Category: Mains

Mains, Pasta

Portobello-Porcini Pasta

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porcini_pastaThis is a nice robust pasta sauce for autumn and 100 % vegetarian.
Makes two large portions.

Ingredients for the Portobello-Porcini Pasta:
250g portobello mushrooms, sliced in 5 mm slices
50g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 200 ml warm water for 10 minutes
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
100ml double cream
1/2 lemon
250g rigatoni pasta
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Splash of Noilly Prat vermouth, optional
Small handful of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley, optional
Small handful of freshly chopped basil, optional

Preparing the Portobello-Porcini Pasta:
Heat a large saute pan until hot. Add some olive oil and then add the garlic and thyme leaves. Saute for a few minutes.
Add the portobello mushrooms to the pan and saute for 15 minutes. They will release a bit of water so keep sauteing and “jumping them” in the pan until the water is absorbed back into the mushrooms.
Drain the porcini mushrooms using a finemesh sieve, reserving the soaking liquor. Wash them thoroughly under cold running water (sometimes they can have a bit of sand and grit on them). Chop the porcini mushrooms finely.
Deglaze the saute pan with a bit of Noilly Prat if using, scrape the bottom of the pan and boil hard to get rid of the alcohol.
Add the porcini liquor and the chopped porcinis to the pan. Saute for about 10 minutes.
Add the lemon juice to the pan and boil a bit, add the double cream and stir to incorporate. Add basil and parsley if using.
Boil the rigatoni according to the instructions on the packet (in water with plenty of salt).
Drain the rigatoni but reserve two ladles of the pasta water.
Add the rigatoni to the sauce and stir to combine, add some of the reserved pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
Serve in warmed bowls with plenty of parmesan, extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top and freshly milled pepper, add some parsley as well if you have some.

Mains

Slow Cooked Fillet Steak, Pommes Puree, Braised Shallots, Veal Jus

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steak_jus-1This was a nice dinner where I got to use a few different techniques.
I wanted to make a salad or something green to go with it but ran out of space and time.
Cooking the fillet steak at around 60C in the oven for a fairly long time (55 minutes) ensures that 95 % of the steak is medium rare (around 56C core temperature) and you also get a very uniform result throughout the steak.
It’s important to use a fairly hot pan when you sear the steak before roasting them in the oven since this step have to happen very quickly so you don’t overcook the steak.
The sauce is quite simple, just sauteing some mirepoix and then reducing veal stock. It has a fantastic umami flavor that really complements the beef.

This recipe serves two persons.

Ingredients for the steak:
2 fillet steaks, 175g each
Groundnut oil (or other neutral oil with high smoking point)
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the steak:
Bring the steak out of the fridge at least one hour before cooking to ensure that the steaks come up to room temperature. Cooking the steaks from cold will lower the temperature of the pan.
Turn on the oven to 60C, preferably use an oven thermometer to monitor the temperature.
Heat a frying pan on high heat.
Oil, then salt and pepper the steaks on all sides.
Have a small oven tray ready for the steaks.
When the frying pan is very hot, sear the steaks one by one on all sides. It’s easiest to hold the steaks with a tonge when doing this step. This step should take maximum 30 seconds per steak. Once seared all over put steaks on oven tray.
Transfer to middle of the oven and roast for 55 minutes. Half way through the cooking time flip the steaks over. Once removed from the oven let the steaks rest on a rack for a few minutes.

Ingredients for the braised shallots:
6 shallots, peeled with root area left intact
500ml chicken stock
1 sprig of thyme
2 garlic cloves, peeled
25g butter
Rapeseed oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the braised shallots:
Saute the shallots in a bit of oil until golden brown all around. Add the butter, thyme and garlic and cook for another two minutes.
Add the chicken stock, cover and let simmer gently for about 25 minutes or until the shallots are very soft and tender.
Check for seasoning.

Ingredients for the pommes puree:
500g Ratte potatoes (or Charlottes), scrubbed but not cleaned.
125g unsalted butter, chilled
125ml whole milk
Salt
White pepper

Preparing the pommes puree:
Cover the potatoes with 1 liter of cold water and 0.5 tablespoon of course salt. Bring to the boil and once it reached the boiling point lower the temperature to a simmer and cover with a lid.
Boil the potatoes for 25 minutes. Drain and peel.
Put the potatoes (while still warm) through a potato ricer or a mouli fitted with the finest disk into a clean saucepan.
Put the mashed potatoes over a medium heat and stir vigorously with a spatula for 5 minutes to dry out the flesh a bit.
Meanwhile rinse a small saucepan with water, pour it out (do not wipe dry) then add the milk. Warm the milk until boiling point and then take it off the heat.
Lower heat for the potato pan to low. Add the butter bit by bit while stirring with spatula, keep adding until it’s all incorporated and the puree is homogenous.The potato and butter might separate a bit at this stage but keep stirring and it will come together.
Add the milk in a thin stream while stirring briskly. When all the milk is incorporated you should have a silky smooth puree. If you want it even smoother you can pass it through a fine sieve.
Check for seasoning.

