The is definitely a dish that is not for everyone – but if you like lambs’ kidneys it is definitely one you should try!  There is very little to it in terms of effort and in all honesty it cooks just as well in a domestic kitchen as it would on a Big Green Egg.

Rome is the home of most of the Italian kidney recipes.  This one however is based on a recipe from Anna del Conte from the Emilia region of Italy

It is a really simple dish that will cook equally well on the BGE or on a domestic hob.  On the BGE we use one of the handleless sauté pans from Tefal.  This was brought up to temperature and some olive oil.  The cleaned and dried kidneys were sautéed in the olive oil with the finely chopped garlic until the kidneys just changed colour.  This is a good time to close the vents on the BGE as this stage just takes a minute or so and care is needed so as not to over cook and make them tough!

A paste of butter, anchovy and flour was then added to the pan and this was stirred through the mix for around a minute.  The pan was removed from the heat, seasoning adjusted and some lemon juice and chopped parsley was added.

Once stirred through the dish is ready to serve!             ………………………….. Delicious!

Having played with our Aubergine/Gnocchi and Parmigiana bake we have also played with a number of variations over the last year or so.  One of the best has moved it a little closer to a puttanesca sauce with anchovies, capers and olives, and for us at least, only a little chilli!

The preparation of the dish is exactly the same as for the Aubergine/Gnocchi Parmigiana bake.  Firstly the aubergine was cut into decent size chunks.  We were short of aubergine and so added a little courgette which works well too.  These were then sautéed in a little oil until each side had taken on some colour.  (We often choose to include the peppers in this dish and if so add them at this point.  The dish does work well without then too).  Set these to one side.

We added some finely chopped onion to the pan to soften in a little olive oil.  Once it had started to take on some colour the chopped garlic was added and cooked a little more.  If you are using fresh or dried chilli, then add it at this stage and stir through the mix.

A can of chopped tomatoes was added and warmed through and then the pan was taken off the heat and the anchovies stirred in.  As it is stirred through the anchovies completely break up and thickens the sauce. The pan was put back on the heat and some black olives and capers were tossed in and allowed to cook through for a couple of minutes.  This is a good time to test and adjust the sauce base as necessary.

Now to build the dish.  The roasted aubergines, (the peppers if including them) and the gnocchi were added to the sauce and left to bubble for 10-15 mins.  The sauce was stirred occasionally in the first 5 mins to make sure everything was thoroughly mixed.  Normally, at this stage, this would be the time to transfer to an ovenproof dish.  As we were already cooking in the Tefal Ingenio pans with the removable handles, this was going to be our ovenproof dish.

Once the gnocchi were starting to soften and the sauce had thickened we stirred through some fresh oregano and thyme and then scattered the torn chunks of mozzarella on the top.  We usually add a little grated parmesan cheese on top of the mozzarella.  It adds a contrasting texture and colour as well as a little more crunch to the topping.

We have cooked this inside on the hob and on the Big Green Egg, both work well.  This was being cooked on the Egg and so the vents were closed and the cheese allowed to melt for a minute or two.

Whether cooking in a domestic kitchen or on the Big Green Egg the dish often needs to be finished under a domestic grill as a ‘crozzled top’ is the one thing the BGE doesn’t do well unless the EGG diameter is a lot greater than that of your pan.

The dish can be put under the grill in the kitchen to finish off the top – but more recently we have been finishing these off in our Gozney Pizza oven.  Either way just watch that it doesn’t burn!!!

This is a dish that always tastes better if you let it cool for at least 15 minutes after cooking.  So ………

Just take a drink ……. make a green salad………….

………………… give it a go!

In our last post we said we were trying to support regenerative food production where ever possible.  So we are not going without meat for January – no ‘Veganuary” for us! Our plan is to continue to eat less (but better) meat but all year round!   We have been playing with the idea of just using a little meat to provide more complex flavour and texture profiles than we can find we can get when cooking purely vegetarian food.

We have used the term ‘plants-centric’ to describe this idea.  It has worked well for us, and describes dishes that are probably 90-95% vegetable based.  Our ‘Meat-less” idea has come a little later and describes dishes that are probably 80-85% vegetable based.

The dish in the pictures on this page is a perfect example of this sort of cooking. This is a classic pork based cassoulet but with only around 450g of meat for a dish that would feed 12.  Even including the meat based stock (from the ham we cooked earlier) we are probably only talking of around 40g of meat per portion.  This is a very small portion of meat, perhaps too much to describe out as ‘plant-centric’ but I think fulfils the idea of ‘less-meat’ ………..

…………………..or as we have cheekily described it – ‘Meat-less’!!!

The plan is too add more of these dishes, interspersed with more traditional cooks throughout the year!

Many people are trying meat free January – but not for us!!  We are reducing the volume of meat we are eating, year round, not just for a month!  We are also trying to buy this smaller volume of meat from producers supporting regenerative farming; at least when we can.

This dish is a simple example. Mostly slow sautéed leeks with pasta, and for 4 portions, less than 200g of meat.  With some chestnuts, this is enough to provide some great flavours, some texture and a really effortless cook.

So we are not going ‘meat free’ but what we might cheekily ‘meat-less’ or more accurately ‘meat-light’!!  Hopefully there will be a reasonable number of recipes supporting this approach this year……………

……………..fingers crossed!!

We have cooked so much ragù on the Big Green Egg but written very little about it.  This is just because I have been overwhelmed by the diversity and breadth of the history of ragù in Italy.  So where do you start?  Well we are starting here – with a master of Italian food, Theo Randall.  Jackie and I have recently been doing some online courses from Banquist, a company based in the UK.  Their pasta course was led by Theo Randall – if you have not come across Theo – check him out here.

This was the second dish we cooked on the course.  It was a beef ragù, with more Neapolitan rather than Bolognese origins in that tomatoes are very well represented in the sauce.  This is not the case with Bolognese cooking (you can feel the complication of Italian cooking history already).  However you chose to classify it though, it is a really great ragù.  This recipe follows Theo’s almost exactly.  It was, however, cooked for longer at a lower temperature and was cooked over charcoal on the Big Green Egg.

The meat used for this first ‘run out’ of this recipe was wagyu shoulder. Beef shoulder is often referred to as Chuck and I would suspect that any chuck would work well in this recipe!  Using substantial chunks of meat when making a ragù has the enormous advantage that they are easy to manage at this stage when trying to get colour onto the meat.  It is that Maillard reaction that brings so much extra flavour to dishes. The chunks of beef were dried and then seasoned generously with salt.  The beef was then fried at a high heat in a pan with a little olive oil, making sure that all sides of the meat were browned.  This could be done on the BGE but on this occasion these first stages were done on a domestic hob in the kitchen.  Whilst the meat was browning a large onion was halved and diced reasonably finely.  The meat was then removed from the pan and set to one side.

The diced onion was then added to the pan with the remaining meat juices, together with a further kiss of olive oil. As the onions started to sauté 2 sticks of celery were finely chopped and added to the pan with a little more olive oil and fried on a medium heat for around 4 minutes.

This is where we came across the first surprise.  A sofrito normally has diced carrot, which would be added at this stage, but the advice was to miss out the carrot (as much for visual reasons as anything else).  A little reluctantly we went along with this (Chef Randall has had a Michelin Star after all!!). So a slightly different looking sofrito in this one!!

As the sofrito was cooking the San Marzano tomatoes were chunked and then very finely blended with a stick blender.  Normally a passata is sieved to remove the seeds and skin.  When it is blitzed in this way though it is not really necessary and there is far less waste.  The blitzed tomato was going to be used with some conventional passata to add some sweet freshness.

The beef was added back to the sofrito and the chopped rosemary.  The red wine was added and stirred through the mix. This was left to simmer for a few minutes to drive off the alcohol before adding the tomato pulp and the passata.  The pan was then brought to a gentle simmer.  If we were going to finish the cooking in a conventional oven this would be the time to add a close fitting lid before putting it in the oven at around 180C for around 90 minutes.  We were, however, going to cook the ragù on the BGE set up for indirect cooking at between 150-160C.

Because we were cooking on the BGE the pan was not lidded for some of the cook as the EGG doesn’t dry out a casserole in the same way a domestic oven does.  As we were cooking at a lower temperature we cooked for around 2.5 hours rather than the 90mins in the original recipe.  If necessary just add a little more liquid if needed.  The great thing is that as long as you don’t let the dish dry out it is difficult to overcook it!

Once the meat is meltingly tender the casserole can be removed from the Big Green Egg for the next stage in the process.  As we started off with large chunks of meat we then needed to break up the  meat into the sauce.  The easiest way to do this is with a whisk.  The whisk is simply used to bash the meat until it breaks down to the required consistency as in the picture.  The ragù can be used straight away or left to mature overnight.  If anything it is a little better on the second day!

We were serving the ragù with home made egg pasta.  Hopefully we will publish this later.  We were going to use a very traditional Tuscan Pappardelle pasta which is usually around 2cm wide and around 25cm long.

