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 - Classic: Steak / Beef and Onion Pie (or Oxtail & Prune Pie w/ Red Cabbage)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab




OK I'm going to have a rant for a moment. Something I've often been presented with when ordering a pie is some kind of china bowl or ramekin with a bit of pastry almost hovering on top, as if they had been combined by accident, having nothing to do with each other. It's as if a bowl of stew was being stalked by a bit of pastry that always wanted to be a pie but somehow never made the grade. As far as I'm concerned, if it doesn't have a pastry bottom it isn't a pie! (Ahem . . . . . with the small exception of my Christmas left over turkey pie!! That doesn't count - it's Christmas and it's left overs!!)

Anyway rant over . . . . .  and thoughts turn to PIE! Can't beat a good pie! Even better if it's got a bottom!! Not a soggy bottom, mind you, we can't be doing with that!!

 







ingredients (makes 2 pies)
for the oxtail & prune pureé filling
2.5kg oxtail
750g (10) med onions (peeled & cut into 6ths)
100ml extra virgin olive oil
20g thyme (bouquet garni)
8 cloves garlic (cut into 1/4s lengthways)
750ml red wine
20 prunes (pitted)
3L chicken stock
plain flour for dusting
cinnamon powder

for the pie case
2x 375g puff pastry (want to make your own? here's how)
1 egg (beaten)
splash milk

for the red cabbage & beetroot
600g red cabbage (sliced)
2 beetroots (peeled, then 1 cm cubes)
300ml water
600ml tawny port
50g salted butter (small cubes)

special equipment
rubber gloves for beetroot
stick blender
2x 23cm loose bottomed tin (circular)
 

oxtail & prune pureé filling
Trim all the excess fat off the larger pieces of oxtail.
Season and coat the oxtail in flour and fry off in a pan until golden brown, then add to the boiling pot.
Oxtail usually comes held together with a piece of butcher's string.
You can use this to make a bouquet garni with the thyme: take the thyme, fold it in half, tie it with the string and add it to the pot.Add the onions, prunes, red wine, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and pour in enough chicken stock to cover the meat by 1cm.
Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer, leaving the lid off.
Top up with chicken stock occasionally to keep the water level above the meat.

The oxtail should be ready after about 2.5 hours. When it is, remove it with a slotted spoon into a tray and pick the meat off the bone, it should fall away with very little effort.

Remove the bouquet garni and dispose of it. Pass the stock through a sieve and return it to the pot, reduce until it is a thick sauce.
Once reduced, return the contents of the sieve and the picked oxtail to the sauce. Mix it together. That's the pie filling ready.


pie casing
Rub the pie tin with a little oil or butter so the pastry doesn't stick to it.
Line the tin with pastry - this is the base - then using a brush, paint the pastry with beaten egg. This water proofs your base so when you fill it you don't end up with a soggy bottom - no body want a soggy bottom! Now you could cover the pastry with oven proof paper and fill it with dry beans and blind bake it. or you can, as you can see from the pics, chuck it directly into the oven and bake it as is. 200C for 15mins. 15 minutes is enough to seal the pastry with egg and almost completely cook it.

assembly
Once the base is out of the oven, fill it with the (hot) spectacularly tasty filling. Add a splash of milk to the beaten egg and whisk it in, then brush around the edges of the pastry - so the top sticks to it. Place the pastry top on and trim it with a pair of scissors.
Throw it back into the oven 200C for 20mins.

red cabbage & beetroot in port reduction
Add the cabbage and the water to a pot with a lid and bring to the boil.
After 3 mins add the beetroot cubes and replace the lid.

After 2 mins more remove the lid and allow the liquid to evaporate until there is almost none left.
In a separate small pot (without a lid) bring the port to the boil and reduce by 3/4 to 150ml.
 



what could go wrong? (TIPS)
My reduction burnt! TIP: Watch anything you are reducing like a hawk. To begin with, it will seem like it will never reduce, but the more it reduces the faster it goes, and it will evaporate completely and burn if you don't keep an eye on it in the final stages!

I burnt my kitchen down! TIP: When reducing alcoholic liquids, be careful. Always keep the lid at hand so that if they catch fire, you can simply put the lid on to put it out. (or let it burn off carefully!)


to serve
Turn out the pie! Easy way to do this is to put the loose bottomed tin onto a tuna tin (better be line caught and not blue fin tuna!) and gently push down the rim of the tin revealing the fabulous pie . . . chef bursts into song with pride, and does a quick victory dance!! Cut up and serve immediately with some cabbage and beetroot!



thinking ahead
You can make the cabbage in the afternoon, and reheat it in minutes when you need it.

