Well sell loads of these at work when the weekend starts looming and the people who buy them absolutely rave about how good they taste. They're oak smoked in Craster, Northumberland. We have The Woo's dad over for supper and staying the night so we decided to try them this evening. I picked up three lovely looking specimens after I finished today and we're going to have them with some decent bread and butter with a homemade apple and blackberry crumble and custard to follow.
Kippers can be cooked in loads of different ways. Usually I would simmer mine in water for about 4 - 5 minutes but as there are three of them of a good size and I haven't got a massive enough pan to do them all at once I'm going to lay them in a little hot water in a baking tray, add a little butter and bake them in a 180* oven for around the same sort of time.
The Woo rustled up the crumble. Three Bramley apples were peeled and chopped up then cooked down in a pan. A bowlful of blackberries gathered by me on a dog walk yesterday were added to the hot apple and about a table spoon of sugar was stirred in. She used caster sugar but more or less anything will do. Her crumble mix is a failsafe handed down from her lovely mum. Half fat, in this case unsalted butter, to plain flour and then the same amount of sugar to fat. In this case that's 8oz of flour, 4oz of butter and 4oz of sugar. This was all rubbed together until lump free and then poured on top of the apple and blackberry mix. This will be cooked in a 180* oven for about 25/30 minutes until the crumble is golden brown.
I'm writing this in advance of the cooking as I'm knackered today after three early starts at work and a 4.30am alarm call tomorrow so I'm going to cook, eat and chillax!
Ciao for now!
About Me
- CampervanChef
- Welcome to the new Campervan Chef blog! This started out life as a blog called 'Kylie's Kitchen' and ran out of steam some time ago. Since then life has changed and Kylie's Kitchen as it stood is no more. I started out as an an enthusiastic home cook but now work as a chef and cook for others in all sorts of situations. You'll find out more about this side of me if you keep tabs on my scribbles on here. I blog about food and cooking, life, family, friends and pets. I will also be keeping you up to date with our travels to our second home; the beautiful Greek island of Skiathos and the dog shelter we support there. Join us as our journey through life continues...
Friday, 31 August 2012
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Prawns and asparagus
Bit of a quiet day on Meat and Fish at work today so had a bit of a think about what to do my Rock Chick and I for supper. A customer came in and bought some lovely looking crevettes and there were some uncooked king prawns on display which looked lovely and plump and juicy. I decided to do a spicy prawn and asparagus pasta with a couple of the crevettes as a garnish. I've done this a few times before and it works well with either pasta or noodles. I used spaghetti this evening only because the one we like was on offer recently and we have shed loads to use up!
So, in a large non-stick pan I softened half a small onion, which had been finely chopped, in a good lug of olive oil. To this I added four cloves of finely chopped garlic, a handful of small cherry tomatoes (halved), three sliced red chillies, about a dessert spoonful of tomato puree, half a teaspoon of ginger and the same of lemongrass and a good splash of white wine. I also bunged in the finely chopped stalks of about half a handful of the coriander that I would be using later to finish the dish.
I love coriander. Adding the chopped stalks early on really adds flavour to a dish. The soft leaves only need to be added last thing or as a garnish as they need little or no cooking. The ginger and lemongrass came out of a jar on this occasion. For a heavily spiced dish where all you want is some background flavour I can't see the point of buying fresh and throwing most of it away.
I cooked all of this together on a low heat for about 15 minutes until everything was soft and the flavours had all joined together in a happy clappy kum ba ya sort of way.
Whilst all this was going on I had salted water on for the pasta and part cooked some asparagus. I cut off the tips (about 2") and sliced the rest into half inch chunks. The woody bottom bits I always freeze and make up a batch of asparagus soup when I have accumulated enough.
Once the kum ba ya point had been reached it was action stations. The heat was whacked up under the pan, the pasta was added to the boiling water and the raw prawns, asparagus (tips and smaller stem bits) and pre-cooked crevettes were added to the kum ba ya mix. The prawns and asparagus were stir fried in about the time it took the spaghetti to cook then whilst the pasta was draining I added chopped coriander to the pan, stirred it in and then turned the heat off.
