Confit de Canard Tagine – Crock Pot

Having just cooked a delicious meal I thought I would note down the recipe to serve as a recipe reminder in the future…

Here’s what I did….

I browned 8 manchons de canards in my crock pot over the gas hob. Once browned I added 1 large roughly chopped onion, 3 large cloves of grated garlic, a pinch of sea salt, 2 dessert spoons of Ras el Hanout, 2 handfuls of dried apricots and a cup full of pre soaked lentils. Mix well together and then add 2 cups of boiling water and a small tin of tomato puree.

Cook for 6 hours on setting I of crock pot.

Serve with crusty bread or Nan style bread and a good bottle of Chateau Cambriel rouge…..et voilà!

Tapenade – ginger, lemon & garlic

Thought I would share my latest tapas dish with you. I love making little bowls of dips particularly now the summer is here and the rosé is well chilled!

My latest recipe was a real experiment and I thought it worked wonders….

Take the following:

1 jar of green olives with stones removed

1 lemon (zest & juice)

1 clove of garlic

small piece of ginger

fresh coriander

olive oil (glugs!)

Then….

Place in mixer and blend to a smooth paste – add more olive oil to achieve correct consistency.

Serve with….

Tortillas, crackers and of course a good rosé!

Fiery Pork

Fancy something to make those taste buds really tingle? This is one of my “blow your mind” pork recipes which is so quick and easy to make!

I use Friginat ( which is a really cheap cut of pork), the most tasty part really!

You will need

1.5 kilos of porc friginat (for 5 people)

2 red peppers

2 large onions

garlic (lots)

dried red chilli’s or fresh

garlic oil

sesame seeds

honey

hp brown sauce

soy sauce

Method

1. slice the pork into strips
   
2. chop garlic, chilli’s
   
3. sprinkle over pork, season and pour of garlic oil (marinade for a couple of hours)
   
4. place pork in oven and roast
   
5. stir fry red peppers & onions
6. add pork to peppers & onions when cooked
7. add honey (lashings) & hp brown sauce
8. roast sesame seeds and add to pork
   

To Serve

• Serve with wild rice & crusty bread
• Dry white wine – Chateau de Luc, Louis Fabre
  

Rubs & Marinades

We BBQ all year round and as a consequence I love marinading meat & fish. A while ago I was sent an on-line copy of Jamie Oliver’s book – then one that was never really published. For easy of use I have printed off his marinade / rubs and have them to hand in the kitchen. So I just thought I would share the following with you….

Cajun Spicy Rub

2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, ground
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 tablespoons onion flakes
2 tablespoons dried oregano
Salt

Fennel Seed, Thyme and Garlic Rub

4 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 good handfuls fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf, ripped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Hot and Fragrant Rub

2 tablespoons fennel seeds, crushed
2 tablespoons cumin seeds, crushed
2 tablespoons coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds, crushed
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed
1 clove, crushed
1/2 a cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces2 cardamom pods, crushed
Salt

Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon Marinade

2 good handfuls fresh rosemary, pounded
6 cloves garlic, crushed
10 lugs (10 tablespoons) olive oil
3 lemons, halved, juiced and skin squashed
Freshly ground black pepper

Yoghurt, Mint and Lime Marinade

1 pint natural organic yoghurt
2 good handfuls of fresh mint, chopped
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A couple of lugs (2 tablespoons) olive oil

Asian Marmalade

2 stalks lemon grass, crushed and bruised
1 small handful kaffir lime leaves, torn
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and chopped
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
2 limes, zested, halved, and juiced
10 good lugs (tablespoons) olive oil

 

 

Chicken & Apricot Tagine

I love trying out new recipes and often follow a hunch I have for something mixing flavours and textures to suit.

The following recipe is my own “concoction”. It serves 6 people

You will need

6 chicken portions

3 lemon confit

garlic

ginger

ras el hanout

1.5 litres of chicken stock

2 medium onions

4 large tomatoes

1 can of chick peas

handful of dried apricots

3 tablespoons of tomato puree

Method

1. Brown the chicken portions in a large pan / tagine
2. Add chopped garlic and ginger, season.
   
3. Add the lemons to the chicken (if you don’t have confit available I boil them and then squeeze insides through a sieve)
4. Add 3 desert spoons of Ras el Hanout spice stir and slowly add about 0.5 litre of stock, bring to boil.
5. Add chopped onions and chopped tomatoes along with chick peas and another 0.5 litres of chicken stock. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Check every now and again to make sure it is not sticking, add extra stock if necessary.
6. After about an hour taste, season if required, at this point I always add an extra desert spoon of spice and tomato puree along with the extra stock.
7. Simmer again – the longer the better. In total I cooked mine for about 2.5 hours.

To Serve

• About 10 minutes before serving add the apricots
• Serve with either rice, pitta or potatoes.
  
• We had a crisp white wine to accompany the soup – Carte Noire from Bérail Laragrde, Luc Sur Orbieu
  

Cream of cauliflower soup with crispy onions

 

This is one of Gordon Ramsay’s recipes with a slight adjustment! Instead of using mushrooms I used onions and garlic croutons.

You will need

1 large cauliflower chopped
1 large potato , peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 medium onion , chopped
25g butter
4 tbsp olive oil
1,2l light chicken or vegetable stock
600ml full-fat milk
142ml carton double cream
1 small onion chopped and fried to crisp (or read-made crispy onions)
garlic croutons

Method

1. Put the cauliflower, potato and onion in a large saucepan with the butter and half of the oil. Gently heat the contents until they start to sizzle, then cover with a lid and sweat over a low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should be softened but not coloured.
2. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then pour in the milk and return gently to a boil. This way, there will be no scum forming from the milk. Season to taste then simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Pour in half the cream.
3. Blend everything in a food processor or blender, in batches. Stir in the rest of the cream.

To Serve

• Sprinkle over the crispy onions, add a few croutons and swirl with cream.
• We had a crisp white wine to accompany the soup – Carte Noire from Bérail Laragrde, Luc Sur Orbieu