Ingredients for the veal jus:
1 carrot, diced
1 leek (white part only), diced
0.5 medium onion, diced
1 sprig of thyme
Rapeseed oil
Red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz or something similar)
300ml veal stock
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the veal jus:
Heat a saute pan (preferably the same one you cooked the steaks in) to medium high heat. Add a splash of oil and then saute the carrot, leeks and onions until golden brown, add the sprig of thyme. Deglaze with a generous splash of red wine. Boil until red wine is evaporated.
Add the veal stock and let this simmer for a few minutes. When the sauce had a bit of body, pass through a sieve into a small sauce pan. Reduce further until you achieve a semi-sticky consistency.

Mains, Risotto

Risotto ai Funghi di Bosco

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This is a great risotto, especially if you love mushrooms.

This makes enough for at least 4 people.

Ingredients for the mushroom risotto:
1.5 liters chicken (or vegetable) stock
140g unsalted butter
4 shallots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
25g dried porcini mushrooms
25g dried galetti mushrooms (optional)
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp fresh marjoram, chopped
150ml dry white wine or Vermouth
500g Carnaroli risotto rice
75g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the mushroom risotto:
Put the stock in a saucepan and heat to a gentle simmer. Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and poor over enough hot water to cover. Let stand for 20-30 minutes and then sieve the mushrooms over another bowl. Keep the soaking liquor. Rinse the soaked mushrooms under cold water then chop them roughly.
Melt 100 g of the butter in a large, heavy saucepan and then add the shallots and garlic. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until soft, golden but not browned. Stir in the mushrooms and herbs then cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes to heat through. Salt and pepper.
Pour in the wine and boil hard until it has reduced and almost disappeared. This will remove the taste of raw alcohol. Add about 100 ml of the mushroom soaking liquor and boil a bit longer until this has reduced.
Stir in the rice and fry with the onion and mushrooms until dry and slightly opaque.
Begin adding the stock, one ladle at a time, stirring until each ladle has been absorbed by the rice. Continue until the rice is tender and creamy but still with some bite. This takes about 20 minutes.
Add the rest of the mushroom soaking liquor to a small saucepan and put on high heat to reduce.
Taste and season the risotto well with salt and pepper.
Stir in the parmesan and the remaining butter (cubed into small cubes). Cover the saucepan and let rest for a couple of minutes.
Serve the risotto in warmed bowls. Spoon a bit of the reduced mushroom liquor on top to give extra mushroom flavor. Drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil and finally shave some Parmesan on top and finish with a few turns of the black pepper mill.

Mains

Barbequed Chicken with Chili-Aioli

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chicken-1I woke today to a pleasant surprise – Delivery of my very own barbeque!
Barbequeing brings back fond memories of my childhood in Sweden where everyone barbeques as soon as the sun manage to stay up for more than a few hours. We did a lot of barbequeing in my family, at one point I think we had something like three DYI barbeques built with bricks scattered around the garden.
This is the first thing I cooked on the Weber. Gutsy flavours for sure but that’s what you want sometimes.I pared it with quite a heady Marsanne which worked quite well. Could also go with a medium bodied red wine.

This makes enough for about 3-4 persons.

Ingredients for the Barbequed Chicken:
700g chicken breast fillets
2 garlic cloves
1 lime
Half a red chili
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp smoked paprika powder
A few dashes of Tamari soy sauce
Salt (smoked sea salt if you have it)
Pepper

Preparing the barbequed chicken:
Start by preparing the marinade. Press the garlic cloves and the lime into a bowl. De-seed and finely chop the chili. Mix in the chili and the rest of the ingredients.
Cut the chicken fillets into 2 cm big cubes. Put them into the marinade, mix around to make them all coated by marinade. Put some cling film on top of the bowl and marinade in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours, preferably more. Take it out about once per hour and mix it around a bit.
Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you want to start cooking it.
Thread the chicken pieces on skewers and barbeque for about 6-10 minutes. Turning the skewers halfway through.

Ingredients for the potatoes:
750g Jersey Royal potatoes
A few sprigs of thyme
2 cloves of garlic
5 black peppercorns
Salt

Preparing the potatoes:
Put a pot of water on to a rolling bowl. Add about a small handful of sea salt to it. You want the water to be quite salty, a bit like sea water. Leave the skin on the garlic but crush them a bit with a chef knife. Add the garlic to the pot with the thyme and peppercorns.
Add the potatoes and let them boil for 15 minutes.
Drain and let cool.
When you are ready to barbeque put the potatoes on and turn them regularly. They will be ready in about 6-10 minutes.

