Recipe Experiment: Agretti (aka Barba Di Frate or Monk’s Beard)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

This is a recipe for baked place w/ monks beard & flageolet beans . . . .

Pretty healthy and gluten free!

I haven’t done a post in a while, so when Liam & Lu (of Bengrove Market Garden) handed me a bunch of Barba di Frate I thought I’d scribble a few notes down.

So, what is it? If like me you’ve never come across it, it’s flesh is like samphire (juicy and bulbous), with a lot less saltiness (since it’s land based) it has a light  flavour and firm texture. When cooked you can eat all but the thickest parts, and the soft needle shape leaves can be eaten raw.

Agretti (aka Barba Di Frate or Monk’s Beard)

Quick tip: to make you agretti / herbs last longer . . .

Cut the ends of the stalks off with a SHARP knife and place in water in the fridge to make them last a lot longer! (Easily DOUBLE their longevity!)

I’m pretty busy with the markets so I made a simple (relatively unattended) healthy dish. 

Because it has a delicate flavour I thought I cook it using flageolet beans and a piece of place.

ingredients (serves 1)

for the baked place with monks beard

120g flageolet beans

200g chicken stock (1/2 cube + 200ml water)

1/2 lemon (don't forget to zest lemon before squeezing!)

1 small place

60g monk’s beard

15g butter

for the garnish

15g extra virgin olive oil 

lemon zest

monk’s beard fronds

method

First pick the agretti of the thick (larger than 3mm) stalks. Keep both stalks and finer leaves.

Then . . . 

Place the beans on some tin foil in a baking tray.

Add lemon zest.

Add 200g chicken stock.

Black pepper.

Put the place on top. . .

Add a little extra virgin olive oil & season with a little salt.

Top with some of the thick agretti stalks. (to stop the tin foil sticking to the skin)

Fold tin foil over leaving an opening for steam to escape. Place in a preheated oven @ 180C for 20 mins

Once out of the oven place the fish in a (warm) dish with the beans . . keep the stock for the agretti & sauce. 

Add half the butter to a hot pan. Melt it, add the agretti and toss it in the butter.
Cook for a couple of minutes.

Use the reserved stock to add to the pan with the agretti.

Include a few beans, and crush them smooth to add body to the sauce,
stir in and simmer for 2-3 minutes more. . .

Finally add the rest of the butter, a good squeeze of lemon juice,
and stir in to finish the sauce.

Top the fish with the agretti & sauce, drizzle a touch of extra virgin olive oil over the top,
and garnish with lemon zest.

Lush & healthy! Result!

Thanks Liam & Lu (Bengrove Market Garden) for the intro to a rather good veggie!!

variations

This recipe will work well with pretty much any white fish.

If you’re veggie you could replace the fish with seared courgette halves.

links:

Available in season (now obviously - posted July) from Castle Cary Market on Facebook

http://www.castle-cary.co.uk/business-directory/5783/bengrove-market-garden/

http://www.bengrovemarketgarden.co.uk/

Recipe: Ribeye Steak Wrap w/ Awesome Sauce

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

It’s been a while coming but after all sorts of distractions we’ve finally got around to bottling one of the most commented on sauces that we do at the banquet:

We’ve decided to call it . . . . wait for it . . . . . Awesome sauce!! 

Currently available at Castle Cary Market on Tuesdays

Here is the first quick and easy recipe suggestion for it . . .

steps

* cook red pepper

* cook steak & leave to rest

* mix salad w/ awesome sauce

* warm wrap

* slice steak & assemble

* devour

ingredients (make quick lunch for 1)

for the steak wrap

1/3 red pepper (charred)

1 steak (left to warm up to room temp before cooking)

1 tortilla wrap

25g mixed salad leaves (nice if there’s a little rocket / arugula in the mix)

6 baby plum tomatoes (sliced)

awesome sauce (to taste)

method

Slice up the red pepper and toss it in a little olive oil. Sear it in the frying pan you’re going to use for the steak. (it will give the steak a lovely flavour)

Once ready put the red pepper in a salad bowl.

Other than your choice of sauce the next most important thing is how to cook the perfect steak:

It’s really simple. 

1. Make sure sure your steak is at room temperature before you start.

If it was room temperature to start (rather than straight from the fridge) the middle won’t be stone cold when you’re done cooking it, and you’ll end up with the perfect steak.

2. Season and oil the steak in a Tupperware box. Rather than putting oil in the pan. 

This means you can get the pan a lot hotter with a lot less smoke, which in turn means you can get a great golden brown colour on your steak really quickly, and that means the middle won’t be over cooked!

3. Put a drop (literally) of oil in your pan and turn the heat up high, when the droplet starts to smoke you’re ready to cook.

4. Place the steak in the pan and cook for a minute or so until the underside it brown (or charred depending on your choice of steak), turn it and repeat.

