Smoked BBQ Ham Hocks
What to put in it?
Ham hocks - 1 can probably feed 2 - soak if you need to.
Spices - recipe calls for cumin, cayenne pepper, fennel. I will definitely use fennel, but probably also paprika - smoked and sweet instead of cumin. 4 teaspoons of each - and 3 teaspoons of salt.
What to do?
1. Rub spice on the ham hocks - leave for a good few hours (1 hour at least)
2. Turn your BBQ into a smoker... seems rather easy, so must try....
You need a kettle BBQ - I reckon you could try this in the oven, in a casserole dish... going to try and take pictures (but need to get this recipe down here first).
Right...
So in the lower rack of your BBQ, lay lots of foil - or thick foil, whatever works for you... on two thirds of this area - put a roasting tray on top of this (also lined with foil). Out in charcoal in the rest of the BBQ (the bare third), then when the coals are white, throw on a handful of wood chips - I may try tea.
Pour liquid into the roasting tray - they say water with: cider, beer, wine - so anything really then... then put another rack over this.
Put the lid on.
Wait 15 mins - then start cooking with the ham hocks.
This is very exciting - and obviously means this can be used for anything - am now thinking beef ribs (obvs)... pork shoulder... la la la... Oh and even hay smoked anything (remember to soak the hay first - or it will catch alight and well, will taste burnt, before you've even a chance to kill the food yourself).
Cook for about 3.5 hours. Rest in foil for 20 mins before you eat.
Serve with a sauce of your choice. Am going to just make a fresh garden sauce (so all your favourite herbs whizzed up with something tangy e.g. anchovies, capers, lemon).
Courgette and cheese souffle
300 ml whole milk
200 ml double cream
1 small onion cut into quarters
6 cloves
4 fresh bay leaves
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper corns
100 g butter
40g plain flour
750g courgettes
1 1/4 tsp salt
225g cheese - something strong and tangy
5 large free range eggs
This serves 6-8!
1. Put the milk, cream, bay leaves, onion in a pan and bring up to the boil. Then remove from the heat so it all infuses. Nice.
2. Bring milk back to boil - then strain all the fun things from it.
3. Melt 75g butter in a pan with the flour... cook for 1 minute.
Remove from the heat - and then add in the hot milk. Put back on the hob so it comes to the boil then let is simmer for 10 mins. Stir sometimes.
4. Grate the courgettes - leave for 10 mins in a colander with salt on (1/2 tsp)
5. Try and get rid of as much water as poss.
6. Cook the courgettes in the remaining butter for 2 mins.
7. Put the oven on - 200c - butter a 2.5L, 6cm deep dish - shake some grated cheese around the edges.
8. Separate the eggs - stir the yolks into the sauce (hopefully should be a little cooler by now) - and also the courgettes - and rest of the cheese.
9. Whisk egg whites to firm peaks - fold into the sauce and 3/4 tsp salt.
10. Put it all in that dish - with some more cheese on top - bake for 35 mins. Suggest putting on foil for the first 20 mins - loosely.
Gnocchi Verdi
455g spinach
A grating of nutmeg
60g butter
227g ricotta
2 medium eggs
75g Parmesan
3 tbsp flour
1. Cook the spinach - no water... then finely chop
2. Return to pan with butter, nutmeg & salt and pepper and the ricotta
**Make your own ricotta**
In a pan put lots of whole milk - er, like 2 litres to start with - bring it just to the boil (for a few seconds, so I guess to the boil - which recipes don't call for but I think it does need to get this hot), then squeeze in half a lemon - if it doesn't separate, squeeze in another half (you'll know straight away if it has worked), still no separation? squeeze in another half - I've even had to put it back on the heat before, am sure that's naughty, naughty... then leave for an hour and strain through a muslin cloth. Hang somewhere for a few hours, salt it, then put it in the fridge. Use the left over liquid to make bread
Got distracted... so cook the spinach for 5 mins. Then beat in the eggs, 45g of the Parmesan and the flour. Put this all in the fridge - for a few hours - or overnight if you can (I don't know yet if this is necessary).
3. Then form little balls out of this stuff - drop in a large pan of slightly salted water that is barely simmering. Cooks in 5-8 mins, they rise when ready. Put them into a buttered dish in a warm oven to keep them nice while you cook 'em all in batches.
