Recipe: Duck Confit & Duck Butter on Toast (Wild Garlic Duck Butter)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Confit duck is so simple to make it’s unbelievable! It’s also a way to preserve you duck so it will last longer. You can do the legs plain without any additional herbs and spices and flavour them later or you can let them infuse with flavours for the dish you have in mind!

I like to add a lot of garlic, onions and a little chilli to the mix. These slow roast to great tasting warm kind of soft reduction with beautiful savoury flavour. When mixed with a little cream and butter this makes a great alternative spread!

for confit duck legs

2 duck legs

3 onions

1 bulb garlic

2 chillies

big sprig of rosemary

250ml vegetable stock

~

Brown off the duck legs in a frying pan seasoning them well.

Place all ingredients into an oven prof pot with a lid.

The stock should almost cover the duck.

Top up with a little olive oil and place the oven at 150C for 2-3hours

for duck butter

80g confit garlic and onion (from confit duck legs)

80g creme fraiche

80g butter (s)

~

Bring to boil, or microwave in favourite high sided microwave proof container.

Blitz to a rich confit duck flavoured sauce.

It’s not quite puree when it’s warm but it sets into a luxurious spread.

Great on toast or for croutons.

This is also a great base for wild garlic & duck butter . . . next post!

Recipe: Red Pepper & Goats Cheese Hotpot (Bruisers In The Darkness)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I was out for my first bike ride yesterday in our new location. It was a beautifully sunny day so I decided to take the bike out for a spin and explore the area. But first, time to tackle the shed!! In the end I probably left it a little too late to leave and I nearly got caught out by the setting sun. I’d forgotten just how dark it gets with out street lights!!!! Bloody hell!!! 

After feeling my way home I set about making some tea. In this neck of the woods every hill is a what my uncle would describe as ‘a bruiser’ and when I got back I was starving!

I realised immediately that there was NO garlic!!! After what I can only describe as an extremely mild panic I set about making something from what I did have. 

I can safely say this recipe is a keeper so I decided to put it up on the blog! Although I put chicken in this version, it wouldn’t be missed in a vegetarian version!!

Red pepper and goats cheese make a great combo and that’s no exception here!! No garlic required after all!!

Please excuse the photography, my camera is still in transit : / 

ingredients (serves 2-4)

for the red pepper & goats cheese stew

80g red pepper puree [will add a link]

2 onions (in sixths)

2 ripe tomatoes (in eights)

40g goats cheese (in chunks)

chicken bits (wings, legs boney bits - browned)

1 large potato (microwave 5mins - diced)

200g butter beans 

4 leaves cavolo nero (sliced)

1L chicken / veg stock

~

Section the chicken, season it, and brown it off in a frying pan.

Prep he rest of the ingredients and put everything except the cavolo nero into as oven proof dish.

Pop it into the oven at 180C for 45m. Then remove it from the oven add the cavolo nero.

Return it to the over to soften for another 10-15mins.

for the accompaniment

1 sour dough french stick

butter

~

Tear the french stick into generous pieces, toast them, or roast them in the oven for 10min.

And serve warm with butter.

for the topping

2-4 eggs (1 each)

~

Just before you serve add the eggs to the top of the stew and leave for 3-7 minutes, depending how soft you like your eggs!

Serve in a warm bow with the rustic french stick along side! 

What a fantastic winter warmer, and I got to test run the aga!

variations
As I mentioned if you leave the chicken out this would make a great veggie dinner!

Great the next day mixed with spring onion chicken stock broth:

tasty & light!

Recipe: Mushroom Spread (Stuffing)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

We’re well into game season now, and the other I came across some pheasant thighs, so I snagged them to do some testing. There were 8 rather small skinless deboned thighs, so I decided to stuff them, and ended up making a rather passable mushroom spread!! 

ingredients (makes ~600g)

for the mushroom spread

225g chestnut mushrooms

150g stale bread (blended to a fine crumb)

10g sage (picked)

125g (1) leek (finely chopped)

40g sunflower seeds (toasted)

10g butter (for toasting)

2 large free range eggs

apparatus / equipment

food processor

method

Add a knob of butter to a frying pan on medium heat and toast the sunflower seeds.

Once golden brown put them into a mixing bowl.

Pick the sage and chop it up. 

Chop up mushroom and leek and cook them all on a medium heat in the same pan as the sunflower seeds. Cook them until they have started to brown.