The drained pasta was then stirred in and it was turned out into nice big bowls. The crevettes were ceremonially plonked on top and with a last garnish of coriander and a good squeeze of lime juice it was ready for eating.
Simples!
PS For those of you reading this in Russia, Germany and other non-histoically Imperial countries - 2" is about 4cm and a half inch chunk is just under 1cm!!
So, in a large non-stick pan I softened half a small onion, which had been finely chopped, in a good lug of olive oil. To this I added four cloves of finely chopped garlic, a handful of small cherry tomatoes (halved), three sliced red chillies, about a dessert spoonful of tomato puree, half a teaspoon of ginger and the same of lemongrass and a good splash of white wine. I also bunged in the finely chopped stalks of about half a handful of the coriander that I would be using later to finish the dish.
I love coriander. Adding the chopped stalks early on really adds flavour to a dish. The soft leaves only need to be added last thing or as a garnish as they need little or no cooking. The ginger and lemongrass came out of a jar on this occasion. For a heavily spiced dish where all you want is some background flavour I can't see the point of buying fresh and throwing most of it away.
I cooked all of this together on a low heat for about 15 minutes until everything was soft and the flavours had all joined together in a happy clappy kum ba ya sort of way.
Whilst all this was going on I had salted water on for the pasta and part cooked some asparagus. I cut off the tips (about 2") and sliced the rest into half inch chunks. The woody bottom bits I always freeze and make up a batch of asparagus soup when I have accumulated enough.
Once the kum ba ya point had been reached it was action stations. The heat was whacked up under the pan, the pasta was added to the boiling water and the raw prawns, asparagus (tips and smaller stem bits) and pre-cooked crevettes were added to the kum ba ya mix. The prawns and asparagus were stir fried in about the time it took the spaghetti to cook then whilst the pasta was draining I added chopped coriander to the pan, stirred it in and then turned the heat off.
Simples!
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Anchovy pasta
I got into cooking about 15 years ago when things like Ready Steady Cook etc were really popular and celebrity chefs were very much the new kids on the block. I got the bug really quickly and then was hooked for life. Cooking, even simple meals, is a genuine pleasure for me. I don't know why or how it happened but the theory I have in my case is this.
Many blokes of my generation grew up with their mums doing all the cooking while their dads were out at work. My early married life was much the same. I worked long hours to try and pay the hefty mortgage while my then wife did all the other stuff. Consequently, even though my kids were (and still are) amazingly unfussy eaters, I didn't have that 5pm drudge seven days a week. Most of my male peers who enjoy cooking seem to have had a similar background and came to it in their mid to late 30's.
Despite my addiction starting around the late 90's with the likes of Worral-Thompson, Ainsley Harriot, Paul Rankin et al titillating our early evening taste buds; one of my favourite simple suppers, which I still regularly make, originated from a conversation with a guy I used to work with. Frank de Juan and I were Sergeants together on a training team based at Hendon. Frank was part Italian and, like me, was a passionate home cook. The main difference was that he had learned to cook from an early age and had a wealth of knowledge whereas I was merely an enthusiastic amateur. Every morning we would have an 8.30am meeting to discuss the day's events. This usually lasted about half an hour. The day's business was conducted in about 10 minutes and then we would spend the remainder of the time discussing food over a cup of coffee. Such high level stuff, eh? But, when all was said and done, Frank was my Italian food guru.
The first thing he suggested I try was what he called 'Cart driver's pasta' For the life of me I can't recall what he called it in Italian. It was just loads of olive oil gently heated in a pan into which was melted a couple of anchovy fillets, a little tomato puree, a sprinkle of dried chilli flakes and some pepper. This was all stirred into some spaghetti and served with a grating of parmesan cheese. It tasted wonderful!...and as a budget meal was an instant hit!!
I never make it the same way twice these days. I always melt a few anchovy fillets in the oil as a base and there is always chilli, in some form, and parmesan but I tend to just throw in anything in the fridge to bulk it out.
