Black Eyed Pea & Tomato Salad

Even though it’s the end of October, it is still very warm which has been good for the tomatoes. Are own are all used up, but the farm shops still have really good ones. It’s a mission of mine to get the boy to have some fresh veg every day. This is technically just a salad, but with some crusty bread it is a good light lunch.

250g dried black eyed peas (beans)

2 shallots

2 ripe red tomatoes, chopped

330g yellow cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved

1 stalk celery, sliced

2tbsp fresh basil, chopped

2tbsp fresh mint, chopped

1 bunch watercress

Dressing

80ml olive oil

2tbsp white wine vinegar

1tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp ground black pepper

2tsp lemon juice

I put the beans in a large bowl and covered them with water last night, before we went to bed. I like the idea of this dish starting to make itself while we are asleep. The boy asked why I didn’t just use a tin, until I show him how much cheaper it is to buy dried – also I can cook them to the tenderness that I want.

So, drain the water off and cover with fresh water in a pan. Bring to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Simmer for around 25 minutes or until the beans are tender. Drain and let them cool. I like to rinse them in cold water, but that’s me.

In a large serving bowl, combine the beans with the chopped vegetables and herbs.

Combine the dressing ingredients and pour over. The boy and I like our dressing quite sharp so I might add more vinegar than this, especially as the chalkiness of the beans will just suck it up.

Season well and gently toss it all together. Leave it for 10 minutes for the dressing to do its magic and then settle down.  Give it another gentle stir and serve. It won't be long before the boy starts telling me it's too cold for salads. I shall not be deterred.

Onion Soup with Serrano Ham & Sherry

The boy is working at home today. It is damp and dark outside. I know he loves soup so I am making this for our lunch. It’s from a book called Moro East. All the recipes are based on the produce from the allotments in East London, which were cleared to make way from the Olympic village. I love French Onion soup but like this Spanish version equally.

1kg sweet white onions

5tbsp olive oil

120g serrano ham, chopped finely

2tsp fresh thyme leaves

3 scrapes of nutmeg

150ml Olorosso sherry

1l chicken stock

Slice the onions finely – I think the only trick to not crying, is to use a very sharp knife, so I have sharpened mine first. Sam & Sam Clark say that it is important to use the right size pan, so the onions are 3cm thick. Deeper, and they will just stew in their own water, and shallower, they will brown before they are sweet and soft. Makes sense to me.

Heat the oil and get the onions in. S&S start this on a high heat and then reduce to low. Stir often until you have a melty slush (my description, not theirs). This can take an hour, with stirring every few minutes. This is what Radio 4 is for.

Stir in the serrano ham, thyme and nutmeg and cook for another 8 minutes. The boy’s cat gets a tiny shred of ham as he’s patiently kept me company for the onion cooking.

Pour in the olorosso sherry and let the alcohol burn off – 2 minutes. Check that the sherry is a dry one as some blends are often called this, but are actually quite sweet. Warm the stock up. I’m not using home made and I’m not washing up another pan so the carton is just getting a minute in the microwave.  Pour it into the onion pan and bring it to a simmer. I’m getting the boy to check for seasoning, which will depend on the stock really. We both think onion soup is enhanced by plenty of black pepper.

Serve with toasted rustic bread that has been rubbed with a clove of garlic and drizzled with olive oil.  

Casseroled Rabbit with White Wine & Mushrooms

This is one of the boy’s favourites and it’s a rare treat as (depending on where you live, Wild Rabbit can be hard to find. Then when you do find it, it’s often hanging from a butcher’s hook, with head and feet still on, in all its furry glory. I can’t cope with that and the boy certainly can’t. 

This is based on a Sophie Grigson recipe from the mid 1990s. She says she finds wild rabbit tough and much prefers domesticated (farmed) rabbit as it is much more tender. There is a reason for that. The muscles never get any work as they are raised in the exact same conditions that battery hens used to be. A typical cage is the size of a piece of A4 paper. There are no laws to deal with this yet, so please check with your butcher that it is wild rabbit and put up with it being slightly chewy.

We have found a wild rabbit, skinned and jointed – the 4 legs in 2 pieces each and the saddle in 2.

1 wild rabbit, jointed

225g shitake mushrooms (or a mixture)

16 pearl onions

Seasoned flour

2tbsp oil

25g butter

120ml dry white wine

600ml chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2tbsp chopped parsley

40g buerre manié (half flour and half butter mashed together)

150ml crème fraiche

A good squeeze of lemon juice

Salt & pepper

The boy has been instructed to steal me a bay leaf from the potted trees outside the pub.

Halve the mushrooms and peel the onions. Sophie Grigson has a cool tip, which is to top and tail them and cover them with boiling water for 30 seconds, which makes it easier. The boy is doing this, which, frankly, makes it even easier.

Heat half the oil and half the butter in a pan. Dredge the bunny bits in the seasoned flour and brown them, in batches. I like a little paprika in the seasoned flour. Transfer to a casserole. Add a little more butter and oil and do the same with the onions and mushrooms. You just want a little colour. Add to the rabbit.

The bottom of the pan will now be full of crispy delicious bits, so the wine goes in and it gets a good scrape with a wooden spatula. We’re using a 2012 French Muscadet, for its slightly rich flavour. Let it bubble up until it reduces by half and the bottom of the pan is clean. Pour into the casserole with the rabbit, mushrooms and onions. Add the stock, bay leaf, half the parsley and salt & pepper.

I don’t think one of thyme, sage or rosemary would go amiss, but not all of them!