Meanwhile blend the bread in a food processor until there are no large lumps left.

Add the cooked leek & mushroom mix and the eggs, and blend until smooth.

Transfer the mix to the mixing bowl and mix the nuts in. 

Season with salt & pepper, and it’s ready to spread on your toast or crackers.

thinking ahead

This will last a couple of weeks in he fridge problem! Ready for those canapés whenever you need it! 

If you’re making stuffed pheasant thighs, you can make them in the afternoon and put them in the fridge until you need them.

links

I’ll add link to pheasant thighs when I put up the post on Friday.

variations

Recipe: Leek & Sweet Potato Soup with Garlic Chicken Hearts

Recipe: Leek & Sweet Potato Soup with Garlic Chicken Hearts

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I remember the first time I came across chicken hearts. I was a little bit wary I have to admit, I was however quite surprised by how tender they were! So I was pretty unimpressed with my own first attempt at cooking with them, they were tough, “oh lordy, that’s chewy!” (I must have come over all Ned Flanders when I wrote 1st draft!) Um . . . do these end? Chew, spring, bounce, is that a tube? Gross dude! (Yep that’s a bit of bart creeping in!)

All that shock and not so much awe aside, the thing to understand is that it’s like cooking calamari, brief and hot. Result tender and tasty, and a great addition to leek and sweet potato soup!

See Duck Hearts w/ Fennel & Basil (Chicken hearts work too!) for an alternative (better) prep method.

ingredients (serves 6)

for the roast veg

2 large sweet potato (1inch dice)

1 red pepper (coarse dice)

2 large onions (sliced)

3 cloves garlic (crushed flat w/ knife)

100ml olive oil

for the leek broth

4 leeks (cleaned, large dice)

4 pints chicken stock

bouquet garnis (10g thyme & 10g rosemary)

a touch of chilli sauce (optional)

for the bacon croutons

200g lardons

4 thick slices tiger bread (toasted) 

3 large clove garlic (crushed)

150g butter (microwaved with garlic)

2 level tsps smoked paprika (la cinata)

chicken hearts

32 chicken hearts (~400g I’m guessing)

for the garnish

chives

method

for the roast veg

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F

Peel and slice the onions, then cook in a pan with a little oil until translucent.

Prep the rest of the ingredients and place in a tray, add some olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat well.

Once seasoned put in the oven at 180C/45min tossing at least twice.

for the leek broth

Chuck all the ingredients into a pot, it will serve as a base for the whole thing.

Bring to the boil and leave on a super gentle simmer with the lid on while prepping the rest of the ingredients.

for the bacon croutons

Put the bread in the toaster.

Microwave the butter and garlic while it toasts.

Add the smoked paprika to the melted butter, mix well (reserving half for the chicken hearts).

Cut the toast into cubes and add to the butter mix coating all cubes as evenly as possible.

Put the bacon on a medium heat and let the fat render turning them frequently.

Once the bacon has started to brown add the croutons and mix well.

Leave on a baking tray, in a warm place.

Man these are explosions of smokey bacon flavoured croutons!! Dribble . . .

chicken hearts

Use left over garlic butter to coat the hearts, sear without oil in a hot pan 4mins max. (2 mins each side)

Deglaze the pan with good slug of white wine or a ladle full of leek broth, then return the hearts and sauce to the broth pot. (Do them in a few batches deglazing after each batch)

assembly

Remove the bouquet garnis from the broth, add the roast veg.

to serve 

Ladle the soup into bowls and add a sprinkling of chopped chives!

Place the croutons in a warm bowl with a spoon so folk can help themselves. 

thinking ahead

You can make all the components in the afternoon, then she you need it all you have to do is mix them in the broth pot until warm. Warm the tray of crouton in the oven 180C for 4mins.

Recipe: Scrambled Eggs w/ Soft Yolks (no bother Hollandaise)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Nothing beats a nice relaxed Sunday brunch, with the papers.  Especially when it’s a gorgeous, bright, crisp sunny day! Perfect to pop out somewhere to have it made for you! Well that’s all true but on this particular occasion I thought I’d take advantage of the nice weather to go for a spin on my bike, and when I got back I was in the mood for a solid brunch! 

