Sea Bass with a warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Asparagus

Having visited Jersey at the weekend, and picked up some Jersey Royals fresh from a hedge veg honesty box, I was excited to get cooking with them.

The Jersey Royal season is a favourite in our house and serving them cooked, simply drizzled in butter with a little sea salt and either a few chopped chives or mint is always a winner; but I fancied trying something different.

Whilst in Jersey, we enjoyed several beautiful fish dishes amongst our group, and what I noticed was, whilst everything tasted great, there was a real simplicity that reminded me of Italian cookery. Rather than lots of complexities, instead, only a few, really good quality ingredients were used, and would be cooked well and did all the talking.

So for this dish, I simply created a warm Jersey Royal salad to go alongside pan-fried sea bass fillet and served with some sautéd asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Simple but it worked really well and we'll certainly enjoy again.

You could of course use an alternative potato such as Charlotte or simply New, but there is something extra special about the fudgey, sweet flavour that’s just better than the other varieties.

Bridget enjoyed this dish too so it's a great option for a family meal and the below serves three.

Sea Bass Fillet with a warn Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Aspargus

Here's how:

• 3 sea bass fillets
• Bunch asparagus
• Handful cherry tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• Olive oil
• 350g Jersey Royals
• Three spring onions
• Handful radishes
• 3 tbsp peas
• 1 tbsp sour cream (could use crème fraiche or cream cheese)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (I use Maille)
• Sea Salt
• Black pepper

Firstly rinse the Jersey Royals well. Remove the excess dirt but don't be too vigorous. Place in a deep saucepan and pour over recently boiled water and place on a medium heat with a pinch of salt.

Now finely slice the spring onions and radish and set aside to dress the potatoes once cooked.

Place a drizzle of oil into a frying pan on a medium heat with a peeled clove of garlic. Once warm, add the asparagus and cherry tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes. Now remove from the pan and wrap in foil to keep warm.

Cook the peas and also place into the foil.

Now check the Jersey Royals - if almost cooked, then leave the frying pan on and season the sea bass. Omit from using salt for any children's portion.

Place skin-side down into the pan and cook, on a timer for five minutes. This should allow a lovely crispy skin.

Whilst the sea bass is cooking, drain the Jersey Royals and shake out any excess water. Return to the saucepan and add the sour cream, Dijon and a generous drizzle of olive oil and stir through gently to evenly coat the potatoes in the quick-dressing. Now add the radish and spring onions, stir again and place the lid on the pan to retain the heat.

Once five minutes is up, use an egg slice turn over the sea bass fillet in the pan and cook for a further 30 seconds then remove from the heat.

Dish up how you wish, but to do as I have done in the picture, simply add the Jersey Royal warm salad to the centre of the plate first. Then add the cherry tomatoes, dotted around the potato salad. Now add a layer of asparagus and finally add the sea bass fillet on top of the asparagus.

Sea Bass with a warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Asparagus

Enjoy!

Walnut and Basil Pesto

This is a gorgeous pesto recipe (served here with penne and spinach leaves simply stirred through), it makes a good batch that works well with a heap of different meals and keeps for a good week in the fridge. It makes enough for at least five different meals, if not more.

I used walnuts once as I didn’t have any pine nuts in stock and this is now my go-to for pesto as I love the silky, almost creamy finish that walnuts afford.

This couldn’t be simpler to make and I have a few posts coming up that will demonstrate the versatility.

You can play around with the quantities too – this is a quicky that works for me, but you might prefer more garlic, basil or even oil for a thinner consistency.

Also when I’m making a batch for the baby to enjoy, I tend to use a Cheddar rather than Parmesan as it tends to have a slightly lower salt content and also it’s something I always have in stock.

Here’s how:

About 30-40g fresh basil – stalks as well as leaves
60g walnuts
2 cloves garlic
5 tbsp good quality olive oil
Pinch of salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

60g Parmesan or other hard cheese

Firstly peel and roughly chop the garlic. Roughly chop the walnuts too then add both to the blender. (You can use a pestle and mortar but I blitz it all together in my blender.)

