Sausages braised in red wine

It has been a frustrating winter so far. Incessant rain which means that you can’t get outside to do anything and the garden is just a quagmire. In the mountains the rain has fallen as snow and there is just so much of it that they can’t cope and in the ski resorts there is a constant danger of avalanche. Which is frustrating for John who loves skiing (Derek retired not too gracefully a few years ago when he realized that he had arrived at the age when you don’t bounce so easily) but John has been unable to go because the resorts are either closed or with constant snow the visibility and avalanche risk make it unwise. Yesterday was different – the weather wasn’t perfect but good enough so off he went with friends for the day and got to try out the new skis he had bought. One happy bunny returned in the evening!

Left in charge of supper Derek pondered what to do. When skiing John eats a carbohydrate lunch so the first thought is to avoid those in the evening. Without too much ado the decision was made to cook sausages braised in red wine. This is a dish he has cooked for many years and is loved by his children and friends alike. Though the dish is simple its success rests on the quality of the ingredients so do buy the best quality sausages you can – a Toulouse type works best and not too salty. Use a decent red wine – no need to go for fine wine but something of reasonable quality – the sort that you would quaff on its own and enjoy.

The recipe uses button onions but as they are not always available (and anyway are such a faff to prepare) we tend to use a large onion cut into halves and then thickly sliced into semi rings – go with whatever suits.

serves 4

• 500g pork sausages
• 225g lardons or lean bacon cut into cubes
• 225 button onions or a large onion
• olive oil
• 1 heaped tsp flour
• 275 ml red wine
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 175g mushrooms, halved if large

In a large casserole heat a little oil and brown the sausages all over then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the lardons or bacon to the pan and cook for a few minutes then add the onions and continue until the onions are nicely browned too. Add the flour and stir around to soak up any remaining oil then gradually add the red wine stirring to make a sauce. Bring to a simmer, return the sausages to the pan together with the garlic, bay leave and thyme. Put the lid on and simmer very gently for around 30 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 20 minutes without the lid by which time everything should be ready and the sauce nicely reduced. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

To accompany it would normally be a big pile of creamy mashed potato but since we were avoiding the carbs we had bright, fresh savoy cabbage.

recipe by Delia Smith

TIP:

When you cook cabbage, any sort, shred into ribbons and cook in lots of boiling water until just tender – don’t overcook it. Drain it in a large colander, take a small saucer, place on top and press down to remove any excess water. Then, use the edge of the saucer to chop the cabbage into fine pieces.

Coq au vin

coq au vin

Last Sunday we had friends over for lunch and for no reason in particular decided on coq au vin. Though, when you think about it, it’s a no brainer crowd-pleaser and ideal for entertaining as it is all prepared in advance. No doubt there are numerous variations on the theme but we tend to be old-fashioned and stick with the french classic. We did bend it slightly in that we didn’t have any Bourgogne wine which is normally used in a classic coq au vin so used a very good quality Bordeaux – you want a not too tannic, fruity wine. We served the same wine with the meal.

Of course, the original recipe was intended to use up that old bird past its usefulness for laying eggs but since they tend not to be on your average supermarket shelf we used thighs. You could cut up a whole chicken but we find that the breasts become overcooked and dry and thighs or drumsticks or combination of the two are a better choice.

You need to be organized to the extent of preparing the chicken the day before you want to cook it and marinading it in the wine for 24 hours. If pushed you could skip this but it does make a difference to the finished dish.

Plain boiled potatoes with a garnish of finely chopped parsley is probably the normal accompaniment but trying to stick to our low GI regime we made a gratin of celeriac which turned out to go superbly well with the coq.

for 4 – 6

• 2 chicken thighs or a thigh and drumstick per person
• bottle of good quality (no, cheap plonk won’t do) Bourgogne or fruity red wine
• 1 carrot, peeled, finely sliced
• small onion, finely diced
• stick celery, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 125g lardons or chopped streaky bacon
• chicken stock
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 250g shallots or button onions, peeled
• 250g button mushrooms
• finely chopped parsley

The day before; take the skin off the chicken pieces and place in a non-reactive bowl together with the wine, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Cover with cling wrap and put in the fridge for 24 hours.

Next day, remove the chicken from the marinade and dry with kitchen towel. Heat some oil in a deep casserole and when hot, brown the chicken pieces a few at a time and remove with a slotted spoon. Add the lardons to the casserole and cook for a few minutes to brown. Return the chicken to the pan and pour over the marinade and all the aromatics. Add chicken stock so that the chicken is just covered. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook gently until the chicken is very tender but not so that it is falling off the bone – about 40 minutes (unless you are using an old coq in which case it might take 2 hours). Remove the chicken, stir in the tomato puree and continue to cook the marinade until it is reduced to a thickish sauce. Alternatively, if you don’t have enough sauce to reduce it then thicken it with a little corn starch mixed with some cold water.

