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 Basics: Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti, Macaroni, Pizza & Breakfast. Not Ketchup

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab 

Not long after I left university I moved to Barcelona with my girlfriend and my brother to found a startup. They were good times, the weather for the most part was a lot better and when it rained, it rained!! The skies would go black and the heavens would open with a torrential down pouring, the darkness broken only by what looked like giant crooked walking sticks of light from the roof of the sky and almost stinging crack of noise as if some monumental whip were being wielded in the sky, followed by a heart stoppingly loud ground moving rumbling. Yeah, really good thunder storms!! The kind of thunder that would have Mark Wahlberg and his Teddy hiding under the bed! Anyway I digress, they were tough times too, and when I wasn't teaching my girlfriend Spanish (and myself patience), coding, or researching, I was cooking us dinner! This sauce, which is ultra quick to make, came to the rescue in all sorts of dishes, including spaghetti, mac & cheese, pizza and, of course, the Great British breakfast.

What's good about this recipe is that it's a great way of using up tomatoes that are past their best for a salad, and are really ripe!

ingredients (makes ~1L)
for the sauce
4 large ripe tomatoes (diced)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
300ml extra virgin olive oil
1 chicken / veg stock cube (dissolved in 300ml water)

apparatus / equipment
saucepan
stick blender (optional)

method
Chop up the ingredients and put everything except the tomato and stock into the sauce pan on a medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Once the onions are translucent, turn the gas up to full blast. After a minute or so add the garlic, then the tomatoes. Take care as it will spit. Mix well, then add the stock and keep the pot on full blast until it starts to boil. Turn down to a simmer immediately and leave for 15minutes or until the tomato has gone soft. Season the sauce to taste.
You now have a rustic sauce! I love this on a fry-up!!

For a finer sauce simply blend the mix with an immersion (stick) blender - the sauce will emulsify -  and pass through a sieve.

Heritage / Heirloom Tomatoes - The Green Zebras, and the Black Tomatoes are my faves!

thinking ahead
This sauce will keep in the fridge for a week no problem, and of course there's the old ice cube tray trick. Fill and ice cube tray with the sauce and freeze. Pop it out whenever you need. To be honest it's so easy to make I usually make it on demand. If you're making a fry up, for example, put your sauce on first and simmer it in the background as the rest of breakfast comes together!!!

variations
This recipe lends itself very well to being the base for a spicy sauce with the addition of a little chilli. Add basil for spaghetti, oregano of a light mac 'n' cheese or a margarita pizza.

Recipe: Morcilla Croquette w/ Poached Egg & Peas

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Sometimes simplicity is all that is required . . .  

ingredients (serves 4)
for the herb oil (you'll only need a fraction of this!)
500ml extra virgin olive oil
100 baby spinach
15g parsley
10g chives
5g salt

for the peas
150g peas
40g butter
250ml chicken stock
seasoning

for the morcilla croquettes (8)
280g morcilla
50g panko bread crumbs
1 egg
plain flour for coating






for the poached eggs
4 eggs
herb oil (in a squirty bottle)
cling film
4 bag clips

for the garnish
coriander shoots (or cress)
herb oil

herb oil
Wash the spinach and herbs, and squeeze dry.
Heat the oil to 90C, with heat still on add the spinach, and the herbs, mix well for 1minute and turn off the heat.
Blend until smooth and store in a squeezy bottle. Hazaaaah!

peas
Put all in the ingredients into a small pan.
Cook on a gentle heat until the stock and butter form an emulsion.
Season to balance the egg, don't forget the herb oil is also a seasoning!
Keep warm . . .

morcilla croquettes
Quenelle the morcilla into 30g quenelles, pane it.
Deep fry them at 160C / 3mins. (or shallow fry turning frequently to give an even golden coat)
Put aside and keep warm until ready to plate.





