Recipe: Salt and Pepper Fillet Steak Kebab w/ Green Peppers (Successful Experiment)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I think the idea for this had been brewing in my subconscious after I was reminded the other day what a great combination of flavours peppers and steak are. I've been hankering for a (good) salt and pepper vibe, be it squid, ribs or prawns, but I've been sorely disappointed in my new hood. So the only way to remedy this . . . (dramatic pause) is to create my own! (evil villain voice) Whuar ha ha haaar!

keeping the mix pretty pure - one variable at time and all

Sooo goood . . . . so moist and juicy . . . that is a Saturday foodgasm!

My usual salt and pepper concoction contains ginger and various other things, but I wanted to get more of a handle on the flavour Szechuan pepper so I've tried to keep the mix fairly pure leaning heavily toward the Szechuan. (It could handle more!)

Left alone with this kebab, the temptation of it's rare and sultry nature, is simply too great - resistance is futile! The rewards to the taste buds? When you bite into that soft warm naan, and the flavour combo of the juicy steak and pepper, followed by salty heat and sharpened by the lime and coriander you will be in heaven! It’s out of control!

Not to be missed!

fresh ingredients = good kebab

ingredients (serves 1 - hungry type)

for the szechuan salt and pepper seasoning

25g salt

20g szechuan pepper

4 small chillies

10g black pepper corns

for the beef

1 large fillet or sirloin steak

for the vegetables

6 peppers (cut into rings) (capsicum anuum, aci sivri or charli)

1 onion (sliced into strips)

for the coriander and lime sauce

5g coriander (finely chopped)

1/2 lime (zest & juice)

30g mayo (or yoghurt)

use mortar or spice mill

for the naan bread

1 naan bread (buy or make you own)

for the garnish

coriander

apparatus / equipment

mortar and pestle or

spice mill

fine sieve

method

beef

Before anything make sure you've taken the beef out of the fridge so that it's at room temperature before you do anything to it.

Coat it in oil and salt and pepper mix.

Sear it in a hot heavy based pan (griddle pan if you like) until you have it cooked how you like, I like mine medium rare. There are some tips on how to cook a steak here.

for the szechuan salt and pepper seasoning

Collect the ingredients together and, either put them into a spice mill or a mortar and pestle. Mash 'em up until they for a smooth powder, then pass that through a fine sieve. Done

for the vegetables

Prep them, then dust them (heavy handedly) with the salt and pepper mix  and put them into a hot pan with a touch of olive oil.

Keep them going until they're charred on the edges to give you a really god char grilled flavour.

coriander and lime sauce

Mix the ingredients. If you do this first, (ahem, after you’ve taken the steak out) the flavour will develop more while you prepare everything else.

naan bread

Check out my previous post here on how to make really soft and delicious naan bread, or if you're feeling a touch lazy get some from the local store or kebab shop. You can try and get a kebab like this but, well, you wont! NO chance!






to serve

Lay out that naan, add a touch of mayo or yogurt, cover in vegetables, and sliced beef, give a squirt / dollop of coriander sauce.

Roll.

Devour.

what could go wrong? 

Some one steals it from you just after you're finished and you have to make another.

Don't let that mistake loop, you'll be there for days if the word gets out!

S N O R K!!! Sooo goood . . . . so moist and juicy . . . that is a Saturday foodgasm!

Recipe: Zero Fat Red Pepper and Spinach Soup - 10 minutes!

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I was after making myself something light for my lunch the other day - as in zero fat!

That’s a tricky business if you want something to taste even half decent. I think this one met the brief! Even better, it takes almost no time to make!! Less if you already have some cooked peppers in the fridge!

I had some enoki mushrooms and tobiko left over from some Japanese I’d made a few days prior, I was surprised how mush they brought to the party!! The tobiko is optional, the sesame seeds bring a similar texture and the fish sauce overpowers their subtle fishiness, I added them any way, quite nice!

ingredients (serves 1)

for the soup

1/2 pepper (cooked until soft and slightly charred)

100g spinach

1 chicken stock cube

600ml boiling water

dash soy sauce

dash fish sauce

1/2 lime (juiced)

30g enoki mushrooms (chopped)

for the garnish

1/2 tsp tobiko (optional)

sesame seeds (garnish)

chives (garnish)

method

Cook the pepper with a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil, add water and put a lid on, cook until soft.

