Mushrooms and bere berries

Last year Malcolm and I went to Orkney on a jaunt (or was it the year before). We visited the splendid Barony Mill, a traditional set up. We bought a range of flours, and we also bought some bere berries. I used these to make a traditional spanish dish with mushrooms, totally wonderful. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 50g bere berries
  • 1/2 onion
  • 400g mushrooms (could be a mixture of wild and cultivated, try adding porcini)
  • 5 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
  • Juice of 1/2 small lemon
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Simmer the bere berries with the half onion in a litre of water for around 1 hour. Once the bere berries are tender, drain the mixture.
  • Pick over the mushrooms and chop  them roughly. 
  • Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, and add the garlic. 
  • As soon as the garlic starts to brown, add the cumin and the mushrooms, lower the heat and cook for around five minutes
  • Add the bere berries, coriander leaf, leom juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

This is delicious as a snack or side dish. Serve with salad, warm flat bread, a green salad, wine. 

 

 

Pasta, peas, tarragon, mushrooms

I sometimes buy very freshly picked vegetables from the Tagsa Horticulture Project, a local charity working to improve our food security. It includes community gardens, polytunnels, and it is inclusive, working with groups and volunteers of all ages. 

Anyay, I digress. I got some mange tout peas, and I made this pasta dish. 

INGREDIENTS PER PERSON:

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil 
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 75 to 100g mange tout, chopped into large pieces
  • 75 to 100g mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 100g pancetta or bacon, in small cubes
  • 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
  • 1 tsp thick cream
  • salt and pepper
  • A grating of nutmeg
  • 75g pasta such as spaghetti or linguini
  • 25g grated parmesan

METHOD:

  • Boil a pan of salted water, and cook the pasta for around 8 to 9 minutes, according to the instructions on the packet. 
  • While the pasta is boiling, start cooking the rest of the dish. Over a medium heat, fry the garlic in the oil, then as it starts to colour a little, add the bacon. When the bacon fat begins to run, add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms begin to brown, add the peas.
  • Add the cream to the vegetables, along with salt, black pepper and a grating of nutmeg and the tarragon. Keep warm while the pasta finishes cooking.  
  • When the pasta is done, drain it and add it back to the pan with a spoonful of pasta water. 
  • Stir the vegetables through the pasta, then stir the cheese in. Really delicious. 

 

Frangipane tart

This recipe came to me from my aunt Gill, and I am passing it on at the request of the knitting crew. I am going to have another go at it soon, as I don’t think I have got a proper grip of my current (and new to me) oven. 

You can vary the jam to taste, something slightly tangy works well, such as apricot, raspberry and lemon, rhubarb and fig, cherry, blackberry and apple etcetera. 

PASTRY INGREDIENTS:

  • 60g icing sugar
  • 270g plain flour
  • 135g soft butter
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 to 2 tbsp cream

FRANGIPANE AND JAM FILLING

  • 240g soft butter
  • 240g caster sugar
  • 240g ground almonds
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tbsp + cream
  • 200g jam of your choice
  • flaked almonds
  • icing sugar to dust at the end. 

METHOD

  • Preheat the oven to 200C
  • Mix the flour and icing sugar together and rub in the butter, OR put these ingredients into a food processer and whiz until you have fine breadcrumb texture. Mix in the egg yolk and enough cream to make a very soft dough. Do not over-work, as this will affect the texture of the pastry. 
  • On a well-floured board, roll the dough out to around 1/2 cm thick. Use this to line a 27cm flan dish. The pastry will tear, but it is so soft you can just squish it back together again. 
  • Bake blind: Prick the base with a fork, and then weigh it down with baking beans on a layer of baking paper. Bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry is crisp. I took the beans out after 15 minutes. (I wish I had the silicon bag that I have seen on the television, but not available when I look online).
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The base should be dry and the edges almost crisp. 
  • Make the frangipane filling. Start by whisking the soft butter and the sugar together, then add the ground almonds and the beaten eggs and stir well to combine. 
  • Turn the oven down to 190C. Spread the jam over the pastry case, then pour the frangipane mixture over the jam. Sprinkle with plenty of flaked almonds, and bake for 25 minutes. The filling should be firm and golden brown and the nuts should look slightly toasted. 
  • Cool the tart, and dust with a little icing sugar. 

