2 recipes: Parmesan Fritters (P141) and Marinated and Grilled Lamb Cutlets with Hummus, Olive Oil and Coriander (P115)

Hwngo stayed over after a hectic, rainy weekend; he nominated these two recipes for Sunday supper. They're very different, but both perfect for a tired, wet night with a good bottle of wine (Rioja).

Luckily, I had a hectic weekend too, and looked at the recipes in the morning (second attempt at morning, after getting home partied-out at 5am) instead of later in the afternoon. Both of them need to be prepared in advance, and although it wasn't a great disaster, I did push the time envelopes a little; the lamb needed marinating for at least 12 hours (it got about 8) and the fritters to cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours (hurriedly shoved into the freezer for 2-3).

Fritters. Pretty darned easy: essentially an over-thick Roux with cheese etc thrown in. Neither of us (Hwngo and myself) can understand how a Roux can go wrong; there isn't much that moderating the heat and pressing the lumps out with a spoon won't fix, but it may just be that we've done it so long that we've forgotten what we're doing right. I wasn't sure how small to cut the mozarella, so I made it 1cm cubes. I worried that they were too big, but this worked okay; instead of mozarella throughout the fritters, there was a soft bite of it every so often which gave a little variety.
I don't have any small flat metal baking tins (another kitchen deficiency that I need to correct) so I put the mixture into my fluted pie dish and shoved the whole thing into the freezer to cool. When it came out circa 3 hours later, an inch wide swath of mixture around the edge was set, and the centre was still quite runny, so maybe several hours cooling would be a sensible idea. But I cut 1" squares out of it, flour-egg-breadcrumbs (Hwngo was interested to see how the flour stops the breadcrumbs from falling off) and into a pan filled with sunflower oil (to get the right heat). The result? When I first went to Prague, I found the city that I had always hoped Paris would be (but am always disappointed... well, not so much these days, but places and tastes change). When I bit into one of these fritters, I found the cheese-in-breadcrumbs that I always want deep-fried camembert to be (but am always disappointed). And deep-fried parsley is just one of those small wonders of nature; it shouldn't happen, it shouldn't work, but it does. Yummily. We both agreed that this was excellent grown-up party food; now all I have to do is move to the city, change my life and start throwing dinner parties again. Which is really quite an excellent idea. Hwngo pointed out that I'd forgotten the lemon wedges, but we were both hungry and the fritters so lovely that I don't think they would have added a huge amount to the experience. It's better than Dutch cuisine anyways (although Indonesian can be pretty good in the Netherlands).

Lamb cutlets. Another round of finding things in a big supermarket (I'd meant to go to the organic butchers but ran out of time on Saturday, and they're -sensibly- closed on Sunday) ; got the very last jar of tahini, so big points there, spent a while hunting down the Tabasco (had forgotten it was in little bottles), and bought a fuse for the Magimix. Marinade was easy: mix, pour and shove to one side. Hummus was a little more tricky; Magimix still refuses to start (it will have to go back to its makers) and my original machine did not much more than sit on the side and whine at how many beans I was asking it to mush (it went straight onto the recycling pile). There wasn't a lot more too it really, apart from cooking the cutlets for longer than I'd normally expect, to get them nicely charred (Hwngo saved my bacon - erm lamb- there) and making the result look pretty on a place. We served them with coriander, cayenne and baby plum tomatoes (I have a great weakness for good hummus mixed with flavoursome tomatoes). It was very much a dish with North African style without actually being North African; it balanced well, and would be suitable for a more intimate party (say, a 4-person dinner party with a salad-based starter and healthy dessert) than the fritters. Another competent dish, and all the better for it; something that could be enjoyed with friends but that wouldn't badly alienate the mother-in-law. And then we flumped in a corner because even we didn't have room for any dessert.

1 recipe: Smoked Haddock Baked with Potatoes (p?)

First difference between book versions spotted! I cooked this using Hwngo's book (first edition hardback, well-thumbed and -ahem- slightly foxed with various food products, aka much loved...) . My version suggests removing the fish bones with tweezers; his doesn't (I didn't; the chances of finding tweezers in a batchelor pad are... well, quite good actually, but I didn't want to ask...).

I'm starting to think that West Sussex is deeply conservative/ old-fashioned. Again I had problems finding good fish, so I went to the fish man at Tesco's yesterday lunchtime (he knows his halibut); no smoked haddock because he tends to get this in at the end of the week. I can only conclude that there are either a lot of weekend Simon cookbook users in the area, or there are still lots of people here eating fish on a Friday. Anyways, 3 packs of the thickest lumps of fish I could find later...

There are 3 layers of potatoes in this recipe and not a lot of cooking time (1 hour in total), so slice the potatoes very thin (mine were about 1mm) or risk having them crunchy at the end. I bought a whole bag of parsley but only used half of it; the recipe would have coped well with all of it. I overpoached the fish slightly and had a long job removing the skins; 15 minutes poaching instead of 20-25 would have made this an easier job and left the fish a little less flaky.