Ingredients for the chili-aioli:
2 egg yolks (in UK I recommend Burford Brown Clarence Court eggs), at room temperature
2 garlic cloves
1 – 2 limes
250 ml groundnut oil (or any other neutral oil), at room temperature
0.25 tsp red chili paste
Salt (smoked sea salt if you have it)
Pepper
A bit of cayenne pepper

Preparing the chili-aioli:
Press the garlic and one of the limes into a glass bowl. Add salt and pepper, egg yolks and chili paste. Whisk together with a balloon whisk.
Slowly add the oil first to ensure that the emulsion is forming, whisking constantly. Whisk until all the oil has been incorporated.
Check for seasoning and some cayenne pepper if it’s not hot enough. Add more salt, pepper, lime juice if needed.

Mains

Jersey Royal Potato Salad

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It’s Spring and the arrival of Jersey Royal potatoes is a true delight.
Here I turn them into a quick and easy potato salad for a weekday supper. Serve the potato salad for instance with a few slices of prosciutto crudo.

This serves about two as a main course.

Ingredients for mayonnaise:
2 medium egg yolks (free range please)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 pinches of salt
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
300 ml groundnut oil (or other unscented oil)
1 lemon

Ingredients for the potato salad:
750 g Jersey Royal potatoes
A few salad onions

Preparing the mayonnaise:
With a balloon whisk – Whisk the egg yolks, mustard, salt and cayenne together in a glass bowl. Gradually, at a very slow trickle, whisk in the oil. This early stage is the most delicate and if you do not mix in the oil very slowly the mayonnaise might curdle.
When you mixed in about half the oil, whisk in the lemon juice from half the lemon to thin it down. Continue adding the oil, you can add it quicker at this stage, until it’s all incorporated.
Check for seasoning and correct with more salt, cayenne or lemon juice if needed.

Preparing the potato salad:
Boil a pot of water, add about a small handful of salt and then the potatoes to the boiling water. They will take about 15 – 20 minutes until tender. When done, drain and place on a tray to cool down to room temperature.
When they potatoes have cooled down, cut them into bite sized pieces and add to a bowl. Thinly slice the salad onions, as much as you prefer, and toss it together with the potatoes. Add some salt and pepper and mix well with a healthy dose of the mayo.

Mains, Pasta

Pasta with Chorizo

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chorizo_pastaThis is one of those pasta dishes that I make time after time again since it’s so tasty and satisfying, and quick enough to make on a weeknight.

I can really recommend San Marzano D.O.P tinned plum tomatoes if you can get hold of them, they are amazing.

This recipe makes enough for two to three persons.

Ingredients for Pasta with Chorizo:
250 g dried pasta (fettuccine or tagliatelle)
100 g chorizo, diced
250 g mushrooms, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 – 2 normal sized red onions, chopped
1 (400 g) tins of Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
5 fresh plum tomatoes, skinned and diced
1 tsp of tomato puree
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 – 1.5 tsp hot smoked paprika
About 5 – 10 basil leaves, torn
1 tsp dried oregano
1 – 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley (plus extra for garnish)
40 g butter
Olive oil
Sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Black pepper

Preparing Pasta with Chorizo:
Put a large pot of water on the hob for the pasta.
Heat some olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Sweat the onions for about 5 minutes and then add the garlic. Add the diced fresh plum tomatoes if using and then the tinned plum tomatoes and the tomato puree. Add the oregano, cayenne pepper and chili flakes. Let the sauce boil for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Heat another frying pan over medium to high heat, add a bit of olive oil and then saute the diced chorizo. After a few minutes add half the butter. When the butter is melted transfer the chorizo to the sauce using a slotted spoon. Add the mushrooms to the frying pan and saute them off, season with a bit of salt and pepper, add the rest of the butter to the mushrooms. When the mushrooms look finished add them to the sauce together with the butter and juices. Add the smoked paprika to the sauce together with the parsley and basil.
Boil the pasta.
Drain pasta when it’s al dente and toss with some extra virgin olive oil (this prevents the pasta from sticking). Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine (alternatively poor the sauce on top of the pasta in the bowls).
Serve the pasta in warmed bowls. Grate over some parmigiano reggiano, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, a bit of milled black pepper. Add some chopped parsley and a few basil leaves.