This evening's 'Cart driver's pasta' was:
In about six tablespoons of olive oil I gently melted down four anchovy fillets. The Woo and I shared the rest of the fillets off a fork as we love them! To this I added about a tablespoon of finely diced onion, four finely chopped cloves of garlic, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes, two large finely sliced chestnut mushrooms, a squeeze of tomato puree and a good twist of black pepper. All the salt needed comes from the anchovies and parmesan! Last but not least was a quartered scotch bonnet pepper for some (in our opinion) essential heat. This was cooked through for about the time it took to cook enough linguine for the pair of us and then all mixed together and served with a generous topping of parmesan cheese and, in my case, a bit more black pepper.
It was yummy! The salty goodness of the anchovies was pepped up by the chilli and the chilli was mellowed by the gentle frying in the oil. Try it with your version of 'fridge leftovers' and let me know how you get on.
Many blokes of my generation grew up with their mums doing all the cooking while their dads were out at work. My early married life was much the same. I worked long hours to try and pay the hefty mortgage while my then wife did all the other stuff. Consequently, even though my kids were (and still are) amazingly unfussy eaters, I didn't have that 5pm drudge seven days a week. Most of my male peers who enjoy cooking seem to have had a similar background and came to it in their mid to late 30's.
Despite my addiction starting around the late 90's with the likes of Worral-Thompson, Ainsley Harriot, Paul Rankin et al titillating our early evening taste buds; one of my favourite simple suppers, which I still regularly make, originated from a conversation with a guy I used to work with. Frank de Juan and I were Sergeants together on a training team based at Hendon. Frank was part Italian and, like me, was a passionate home cook. The main difference was that he had learned to cook from an early age and had a wealth of knowledge whereas I was merely an enthusiastic amateur. Every morning we would have an 8.30am meeting to discuss the day's events. This usually lasted about half an hour. The day's business was conducted in about 10 minutes and then we would spend the remainder of the time discussing food over a cup of coffee. Such high level stuff, eh? But, when all was said and done, Frank was my Italian food guru.
The first thing he suggested I try was what he called 'Cart driver's pasta' For the life of me I can't recall what he called it in Italian. It was just loads of olive oil gently heated in a pan into which was melted a couple of anchovy fillets, a little tomato puree, a sprinkle of dried chilli flakes and some pepper. This was all stirred into some spaghetti and served with a grating of parmesan cheese. It tasted wonderful!...and as a budget meal was an instant hit!!
I never make it the same way twice these days. I always melt a few anchovy fillets in the oil as a base and there is always chilli, in some form, and parmesan but I tend to just throw in anything in the fridge to bulk it out.
This evening's 'Cart driver's pasta' was:
In about six tablespoons of olive oil I gently melted down four anchovy fillets. The Woo and I shared the rest of the fillets off a fork as we love them! To this I added about a tablespoon of finely diced onion, four finely chopped cloves of garlic, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes, two large finely sliced chestnut mushrooms, a squeeze of tomato puree and a good twist of black pepper. All the salt needed comes from the anchovies and parmesan! Last but not least was a quartered scotch bonnet pepper for some (in our opinion) essential heat. This was cooked through for about the time it took to cook enough linguine for the pair of us and then all mixed together and served with a generous topping of parmesan cheese and, in my case, a bit more black pepper.
It was yummy! The salty goodness of the anchovies was pepped up by the chilli and the chilli was mellowed by the gentle frying in the oil. Try it with your version of 'fridge leftovers' and let me know how you get on.
Monday, 27 August 2012
Annie's birthday
Family gathering at the Hilden Manor for Annie's birthday yesterday evening. Joe, Lisa, Prim, Darcy, Joe and Sam were missed as was a certain lovely lady who, I'm sure, was there watching over us all. Bit of a wait for the food and a rather disorganised service but it was a great evening and the 'bottomless chips' certainly went down a treat! Oh, and so did the pints of Spitfire!
Ex-colleagues please note the creases in the sleeves of my Shite Shirt...old habits die hard!!
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| Me and the lovely Woo |
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| Me and The Birthday Girl |
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| The Ladybird Cake |
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| As you can see in the background...Marilyn is not dead but very old and living in Hildenbrough! |
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Ham, egg and chips
Specially requested by The Woo this evening as another way to dig into the egg glut. It's amazing how, with just three chickens, the egg mountain can run away with itself.