The secret of a great pasta ragù is to slightly undercook the pasta so that it is al dente and then to add the pasta and a little of the salted pasta water to the ragù.  The final cooking of the pasta is finished in the ragu.  The pappardelle is gently stirred through the ragù and as that is done it releases some of its starch, adding a silkiness.  Just before it is ready to serve, a handful of chopped herbs can be added and stirred through; on this occasion parsley.

All that is left to do is pop open a good bottle of Italian red, and serve the pasta on the plate or bowl of your choice.  ideally the serving dish for this sort of pasta should have a flat base.  This traditional way of serving the dish has the practical advantage that the pasta can be spread out.

……….so some freshly grated parmesan……..

……………… and away we go!!

Footnote: The dish was delicious and my concern about missing the carrots out of the sofrito on this occasion were unfounded – however as a rule I am still using very finely diced carrots in my sofrito for other dishes!!

What is in a name? I often think it funny how we accept both the name of dishes and their presentation as though they are ‘original dishes’. I mean original in the sense of – always made this way.  In reality the dishes we have today represent the journey the dish has taken both through history, and from its geographical origin.  “Pollo alla Cacciatora”, “Chicken Cacciatora” or “Hunter’s Chicken” is just one of those examples.  Clearly from the name its origins are Italian.  There are, however, also versions from France where it is called chasseur, and Spain where it is called cazadores.  These dishes are stalwarts of restaurants from each of these countries but if we go back in time would any self respecting hunter ever gone out hunting and come back with a chicken …………. I think not!

Jamie Oliver in his recipe on which this particular cook is based suggested that it would be the type of food a hunter’s wife would cook for her hunter husband when he returned from a day of hunting.  Even if we put the stereotype to oneside here I suspect that the notion is fanciful.  More likely that this is a dish cooked using the products of a day’s hunting.  I suspect it will have been originally made with rabbit or what we now think of as game birds.  The gentle cooking that these recipes have in common would be perfectly suited to these tasty, but potentially dry and often stringy sources of meat

Having said all that, this particular recipe uses chicken as we are yet to try other options ……….. but hopefully we will, and will report back!  Cooking with chicken would mean that the time for cooking could easily be reduced as the chicken will cook quickly – often too quickly!  But to reduce the time I feel is to miss the point.  This is a slow cook dish that develops its taste through slow cooking.  Because of this though, rather than use the whole chicken, I would reserve the breasts for other dishes.  The drum, thigh and even the wings respond well to slower, longer cooks.  For this particular cook we used just thighs and drumsticks!

We had decided to take the leisurely approach to this dish which therefore started out with an overnight marinade (though a couple of hours would probably be fine too!). The chicken pieces were kept with the skin on and were seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  They were put into a container and bay leaves, rosemary and a crushed clove of garlic were added.  The container was topped up with the red wine and it was popped into the fridge to work its magic overnight.

Taking it out of the fridge in the morning the chicken had taken on that rather dusky colour that you get when marinating in red wine. That brought into contrast the deeper yellow colour you get with slower grown corn fed birds.  This is a dish that I firmly believe should be cooked with the skin on the chicken.  Like most people though I hate ‘floppy’, ‘soggy’ chicken skin!

The answer is to brown off the chicken really well, and render down the fat in the skin which adds enormously to the taste of the dish.  And then to cook at least some of the chicken ‘breaking the surface’ of the casserole – so that it is exposed to the heat of the cooking directly.  This is a perfect opportunity therefore to cook in the Big Green Egg.  Cook at a low temperature, for a longer time.  No lid is needed on the casserole, the surface of the skin exposed to heat but in an oven which will not dry out the meat.

The BGE was set up for direct cooking at around 180C.  The chicken was drained and the marinade reserved.  After removing the chicken it was dried and  very lightly dusted with seasoned flour, the excess shaken off.  The pans were heated on the BGE and a little oil was added.  The chicken was then browned off making sure the fat was well rendered from the skin. This can be done in a shallow casserole or a handleless frying pan such as the Tefal Ingenio pans.  We were using the MiniMax which easily accommodates the pans we were using.  Once beautifully coloured, the meat can be set aside.

We could have finished this off in the shallow casserole but opted for a slightly deeper one as we were cooking 12 chicken pieces.  This was put onto the heat and the sliced garlic was gently coloured.  The anchovies, olives, tomatoes (broken up with a wooden spoon) and the chicken pieces with their reserved marinade were then added. The pot was brought to a very gentle boil then the platesetter was put into place to move from direct to indirect cooking. The temperature of the EGG was dropped to around 130C and the casserole left to very gently bubble.  As we were cooking in the BGE there was no need to put the lid on the Dutch oven allowing a gentle smokiness to add to the flavour of the dish.

We left it all to cook for more than the 1½ hours suggested in the original recipe We checked a couple of times that more water was not needed and gave it the occasional gentle stir, but nothing else.

Once the chicken was obviously ‘butter tender’ and the sauce had formed a lovely ‘jammy’ finish on the chicken all the vents were closed.  All that was left to do was to skim off any oil that’s collected on top of the sauce, taste and add a little salt and pepper if necessary.

Bay leaves and rosemary sprigs were removed and we were ready to serve (and portion some for later too).

We served one drum and one thigh per person.  It works well with a salad. as the sauce is not wet and runny.  It also works really well with cannellini beans or chickpeas.  Try rice or gnocchi or as here, with spiced red cabbage and root vegetables …………………

………..oh yes …………….and plenty of Italian red!!

This is such a good sauce and a perfect foil for so many pasta dishes.  Not only that but it is very simple to make.  We first came across it on a pasta making course led by Theo Randall.  The course was organised by Banquest and was great fun and I would highly recommend it if you love pasta!  We have now used this basic sauce in a number of ways.  Cooked indoors on the hob and outside on the BGE.  With the smallest amount of creme fraiche it makes a lovely mushroom sauce to go with chicken or pork.  But it really comes into its own in its native form with pasta.  More than anything else we have used it with filled pasta, particularly tortelli, tortellini or cappelletti.

The basic sauce is based on dried porcini mushrooms.  We just love porcini!  With the dried ones you just need to remember that 10g of dried porcini will transform into the equivalent of 100g of fresh porcini once rehydrated.  10g is fine for 2 people.  Perhaps the hardest thing about making the sauce is remembering to rehydrate the dried porcini at least 2 hours before you  need it.  This is much longer than we ever used to leave them and it makes such a difference.  Simply pour over enough boiled water to cover the porcini and leave well alone and get on with the rest of your day!

So after 2 hours or more, remove the porcini from the water and check for any woody or ‘muddy’ bits and remove them.  Finely chop the mushrooms to the size you can see in the picture of them in the pan.  If you want or you are a little short of porcini, you can add a few fresh mushrooms at this stage, shiitake or chestnut mushrooms work well with the porcini.

Add a little olive oil to the pan and then the chopped porcini mushrooms.  Mince a clove of garlic with a pinch of salt to form a paste and add to the mushrooms.  And gently sauté for a couple of minutes then carefully pour the porcini liquor that is left after rehydrating the mushrooms.  Be careful to pour slowly so any grit can be left in the last few spoonfuls of the liquid which should be discarded.  Add just a little more water, turn down the heat and cook for around 10 minutes.

When you are ready to use the sauce, add a large knob of butter and some chopped flat parsley and season with a little salt.

If you are using the sauce for pasta, add the pasta to some salted water on a rolling boil. We were using Tortelli in this example.  Cook (in the case of fresh Tortelli around 3-4 mins) until the pasta is about three quarters cooked through.

Add the pasta to the porcini sauce and continue to cook the pasta in the sauce for 2-3 minutes. Keep agitating the pasta in the sauce so that the pasta gives off some starch which then thickens the sauce.  Add a little more pasta water as you are doing this as the sauce thickens, and repeat to control the final viscosity of the sauce.  Make sure the sauce clings to all the surfaces of the pasta during this final phase of the pasta cook……………. and serve!

For the Tortelli, we served with shards of parmesan and some black summer truffle…………………….. perfect!!

Footnote: if using this sauce without pasta say with pork or chicken a little cream or creme fraiche stirred in after the butter has been incorporated produces a lovely rich sauce.  If doing that, perhaps consider adding a little less butter, or omit it all together.

Over the last couple of years we have been eating more and more aubergine based dishes.  Usually Italian in style, they always seems to be made with tomatoes too.  When we came across this recipe in our local supermarket’s food magazine it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. A quick glance on the internet reveals a host of versions of this recipe.  So many of them though included lots of different and additional ingredients: raisins, pine nuts, cream, mozzarella, feta, bread crumbs, mint ……….. the list goes on! As with so much Italian cooking, at its best, simplicity is the key.  This is basically a simple dish, with a minimal number of ingredients and it has Italy written all over it!

We have made this a number of times both indoor and out and it always works well!  The first time we tried it we didn’t have any ricotta cheese and substituted a soft spreadable goats cheese we had in the fridge.  That was great – but I have to say on balance my favourite version is this one with ricotta.  We have tried different tinned tomatoes too.  Whilst it works well with any good tinned tomato, it is just in a different league when made with tinned San Marzano tomatoes.
These are the classic Italian tomato; one of the only 2 types allowed on an authentic Neapolitan Pizza.  (The other is the Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio which must be grown in one of the 18 ‘comuni’ lying just about within the Vesuvius National Park).  They bring a special flavour and sweetness to the sauce without having to resort to the addition of sugar.  They are more expensive, but as the sauce simply comprises only tomatoes, garlic, sage leaves and butter, this is a perfect time to use them!