Spinach fritters
100g ricotta - remember to make your own
10g butter
800g spinach
3 egg yolks
bit of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of salt
75g grated Parmesan
25g plain flour
2 medium free range eggs
100g breadcrumbs - everyone always says panko, I find a mixture of bread crumbs and randomly bran works well. Good for the insides too.
Basically cook the spinach in the butter then whazz it all up with the other ingredients - apart from the eggs and breadcrumbs - you use those to coat the fritters before deep fat frying them. Serve with salad, Greek yoghurt. W.
Goat's cheese milk halloumi
6L goat's milk
4 tbsp rennet
Heat milk to 32c - turn of heat - put in rennet - leave for an hour
Cut into strips 3cm across - then into squares.
Leave to set for 1/2 hour
Return pan to heat - carefully heat to 38c... stir occasionally. It will then look like a mess.
Scoop out curds - put through muslin cloth. Weigh down - set overnight - allowing whey to drip out.
Use this whey to make ricotta!
Next day cut into strips - pour boiling water over them to sterilise... then leave for 2 mins. Then, interestingly, you cook these in the whey for half an hour - or until they rise to the top. So actually, don't use all the whey for ricotta - or maybe you can - it will be the whey from the whey.
The recipe also says you can make a brine to keep these in - I think we'll eat these straight away, thank you very much.
Well, if you do want to know - mix 2L (or obvs 1L) of the whey with 2L water (or 1L), 100g/50g salt. Allow to cool first. Keep in sterilised jars.
What I also saw - but reckon I can make....
Strawberry and Pistachio Tarts
Cocktails - with mint - mint grows really well, everywhere, anywhere, grow it in you bedroom.
Crab and green mango with guacamole
Pad thai - OK not sounding at all new - but looks actually really healthy - and I have been suitably unhealthy recently - now - eating Green and Blacks dark chocolate mint bar thing, just, so, nice.
Pan-fried fish with chickpeas cider and cream... cider and fish. Why yes, of course that would work.
Summer chicken stew.
Polenta chips - so just make according to instructions, but them in a dish - cut em up, put on oil and grill in an oven. Reckon then need spice and herbs in it. The dish serves this with salt cod - with garlic and oil... and milk (that you cooked the cod in).
Pan fried gnocchi, broad beans, Gorgonzola.
Hot smoke Salmon.....
Artichoke, asparagus, broad bean and almond pilaf.
Prue Leith Cooking for Friends 1979
Greek Lemon Soup
2 pints chicken stock
50g rice
Juice of 2 lemons
2 eggs
½ tbsp chopped mint and ½ tbsp
chopped parsley
Boil it up... in a bowl beat up
the eggs, add in the lemon – then beat in a ladle of stock. Then pour it back
in the soup.
Serve with the mint and parsley
just before serving.
China tea fruit salad – tea with syrup over fruit...
Mackerel Pate
Mackerel Pate
Soupe au Pistou
6 garlic cloves
Leaves from a small bunch of
basil
6 tbsps of extra virgin
Put in soup with veg, potatoes
(whole) and apparently aged gouda... tomatoes, beans, fennel.
Braised steak with anchovies and
capers
4 thick rump steaks – 300g each
2 onions
3 tbsp capers
12 french cornichons
10 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp flour
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
Marinade
150ml olive oil
8 garlic cloves
Small handful chopped parsley
1 teaspoon pepper
1 fresh bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
1 inner celery stick
Add the steaks to the marinade...
refrigerate overnight 0 turn twice. Oven on at 150c, but capers, cornchichons in
a bowl and toss well... put anchovies and vinegar in
Put one third of onion mixture
into the casserole dish and put two steaks on top... spoon half marinade on top
up with onions, then more steak.... pour in 250 ml water – baking paper on top
of onions on top to deal it all in... cover and cook for 3 hours.
Braised beef brisket
Rhubarb clafoutis
500g fresh fruit (rhubes,
cherries)
200 ml whole milk
200 ml doble cream
150g sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla pod
50g plain flour
Cook rhbues for 2 mins in water –
just to blanch
Put the milk, cream, eggs, sugar
and cinnamon and salt and mix well... using the tip of the knife, scrape out
the vanilla seeds add into mixture... beat in flour too.
Put rhubes in prepared dish –
bake with stuff on for 45 mins at 200 c
Chocolate, chestnut tart.
100g choc
3 table spoons unsalted butter
200 ml double cream
1 large beaten egg
250g tinned sweetened chestnut..
Melt butter and choc – then add
in the egg, cream and chestnut puree...
Bake for 20-35 mins at 150 c
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