Thought for Food

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Pot Roast

Cold, very cold... Most of continental Europe is freezing in temperatures well below zero, but even our -2 to 5 degrees is more than I would like to have to handle. This morning I cycled to work past frost covered cars on frost covered roads, slightly worried about Ireland's unlicensed drivers and their abilities to manoeuver a vehicle in such conditions, but mostly just longing for my warm bed, a nice big cup of café au lait, a freshly baked almond croissant and a good book. Instead, when I finally made it to the office without either being harmed or harming any of my motorised co-strugglers (albeit not without fantasies of harming the odd vehicle itself), I settled for a caffè latte, a banana and a bowl of Oxfam's (very reccommendable) fair traded musli (for more information on Oxfam Fair Trade Food, click here). In fact, I can reccommend most things I have bought in my local Fair Trade Shop on South King Street. The only exception has been Teadirect Earl Grey Tea, which was a tad to weak for my taste. I prefer Clipper. Anyway, now that I have advertised my pet project, fair traded food (OK, I can't resist to say it once more and put it even more bluntly: Don't make children work for tuppence so you can have a cheap cuppa!!!), let me get back to the day.
It went by rather quickly and locked up in the office all day, I had no idea that the air had stayed clear and crisp until I got off. Accordingly, the ride home was a rather chilly experience, which needed to be compensated by a nice hot dinner. Unfortunately, our fridge was empty again. I must admit that I'm very bad when it comes to meal planning. I love to shop for food, I love to cook, but deciding today what I will want to eat on the weekend is impossible for me. I buy on impulse, I cook on impulse. What if I plan to have steak, but really fancy vegetable quiche? No, no, no, no, no. I can't let that happen. Anyway, an empty fridge in my place generally means that there is enough stuff still kicking about somewhere for at least another three to four dinners; it's just that these tend to be such things as pasta, risotto or stir fry. But tonight we needed something more substantial, something ... I dread to use the word remembering George Carlin's absolutely brilliant rant about it ... hearty. Scouring the fridge I found a few large button mushrooms, a carrot and some cream. I had some old potatoes slowly growing into plants and a few pearl onions going soft at the bottom of the cupboard. Along with some garlic (rule number one: never, ever run out of garlic! Freshly chopped and combined with spaghetti and some good extra virgin olive oil it constitutes a dinner in its own right, although you might want to consider what your plans are the next day.), sage, rosemary, a few bay leaves and two of the chicken legs that I tend to keep in the freezer for days like these, this mess started to look decidedly like a pot roast. And that's exactly what it turned out to be. So, if you next run out of food, have a cold day at the office or just fancy to provide George Carlin with someone to laugh about, try this chicken pot roast for two:

2 chicken legs
4 to 5 cloves of garlic, halved or quartered depending on size
about 5 large pearl onions, halved or quartered depending on size
1 carrot, halved or quartered lengthways depending on thickness, and then chopped into 4 cm long chunks
2 large potatoes, cut into big chunks
2 handfuls of button mushrooms, chopped into large chunks (or left whole if small)
a small handful of dried mushrooms
a few fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped, or 1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp rosemary, chopped
4 small or 2 large bay leaves
½ cup white wine
1 oxo cube (or enough stock granules for 200 ml of water) dissolved in 100 ml of water
a know of butter (about 1 1/2 tbsp)
1 tbsp four
½ cup cream (more or thick cream if you like a creamier sauce, omit it if you prefer a clear, gravy-like sauce)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius. Melt the butter in a casserole dish or ovenproof pan that you have a lid for over medium heat. Fry the chicken from both sides until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Now add the onion, garlic, button mushrooms and bay leaves to the pot and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mushrooms are beginning to shrink.
Add the dried mushrooms, sage and rosemary, stir and add the wine. Reduce then add the stock. Take off the heat and put the chicken on top, skin side up. Cover with the lid and put in the preheated oven.
After 10 minutes add the potatoes. Pour some of the fat floating on top of the sauce over the potatoes to get the surfaces nice and moist. Replace the cover and continue roasting.
After another 10 minutes add the carrots, tucking them in under the chicken. Baste the potatoes again and put the casserole, without the lid, back in the oven. Roast for a further 40 minutes, basting the chicken and potatoes occasionally if necessary. If they don't appear dry, try to resist the temptation of basting though.
When the chicken is tender and the potatoes are lightly crisp, remove them and keep them in a warm place. Heat the sauce over high heat. Sprinkle the flour over it and, stirring rapidly bring the mixture to a boil. Add some water if it appeard dry or sticky, boil a little while if it appears too thin. Do not overdo the flour unless you want it to turn similar in consistency to cheap Chinese takeout! Remove from the stove and stir in cream. Do not bring back to the boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Arrange the chicken on two plates, put half of the cooked vegetables in sauce next to it and top the sauce with the roast potatoes.