Preparation is simplicity itself; the BGE was set up for indirect cooking with the platesetter in place.  Once the temperature stabilised at around 180-200C we needed a solid metal surface to add some colour to the aubergine slices.  A plancha, skillet or in our case a stainless steel searing plate was perfect.  We usually just oil it and pop the aubergines on flipping them as they take on colour.    In batches, these were cooked for 10-15 minutes turning once during the cooking. They were then put to one side to cool.

We swapped out the searing plate for our Tefal Ingenio frying pan. This could have been used to brown the aubergine slices which would have made this a true one pan cook.  Once the pan was hot we added the butter, garlic slices and the sage leaves and cooked for a few minutes to infuse their taste into the butter. To this was added one can of San Marzano tomatoes and as they usually come as whole tomatoes they were gently crushed and mixed with the infused butter and seasoned.  If cooking on a hob or stove top I would add around one third of a can of water to the tomatoes and leave them to bubble gently for around 20 minutes until the sauce thickens and the flavour deepens.  Cooking on the EGG is the same except that you only add  a touch of water, just enough to rinse out the can.  This is because the cooking in the EGG retains so much moisture.  To cook the sauce it is worth just closing down the vents a little and dropping the temperature to around 180C.

Whilst the sauce was cooking we put the ricotta into a bowl, grated in the zest and added the juice of half a lemon and two thirds of the grated parmesan.  It was seasoned to taste with just a little salt and pepper.  One heaped teaspoon of the mix was placed at one end of the aubergine and this was then rolled up into a cylinder containing the mix.  Once the sauce was cooked the rolled aubergines were pushed into the sauce with the seam at the bottom.

A drizzle of olive oil was poured over the involutini and some sage and torn basil leaves scattered over the top.  This was followed by the remains of the lemon infused ricotta and the rest of the parmesan.  The dish was then returned to the Big Green Egg for the final part of the cook.   It takes around 25-30 minutes to cook this through.  If the top doesn’t brown as you would like, it can be popped under a grill for a minute or so (or under the flame of a pizza oven for 30 seconds!).

Possibly the most important step however, and one easily forgotten – let it stand!  The dish should be allowed to cool before serving.  This is true for so many baked dishes with a tomato sauce base and very true here.  Let it stand for at least 5 minutes.  Use the time to make a fresh leaf salad which is the perfect accompaniment.  Pour yourself a glass of something you fancy (A medium bodied red wine is perfect) – and take a sip in anticipation!

Serve at the table with the simple salad …………………..

………….buon appetito!

This is dish is so simple it is almost ridiculous!  It works well cooked in a domestic kitchen and even better when cooked over charcoal. The original recipe comes from our regular vegetable supplier Boxxfresh.  We have just added the odd tweak to this already excellent recipe.  The first of these was the addition of 4 large mushrooms that had been quartered.  The only other differences were the addition of some mixed Italian herbs and the use of a little smoked paprika instead of black pepper.

This dish works especially well with the long banana shallots peeled and divided into separate bulbs (if they will) or cut lengthways into relatively wide slices.  These go together beautifully with the roughly chopped garlic cloves.  You will need 8 good sized shallots and 3 garlic cloves.  We were cooking on the Big Green Egg set up for a direct cook initially at around 160C.  The pan was put over the heat and the oil warmed in the casserole.  Once the oil was warm the mushrooms were added for a couple of minutes.  They were then joined by the  garlic and shallots and sautéed for 4-5 minutes until they started to take on just a little colour.  They needed an occasional stir to make sure they didn’t stick.  

At this point we added a small oak chunk to the charcoal, just to push the smoky edge of the dish. The platesetter was introduced and the rest of the cook completed indirectly.  The tinned tomatoes and half a tin of water together with the butterbeans, herbs and tomato puree were added, seasoned and stirred through. The casserole was brought to a slow simmer and left to cook for around 45-60 minutes.  And that is it!!

Simply serve with some crusty bread or as we did here some finely chopped Pak Choi dressed with olive oil and a little wine vinegar

We bought 3 small chickens and butchered these and set the prime pieces to oneside. The 3 carcasses and the wing tips were used to make the sauce (rather than the prime pieces as in the original recipe).
The shallots, garlic and lardon were sautéed until they began to take on a little colour.  At this point the mushrooms were added and fried for a few minutes longer. Everything was then transferred to a separate bowl.The chicken carcasses were cut into smaller pieces and dusted with seasoned flour.  The remaining oil was transferred to the pan and the chicken was browned.
The wine, stock, herbs and the cooked shallots, lardons and mushrooms were added back to the pan and seasoned with salt and black pepper.   The pan was brought to a simmer and cooked for around 20 minutes without a lid. The liquid was separated off by passing through a colander set over a bowl.  The chicken carcasses were discarded and the lardon and vegetables were kept warm. The strained liquid was returned to the pan and reduced a little. The pan was then removed from the heat.  The cream, egg yolk and a ladle of the reduced cooking liquid was mixed together and then poured back into the pan with the stock. The pan was then gently heated without boiling and stirred constantly until the sauce thickened.  This may take 15 minutes, don’t rush it!  The sauce needs to thicken to the point, so that when hot it just coats the back of a spoon.  All the other ingredients (except the chicken) were added back into the sauce. The sauce was then portioned into 3 double portions and vac-packed for later.

When re assembling the dishes we have vacilated on how much chicken to use.  The original Rick Stein dish included a whole chicken.  Nice though it was this was too much meat!  So on the 2 occasions we have done it, we have done it in 2 ways based on this recipe.  Firstly we have shared a single breast between us and had a thigh each with a little extra vegetables.  On the second occasion we had a breast and a thigh each (which was rather generous!!).  But which ever way, the 3 chickens gave  the carcasses to make the stock and then 6 breasts (as supremes), 6 thighs and 6 drum sticks.  At the very least this would leave 3 thighs and 6 drum sticks – very economical which ever way you look at it!!

So to the assembly. If cooking the chicken inside I would suggest tossing the chicken pieces in seasoned flour first when cooking in a butter and oil mix, until the pieces take on some colour then pop in a hot oven for around 10 minutes to reach a core temperature of around 70C. At this point they should be added to the warmed sauce (temperature around 85C) and left to hold the temperature for 2-3 mins or so.  My favourite way however is to sauté the chicken pieces in a cast iron or heavy pan/plancha on the Big Green Egg (using this basic technique).
And when they are approaching 70C add them to the sauce to let them finish in the same way

All that is left to do is to plate.  This dish works so well with simple boiled potatoes and perhaps one vegetable.  Here it is also served with Piperade you can fine the recipe for that here.
Add the potatoes to the plate.  Remove the chicken from the sauce then spoon the sauce around the potatoes.  Place the chicken pieces back into the pool of sauce.

Garnish and serve!

Footnote:  the one precautionary issue is the reheating of the sauce.  Take time over this and heat it slowly and keep it well stirred.  I suspect that if you heat it too much or too quickly the sauce may split – so proceed with a little caution!!

Well I have to say, having been given a full day tutorial by our next door neighbour in Italy on making tagliatelle I always feel guilty when I don’t make my own!  For once though I don’t feel guilty but rather pleased I have bought it ready made – but more of that later.  Longer wider pastas are really fabulous with rich meaty sauces in that they carry the sauce so well. More than that though they don’t just carry the sauce – they contribute to it!

There is such a big difference between a pasta dish in the UK (with notable exceptions) and ostensibly the same dish in Italy. In Italy the pasta and the ragù become one by the way it is tossed through the sauce.  It carries the salted pasta water and gives a little of its self to thicken the ragù and develop a silky emulsion. This in turn coats the pasta and brings the two components together.   Far too often in the UK the pasta may only get a cursory toss through the ragù!  It may be for this reason that the proportion of sauce served in the UK tends to be greater than in Italy.  But in the home of pasta, alchemy is performed, and the pasta and the ragù become a single entity.  Indeed they become more than the sum of their two parts and become something quite magical………..

Enough of this  romanticism for the moment and back to this dish!  We made the ragù some time ago and this was the last portion from the freezer – recipe here.
This is a lovely recipe which has repeatedly worked well for us. This ragù is something we normally serve with pappardelle – Tuscan style and very good it is that way too.  On this occasion though we had it with a fresh tagliatelle pasta from ‘La Tua Pasta’.  In so doing the cuisine moved from Tuscany north west to Emillia-Romana.

Bologna is the capital, of Emillia-Romana-Romana and is the origin of ragù Bolognese.  Our ragù here is similar to this ragù Bolognese though it has subtle differences.  LIke the traditional ragù Bolognese it works so well with perhaps the best known pasta of the region – Tagliatelle.  Under no circumstances should either of these ragù ever be served with spaghetti – unless of course you simply want to insult your Italian friends!!