While the sauce is reducing heat a little oil in a roomy frying pan and when hot add the shallots or onions and cook on a high heat until browned and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and add the mushrooms and cook in the same way until browned and tender. Remove and add to the onion.

If you are eating straight away, add the chicken to the sauce and reheat thoroughly. When hot, add the onions and mushrooms and reheat for a few minutes. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

Alternatively, the cooking can be done in advance and then you assemble the dish by putting the chicken into a roomy, ovenproof serving dish, scatter over the onions and mushrooms. Use a slotted spoon to remove from the sauce all the vegetables and scatter over the chicken. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Finally, nap over enough sauce for the number of servings you need, cover with foil and set aside in a cool place until ready to eat. Reheat in a hot oven for about 30 – 40 minutes until piping hot. Scatter with finely chopped parsley and serve.

sweet potato and corn soup garnished with chorizo oil and coriander

We started the meal with a soup of sweet potato and corn garnished with a drizzle of chorizo oil and you can find the recipe HERE

Rabbit with mustard and bacon

Rabbit seems to be one of those meats that finds favour in certain cultures and not in others. It’s very popular in France and Italy for sure and Derek remembers it as part of his family’s food until the outbreak of myxomatosis in the early 1950’s when everyone stopped eating it and it never seems to have regained its popularity. Which is a pity because it is a very tasty, lean meat. Most probably the rabbit you find in the supermarkets are farmed rather than wild and tend to be of a larger size and a less ‘gamey’ taste.

Rabbit pares well with mustard and this recipe, which requires a bit of preparation effort to remove the thigh bone, works really well and would make a very handsome dinner party dish but is equally fit for a Sunday family meal which is when we ate it. You could substitute chicken legs if you prefer.

serves 4

• 50g butter
• small handful of parsley and tarragon leaves, finely chopped
• grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 4 rabbit legs
• slices of pancetta or streaky bacon

For the mustard sauce

• 3 tbsp creme fraiche
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp grain mustard
• lemon juice

1. Mash the butter with the herbs, garlic and lemon zest, then chill. This can be done up to a day in advance. Use a small sturdy knife to scrape the meat away from the thigh bone part of the rabbit leg. Try and create a pocket around the bone rather than cutting into the actual meat. When you get to the joint, cut or snap the bone away.
2. Take a quarter of the butter and stuff into the cavity of each rabbit leg. Wrap the slices of pancetta or bacon around each leg so that they join underneath. The rabbit can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge.
3. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Place the rabbit on a shallow roasting tray and roast for 20-30 mins (depending on size of the leg), then leave to rest for 5 mins. While the rabbit is resting, make the sauce. Heat the crème fraîche with both mustards and simmer for 2-3 mins until thickened slightly. Season to taste, then add a squeeze of lemon juice.
4. To serve, spoon some sauce onto each plate and arrange the rabbit on top.

Serve it with steamed new potatoes or, as we did, a mixture of white and wild rice with sautéd vegetables.

Game terrine

We were invited to spend Xmas day with friends and said we would bring the first course for the meal. So, for this special meal of the year, what to do? We decided on a game terrine – a recipe that we have had in mind for a long time but never gotten around to making. This was just the occasion we needed to spur us into action.

The recipe comes from a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall book we bought when we lived in the UK based on his original television series River Cottage. Apart from being not ‘everyday’ fare it also makes rather a lot so you need a crowd to do it justice. He does say that “it was a staple of the farmhouse kitchen” but we’ve all moved on from those days. But a special occasion like Xmas seems just the right time to enjoy this and hopefully, you have the time to make it – not that it is that difficult or time consuming and can be made in advance. So, roll up the sleeves, get Bing Crosby warbling White Xmas, and off we go …

• You need about a kilo of lean game meat – we used rabbit, quail and duck. You could also use; pheasant, pigeon, hare, venison
• oil for frying
• 300g streaky bacon

Forcemeat

• 500g sausage meat
• livers from the game or, if not available, 175g chicken livers, finely chopped
• 2 handfuls of breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• leaves from a sprig of thyme, finely chopped
• 5 – 6 juniper berries, crushed in a pestle and mortar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• a splash of red wine
• a splash of brandy
• salt and pepper

In a large mixing bowl combine the sausage meat, chopped livers, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, thyme, juniper berries, garlic, wine, brandy, salt and pepper. Mix everything together, preferably with your hands. It should be moist but not too wet – add more breadcrumbs to get the right consistency.