poached eggs
Pull some cling film, cut it. Make sure it's enough to envelop an egg.
Give it a quick squirt of herb oil. (for flavour and so the egg doesn't stick to the cling film!)
Pop it over a gap in the egg box oil side up - where you took the egg from, and crack an egg into it.
Seal it with a bag clip. (Cut off any excess cling film)
Boil for 4mins, then gently remove from pot.
Cut the clip off, and carefully unwrap the egg for plating!

so serve
Plate up peas first, croquette, egg, black pepper, and some coriander shoots (or cress), and a quick squirt of herb oil.




technique
Pane: if you do it properly you'll end up with one wet hand (coated in egg) and one dry hand (with a little flour on it) - which is A LOT cleaner, and quick to wash and dry - rather that 2 hands that are all sticky and coated in a thick layer of bread crumbs!! It helps if you quenelle a batch onto a bed of flour first! ; )

quick tip!
Growing init! Coriander shoots are a very popular garnish, if you fancy kicking off a background task sprinkle some coriander seeds on a little, err what exactly did you do mum? Compost that's it!!

Sprinkle them on compost earth. You have 2 options for sourcing the seeds, you could go to your local garden centre and pay £2.50 for 15 seeds or you can go to a half decent indian supermarket and buy a 1kg bag (don't buy roasted they're not viable!) of coriander seeds for £2.99 (gotta be 60,000 seeds - I didn't weigh them I swear!! £10/g = £10,000 / kg think the garden centre has it sown up, boom boom!!)

Thanks mum for the gardening, and the gardening tips! : )

Real or Fake? . . . and How to cook a steak!

Technique: Cooking Steak

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Before I say anything don't forget it's our 1st Birthday Party on the 31st Aug, let us know if you fancy joining the party!! back to the post . . . check the photo below!!

Hereford is well know for its cattle - 'bos taurus' to the scientifically minded - the Hereford breed originating in Herefordshire in 1742!

Recent traditions (this century) would have farmers bring their livestock into the centre of Hereford on a Wednesday (market day) to sell their livestock. I remember the market as a busy, noisy place with a host of animal noises and the constant background rhythm of the auctioneer rattling off unintelligible numbers, seemingly without pause for breath. (which might explain why the auctioneer always had a bright red, verging on purple, face!)  There was also, as one might expect, a wide variety of food places, fishmongers, and, of course butchers, I loved it!

It transpires that there used to be a china shop on the High St in Hereford which was only a few hundred yards from the old cattle market. I remember going to the market to see the animals as a young child - I'm telling you when you're 3ft tall a fully grown hairy tusked pig is terrifying! With slobber hanging off its tusks these bristly beasties can let loose a blood curdling cry, I'm avoiding saying 'squeal' because that really doesn't do it justice!! Anyway, I digress. It turns out that every now and then a bull would get loose and hot hoof it up Blackfriars St. and along Widemarsh St. to the centre of town!! Some how, I just can't imagine the 1970's Herefordians legging it down the street like a frenzied Pamplonan! More likely to get a raised eyebrow from one of the farmers eating a bag of chips! Just to prove a point here's a photograph of one of the escapee bulls posing in said china shop!!!

I love this photo, it's so Monty Pythonesque, what a fantastic expression our would be Graham Chapman has on his face. (I swear it's him!! Open the link in a different window and compare!!!!)

So, the question is:  Is the bull real, or a fake?? Leave your comments at the bottom I'd love to know what you think!!

Well, with such a worthy beef heritage it would be criminal not to know how to cook a steak!! Here's how!! : )

ingredients (serves 1)
for the steak

1 ribeye steak (or whichever cut you prefer)

extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt

for the sauce/garnish

extra virgin olive oil or single cream

method

Leave steak out so that it's at room temperature, warmer still if possible, better up to 35C.

When picking your steak, look for steak that's well marbled, that is, has thin flecks of fat running through the meat. These will render as the steak is cooked, enriching the flavour of the meat! My favourite cuts are hanger steak and rib eye, and if I'm honest I wouldn't turn my nose up at a bone-in, fore rib either!! (for pay day anyway!!)

