Farmersgirl Kitchen

Monday, 10 August 2015

The Great British Blackberry Recipe Round Up

After the success of the Great British Rhubarb Recipe Round Up in the spring, Karen at Lavender and Lovage and I are launching a new Linky Party to celebrate the blackberry harvest. As Karen is in SW France and I am in SW Scotland, the blackberry season starts and finishes at different times for us, so the Linky will remain open until the 18th of September so everyone has plenty of time to forage in the hedgerows and make delicious recipes with the blackberries you pick.

The Great British Blackberry Recipe Round Up

You don't have to be British to join in and you can use fresh, frozen, canned or any other kind of blackberries that you can get your hands on. It's very simple, here is what to do:

Post your recipe on your blog with a link to Farmersgirl Kitchen and Lavender and Lovage and attach the Great British Blackberry Recipe Round-Up logo as shown below

If you put your post on twitter please mention @FarmersgirlCook @KarenBurnsBooth and #GBBR in your message and we will retweet all those we see.
By entering you are agreeing to let us use an image from your entry on this site, and to pin to Pinterest.
Please be respectful of other people's copyright and give credit where it is due.
Add your recipe link to the live Linky posted at the bottom of this page.
Closing date 18th September 2015

An InLinkz Link-up

Labels: Bake, blackberries, Blackberry, cook, Lavender and Lovage, recipe, The Great British Blackberry Recipe Round Up. bramble

Saturday, 1 August 2015

The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook Review and a Giveaway

The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Amy Riolo is not so much a diet cook book as a way of life, unleashing the power of one of the world's healthiest diets. It integrates the latest research and clinical findings with 100 delicious, authentic, easy recipes and Mediterranean lifestyle tips while dispelling any myths and misinformation. Gluten free variations of recipes are also included.

About the Author
AMY RIOLO is an award-winning author, chef, television personality, cuisine and culture expert
and educator. She is a Culinary Advisor for The Mediterranean Food Alliance and her work has
appeared in numerous print media including USA Today, Cooking Light, The Washington Post, The
Wall Street Journal and CNN.com. Amy’s most recent book, The Mediterranean Diabetes
Cookbook, won the 2011 Nautilus Book Award. She also won the World Gourmand Award for
"Best Arab Cuisine Book" in the United States for her book Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture
(Hippocrene Books). She is also the author of a noted culinary/cultural blog amyriolo.blogspot.com

The Review
Introduction and Welcome to the Mediterranean Diet
As I said this isn't just a recipe book, Amy Riolo gives a comprehensive introduction to the principles of the Mediterranean diet. with the science behind the diet and how the lifestyle is as important as the actual food. Using the Mediterranean Pyramid as a guide, Amy gets to the core of the Mediterranean lifestyle, and explains what is eaten, when to eat it, and why. Each recipe in The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook contains a cultural tip from the Mediterranean region. Fun historical facts, legend, and lore, as well as nutritional information accompany each recipe.

Each recipe chapter begins with a useful introductory essay on the appropriate foodstuffs. Here are a few of my favourite recipes by chapter:

Plant Based Foods - the foundation of the Mediterranean diet
Wholegrains: Gooey Mediterranean-Style Cornbread which contains sundried tomatoes and mozzarella; North African Spice-Dusted Sweet Potatoes; Libyan Lamb Couscous and Turkish Eggplant and Herbed Rice Pilaf.
Fruits: Apricot and Orange Blossom Pudding with Pistachios; Roasted Plums with Basil-Yogurt Cream.
Vegetables: Quick Italian Pickles; Provencal Bistro Carrot Salad; Lebanese Fattoush
Legumes and Nuts: Herb Infused Falafel Pomegranate, Roasted Red Pepper, and Walnut Dip and Moroccan Harira Soup
Olive Oil: Kale and Almond Pesto Sauce, Olive Oil cured Eggplant; Provencal Herb Tapenade and Sweet Olive Oil, Cherry and Almond Cake

Fish and Seafood - the bounty of the Mediterranean sea
Sicilian Swordfish Bundles; Citrus Marinated Salmon with Fennel Cream and Sizzling Rosemary Shrimp over Polenta.

Dairy and Poultry - Farm fresh flavors
Dairy: Herb Marinated Mozzarella, Cypriot Greengrocer's Salad with Feta (see recipe below);
Poultry: Chicken Skillet-Style Shwarma with Tahini Sauce; Jerusalem-Style Chicken with Rice, Golden Raisins, and Pine Nuts.