Our sauce here picks up on many of the themes of that traditional ragù Bolognese, built on a basic soffritto, it contains just a little tomato and is seasoned simply with salt and pepper, occasionally nutmeg, or as here, cinnamon.  So a dish that could sit comfortably in either Tuscany or Emillia-Romana – but when served with tagliatelle it most definitely speaks of its Bolognese origins!

The tagliatelle for this dish came from the UK company La Tua Pasta.
We have used their pasta a lot during the Covid Pandemic especially enjoying their beautiful filled pastas which I still find difficult to make!!  But I would give a special ‘shout out’ for their tagliatelle.  It is a beautiful egg pasta which although will keep for a week or so tastes just like a fresh pasta you have made yourself.  It does have the advantage over my own tagliatelle that it holds together better as you toss it though the ragù to create that lovely authentic Italian union between ragù and pasta.  And so without any apology I give you our ‘Slow Cooked Venison ragù with fresh Tagliatelle’

………….. I hope you enjoy it!

Full recipe here.

I suppose I have never really given red cabbage much of a thought! If it has ever crossed my mind it would be as a vegetable to go with a Christmas meal.  Have we been missing a trick?!  This is a fabulous, flexible and delicious dish that you need to cook as soon as you find a red cabbage!

This recipe comes from our vegetable supplier Boxxfresh in the UK. They have a series of great recipes on their website (see here) – and this is one we use (largely) without any modification. That is other than cooking it on the Big Green Egg and cooking it without the lid on!

We have used this dish with so many of our cooks because it is so versatile. The thing that has surprised us more than anything though is how well it works cold.  As (what is almost) a slaw, it is fabulous. Try it with burgers you will be staggered !! So much so that we have found ourselves making it in June on the rare occasion you see a red cabbage in the warmer months.

Although we have made this in our kitchen – it is so much more fun doing it on the Big Green Egg certainly if it is a lovely sunny day!  The preparation is straightforward.  The core was removed from the red cabbage and it was finely sliced as were the 3 red onions.  The apples were cored and cut into matchsticks.  (We have also done without coring the apples and detected no difference in the final dish.)

We sometimes use the Tefal Ingenio saucepans on the EGG as you can simply remove the handles for cooking.  Alternatively, as on this occasion we used a large casserole pan – just select a pan large enough to accommodate the size of red cabbage you are cooking.

I started the cook off direct over a medium heat (Dome temp around 160-80C).  We added the olive oil to the pan and started off sautéing the onions until translucent.
Then the cinnamon stick, the apple and red cabbage were added and tumbled together. A quick seasoning with sea salt and black pepper before pouring in the balsamic vinegar and maple syrup and the work is almost complete.  Simply give everything a mix, pop the plate setter into place to move to indirect cooking and allow to cook for around 90 minutes without the lid (if cooking indoors cook for the first hour with the lid and the last 30 minutes without). All that was left to do was to moderate the temperature, give it the occasional stir and marvel at the transformation. The cabbage will reduce in size and change colour to a lovely deep purple.

The spiced cabbage is lovely cold, keeps well in the fridge because of the vinegar in it – when we have cooked a large cabbage we have certainly kept some of it for more than a week successfully. The only difficult thing is deciding what not to serve it with – it is so versatile!  Here we have served it with our Vegetarian Bourguignon where the spiciness of the cabbage is a perfect foil for the richness of the Bourguignon.

Do give it a try – it is a quite astounding dish. When you find some other novel combinations that it works well with …….

…….do let us know!!

We recently cooked pheasant breast in a creamy parmesan sauce (see here) and commented in the last blog that the sauce would work well as a pasta sauce.  So here we are!

The recipe for the sauce is largely the same as when cooked with pheasant breast although we added some finely chopped kale stems simply as we had some in the garden that needed to be used.  This is the sort of recipe which will happily accommodate what you have to hand.  The sauce was made exactly as we had done previously and so we will only cover it briefly here.

The EGG was set up for direct cooking.   The lardon/pancetta pieces were sautéed until they took on some colour then the chopped onion was added and cooked till translucent. Mushrooms followed and they were cooked for another 5 minutes before the garlic was then added and cooked through for another minute or so.

Time to deglaze the pan, adding the wine, then cooking off the alcohol and reducing the volume a little.  200ml of concentrated chicken stock was then added followed by a handful of peas (and on this occasion some finely chopped kale).  This was cooked for 2-3 minutes before taking the pan off the heat.

Once off the heat we stired in the creme fraiche and the parmesan and kept the pan warm whilst cooking the pasta. When the pasta was almost ready we put the sauce back on a gentle heat and added the pasta to the sauce with a little of the pasta water and completed the last minute of the pasta cooking as we tossed it in the sauce.

We were using Radiatori, a pasta developed in the period between the two World Wars and named as they look a little like a vintage car radiator.  They work really well with this sort of thick creamy sauce which clings beautifully.  Served with more fresh parmesan, this a very opulent pasta dish!

…………… definitely one to return to!!

We have been slowly trying to clear things from the freezer and came across some frozen pheasant breasts.  A little out of season for the UK, but that doesn’t take away from the beauty of the produce or its free range pedigree!  Hunting round for a different way to prepare pheasant breasts we came across a recipe from “Wild and Game” in the UK.  The was for pheasant breast served with pasta – not something I wanted to do, but I did like the look of the sauce.

As a sauce (without the pheasant) I could imaging it would work tossed through pasta.  Here it serves as a vegetable, a sauce and also as a poaching liquid for the pheasant.  The other nice thing is that you can partially pre-make the sauce and bring it together with the pheasant at the last moment.

This was all cooked on the EGG set up for direct cooking.   It would also work well in a domestic kitchen on the hob too.  We used our Tefal Ingenio pans as they work so well on the EGG.  Once the temperature had stabilised out at around 180C the sauté pan was heated and the lardon/pancetta pieces were added and cooked until they took on some colour.  At this point the chopped onion was added and cooked till translucent. This was followed by the mushrooms which were cooked for another 5 minutes or so until softening.  The chopped garlic was then added and cooked through for a further minute or so.  That is the majority of the work completed.

The wine is then added to the pan.  This adds its own character to the sauce and also deglazes the pan.  This was cooked through for a few minutes to cook off all the alcohol and to reduce the volume a little.  At this point the 200ml of chicken stock was added (This was a concentrated mix made from one whole commercial stock pot added to  200 ml of water). Finally, a large handful of frozen peas were tossed in and cooked for 2-3 minutes before taking the pan off the heat.   If you are going on to cook the Pheasant straight away,once off the heat stir in  the creme fraiche and the parmesan and keep the pan warm.  If you are delaying cooking the Pheasant breasts then add the creme fraiche and parmesan after putting the pan back on the heat  and bringing the temperature up a little.

The Pheasant breasts were cooked in a separate pan in a mixture of butter and olive oil and a stalk of rosemary until they took on a good colour.  Their core temperature at this point was around 56-58C. The air vents were closed on the EGG and the remaining cooking was done with the residual heat. Pheasant breasts have a tendency to be a little dry even when cooked on the BGE if cooked at too high a temperature. Because of this we always aim to serve them a little pink.  The breasts were sat on the finished cream sauce and the 2 were cooked together in the BGE for 5 minutes or so till their core temperature approached 63-64C (American sites tend to suggest a finished temperature for any fowl as 74C but these have been at or above 60C for more than 12 minutes and so we are very comfortable with them being lower – see here for the explanation)

They were served simply with tray roasted root vegetables – these were also cooked on the MiniMax.  It may have been easier to cook this on the large BGE but we cooked all this on the  MiniMax simply to see if we could!  The vegetables were sautéed in a separate Tefal pan.  They were started off first in a separate pan and taken to the point when nearly cooked.  The pan was set to one side and kept warm.  The sauce was then made, up to the point of adding the Creme Fraiche and the parmesan.  This was also put to one side and kept warm whilst the pheasant breasts were sautéed in a 3rd pan.  The cream and the parmesan was stirred through the sauce which was gently warmed and the  pheasant breasts were put on top of the sauce.  The combination was cooked on the MiniMax for a few minutes.  This was set to one side, letting the pheasant rest whilst the vegetables were put back on the heat to finish off.

If you cook this on a larger Egg, then you can do it without all the pan swapping – but where is the fun in that!!?

All that was left to do was to plate up ……………….

…………… do give it a go!!

Footnote:

• If you don’t fancy or can’t get hold of pheasant breasts – this works really well with chicken!
• No pheasant or chicken breast?  The sauce works as a great pasta sauce by itself, just stir though some cooked pasta! – see here

I can’t believe that we haven’t published this recipe before! This dish became one of our staple dishes during the 2020-21 UK lockdown period. It works well cooked in  a conventional oven as you would expect with a dish from Nigel Slater.  It is however so much better when cooked over charcoal on the Big Green Egg! The recipe follows the original Slater recipe quite closely. We do usually add some celeriac to it in place of some of the swede though. The other change we make is in the way we prepare the vegetables. Normally in a dish like this we would attempt to get the pieces of vegetable to be a similar size so they cook in a similar time. Here though we do the opposite, and look for both large and small pieces. This is to broaden the range of textures of the final dish. It is so often the range of textures I miss in a plant based dish, rather than the taste of anything meaty. Our third ‘tweak’ is to cook it at a slightly lower temperature but for slightly longer.  This seems to just give a favourable edge to the caramelisation we get on the vegetables.