Cut the game meat into strips of roughly the same size, about 2 fingers thick. Heat some oil in a heavy-based frying pan and fry the game pieces, in batches, for about 2 minutes, until nicely browned.

Remove the rind from the bacon and stretch it with the back of a chef’s knife. Line a 1kg loaf tin or terrine with the bacon, overlapping slightly and leaving the ends hanging over the edges. Arrange a layer of forcemeat in the terrine, followed by a layer of game meat, then another layer of forcemeat, followed by another layer of game meat, etc. seasoning with salt and pepper between layers Aim for at least 3 layers and end with a layer of forcemeat and, by which time, you should be at the top of the dish.

Fold the exposed strips of bacon over the top of the terrine and either cover tightly with kitchen foil or put on the terrine lid. Place the terrine in a roasting tin half filled with hot water and cook in the oven at 170C/ fan 150C/ gas 3 for approximately 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Test with a metal skewer to see if it is cooked – if the skewer does not come out of the terrine piping hot then it is not cooked.

For the best possible texture and easy carving, your terrine should be pressed as it cools. Find a piece of wood or plastic that fits snugly inside the terrine dish, cover it with foil, and weigh it down with something heavy – a brick or, as we did, a large can. Leave until completely cold – for several hours or overnight.

To serve; dip into a bowl of hot water for a minute or two to free the bottom, run a knife around the sides and invert onto a serving plate or cutting board. Slice thickly with a sharp knife and serve with a small salad of lightly dressed leaves, a blob of good fruit chutney or our cranberry and orange relish and good bread or toast.

Tip; getting a roasting tin of boiling water and a heavy terrine into the over without accident can be a bit tricky so; pull out the oven shelf, put the terrine in the empty roasting tin, put this combination onto the oven shelf, pour boiling water from a kettle into the roasting tray, slide the shelf back into the oven.

Salade frisée aux lardons

Another french classic and like so many good things utterly simple in the ingredients but together they create something really delicious. The essential part of this dish is adding the hot bacon and its fat straight on to the salad followed swiftly by the hot vinegar. Frisée (curly endive) can be a bit too bitter for some tastes although, apparently, there is a type called ‘spider’ frisée which has much thinner leaves and a milder flavour. The problem with frisée for us is that with just one head you get rather a lot of it for two people and so we bought a bag of mixed bitter salad leaves which included frisée.

Have all the ingredients, pans etc. ready before you start as it all happens at the same time.

serves 4

• head of frisée, washed and picked into small tendrils or a bag of mixed bitter leaves
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• vinegared water for poaching
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 6 thick, rindless, streaky bacon rashers cut into lardons
• 3 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
• garlic croutons (optional)

Put the frisée into a roomy bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring the vinegared water to simmering point and heat a small frying pan. Start to poach the eggs over a gentle heat and fry the bacon in the olive oil until crisp and golden. Throw the bacon on to the frisée and stir in. Immediately add the vinegar to the pan, swirl around and pour over the salad. mix in the croutons and divide between 4 plates. Place a poached egg in the middle of each and season with a little salt and pepper. Eat immediately.

Old favourites revisited

We all have favourite recipes or ‘standbys’ that we return to again and again and we are no different. So, as this blog is our food diary, we can’t avoid repeating meals from time to time. But we hope, of course, that there is still enough new things to keep you interested, dear reader.

As we have just posted, Tuesday was football night so we had salad for lunch with smoked trout and a horseradish dressing.

Wednesday we had our old favourite of bean and tuna salad for lunch and in the evening we had friends for drinks and after the nibbles we didn’t feel like another meal so just had some cheese (another default for us).

Thursday lunch we had pasta with cauliflower and bacon which is not only one of our all-time favourites but usefully used up the remains of the cauliflower we had bought more than a week ago. Dinner we did try something new (phew!) – see the following post.

Chicken liver salad with bacon

Offal is something you seem to either like or dislike. And, perhaps, it’s also associated with poorer times and now that we can generally afford more expensive cuts it has fallen by the wayside. Not in this area though where it is used in terrines and patés and duck hearts are particularly popular (which is perhaps not surprising given the number of ducks raised).

We rather like paté and terrines but unless you are entertaining it gets a bit too much if there is just two of you. A salad with chicken livers is an occasional treat which is what we ate for lunch today using this recipe we found on the BBC Good Food site.

We have given the recipe as is but note that it is for 6. We skipped the croutons as we were busy in the garden this morning and didn’t have time for that. We added cherry tomatoes and cucumber to the salad for extra variety and we used romain lettuce rather than frisée because that is what we have in the garden. The raspberry vinegar works a treat but if you don’t have any then just substitute a wine vinegar.

serves 6

250g/9oz streaky bacon rashers

250g/9oz crusty bread, cut into 1cm/½in cubes

100ml/3½fl oz olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp vegetable oil

400g/14oz chicken livers, trimmed, sinew removed, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 head frisée lettuce

1 red onion, sliced

For the dressing

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

100ml/3½fl oz raspberry vinegar

300ml/10½fl oz extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

Preheat the grill to high and the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4.

