Tag: comfort food

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recipe

Just a good old stew!

Just a good old stew!

image of a bowl of stew with dumplings, ham, chicken and vegetables, you can find this recipe at cookery school gourmandises academie, Cambridge

Ingredients:

Cavolo nero Kale (can be replaced by cabbage)

One carrot

One celery stick

A tin of cannellini beans

Two chicken legs

A bit of left over ham hock

A bay leaf 

Half a tsp of turmeric

Salt and pepper to season

Method:

Stew is easy right, the hardest bit is chopping the veggies. After that, everything goes in the pot. I had two pieces of chicken legs in my freezer, and a bit of cooked smoked ham hock too. So I started by cooking those from frozen, I popped the legs and ham hock in a big pot and covered with water, nothing else at that stage. I let it boil for 30 minutes, and got rid of the white foam on top. I then added my chopped veggies, in this one I used one carrot, one celery stick and a bag of Cavolo nero kale, salt and pepper, a bay leaf, a tin of cannellini beans (drained) and my secret ingredient half a tsp of turmeric. That’s it! Let it stew on a low heat for a good two hours, the meat will fall off the bone by that point. 30 minutes before serving I added some dumplings, but you could also add old bits of bread too. The beauty of a stew is that there is no rule, whatever is in your fridge or freezer works! 

Bon appétit!

Corinne

What can I add to a stew?

The beauty of a stew is you can add whatever you want. It can be made with just veg, you can add meat of course. But the one thing people don’t often think of is spices, yes you can spice it up, I like to add a bit of turmeric to mine, sometimes I also add a bit of ginger. It’s really up to you.

You can find out more about my cookery journey here 

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Basquaise style chicken

picture of a blue casserole dish on top of a towel with red stripes, with pieces of chicken, red and green peppers in a tomato sauce, the recipe is available on the blog of the cookery school Gourmandises Academie, Cambridge

Basquaise style chicken

picture of a blue casserole dish on top of a towel with red stripes, with pieces of chicken, red and green peppers in a tomato sauce, the recipe is available on the blog of the cookery school Gourmandises Academie, Cambridge

Ingredients:

3 chicken thighs (chicken legs work well too)

Two peppers (green and red for contrast)

A glass of white wine

One onion (thinly sliced)

5 cloves of garlic (crushed and sliced)

Fresh thyme

A table spoon of tomato paste

Method:

I use a cast iron pan, but any heavy base pan will do. Season your thighs with salt and pepper first. Then, brown the chicken on both sides,  in a little bit of olive oil. Take the meat out of the pan. Then add the thyme and the onion. Once the onion has reached that translucent colour, add the garlic and stir. Slice the peppers into strips and add them to the pan, give them a good stir again. Add the tomato puree, a glass of wine and a sprinkle of paprika. Put the chicken thighs back on top, cover, reduce the heat and let it simmer for a good 45 minutes, giving it a stir now and then. The dish is ready once the peppers are soft and the sauce velvety. I serve my poulet basquaise with rice.   

Corinne

You can watch the step by step method of this recipe on YouTube

If you enjoy peppers you may want to give my padrón peppers recipe a go.

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Duck confit

picture of a terrine dish with a cloth around it, filled with goose fat and bits of meat appearing on the surface, you can learn how to make this confit on the blog of cooking school Gourmandises Academie

Duck confit

picture of a terrine dish with a cloth around it, filled with goose fat and bits of meat appearing on the surface, you can learn how to make this confit on the blog of cooking school Gourmandises Academie

Ingredients:

4 duck legs 

Sea salt

Bay leaves

Thyme

Garlic

Black pepper corns

750 g of duck fat

A glass of water

Method:

This recipe happens over two days.

On day one, place your duck legs on a tray and add your garlic, pepper corns and your herbs, as much or as little depending on your taste. Rub your duck legs generously with salt. Cover the tray with cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for 24 hours.

On day two. Slowly melt your duck fat in a pan, be careful not to bring it to the boil. Rinse your duck legs thoroughly under a cold tap to get rid of the salt. Put them in a pan with the herbs, pepper corns and garlic and pour the melted duck fat over them, don’t forget to add a glass of water also (the water prevents the legs from sticking and burning at the bottom of the pan). Cook them on a very low heat for a good 3 hours, until the meat is nice and tender, almost falling off the bone. At that stage, I transfer the legs in a smaller container, like a terrine and cover them with the duck fat. The confit will keep in the fridge, for a good month or more if totally covered with fat. You can use them in a cassoulet, or lightly fry them in a pan and eat them with sautéed potatoes or even a green salad. 

Corinne

You can watch the step by step method of this recipe on YouTube, part one and part two.

This is the season for comfort food, here’s another recipe you might like to try, chicken parcels.