The first thing to do is to set up the Big Green Egg for indirect cooking at around or just below 180C. We have also cooked the dish at around 160C without the platesetter in place. Cooking like this gives really good colour on the vegetables. It does, however, require more attention and more regular tossing of the vegetables.

The recipe works best with red onions. These were peeled, cut in half and then into thick segments lengthways. Around 300-400g of swede and a similar about of celeriac was peeled and cut into the size of ‘chunky chips’. These mimic the size of the carrots, some thin and some thicker around 5-8cm long. The parsnips were peeled and cut into similar size pieces. The 4 carrots were also peeled and cut into similar pieces. All the vegetables were tossed in some olive oil and put into a roasting tin. For this we use the large Tefal Ingenio Sauté pan which makes a great roasting tin.  It also has the advantage that you can attach the handle and toss the vegetable when you need to.

We have used both smoked and fresh garlic, and as we are cooking over charcoal we have not found any great advantage of using the smoked garlic that Nigel Slater suggests.  The top of the garlic head was cut off and the head was tucked into the bed of vegetables.   We tucked in sprigs of fresh thyme around the dish and poured a little more oil over the vegetables.  The dish was roasted for 25-30 minutes before tossing the vegetables over and roasting for a further 20-25 minutes.

After 50-60 minutes, the vegetables should be softening and taking on some colour.  At this point we removed the garlic, tossed the vegetables again and then mixed in the mustard seeds and the fennel seeds.  The EGG was closed again and the vents opened a little to do the final 20 minutes of the roast at a slightly higher temperature.

The garlic that had been removed was squeezed out of its outer skin into a glass bowl and broken up with the back of a spoon.  The feta cheese was crumbled into the bowl and mixed with the garlic ready to dress the final dish just before serving.

Remove the roasted vegetables from the Big Green Egg and gently toss with some of the feta and garlic mix.  Simply plate up and then sprinkle with the remaining feta and garlic and serve.

So why is it better on the EGG than in a conventional oven.  I think it is simply that even with the platesetter in place there is more ‘bottom heat’ in the EGG and so the base of the heavy pan has more opportunity to develop those characteristic ‘bottom of the roasting tin’ flavours

………………. give it a try and see what you think!

Variations: don’t feel constrained by the mix and proportion of vegetables used here.  feel free to alter the amounts and try others too

Over the last few years when travelling in Tuscany I have been tempted on a few occasions to buy and cook a rabbit, Italian style.  Only having the Mini BGE with us I have been reluctant, as casseroling on a 10 inch Kamado never seemed quite possible  (I have not found a casserole dish small enough to fit – yet!!)!  As we can’t travel to Tuscany at the moment, it does mean we have access to a greater range of BGEs at home.  All we needed therefore was the rabbit and a recipe or 2 to play with!!  Today we had both – so here we go!

The recipe is based on one of Anna Del Conte’s recipes from her classic book The Gastronomy of Italy (a birthday present for my last ‘significant’ birthday). Del Conte’s recipe was itself based on a classic from La Cucina d’Ora – a ‘tome and a half’ with more than 1500 classic regional recipes, published in corporation with the Accademia Italiana della Cucina.  A variation of the recipe also appears in ‘La Cuchina – The regional cooking of Italy’ in the section from Piedmont in the Northwest of Italy (but without the anchovies!).

The BGE was set up for direct cooking and allowed to stabilise at around 180C.  Whilst waiting we portioned the rabbit into the 4 limbs – the loin was also portioned into 4 pieces (there are lots of You Tube videos demonstrating this, or you can ask your butcher).

In many ways it would be easier to cook this dish in the large BGE as you could have 2 pans on the heat at the same time.  Despite this we elected to cook on the MiniMax just to see how it would go.  If you can cook it on a small BGE, you can always cook it in a larger one!

Half the butter and a similar volume of olive oil was added with the rosemary.  The hot oil quickly absorbs the essential oils from the rosemary.
The Bay leaf and the rabbit pieces were added and the rabbit browned on all sides.  When all were nicely brown add the stock and cook for around 20 minutes.  The casserole was moved from the BGE,  the cooking continuing with the stored heat from the pan.

A second pan was put in the MiniMax to heat up.  The remaining butter and a similar volume of olive oil was added to the pan with the anchovy fillets.  The anchovies quickly become a mush which thickens the oil. This is just the time to add the garlic and the pepper strips.  The original recipe uses yellow peppers – but we had red ones, and I think they look great!  They were seasoned with pepper, but not salt as the anchovies were already salty.  The peppers were cooked for around 5 minutes then the vinegar was added and stirred through.  They were then cooked for a further 10 minutes until they softened a little, stirring regularly.

The pepper mixture was added to the casserole with the rabbit and the casserole was returned to the BGE.  The air vents were shut back to allow the temperature to fall a little.  The dish was cooked for another 30 minutes turning the pieces 2 or three times in this period.  (You could probably reduce this to around 20 minutes with a farmed rabbit).

All that was left to do was to plate up. We sat the rabbit on a small piece of sourdough to absorb the rich sauce and served with steamed broccoli.  We served one large hind leg and a piece of loin each and saved the rest for a second rabbit dish which we will publish soon.

…………………………………. do give it a go!

Footnote: Most of today’s chicken recipes started their lives as rabbit recipes – so in a ‘turn about’ this recipe would work well with chicken instead of rabbit!!

A whole rabbit is enough for 4 people – but as there are just 2 of us we used the second part of this casseroles the basis of another simple dish – link here

If cooking during the pandemic has taught me anything it has to be about simple innovation using ingredients you have to hand. Similarly, it is about using one dish/recipe as the basis for another similar, but distinctively different dish.

This dish is a good example of that.  The primary recipe (here) used the 2 rear legs and a little of the rabbit loin for the main dish for 2 people. This left some fantastic sauce, and some great cooked peppers, and a smaller portion of the rabbit.  Obviously we could have just eaten it again as a slightly less opulent dish.  Instead we gave it a little (frugal) twist.  This made it go further, but more importantly gave it a different character and the feeling of a ‘new dish’!  The idea was very simple; bring the meat and the sauce up to serving temperature, loosen the sauce slightly with a little stock, and then cook some gnocchi in the sauce.

And really it was as simple as that. It had been a lovely afternoon and we had been making stock from the rabbit carcass on the Big Green Egg.  The rabbit and sauce still in its original casserole from 2 days earlier was put on the EGG and allowed to thoroughly warm through.  A good ladleful of the rabbit stock was added and stirred through the sauce.  The pan had been warming for a good 20 minutes and we had tested that the meat was above the minimal safe core temperature for reheated food (The minimum legally accepted temperature for reheating of food is 75C in England and Wales and 82C in Scotland).   The gnocchi was added and stirred into the sauce and allowed to cook.  Our gnocchi on this occasion were not home made. They normally require around 3 minutes cooking in boiling water – but when cooked in a sauce like this I tend to leave them a little longer.  They certainly come to no harm and contribute a little to the thickening of the sauce.

All that was then left to do was to plate up with our chosen accompaniments.

…………….. on this occasion we served the dish with spiced cabbage and purple and green sprouting broccoli.  The gnocchi gave a lovely rich oppulence to an already fantastic tasting sauce and complimented the rest of the dish perfectly!

……………….. do give it a go!

We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Award for “Cooking Blog of the Year – UK  2021” by LuxLife Magazine in their 2021 Restaurant and Bar Awards.

It is great to be nominated for such an award and when you are told that you have won – it is difficult to put into words.

This website, which started simply as a place for us to store our recipes and to keep some working notes on those in development, has proved to be very popular and we are delighted that so many people seem to find it valuable.  We have gone from just a few visits to our blog in the first year to thousands and thousands. This year is no exception and it looks like we will get as many visits by June as we got in the whole of last year – and that was a bumper year too.

We are in the middle of a pandemic which has involved us all changing our lifestyles to protect others.  Many people have found a ‘new joy’ in preparing and trying new foods.  If we have done a little to help in that regard we are delighted.  We have certainly cooked more outside this year – despite the British weather.  We have also changed the types of food we cook and are including more plant-based cooking where we can.  Like so many people we are trying to remain that little bit healthier too.

So onward into 2021 – enjoy your own cooking journeys and share those pleasures whenever you can

Thanks so much for the nomination for the award and for all the support we have had to get to this point.

……………… now lets go and cook something!!

Best wishes

Mark and Jackie

This cook is based on a recipe from Boxxfresh, a UK company supplying really great fresh fruit and vegetables. They described Mole (pronounced ‘mo-lay’) as the ‘quintessential chilli sauce native to Mexico’. It apparently literally means ’everyday sauce’!   As such it is ladled over nachos, tacos, enchiladas, burritos or served on rice.  The recipe takes care to mimic what so many of us think of a “Chilli” meaning Chilli con Carne.  But this is a plant based dish or one of the plant-centric dishes we are cooking more and more.  So whilst mimicking this classic meat based dish it uses chopped mushrooms to recreate some of the texture of minced beef and does so very well.  It returns to its origins in South America with tomatoes, black beans, dark chocolate, chillies and cinnamon spices to create what they describe as ‘deep soulful flavours that will have you reaching for seconds!’