Obviously, if you don't have or don't want chicken, most poultry would work with this recipe, but you might have to adjust the cooking time according to the size of the piece of meat used. I'm sure even pork or lamb could be used, but I would advise against beef unless you like yours well done. Roast beef is a whole different chapter and is, in my opinion, best eaten rare to medium and definitely without the creamy sauce. Other vegetables that you could use with or instead of the carrots are celery and parsnips (although I admit, I hate both with a passion). I finished the meal with a nice cup of café au lait (I personally like filter Cafédirect's rich roast, which is meant to be an ordinary filter coffee, brewed in an espresso machine, which gives it a lovely crema and a very strong aroma, topped with hot foamed milk) and some chocolate thins. Now that's what I call a perfect evening.

Christine at 9:23 pm

0comments

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Oysters and Fresh Veg

Well, well, another weekend over and I have done a lot less in the kitchen than I had originally planned. Last weekend was great, exactly as I like them. It was sunny and warm (OK, it was only 8 degrees Celsius, but that seems positively hot compared to most of continental Europe) and I had all the time in the world to shop and cook. I started the day with a quick trip to Meath Street. I know, most people who know the place refuse to go anywhere near the food shops there, but I personally find such arrogance misplaced. Unlike Dutch tomatoes or battery reared chickens, the goods sold here are not by nature nasty. Many of the packaged items are out of date, but I somehow do not believe that a jar of Branston's pickle somehow tastes worse two days after Tesco would have thrown it out. OK, bad analogy. What I'm really saying is that Meath Street is great for good quality products at very, very cheap prices, but you have to be prepared to tolerate large gatherings of socially dysfunctional people and be prepared to put in the time and effort to find the good stuff among the crap. While I get pushed to the limit by the former almost every week, I actually enjoy the latter. I actually find browsing hundreds of cans and jars looking for that one special one a very relaxing activity. And last Saturday, I was very successful too. I got, besides my normal selection of fruit & veg and our usual weekend fish, a jar of lovely, entirely natural strawberry and champagne preserve, a packet of hand made gorgonzola and walnut tortellini, some organic smoked salmon and two big boxes of Hula Hoops (a bargain at 3 Euros!). Very nice indeed.
The afternoon was dedicated to more upmarket shopping. I started out at Listons, one of my favourite food stores in Dublin. With their large selection of natural, organic, fair traded and just plain yummy stuff, the place is absolutely wonderful for lovers of good food and wine. They have a good selection of fresh olives along with the usual mediterranean favourites like stuffed wine leaves, hummus and anchovies in oil; the best dried fruit that I have tasted outside Morocco; wonderful cold meats, pates and cheese; all the basic dry goods you could ever want - pasta, rice, grains, pulses; sauces and seasonings; oils and vinegars (and verjuice from Cape Town!); free range eggs and meat; milk products from happy cows; natural juices and lemonade; organic bread and cakes; fair traded tea (Clipper Earl Grey tea, no one should be without it), coffee and chocolate; a wide variety of snacks and sweets; lots and lots of wine; and a deli counter to die for. You can generally taste a number of things from the meat and cheese counter - a strategy that always gets me, there is nothing more convincing that great flavour. The staff are always friendly and really make you feel welcome. So far, whatever reason took me to Listons, I have never left dissatisfied.
My next stop was a small fruit and vegetable store on Wexford street called Evergreen. I know I should support the ladies who sell fruit and veg in the street, but their stuff is generally of a lower quality than I like it. They don't take care not to bash delicate things like tomatoes about, which means that they tend to go rotten by the next day. Besides, I get all the basics from my veggie man on Meath. He's always got nice fresh stuff, mostly locally grown, and does not skip corners on quality. He does not, however, have what might be considered posh food. This is where Evergreen comes in. Whether it is wild mushrooms, purple potatoes, sharon fruit or cape gooseberries, they always stock what I would consider special treats. They also have a very nice selection of the basics (including fresh herbs and mediterranean vegetables in oil), but also have prices to match and at times go for looks over taste. I still think that my veggie man's smaller apples are tasier than their well-polished large ones. But that does not mean Evergreen is not great. One of the fundamental mistakes of our supermarket generation is to think that we should be able to buy everything in one place. The art is in the mix.
