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Broccoli Cheddar Soup

| adamcockle

brocsoupblog

I honestly can’t remember when I stopped eating vegetables because they were ‘healthy’ and started eating them because they’re fricking delicious (well, most of them anyway.  Sprouts can do one frankly).  This soup is packed with broccoli, and I’m sure that it has loads of health benefits yadda yadda, but mostly its just totally yum.  Try it.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • Two ‘heads’ of broccoli (about 500g)
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 stock cubes (vegetable or chicken)
  • 100g mature cheddar cheese (grated)
  • 4 Tbsp double cream (optional)
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large, deep saucepan until the butter starts to foam.  Dice the onion (don’t worry about being too neat, its going to get blended anyway) and add to the pan.  Cook the onion until translucent – 2 to 3 minutes.

Chop up the broccoli and dispose of the hard central stem.  Add to the pan and stir through with the butter and onion for a couple of minutes.  Add enough water to the pan so that it comes up to about half the level of the broccoli.  Turn the heat down low and cover the pan with a lid or foil.  Cook for about 10 minutes until the broccoli is streamed and tender.

Blend the contents of the pan (use a stick blender or transfer to a standing one) until smooth.  Return to the pan on a low heat.  Crumble in the stock cubes and add enough water until you’ve achieved your optimum soup consistency (I like mine thiiiiiiick).  Stir in the cheese and cook for a few minutes until it has melted in.  Add the cream and stir.  Do a quick taste test and season to your liking.  Serve immediately with shed-loads of crusty bread – see if you can eat an entire bowl without needing a spoon.

 

Creamy mushroom soup

| adamcockle

mushroomsoupblog3

So, my favorite local foodery, drinkery, playhouse and provider of caffeinated beverages – The Old Market Assembly – has added bakery to its CV (yummy bread here)  And what better way to sample a delicious sourdough loaf than with a bowl of creamy mushroom soup topped with creme fraiche, crispy bacon and sage leaves.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • 10 or so fresh sage leaves
  • 4 rashers of streaky bacon
  • 1tbps olive oil
  • 1tbsp butter
  • 1 medium onion (peeled and finely diced)
  • 650g of mushrooms (I used chestnut mushrooms and baby portobello)
  • Chicken or vegetable stock
  • 4tbsp double cream
  • 2tbsp creme fraiche
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Thick slices of yummy bread for dippin’

Method:

 

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the bacon until crisp before removing to a piece of kitchen paper.  Add the butter to the same pan and fry the sage leaves until crisp – put aside with the bacon.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent.  Next in with the mushrooms along with a pinch of salt and pepper (it will look like a LOT of mushrooms, but worry not, they will reduce down significantly).  Heat the mushrooms, stirring regularly until they are reduced and dark and the pan fairly dry.

Pour a little stock into the pan and use a stick blender to whizz everything up into a smooth paste.  Add more stock as you go until you achieve your desired consistency  (I like mine thick enough to stand a spoon up in, or build an exterior wall).   Stir in the double cream and add pepper (and perhaps more salt) to your taste.

Spoon into bowls and top with and dollup of creme fraiche, some bacon (chopped or crumbled) and a few crispy sage leaves.  If your bread is as good as mine (and your soup as thick) you won’t need a spoon to polish this off!

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Chicken and Chorizo with Fried Gnocchi

| adamcockle

 

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Oh Chorizo, how I love thee, let me count the ways!

An absolute stock cupboard essential, chorizo adds oodles of flavour (thats a technical term, feel free to look it up) to pretty much anything.  Chopped and fried to release the delicious oils and spices, this spicy Spanish sausage can be added to soups, stews and pasta sauces.  Its favourite bedfellows are – in my opinion – chicken, tomatoes and white beans.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • 2 chicken breasts (diced)
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 100g dry cured chorizo (cut into small chunks)
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 2 tins of butter beans
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1tbsp tomato puree
  • 1/2 teaspoon each of ground fennel, ground cumin, chilli flakes, thyme
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 500g gnocchi
  • Sour cream to serve

Method:

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large pan and (before turning on the heat) add the chorizo.  Heat on medium-high until the chorizo turns crisp at the edges and releases all of its delicious oil.  Remove the chorizo to a bowl (using a spatula or slotted spoon to keep all of the oils in the pan) and add the diced chicken breast to the same pan, frying until browned on all sides.  Remove the chicken to the same bowl with the chorizo.

Finely dice the onion, and garlic and cut the pepper into chunks before adding to the pan.  Once the onion has turned translucent add the paprika and other spices along with a little splash of water (or wine if you’ve got some lying around) and the tomato puree.  Stir for a minute or two and then add the tinned tomatoes, the beans and the chicken and chorizo from earlier.    Bring to a bubble (you may need to add a splash of water if things aren’t looking particularly ‘saucy’.  This will depend on how much water comes out of the tomatoes) and turn the heat down low.

