered lemon to a large pan of salted water and boil for 30 minutes or so until the heart feels tender when pricked with a skewer. Remove from the water and leave to cool a little. Melt together a good lump of butter with the pared rind and juice of a small lemon. Pour over and into the hollow of the artichokes. Best warm.

Nice Day For A Barbecue

Our old gas barbecue is on its last legs. The holes are rusty and blocked with debris so it has patchy hot spots but still, it made nice work of our David's barbecued rump and these potato skewers.

New potato and pancetta skewers
1kg baby new potatoes
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
4 rosemary sprigs
100g sliced pancetta
1 garlic bulb, broken into cloves

Add the potatoes to a pan of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes until just tender. Pass each potato through a skewer then place in large bowl. Add the paprika, olive oil and some sea salt and toss together.

Cut the pancetta slices in half to give 20 short slices. Wrap a piece of pancetta around 20 of the potatoes and push a small sprig of rosemary through the holes of remaining potatoes.

Thread the potatoes onto 8 skewers with the whole garlic cloves, alternating them as you go. Cook over for medium coals for 15 – 20 minutes until crisp and golden.

Best Chips Ever

While I was in Spain this week, I had some really great chips (that's them there).
Truth is, I will eat pretty well any chip, as long as it's hot and has got salt on. I like the ones they do in Ken's on Half Moon Lane a lot (and so, clearly, does he). TimeOut say Comptoir Gascon make the best in London, which may be true but my most favourite ever come from The Hinds Head pub where Heston Blumethal has spent years perfecting them. This is how he does his:

With the right variety of potato, these chips are crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. The beauty of this method is that the potatoes can be cooked twice and kept in the fridge until required.
Ingredients
1.2kg/2lb 8oz potatoes, such as Charlotte or Belle de Fontenay
1 litre/1¾ pints groundnut oil
salt

1. With a sharp knife, square the potatoes into rectangles and then cut them into chips about 1cm/½inch thick. The length of the chips is not so important, but try to keep them the same thickness so that they will cook at the same rate.
2. As soon as the chips are cut, put them into a bowl under cold running water for 10 minutes or so to rinse off some of the starch, then drain them.
3. Next, bring a casserole of unsalted water to the boil and plunge in the drained potatoes. Bring back to the boil and simmer very gently until the point of a knife will penetrate the chips easily.
4. Very carefully lift the potatoes out of the water, using a slotted spoon, and place them on a tray. Allow them to steam until they are cool, then place them in the fridge. The chips will harden when cold.
5. Heat the groundnut oil to a temperature of 130C/250F (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended) and carefully plunge in the chips as they may splutter. After a while, they will take on a drier appearance (do not let them brown at all). When this happens, they have finished their second cooking process; drain them, let them cool to room temperature, and put them into the fridge. When cold, they are ready for their final cooking.
6. Heat the groundnut oil to a temperature of 180C/350F (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended). Carefully plunge in the chips and cook until golden brown. This may take 8-10 minutes.
7. Drain and season with salt only; they will take quite a lot. Serve.

Chickpea Salad

I love chickpeas in any form (especially felafel) and think they are very good in salads. Drain a 400g can and rinse well. Toss with a few cumin seeds and maybe a bit of harissa, some torn coriander, sliced spring onion, a slosh of olive oil, squeeze of lemon and plenty of black pepper. Serve with grilled white fish or crispy-skinned chicken.

Roast Onions and Bacon

I did a food photo shoot for a magazine in Dulwich Woods yesterday. While it was a logistical nightmare with the heavy props, camera equipment, models and all my food not to mention the freezing cold, patchy sunlight and having to wee in the bushes - it was so enjoyable! The keepers of the woods let us light a small fire to cook our sausages on and it's made me quite desperate for a week of autumnal camping. Still not got a tent though..