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recipe

Braised cabbage with turmeric, ginger and belly pork

Image with a pot containing belly pork cooked with cabbage leaves, recipe can be found on the blog of cooking school Gourmandises Academie, Cambridge

Braised cabbage with turmeric, ginger and belly pork

Image with a pot containing belly pork cooked with cabbage leaves, recipe can be found on the blog of cooking school Gourmandises Academie, Cambridge

Ingredients:

 

500 g of pork belly cut into cubes 

One cabbage, best to use savoy/green leaves cabbage

Half tsp of turmeric

8 to 10 cloves of garlic

Ginger (the size of a TBSP)

3 fresh tomatoes 

You will need either a heavy base saucepan or a non stick pan to cook this

 

Method:

Cut your cabbage into small quarters, it doesn’t have to be finely chopped. Crush your garlic and ginger into a paste. In a pan, add one tbsp of vegetable oil (you don’t want to use olive oil here at all), once the oil is hot add your diced belly pork salt and pepper to season and fry until golden brown. You’re looking for those brownie bits at the bottom of the pan, they will give flavour to the dish. Then add your turmeric, garlic and ginger paste and stir for a minute or so. Add your cabbage, stir and then add your tomatoes. Pour a small glass of hot water  over the top, stir, bring the heat down and let it simmer for 40/45 minutes, until you have a lovely velvety sauce at the bottom. In Reunion we serve it with rice or polenta, mash potatoes would work great too. 

Bon appétit!

Corinne

You can watch the step by step video on YouTube.

If you enjoy flavoursome autumnal dishes you might want to have a go at my “baked cauliflower with turmeric”

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recipe

Perfect winter warmer: broccoli soup topped with chorizo and camembert

Perfect winter warmer: broccoli soup topped with chorizo and camembert

Ingredients (serves 4) :

One bag of frozen broccoli (1 kg bag) or you can use fresh as well ( a stock cube, I am not a big fan of stock cube, so I always freeze left over gravy, so I tend to use that instead, but use stock cube if you haven’t got any leftover gravy).

Two potatoes peeled and chopped

Camembert (you will need two slices of camembert for each bowl)

Chorizo ( you will need 4 slices of chorizo per bowl)

A bit of salt and pepper, not too much salt as you already have some in your stock

Method:

In a cooking pot, poor your bag of broccoli and sliced potatoes and cover with water. Bring everything to the boil and then add your stock, salt and pepper and stir. Let everything boil until the potatoes are cooked, (this should take around 10 minutes).  Using a hand mixer, blend everything until you have a smooth consistency with no bits of broccoli or potatoes. Pour your soup into individual bowls. Add 4 slices of chorizo on top and then your two slices of camembert. Put your bowls under the grill until the camembert has melted.

So here you have it, my perfect winter warmer: broccoli soup topped with chorizo and camembert

Serve with a delicious slice of sourdough. You can get delicious sourdough at Burwash Larder, Stir Cambridge, Balzano’s, just to name a few.

P.S: if you are vegetarian, you can take out the chorizo and use only the camembert with a veggie stock cube, it is delicious too.

Corrine x

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recipe

Perfect comfort food: my mediterranean style chicken

Perfect comfort food: my mediterranean style chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs with the skin

100 g of chorizo sliced

100 g of black olives

300 g of green beans sliced, either fresh or frozen

One TBSP of tomatoe puree

Parsley

1 onion, sliced finely

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 TBSP of olive oil

1 tsp of oregano

Method:

In a non stick pan with one TBSP of olive oil, start frying your chicken, the skin side first then turn them around until nice and brown. Chicken thighs tend to release quite a bit of fat, so once your pieces of chicken are brown, take them out of the pan and then get rid of the excess fat. Put the pan back on the stove. Then, add your onion, let them cook 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Then add your chorizo slices, fry them for a minute. Add garlic and stir for 40 to 50 seconds, add your chicken thighs, beans, tomatoe puree, olives and a tsp of oregano, give everything a good stir. Pour some boiling water to cover the chicken, turn the heat down, and let all this cook for 30 to 40 minutes until your chicken is completely cooked and your sauce has thickened. Add some parsley before serving.

Serving suggestion: with mash potatoes or rice

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Quick lunch of cannellini beans and spinach

Quick Lunch of Cannellini beans and spinach

Ingredients:

A tin of cannellini beans in water

A bag of fresh spinach

A table spoon of your favourite chilli sauce or paste

An Egg

A frying pan (I prefer to use a frying pan instead of a normal pan, as it allows the egg to spread and cook evenly)

Method:

This is so simple to make I tell you. Pour your tin of cannellini beans into your pan, bring to the boil and add a table spoon of your favourite chilli sauce, then add the bag of spinach. When the spinach have wilted add an egg on top, and let everything simmer until your egg is cooked.

Et voilà! Serve with a piece of your favourite bread. 

Corrine x