In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter on a medium high heat.  Once the butter starts to bubble, add the gnocchi to the pan.  Cook until crispy on all sides, tossing the pan only occasionally.  Transfer the gnocchi to a tray or bowl lined with a couple of sheets of kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.  Bin the kitchen paper and season the gnocchi with fine salt.

Season the chicken, chorizo and beans mixture to taste with salt and pepper and serve alongside the crispy gnocchi.  Enjoy with a glass of Rioja.

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Mushroom Risotto

| adamcockle

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Splash and stir, splash and stir, splash and stir.  Yes, risotto is an exercise in patience (or tedium), and yes, there comes a point about halfway through the cooking time when you wonder if its all worth it, but when you jam that first creamy, satisfying spoonful into your gob, you realise that your time has truly been well spent.  Also, this recipe has nuts, goats cheese and an ungodly amount of butter in it – how could you not??

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • 150g risotto rice
  • 450ml light chicken or veg stock
  • 400g mushrooms (I used a mix of chestnut mushrooms and oyster mushrooms)
  • 1 generous pinch of dried porcini mushrooms (not essential, but adds a mega-burst of woodsy mushroom flavour)
  • 1 onions(peeled and very finely diced)
  • 1 clove garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
  • 75g walnut halves
  • 50g goats cheese
  • 50g parmesan cheese (finely grated)
  • A lot of butter (best to have a whole pack ready)

 

Method:

Put the stock in a saucepan on a medium heat to keep it warm.

Put the dried mushrooms into a small bowl and cover with boiling water from the kettle.

Toast the walnut halves in a hot dry pan until they start to darken and the room fills with the scent of toasted nuts.  Leave aside to cool.

Add a generous knob of butter (mushrooms love butter – I mean seriously, like Britney loved Justin) and a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and quickly stir in the garlic.  Before the garlic starts to darken ‘crumble’ in the mushrooms (simply break them up using your fingers – much quicker than chopping and gives you risotto a nice rustic look) and stir frequently.  It will look like an awful lot of mushrooms, but they will reduce as they cook.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid and the pan becomes dry again.  Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and leave aside until later.

Remove the dried mushrooms (well actually, rehydrated mushrooms) from the liquid, finely dice and chuck in with the other mushrooms.  Don’t throw away the mushroom water, pop this in the pan with the rest of the stock.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry the onion until translucent.  Stir in the rice until all of the grains are coated in oil.  Ladle a spoonful of stock into the pan (you can always start by adding a glass of white wine if you’ve got one knocking about) and stir constantly until the liquid is incorporated.  This is the boring bit – keep adding stock and stirring until it is absorbed by the rice.

Once you’ve used about 3 quarters of the stock try tasting a few grains of your rice.  There is a lot of debate about the ideal consistency of risotto, classically I think you’re meant to aim of a bit if ‘bite’ to the grains, however, I prefer mine a bit more on the soft and creamy side.  If you’re like me you won’t be able to tell by eye, so just try a few grains between each additional spoonful of stock until you get to a consistency that you like (you may not need all the stock, or you may need another splash of hot water from the kettle).  Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary – you probably won’t need any salt (the parmesan will add that) but you will probably like a few grinds of coarse black pepper.

Stir in the mushrooms until warmed through then add in the parmesan and another knob of butter.  Remove from the heat, cover  and leave for a minute or two to get all sexy and unctuous.  You can roughly chop your nuts while you wait – oo-er.

Give the risotto a final stir before heaping into big bowls.  Sprinkle with the toasted nuts and crumble over some goats cheese.  Serve immediately with a glass of wine or a nice bottle of lager.

mushroomrisottoblog

 

Nacho chicken bites

| adamcockle

nachochickenblog

I was in two minds about even posting this recipe – I mean, its chicken pieces coated in crushed up nachos, but man its just so frickin’ delicious that you really must try it.

Ingredients:

  • 200g bag of nachos (I used ‘cheese’ flavoured, but go for whatever tickles your fancy)
  • 50g seasoned flour (add salt/pepper to your liking)
  • 2 eggs (beaten)
  • 4 chicken breasts (cut into chunks of roughly equal size)
  • Sunflower or vegetable oil (the amount will depend on the size of your pan)

Method:

Half fill a large deep pan with oil and set on a medium high heat.

Crush the nachos into a rough crumbly mixture with both large and small pieces (I poured mine into a deep jug and bashed the hell out of them with the end of a rolling pin – top quality catharsis) .

Sprinkle the nachos onto a baking tray or large plate, the flour onto another and the beaten egg onto yet another.  Dip your chicken chunks into the flour until coated and then follow with the egg and finally the nacho dust.  Repeat until all chicken pieces are coated (you can ‘double-dip’ with more egg and nacho dust if you have some left over).