Get you pan hot so that it would be smoking if it had oil in it, season and oil the steak and put it in the pan.

Once you have a nice golden crust formed, turn the steak and cook the other side. Once it's ready remove it from the pan and put on a warm plate to rest.

Deglaze the pan with a touch of water (100ml) or white wine and once half has evaporated add a tbsp of extra virgin olive or single cream, add the juice from your rested steak, mix and pour this cracking sauce over it!!

Serve immediately!!

rare

wait a minute, how do I know when it's ready?

Couple of options here, you can probe it with a temp probe: 45C for rare, 55C for medium  and 65C for well done!

or

You can give it a prod and see how cooked it is by how much the meat resists, this comes with experience but a good guide is to compare how it feels with how the base of your thumb feels when

medium-rare

your thumb is touching the tip of one of your fingers:

 If you want your steak closer to medium-well than medium, turn it more often and cook on a lower heat!

schools of thought on oiling!

1. Oil & season your steak, not your pan:

    Advantage: creates less smoke

    Disadvantage: Can't flambé, less satisfactory deglaze

2. Oil your pan and season your steak:

    Advantage: You can flambé your steak to add a nice smoked flavour, better sauce

    Disadvantage: Turn your extractor on because it's a smoky old business!! ; )

medium-well

knackered! err . .  I mean well done

I did the blue rare a touch over on the right hand side!! Pay attention!!

You need to be cooking with gas to flambé!!

thinking ahead

Don't forget, cook the steak last!! Once it's rested you want it on the table ready to eat as soon as possible!!

So get those chips, or baps (bread rolls), or salad, or whatever you're having with it (see suggestions below) ready ahead of time!!

what could go wrong?

I like my steak rare, but if I cook it so it comes out rare it's always cold by the time I sit down to eat it!! Bring it up to room temperature before you cook it. If you cook it straight from the fridge the centre will almost certainly be cold, and the thicker the steak the worse the problem! I pre-heat my grill, then turn it off, then put the steaks in there to warm up a little more before I cook them. Also, don't forget to serve on hot plates - obvious, I know, but also essential!

I set my hair on fire flambéing my steak!! Stick to school of thought 1!

links

Interesting read "Why you should have your steak rare" by Dr Quincy, with whom I wholeheartedly agree!

now that looks like a real bull

You can see the reflection in the eye! But I don't think this is the same bull, it doesn't have the studs in the nose band for a start!! But the nose on that first bull does look real!!!

variations

Steaks that will happily be cooked like this: Rump, Sirloin, Fillet, Hanger(recommend medium-rare), Forerib, Ribeye amongst others!

Steak and chips with a twist:

Hanger Steak - Medium Rare

Marbled forerib

Flash Seared Fillet Steak w/ Roast Baby Peppers & White Tomato Emultion

Basics - Recipe: Pesto (& Spaghetti for my lover!)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

This is so simple to make and you can vary the ingredients to bring out the flavours that you prefer, or tailor them to your favourite (more frequent) dishes, a little spaghetti for example, some parmesan shavings and some quartered cherry tomatoes makes you a tasty slow energy release meal in under 10mins!!! 

Or if you fancy something a little more exotic, it goes very nicely with a little goats' cheese stuffed into courgette flowers!!

ingredients (200ml jar)
for the pesto
3 (45g) basil - spinach - wild garlic
1 (15g) grated parmesan
1 (15g) toasted pine nuts
8 (120g) extra virgin olive oil
1/3 (5g) rock salt
1/3 (5g) crushed garlic (optional)

apparatus
mini food processor

pesto
Blitz everything but the oil until a smooth paste forms. The salt helps with this process. Then add a little oil and blitz to loosen the paste. Add the rest of the oil until smooth. Done!

thinking ahead
If nothing protrudes through the top layer of oil in the pesto jar, the oil forms a protective barrier, stopping the mix of herbs, nuts and cheese from oxidising and going off!!. Don't forget to sterilise the jar and lid by putting them in boiling water for 10 minutes.

use in spaghetti for 2 : )
10 baby plum / cherry tomatoes
140g spaghetti (Barilla no.5 cooked 7mins in salted water and drained)
1 tbsp pesto
16 cooked tiger prawns (defrosted)
1/2 lemon
10g parmesan shavings and a couple of basil leaves for garnish

Mix the lot together in a pan serve and garnish with parmesan and basil leaves. Serve immediately.