This is why, despite being packed down and well over budget already, I headed on to Dublin's Temple Bar Food Market. Since I discovered this little food paradise our eating habits have taken a sharp turn for the better. True, the products sold here are generally more expensive than what you get at Tesco, but the claim that they charge twice as much for supposedly being organic is untrue and generally only made by people who don't know the place. And value for money wise, I take Temple Bar Market any day. No Tesco pre-packaged cheese compares to even what is on offer at the three cheese stalls here. The meat is free range and anyone who can say that they are not tempted by the smell of the freshly grilled burgers and Boerewors is either totally insensitive or a vegetarian. For the chocoholic there is Chez Emily's all natural, Belgian style chocolates. The olive stall (which also sells sun-dried tomatoes, stuffed wine leaves and the like) is a must for lovers of mezze - much better and more reasonably priced (in my humble opinion) than the stall in George Street Market Arcade. Germans (and others) can find a special treat at the cheese stall opposite the apple lady (great Irish apples and apple juice at a good price, by the way): Freshly baked Brezen! Also try their garlic cheese, it's to die for. When it comes to vegetables, the big stall right in the middle dominates the scene, but don't overlook the lady in the back corner. She grows all her own stuff, is much cheaper and is one of the few people who still grow the vegetables that our grandparents grew up with, such as red kale, greens that I've never even heard of and great old varieties of tomatoes. She's also the only place in town that sells Brussel tops. If you've never had them and see them anywhere, give them a try. They're milder than Brussel sprouts and taste great cooked like this:

1 onion, finely chopped
3 to four heads of Brussel tops, cleaned and roughly chopped
½ glas red wine
butter or olive oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the butter or oil in a big pot over medium heat. Fry the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the Brussel tops and continue frying for a minute. Then add the wine, stir well, reduce the heat and cook, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

But back to the market. If you like oysters, a stop at the oyster stall is a must for you. Gathered fresh the night before, they are served with big chunks of fresh lemon and white wine by a lovely man who will make you feel welcome as only an Irishman can. As for the price, last time I went they were € 1,25 a piece; hardly twice the going rate and definitely well worth it. I took a dozen home the other day and made a lovely chowder. Just the sort of warming dish you need at this time of the year when you're totally sick of the cold, wet Irish winter:

6-12 oysters, removed from the shell and roughly chopped, juice reserved
2 slices of streaky bacon (or a few drops of liquid smoke and 1 tsp butter, if you don't eat pork)
2 ½ cups of potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
2 onions, finely chopped
1 stock cube
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
2 ½ cups milk
½ cup cream
2 tblsp all purpose flour

Mix the oyster juice mith enough water to make up 1 cup (250 ml)
Fry the bacon in a large sauce pan over medium heat until crispy. Remove from the pan and break into small bits, leaving 1 tbsp of fat behind. (If you are not using bacon, simply melt the butter or heat the oil in a pan.)
Gently soften the onion in the fat, then add the oyster juice, potatoes, stock cube, Worcester sauce and thyme (and liquid smoke, if using). Reduce temperature and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add milk and cream to the chowder and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
Now add the oysters and gently return to the boil. Continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Ladle into bowls, add the crispy bacon and season to taste with pepper. Serve imediately.