If the red pepper was already cooked, heat them through before adding them.

Once the peppers are ready dissolve the stock cube in boiling water in a jug

Add the red pepper & spinach straight away let it wilt a little.

Add a dash of soy sauce and a dash of fish sauce and season with lime.

Pour the soup into you favourite bowl and make a mushroom island in the middle and sprinkle with tobiko.

to serve

Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped chives. Serve immediately

It’s a big soup, fast to make, and fill you up!

Vegetarian @ Maida Hill Place 30th Jan

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Our next event is a vegetarian dinner at Maida Hill Place in support of their Vegetarian January (click to see other events) 

So due to popular demand, I've gone through our menu portfolio and have been doing some vegetarian development in the kitchen!!

Now all the dishes below can't be on the menu, but for those amongst you who have expressed an interest in a veggie night it should give you an idea of what to expect.

All comments welcome!! As are funky menu ideas!! : )

How to Book

palm of heart salad w/ beef tomato & shredded white omelette topped w/ egg yolk butter croutons & poppy seeds

snowburst nectarine w/ ultralight crepe served w/ grapefruit & basil syrup

vegetable soup w/ vegetarian haggis & poached egg 
topped w/ spring onion, black sesame and sesame oil

popcorn icecream & salted caramel fudge maple cookies w/ maple syrup

spicy arancini w/ poached egg, pea butter sauce on a bed of peas

cauliflower soup w/ gorgonzola, basil oil & parsnip crisps

chocolate delice w/ iced chocolate strawberry, white whiskey sauce & sesame & pistachio tuile

carrot cake (foodlab style) w/ carrot tuile & orange carrot and thyme ice cream

rosemary butter crostini

banana tatin w/ banana & whiskey creme, passion fruit & passion fruit sorbet

onion soup w/ basil crostini & spinach

pistachio oil cake w/ white chocolate & pistachio foil - petit four

hand crafted almond biscotti

smokey linguini

salted caramel & vanilla cake w/ black olive ganache & thyme & orange syrup

sage infused aubergine stacks w/ micro mushroom ketchup

sweet potato tortilla w/ oyster mushrooms noisette and rosemary bread

aubergine w/ cardamom spiced honey

roast sweet potato w/ spicy coriander dressing

vegetarian haggis w/ caramelised apple & thyme

dwarf snowburst nectarine w/ pistachio spears & basil served w/ black olive ganache - petit fours

cauliflower couscous w/ preserved lemon and medjool dates

thai basil & carrot salad w/ black sesame & cracker bread

asian style spicy orange sauce

Recipe Shortcuts: Garlic, Onion, Chicken Stock Reduction

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

This (I’m not kidding!!) is one of those Sunday afternoon, background tasks that I do when I’m writing posts, or soaking up TED or youtube that kind of thing. You just need to kick it off and let it do it’s thing for a couple of hours! 

What’s it for? Succulent Chicken Breast Rigatoni (aka Teriyaki Mac 'n' Cheese), Smokey Linguini with Chorizo, Quiche of Kings See links (below) for recipes . . .

The nice thing is you can have it sat in a jar in the fridge and just dump a tbsp or two of it into what ever you’re cooking. It saves you the time of making a mirepoix or sofrito base. So on those days when you fancy some really nice fuel ‘and rapid like’ (said in my best RAF voice) you can knock up a bowl of smoked chorizo linguini in 10minutes! (including boiling the kettle!)

ingredients (fills 2x 600g mayo jar!)

for the reduction

4 bulbs of garlic (peeled and crushed)

6 chicken / vegetable stock (crushed)

12 onions (fine dice)

300ml olive oil

3 chillies (fine chopped including seeds)

method

Prep the ingredients, put them all into a stock pot (oil first), bring to the boil then set to simmer with a lid on. Stir occasionally so that it doesn’t catch, it’s ready when the onion has caramelised - medium dark brown.

It should be a thick coating consistency, with a low water content and should taste pretty salty, don’t forget it’s a stock and seasoning mix to use as a base!!