Fast and tasty, your sweetheart will love you for it : )

If you can make this look as good as it tastes please get in touch!

Recipe: Breakfast Rolls (60g)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Bread making is definitely a skill acquired with practice. I've put this recipe together so as to eliminate problems that might arise when making free form breads, it's simple and takes very little work - 20 mins to make the initial dough and less than 10 minutes to portion it into the tray! 10-15 minutes to savour for breakfast with marmalade! : )

ingredients (makes 16 rolls)

for the dough
500g strong white bread flour
325g water
10g salt
5g dried active yeast
10g extra virgin olive oil

apparatus
high sided baking tray 30cm x 25cm
food processor
mixing bowl - for dough

dough
Boil 1/3 of the water and add to the remaining cold water (the water will be 35C - perfect for yeast!). Now add the yeast and stir. Leave 12mins
Add the dry ingredient s to food processor with a plastic dough blade fitted.
Once the yeast is ready (completely dissolved), run the motor and add the water & yeast mix and oil.

A dough will have formed by the time all the water is in. Run the motor for another 2mins to knead the dough.
Pour a touch of oil into the mixing bowl and use the dough to spread it around.
Then turn the dough over so it's oil side up, and cover with cling film. Leave to ferment until it's doubled in size - about 60mins.
It doesn't need to be in a warm place - it just takes longer if it isn't.

forming and placing
Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and knock it back to release the CO2 from the dough.

Cut into 60g pieces and shape into balls, placing them into 4 rows of 4 in the baking tray.
Leave them to ferment further until they have grown to the intended size of the bap!
Cook at G6/200C/400F on the middle shelf for 15-20mins until golden brown!

thinking ahead
You can make these days in advance and freeze them for whenever you want. Don't forget to cut them in half before you freeze them, so you can toast from frozen if you like!






If you want to make burger baps cut the dough into 90g balls and place 6 of them into the tray:

. . bake at G7/220C/425F for around 15mins . . .  RESULT!! 



 

Ski Series Recipe: Chorizo Crisps w/ Balsamic & Pomegranate Dressing served w/ Oyster Mushroom Noisette

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I threw this one together one evening when I realised I'd missed the starter section on my shopping list that afternoon, luckily we were in week 3 and by now I had built up a bit of a larder, had a few stock items, and some backup courses!

Second Attempt - A touch less on the chorizo and next time perfect!

ingredients (serves 4 as a starter)
for the chorizo crisps
200g chorizo (sliced)
50ml white wine
dash of grenadine
1/2 pomegranate (deseeded)
balsamic vinegar (garnish)
cress shoots (garnish)

for the oyster mushrooms
400g oyster mushrooms
150ml Noilly Prat (dry white vermouth or, failing that, white wine)
50g unsalted butter
extra virgin olive oil
parsley to garnish

apparatus
2 heavy baking trays
2 baking sheets

oyster mushrooms
In a large frying pan make the oyster mushrooms noisette as in this post.

chorizo crisps
Make the chorizo crisps the same way as crispy chicken skins [post, and link to come!] just don't boil them, and check them after 15mins!
Mix the pomegranate seeds and the grenadine with a dash of extra virgin olive oil and season with Maldon salt, and a touch of ground black pepper.
Chop a little - 4 or 5 slices - of chorizo into small pieces, and fry in a small frying pan, letting the flavour and the fat seep out. Deglaze with 50ml of white wine and pass through a sieve. Put to one side - it should be a relatively thick and tasty jus : )

Original - Chorizo is perfect, just a little small for crisps!! Use a bigger sausage!

to serve
Lay the chorizo out in a strip, curved if you like. Spoon the pomegranate mix over the chorizo, place the mushrooms next to it and garnish with cress shoots. Serve immediately!

