Côtes de Porc Sauce Charcutière

Ingredients: 

• 6 pork chops (1 per person or more if you have a particularly healthy apetite!)


• 2 large shallots


• 20 cl dry white wine


• 150 cl water


• 1 soup spoon tomato purée


• 1 soup spoon Dijon mustard


• 4 cornichons


• 2 soup spoons chopped parsley (preferably fresh)


• 50g butter


• Salt & pepper

• Prep time: 5 mins


• Cook time: approx 20 mins

Instructions: 

• Finely chop the shallots


• Thinly slice the cornichons into little circles, place to one side til the end


• Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the chops for 6 - 8 mins on each side, depending on thickness, remembering to season them with salt and pepper


• Whilst the chops are cooking, put the shallots, wine and water in a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking


• Add salt, pepper and tomato paste


• Allow to bubble for a few minutes then add mustard, cornichons and parsley.


• Place the cooked chops in a warm dish whilst you pour the sauce into the frying pan to use up the meat juices


• Pour the sauce over the chops to serve.

Chopping and Changing

The puns just get better and better.

Pork chops are a regular at our house - not too expensive and go well with a variety of side dishes. Last week I was looking for a way to change things up a little and found some good, some bad, and some just plain terrible.  Pork chops cooked in Coca Cola, anyone?......anyone? Buerk.

I settled upon Côtes de Porc Sauce Charcutière : pan-fried pork chops with a slightly tangy, tomatoey sauce.  The main ingredients are white wine, shallots, tomato purée, mustard and a few sliced cornichons (mini pickles - sounds a little odd to some, but they add the delicious tang).

Side dishes should be simple, as the sauce provides the focus of the dish. To maximise the flavour, before serving the sauce I poured it into the frying pan the chops were cooked in to soak up the delicious, buttery meat juices. So popular they've asked for it again tonight!

 

Lobster Thermidor

Ingredients: 

For one:

• 1 small lobster


• 1 shallot, chopped


• 40g softened butter


• 75ml dry white wine


• Juice of 1/2 small lemon


• 50g grated Gruyère


• 1/2 - 1 tablespoon crème fraîche


• 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard


• 1 teaspoon chopped chives

• Prep time: 45 mins - 1 hour

Instructions: 

• Prepare the lobster as directed, depending on whether pre-cooked or not.


• In a saucepan, place the shallot and white wine then heat until reduced to almost no liquid.


• Add the crème fraîche and lemon juice, stirring well.


• Whisk in the softened butter, then add the mustard and chives.


• Keep sauce warm in bain-marie.


• Cut the lobster in half, remove the meat and slice.


• Replace lobster meat in shell and cover with sauce.


• Place under grill until it browns slightly.


• Serve with a simple saffron rice, or just some very good bread.

A Crustacean Epiphany And Other Love Stories

Lobster Thermidor: cliché of fine dining, or deservedly revered?

I have never been overly-anxious to try a dish based on price, or reputation as a 'luxury dish' but, by my own admission, it has taken me a ridiculously long time to get around to lobster. I can only apologise to my younger self and promise to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it.

Given my admitted lack of experience with such a pricey food, I exercised caution and purchased a small, frozen lobster at 7€.  'Pinchey' came pre-cooked, so I merely had to defrost, then plunge in boiling water for 5 minutes for it to be ready.  I am not sure that I personally will ever be ready to purchase a live lobster and kill it myself, regardless of whether this improves the taste. Pinchey tasted frickin' amazing as it was.

I googled around for Thermidor recipes and found that they differed vastly.  Not being one to keep such things as sherry in stock, I worked out a simple version using white wine, shallots, lemon juice, cream and Gruyère.

Love. At. First. Bite.

Savoury, delicious, layered flavour.  Not too 'seafoody', not too rich and creamy.  Nearly fell off my perch when I tasted it.  Husband close to being jealous of Pinchey.  Try it.

In other news, Lovely Oven was delivered today! All shiny and gorgeous, she is humming gently away in the background as she heats up for a trial run. How I smiled as the workmen installed her!  How I smirked as Bastard Oven was loaded on to their van to be carted away! Although there's no excuse now for not getting off my arse and fine-tuning and editing all the recipes I'm supposed to be writing up and translating....

No Bake Chocolate Cake Surprise

Ingredients: 

• 125g dessert chocolate (75% cocoa)


• 35g butter


• 25g caster sugar


• 40g crushed sweet biscuits of choice


• 1 crushed small meringue (approx 10cms long, 3cms wide, bought from patisserie/bakery or make your own if you have a reliable oven!)


• 2 eggs, separated

• Prep time: 30 mins


• Chill time: 4 hours


• Makes 4

Instructions: 

• Line 4 ramekins or silicone moulds with cling-film.


• Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a bain-marie.


• Beat together the sugar and butter, then add to chocolate, stirring until butter melted.


• Add 2 egg yolks and mix thoroughly and set briefly to the side, allowing it to cool but not set.


• Whisk the egg whites to snow, then fold into the chocolate mixture.


• Once you are sure the mixture is not so hot as to melt the meringue, stir in the crushed meringue and biscuits until evenly distributed.


• Divide the mixture between the ramekins.


• Cover with cling-film and refrigerate.

To serve: turn out onto individual plates and serve with a scoop of vanilla or mint icecream, or whipped cream.

Bye-bye Bastard Oven

Well between illness and failing kitchen appliances there'a not been much to write about on the food front.  Every oven has its own 'feel' and often develops quirks, but the Bastard Oven has deteriorated to the point where it is utterly unreliable.  Thanks to the wonder of online shopping and four 'easy' payments, a shiny new Lovely Oven shall soon be delivered and Bastard Oven carted off to wherever uncompliant appliances go to die. That'll teach it to bugger up my bagels.

In the meantime I am mostly just adding more of my tried-and-tested recipes to the site, although I did come up with a new chocolate dessert the other weekend, inspired by a recipe in an old magazine.  I am rubbish at naming recipes (they tend to be horrible puns and in-jokes that only those closest to me would get) but in an effort to be vaguely sensible and descriptive I shall try calling it No Bake Chocolate Cake Surprise.

Trust me: I create better recipes than titles.

Deep-Fried Calamari

Ingredients: 

• Squid or ready-cut squid rings


• Flour (plain is perfectly good, although I like to use barley flour)


• Salt & pepper


• Mustard powder (optional)


• Lemon juice


• Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Instructions: 

• About 10 mins before cooking, douse the squid in lemon juice.  This will prevent them becoming rubbery.


• Put enough flour to lightly cover your quantity of rings into a food bag or large bowl.


• Add generous quantities of salt and pepper and a sprinkling of mustard powder.


• Drain any excess lemon juice from the squid rings and toss in the flour mixture until each ring is covered.


• Shake off excess flour and submerge in deep oil for 3-4 minutes, or shallow fry for about 2.5 mins on each side.


• Drain and serve with lemon wedges.


• Recommended side dishes: tomato and mozzarella salad, or some crispy golden chips (fries).

 

When I lived in Cyprus as a child, 'Calamari & Chips' was on the menu at just about every taverna - just talking about it makes me think of sunshine and seawater. It is a great summer meal, not least because I can plug in the friteuse outside rather than stinking up the kitchen!

Tags:

calamari

squid

sunshine

chips

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