mwnch

My word, how TV cooks have changed.

The heritage of Fanny and the Galloping Gourmet has somehow led to Gordon Ramsay frying scallops and steaks with an incompetent DJ and a liberal sprinkling of F words (not the TV show this time). Add the whole confused chicken hypocrisy of Jamie O (who spoke out against his Sainsbury’s paymasters only to apologise like a scalded prefect threatened with loss of his fag) and throw in Hugh F-W’s (who frankly I expected better from) involvement with the gang of three and I find myself shaking my head in dismay and confusion. I just can’t join together the jokey TV trailers, Ramsay’s novelty cock-a-long (sic) and the plight of factory farmed chickens – and I think Channel 4 expect me to.

This whole factory chicken issue isn’t one that should be handled with prime-time TV and one assumes prime-time TV pay-packets for the participants. Perhaps free-range chicken sales will increase in-light of the series of shows, but as soon as T*sco or As*a run a 50 for 50p on chicken nuggets I’m sure things will go back to where they were. This is an issue for politicians and legislators … if Gordon, Jamie and Hugh could elbow their way past Beckham and get through the door of 10 Downing Street then perhaps some real progress could be made in the name of animal welfare.

I’ve just come back from Normandy and this is a holiday special which we always enjoy. One of those quick and easy self-catering recipes. Find local sausages and beans.

The only essential ingredients are sausages, beans and some kind of tomatoes, make the rest up from there…

Pudding for (virtually) nothing and it’s tasty as can be …

Read on »

I love the other name for samphire: sea asparagus, as to me that is what it is - precious, tasty and a treat (the visual similarity of green fingers doesn’t hurt either).

It can be tricky to get as it’s in relatively short supply and as the new trendy ingredient in great demand, if you can get some and haven’t tried it yet you must give it a go.

Blanch for a minute in boiling water then serve with an olive oil & lemon juice or good quality vinegar dressing. Firm, fleshy and with a taste of the sea (a bit like a fat mermaid!).

Whilst rooting around in the woods, I noticed the similarity between the leaves of cow parsley (or wild chervil) and flat leaf parsley. Nibbling away at some and consulting a book or two there seemed to be no reason not to eat some.

My plants are quite large and well grown and I guess, like nettles they may have been much more succulent earlier in the year, but I managed to pick some paler, younger looking leaves from the fresher shoots.

Not only is the look similar to parsley, but so is the flavour; a little stronger and earthier to my palate than culinary parsley, but nevertheless, tasty and a great garnish for scallops and bacon which was my first application of them.

We’ll be trying it with my wife’s pea cawl next….

We’ve recently been spending much of our time chopping down brambles and occupied in other such rural pursuits. The stinging nettles that we’ve encouraged to grow in abundance due to the assault we’ve made on the brambles that used to occupy their ground, have looked (at least to me) delicious. As a long time fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall scythe in hand I gathered a large bin bag full of them and made some soup.

Tasty, green and spinachy with a tang of nettle sting about it. I like to serve with a good lump of grated cheese melting invitingly in the middle of the bowl of soup.

Thanks Hugh.

I sometimes think I’m taking this simplicity thing a little too far. But regardless of that here is my latest minimalist listing, barely sufficient to be called a recipe.

No need for messing about - let’s keep it simple. [And this is the way that the fishmonger I buy them from cooks them.]

You need raw frozen prawns for this. Serve them piping hot with lemon juice and home made mayonnaise (perhaps with a little garlic) - great!

One of my favourite spring-time bonuses is here at last – asparagus…

Over the last few years I’ve waited for the first spiky green fingers to appear in the green-grocers every spring. Over this time I’ve developed a simple approach to preparing and eating them.

To cook, there are a number of equally good options:

I have an asparagus kettle, which is a tall thin lidded metal saucepan that allows you to place them top-up in boiling water so they cook from the bottom up. Quick and easy, simply boil for 4-5 minutes. This can be done equally as easily in a normal saucepan.

Alternatively and a great outdoor option, a dash of olive oil and a few minutes on a griddle pan or barbeque provides the extra flavour and attractiveness of char-grilling.

Finally, toss in olive oil and sea-salt and place on a tray in a hot oven for ten minutes.

To serve, there are a number of options I favour:

Best of all ~ Season with sea-salt and freshly ground black pepper, then drizzle with good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar and finish with shavings of parmesan cheese.

Alternatively, a hollandaise sauce or simply melting knobs of butter are delicious.

[Note for UK readers] Although imported asparagus is available all year round, please, please use UK grown asparagus in season – it’s the best you’ll get and is free from concerns over food-miles, sustainability and eco-friendliness.

Whilst this recipe uses mushrooms, you can use many vegetables as this basis of this - jerusalem artichokes, pumpkin, squash, leek and so on.

For an evening meal, I like to serve it with a nice piece of grilled meat, sausages or chorizo.

When thinking of a salad to have with fish, this is hard to beat.

You can vary the herbs, use mint, parley, coriander or marjoram (or any other soft herb) in combinations driven by taste or availability.

Tangy and fresh!