This is best served with cream. 

Butternut squash, lentil and rice salad

I made this for a meal with my daughters, and then made it again for a party, with variations, partly because I couldn’t remember what I did the first time. Essentially, it is a triple-decker salad with toppings and a dressing, so there are many ways you can play with the ingredients, flavours and textures. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • One butternut squash, peeled and de-seeded, cut into 2 cm cubes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • A pinch of chilli flakes, e.g. Aleppo pepper
  • 300g green lentils, such as puy lentils
  • 300g brown rice
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch of mint, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp toasted nuts, such as almonds, or walnuts, or pine-nuts
  • Green salad leaves, such as lettuce, rocket, baby spinach, nasturtiums
  • Dressing – 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard (optional)
  • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • Salt and pepper
  • Non-vegan option – a pack of feta cheese

METHOD:

  • Set the oven to a high temperature, 200C
  • Mix the squash with olive oil, chilli flakes, ground pepper and a little salt. Put this into a large baking tray, and bake for around 30 minutes. 
  • Meanwhile, soak the brown rice and the lentils for around 30 minutes in cold water, to hydrate a little, and to rinse off any extra starch. 
  • Drain the lentils and brown rice, and then cook in salted water for around 30 minutes. I mixed them together to reduce washing up, but ideally you should cook them separately as the rice might need a little longer than the lentils. Drain when cooked. You can add herbs to the water if you like, for example mint. 
  • Make the dressing. In a jar with a lid, mix together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, molasses and salt and pepper, and shake well. 
  • Assemble the salad:
    • Wash the salad leaves and make this the bottom layer. I like my lettuce very slightly salted, so you might want to try this yourself. 
    • Chop the red onion and mint and mix with the lentils and rice. Spread this over the salad leaves, leaving a border of leaves showing. 
    • Add the roasted butternut squash to the top, then sprinkle with the toasted nuts. 
    • Pour the well-shaken dressing over the top just before serving.

We had this at a barbeque and it went down very well. 

 

 

Courgette omelette with pinenuts, herbs and sumac

This is a recipe from the Moro cookbook, cooked as part of a plan to use up a lot of lovely fresh local eggs. I made this for two, and I think I need a bit of practice to get it perfect. I used herbs from the garden, which was a big bonus. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 courgettes (small to medium)
  • olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 100g butter
  • a bunch of parsley
  • a bunch of mint
  • a bunch of dill
  • 1 tbsp or slightly more of toasted pinenuts
  • salt and pepper
  • sumac powder

METHOD: 

  • Slice the courgettes thinly, and then sprinkle them with a teaspoon of salt, toss and leave to sit in a colander to drain for at least half an hour.
  • Meanwhile, prepare other ingredients:
    • Beat the eggs with the milk
    • Chop the garlic finely
    • Chop the herbs together
    • Toast the pinenuts
  • Squeeze out the excess liquid from the courgettes and pat dry. 
  • Heat some olive oil in a laarge pan and fry the garlic until it begins to turn a little brown at the edges.
  • Add the courgettes and cook until softening. Season with salt and pepper and set aside in the pan. 
  • In an omelette pan around 20cm across, heat a little olive oil with a little butter on a high heat until it starts to foam. Add about a quarter of the egg mixture, swirl and poke it around until it forms a thin layer at the bottom. 
  • Add a quarter of the courgettes, herbs, and pinenuts. Fold the omelette to keep all the filling inside, and serve on a warm plate, garnished with a sprinkle of sumac
  • Repeat for the next three omelettes. 

I served with new potatoes. 