Add the basil as is, the olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice and grate in the cheese.

Blitz together on a medium mode for 1 minute which should leave you with a smooth, creamy pesto. Taste and add seasoning to your preference – add more lemon if you prefer it slightly zingy.

To make the pictured dish – simply cook 75g penne per person to pack instructions. Before draining, retain 1 tablespoon of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and return to the pan on the lowest heat.

Add 1 tablespoon per person of the pesto and stir through thoroughly ensuring every piece is coated. Stir the spinach leaves through and serve immediately.

Feed Four for £5 - Spaghetti with Prawns

This a quick, satisfying and incredibly cheap dinner for four that is packed full of flavour and can be thrown together in less than half an hour and you will find the majority of the ingredients in your stock cupboard at all times – you’ll just need to pick up the prawns.

I’ve worked out this meal costs roughly £1.11 per person – in my home, it makes a decent sized dinner for two and then two lunchbox fillers that will be much more welcome than a sandwich. 

Bulk it up with some fresh salad or some garlic bread. I make my own garlic bread by rubbing slices of a fresh loaf or French stick with fresh garlic on both side adding a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to each and then adding to a hot griddle pan for a couple of minutes on each side, till nicely charred.

This makes the perfect mid-week meal – especially towards the end of the month when purses might be lean but appetites are still demanding. This is the first post for the Feed Four for £5 series of posts. If you have any recipes that Feed Four for £5 please do Tweet them to me @Bistro_Becs and use the hashtag #feed4for5er

Here’s how:

500g packet of dried spaghetti

200g fresh, raw prawns

Half a tin of chopped tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp dried chilli flakes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 2bsp dried

Pinch of salt and black pepper

Firstly add the olive oil to a pan and place on a low heat. Slice the garlic finely and add to the pan to soften with the chilli flakes. This will create a pan full of flavour before adding anything else to it.

Get your pasta cooking with a generous pinch of salt according to the packet and in the meantime chop up your parsley ready to scatter through the pasta. I have some growing on my windowsill, but dried is fine for this dish too as buying fresh herbs on a regular basis can prove to be quite costly at £1 for only 100g that will go off fairly quickly.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir through with a wooden spoon. Add some seasoning to your taste and when the pasta only has a few minutes remaining, throw the prawns into the sauce, ensuring each is close to the pan so they cook through evenly. Prawns only take 2-3 minutes to cook and they are very easy to judge as once they become pink they are ready.

Before draining the cooked pasta add 2 tbsp of the cooking water to the prawns and again, stir through. Once the pasta is drained add to the pan with the prawns and the sauce and stir through gently to ensure all the pasta is coated nicely.

Finally stir through most of the parsley and then serve adding a touch more parsley over the top for a pretty garnish and enjoy!

Penne with Smokey Tomato & Vegetable Sauce (Vegetarian)

There are tons of variations of tomato based pasta sauces but this is one of my new favourites. With the addition of fresh chilli for heat and enhanced by smoky paprika, it’s a simple meal but incredibly enjoyable. 

The longer you cook off the sauce the more intense the flavours become, but it can be ready, realistically, in twenty minutes so is perfect for mid-week. I make enough here for two for dinner and two smaller portions which make perfect lunchtime fodder for the next day.

Here’s how:

·         1 tin of chopped tomatoes

·         1 onion

·         2 cloves garlic

·         50g pitted black olives

·         1 red pepper

·         1 red chilli

·         2 tbsp tomato puree

·         2 tsp smoked paprika

·         Salt & Pepper

·         1-2 tbsp olive oil

Firstly roughly dice the onion and slice the garlic then add to a pan on a low heat in about a tablespoon of olive oil and gently sauté.

Finely slice the chilli and add to the pan. Slice the pepper and olives and similarly add to the pan.

Once all veg is starting to soften, add the tin of tomatoes to the pan with the tomato puree. Season generously and add the paprika and stir through with a wooden spoon.