As I only had a fire in the woods, I did most of the cooking on Sunday and turned some of the onions and bacon I was roasting for tarts into a lovely side dish for our lunch. Place some shallots or small onions (I used some pretty red borretanes from Sains) in a large bowl and cover with a kettle of boiling water. Leave to cool so the skins soften and then peel them. Drizzle a little oil in a shallow baking sheet and add the shallots and few whole, unpeeled garlic cloves. Lay rashers of dry-cure streaky bacon on top and roast at 200C/Gas 6 for 8 - 10 minutes until the bacon is nicely cooked. Lift off the bacon then season the onions with salt, pepper and some fresh thyme sprigs. Continue roasting for 20 - 30 minutes until the onions are browned and softened. Snap the bacon into pieces and mix with the onions then drizzle over a splash of balsamic vinegar. Very good with a roast chicken.

PYO

Never could resist a forage me: mushroom hunting, nut gathering, or nipping the tender shoots from samphire growing in the salt marshes on Mersea Island. We were there today for lunch at The Company Shed and before leaving stopped off at The East Mersea Nurseries and Pick Your Own. I know it's not quite foraging but there is something really enjoyable about snipping food straight from the plant. Anyway, it was a bit disappointing - even though we're well into strawberry season, most of the berries were still green, and the majority of runners still small - just the lack of sunshine I suppose. Still, we picked carefully and came back with berries, beans, flowers and some wet garlic, potatoes and tomatoes from the shop. I think they taste better than any supermarket produce but I might just be imagining it.

Runner Beans With Chilli-Herb Butter
Very nice with roast chicken and potoatoes. Make the butter first: in a small food processor, whizz together a small garlic clove, grated rind of 1 orange, 1 chopped and seeded red chilli and a handful of parsley leaves until finely chopped. Beat in 100g room temperature butter and a handful of snipped chives and some ground black pepper. Chill. Cut the runner beans into 12cm lengths then slice lengthways. Cook in lightly salted boiling water for 3 - 6 mins depending on how you like them. Drain and toss with some of the chilli herb butter.

Pretty Traditional

We're spoilt for fantastic food shops in East Dulwich. But Pretty Traditional, the grocers on Northcross Road, need to think about changing their name. Perhaps Very Modern or Bloody Brilliant would suit them more. Look at this spring cabbage - it's still got its outer leaves on! The armful of King Edwards I scooped up to make roasties with had clearly never been washed (and certainly not in diluted disinfectant) and my onions were small, sweet and organic. Total price £3.02. Flipping Fantastic!

Stir fried spring cabbage with chorizo
Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
75g chorizo sausage, roughly chopped (smoked bacon or pancetta can be used instead)
1 - 2 lovely onions, sliced
1 lovely spring cabbage, sliced into 1 - 2cm wide strips
1 garlic clove, chopped

Heat the oil in a wok and cook the onion and chorizo over a gentle heat for 5 minutes until the onions start to soften and colour a little.

Meanwhile, cook the cabbage in a pan of boiling, salted water for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further 30 seconds. Drain very well and add to the wok.

Turn the heat as high as possible and stir fry for 3 - 4 minutes until the cabbage starts to catch slightly on the bottom of the wok. Eat hot. Very nice with a roast chicken.

Mum's Roasted Peppers

I cook lots of dishes that my mum taught me as I was growing up but they never taste the same as hers. I don't know why this is. Roasted peppers are so simple with so few variables yet my version looks quite different to hers (as seen above) and tastes completely different. Obviously, Mum's are by far the best.

Grill some whole peppers of mixed colours under a medium grill until the skin is blackened and the peppers have softened and collapsed. Leave to cool a bit (covering with a tea towel gathers a bit of steam which softens the skin and makes peeling easier) then slit the peppers and squeeze the juices into a bowl. Skin and seed the warm peppers then cut into strips and add to the bowl with a bit of chopped garlic and parsley, salt and a slosh of good olive oil. Leave to cool to room temperature. After we've eaten our pasta, Mum puts these out on the table with the meat and other salads.

Warm New Potatoes

Gently simmer some whole new potatoes for half an hour or so in a pan of water till they're almost over-done, just starting to split but not completely fall apart. Mix together a large tablespoon of mayonnaise, a tablespoon of avocado or olive oil, a tablespoon of wine or cider vinegar, two tablespoons of water and a handful of chopped parsley (from patch in garden) and three chopped gherkins (end of the jar). Toss with potatoes and eat warm with fish and garden peas.