I fancied something along the lines of a fry up but healthier. I had some smoked salmon and eggs but there was absolutely no way I was making a hollandaise sauce : /

Solution: Salmon with scrambled eggs with soft egg yolks. Add a little toast and soft cheese et voila!

ingredients (serves 2)

for the scrambled eggs w/ soft yolks

5 eggs

30g butter (or garlic butter)

30g cream (or creme fraiche or soured cream)

2 spring onions / 10g chives (chopped)

seasoning

for the accompaniments 

smoked salmon 

cream cheese 

buttered toast

for the garnish

spring onion

lemon (for salmon - zest & cut into wedges)

sea salt 

fresh ground black pepper

method

accompaniments

Put some plates on to heat and get the accompaniments ready before hand. 

Make the toast as you make the scrambled eggs!! After all who like cold toast or cold eggs!!

scrambled eggs w/ soft yolks

Separate 4 of the yolks from the eggs, keeping the yolks in their shells so they don’t break.

Add the butter, egg and egg white to a pan on a medium heat. Stir them occasionally to mix in the yolk the butter. I like mine to have a little substance so I let chunks form and then stir a little.

Put 500ml of boiling water into a bowl and add the egg yolks, this will just cook the white and make a thin cooked outer.

Chop the greens and mix them into the egg white and butter. 30 seconds later add the cream and seasoning serve onto toast or a warm plate. Making an indent in the middle to hold the yolks!!

Remove the egg yolks from the water with a slotted spoon - tapping them on some kitchen towel on the way to release excess water - and place them in the centre of the scrambled eggs. 

Add accompaniments and serve immediately!!

Recipe: Arepas

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Just recently I’ve been getting into my street food, London has a vibrant street food scene, Camden, Street Feast (various), Portobello road, the list is endless. I’ve I’ve tried in one form or another most of the offerings so it’s nice to try something new. 

Now this can be a risk, a lot of people like the familiar, burger, fried chicken, pizza, curry, safety init. Arepas were something I’d not tried and so when I saw a stand offering them I went in! First at mini feast in Shepherds Bush then again at Camden. Both times I got a pretty respectable bite to eat, so you can imagine my delight when I was offered one for breakfast on Saturday morning! I took the opportunity to learn how to make them taught by a cute Venezuelan teacher by the name of Valentina!

So with me and her boyfriend as sous chefs we cracked on!

Worth noting: The important thing is that you’ve got to eat them fresh, soon as they’re ready. The dough will keep in the fridge so you can keep what you don’t use for later.

Make sure they’re crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. Don’t make them too thick (more than half centimetre) or they’ll be a bit too stodgy in the middle!

This isn’t a purist recipe, I just watched, took notes and learned how to make some great food courtesy of Venezuela.

ingredients (serves 5 - 2 each)

for the arepas

650g coarse grain maize meal (pre-cooked)

750ml water

30ml vegetable oil

5g salt (lightly salted)

for the avocado chicken

1 onion

1 clove garlic

2 avocado

400g roast chicken

2 tbsp mayo

for the tuna (NB tuna is an endangered species -  best to stick to sustainable fish)

200g tuna

1 tbsp veg oil

for the scrambled eggs

1 onion (fine chopped)

2 tomatoes

2 eggs (whites only)

for the refried beans (quick style - original style)

1 onion (medium dice)

30g butter

250g black beans (1 tin, drained)

for the cheese

8 slices cheese (gouda, or emental, whatever you prefer)

some soft cheese ([p something])

for the garnish

Some spring onions, chopped chives if you like.

arepas

Couldn’t be easier, mix the corn flour and the water and the veg oil and a little salt until they make a “smooth masa” (a kind of dough mix), not sure I’d call it a dough. It's a kind of mash potato consistency.

Let it sit and soak up the water while you (or your sous chefs / helpers) make the rest of the fillings.

Once all the fillings are ready get a large frying pan or two, and run them up to “half fire”, take a handful of dough, bit bigger than a ping pong ball and flatten it in your hands and place it into the pan. 

Repeat until you fill the pans with flat breads.

Now it’s a patience game: cook 15mins, turning once. 

avocado chicken

Cut the avocado in half around the length. Twist it around the stone to separate the two halves.

To remove the stone using a heavy blade, hit the stone so the blade sticks into the stone then turn the blade to rotate the stone and remove it - it will be stuck to the knife!

Use the knife to cut a criss cross into the flesh, then scoop the contents out of he skin.