Cook off for twenty-thirty minutes, stirring regularly. Taste and add seasoning if needed or if you’d like a more smoky flavour, another teaspoon of paprika.

Cook the penne according to the packet and before draining use a ladle to capture half a ladle full of the cooking water and add to the sauce and stir through.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, stirring through to ensure all pasta is evenly coated.

You can of course add some fresh parsley or basil at this point before serving – but personally I don’t bother, it’s practically perfect without.

Enjoy!

Another busy week - welcoming in September

Once again, time passes so quickly and with so many delicious bites in between that I don’t always have time to include on here, so another short round-up of some of the tasty morsels to have passed my lips in the past week or so. Before I start I feel duty-bound to warn you, it has not been a ‘skinny’ week!

On Friday I went to Portobello Road market for the first time, incredibly quaint and full of eccentrics with a mixture of genuine vintage and not-so-fabulous jumble-sale items, it was a fun way to spend a Friday lunch. Heading back to the office, we stumbled upon the gorgeous Bluebelles Café a gorgeous little café and coffee shop with a number of enticing baked goods on display. I had an iced latte, a ‘Classic’ sandwich of ham and cheese with bread baked on the premises and then an utterly glorious, rich and moist slice of mocha cake which you can see below. A new haunt I fear!

A dinner at my parents with the boyfriend comprised an absolute feast of delicious things including an aubergine parmigianna dish, seafood en papillote – or cooked in a bag with pasta and these utterly delicious little stuffed mushrooms. A simple but incredibly moreish mixture comprising garlic, Gorganzola cheese, finely diced onion and breadcrumbs – phenomenal!

I visited Street Feast on Saturday with my brother Dan and two friends, Jade and Steph and enjoyed an absolute array of gorgeousness. It was the Spanish Street Fiesta theme organised by the lovely Gizzi Erskine, and some of the tasty bits we enjoyed included Salt Yard goats-cheese-stuffed courgette flower drizzled with honey, Copa De Cava’s/ Camino’s delectable pork cheeks with olive oil mash, unbelievably divine rib-tips from Smokestak, pork belly and lamb ribs from Morito as well as delicious Cava Sangria. A fantastic day and some of the deliciousness can be viewed below.

Finally, I attempted my first ever chocolate tart using a recipe from BBC Good Food which you can find here: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3517/chocolate-tart

It wasn’t quite as elegant as I’d like – but with a dollop of Rodda’s clotted cream and a drizzle of the hot chocolate sauce, it wasn’t half bad either!

Mediterranean Pork Belly Strips

This is a simple but immensely satisfying meal that is very easy on the purse-strings too.

Pork belly strips are very inexpensive but deliciously fatty. Picked up for only £3-4, when these are treated nicely they are just fab and this meal is particularly comforting.

I very simply baked on a bed of cherry tomatoes, peppers and black olives with garlic for a real taste of the Mediterranean and when accompanied with Greek Roasted Lemon Potatoes it really is to die for. Rather than a sauce, the juice made from the pork fat, tomatoes and peppers works a treat.

Once the chopping and assembling is done – this can all be bunged in the oven for 45 minutes and you can sit and relax with a glass of wine, or get on with bits and bobs at home, safe in the knowledge a gorgeous meal is in progress that takes next to no nurturing.

Here’s how:

·         Packet of pork belly stips

·         Handful of cherry tomatoes

·         Handful of black olives

·         Few cloves of garlic, skin on

·         1 red and yellow pepper

·         1 tbsp olive oil

·         Salt & Pepper

·         1 tbsp dried oregano

Firstly get the oven on around 180-200 degrees and prepare the veg. The tomatoes need to be halved, the peppers sliced and the olives sliced into 2-3 pieces, depending on the size. Then scatter with the garlic into an oven-proof dish.

Season the pork belly strips generously on both sides then place on top of the ‘bed’ of tomatoes, olives and peppers. Next drizzle over a good glug of olive oil, the best quality you have to-hand and finally scatter over some dried oregano.

Place into the oven and roast for 45 minutes-an hour, depending on your oven and how crispy you like the strips to be.