Recipe: Oxtail & Sweet Potato Mash w/ Red Cabbage & Beetroot in a Port Reduction

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Oxtail w/ Bread and Butter Crisps, Sweet Potato Mash & Port Jus

When the weather is starting to get cold as well as raining all the time, it's nice to have something warming to feed you guests. Using a few ingredients that are in season, this recipe gives you a dinner packed with flavour! Oxtail is one of those inexpensive cuts that a lot people don't register at all in the supermarket - probably because it's already cut up into segments and tied into a sort of circular arrangement that doesn't look much like a tail! But, when slowly cooked for about two and half hours, it becomes sticky and soft and falls off the bone - it's simply gorgeous! And, if you don't fancy sweet potato mash, this will go equally well with roast potatoes!
If you've never tried oxtail then give this a go . . .  see variations for super quick version.

Can't beat a glass of wine whilst making Sunday Lunch - best way to relax ever . .  humming away in the kitchen to the radio! Aaaaah


ingredients (serves 4-6)
for the oxtail & prune purée
2.5kg oxtail
750g (10) med onions (peeled & cut into 6ths)
100ml extra virgin olive oil
20g thyme (bouquet garni)
8 cloves garlic (cut into 1/4's lengthways)
750ml red wine
75g ~20 prunes (stoned)
3L chicken stock
plain flour for dusting
cinnamon powder
10 dates (stoned and chopped)

for the mushrooms
280g mixed mushrooms (shitake, shimeji, enoki, oyster, for example)
40g butter

for the sweet potato mash

Browning before braising (Maillard reaction)

1kg sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
300ml double cream (reduced by half)
50g butter (cut into 1cm cubes)
1 limes (juiced)
1L chicken stock (enough to cover the potatoes by 1cm)

for the red cabbage & beetroot
600g red cabbage (sliced)
2 beetroots (peeled, then 1 cm cubes)
300ml water
600ml tawny port
50g salted butter (small cubes)

for the bread and butter crisps
a bit of old French stick (cut into 2mm slices)
butter (melted)

for the garnish

5g chives (finely chopped)
baby chard leaves

special equipment
rubber gloves for beetroot
stick blender
brush

oxtail & prune purée
Trim all the excess fat off the larger pieces of oxtail.
Season and coat the oxtail in flour and fry off in a pan until golden brown, then add to the boiling pot.
Oxtail usually comes held together with a piece of butcher's string.
You can use this to make a bouquet garni with the thyme: take the thyme, fold it in half, tie it with the string and add it to the pot.

Bouquet garni made with string from oxtail!!

Add the onions, prunes, red wine, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and pour in enough chicken stock to cover the meat by 1cm.




Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer, leaving the lid off.
Top up with chicken stock occasionally to keep the water level above the meat.

After 90mins remove the prunes with a slotted spoon and 2/3 of the onions. Place them along with the dates in a small pot, add a pinch of cinnamon and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Keep on a low heat, allow to thicken to a purée.

The oxtail should be ready after about 2.5 hours. When it is, remove it with a slotted spoon into a tray and keep warm.
Pass the stock through a sieve and return it to the pot, reduce until it is a thick sauce.

mushrooms
Melt the butter and sauté the mixed mushrooms together until golden brown. Season with a touch of salt.

mash
Boil the sweet potatoes until they are fully cooked but not falling apart. They're done when the tip of a knife enters with little resistance.
Drain them in a colander. (Reserve the liquid for the base of a soup) Let the potatoes cool a little. While they do, prepare the cream:

Add the cream to the pot and bring to the boil; lower the heat a little and continue to boil until the cream has reduced by half. As soon as it has, add the butter.
Once the butter has melted, add the potatoes and the lime juice over the top.
Season and mash the potatoes until smooth. Set aside until required.

Removing the alcohol.

red cabbage & beetroot in port reduction
Add the cabbage and the water to a pot with a lid and bring to the boil.
After 3 mins add the beetroot cubes and replace the lid.
After 2 mins more remove the lid and allow the liquid to evaporate until there is almost none left.
In a separate small pot (without a lid) bring the port to the boil and reduce by 3/4 to 150ml. 

Cabbage braise & cover in a reduced port jus!!