 

Sausage and celery casserole

At the moment, our local shopping has been impacted by the cyberattack on the Co-op. It has greatly altered the availability of all sorts of things. I have been avoiding going to the shops and using up what I have. This time, from the freezer, I had a pound of sausages, some ham stock, and the only vegetable I had was half a head of celery. I also have a lot of garlic and lots of tins of this and that. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Olive oil
  • 1 pack of sausages (around 400 to 450g)
  • 1/2 head of celery
  • A good pinch of dried peperoncini or other chilli flakes
  • 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • Half a glass of white wine
  • Around 200ml ham stock (or chicken stock)
  • A tin of chickpeas in water – do not drain the chickpeas
  • Lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper
  • Chopped parsley and potatoes to serve

METHOD:

  • Heat a little oil in the bottom of a large pan, and fry the sausages over a medium heat while you prepare the other ingredients. Turn them so they brown evenly. 
  • Slice the celery, leaves and stems, and chop the garlic.
  • Remove the browned sausages from the pan, and turn to a low to medium heat with a bit of extra oil.
  • Add the chilli flakes, and as soon as they start to sizzle, add the garlic and stir for a minute or two. 
  • Before the garlic starts to scorch, add the wine, stir to deglaze the bottom of the pan, and then add the celery, stock, chickpeas and the water in the chickpea can (this will thicken the gravy in the casserole). Add grated lemon zest, salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and then add the sausages. 
  • Cover and simmer for around 30 minutes. Once the celery is tender, it should be ready but if there is too much liquid for your liking, take off the lid and simmer to reduce this for around five minutes. 
  • Adjust seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon juice. 

I served this with new potatoes, the whole lot garnished with chopped parsley. 

Fesenjan: walnut and pomegranate stew – with goose breast – version 1 with beetroot

This is an adaptation from a classic Persian recipe. Traditionally, it is made with duck legs, and simmered slowly until the duck meat is tender. It can be made with goose legs as well, simmering for five hours or more. However, I had goose breast meat which goes strangely dry and stringy if overcooked, so it is best flash-fried in thin strips and then added to the stew at the end. 

Everyone says their version is the best, and there are variations. Next time I make this, I will be trying out using butternut squash. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tbsp duck fat
  • 2 goose breasts, sliced into thin strips
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 100ml pomegranate molasses
  • 100g walnuts, toasted, cooled and ground finely in a food processer
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1 beetroot about the size of a tennis ball, peeled and diced
  • a pinch of saffron
  • a small cinnamon stick
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • chopped parsley to garnish

METHOD:

  • In a large pan, melt the fat and saute the onions over a low medium heat until it softens. 
  • Add the stock, walnuts, pomegranate molases, and spices and bring to a simmer.
  • Add the diced beetroot and simmer very gently until the beetroot is cooked. 
  • In a hot pan, melt duck fat, and fry the strips of goose meat until they are browned and still tender and moist. 
  • Add the meat to the sauce, heat through and serve with rice, and garnished with chopped parsley. 

Venison goulash

This is inspired by the excellent shops online, selling Hungarian food. I tried out ‘best of Hungary’ which did me proud, but there are many others. I would love to visit Hungary, I am googling the methods on ‘the man in seat 61’.  I bought a tube of goulash seasoning to appease my longing. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tbsp beef dripping or lard
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 200g celery, diced
  • 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, ground for preference
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 bayleaves
  • 2 1/2 tbsp hot smoked paprika (or use mild smoked paprika if you prefer) 
  • 900g stewing venison, in small cubes
  • 1 can tinned tomatoes
  • 2 red peppers, skinned and sliced into rings (or use 2 tbsp red pepper puree)
  • 1 tbsp goulash paste
  • 1 litre beef stock
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
  • 400g waxy potatoes, diced
  • 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • A bunch of parsley stems
  • a litre of hot water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100g csipetke – Hungarian pinched pasta – or use Italian soup pasta or orzo pasta. 

That seems like a lot of ingredients, but the recipe is easy. 

METHOD:

  • Heat the lard in a very large saucepan or casserole dish. Add the onions and celery and cook over a low-medium heat for around 8 minutes, stirring so they don’t burn.
  • Add the caraway seeds, black pepper and bayleaves and cook for a further two minutes.  
  • Turn off the heat, and add the paprika, and stir in well. Add a little stock or hot water to help it mix. It is a lot of paprika. 
  • Add the venison and garlic, stir it all together and cook over a medium heat until the meat starts to brown. 
  • Add the tomaotes, peppers, goulash paste and the stock. The meat should be covered well buy the stock. 
  • Cover and simmer for an hour and a half. 
  • Add the carrots, parsnips and potatoes, along with the parsley, and add enough hot water to cover the ingredients by a couple of centimeters. Season with salt, bring to the boil, and then simmer, uncovered, for around 15 minutes.
  • Add the csipetke pasta and boil uncovered for another 15 minutes. Check the seasoning before serving.  