Yum, that's made me all hungry. I guess I better get on with dinner!

Christine at 5:23 pm

0comments

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Canteen Rant

I was really going to write about my newly found insights into Mongolian cooking today, but something much more urgent is drawing my attention away from that subject: My emerging longing for springtime. I know it is only January, but I have had enough of the winter, of darkness, rain, wind and miserable faces. And I've had more than enough of feeling tired all the time. I leave home in the dark every morning and cycle to work in the dark - an unpleasant 30 minutes in smelly traffic, surrounded by people who either don't care if they hit me or who make a sport of trying. But believe me, it is still 10 times better than taking public transport in Dublin! Anyway, I spend the whole day in one of these office buildings where you completely lose track of time and space because every time the sun comes out, the blinds are drawn so we can see our computer screens and every time someone opens the window, the heating automatically turns itself up too. I should really make a point of going outside for lunch as some of my colleagues do. The problem with that is that I really get hungry by 1 o'clock and the three establishments that serve food in our business park thoroughly exploit their quasi-monopoly by charging ridiculous amounts of money for mediocre food. Our canteen on the other hand charges average amounts for very bad food. Most days you have a choice of meat with either red or white muck over the top and either overcooked rice or mushy pasta. They don't seem to be aware of such wonderful things as salt and pepper, let alone herbs and spices. In all fairness, they also offer mediocre sandwiches and half decent salads, but the prices are relatively high and entirely unpredictable. It seems like each cashier has a different system and each customer is judged differently. Oh well, this problem rarely concerns me, as, needless to say, I bring my own food and reheat it in the microwave. Not the best solution, but definitely better than the rest! In fact, yesterday lunch turned out to be quite nice. I had some saffron cream sauce left over from a fish supper, which I decided to turn into a quick sauce and toss with some pasta - always a good one for microwaving, provided you have used durum wheat pasta that will not fall apart when it's reheated. So, to anyone who needs a quick tasty lunch (or even dinner), I recommend the following:

onion, finely chopped
garlic, sliced or chopped (depending on your preferences)
a selection of vegetables that need to go (mushrooms are an old favourite because their flavour is so easily enhanced with a few crushed dried porcinis and a pinch of ground caraway seeds; spinach, ruccola, shredded Brussel sprouts, bok choi or watercress are nice colourful additions that don't take long to cook; tomatoes (sun-dried or fresh), red peppers and blanched broccoli are also nice, just make sure not to overcook them (you don't really want a sauce); finally, if you are desperate and have nothing left in the fridge, some canned sweetcorn or frozen peas can come in handy)
any meat or fish you fancy or need to use up, just make sure it goes with the veg (greens love a bit of smoked salmon, corn and bacon also mix well)
as much cooked pasta as you want
freshly grated parmesan, parmesan style cheddar, crumbly blue cheese or old gouda
butter or olive oil for frying
herbs and spices to match your selection (chopped rosemary and thyme are almost always a hit as are basil, oregano and bay leaves; tomatoes like a pinch of paprika or chilli; mushrooms go good with ground caraway, spinach with nutmeg and a more Asian mix is good with ginger)
Salt and pepper to taste or a crumbled stock cube (oxos are great here)

Fry the onions in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until golden. If you prefer your dish to be mildly garlicky or are using garlic slices, add the garlic now. Fry for another minute. Then add the herbs and spices followed by the mushrooms and/or meat/fish (though not cooked prawns, smoked salmon or cooked meat). Once this mixture is cooked down, add any other vegetables (except tomatoes). Fry to desired texture. If you like a stronger garlic flavour, add the garlic now. Then add the pasta. Heat through. Finally, add the tomatoes, cooked meat and cheese and season with salt and pepper or the stock cube. If the dish is too sticky, add a bit of butter, olive oil or cream. Serve with more grated parmesan and freshly ground pepper.