Your oil should be hot enough by now (I test mine by dipping in the end of a wooden spoon – you’re ready to fry if bubbles form around the handle).  Carefully add your coated chicken chunks to the pan using a slotted spoon (cook in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan) and let them sizzle away until crisp and golden.  Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen towel to remove any excess oil.

I served my chicken chunks on their own (with a sour cream dip) as well as in a tortilla wrap (or three) with salsa, lettuce and grated cheddar cheese.

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Very dark chocolate cookies with spiced chestnut buttercream

| adamcockle

chestnutcookieblog

Imagine you’re curled on a sheepskin rug in  front of a roaring fire.  Imagine you’re snuggled in the arms of your significant other, both clad in chunky woollen jumpers.  Imagine a pot of spiced coffee bubbling away over the fire, the air rich with the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Now imagine all of that in cookie form.  You’re welcome.

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

  • 125g dark chocolate
  • 150g plain flour
  • 30g cocoa
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 125g/4oz unsalted butter
  • 75g light brown sugar
  • 50g golden caster sugar
  • 1tsp finely ground coffee
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 free-range egg

For the chestnut buttercream:

  • 100g pre-cooked chestnuts
  • 100mls double cream
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 150g icing sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 – 3 grinds of black pepper (trust me)

Method:

For the cookies:

Preheat your oven to 170C

Melt the chocolate in a pan set over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally.

Place the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and coffee in a large bowl and mix together.

Cream the butter and sugars together in a separate bowl using an electric mixer on a high setting until pale and fluffy, then mix in the melted chocolate.

Stir in the vanilla extract and the egg, then stir in the dry ingredients until combined.

Divide into 12 equal portions (I used a small icecream scoop) and place on two lined baking trays.

Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes until beautiful and cracked on the top but still slightly gooey.  Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

For the chestnut buttercream:

Place the chestnuts and cream in a small pan and heat on a medium heat until the chestnuts are soft and easy to mash with the back of a wooden spoon (about 10 minutes)

Pop the chestnuts and cream in an electric mixer and mix on high with the paddle attachment until smooth-ish (it will retain a ‘nutty’ texture).  Add in the butter and blend until incorporated before adding in the icing sugar (add the sugar in in two or three goes to prevent a sugar blizzard!).  Leave to blitz away for a few minutes until light and fluffy and finally add in the spices towards the end.

To finish:

Sandwich two cookies together with a generous dollop of chestnut cream.  Serve with a mug of strong coffee and eat whilst wearing a big woolly jumper.

This recipe was developed from lovely Nigella Lawson’s Intense Chocolate Cookies recipe.

chestnutcookieblog2

Cheesy pasta bake

| adamcockle

pastabakeblog

Its normally around this time of year, with the days getting shorter and the weather getting cooler, that people start talking about craving ‘wholesome’ or ‘stodgy’ food – things like stews and bakes.  However, for me – and this may explain my, shall we say, well-upholstered physique – there is never a time of year that I’m not reaching for that packet of pasta or yearning for something stodgy and swimming in gravy.  This recipe is one of my speedy – and sooooo satisfying – staples, and one that’s delicious anytime of year.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

  • 2tbsp butter (heaped)
  • 2tbsp flour (heaped)
  • 500ml milk (I used semi-skimmed)
  • 50g grated cheese of your choice (and a wee bit more for scattering over the top of your bake)
  • Salt and pepper

Other bits:

  • 250g dried pasta (I used rigatoni)
  • 1 ‘head’ of broccoli (or you could use cauliflower or a combination of both) – broken down into similarly sized florets

Method:

For the sauce:

Melt the butter in a medium hot pan until it starts to froth.  Add in the flour and stir into the melted butter to form a roux.  Keep stirring for a couple of minutes until the gloopy paste turns a shade darker and becomes golden.  Gradually add the milk and stir-stir-stir – the contents of the pan will turn super-thick and then thin out again.  Let this mixture bubble away for a few minutes until glossy and thickened, and VOILA – you have created a white sauce.

Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheese (I used a wacky smoked Welsh goats cheese that was on offer in the supermarket) until it has melted away.  Return the pan to a low heat and cook for a few more minutes.  Taste and season to your liking.

Depending on how you are getting along with your pasta and veggies, you can either let the sauce blip away on a very low heat with an occasional stir, or remove from the heat and place a layer of clingfilm on top to prevent an icky skin from forming.

For the rest:

Preheat your oven to 180c

Fill a large pan with water and a generous amount of salt and bring to the boil.  Pop in your pasta and cook for 2 – 3 minutes less than the recommended cooking time.  When your pasta has about 3 minutes left to go (so about 5 minutes less than the cooking time on the packet – I hope you’re following?) add the broccoli to the pan.  After 3 minutes drain the pasta and veggies into a colander.