Tear the roast chicken into shreds and mix with the avocado pieces, and a touch of seasoning.

Add the mayo and mash it up with a potato masher.

Thats basically ready!

tuna

Empty tin, add a little oil (if it’s brined) and a squeeze of lemon, mix. Or instead of eating endangered species, you could use, flaked river cobbler, pollock, or sardines instead of tuna.

scrambled eggs

OK, so new one on me, sweat off the onions with a little oil, add a touch of butter, let it melt and add the chopped tomato, cook it out a little, then add the egg whites and mix them through until they’re cooked.

refried beans (short cut)

No excuses here, these aren’t classic refried beans but they do have the same flavour profile, with a different texture, no shame. Fry off some onions, add a little seasoning and the drained beans, leave on a low heat until everything else is ready.

what could go wrong? (notes)

You could get some uptight type giving you grief about the refried beans!

to serve

Put all the ingredients on the table, and let folk assemble what ever they fancy, take what you want to make your own crispy outer and beautifully filled arepa.

R E S U L T !!

AWESOME!!

Yeah . . . I know!! ; )

variations

Pulled pork is popular at the moment, maybe corn and ndugya, there’s plenty of scope!

That evening I made us a paella mixta with is always great the next day, some arepa dough and leftover paella & lettuce filling!! : )

Leftovers Recipe Experiment: Cauliflower & Couscous

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I was having a bit of a clear down in the kitchen last weekend and decided to clear out all the nearly empty sauce bottles, veg and bits that were on their way out. 

I find couscous is quite a good way to use up a load of veg! An onion, some chicken stock, roast veg and some couscous and you can usually make something acceptable!

Now given what I had, I thought a slight moroccan lean would be appropriate. Kinda!? A technique I’ve seen a couple of time recently is blended cauliflower! Just blitzed in a food processor! Anyhoo I thought I’d give that a try and mix it with the couscous a sort of  low carb couscous. And have a looksee how it came out.

As it turns out: Really really good!! 

It has the same texture as the couscous but a lot less carbs! 5% vs 25%! Really good substitute. 

Luckily I took notes  .  .  .   

: ) 

Quick note: I’ve put to a quick reference together for use int kitchen w/ tablets and phones here: Quick Ref

Includes Grains vs water ratios for types of couscous, and other grains.

ingredients (serves 6)

for the couscous

50g sultanas

75ml OJ

75ml apple juice

125g barley couscous 

220g boiling water 

1 chicken stock (dissolved in water)

1 cauliflower (blended)

2 onions (medium dice)

1 green pepper (medium dice)

6 dates (stoned, small dice)

20g almonds flakes

40g butter (melted for almonds)

3 tangerines (peeled, and segments cut into halves)

1/2 salted lemon (fine dice)

5g coriander (optional)

for the garnish

a little coriander (of course)

apparatus / equipment

food processor (I used the blender attachment for my stick blender)

or a grater (watch your knuckles)

method

Put the juices and sultanas in a small pot and bring to the boil. Then turn it off and put aside to soak.

Dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water and add it to couscous.

Remove the stem from the cauliflower, break it up into florets and blend it until it’s the same consistency as couscous, maybe slightly larger, but not much.

Sweat off the pepper, onion and dates and put aside when ready.

Melt the butter and toast the almonds in it.

Use a wooden spoon or fork to lightly break up the couscous so it’s light and fluffy then mix in the cauliflower until homogenous.

Prep the tangerines, salted lemon & coriander, and add it all to the couscous, including the sultanas and juice!!

Mix, garnish and you’re ready to rock!!

Cracking combo!

thinking ahead

You can make this in the afternoon, and serve it room temp, or microwave it to heat it up.

what could go wrong? (notes)

Water logged cous cous? 

For normal couscous use a ratio of 1 : 1.25  couscous : water by weight.

For barley couscous use a ratio of 1 : 1.75  couscous : water by weight.

Quick Ref for your phone, includes temperature conversion, couscous obvs, rice, meat doneness and more : )

Why Not Bookmark Me On Phone Or Tablet!?!

variations

If you want to eliminate the butter, you can toast the almonds under the grill.

You can use normal couscous too, just use a less water - 165g. 

Grains vs water ratios here: Quick Ref < bookmark me on phone / tablet!

You can get away with blending a little finer than this!!