The Big Green Egg was lit and allowed to heat up to around 180C.  Whilst the temperature settled we blitzed the mushrooms in the food processor, being carful not to process it too far.  The whole thing could be cooked directly in a Dutch Oven but I prefer to use a wide shallow handle free pan to start things off.  The  mushrooms were gently fried off in olive oil in this pan until softened.  These were then set aside.

As the food processor had already been used we also blitzed the onions and then cooked in the same pan as we had the mushrooms.  After a minute or so the chopped garlic was added. We have also come to add the red pepper (which we use instead of the chilli in the original recipe) at this stage.  This was softened with the onions. (We have also done them separately and added them back in when the mushrooms were added back – but this is just easier).

The onions were cooked until translucent at which point the spice mix was then stirred through and cooked for another minute or so.

The platesetter was put in place to move the BGE to indirect cooking.  A small chunk of oak was added to the charcoal to add to the smoky flavours developed in the second part of the cook.

The onion, garlic, pepper and spice mix was transferred to a Dutch oven together with the 2 tins of beans.  This was then put into the EGG and allowed to warm through.  Once warmed, the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, tamari, vinegar and wine were all added to the pot and gently mixed together.  The whole dish was brought to a very gentle simmer without the lid to cook off the alcohol and allow the liquids to reduce a little.
Finally, the mushrooms, (the sautéed peppers if you choose to cook them separately), chocolate and maple syrup were added and stirred through the dish.  As you will see from the picture we had slightly misjudged the volume of the ingredients.  The pan was very full to say the least.  Normally we would have cooked this for around 90 minutes or so at around 150-160C.  Because the pan was so full we cooked at around 110C instead.  This proved to be a great decision!

At 110C we ended up with a very slow cook taking around 5hrs.  During this time the volume reduced, though only a little, and the colour deepened.  More importantly the taste took on a really complex richness, more than we have had before.  It will be ‘low and slow’ for this dish from now on!

Served with a baked potato, rice, nachos or tortilla chips – you really can’t go wrong!!

…………. do give it a go!!

 

Chilli sin Carne - a plant-centric version of a classic

April 9, 2021

Servings: 6

Prep: 40 min

Total: 4 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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A superb plant centric version of a classic chilli con carne!

By: Mark

Ingredients

• Main Iingredents
• 250g of mushrooms
• 2 red onions or 3 shallots
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1 Red pepper (could substitute with 1/2 or 1 whole chilli)
• 2 tins of black beans of kidney beans or pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
• 2 x 400g tinned tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp Tamari
• 1 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
• 1 large glass red wine
• 10g of dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• A little water if required
• --
• For the spicing
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika ( smoked of you have it )
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to season

Directions

• Step 1 This can be cooked inside on the hob and oven – or on the BGE – or a combination of both. When the weather isn’t great we sometimes do the first part in the kitchen on the hob
• Step 2 Light the Big Green Egg and allow it to heat up to around 180C.  
• Step 3 Blitz the mushrooms in the food processor Leave them coarse)
• Step 4 Sauté the mushrooms in olive oil until coloured and softened, either directly in a dutch oven or in a handless pan (if working on the BGE).  Set aside.
• Step 5 Blitz the onions and cook in the same pan as the mushrooms. After a minute or so add the chopped garlic after a couple of minutes more add the red pepper and softened with the onions. When the onions are translucent add the spice mix and stir through for another minute or so.  
• Step 6 Add the platesetter to the BGE and add some smoking wood to the charcoal
• Step 7 Transfer the onion, garlic, pepper and spice mix to a Dutch oven (if not already using the Dutch oven)together with the 2 tins of beans.  Place on the EGG and allow to warm through.  Then add the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, tamari, vinegar and wine to the pot and stir through. Bring to a very gentle simmer without the lid to cook off the alcohol and allow the liquids to reduce a little.
• Step 8 Finally, add the mushrooms, chocolate and maple syrup and stir through the dish.  Cook at around 110C for at least 3hrs (or at 180C for 90m
• Step 9 Serve with a baked potato, rice, nachos or tortilla chips

 

Our youngest daughter has been a French citizen for more than 20 years and when I said I was going to cook a vegetable Bourguignon her reply showed the initial contempt one might expect from a French woman!  The term for the brilliant (more…)

Great food does not need to be complicated.  This is a simple twist on the classic ‘Croque Monsieur’. Croque Monsieur literally means ‘Mr Crunch’ – and that is what we are going to build.  The classic dish is made with smoked ham, Gruyère and a mustered infused Béchamel on country sourdough and baked in the oven.  This is a ‘shortcut’ dish – but no worse for that!

Take 2 slices of sourdough bread, and then place a couple of thin slices of a smoked ham on one of those (see here for smoked ham recipe).  Then add a couple of slices of brie which works really well on top of that.  Top off with the second slice of sourdough.   Heat some oil in a sauté pan or on a plancha and sit the bread on top. Once the base has become golden and coloured nicely flip the sandwich over and toast/sauté the other side.

Serve on a green salad………………………. it is as simple as that!!

Cooked on the hob or the BGE this is a great dish!

…………………………………………. enjoy!!

We have probably done a greater variety of cooking this year as we have largely been confined to home during the Covid pandemic in 2020.   I have intended to use the time to do more writing for the site – but in the end we have cooked more and written less!!

One thing we have been doing is (more…)

We have been playing with meat free dishes for a while and although it is taking us out of our comfort zone we are having fun with the step by step exploration.   We have really enjoyed refining our Aubergine Parmigiana but one day we didn’t have enough aubergine, but we did have a little gnocchi.  And so we came to this dish.  On the first trial run we went with a simple parmigiana sauce.  This worked really well, especially with the addition of some red peppers.  This is the dish we will describe here.  We have also tweaked the recipe further and moved it a little closer to a puttanesca sauce with anchovies, capers and olives but without the chilli.  We will look at that recipe later!

The dish is simplicity itself.  The aubergine was cut into decent size chunks.  I like them to be odd shapes rather than cubes, but what ever way they should be around 3 cm in most directions.  These were sautéed in a little oil until each side had taken on some colour and the pieces are a little gnarly.

We then added the chopped pepper and cooked for a few minutes more. Then set both the peppers and aubergine mix to one side.  The onion was finely chopped and added to the pan to soften in a little olive oil.  Once it had started to take on some colour the chopped garlic was added too and cooked for a few minutes more.

The can of chopped tomatoes was tossed in and allowed to cook through for a couple of minutes and then seasoned with salt and pepper.  At this point we added the roasted aubergines, pepper and the gnocchi.  The sauce was left to bubble for 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally, until the gnocchi was soft and the sauce had thickened.   This would be the time to transfer to an ovenproof dish, but as we were cooking in the Tefal Ingenio pans with the removable handles, this was going to be our ovenproof dish.

We stirred through some fresh oregano and thyme and then scattered the torn chunks of mozzarella on the top.  You could also add a little grated parmesan cheese to add more crunch to the top if you fancy the idea. We have cooked this inside on the hob and on the Big Green Egg, both work well.

The vents were closed on the Egg and the cheese allowed to melt for a minute or two.  Whether cooking in a domestic kitchen or on the Big Green Egg the dish really needs to be finished under a domestic grill as a ‘crozzled top’ is the one thing the BGE doesn’t do well (unless you are using a very small pan in a much larger EGG).   The dish was put under the grill in the kitchen to finish off the top – just watch that it doesn’t burn!!!

Serve with a green salad ………………… give it a go!

Variation

Add anchovies, capers and black olives rather than the finely chopped red pepper – but we will link to this later!!

It is so easy to get carried away with ‘clever recipes’.  At times we should get back to how simple first rate cooking can be.  That goes for the BBQ too!  This is a perfect example of that – a wonderfully cooked rump steak!  What could be simpler?  A good piece of rump and something hot to cook it on.   We found these 2 small rump steaks in the freezer.  They weighed just 360g (together) and had been hung for 28 days before VacPacking.

There are so many ways of cooking steak but in principal, they are all the same.  Apply lots of heat to the outside of the steak so it colours and undergoes the Maillard reaction but keep the inside relatively cool so it doesn’t overcook.

The Maillard reaction is the chemical reaction between amino acids and reduced sugars that gives seared food its distinctive flavour.  It is named after French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard. He first described the reaction in 1912.  It occurs most  rapidly  between 140 to 165C. At higher temperatures caramelisation occurs (a browning of sugars). When cooking steak it is likely that both processes are present.  When the meat touches a surface the surface temperature drops.  If it starts at 250C it may quickly fall (at the surface) to between 140-165C.