Lay the bacon rashers on a rack and place under the grill for 6-8 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, or until the bacon is golden-brown and crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper, then chop into small pieces. Set aside.
Place the bread cubes into a baking tray and drizzle over the olive oil. Mix well to coat, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the bread cubes are golden-brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry the onions until soft but not browned. Turn up the heat a bit, season the chicken livers with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then fry for 2-3 minutes on both sides, or until golden-brown but still slightly pink in the middle.

For the dressing, whisk the mustard and raspberry vinegar together in a bowl until well combined, then gradually add the olive oil, whisking continuously. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir in the chopped tarragon.
To serve, place the frisée lettuce, red onion, chicken livers, bacon and croutons into a large bowl and gently mix together. Drizzle with the dressing, then spoon onto serving plates.

Bacon salad

Sunshine has returned and 30+C – what a change! But at least we can get out into the garden and catch up on some maintenance tasks i.e. weeds and mowing. It was the weather to enjoy the cold leek and avocado soup so we had that for lunch together with a simple salad with bacon. We took advantage of the warm evening and met friends for an apero at a bar in the town and had vegetarian nasi goreng for dinner (we have already posted this before).

For the bacon salad for 2; assemble some of your favourite salad ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Take some thick slices of bacon and fry in 4 tbsp of olive oil until tender. Take out of the pan and set aside to cool. Off the heat add 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar to the pan and swirl around to make a warm vinaigrette. Set aside to cool a little. Slice the bacon into thick lardons. Pour the warm vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat. Serve onto 2 plates and pile the bacon on top. If you wanted to make it more substantial you could poach an egg for each person and place that on top of the salad too.

Salad of spinach, asparagus, bacon and poached egg

We had some things to do this morning and John had a meeting so we just grabbed some spinach, asparagus (the season for which is sadly coming to a close) and fresh eggs from the market and then sat and puzzled what we would do with them. There were a couple of slices of bacon left in the fridge and the same of the dried Italian ham so we came up with this salad. We think we have mentioned before that you can fry this type of ham so that it is nice and crispy and it makes a lovely, salty garnish for a salad or soup. Start by frying the bacon or ham in a dry frying-pan until brown and crispy then drain on kitchen towel.

Make a vinaigrette with a heaped teaspoon of french mustard, 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. Either whisk together or put in a jar and shake to mix.

Wash and dry enough spinach for a healthy portion for each person and arrange on individual plates. Snap off the ends of the asparagus and steam over boiling water until tender, about 6 minutes depending on the thickness of your asparagus. While this is happening fill a medium pan with boiling water and add a dash of white vinegar and put on a medium heat so that it just simmers. When the asparagus is cooked take off the heat and gently poach your eggs for 2 minutes until just set. Arrange the asparagus on the spinach, drain the poached egg and place in the middle then scatter with the bacon or ham. Drizzle over the vinaigrette.

Spinach, bacon & bean salad with maple & mustard dressing

Saturday we were invited to the birthday party of the 10 year old daughter of friends. John was to act as lifeguard in the swimming pool but in the event the weather didn’t cooperate – rain and 15C isn’t enough to entice even a 10 year old into the pool, much to John’s relief!

We had discovered that she loves sushi so John made some as a surprise present for her and her friends; she was delighted though her party friends were not so sure but it’s good to challenge their tastes at an early age we think. So, while John got on with the sushi Derek made this salad for lunch. The evening we stayed on with our friends for a birthday bbq.

serves 2

• 6 rashers of streaky bacon
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 280g jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut into bite-size pieces
• 400g of white beans; borlotti, cannelini, haricot blanc, whatever you have or fancy, drained and rinsed
• 75g baby spinach leaves

Maple & mustard dressing

• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
• salt & pepper

Whisk together or shake in a jar the ingredients for the dressing, set aside.

Heat a frying-pan and dry fry the bacon for about 2 minutes on each side until crispy. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Keep the fat from the bacon in the pan but take off the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes then add the vinegar, let it bubble and stir it around the pan to pick up any bacon remnants. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl put the spinach, beans and peppers and pour over the contents of the pan. Toss to combine and coat with the sauce then divide between two plates. Scatter over the bacon broken into small pieces and drizzle with the maple & mustard dressing.

This could also make a nice starter for 4.

recipe from BBC Good Food