 















I find easiest way to know how reduced it with scales, then oncereduced to a third by viscosity with a spoon. (don't be a dumb ass and use plastic scales - use metal heatproof ones) >>>

Bread Crisps or Bread Tuiles - whatever you want to call them they're tastey!

bread and butter crisps
Take some old French stick cut into thin (2mm) slices and brush with melted butter. Bake in the oven at 180C for 4-8min, the time will depend on whether your oven is fan assisted or not. Remove when golden and crisp.


what could go wrong? (TIPS)
My reduction burnt! TIP: Watch anything you are reducing like a hawk: to begin with, it will seem like it will never reduce, but the more it reduces, the faster it goes, and it will evaporate completely and burn if you don't keep an eye on it in the final stages!

I burnt my kitchen down! TIP: When reducing alcoholic liquids, be careful. Always keep the lid at hand so that if they catch fire, you can simply put the lid on to put it out. (or let it burn off carefully!) DO NOT blow on it to try and put it out, you will engulf your head in flames! Use a lid to extinguish the flame: Bring the lid in horizontally from the side and cover the pot.

My mash is watery : ( TIP: Don't over cook your spuds / sweet potatoes - if they start to fall apart they are no use for mash. Make sure they are properly drained, leaving them until no more steam is coming off them.

My mash has come out like glue! TIP: Never use a stick blender or food processor to make mash since it creates a starchy gloop, resembling wall paper paste!! Use a masher or a potato ricer.


to serve
Add the butter to the hot port reduction, mix in and pour this into the cabbage and beetroot, reserving a little to dress the plate.
Plate the oxtails and cabbage in layers and pipe (or spoon) on the mash, surround with mushrooms and onions.
Season the mash with a little black pepper and garnish with a bread and butter crisp.
Add a little of the prune puree, pour the sticky oxtail sauce over the oxtail and dress the surrounds with the remainder of the port.
Serve immediately.

variations
For a low hassle, great comfort food winter dinner: Don't remove anything from the oxtail except the bouquet garni, dish up the oxtail with the onion and prune sauce, serve with the cabbage and roast potatoes! Result: A no-nonsense great tasting dinner!

Pick the meat and use it and the sauce to make: Prune and Oxtail Pie

Oxtail is also a great component for a Pho Soup

Alternative presentaion - Choux buns are filled with sweet potato mash - Surprise!!

The finished product! Honestly! Oxtail, roasties and peas is much easier but it was fun to make!

 
thinking ahead
The mash can be made in the morning and stored in the fridge in a plastic container so it can be microwaved just before serving! The oxtail, cabbage and the port reduction can be left in the pot and reheated. Add the butter to the port sauce last minute so it doesn't split. and the bread crisps will happily last a day in an airtight container!! So it's basically an assembly job for dinner!! Shall we go for a couple of pints and have it when we get back!!! ; )

Ski series - Recipe: Rice Pudding w/ Crunchy Sugar Coating

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab 

 

This was another left overs one but came out rather tasty! Big smiles all around except for a 5 year old who flicked a big spoonful of it into his dad's eye, and came very close to . . . .  well what would you do with him? Anyway, given that kids are pretty choosy, I'll take that comment on the chin, or in the eye!! ; )

ingredients (serves 12)
for the rice pudding
2.5L     milk
12     star anise
1kg     pudding rice
1     orange (zest)
450g caster sugar
0.5L     cream

to serve
brown sugar
raspberry syrup

garnish
star fruit
kiwi
physalis peruviana (inca berry)

apparatus
big pot
blow torch
ring mould to serve

rice pudding
Bring milk to boil w/ star anise and then leave to simmer and infuse for about 20 mins.
Add the rice and sugar, bring to the boil and then simmer for 20mins with a lid, adding the orange zest after 10mins.
Check occasionally to make sure it's not dried out. (Add a little more milk if it has!)
Once the rice is cooked, add the cream and mix it through the pudding, heating until it starts to bubble and mixing slowly to get the cream evenly mixed into the pudding.

Don't forget the mix needs to be stiff enough to keep it's shape when you lift the ring mould.
Decorate the plate with syrup then place the empty ring mould. Fill it with rice pudding, flatten the surface a little and coat it with brown sugar.

WARNING: The ring mould will get very hot so remove it before caramelising. Just because it doesn't glow doesn't mean it won't burn!! (As my hostess found out!! - Soooorry, my bad!)

Next set to it with a blow torch until the sugar starts to bubble and caramelise, spread the heat evenly so as not to burn the caramel.

To make fruit syrup put equal amount of sugar and water into a pan and bring to the boil, add the desired fruit and leave to simmer. Don't disturb the fruit once it's in, simply pass through a sieve when the syrup is of the desired consistency and flavour, and it will remain clear.