This is excellent with red wine, and cabbage as a side-dish. 

Persian wild goose meatball soup

This is an excellent way to cook with wild goose; the meatballs were tender and the flavour of goose was enhanced by the broth and the chickpeas. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 goose breasts
  • 1/2 onion
  • 3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint
  • 70g brown flour
  • 1500ml chicken stock
  • 1 tin of chickpeas in water
  • 1 dried lime
  • a pinch of saffron
  • Chopped chives

METHOD:

  • Mince the goose meat and the onion
  • In a large bowl, mix the minced goose, minced onion, garlic, mint, beaten egg, salt, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper and flour, and kneed together.
  • In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a simmer, and add the dried lime and a small pinch of saffron
  • Form the meatball mixture into around 18 balls about the size of a golf-ball. Add the meatballs to the simmering stock and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes. 
  • Add the chickpeas inclidng their liquid, and simmer for another 20 minutes, until the chickpeas are tender. Adjust the seasoning at the end of cooking. 
  • Serve in deep bowls, allow three meatballs per person, and garnish with chopped chives. 

Hungarian goose and barley (Ludaskasa)

I have a great colleague who is really into cooking, so it is a real pleasure to meet and discuss new cooking ideas. I really like Hungarian food, and he’d been experimenting with confit wild goose leg. So this is where we ended up. 

This is a traditional Hungarian recipe, I’m sure there are many versions. I made mine with dried porcini mushrooms, but there are recipes that don’t use them. It takes a while to make, so be prepared. 

First of all, when presented with a wild goose, peel off the skin without plucking it. Take off the breast meat and save that for another day, in the freezer. Next, take the legs, trim them and cook them in hot duck or goose fat. The legs should be completely covered, and then put in a covered dish in a very low oven, around 90C for 4 to 6 hours. 

Next, while the goose legs are being cooked slowly, make a goose soup. 

INGREDIENTS FOR GOOSE SOUP

  • 1 goose carcase, including liver, heart, gizzard, if possible
  • 2 tbsps goose or duck fat
  • 1 large onion, cut into wedges
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 4 sticks of celery, chopped
  • 2 red peppers, chopped
  • a couple of bay leaves
  • 15g dried porcini mushrooms
  • Salt and pepper

METHOD FOR GOOSE SOUP

  • In a large stock pot, melt the fat and fry the onion. As it starts to soften, add the celery, carrots and peppers, and cook until they are beginning to brown
  • Add the goose carcase, enough water to cover, salt and pepper, bayleaves and the porcini mushrooms. 
  • Bring to a low simmer, and simmer for four hours. When the soup is made, cool it and remove the remains of the carcase. Strain the soup. Any cooked meat on the carcase, plus the heart and liver can be shredded and reserved. 

Now you are ready for the next step. You won’t use all of the strained soup, and it is good in its own right. It also freezes well in case you want to make more of the Orzotto. 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE LUDASKASA

  • Goose fat
  • Hot stock
  • Saffron
  • White wine
  • Confit goose legs
  • Shredded goose meat from the soup preparation
  • 160g pearl barley soaked in water for 1 hour or more
  • Chopped parsley

METHOD: 

  • Reheat the soup
  • Take a cup of hot goose stock and add a pinch of saffron
  • In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp goose fat on high, and add the soaked and drained barley. Toast it for a minute or so, and then add a glass of white wine. Let this cook away and then start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time. I started with the saffron stock first. Simmer away the moisture from each ladleful before adding the next, just like making a risotto. Keep adding the stock until the barley is well cooked and tender. 
  • Serve in a deep bowl, stir in the shredded meat, and top with the confit goose legs and chopped parsley. 

I found the barley part of the dish to be the bit I liked the best, and I had plenty of goose soup left at the end, so I can make that again.