So we need a hot surface and one that will contact as much of the meat as possible – we have (largely) moved from using the cast iron grill (which is good) to using a solid cast iron surface (which is better).  And perhaps one of the easiest to use is the flat side of the cast-iron plancha made for the BGE MiniMax.

(This is a really good product in it’s own right and also makes a great lid for the matching skillet).   Simply light the EGG and allow the temperature to get up to around 180C.  Then add the stainless steel grid and place the plancha on top and allow the temperature to increase to around 250C.

The steak was around 2cm thick and had been allowed to come to room temperature for an hour or so.  It was dried before seasoning with salt.  You can wipe with a little oil before seasoning with salt – or simply get straight to it and season with salt.  The steak was dropped onto the plancha and the lid of the EGG closed.  The steak was cooked for probably 90 seconds, then flipped over  for a further 90 seconds.  At this point, we used an instant read thermometer to measure the core temperature of the steak.

We were looking to remove these steaks from the heat when the core temperature reached 51C so that when resting the core temperature would drift towards around 56C and a nice medium finish.
Depending on the temperature at this point, then the rest of the cooking time was estimated.  The remaining cooking time was  divide between the 2 surfaces – on this occasion ours needed a further 60 seconds on each side.  Just before the core temperature reached 50C we stood the steaks on their fatty edge to render the fat and to make it beautifully brown “crozzley”!! – The Maillard reaction on full throttle!

The steaks were removed and wrapped in a double layer of foil and covered with a towel to keep warm whilst they rest for around 10 minutes. We use this time to cook or finish off whatever vegetables we are intending to serve with the steak.

Plating was simple: slice some or all of the steak across the grain and serve on your chosen vegetables.  Add a little olive oil and fresh pepper

……………….. serve and enjoy the fruits of your labours!

Simple Rump Steak

October 2, 2020

Servings: 2 - scalable

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 5 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Rump steak cooked simply on very hot cast-iron - possibly the perfect way to do a steak

By: Mark

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 good rump steaks - these were 180g each
• Salt

Directions

• Step 1 With a steak around 2cm thick bring to room temperature for around 1 hour, dry and season with salt (if you wish pre-wipe with olive oil.
• Step 2 Light the BGE and when it reaches around 180C add the stainless steel grid and place a cast-iron plancha on top and allow the temperature to increase to around 250C
• Step 3 Drop the steak onto the plancha and closet the lid of the EGG.  Sear for around 90 seconds then flip over for a further 90 seconds.  At this point, use an instant read thermometer to measure the core temperature of the steak.
• Step 4 Calculate the rest of the cooking time depending on the temperature with perhaps up to 60 seconds more on each side.  When the core temperature reached 50C stand the steaks on their fatty edge to render the fat and make it crispy
• Step 5 Remove the steaks and wrap in a double layer of foil and cover with a towel to keep warm whilst it rests for around 10 minutes. Use this time to finish off whatever vegetables you are intending to serve with the steak.
• Step 6 Plate and serve

This week we had too many French beans to cope with and so we needed to be a little inventive!  We therefore combined some of the dishes we have tried over the last couple of decades travelling over Europe and were delighted with the outcome.  I doubt its absolute authenticity but am convinced by its principal ingredients.  More importantly – it just works!!!

Basically this is a bean dish designed to ‘showcase’ a piece of meat or fish.   We lit the BGE and set it up for indirect cooking.  As it was heating up we put into the BGE a small pan of trimmed French beans which had been halved (as they were long).  As the BGE came up to temperature we let the beans boil for around 3 minutes to begin to cook.  The water was then poured away and the beans were put to one side.  In a sauté pan we then cooked a finely chopped shallot in some olive oil and part way through cooking added a coarsely chopped garlic clove.

Once these had taken on a little colour a can of chopped tomatoes joined the mixture to cook for around 10 minutes with some freshly chopped herbs (on this occasion thyme, oregano and rosemary).    We were almost there !  A small handful of chopped green olives, lemon zest, capers, salt and pepper was added to the pan.

All that was left to do was to add the almost cooked French beans, and let the whole dish come together.  This makes a fine side dish, or indeed a light supper dish in it’s own right.  Today however we were using oil to underpin some freshly grilled Tuna with a little grilled lemon – this worked perfectly!

Once the beans were cooked, the platesetter was removed and the Tuna was grilled on the BGE – this time direct – at 250C for about 1 minute a side. The tuna was then served on the beans and the grilled lemon squeezed over the top

Delicious!

………… give it a go – it is so easy!!

Tuna with Sicilian lemon tested beans in a tomato sauce

September 25, 2020

Servings: 2

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 15 min

Total: 30 min

Difficulty: Easy

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A simple sauce using tomatoes and shallots, enhanced with lemon zest, and olives with green beans - the perfect foil for grilled Tuna.

By: Mark

Ingredients

• French beans - around 300g
• 1-2 Shallots finely chopped
• Garlic clove coarsely chopped
• Olive oil
• Can of chopped tomatoes 400g
• Freshly chopped herbs (e.g. thyme, oregano and rosemary). Handful of chopped green olives
• 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp capers
• Salt and pepper.
• 2 Tuna steaks

Directions

• Step 1 Set up the BGE for indirect cooking aiming for around 180C. If the beans are long cut in half put on the BGE in a small pan of water – allow to partially cook as the EGG warms up. Once partially cooked pour the water away and set the beans to one side
• Step 2 In a sauté pan sauté the finely chopped shallot in some olive oil and part way through cooking add a coarsely chopped garlic clove. Once these have taken on a little colour add a can of chopped tomatoes and allow the mixture to cook for around 10 minutes with some freshly chopped herbs
• Step 3 Add a small handful of chopped green olives, the zest of the lemon and the capers. Season with salt and pepper.
• Step 4 Finally add the partially cooked French beans, and let the dish come together.  
• Step 5 As the beans are finishing – open up the vents on the BGE to allow the temperature to begin to rise. After a couple of minutes , remove the beans and the platesetter. Put the platesetter flat on a heat proof surface and put the pan of beans on this to keep warm. Once the BGE gets to around 225-250C grill the Tuna for around 1 min on each side. at the same time cut the lemon into 4 lengthways and add to the grill to warm and colour
• Step 6 Serve the tuna on top of the beans with the hot lemon ready to squeeze over the top

We have written before about the glorious ‘Melanzane alla parmigiana’ We first came across it in Italy in the summer of 2017 when travelling through the Dolomites in Northern Italy.  Taste wise it was a plant based dish that absolutely took my breath away ……….. or so my memory tells me!  I went back to the article we wrote about this in early 2018 and our first attempts to recreate the dish and you can find that here (Aubergine Parmigiana).  Whilst we were very pleased with this first attempts we said at the time ‘.…… the dish, it still doesn’t quite match my holiday memory of that first mouthful in the Dolomites. When it does we will post the next instalment’.  Well I think we are in a position when it is worth offering that ‘next instalment’ and so here it is!

What is it?  It is probably the best tasting plant based meal I have ever eaten (speaking as an obligate carnivore) – and absolute truly – you don’t miss the meat!  There are umami flavours in their myriads.  There is nothing missing – it is just a coincidence that there is no meat!!

The recipe we are currently using is very similar to that 2017 first try – we have been round the recipe books and the final dish is dependent on how you cook it not really the basic recipe itself!   So lets talk about how we are cooking the dish.

Firstly,  we have come to the conclusion that the aubergines are best cooked in a cast iron skillet with a moderate amount of good olive oil at around 180C direct. No matter how much you use, the aubergines will always accept more – so it is up to you how much you give way to their greed!  With moderate portions – you can afford to be generous!!  The aubergines are cut not along the fruit but across it to produce circles of around 7mm thick.  (If you prefer your dish to ‘slice’ and the slices to remain as a single piece – then cut the aubergines lengthways and build each layer in alternate directions – but we have ended up favouring a less firm finish).  Once cooked these were put to one side.

Once the aubergines had been cooked we used the same skillet to cook the sauce but the BGE was set up for indirect cooking by adding the platesetter.  First a finely chopped onion was softened with a little oil until it just became translucent – then the 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced, were added and cooked for a few more minutes. Then 2 cans of chopped tomatoes were added (these seem to work better than fresh tomatoes – in the UK anyway) and some chopped fresh herbs.
This was left to cook at around 160-180C for 20 minutes or more until it began to look a little more dry.  (You need to lose that watery ‘tinned tomato’ look).