Christine at 12:23 am

0comments

Friday, January 13, 2006

Seeking Mongolia

But where was I? I know this whole line of thought started with an open bracket, but I think I will just leave it at that, let it fizzle out and try to get back to the beginning. Initially, I was going to rant a little about our inability to move beyond the planning stage until it was too late, about Irish licensing laws (and into the question what comes first, a society's obsession with preventing people from having a relaxed attitude to alcohol like the French or Italians enjoy or said society's problem with binge drinking and the loss of enjoyment associated with a good glass of wine). Unfortunately, looking at the length of this post, I have to restrain myself for fear of boring everyone including myself. Lets just leave it at saying that the Gluehwein get together never happened and that, by the time we realised this it was too late to book a Christmas dinner at a restaurant for a group of 15.
Instead, we decided to go to Dublin's Mongolian Barbecue in January. Quite a few people I know have reccommended this place if you're looking for a special treat and are not too worried about the final bill. So I had high expectations because finding a special treat here in Dublin is like looking for a needle in a haystack, and if you dare to venture into one of the restaurants, you better not worry about the final bill or you are in for a great shock.
Anyway, I should have known not to expect too much... Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of these people who refuse to eat in anything less than a three star restaurant. I love good take-out and have been known to buy a large portion of french fries from Burger King. Unfortunately, good take-out was roughly what we got. The mixed starter plate consisted of deep fried prawns wrapped in filo pastry (very yummy), vegetarian spring rolls, Veggie Samosas and BBQ spare ribs. Not bad overall, but your local Chinese takeout is probably no worse. Mine certainly isn't. The main course was, as in all Mongolian Barbecues outside Mongolia, a selection of meats and vegetables laid out buffet style. You were asked to help yourself to anything you want, add the seasoning and sauce of your choice and then take it to a couple of guys to stir fry it for you on a huge hotplate. Therefore, it is theoretically your own fault if you end up with a dull dinner. In practice, however, it is difficult to come up with great food if you're using powdered spices that have been sitting out in the open so long they no longer even smell of anything, and ready-mixed sauces that have been thinned out to the point where you would really need to fill your bowl to the rim if you wanted to be able to taste them. And what's more, you cannot adjust the seasoning during cooking.
I took a mixture of mushrooms, onions, corn, grated carrots and mixed seafood (frozen as it would be coming out of the great oceans of Mongolia) and added about twice as much herbs and spices as I would at home - garlic and ginger with a touch of chili - and two ladles of honey and soy sauce. The result was, well, slightly spicy, but otherwise taste-free stir fry, served on, believe it or not, overcooked long grain rice. Had I had a choice in the matter the whole thing would have looked somewhat like this (for 1 person):

½ cup of sliced meat, seafood of tofu (I advise against fish, it tends to fall apart. If you really want it or need to use it up, steam your whole filet with a bit of chopped garlic & ginger and use only vegetables for this recipe)
1 ½ cups of thinliy sliced mixed vegetables (Onions, carrots, sugar peas, green beans, water chestnuts, pak choi, Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts and baby corn work particularly well. Shredded Brussels sprouts are also a good addition if you like a bit of bite. If you are using broccoli or cauliflower, make sure to blanch the florets briefly in boiling water and refresh them under the cold tap. Otherwise they will stay raw during stir frying. Stay away from aubergines and zucchini, they lose too much water.)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped (or sliced if you prefer)
4 tbsp soy sauce (more if you like your food saltier)
3 tbsp medium sherry (verjuice is a good alternative if you live completely abstinent)
1 tsp grated ginger (alternatively 1/3 tsp powdered ginger)
¼ tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce (alternatively a mixture of honey, water and chili to taste)
Oil for frying (Don't be shy, use enough to give the food a bit of flavour and to be able to turn the heat up. But make sure you use the right stuff. Sunflower of peanut oil work really well. Vegetable oil isn't as good for you, but can be used. Stay away from olive oil, which burns at high temperatures. If you use flavoured oil, make sure that it is a good one. Often the seasoning is used to literally spice up cheap oil and sell it at a premium price.)