Meat and Sweets - Mediterranean Indulgences
Southern Italian Goat and Herb Stew; Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb and Corsican-Style, Almond-Stuffed Figs in Chocolate Sauce, Sweet Carrot and Cardamom Torte.

Mediterranean Cooking Basics covers everything you need to know about how to choose and cook the staples of the Mediterranean diet such as beans, polenta and stock.

The Mediterranean Pantry is an alphabetical list of ingredients used in the book with information about what it is, where it comes from and how it is used in cooking.

Who is it for? This is an ideal book for anyone who wants to eat a healthy diet and is looking for information and recipes to help them achieve and sustain a healthful way of life. It's also for anyone who loves good food, never mind whether it's healthy, as there are lots of really mouthwatering recipes.

Pros
Lots of good healthy recipes, plenty for vegetarians and vegans too. I loved the comprehensive introductory chapter information and the Mediterranean Traditions with each recipe.

Cons
The only thing I would say is that the book doesn't stay open very well, so you need a book stand or have to bend back the spine, which would break it (I simply can't bear to do that!).

The Verdict
This would be a useful book to have in your collection if you would like to understand more about eating well. The recipes are easily achievable, although I have to say that they are more attractive to eat in the summer when we have a chance of at least some more Mediterranean weather, than in the cold days of winter when comfort food is more attractive.

The Recipe

CYPRIOT GREENGROCER'S SALAD WITH FETA /CHORIATIKI SALATA
serves 6

1 head Romaine lettuce, washed, dried and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 baby (Persian) cucumber, or 1/3 English cucumber, slice thinly on the diagonal
1/4 lb (115g) feta, cubed or crumbled
1/4 cup Greek Olives, pitted
1 yellow onion, sliced into rings
1 small green bell pepper, cut into rings
3 tablespoons (45ml) red wine vinegar or lemon juice
unrefined sea salt or salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (120ml) extra-virgin olive oil (preferably unfiltered)

Place the lettuce in a large salad bowl. add the tomatoes and cucumber, and toss to combine.
Scatter the feta, olives, onion and pepper over the top in an attractive pattern. Pour wine vinegar or lemon juice into a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking vigorously. Once the dressing is emulsified, pour it over the salad and serve immediately.

The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
by Amy Riolo
Published by Fair Winds Press
RRP £14.99 Paperback

I have one copy of The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook to GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Labels: cookbook, Diet, feta, giveaway, Healthy, olives, recipe, review, salad, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, win

Thursday, 16 April 2015

Mackerel with Madeirean Special Sauce and Cooked Maize (Mihle or Polenta)

This is my take on a dish we enjoyed at the Apolo Cafe in Funchal, Madeira. We had just visited the local farmers market, including the fish market and it had whetted our appetite for lunch.

The Cafe Apolo is right in the centre of Funchal right opposite the Cathedral and we were tempted by the special 'Fresh from the Market' lunch of 'Mackerel Fillets with Madeirean Special Sauce and Cooked Maize (Polenta)'.

We really enjoyed eating at this street cafe, it is frequented by locals and tourists alike and is a great place for people watching.

This was our meal, a bowl of creamy polenta and a plate with two huge fillets of mackerel with a pool a lovely Madeira sauce flavoured with thyme.

I wanted to recreate this fish dish, all I had to go on was the name of the dish and what I had tasted. I reckoned that if it was a Madeirean Sauce it would contain Madeira, don't you think? We had really enjoyed drinking a glass of Madeira on our holiday and had also been to the tour of Blandy's to learn about how Madeira was made and the history of this group of producers. I was pleased to find a bottle of Blandy's Duke of Clarence Madeira in my local supermarket. I had also definitely seen and tasted thyme in the sauce and that's about all Here is what I came up with:

Mackerel in Madeirean Special Sauce with Cooked Maize (Mihle or Polenta)
Serves 4

For the Polenta
1.5 litres water
1 tsp salt
180g polenta
100g grated cheese
20-30g butter

1. Bring the water to the boil in a large pan, add the salt.
2. Pour the polenta in a stream into the boiling water whisking gently.
3. Keep whisking until the polenta has thickened.
4. Cover the polenta and either keep cooking on the stove at a low heat, or put in the oven at 150C. Stir well every 10 minutes scraping down the sides. Cook for about 30 minutes.
5. Stir in the cheese and butter and serve immediately.