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 45 minutes with the lid half off so it thickens up a little bit. Check that the rabbit is tender – it might not be, so decide whether to compromise or keep cooking. I think the chewy texture of the shitakes is in keeping with this. To keep us entertained the boy has decided to read us Beatrix Potter’s, Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. Ha ha!

One alternative would be to put everything in a slow cooker, after browning, instead of the casserole, cook for 6 hours and then finish off in a large pan.

So when you’re ready, scoop out the rabbit pieces – count them – there should be 10, and as many onions and mushrooms as you can find with a slotted spoon. Put into a serving dish and keep it warm.

Make the buerre manie. It helps if you took the butter out of the fridge. As I forgot to do this, the boy is showing off his biceps by doing it – it’s revenge for the Flopsy Bunnies!

Pour all the juices into a wide frying pan and let it reduce by about half. Lower the heat and add the buerre manie in little cubes and stir constantly, so it thickens rather than separates. Once it’s all in give it another 3 minutes so the flour cooks through. Stir in the crème fraiche and a squeeze of lemon juice. Sophie says double cream would be fine, but I’d use a really good squeeze of lemon in this case. Last chance to check for seasoning, though this will taste tarter than it will once it’s on the rabbit.

Pour over the rabbit and sprinkle the rest of the parsley over.

We had it with boiled and buttered potatoes. The boy would have preferred it with mash, but as he wasn’t going to make any, boiled and buttered potatoes it is.

Mint Jelly

Sunday lunch is an immovable feast with the boy. I shouldn’t let him watch Saturday Kitchen as he now wants a version of the Pot Roast Lamb. However I did want to make some mint jelly that will keep. It coincides with our apple tree heaving with (not terribly sweet) apples and the fact that our gardener has cut back about 4 cubic feet of mint that has grown rampant over the summer.

1kg apples

1.5l water

80ml lemon juice

2/3 cup chopped fresh mint + 1 extra quarter cup kept back

A pinch of salt

660g sugar

The biggest pain is the mint chopping, as it needs to be quite fine. This is the boy’s job and he’s using the mezzaluna. This was his idea in the first place. This is a lot of mint, once chopped, but that is rather the point. And it’s his own fault.

The pectin in the apples means there is no need for gelatine. I’ve nothing against cows’ hooves, but would rather have apples, if possible. Chop them, unpeeled, leaving the seeds in.  Put the apples, lemon juice, salt and the 2/3 cup of mint into a pan and simmer for 40 minutes.  The apples need to be very soft and cooked through.

Strain the mixture through muslin. This will take a while, as squeezing the bag will just make it cloudy. I have to restrain the boy from doing this several times. A jelly bag would work equally well.

Pour into a measuring jug and add 165g of sugar to each 250ml of liquid. Stir over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Then crank the heat up and boil uncovered for about 20 minutes.  You can tell it’s done by putting a small blob on a saucer that has been kept in the fridge. If it sets, it’s done. I think you want a loose jelly, so don’t overdo it.

Let it cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the reserved mint and bottle in sterilised jars. It will keep for a year. I like quite small jars as we don’t have roast lamb every day once we’ve opened one.

I keep thinking a little chilli would help this along but the boy won’t let me.

There is a recipe for fresh mint sauce on this blog (May 2012) – I prefer the sharpness but the boy prefers this sweet version. We take turns.

Rifat's Hot Tomato Sauce

This is another recipe from my friend Rifat. It freezes well so this recipe will make a lot to defrost when it’s needed. If you have to dismantle the blender to wash it afterwards, you might as well just do it once.

3 tins whole tomatoes

3-4 onions – approx. 1 ½ per tin of tomatoes, depending on their size

8 Scotch bonnet chillies (Habaneros)

1tsp coriander powder

Salt to taste – probably a heaped teaspoon

2/3 tsp turmeric

Sunflower oil – about 2/3 of a cup

Blend the tomatoes with the chillies and set aside. If you’re going to blend them, why use whole tomatoes and not chopped? Well whole tomatoes are canned slightly under ripe and I think that tartness is a virtue in a tomato. I would always recommend Cirio brand – in this case because they are so much less watery than other brands, but just cook for longer to thicken up a cheaper brand.

Blend the onions – Rifat insists that it is tomatoes first and then onions. I couldn’t quite fathom the logic and even she admits this is probably being pedantic. You may need to add a little water to ease it along and get it all out of the blender at the end.

Warm a pan up (Rifat uses a wok because of its size), and add the onions to let the water evaporate off. Stir in the salt and then add the oil. Cook on a very low heat, stirring often until the onions are completely cooked through.  This can take over an hour but Rifat says it always tastes best with patience. You can tell they are cooked when the onions separate from the oil and are golden brown.

Add the tomato/chilli mix and turn up the heat. Stir it well to mix and ad the turmeric and coriander. Taste to see if it needs more salt. If your tomatoes aren’t great quality a tsp of sugar might tip it back into balance. Rifat often adds a few whole Scotch Bonnets, and leaves them whole when freezing this but I’m not going to.

Reduce the heat and let it simmer for another hour until it is the thickness you like. Again stir from time to time, and again you can tell it is ready when the oil separates and sits on top. You can spoon some of this off if there is too much for your taste.

You will have a ton of this so let what you’re not using cool and freeze for when you need it

This is a handy base for all sorts of things though Rifat’s family favourite is with grilled chicken and rice, with some coleslaw on the side.

With this amount of chilli, this is not one for the boy. I will have it when he’s at the pub watching the football.