The layers worked well but I forgot to put potatoes on last and ended up with some decorative tomato slices on top. This didn't really make a difference, aside from putting some colour in the (yummy) brown crust. The result was edible. Not the most spectacular-tasting Simon so far, but a dependable cold-evening recipe nonetheless.

Hwngo made one of his excellent rhubarb crumbles. He says it's easy to make, but I think that really translates to 'easy to make if you have years of cooking experience'.

1 recipe: Saffron Soup with Mussels (p180)

I'm busy tomorrow, so I shopped tonight. The Friday plan has firmed up to Chocolate Bavarois, Creme Anglaise and Poached Salmon with Buerre Blanc (possibly in that order); tonight was meant to be Piedmontese Peppers but I forgot the anchovies, so it's just as well that I went a little OTT and sourced the ingredients for Saffron Soup With Mussels too. Which I'm cooking now.

The wine, as always, took longest to find (the gelatine leaves took a while too). I think this is essentially a soup version of Moules Mariniere, so I fancied a good dry German white in it. Sainsburys has the teensiest of German selections. Minute: only a few bottles hidden between the all-conquering spanish and french. Which made the choice difficult: a cheap bottle and risk it, or something more expensive that may be risking it anyways. In the end, I settled for an Ernst Loosen Riesling. And in traditional style, I'm going to cook half and personally evaporate the rest... tasting notes to follow... hmmm... apricots. Well, more like biting the fesh around an apricot pit; like the stuff you paint on to stop nailbiting, slightly bitter but strangely inviting. And sweeter than I expected.

Final straits now... waiting for the potato to soften so I can put in the mussels and declare the soup done. But there doesn't appear to be enough liquid for this to really be called a soup. I'll see what happens, but for now it seems somehow wrong. Tasty, but wrong.

My god it's good. The cream was enough to push it over the liquid edge from stew to soup, and it's no more an extension of Moules Mariniere than Jordan is an extension of Debbie Harry. It's rich, complex, smooth on the taste but plays off the crunch of the potato (I was sure mashing them was best, but no, this works well) against the tang and suck of the mussels. Kids, please try this at home. And invite me round to supper. Please? I only have a giant bowlful left...

ROTW: Mackerel Souffle

One souffle. I think it's my first ever, although I have a niggling memory of attempting one in the crooked house (two feet different in nominally- parallel wall lengths in a single room).

That was... fun. Usually cooking is calming or meditative or sometimes badly stressing, but this one was fun. Probably something to do with all the changes; lots of stirring and whisking and grating going on. Nutmeg especially is a cool thing to grate: you think you've just run it over the grater a couple of times and nothing's happened, and then you lift up said grater and a whole pile of magically- grated nutmeg is just there waiting for you. Some foods are just special like that. Like the eggs: I had a box of Old Cotswold Legbar eggs in the fridge (I have a soft spot for rare breeds, although they're hardly rare now I can buy the eggs in Tescos), and was pleasantly surprised to see that inside those pastel- blue shells are lovely deep orange yolks. The only down was beating the eggwhites. Hwngo showed me that using a stick blended really works on this, so I used mine, and nada. White fluffy mixture, but not a peak in sight. And I couldn't rescue it from there: after 10 minutes of fighting it with a hand whisk, I gave in and made the mixture anyway. Then anxiously watched through the cooker's glass door for half an hour.

I wasn't expecting texture. I've always thought of souffle as a smooth dish, a rolling hill of smooth curves forming a chef's hat shape over the top of the dish. But there it is, in photographic evidence: a textured top (and one that, ta-da, didn't sink when I took it out the oven!). It tastes good too: like the best of soft omelettes collided with a soft cake; worth missing my yoga class for even. The nutmeg and fish balance off each other beautifully, and the only regret I have is that I wasn't a little more adventurous with the pepper; I've been a bit too heavy-handed with it of late (the pestle-and-mortar full of pepper is probably a hint about my culinary proclivities) but I think this dish could take it. Peppered mackeral souffle, anyone?

And I promise when I have both eggs and mackeral in the fridge, the last thing I'll think about cooking is a kedgeree...

Plans for today

Today is a good day to buy and cook a chicken to the next book recipe (poulet poche). And to attempt an rotw (lemon meringue pie) at the same time. And maybe consider buying a straightjacket in advance.

I was so out-of-sorts that Hwsgo cooked the chicken instead and we missed the lemon meringue completely. He was ever so sweet, and re-did Simon's roast chicken recipe for us; we bought a big bird (2.4kg, the smallest they had) at Allen Martin Meats; it was a good bird, but I think a little too large for the recipe; we got good firm flesh, but not quite as infused with lemon and herbs as the earlier one had been. The really really good thing was the banana shallots that Hwsgo packed around the baking tray (with roast potatoes; also good, but not as spectacular); they picked up the butter sauce, and caramelised into melt-in-the-mouth sweetness. We also finally found a use for the comedy turkey baster that's been sat in my kitchen drawer for the past year: it really does work, and it saves an awful lot of fishing around in the baking tray with a spoon.

1 recipe: Risotto Alla Milanese (page 179)

And so to something that hwsgo cooks extremely well: risotto. I'd bought saffron and blackish truffle in Granada, and I had an excuse to use one of them, and to tidy up some shallots and parmesan that had been hanging round the kitchen too long.