For the fish
4 fresh mackerel fillets

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 lemon zest and juice
2 heaped tsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper
50 ml Madeira

Place the mackerel on a flat plate or baking tray and cover with the grated lemon zest, lemon juice and a tsp thyme leaves stripped from the stalks, cover with cling film and leave for at least 20 minutes.
Put the Madeira in a small pan on a medium high heat and simmer to reduce the liquid by half.
Heat the olive oil in a pan on a medium heat and sauté the onion until soft, add the butter then cook the mackerel fillets for about 3 minutes each side.
Serve the mackerel fillets on top of the creamy polenta and season the pan juices to taste and pour over the dish, the pour over the reduced Madeira.

I also chopped some courgettes and pan fried them in butter with garlic and cherry tomatoes to serve with the mackerel and polenta.

I used this amazing Farina Polenta Taragna from UFUUD a specialist supplier of traditional Italian food. Molino Filippini’s special flour for taragna polenta is composed of a mixture of ground buckwheat and maize, carefully blended to ensure a top-class product that respects the traditions of northern Italy. I'll be sharing more delicious Italian foods from UFUUD very soon.

Polenta Chips
Polenta is incredibly filling so we found that we had quite a lot left over. I lined a tray with baking paper and spread the thick polena on top. I then left it in the fridge for a few days, although you can use it as soon as it is cold and set., and sliced it into finger shapes.

To bake the 'chips' I brushed oil onto a non-stick baking sheet and laid out the chips with a little gap between each one, I then brushed all the chips with oil and baked in the oven at 180C for 15 minutes. I took the tray out and turned the chips over, then returned to the oven for another 15 minutes.

They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, the flavour of the cheese came through more strongly than in the wet polenta. The change in taste reminded me of the gnocchi I made, which was also much tastier when sautéed in butter!

Labels: Blandy's, Italian, lemon, Mackerel, Madeira, Polenta, Polenta Chips, recipe, thyme, UFUUD

Sunday, 4 January 2015

New Year, New Challenge - Recipe Clippings

#RecipeClippings

Do you have a folder full of recipes cut from magazines, copied from your mother, grandmother or friends? I have four A4 folders stuffed full of recipes and those are the ones I'm prepared to own up to, as there are also various notebooks with recipes I wrote out by hand in my teens and twenties!

I hadn't intended to create a new blog event, it all came about through an instagram post about my recipe clippings which seemed to strike a chord with some others. I was going to keep it to instagram but, after thinking about it, I realised that it would be hard to keep track only through instagram and there would be a real chance that the whole thing would just fade away.

There are a number of ways you can join in and cook up the recipes from your #RecipeClippings

Make a recipe from a magazine/newspaper clipping or note:

post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog and add to the InLinkz linky at the bottom of this post. Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen in your blog post and include the #RecipeClippings logo

post a photograph and description on Instagram tagging FarmersgirlCook and using #RecipeClippings

post a photograph and description on Twitter tagging @FarmersgirlCook and using #RecipeClippings

like and post a photograph and description on Farmersgirl Kitchen Facebook page using #RecipeClippings

YOU ONLY NEED TO DO ONE OF THESE, BUT YOU CAN DO MORE IF YOU WISH

Rules:

You may post recipes you have clipped from magazines, newspapers or have written down from friends and family.Please credit the author of the recipe or ask permission.
Please say where the recipe came from.
Three entries per month.
I will re-share any posts and/or photos that are tagged
Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

If you make a vegetarian recipe you might also like to link up to Bookmarked Recipes at Tinned Tomatoes, where you can share recipes you have bookmarked in books and on websites as well as from your clippings.

Go get those #RecipeClippings and make the recipes

you liked the look of so much, you cut them out!

An InLinkz Link-up

Digital image created mainly with Digital Kit, Oven Lovin' from Snickerdoodle Designs with some elements from Inspiration Lane Collab Kit, Cafe Vienna and Sew Cute from Sugarplumpaperie.

