Pancakes!

Simple stuffed pancakes for supper last night. Felt very full afterwards, worth the effort.

Ingredients for the filling
1 small bag of baby spinach
2 medium leeks finely shredded
150g chestnut mushrooms finely sliced
100g grated Emmental or similar cheese

50g butter
Salt, Pepper and Nutmeg to season

Make four pancakes in the normal fashion and put aside while you make the filling

Sweat the leeks in a pan with the butter until softened, add the mushrooms and fry again until softened. Add the bag of spinach and stir till wilted. Add the grated cheese, seasoning and nutmeg and stir together.

Put a 1/4 of the filling in each of the pancakes and fold into a triangle. Put in an oven-proof dish, grate some more cheese on top and grill until browned.

A Quick And Easy Spring Chicken Pasta Dish

At last the sun has come out and we can start getting the garden together. So far leeks and beetroot have gone in the small bed and Jerusalem Artichokes are thriving in the main bed. No luck with beans so far so have started a third set in the planters by the house. After a heavy day of weeding, pruning. mowing and planting we needed something quick yet hearty and tasty for tea.

Ingredients
2 Chicken Breasts - skin removed and cubed 
1 onion finely chopped or a leek
8 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch of asparagus trimmed
Knob of butter and a little olive oil
1 bay leaf
A few sage leaves chopped
1 small handful of frozen (or fresh) peas
1 clove garlic crushed
150ml milk
Splash of white wine (optional)
1 tablespoon of plain flour


Fry the onion in the butter and oil with the bay leaf until the onion has softened. Add the chicken, garlic, sage and mushrooms and fry for a few minutes until the chicken takes on a bit of colour.Add the flour and stir it into the mix (add the wine if using) then add the milk and stir to form a sauce (add a little more milk if the sauce looks a bit thick). Add the asparagus and the peas, cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until the chicken and asparagus are cooked through). Season to taste.

Serve with a bowl of drained pasta.

Roadtesting a New Cookbook

It was my birthday last week and as is becoming traditional I invited some friends round for supper and games. Decided to try out a cookbook I was given for Christmas and all three courses came from its pages. "New Vegetarian Kitchen" by Nicola Graimes is unusual in that it is divided into six sections based on the method of cooking: raw, grilled, fried, steamed, simmered and baked, and each of these is divided into light meals, main meals and puddings.
From this I selected Spiced Parsnip and Apple soup (served with my home made bead), Mushroom Pies and Lemon Meringue tarts.
The recipes were easy to follow but I found one error, the Lemon Meringue tarts included an egg yolk in the ingredients but did not specify where it should be used it was in the lemon curd filling).

The soup was good, a nice blend of spices that didn't overpower the parsnips. The pies were brilliant, a combination of fresh and dried mushrooms, crushed cashews, ground almonds and onions in the filling was strongly flavoured and densely textured. The individual pies were cooked in dariole moulds lined with thin shortcrust pastry - thinner than specified as I had to make eight rather than six as my moulds were smaller than specified in the recipe. The pudding was very popular, very tart lemon curd contrasted with a sweet ginger-nut crumb base all topped with a lightly grilled meringue.

Mushroom Pies shortly before being demolished.

The pies caused much discussion after the meal as we came up with lots of new ideas for fillings - probably the top two were ratatouille and a samosa inspired lentil, pea, potato and onion. Will be making those in the near future for sure.

There are lots of other recipes in the book that I want to try so very soon it will be covered in sticky fingermarks like all the best cookbooks.

Roasted Squash and Porcini Risotto

Another meal that was designed to use up the contents of my Abel and Cole vegetable box. A pair of onion squash in the box and I didn't want to make soup or roasted veg with sausages and so this risotto was born.
Serves 3.

Ingredients
2 small onion squash or one butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 sprig rosemary chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 an onion or a couple of shallots finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed.
2 knobs of butter
small handful of dried mushrooms
1 litre vegetable stock (maybe a little more or a little less)
250g risotto rice
large handful of grated Parmesan cheese

Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water until softened. 
Roast the squash with the rosemary, 2 tablespoons of the oil and salt and pepper in a moderate oven until softened and slightly caramelised around the edges.
Meanwhile fry the onion and garlic in the remaining oil and 1/2 the butter until softened, add the rice and stir to coat. Add the mushroom soaking water (avoiding any gritty residue) and stock gradually to the rice until cooked. Stir in the mushrooms and the roasted pumpkin. Add the Parmesan and the last of the butter and stir and leave to stand for a few minutes. Serve with some extra Parmesan shavings.

Party Food

Last night was party night at Chez Fitz, lots of fun and games and as usual too much to eat and drink.
This year we started with Peach Fizz (50/50 Cava and peach nectar) served with cheese sables, smoked salmon and assorted cured meats. These were then joined by an assortment of 'bread shots' (very small rolls made with smoked wholemeal malted flour) which had a variety of fillings (cheese, walnut & pesto, sun-dried tomato and olive). I then wheeled in an assortment of filled savoury pancakes (ricotta, parmasan & spinach and smoked salmon & sour cream). Finally a tray of baked mushrooms stuffed with stilton and a variety of cocktail sausages filled in the gaps before a slightly disappointing lemon ricotta tart (slightly undercooked almond pastry base) was served for pudding.
Of course this was all washed down with copious amounts of mulled wine!

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

My favourite way of using up leftover roast chicken. I like my risottos quite moist, adding the knob of butter at the end helps amalgamate the stock and the rice and makes a creamy texture. This is not a meal you can leave for very long, frequent stirring is a must to get the right texture, as is cooking it over a medium hat; not to hot otherwise the stock boils off too quickly, too slow and you end up with a savoury rice pudding.

Ingredients:
225g Risotto Rice
Knob of butter and glug of olive oil
Glass of white wine
Two sticks of celery, trimmed and diced
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely diced
Handful of roast chicken leftovers chopped or shredded
Few chestnut mushrooms diced
1 litre or so of chicken stock
Parsley and tarragon finely chopped
Handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Fry the onion, celery and garlic in the butter and oil until softened. Add the mushrooms and rice and stir. Add wine and stir frequently until absorbed over a medium heat. Add the stock a couple of ladles at a time, stirring frequently until the stock is absorbed. Repeat until the rice is cooked. At this point add the herbs, Parmesan and another knob of butter. Stir and test the seasoning and serve.