Recipe: Oyster Mushrooms Noisette

by ferdie

This is an unassuming but tasty little number, I often do it if I'm doing tapas since you can cook them in the afternoon and reheat them when you need them. Sitting in the clay dish with a little parsley on top they look very prosaic. Which is kinda what you want so that with that first bite your guests will have that look of mixed surprise and delight at the nutty loveliness.

They go well with tortilla, and as an accompaniment to a variety of things (add link to chorizo crisps), and are a great vegetarian option on their own, and, for example, with a little cream and tagliateli or torteloni.  

Oyster mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil, salt.

INGREDIENTS
400g oyster mushrooms
150ml Noilly Prat (dry white vermouth or failing that white wine)
50g unsalted butter
extra virgin olive oil
parsley to garnish
flakey salt and pepper

METHOD
Put enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan with generous coat of oil and add the mushrooms, turn up the heat.
Add the mushrooms just before the oil starts to smoke and toss them in the oil to coat them all over.
Once coated sweat off the mushroom don't move them around too much allow them to brown from the heat of the pan.
Once they have released most of their moisture and are nice and golden brown, remove them from the pan to a bowl.
Get the pan hot, pour in the Noilly Prat / white wine - it should bubble as soon as it hits the pan - and boil until you can no longer smell evaporating alcohol. When you reach this point return the mushrooms to the frying pan, stirring them to coat them all over.
Once there is almost no liquid left in the pan remove the mushrooms to your bowl again and add the butter.
Melt the butter and heat it until it turn a light brown, (You do not want this smoking!) and then return the mushrooms to the pan, coat well. Once all the juices are soaked up, you can serve or put aside until later.

After they've taken a little colour they should like this. Fab!

If you put it aside simply return it to the pan to warm through.

Serve in a clay tapas dish with a few leaves of parsley on top and some rosemary bread.

A vegetarian dish: Oyster Mushrooms Noisette w/ Tagliateli and Baby Courgettes

Recipe: The basics - Mayonnaise

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

3 tbsp warm water

1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

400-450ml sunflower oil

APPARATUS

Food processor (not absolutely necessary but it helps - mayo invented 1756, food processor 1922, mayo wins!!)

METHOD

blend all the ingredients except the oil.

add the oil in a steady stream, it will start to emulsify the mixture, getting thicker and thicker.

Stop when you have reached the required consistency.

Happy days!

Keep refrigerated.

Tips: Using sunflower oil gives a light mayonnaise, the mayonnaise can be made richer a number of ways using only egg yolks, using  extra virgin olive oil, or both! And a further level by using the yolks from duck egg. Although I think duck eggs should be reserved for boiled or fried eggs at break fast, with soldiers or buttered toast! Hmmm, but that's me : )

Tips: Adding lemon is also nice and helps the mayo last longer.

Tips: You can flavour the mayo simply by blending in different herbs and spices, which in some cases can add a nice texture. If you want the texture to remain unchanged it's best to infuse the oil before making the mayonnaise.

Variants that we use to accompany various dishes.

Once you have a base mayonnaise to work with pairing it with a dish is quite simple. Here are a few examples:

Green Mayo (use with prawn cocktail and flamenquines)

600g mayonnaise (as above)

90g chives

45g parsley

20g wasabi (menu dependent: asian fusion)

Saffron Mayo (use with squid ink risotto, or flamenquines)

400g mayonnaise (as above)

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp minced garlic

2 pinches black pepper

1 pinch maldon salt

2 tsp of saffron strands (simmered in 20ml water & left to infuse for 20 mins)

or

1 1/2 tsp saffron powder

Wasabi Mayo (use with sashimi and chips, fusion prawn cocktail)

35g wasabi paste (about 2/3 of a tube)

400g mayonnaise (as above)

Check out the ensaladilla russa post for a mayotastic recipe, I'll add more links as I put up more recipes : )