Bulk standard ham to use up out of the fridge, a couple of the girls' donations each and a pile of homemade, thick cut chips.
How do you do your chips? I always deep fry them twice. Once on a really low simmer in vegetable oil until they are almost cooked through but with no colour at all. Then I whack the heat up and get the oil in the wok (I always do mine in a wok but have been promised a proper fryer!) good and hot before finishing them off until lovely and brown and crispy.
Turned out onto kitchen roll in a colander, sprinkled and shaken with sea salt so it can stick to any undrained oil and then dredged with malt vinegar before heading plate wards. Yum!
Bulk standard ham to use up out of the fridge, a couple of the girls' donations each and a pile of homemade, thick cut chips.
How do you do your chips? I always deep fry them twice. Once on a really low simmer in vegetable oil until they are almost cooked through but with no colour at all. Then I whack the heat up and get the oil in the wok (I always do mine in a wok but have been promised a proper fryer!) good and hot before finishing them off until lovely and brown and crispy.
Turned out onto kitchen roll in a colander, sprinkled and shaken with sea salt so it can stick to any undrained oil and then dredged with malt vinegar before heading plate wards. Yum!
Measuring Marcel
Wasn't quite sure how big a 'rod' is. All I could find out from Wikipedia is that a rod is the same size as a perch and a pole and that a chain is so many rods. All very confusing! So this afternoon The Woo and I trundled up to the plot with a trusty old tape measure and found out that marcel is 13m x 7.5m; which is almost 100 square metres of growing space. All that for £7.50 per year. Bargain!
Hopefully I can get some strimming and rotivating done after work over the weekend and then get some late summer bits in. Wouldn't mind a few days rain, though, as the flippin' ground is rock hard!
Hopefully I can get some strimming and rotivating done after work over the weekend and then get some late summer bits in. Wouldn't mind a few days rain, though, as the flippin' ground is rock hard!
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Pork with roast potatoes and leftovers ratatouille
Wanted to use up some of the stuff in the fridge and also to incorporate the freebies found on the allotment today so this is what I came up with.
I marinated three nice big pork chops from Hayward's in some chopped up sage from the garden with a lug of olive oil and a bit of seasoning. This was left for about 30 minutes and turned once to give it all a good coating of the marinade.
Some of the potatoes I found on the allotment were peeled, par-boiled and will be served roasted. I put them in a 180* oven about 20 minutes before browning the pork and bunging that in the oven as well.
In a separate pan I softened a couple of small (freebie!) finely sliced onions in a little olive oil and added garlic, some chopped up heritage tomatoes (from Hadlow Farm Shop), mushrooms, diced yellow courgette and chopped runner beans (both from Arthur's garden) and a good squeeze of tomato puree and a little chopped oregano. This was all stirred round until everything was coated in everything else then I added half a pint of water, some salt and pepper and left it covered for 15 minutes and then uncovered to reduce a bit for another 15 minutes.
The pork was cooked for about 40 minutes in all so the rind was a nice crisp crackling. Putting the potatoes on that bit earlier ensured they were nice and crispy. My ratatouille was finished ahead of time so I re-heated it to serve.
I marinated three nice big pork chops from Hayward's in some chopped up sage from the garden with a lug of olive oil and a bit of seasoning. This was left for about 30 minutes and turned once to give it all a good coating of the marinade.
Some of the potatoes I found on the allotment were peeled, par-boiled and will be served roasted. I put them in a 180* oven about 20 minutes before browning the pork and bunging that in the oven as well.
In a separate pan I softened a couple of small (freebie!) finely sliced onions in a little olive oil and added garlic, some chopped up heritage tomatoes (from Hadlow Farm Shop), mushrooms, diced yellow courgette and chopped runner beans (both from Arthur's garden) and a good squeeze of tomato puree and a little chopped oregano. This was all stirred round until everything was coated in everything else then I added half a pint of water, some salt and pepper and left it covered for 15 minutes and then uncovered to reduce a bit for another 15 minutes.
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| The heritage tomatoes |
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| The ratatouille |
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