Mains

Steak with Potato Wedges and Sauce Béarnaise

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Ingredients for the potato wedges:
3 medium to large sized potatoes per person (I used Maris Piper)
Handful or so of fresh rosemary twigs
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Two garlic cloves
Olive oil
Salt (preferably Maldon)
Pepper

Preparing the potato wedges:
Bring a pot of water to the boil and put in the thyme sprigs and garlic gloves (with their skins on but crush them a bit with a knife).
Turn the oven on to 200 C. Peel the potatoes and slice each one into six wedges. Put the wedges into the boiling water and let them boil for 5 – 10 minutes. Drain and discard the thyme and garlic.
Put the wedges on an oven tray, drizzle olive oil on top and mix them up a bit so they are all covered by oil. Turn the wedges so that the sharp edge is facing upwards. Season with salt and pepper. Tear off as rosemary leaves and distribute evenly over the potatoes.
Roast in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes turn the oven to grill, 225 C, to get a nice crispy exterior. After about 5 minutes under the grill the potatoes should be ready.
Turn off the oven and leave the door slightly ajar if you need to keep them warm.

Ingredients for the salad:
Rocket salad leaves
Baby plum tomatoes

Preparing the salad:
Cut the tomatoes in two, combine with the rocket leaves. Dress with the vinaigrette.

Ingredients for the vinaigrette:
50 ml Champagne vinegar
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparing the vinaigrette:
Make sure that the oil and vinegar is at room temperature since this makes it easier to form the emulsion. Whisk the vinegar and oil together in a bowl until a good emulsion is formed. Season with salt and pepper. It’s better to prepare the vinaigrette 1-3 hours before needed to let the flavors meld.

More to follow…

Mains, Pasta

Pasta Puttanesca

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IMG_0235Pasta Puttanesca is a tasty pasta sauce originating from Rome.
I use a fairly traditional recipe with some of my own tweaks. What pasta to have it with is varying for me, but normally it’s penne, rigatoni, spaghetti or linguine. It’s a great and quick everyday pasta sauce.

This makes enough for 4 persons as a main course.

Ingredients for Pasta Puttanesca:
500 g dried pasta
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
6 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
2 (400 g) tins of Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp of tomato puree
3 fresh plum tomatoes, skinned and diced (optional)
150 g pitted black olives, thickly sliced
1 to 2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
About 5 – 10 basil leaves, torn
1 tsp dried oregano
1 – 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
Sea salt (preferably Maldon)
Black pepper

Preparing Pasta Puttanesca:
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add the chili flakes, cayenne, garlic and anchovies to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly using a wooden spoon, until the anchovies have disintegrated. This will take about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and dried oregano if using and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. This will take about 15 minutes. At this stage you can also put the pasta in the pot so it’s ready at about the same time as the sauce.
About 5-10 minutes before the sauce is finished add the basil, olives, capers and parsley if using.
Also check for seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain pasta when it’s al dente and toss with some extra virgin olive oil (this prevents the pasta from sticking). Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine (alternatively poor the sauce on top of the pasta in the bowls).
Serve the pasta in warmed bowls. Grate over some parmigiano reggiano, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, a bit of milled black pepper. Add some chopped parsley and a few basil leaves.

Mains

Cooking loin of lamb en sous vide

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Cooking sous vide (french for “under pressure”) has long been used in the professional kitchens. A few years ago people started mentioning it on food blogs and books were released on the topic.
The idea with sous vide is that you cook whatever food you are cooking in a low temperature water bath for a certain amount of time. Since the temperature is relatively low it’s very hard to overcook things. When cooking meat en sous vide we are after a perfectly cooked piece of meat from edge to edge without any of the doneness gradient which we would get if cooking it in a more traditional way. Another pro with sous vide cooking is that the food can be cooked in advance and then reheated or seared to get a nice caramelized surface.
Meat will be cooked at around 58 degrees C for medium rare, fish at lower temperature, say 45 degrees C.
Sous vide can be done at home. All you need is a big pot (it needs to be big to ensure that the water temperature doesn’t drop when food is added) and a termometer (preferably digital).

This “recipe” is for loin of lamb cooked sous vide.

What you need:
A bit pot (say 8 – 10 litres or so)
Termometer (preferably digital with a cable sensor)
Bowl of ice water

Loin of lamb

How to make it:
Take the loins out of the fridge so that they reach room temperature.
Start by filling the pot almost to the top with water. Warm the water on the hob with the termometer measuring the temperature. If you have a gas hob then you might need a heat diffuser to ensure that the temperature from the flame is low enough. When the water reaches 58 C then adjust the heat on the ring to keep it there. Let the temperature stabilize for about 20 minutes.
Trim the loins of fat and silverskin. Brush lightly with olive oil then wrap tightly in all purpose plastic wrap. Twist the ends and then tie them tightly.
Put the packaged loin into the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from pot and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process.
Remove plastic wrap and move to air proof container, transfer to fridge until needed.
Take the meat out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you are ready to sear it so that it reaches room temperature again. Heat a griddle pan over high heat, add some rapeseed oil and then sear the loins briefly on all sides. Remember that the meat is already cooked so you just want to give it a seared exterior.
Let the meat rest for a few minutes covered by tinfoil and then serve.