Mix the pasta, veggies and sauce in a large ovenproof dish or deep baking tray and scatter the top with more melted cheese.  Pop the bake in the oven and cook until the top has turned golden and crispy and the sauce is bubbling away at the sides (about 10 – 15 minutes depending on your oven).  I like to let my bake sit for a bit and cool slightly, to become a bit more solid and sticky, before serving.

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Pizza Buns

| adamcockle

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Pizza is my favourite.  My FAVOURITE.  If I had to choose my last meal, or if I could only ever eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be pizza.  My desire to make my own pizza’s was the inspiration to begin baking bread at home and is the ideal place to start with homemade breads.  This recipe is super-fun and super-versatile.  I’m giving you the ‘basic’ sauce, but you can add whatever toppings tickle your fancy.

Ingredients:

For the pizza dough:

  • 200g bread flour
  • 50g semolina flour
  • 150ml warm water
  • 7g fast-acting yeast
  • 1tsp fine salt (heaped)
  • 1tsp sugar
  • 2tbsp olive oil

For the filling:

  • 500g carton of passata
  • 50g black olives
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1tbps tomato puree
  • 1tsp sugar
  • 1tsp dried oregano
  • 1tsp dried basil
  • 1tbsp olive oil

To finish:

  • 25g parmesan

Method:

For the sauce:

Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium high.  Veeeeeery finely chop the onion and garlic and add to the oil along with a pinch of salt.  Cook for a few minutes, stirring regularly until the garlic starts to brown.  Add in the rest of the ingredients (apart from the olives) and let the sauce blip away on a low heat until it is thick and rich.  Veeeeeery finely chop the olives and stir into the sauce.  Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to your liking.  Leave aside to cool.

For the pizza dough:

Put the water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and stir together until the yeast has dissolved.  Add the flours, oil and salt to the bowl and stir together until combined into a sticky lump.  Transfer your dough to a clean floured board and knead for 10 – 15 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Return to the bowl and cover with clingfilm.  Place the bowl in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size .  Once the dough has risen turn it out onto a board or clean floured worktop and ‘knock back’ by giving it a good bash to force the air out.

Using your hands or a floured rolling pin roll the dough into a rough rectangle about 1/2cm thick.  Spread a thin layer of sauce over the dough (just like you would with a pizza) and grate over the parmesan cheese (its at this point that you can add your other fillings).  Now this is the messy bit – roll your dough up like a swiss roll, trying your best to create a tight spiral without all of your yummy sauce squishing out the sides.  Once rolled up, divide into 4cm thick portions and place – spiral up – on a lined backing sheet.

Cover with clingfilm and put aside for about 30 minutes to puff up once more.

While your waiting for your buns, preheat your oven to 180c.

Once the oven is hot, pop in your buns (make sure you remove the clingfilm) and bake for about 18 minutes until golden and crisp.

Eat straight from the oven with a side-salad (great if you want to convince yourself that you’re having a healthy dinner).  These buns are also great for snacking and for lunchboxes.

pizzatwistblog

Confetti Blends: Citrus Salt

| adamcockle

citrussalt

As I continue on my journey to becoming a proper kick-ass cook, one of the things I’ve learned is the importance of seasoning.  I feel that, perhaps, its becoming a little bit untrendy to add salt to your food in recent years.  I’m not sure if this is a health thing or what – but I can say with great confidence that I am not jumping on board the no-salt train.  The no salt-train only leads to one destination, and that is Blandsville.

So – salt away my friends, don’t feel guilty for reaching for that little tub of sea salt.  Season at every stage of your dish and taste, taste, taste!

And what easier way of adding a bit of extra pizzazz to a dish than to sneak it in along with the salt, and what better way to bring us to the point of this blog – Citrus Salt.  I am an admitted fruit-o-phobe, my greatest nightmare is finding fruit in places it has no right to be – imagine my horror at discovering a raisin lurking in a curry dish, and don’t get me started with pineapple on pizza! But citrus fruits? Oh my. Manna of the gods.  Friend of of all creatures of the sea.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large orange
  • 2 plump lemons
  • 3 juicy little limes
  • 100g sea salt (I used Cornish Sea Salt)

Gadgets:

  • Spice grinder (I used my beloved Krups)

Method:

Remove the peel from your miscellaneous citrus beauties using a small, sharp paring knife.  Try to avoid the bitter white pith as much as possible and aim for long strands of peel.

Place your peelings on a large baking sheet and pop in a low oven (I went for about 80c) for an hour or two until everything has become stiff and dry, peak into the oven regularly to make sure nothing is burning.  Remove from the oven and leave on some clean kitchen paper for a day or two to complete dry out.

Whiz the peel in your spice grinder to form a fine golden powder.  Add a tablespoon or two of salt and whizz for a few more seconds.  Mix the ground salty peel with the remaining salt and voila!

Sprinkle liberally on seafood and veggies.

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