Enjoy with the Greek Roasted Lemon Potatoes.

Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes - Serious Sides

These are the first in my ‘Serious Sides’ series of posts. I’ve realised that I have a ton of side dishes that I constantly make, that friends ask for when visiting that need to get a mention on here.

These Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes are a favourite, whether with a roast chicken, fish, or with pork as I used with my Mediterranean Pork Belly Strips.

This recipe is enough for two with leftovers that make a very tasty accompaniment to sliced meat and salad for lunch the next day.

Here’s how:

·         400g large Charlotte potatoes

·         1 onion

·         3 cloves of garlic

·         1 tbsp dried oregano

·         150ml olive oil

·         1 ½ lemons

·         Salt & Pepper

I prepare the potatoes as I would for general roast potatoes. Firstly pop the oven on around 180-200◦ and then peel and wash the potatoes. Cut into half or quarter and plunge into boiling, salted water and par-boil for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, peel and slice your white onion and garlic cloves and squeeze the juice from the two lemons and set aside. Then cut the lemons into chunks and place into an ovenproof dish.

After fifteen minutes, drain the potatoes and give a good shake to ‘scuff up’ a little in the colander. Then place into the ovenproof dish. Throw over the onion and garlic and give a good mix with a wooden spoon.

Pour over the olive oil, lemon juice, season well and give a good scattering of oregano and then give a good shake. Cover with foil and place into the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil from the dish and replace to the oven for a further 30 minutes or until just starting to crisp.

You should be left with deliciously soft centred, just-crisp on the outside and lemony fragrant potatoes that are divine.

North African Spiced Pork

Pork chops, whilst being evocative of 1970's cuisine, are in fact a versatile, flavousome cut of meat and this spicy marinade makes for a delicious meal for two. Serve with some vegetable couscous, salad (tabbouleh works so well) and some fresh scattered mint leaves and wash down with a dry white - it's a flavour winner.

Here's how:

2 pork chops

Juice of 1 lemon

Zest of half a lemon

1 1/2 preserved lemons chopped

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

1 red chilli, chopped finely

1 tsp harissa paste

1 tsp ground cinnamon or half a cinnamon stick crumbled

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp hot paprika

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

Bunch fresh torn mint and coriander leaves

2 tbsp olive oil

Simply combine all of the marinade ingredients in a food bag and throw the pork chops in. Seal and ensure the meat is completely immersed in the marinade.

If possible, leave in the fridge overnight to allow the flavours to permeate the meat, but if you are pushed for time, allow to stand for a couple of hours.

These can then be cooked over a barbecue (while the weather's glorious) or as I did here in the oven for about 40 minutes around 180 degrees. Enjoy!

Pork Souvlaki and Baked Feta

As regular readers will know I adore Greek food but struggle to find many decent, authentic restaurants serving Greek food around so when I get a craving for this type of food there are a few recipes I turn to for an instant mood boost. 

Prawn saganaki or youvetsi, stifado, briam, moussaka and beautiful gemistes or stuffed tomatoes or peppers are favourites but take a little effort. For mid-week Greek, my go-to is always souvlaki - fantastically flavoured skewers of pork or chicken that transport me immediately to the beautiful islands. 

Marinated overnight, the accompaniments can be flung together while the meat cooks. Here I've served with Greek Salad, pitta and homemade tzatziki as well as baked feta or as my Greek friends call it, 'feta in the oven.' 

This recipe makes a meal for two or three and some delicious leftovers for lunch the next day.

For the souvlaki:

350g pork loin steaks

150ml extra virgin olive oil (you can just use olive oil but I prefer the pepperiness from the extra virgin)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

1 large tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tbsp dried thyme

I use pork loin steaks but almost any cut could be used here. Chop the pork into equal cubes and place into a bowl or a food bag and cover with the olive oil.

Add the remaining marinade ingredients, stir and cover and place in the fridge either overnight or for at least 2-3 hours..