For this post I used a ribeye. This particularly good ribeye steak was from Penleigh Farm Shop in Frome . . . thanks Owen!!

5. Once brown on both sides remove the steak and place on a warm plate to rest while you finish the rest . . .

Put the salad leaves, and tomato, in with the red pepper and add a good slug of awesome sauce (available here) and mix until everything is evenly coated.

I like to warm my wrap in the pan (w/ the juices from the steak) add great flavour!

Turn out the wrap and assemble that bad boy!!!

links

Castle Cary Market, Penleigh Farm, Penleigh Farm Shop Frome, Penleigh Farm Shop Facebook, 

More on How to Cook a Perfect Steak

Recipe: Leek & Lemon Verbena Soup w/ Rosemary Croutons

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I naused up one of our delivery orders last week, and wasn’t there to receive it. Result? 5kg of leeks surplus to requirements!! Oops!

Time to get inventive and create some recipes for the blog, without putting on too much weight!! I went for the obvious one first and used them to create a soup, and the base for a few other recipes! 

Now there’s no way the kids are going to go for a leek soup no matter how class it tastes, so I made them fried chicken with sweet and sour leek tagleatelli. With half a kilo of (unidentifiable - he he) leeks in it! That has to count as one of your five a day, surely!!

For the grown ups I made stuffed pheasant thighs w/ creamy mash, leek verbena puree and quince and orange sauce. A+!! Even if I do say so myself ; )

Anyway that swiftly dealt with our leek problem! 

Here’s the soup recipe . . .  coming in at 50 kcal / 100g it’s über healthy! Ahem don’t mention the croutons.

ingredients 

for the leek soup (makes 3L - serves 8-12)

2.5kg leeks (cleaned, trimmed, coarsely chopped)

70g (16) garlic (16 cloves, peeled & crushed)

2 onions (diced & caramelised)

50ml extra virgin olive oil

3 carrots (I’d leave these out next time, just needed to use them!)

1L vegetable stock (2 veg stock cubes + 1L boiling water)

16g lemon verbena (chopped at last minute)

1 lemon (zest & juice)

5g salt

~

Prep the ingredients.

Caramelise the onions in a pot big enough for everything.

Then add the rest of the ingredients. 

Bring to the boil and simmer for 45m with the lid on.

Use a stick blender to turn it into a smooth soup.

Pass it if you’re feeling a bit an4l! ; )

Personally I liked the consistency, but if you want to thicken it up a little add 1-2tbsp of cornflour mixed with water and stir the soup until thickened.

for the rosemary croutons

125g butter

15g rosemary (4 sprigs, bruised)

8 thick sliced bread

~

In a small saucepan melt the butter keep the heat up until it stops sizzling. (which means all the water has evaporated.)

Add the bruised rosemary carefully. It may spit, specially if the rosemary is wet.

Take it off the heat & leave it to infuse for 30 minutes.

Once infused toast the bread and brush it with butter on both sides.

Cut into large dice and put it in a 120C oven for 60 minutes.

for the garnish

lemon verbena

croutons

~

Serve the soup in hot bowls and top with croutons and a lemon verbena leaf!

equipment

Stick blender.

thinking ahead

You can freeze this and it will last in the fridge for at least a week.

Recipe: Cured Salmon w/ BBQ watermelon & Beetroot & Orange Sauce (Saturday Kitchen Remix)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Woke up a tad late this morning, missed the first half of Saturday Kitchen! I did however catch the cured salmon recipe whilst self administering a very strong coffee. As I watched I remembered I had some cured salmon leftover in the fridge. Also reminded me that I hadn’t yet put up Fridays post : /

Got to write a post this morning anyway, so why not do a Saturday Kitchen ‘remix’ for a laugh : )

It’s todays lunch inspired by the James Martin recipe on the show.

The brief: Create a recipe w/ cured salmon and BBQ’d fruit using only what’s in the kitchen:

I had a quick hunt about to gather ingredients, and here’s what I came up with . . .

See notes (how does it eat?) below.

ingredients (serves 4 as a starter)

300g beetroot cured salmon (recipe here)

100ml beetroot & cider sauce

20 seeded butter croutons

12 BBQ watermelon triangles

1 orange (supremed - see bottom)

20 pcs pickled garlic

24 shallot rings

greek basil (to dress)

1 lemon (juiced)

for the beetroot & cider sauce (~300ml)

375ml strongbow (dry cider is fine)

1 vanilla pod (opened & seeded)

650ml orange juice

100ml red wine vinegar

3 beetroot (peeled, ~half cm dice)

-

30ml groundnut oil

120ml lemon juice (120ml = 5 lemons)

~

Mix cider, vanilla, OJ, vinegar & beetroot cubes and simmer for 40m until beetroot is soft.