First, the shallots. I have two sizes of shallots in my kitchen at the moment; golfball sized, and something that would fit snugly in the palm of my hand. I'm not sure which one I should be using, but in the end the large ones won. And the saffron; I soaked it in hot water as instructed, and it smelt so good that I was tempted to taste the liquid on its own. But I didn't, and dutifully poured in into the rice along with chicken stock (organic kallo stockcube, for want of anything made the long way). I also wasn't sure how long to cook the shallots or the rice, so I did the shallots until they changed colour (hwsgo does them until they're clear I think), and the rice for a while just to be sure. The result? Beautiful, egg-yolk colour, texture, and taste almost (I made scrambled quails-eggs once; a little like that), but the shallots were a little undercooked, although they did give an interesting crunch to the result. I'd go back and check again, but I've promised to save some for hwsgo, and I fear I'd accidentally eat the lot.

Otherwise, a 'good'ish day. 1 bowl specialk + milk for breakfast, then a meeting breakfast (obligatory bacon rolls, honest), 2 specialk bars (to avoid the biscuits with coffee) , 4 cups - or maybe 5, I lost count- research coffee (strong, warm, left close to my elbow), 2 chocolate biscuits, risotto and a pint of water. Hwsgo and I have made a vague pact to not drink alone or during the week (except maybe the odd beer when necessary), and despite my lodger being around I'm trying to stick to it. And speaking of beer, I popped into the Hogsback Brewery on the way home. The house now boasts 4 bottles of Wickwar's station porter, 1 of Peroni Gran Riserva, 1 Kwak and 1 Orkney Brewery Dragonhead.

Old ROTW: Winter Chicken

ROTW from 19th November 2007

Organic corn fed chicken of around 3 lbs
8 rashers dry-cured bacon or Parma ham
1 lb potatoes, peeled
2 bulbs of garlic in cloves, peeled
1/4 lb gruyere or mixed gruyere and emmenthal
white wine, butter, cream

Preheat your oven and an appropriately sized roasting tray to 190. Clean the chicken cavity. Stuff the garlic into the chicken. Boil your potatoes in salted water until almost cooked. Drain and allow to cool. Slice the potatoes into discs, season with salt and black pepper. Cut the cheese into thin slices and layer between the potatoes in a dish that can go into the oven.Place the chicken on the tray and cook for 40 minutes.Remove from the oven, cover the chicken in the bacon or ham, deglaze the pan with white wine, and cook for another 15 minutes. Put the cheesed off potatoes in the oven at this point too. When its all done, remove the chicken from the pan and rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile deglaze the pan again with white wine, a knob of butter and a small pot of cream and serve the result as a sauce. Remove the potatoes, carve the chicken and serve with wilted spinach.

Old ROTW: Gnocci with Tomato Sauce

ROTW from 22nd October 2007

Chop and onion finely and fry in olive oil until just turning golden - make sure you get all the pieces translucent. Take a tin of good chopped tomatoes and add to the onions. Add any tomatoes you have lying around that need using up - you don't need fresh ones but you can use them if they are to hand. However you do need either 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar or one glass of red wine. Any wine you have to hand is good - don't open a bottle especially. Reduce hard stirring well until the volume has approximately halved or more.

The next step is painful but completely necessary. Sieve the sauce through a coarse sieve. Push the sauce through the sieve with a wooden spoon, and scrape the outside to ensure you have the stubborn bits of sauce that won't fall off. The resulting fluid should be thick and jammy. If not, reduce some more. Taste and if it's not really thick and satisfying, consider adding a dash of balsamic vinegar or some tomato puree. If you had good tomatoes to start with this should not be necessary, but it can rescue less good ones.

Once done, add pepper and just a little salt.

Boil water and do the gnocchi. Meanwhile grate some parmesan and tear half a dozen basil leaves. Add the leaves to the sauce, drain the gnocchi and serve, pour over the sauce, and add the grated cheese on top. You should not need much sauce as it's so thick and yummy. The rest freezes well.

Old ROTW: Salmon with basil infused butter

1. Make basil sauce. Chop 2 shallots finely.
Sweat with 1oz fine butter. Do not allow the butter to burn, and continue until the shallots are translucent.
Deglaze the mixture with 50ml pastis and cook until reduced by at least half. Add 120ml of fish stock (you can buy this in a tub in a good supermarket) and again reduce by half.
Cut 15 good size basil leaves into thin strips and add.
Add 60ml double cream and bring gently back almost to the boil.
Stir in 1oz of fine butter cut into small cubes and take off the heat. Do not allow to boil.

2. Take 2 250g or thereabouts fillets of line caught organic salmon (Alaskan is good). Season each piece with salt and pepper. Dry fry in a non stick pan over a high heat for 90 seconds per side. Make sure the pan is very hot before the fish go in and don't move the fish around too much before turning.

Season with more pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, the pour the sauce over the fish.

Serve with lightly braised leeks and/or new potatoes. A great White Rhone, Grand Cru Meursault, or semillon driven White Bordeaux would be good with this. Older Ozzie Semillon would do at a pinch.