Messy-Chef

Mulled Wine

Last modified on 2009-01-02 16:31:04 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

Here is the first low-fat recipe for 2009. Mulled wine. I know I should have posted this before Christmas but it had been a year since I made it at that stage and I couldn’t remember my recipe. After a week of practice and hard work tasting I have honed a recipe so thought it wise to record it now so we have it for next year.

Ingredients
2 Clementines (2 mandarin oranges or a regular orange will do)
1 Lemon
1 Stick of Cinnamon
1 inch piece of Ginger, peeled and sliced in two.
Cloves
150g Sugar
500ml Water
2 bottles of Red Wine. Cheap stuff will do just fine.

Method
Get a large pot and add the zest of the two Clementines. Peel one and add the slices to the pot. Stick about 15 cloves into the other and add. Zest the Lemon into the pot, slice the body in two and add. Add your stick of cinnamon and ginger. Boil the 500ml water and dissolve the sugar in it. Add to the pot. Add the wine. Cover and put on a very low heat. Do not boil it, just heat it gently. To serve either sieve the whole lot into a fresh pot or sieve by the glass.

Fresh Prawns in Garlic Butter with Parmesean Breadcrumb.

Last modified on 2008-11-03 21:52:38 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

Fresh prawns are always a treat to have. At about €12 per Kg these days they are not cheap, usually somewhere between €6 and €10 for a dozen depending on size, but they are oh so tasty. My preference with prawns is less is more so there is not much extra added after cooking. Not even a slice of lemon. In any event there is a recession on and Messy Towers are balancing the books by removal of all unwanted rocket, Parmesan shavings, cherry tomatoes, cucumber foam and other stupid finicky nonsense that gets in the way of the real food.  We’re taking the ‘no frills’ model and applying it to food. Actually a lot of Irish Restaurants would be well advised to take their heads out of their asses and use a similar approach: Just the food please, keep your foam.

Unlike their frozen Vietnamese or North Sea cousins fresh prawns are tender and sweet, not tough and flavorless. This dish is just some garlic butter and a light crumb on the outside. The saltiness of the Parmesan works with the sweet prawns. Usual disclaimer with the photos applies viz.  I am not a food photographer.

Ingredients (for 2)
12 prawns (shells and intestines removed)
Breadcrumbs from 1 slice of bread
Small handful of grated Parmesan.
1 knob of butter, about 50g.
1 clove garlic crushed.

Method
Add the grated Parmesan to the breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. Toss the prawns in the mix making sure they are fully coated (the crumbs will naturally stick to the prawns). Put the butter and garlic in a dish, place in the oven at 180c until the butter is melted. Add the prawns, lightly cover with any leftover breadcrumbs and cook for 10-12 minutes. Serve as is.

Butternut Squash Muffins with Frosty Lemon Topping

Last modified on 2008-09-19 08:39:34 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Jamie Oliver has been living in my Sky+ box for the last few months, not the fat-lipped Cockney Cherub himself but his “Jamie At Home” TV show. It must have been the start of the summer when I saw him make Butternut Squash muffins and thought “Hey, they might be nice! The kids will love them”. I saved the show and forgot about it as we all enjoyed frolicking in the sunshine and staying up late.

Autumn came and the poor fella remained in Sky+ limbo so it was time to make a call: Bake or Delete. Thing is I don’t bake. Never have. I fry, flame, flambe, grill, char, roast, sear, slice and lots of other manly things but I don’t bake. I don’t have the tools. I don’t know what the difference between Bread Soda, Baking Soda and Baking Powder are. I asked my kids and they didn’t know either (how will they ever get men?). I didn’t ask my wife because she’s bad enough with the mess I create after making soup. If, while pushing an imaginary crumb around the table with my finger, I casually mooted that I may be about to bake and I may get the kids involved, it would be over. All those loving years would be done faster than you can say Dyson.

Last Saturday the opportunity presented itself. Mum was heading to Dublin. The girls and I dropped her to the airport and once we were sure the plane had physically left the ground off we scooted to Woodies to buy a weighing scales. Reassured by the assistant that none of them come with WiFi we secured an expensive Digital Scales and returned home to consult Google. We needed to know if Bread Soda was the same as Baking Soda (it is). Of course if the scales had Wifi we’d have known this on the spot, this is a missed opportunity in the world of scales making. After gathering the rest of our ingredients we were off. We were baking.

The girls were mad excited and immediately fought over who got what spoon, the fact the spoons were identical in no way detracted from the ferocity of the engagement. The conflict was quickly resolved when I managed to drop the box of eggs on the floor. Hilarity ensued. Eggs on the floor and an irate dad united the girls in amusement and after a cooling off period we were all back on an even keel with the added bonus of the girls having learned yet another swear word. By the time the mixing was finished the place looked like the scene from Turner and Hooch where the dog is left in the house when Tom Hanks is at work. Anyway, we did it! It actually turned out very well. The muffins are pretty easy to make and the frosty lemon topping is really unusual and nice.