Remove from the fridge and allow the pork to come back down to room temperature while you assemble the simple Baked Feta dish for which you will need the following:

1/4 block of feta

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green or yellow pepper

1 1/2 tsp runny honey - preferably Greek

1 heaped tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Slice the peppers longways and place into a small, oven-proof dish. 

Slice the small block of feta into similar size and shape as the peppers and pop into the dish. Season with black pepper and if you wish, a small pinch of salt - I omit from using the salt as feta is quite a salty cheese. 

Sprinkle over the paprika and then drizzle over the runny honey and place into the oven for 30 minutes.

Getting back to the souvlaki - if you have some, place the meat on skewers. You can easily make without the skewers though so don't worry. If cooking inside, the grill is preferable. I tend to cover the grill with a sheet of tin foil and then place the souvlaki on top and cook for about ten minutes on the medium setting, watching and turning as needed.

While the souvlaki is cooking you can throw together your Greek Salad and Tzatziki and either place your pitta into the grill too or gently toast.

I do hope these recipes are useful to some readers - they certainly bring me comfort when I'm craving Greek food and on that note if anybody knows of any good Greek restaurants, please do share - enjoy!

Creamy Mushrooms on Toast - Brunch Dish For Two

This is a lovely weekend brunch or lunch dish improved when you can get hold of a glut of delicious wild mushrooms. I crave this though and sometimes supermarket fungi just has to suffice, in fact with a mixture of mushrooms, it's still gorgeous. A great alternative to bacon and eggs and fab with some fresh orange juice or better still a Bloody Mary cocktail.

Here's how:

Drizzle olive oil
1 small red onion
1 large clove of garlic
150g mushrooms (a mixture of any)~
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
3tbsp creme fraiche
2 ciabatta rolls or a ciabatta loaf sliced in half

Slice the red onion finely and crush the garlic and add to a frying pan with a generous glug of olive oil and place on a low heat.

Cut the ciabatta in half, drizzle a little olive oil over and place onto a griddle pan on a low heat. Alternatively you can grill or even toast.

Slice the mushrooms and set aside.

Once the onions are softened, add the balsamic vinegar to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon. Cook for 3-4 minutes longer then add the mushrooms to the pan. 

Allow to cook for a few minutes until the mushrooms have softened slightly then add the creme fraiche, a pinch of salt and a generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper, stir through and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

Remove the ciabatta and place on a plate and spoon over the mushroom mixture. Add some freshly chopped parsley and enjoy. 

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Love her or loathe her, Nigella Lawson's cookery books and TV shows always provide me with at least a couple of dishes that I end up making time and time again. In her latest book, Nigellissima, my new fail-safe recipe is a flour and butter-free chocolate cake. The flour is replaced with ground almonds and the butter with olive oil and I originally made this to try out for my friend Steph who has recently discovered she is gluten intollerant. I've since made it three times as it's bloody good.

The edges end up a little crusty and crumbly and the centre is really delicious, rich and moist - more like a pudding than a cut and keep cake, yet it lasts for up to a week and remains just as moist for that long.

150ml regular olive oil

50g good quality cocoa (I use Green & Black's)

125ml boiling water

2 tsp vanilla extract

150g ground almonds

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of sal

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees and grease and line a 23cm spring form tin.

Sift the cocoa into a small bowl and whisk in the boiling water till you have a smooth, chocolatey paste that's still slightly runny. Whisk in the vanilla extract and set aside to cool a little.

In a different bowl combine the ground almonds with the bicarb and salt.

(Nigella advises using a an electric mixer for this next step but I don't have such a luxury and so stick to the old fashioned method). Beat together the eggs, sugar and olive oil vigourously for about five minutes until you are left with a pale, aerated and thickened mixture.

Continue beating and slowly add the chocolate paste until it's all mixed in then finally fold in the almond mixture until all combined.

Pour into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes. A knife or skewer should come out mostly clean, with the odd sticky crumb.

Allow to cool a little before turning out of the tin and then sift over a tiny bit of icing sugar if you fancy.

As I said this is a really lovely, rich yet moist cake, but as with all baked things, can be greatly improved with a big dollop of cream. Enjoy!