Labels: Bookmarked Recipes, challenge, facebook, Food, Instagram, recipe, Recipe Clippings, Twitter

Monday, 15 October 2012

La Tasca Paella de Carne Recipe

A few weeks ago, I was invited to La Tasca in Renfield Street, Glasgow to watch Executive Chef Antonio Bennetto and Thomas, the La Tasca chef, demonstrate cooking paella, as well as tasting the delicious autumn menu for La Tasca. You can read about it in my blog post 'Paella People'

After the demonstration I wanted to make some Paella myself. As I wanted it to be as authentic to La Tasca as possible, I asked if they would be able to provide a recipe for me and was delighted when the answer was YES!


Paella de Carne ingredients

Frying the onion and peppers in garlic infused oil

Adding the chicken and chorizo

Adding the prawns and peas

Adding the rice in a cross

LA TASCA PAELLA DE CARNE

Serves 2 – 4 people

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30-35 minutes

INGREDIENTS

200g of Spanish paella rice such as bomba or calasparra

2 tbs garlic infused olive oil

1 tsp pimenton de la vera dulce (smoked sweet paprika)

Pinch of saffron (or turmeric if you don’t have saffron)

675ml good quality chicken stock (475ml if using calasparra)

4 large ripe tomatoes

1 small white onion

2 medium sized fresh chicken breasts, diced into 25mm chunks

100g fresh chorizo sausage, sliced into rounds about ½ a cm in thickness

40g of fine beans, top, tailed and chopped into 1cm

30g of garden peas

Pinch of salt & pepper

1 roasted red pepper cut into quarters to garnish

1 lemon cut into wedges

CROCKERY

1 Paella Pan or a 30cm Large Heavy bottom frying pan

1 small pan for tomatoes

METHOD

1. Cut the onion and pepper into roughly 2cm cubes.

2. Score a small cross on the base of each tomato, then carefully place into a pan with boiling water, leave for 20 to 30 seconds, then remove using a slotted spoon. Drop the tomatoes into a bowl of ice cold water and leave to cool. Remove the tomatoes then peel away the skin. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the seeds with a spoon, and then roughly chop the flesh. Set the chopped tomato aside.

3. Place a Paella pan or sauté pan over medium heat and when hot pour in the garlic infused olive oil. Add the onions and peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened then move to one side of the pan.

4. Add the chicken and chorizo, stirring through and cook for 2-3 minutes until the chicken starts to brown and the chorizo begins to lightly caramelise before mixing back through with the peppers and onion.

5. Add the diced tomatoes, almost all of the chicken stock (leave 50 to 75ml back) and the pimenton, saffron/or turmeric. Mix in the green beans and peas, turn the heat up and once the broth is at a rolling boil and the chicken is cooked through, taste to make sure you are happy with the flavour (at this point you are looking for a strong flavour of Smokey paprika, saffron (if using) and a rich chicken stock kick) – season with salt and pepper if required.

6. Add the Paella rice making a cross in the pan with the rice from one side to the other.

7. Share the rice around the pan carefully using a spoon to distribute the rice into the 4 sections making sure the rice is even and in every part of the pan. Cook for 10 minutes on medium to high heat. Do not stir.

8. Turn the heat down to low, place the roasted red pepper quarters on top of the paella and cook for 10 minutes until the broth has been absorbed by the rice.

(Have the remaining chicken stock on hand to gently ladle over the rice if required at any point within these 10 minutes).

Once the broth has totally disappeared, check that the rice is al dente – cooked but with a slight bite, then turn off the heat and let it rest!

A Rest is so important: 15 minutes is the La Tasca golden rule, however if you have the luxury of waiting up to 45 minutes you will see a notable difference in texture and condensed taste. If you choose the 45 minute wait, make sure you cover the pan loosely with kitchen foil.

Great Paella should have a layer of rice caramelised on the bottom of the pan together with looking compact and caramelised on top; add the lemons just before serving!

Only fluff up the Paella when you are about to serve!

Please note: I added some prawns to the original recipe, as I am a big fan of seafood.


Finished Paella

The paella was delicious with a rich smoky flavour from the smoked paprika and chorizo, I would certainly make it again. Many thanks to Antiono for supplying the recipe and to Jade, Ella and Amy for being so accommodating.

Note: I found that I had to cover the pan with foil towards the end of cooking to get the rice on the top to cook properly. This is probably because my pan wasn't big enough to get a thin layer.

Labels: Chicken, chorizo, La Tasca, Paella de Carne, peas, pimenton, prawns, recipe, rice, smoked paprika, tomato

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