Mix the garlic, soy sauce, sherry, ginger, cumin and sweet chili sauce in a bowl. Add the meat/seafood/tofu (not the fish if you are using steamed fish). Leave to marinate for as long as you can and have time, at least 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a wok until very hot. Lift the meat/seafood/tofu out of the marinade (drain as much as possible, you want it to fry, not steam in its own sauce) and stir fry for a minute. Add you vegetables (except bok choi greens and bean sprouts) and continue frying over high heat for another 2 minutes. If you are using scallops or prawns or like your beef rare, change the order and fry the veggies first and then add the meat/seafood. Do not undercook chicken, it's nasty and unhealthy. Now add you bok choi greens and bean sprouts and fry for another minute. Finally, add the meat/seafood/tofu marinade and heat through. If you like your vegetables slightly softer or your food less garlicky, adjust the cooking times in the beginning and after adding the sauce. Beware that you might need to add a few spoonfuls of water or stock if the pan boils dry.
Serve on fried or boiled sticky rice, jasmin rice or basmati rice. Do not use long grain rice. It's impossible to eat with chopsticks and has no taste to it at all.

And while this is a European's interpretation of a Chinese cook's adaptation of his/her home country's cooking for European palates rather than a Mongolian BBQ, I still think it beats what I got.
Desert, however, was a whole different story. If it is true what they say, that a restaurant is best judged by its deserts, this one is not bad at all. The choice wasn't great, but the quality of what we got was superb. I ordered Death by Chocolate - which is exactly what I got. A slice of sticky, rich chocolate cake with lovely, gooey icing, accompanied by a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream and smothered in chocolate sauce. None of it seemed to have come from a packet, all of it was great (although not exactly Mongolian either) and I walked away happy.
Overall, the experience was pleasant enough, but I still don't recommend it to anyone who is a little more demanding. And while it did not inspire me to go home and copy their recipes, it did get me thinking: Why did we choose a Mongolian place? I think my colleagues did because it is considered trendy at the moment. I went along because I was curious. My main drive was to find out what they eat in Mongolia. I didn't manage to find and answer. But I did find a mission for tomorrow. Watch this space for some Mongolian recipes!

Christine at 11:54 pm

0comments

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Struggling with the Layout

For someone who was going to be all creative, I proved utterly inadequate at creating this blog. First I couldn't find a template I liked, and when this nice tablecloth design finally came my way - thanks to Aman @ Blogger Templates - I spent more time cursing than actually editing the code to fit my needs. I suppose I feel towards computers as many people do towards hot dinners; they're supposed to be quick and easy while at the same time making me appear wonderfully talented before the envious eyes of my peers. Unfortunately, I had to learn today that, with very few exceptions, fast food-like computing very much resembles its edible kin. It is dull, tasteless and an utter waste of time. If you want to create something unique - in the kitchen or on the PC - you have to make an effort, be prepared to work and not give up at the first sign of trouble. This was my lesson for today. If you want to have a nice table, learn to set it! (And with this wisdom in mind, I retire to the kitchen!)

Christine at 8:49 pm

0comments

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Getting Started

Well, here I am, staring at a blank screen, wondering what to write. A mixture of curiosity and boredom led me here, but somehow they refuse to take me any further. But hopefully my love for food, or rather for cooking, will help me go this extra step.
I started the new year with a number of resolutions - eat healthy, switch to organic and fair traded ingredients as much as I can and, most importantly of all, buy locally produced foods from traceable sources. A few years ago, these comments would have seemed like the crazy outbursts of a green lunatic, but now, at a time of declining standards and rising incomes, it is just simple common sense.

Christine at 9:47 am

0comments