This is Jamie’s recipe, it’s not mine, I haven’t made any changes so I’ll just give you the link below for you to try. I recommend you do. Dame Edna once said never eat food prepared by somebody who can’t keep his tongue in his mouth but she’s wrong. His stuff always comes up trumps when I try it and this is no exception. I love the way he tries to make things just a bit better e.g. Olive Oil instead of butter, Butternut squash in the cakes, unrefined sugar instead of processed. Only comment I thought was they benefited from day or so to firm up, I found them a bit soft to begin with but maybe I made them wrong. I don’t bake.

Next weekend we’re off the buy a Magi-Mix. I hope it has WiFi.

Butternut Squash Muffins with Frosty Topping

Fried Halloumi Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Pine Nuts and Balsamic Dressing

Last modified on 2008-09-11 14:16:47 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

Before autumn truly takes hold (did it ever let go in Ireland?) here is a tasty salad that you can mess around with and get to your own liking. Again, it’s quick and easy for a starter or side or lunch or the dog if things get bad. Enjoy.

Fried Halloumi with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:
1 pack of Halloumi cheese
Handful of Sun Dried Tomatoes
Handful of Pine Nuts
Salad leaves

For the dressing:
1 part Balsamic vinegar e.g. 10ml
3 parts Olive Oil e.h. 30ml
1/2 clove Garlic, grated or crushed.

Method:
Toast the pine nuts in a pan over a low heat for a few mins, be careful not to burn them. For dressing combine balsamic vinegar, garlic and seasoning, gradually add oil while stirring. You can adjust garlic and vinegar quantity to taste or try adding some Dijon mustard and so on. Cube the cheese and fry in olive oil until golden, keep the heat high to drive off moisture from the cheese. Dress and arrange salad with tomatoes and pine nuts. You’ll never have cholesterol problems again.

Smoked Salmon

Last modified on 2008-09-05 18:01:57 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

I have been eating Smoked Salmon on a regular basis for many years, then, about this time last year I saw an article on salmon farming methods and it put me right off. I am now of the impression that farmed salmon is pretty much the equivalent of battery hens and no longer buy it. To further strengthen my opinion I saw a TV programme where Jean Christophe Novelli showed a farmed salmon next to a wild one, the farmed version had no dorsal fin! The reason for this is the farmed salmon are reared in cages and, as such, are unable to swim like they do in the wild. Because of this they never develop properly. Also, during the growth process framed salmon are fed artificial dye because they don’t eat the natural plankton that gives wild salmon their nice pink colour. All in all pretty unimpressive stuff.

I only ever buy Wild Salmon now, which does have a much deeper flavour but is more expensive. For more information and what your fish should be, and for some excellent products, take a look at http://www.ummera.com/questions.html or just run a Google search on farmed salmon.

Here’s a quick and easy smoked salmon salad I make at home.

Smoked Salmon on Brown Bread with Rocket, Pickled Chili and Tomato Salad.

Ingredients

100g of Wild Smoked Salmon [Marks & Spencer do a nice one or www.ummera.com]
Three slices of buttered Brown Soda Bread [Paul Rankin's Stone Ground Wheaten is good for this]
3 or 4 pickled peppers [I use the Old El Paso pickled Jalapeno peppers you can get in any supermarket]
3 or 4 cherry tomatoes
Juice of half a lemon
Ground black pepper
Handful of Rocket Leaves.
Spoon of coleslaw (optional)

Method

Butter the bread and divide the salmon between the three slices, place a pepper (or any kind of pickle will do) on top and a few drops of lemon and a pinch of ground black pepper. Arrange the rocket and cherry tomatoes around on the plate along with the coleslaw if you have it. Very quick and easy.

Spinach and Cauliflower Cheese Bake

Last modified on 2008-08-29 16:26:11 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Continuing with the theme of giving ‘veg the edge’ this is a really easy recipe that my kids love. The Spinach and Cauliflower combination remind me of a slight Indian feel and I’m thinking you could spice this up nicely if you wanted to experiment. However if you have found a sure fire way of getting a three year old to eat Cauliflower and Spinach in one sitting then you burn it into your memory and leave well alone. If you are more adventurous with this let me know how you get on via the comments.

Ingredients:
Large cauliflower cut into florets
1×250g bag of spinach
2×300g tubs four cheese sauce
50g cheddar grated.

Method:
Preheat over to 190c. Boil cauliflower for 5mins. Add spinach and cook for 30secs more. Drain and place in an ovenproof dish. Warm the cheese sauce and pout over the cauliflower and spinach mix, sprinkle with cheddar. Bake in the over for 20-30mins until golden.

Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon

Last modified on 2008-08-29 16:16:31 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

The August Bank Holiday approaches and brings with it more rain and another family trip to the Sunny South East. As we travel each weekend during the summer the kitchen in Messy-Towers remains pretty much closed which is one of the reasons I have yet to get photos of the actual dishes up an running. Between you and me I haven’t actually been cooking any of this stuff as we go along, it’s just some favourite things and random thoughts from my head. For the sake of content, and to drive the illusion, here is a another recipe and a stock photo to go with it. It’ll get better. I swear.

I was going to do a potato dish but its summer and we’re all getting our cholesterol down by having boiled spuds with grilled mackerel and salad. I’ll hold off on potato dishes until later in the season so here’s something quick to give edge to your veg.

Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon

Ingredients
1 Knob of Butter
1 clove of Garlic, crushed or finely chopped.
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Head of Broccoli

Method
Wash and chop the Broccoli in the usual manner, steam or boil for 5-7 minutes. Heat the butter in a pan over a medium heat and add the garlic (you don’t want the garlic to burn), cook gently for 1 minute. Add the Broccoli and lemon juice, cook for another 30secs to 1minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Clonakilty Black Pudding with Caramelised Onion and Parma Ham

Last modified on 2008-08-29 16:23:43 GMT. 5 comments. Top.

I regularly drive through Clonakilty in West Cork and am always reminded of three things: summers spent there as a child, summers spent there as a teenager in De Barra’s pub and the famous Clonakilty Black Pudding. Edward Twomey, who owns the recipe, says the growth in gourmet shops around Ireland helped to bring the product to the attention of the larger supermarkets and restaurants. These days you can get it just about everywhere in Ireland which is a great example of how the model works if you’re trying to grow the market for your own product. There are lots of quality black puddings available these days but, for me, this remains the de-facto.

Outside of the ubiquotous Full Irish Breakfast there are many recipies that use CBP, the Clonakilty Black Pudding website contains a few and here is another we use at home as a lunch time snack or starter.

Caramelised Onion, Parma Ham and Clonakilty Black Pudding Ciabatta

Ingredients:
2 thumb length pieces of Clonakilty Black pudding
One medium onion, cut in rounds
4-6 slices Parma Ham
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Balsamic viegar.
2 handfuls of grated cheese, chef’s choice but Cheddar is fine.
1 Ciabatta divided lengthways.

Method:
Fry the onion slowly for 10mins. Add sugar and vinegar and cook for another 2mins while toasting the open ciabitta. Place the onion mix on the ciabatta and fry the black pudding in a little olive oil. Place the cooked pudding on the onion and top with cheese and parma ham. Bake at 180F (Gas 4) for 10mins or until the cheese looks good and melted.

Homemade Sun (Oven) Dried Tomatoes

Last modified on 2008-08-27 08:13:27 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

You can buy Sun Dried Tomatoes everywhere now but there’s always satisfaction to be gained from making your own. Here in Ireland we don’t get the weather to dry damp tissue paper never mind an entire tray of tomatoes so I’ve cheated and used the oven method. If you have the sun (or a lot of patience) you can leave them to dry naturally.

The type of tomato you use doesn’t really matter, many folk grow their own but I wouldn’t waste them by drying them out. I normally use the regular supermarket ones which are just about tolerable this time of year…any other time of year and supermarket tomatoes are nothing short of woeful but that’s a story for another day.

Method
Quarter the tomatoes and place on a baking tray, sprinkle with sea salt and basil leaves. Place in a barely warm oven (only 100F or so) and leave to dry for three to four hours or until you think they look really dried out, there is no magic time for these, just taste one and see if you like. The salt helps remove the moisture while leaving them really zingy.

I’ve tried storing these in oil but not much success, they tend to go moldy after a few days. See the comments on this for storage tips (thanks to all who contributed).

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Last modified on 2008-07-28 15:20:02 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

New potatoes are here and there’s usually a few left over in the pot after dinner. A great way to use leftover spuds is to cook them in a Spanish Omelette which I like to top with some metled cheese. Great for lunch on a summer Sunday with a cool glass of Rioja.

Ingredients
One red onion, halved and sliced.
Your leftover potatoes, cubed.
Olive oil
200g grated mature Irish cheddar.
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method
Add some olive Oil to a heated pan. Add the potato and onion and fry quickly for a minute. Reduce the heat and cook for another 10. Break the eggs into a bowl and mix. When the potato and onions are done add them to the bowl of egg mixture (do not add the eggs to the pan) and stir. Season to taste. Oil the pan and return the mixture. Cook slowly for 10-20mins. When almost cooked top with the cheese and put it under a medium grill.