Once cooled a little pour the mix into a sterilised jar. There should be enough oil in the mix so that when it settles there will be a 5-10ml (protective) coating of oil on the top. If not add a little more olive oil until there is. The oil layer acts as a protective barrier against oxidation. It will last for a month in the fridge no problem.

links

I’ll add links to the recipes I use this in as I post them. Succulent Chicken Breast Rigatoni (aka Teriyaki Mac 'n' Cheese), Smokey Linguini with Chorizo, Quiche of Kings and more . . .

Succulent Chicken Breast Rigatoni (aka Teriyaki Mac 'n' Cheese)

if the common Quiche were fit for Kings

Smokey Linguini with Chorizo

Recipe (leftovers): Turkey Pie, Celeriac and Potato Rösti, and Avocado Salad

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I think my memories of Christmas are probably some of the oldest that I can recall. One of the core ingredients in every Christmas were my mums sausage rolls! Bloody hell pure bliss!!! Pork sausage sometimes with herbs in, some times not, but me mum always made the pastry. Pastry and meat is a winning combo!! Specially after you’ve spent all day unwrapping presents, and running around terrorising granny’s dog, making stupid noises running into walls tipsy on bailies or vermouth that we’d nicked from the drinks cabinet! (or that granny had given us) Anyway Christmas wouldn’t be up to scratch without those awesome home made sausage rolls!

Excuse the digression! Some years later . . . . 

I’m not one to waste food, so if I see a little pastry leftover at the end of a sausage roll making session I’ll snag it and either freeze it or pop it into the fridge, for the making of pies, yes sir. 

What follows is a testament to what you can do with left overs!!

ingredients (serves 4-6)

for the turkey pie - 200C / 20min

300-400g pastry off cuts are fine. (pastry how to)

450g left over turkey (coarse dice)

2/3 large aubergine (large dice) or 1 medium aubergine

100ml olive oil

2 spring onions (chopped into rings)

1 red onion (medium dice)

1 tomato (chopped)

1 egg (beaten)

for the cheese roux

250g cheddar cheese (grated)

60g plain flower

250ml chicken stock

250ml milk

for the accompaniments

some potato and celeriac rösti recipe here 

juniper and cranberry cabbage recipe here 

and a simple avocado tomato salad

apparatus / equipment

pie dish (18cm x 26cm)

pastry brush

method

cheese roux

For a nice sauce with substance a roux is essential, and really simple. 

On a medium heat melt the butter in a pan and add the flour. Use a wooden spoon to work it into a smooth paste then add the liquids and whisk into a homogenous liquid, keep stirring on a medium high heat until it’s thickened and the flour case cooked out. Add the cheese and stir until it all melted and made a smooth sauce.

turkey pie

Pre-heat your oven to 200C. Dice the aubergine and toss it in oil. 

Add the chopped onion and pop them into a pan on a medium heat, turning occasionally until the aubergine has started to brown an the onions are translucent.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the pastry obviously) and mix together. Leave them to warm through.

Then put the in the pie

I like pastry! Did I mention that? 

It’s nice to have a generous amount and for it to be crunchy, flakey and shiny!!!! Oooh yes!

So once it’s rolled out, roll the rolling pin underneath to lift it onto the pie. 

Trim the pastry where it needs it, use the trimmings to add extra crunchiness to the pastry topping.

Brush with beaten egg to make it all shiny and lovely looking then into the oven it goes for 20minutes!!

thinking ahead

If you want to make the pie in the morning, you can: Just let the filling go cold before you put the pastry on, cover in cling film and put in the fridge until needed to feed the starving masses!

Don’t forget to take the cling film off, and put the egg wash on just before you bake it.

The cranberry and red cabbage concoction will keep for 3-5days in the fridge no problem.

what could go wrong? 

When working with pastry it’s important to keep it as cold as you can. Which is why pastry sections in professional kitchens have marble work surfaces. So work quickly and don’t let your pastry get warm. 

to serve

Make the rösti while the pie’s in the oven, grab a helper to make the salad. If you give them some random bits and tell them to improvise you can often learn a thing or two about different flavour combinations. (So I’ve found!!)  Risky business! ; )

variations

You can fill a pie with all manner of things: Oxtail Pie, Apple Tart Tatin, Banana Tatin & Passion Fruit Sorbet and, coming soon . . . Duck & Date Pie & Quiche. 

Only limited by your imagination!