Remove beetroot, and continue to reduce the liquor to 300ml, or as soon as it coats the back of a spoon.

Add the oil and balance out with the lemon juice to your taste. This really brings it to life!

for the seeded butter croutons

4 slices seeded batch (5mm thick)

40g butter

~

Butter the loaf and cut off a slice 5mm thick. (repeat 4 times)

Place the slices butter down in frying pan on medium heat.

Once the are golden, turn them and cook until they become crispy and rigid.

Cut into triangles.

for the shallot rings

2 echelion / banana shallots

1 tbsp sugar

300ml hot water

~

Peel the shallots & slice them into discs.

Dissolve the sugar into hot water and add the shallots.

Leave to soak until needed, then strain and pat dry on paper towel.

This process will take the sting out of them but leave the crunch!

for the BBQ watermelon triangles

1 round watermelon (3/4inch thick cut into 12)

chilli to taste

caster sugar for coating

~

Cut a slice of watermelon from the centre of the melon about 1 inch (2.5cm) thick.

Remove the skin and cut into 12 triangles.

Place the watermelon into a plastic bag with a good squirt of squirt chilli sauce, and a couple of pinches of salt.

Gently jiggle the watermelon about in the bag to coat it in a thin film of chilli and season it.

Roll the triangles in sugar and then blow torch on a grill. (or BBQ them obvs!)

for the garnish

greek basil (goes well with the orange and compliments the dish)

green salad leaves

lemon (juiced)

to serve

Place the watermelon triangles facing up to give the dish a little height.

Then arrange the rest of the ingredients and dress the plate with beetroot & cider sauce.

If you like lemon on your salmon squeeze on now.

Finally dress with greek basil and green leaves.

TADAAAA! : )

As I write this I’m watching the recorded Saturday kitchen from the beginning and I’ve got to say the Spice Roasted Whole Red Snapper & Shrimp Kichri looks awesome!! Although I couldn’t fine the recipe for the Red Snapper : (

As does the Basque Beef w/ Koji, Creamed Corn, Grilled Lettuce, Enoki Hay & Red Wine Sauce from Elizabeth Allen! Right time to google shio koji!

notes (how does it eat?)

There quite a few flavours on this plate, question is do they work?

* shallot basil salmon & crouton - WORKS

* shallot basil salmon pickled garlic & crouton - WORKS

* shallot basil orange & salmon - WORKS

* basil shallot watermelon salmon & crouton - WORKS

* orange salmon & pickled garlic - WORKS

* salmon watermelon & pickled garlic - WEIRD - that’s a NO

conclusion

Get rid of the either the watermelon or pickled garlic, both work with everything else but not each other!

On the next run I think I’d pickle the shallot  to introduce the the sharp notes from the pickled garlic, drop the garlic, and add in the beetroot cubes. Dropping the garlic is a shame, it has a nice clean note, a nice texture and it works well with everything else on the plate.

Enjoy!

Supreming:

Recipe: Beetroot Cured Salmon Sushi (Salmon Nigiri)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

We were recently asked to do a Prince themed party the brief was relatively carte blanche but one course was specifically requested: a beetroot cured salmon. So after a little homework I created kind of sashimi dish. I’d call it a tataki or carpaccio but there is no searing involved! 

The creation was a lightly cured salmon dish served with a horseradish parfait, orange candied beetroot and red pepper puree. 

Quite pleased with it decided to upgrade my fillet roulette recipe’s nigiri element with a milder version of the cure.

It’s cured for less time to retain the texture in the centre of the cut.

ingredients (enough for 12 nigiri)

for the cured salmon 

(start about 10AM day before)

1/2 side salmon 

   (as fresh as possible, nigiri cut) 

-

150g raw beetroot (peeled diced)

2g cumin seeds

1/2 orange (chopped zest & juice)

100g caster sugar

200g sea salt

~

To create the cure blend all ingredients (except for salmon & orange juice).

The skirt of the salmon is used for nigiri. It has a fattier content that goes well wit the rice ball.

Cut along the length of the piece of salmon about half a centimetre under the row of bones in the centre.

Skin the salmon and create a neat block.

Pat the block dry with kitchen towel.

Line a tray with cling film.

Put 1/3 of the cure into the tray, add the salmon skin side up.

Pour the other 2/3 on top, make sure the salmon is completely coated.

Wrap it with the cling film and leave to cure for 12hrs.

Turn and redistribute the mix, cure for another 12hrs (overnight). 

When cutting the salmon, cut across the grain of the fat so you’re nigiri have a nice texture and are nicely striped.

The nigiri already have a certain amount of seasoning form the cure so I  served them with a light ponzu dip, wasabi and ginger as a palette cleanser. Lush!

more about the prince party menu & comments