Dish of the Month Round Up August and Prize Winner

Dom from Belleau Kitchen  chose one of those perfect recipes where you throw everything in a roasting tin, to create an easy but deliciously carmelised Summer Sausage Stew with cider and radishes.

Feel like you are having a bit of deja vu?  Nigel obviously has a penchant for throwing things into roasting tins and so do I!  My Dish of the Month was Baked Chicken with tomatoes and olives from the Kitchen Diaries II.

Welcome to Dish of the Month Newbie, Deon Van Schalkwyk of Sumptuous Delights who was somewhat daunted by the Kitchen Diaries II until (drumroll) she saw this blog event and realised just how fabulous and accessible KDII is, and made this Mushroom and Asparagus Tart with Pancetta pieces.  Hope you will join us again Deon.

 Claire from Foodiequine served up a fabulous Smoked Haddock with Leeks and Sweetcorn made from local produce with a dash of rapeseed oil 'as used by Nigel Slater'.

Sue, from A Little bit of heaven on a plate, crocheted this Lemon and Thyme cake along with her Afghan blanket - hee hee hee.  It's another great recipe from the Kitchen Diaries II.


A beautiful photograph of a glorious dish from Karen at Lavender and Lovage, Saint Marcellin Cheese, tomatoes and basil from the first Kitchen Diaries book, read more about this creamy French cheese on Karen's blog.

Rachel at Marmaduke Scarlet always comes up with an interesting dish for Dish of the Month and this month is no exception.  Roasted Courgettes with Thai-style Minced Chilli and Lime Pork is a variation on Nigel's Baked Marrow with Minced Pork from Tender 1.


And the winner of a copy of Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food is 

Labels: asparagus, Chicken, courgettes, Dish of the Month, Lemon and Thyme Cake, mushrooms, mussels, Nigel Slater, Pork, Real Fast Food, Saint Marcellin, sausages, smoked haddock, tomatoes

posted by Janice @ 21:00 5 Comments

Omelette Arnold Bennet for Best of British - London

The Best of British Challenge  has moved on, it started in Cornwall at the Chocolate Log Blog, then I took over here on Farmersgirl Kitchen with the Scottish challenge, last month Yorkshire was the county of choice over at Lavender and Lovage.  I didn't have any trouble thinking of recipes for the last three, but when Fiona at London Unattached announced that she was hosting for 'London' I was really stumped as to what to make.

I toyed with 'London Particular' a yellow split pea soup which is supposed to resemble the fog known as a London Pea Souper.  Then I thought I might make bagels after learning about the long tradition of bagel-making in the east end of London. In the end, I stumbled across a recipe for Omelette Arnold Bennet and I knew I had found my London entry to the Best of British Challenge.



The Omelette Arnold Bennet was created by the chefs at the Savoy Hotel in London for the writer Arnold Bennett, he loved it so much he insisted on it being made for him wherever he travelled. It's still on the menu  at the Savoy to this day.

Omelette Arnold Bennet (Serves 2)

This is a lower fat recipe using a cornflour based sauce rather than the traditional bechamel

Ingredients
200g smoked haddock (I could only get dyed smoked haddock but, for preference I would choose undyed)
200ml semi-skimmed milk
15g cornflour
25g parmesan cheese, grated
5 eggs (separate white and yolk from one egg)
10g butter
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the fish in the milk and cook gently for about 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Remove the fish to another dish.

2. Mix the cornflour with a little cold milk  and pour the warm milk from the pan into the bowl.  Mix well and return to the pan, cooking through until thickened, add half the grated parmesan, season and stir in the yolk from the separated egg. Leave to cool.

3. Beat the white from the separated egg in a large bowl until it forms stiff peaks and set aside.
4. In another bowl, beat the 4 whole eggs.
5. Break the haddock into large flakes.


It's not the most photogenic of dishes, but we enjoyed the different textures of the layers and the salty, tangy flavours of the smoked fish and parmesan cheese pefectly offset by the eggs.  We raised a glass to Arnold Bennet and the chefs of the Savoy Hotel, for introducing us to this exceptional omelette.

The challenge ends on 23rd September, so there is still time to enter, find out more about the challenge and the prizes visiting London Unattached - Best of British

Labels: Best of British, eggs, fish, London, Omelette Arnold Bennet, parmesan, smoked haddock

posted by Janice @ 21:23 9 Comments