Courgettes roasted with bacon

Courgettes are pretty bland but they are lovely when roasted with full-flavours like lemon and rosemary. I made these yesterday to go with our roast lamb and they were good. Heat a little olive oil in a shallow, non-stick baking sheet. Cut some courgettes into chunks then snip over 4 - 5 rashers good British streaky bacon. Roast in a hot oven for 20 minutes or so until starting to soften and catch a bit of brown. In the meantime, pop a garlic clove, the rind of a lemon, some fresh mint and rosemary and some coarse salt in a mini chopper and blitz until fine. Toss with the courgettes and give a good grind of black pepper and return to the oven for 10 - 15 minutes. I'm thinking now that a little handful of Parmesan might have been nice blitzed into the herb mix. Next time.

Pommes Dauphinoise (sort of)

I think creamy potatoes go really nicely with roast pork and crackling. This isn’t a real Pommes Dauphinoise which is very finely sliced and has Gruyere cheese in it but it is fairly similar. I think it works better if you boil the potatoes first and cut them a bit thicker.

Serves 8
2 kg white potatoes
4 garlic cloves
75g – 100g Parmesan
12 leaves fresh sage, finely chopped
300ml milk
300ml double cream

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 cm slices. Put into a large pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes until just tender.

Meanwhile, peel the garlic cloves and finely grate. Next, grate the Parmesan on the same spot, it will pick up all of the garlic that has stuck to the underside of grater. Mix together the garlic, Parmesan and sage.

Mix together the milk, cream and some salt and pepper.

Drain the potatoes and layer into a large baking dish with the Parmesan mixture and the cream. Bake at 180C for an hour until bubbly and golden - cover with foil if top starts to get too dark..

Sunday lunch

I’ve got Rob’s family over for Sunday lunch today and I’ve decided to keep it traditional and do roast beef with Yorkshires, roasties, green beans and cauliflower cheese. A little spaghetti starter and a pate to nibble on with a glass of dry sherry while we wait for everyone to arrive.

Chicken liver pate

Easy! Heat a knob of butter in a large sauté pan and cook 500g trimmed chicken livers, a chopped garlic clove and a rosemary sprig for 5 - 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the livers are cooked but slightly pink in the centre. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then remove and discard the rosemary sprig. Place the warm livers in a food processor and whizz until smooth. With the motor running, pour in 120ml double cream, followed by three tablespoons of Madiera or Marsala or Port until well blended and completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste then spoon into a serving dish or individual ramekins. Top with some melted butter and a few rosemary leaves and leave to set. Serve with thin slices of ciabatta toast and a fruity chutney and / or some cornichons.

Yorkshire puddings

I’m no expert when it comes to Yorkshire puddings – they’re not something I really grew up with but I have messed around with the recipe every time I've made them and am finally happy - my Yorkshires are now light and crisp. My method is not authentic, I use self raising flour where purists use plain and I use only water and no milk. In a large bowl, beat together 2 large eggs, 1 tbsp sunflower oil, 100g self raising flour, a pinch of table salt and 300ml of water. Chill for 30 - 60 mins. Put a splash of sunflower oil in a 12-hole muffin or deep tart tin and put it in the oven set to 220C until the oil begins to smoke. Ladle the batter between the hot moulds and bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden brown.

Raspberry and white chocolate trifle

I love trifle but I hate it when the sponge dissolves into the jelly so following my mum’s method, I set the jelly separately the night before. Make up a 135g block of Hartley’s Raspberry Jelly to 570ml and leave to set. Cut a small block of Madeira cake, about 200g, into slices and place in the bottom of trifle bowl. Drizzle with Marsala or Madiera or medium sherry. Mash up the jelly with a fork and spoon over the sponge with some fresh raspberries. Whisk together half a 250g tub mascarpone and 500g carton yellow Ambrosia custard. Spoon over the jelly. Top with softly whipped double cream. Scatter over a handful of raspberries, maybe a few mini chocolate buttons and drizzle with melted, cooled white chocolate. Chill for a couple of hours.