From this point on it really becomes a matter of ‘assembly”

Aubergine Parmigiana

September 4, 2020

Servings: 4

Prep: 40 min

Cook: 60 min

Total: 1 hr 40 min

Difficulty: Moderately easy

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Roasted aubergine baked in a tomato sauce with baked Italian cheeses

By: Mark

Ingredients

• 2 Aubergines, sliced into 1/2cm-thick slices - I prefer circles as easier to arrange
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 3 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 Tins chopped tomatoes (400g)
• 2 x 125g Mozzarella balls, sliced In the last one we also added a little ricotta on the top as we had some - it worked well)
• Basil or other herbs that you can lay your hands on
• Olive oil
• Parmesan (or veggie alternative) or other Italian hard cheese 75g, finely grated

Directions

• Step 1 Set up the BGE to around 180C. Direct roast Aubergine slices in a pan or in the cast iron skillet, till they take on colour and are a little ‘crisper’ turn a couple of times – need to do in batches
• Step 2 Then olive oil in same skillet and cook the onion and garlic for 10 minutes until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes, season, and simmer for 20 minutes
• Step 3 In a baking dish starting with the sauce, layer up the aubergine and sauce, half-way, a layer of half of the mozzarella, basil, and parmesan. Layer up the remaining aubergine and sauce, and finish with a final layer of mozzarella, basil and parmesan (and or ricotta if using).
• Step 4 Put back in the BGE and cook for a further 30+  minutes then ‘turn off the BGE’
• Step 5 30 mins before you want to serve – re warm in a domestic oven and pop under the grill for a couple of mins to give a really great top!!.
• Step 6 Serve with a salad.

We could spend ages debating if this dish is a frittata or a tortilla – but that would miss the point of the dish!  I think of it as a frittata – but do have a look at the footnote!  We had been baking the last of our supply of small (1951) potatoes from Carroll’s Heritage potatoes that (more…)

This is a very simple reinterpretation of our earlier recipe for haunch of venison – available here.

The haunch is the top of the hind leg running into the rump.  We were fortunate to be given the meat by friends who don’t enjoy venison!!  The deer was a wild red deer which had been butchered locally.  The bone had been removed leaving a tunnel through the meat which we were going to stuff.  The meat was marinated overnight as before.  The differences from our earlier recipe were minor and primarily involved stuffing the leg.  This effectively replaces the bone with the stuffing which was made from 80g of Haggis mixed with 2 shallots, 2 large mushrooms and 4 prunes and roughly chopped.  After stuffing the cavity the leg was securely tied.

The venison was cooked as before over a little water in a pan with 2 quartered onions, and the meat was basted with some beef stock every 30-40 minutes.  The stock and the meat juices were collected in this pan.  Once the meat had reached a core temperature of 54C it was removed and double wrapped in foil and left to rest for 20 minutes whilst the vegetables cooked and the sauce was made.

The sauce was based on the liquid collected under the venison, thickened with cornflour and finished with 60 ml of Pineau des Charentes (in the absence of any Marsala) and a little thyme jelly for sweetness.  The whole dish took around 2 hrs to cook at 170C and went perfectly with carrots and tender stem broccoli and some Red Emmalie potatoes from Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes.

All in all a very satisfying dish ………….

……………….. and served cold the following day it was perhaps even better!!

Haggis stuffed Red Deer Haunch

August 5, 2020

Servings: 8+

Prep: 40 min

Total: 3 hr

Difficulty: Straightforward

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By: Mark

Ingredients

• For the marinade
• Rapeseed oil
• Thyme
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• Rosemary
• 8 crushed juniper berries
• Maldon salt
• Ground black pepper
• For the Stuffing
• 80g Haggis
• 2 mushrooms
• 2shallots
• 4 prunes
• For the roast
• Whole boned venison leg
• 250ml concentrated beef stock
• 2 onions quartered
• Water
• 60ml Pineau des Charentes
• spoonful of thyme jelly
• 1tsp cornflower

Directions

• Step 1 To make the marinade combine the rapeseed oil, thyme, garlic, rosemary, crushed juniper berries, salt, and pepper into a spreadable paste.  
• Step 2 Put the venison into a vacuum food bag and once inside the bag rub the paste over the meat.  Vacuum and seal the meat then place in the fridge overnight.  
• Step 3 Remove the meat from the fridge several hours before starting the cook.  Set up the BGE for indirect cooking at 180C.  Add a little beech wood to flavour the smoke. Roughly chop the mushrooms, shallots and prunes and mix with the Haggis and stuff into the leg cavity.  Tie the joint tightly
• Step 4 Sit the meat on a metal trivet over a roasting pan containing 2 quartered onions and a little warm water.  The meat must sit above the water. Leave the venison to roast over the water undisturbed for about an hour. After an hour turn the meat over and baste with 150ml of stock. Leave to roast for another 45 mins till the core temperature approaches 50C. Turn the meat over again and baste with a further 150ml of stock. Continue roasting
• Step 5 When the core temperature reaches around 55C remove the meat and double wrap in aluminium foil and leave to rest for at least 20 mins
• Step 6 Pour the liquid from the roasting pan and any accumulated meat juices from the meat into a separate pan. Thicken 50ml of Pineau des Charentes with cornflour and add to the pan with a little thyme jelly. Reduce the sauce and sieve into a serving jug
• Step 7 Serve with potatoes and vegetables in season

Last year we had had every intention of highlighting recipes from Genevieve Taylor’s book – “Charred”.  I really think that this is a great book for those of us wanting to try more vegetarian  cooking. Especially those of us wanting to explore it when cooking outside especially over wood and charcoal.  Things like the Coronavirus Pandemic have got in the way but we are going to try and publish when we can this year!

The first of these is this ‘Caramelised Fennel and Orange dish’!  We know from our own slow roasted caramelised fennel dish just how well fennel responds to this type of cooking.  Limited shopping opportunities during the pandemic and personal cooking interests has led to some small variations to Genevieve Taylor’s recipe. But it has worked really well and we are delighted to share it here.

We may as well start with the principal difference!  We had a tub of ricotta but no goat’s cheese.  Instead of goat’s cheese whipped with cream, we used Ricotta infused with orange and thyme.  We used about two thirds of a 250g tub of ricotta and added the zest of half an orange and the leaves of 3 or 4 sprigs of thyme.  To this was added enough of the juice of the orange to allow the ricotta to be whipped into a soft cream.  This was then seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and was set to one side.  We found the following day that this mix works very well with baked potatoes (and that in the absence of any fresh orange juice, Cointreau or Grand Marnier works well too!)

On to the cooking itself.  We sliced the fennel along the bulb and through the root in slices around 5-7mm thick.  These were tossed in a little olive oil and salt and pepper and put in the BGE MiniMax Skillet and onto the BGE (which was ticking over at around 180C) to caramelise in the pan.  This just meant keeping an eye on the fennel until it took on some colour and began to soften. The hot pan was then removed and the fennel continued to cook in the heat of the pan.  Whilst the fennel was cooking we had partly jested an orange and cut it into slices which had then been halved.
These were tossed in a little olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and put on the grill over the open flame.

The idea was to just slightly ‘char’ the pieces of orange – particularly the peel.  Once this was nearly completed the final cooked element of the dish was introduced to the BGE.

The final element was a tin of butter beans, drained and rinsed with an added clove of garlic – finally chopped.  The pan had a little olive oil stirred through and was put on the BGE to warm through.  Once all the elements had been cooked, all that was left to do was assemble the dish.  Firstly the Butter beans and garlic were divided between the 2 plates. On to these followed the fennel and the burnt orange.  This was then topped off by a generous helping of the orange and thyme infused ricotta and finally a handful of chopped black olives.  The dish was finished with some thyme flowers, a few fennel fronds and the last of the orange zest.

I have to say here – I am not by any stretch of imagination a vegetarian – but this is a wonderful, satisfying vegetarian (or if you prefer – plant based) dish.  Infact it is just a wonderful dish!!

Do give it a go………..

…………. we will certainly be doing it again!

Caramelised fennel and burnt orange with infused ricotta, butterbeans and black olives

July 31, 2020

Servings: 2

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 50 min

Difficulty: Moderate

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Caramelised fennel and burnt orange - on top of garlic butter beans - set off with orange and thyme infused ricotta and black olives

By: Mark

Ingredients

• Around 180g Ricotta
• Zest of an orange
• Fresh thyme leaves from 3-4 stems
• A little orange juice or orange liqueur
• Salt and pepper
• Large fennel bulb sliced around 5-7mm thick, through the root end
• One orange sliced and then cut into semicircles
• Handful of black olives chopped
• 400g can of butter beans drained and washed
• 1 garlic clove finally diced

Directions

• Step 1 Take around 2/3 of a 250g tub of ricotta and add the zest of half an orange and the leaves of 3 or 4 sprigs of thyme. Then add enough of the juice of the orange to allow the ricotta to be whipped into a soft cream.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and then set to one side.  
• Step 2 Slice the fennel along through the root in slices around 5-7mm thick.  Toss these in a little olive oil and salt and pepper and put in a Skillet to caramelise on the BGE direct at around 180C.  Keep an eye on the fennel until it takes on some colour and begins to soften. Remove the skillet and allow the fennel to continue to cook in the hot pan.  
• Step 3 Toss the orange slices in a little olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper and put on the grill over the open flame. Allow these to char a little. Once this is nearly completed add the washed butter beans to a second pan with the chopped garlic and a little oil and put on the BGE to warm through.
• Step 4 If cooking on one EGG at this point you may need to just reheat the fennel for around 1 min before assembling the dish. Firstly divide the Butter beans and garlic between the 2 plates. On to these add the fennel and the burnt orange. Top these off with a generous helping of the orange and thyme infused ricotta and finally a handful of chopped black olives. Finish with some thyme flowers, a few fennel fronds and the last of the orange zest.  Serve warm