Ordinary Food

Pork with a Greek twist

Tonight, I adapted my little pork fillet dish (recipe can be found in the fav recipe section) with feta and olives rather than sage to give it a Greek slant. And rather delicious it was too. I made a pocket in the fillet and then whizzed some black olives with some olive oil and pepper into a paste, then stuffed the meat with the paste and some sliced feta, then tied up. I enjoyed the result- a deeply savoury flavour which hit it off well with the pork. Apologies for the less than tidy presentation- it may have had something to do with the copious amounts of sherry I drank earlier this evening- but I thought you might like the pics anyhow.

The bestest Sherry

OK so its Monday night and rather sadly I've hit the sherry bottle. But I've done it in style with the most fabulous sherry on the market. It's super dry, feathery light and has an ever so slight salty edge. It comes from the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The town is set between the sea and the river and the marshlands to the north, which creates an especially humid and constant microclimate. Now here comes the science bit. According to the producer, these conditions allow a special growth of yeast, known as the 'flor', to grow on the surface of the maturing wine all your round thus protecting it from the detrimental effects of oxygen. Elsewhere in the Sherry district, the flor dies off in the summer and winter months to form the Fino sherry instead. Due to the uniqueness of this wine Manzanilla has its own 'Denominación de Origen' Manzanilla -Sanlúcar de Barrameda, set within the Sherry Denomination. Its a great little story, and this is a great sherry. So I'm going to have another glass with some rather morish unsalted pistashios.

Pork tenderloin with sage and roasted vegetables

1 pork tenderloin
15 or so fresh sage leaves
Few springs of thyme
Glass of white wine
Olive oil
Vegetables for roasting- suggest a courgette, 2 peppers, 2 potatoes, a red onion and a few chestnut mushrooms
2-3 handfuls of spinach leaves

I think of this little recipe as a speedy roast dinner which shouldn't take more than 45 mins start to finish. Serves 2-3.

Pre-heat the oven and a flat roasting tray or tin to 200-210c.

Firstly, prepare the vegetables for roasting. Peel the potatoes and chop into inch wide/long chunks. Slice the courgettes thickly. De-seed the peppers and cut each into six to eight pieces. Peel the onion but leave the root on as it stops the onion from splitting and burning, cut in half, and each half into three segments. Wipe the mushrooms and cut in half if large. Now put all these vegetables into a mixing bowl, add a good glug of olive oil, seasoning and the leaves stripped from the thyme sprigs. Make sure all the vegetables are coated and roast in the oven for 45 mins, turning once or twice.

Now focus on the pork. You can buy pork tenderloin in vacuum-sealed packs in most supermarkets. They are very economical as they have no fat and are dead easy to cook. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Season the meet and then brown on all sides. Place the pork in a smallish roasting tin and pour a glass of white wine over and throw in the sage leaves. The reason why I specify small is because if it is huge the wine will evaporate very quickly and the sage leaves burn! Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes. The key to cooking pork tenderloin is to not overcook it as it can quickly go dry- suggest you check after 20 minutes that the juices are running clear. If there is little moisture in the tin, add half a glass of water to ensure there is some jus to go with the pork on serving. Once cooked let the pork rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the spinach. Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan, then add the spinach turning continually for a minute at most. The idea is to wilt the spinach lightly. Take off the heat and add seasoning. Stir again as the spinach will be cooking from the heat of the saucepan. Now, drain away any moisture at the bottom of the saucepan and divide the spinach between the two plates. Slice the pork tenderloin thickly at an angle- aim for 3-4 slices each and place on top of the spinach. Then pour over some jus and serve with the roasted vegetables.

The best Houmous!

At Sainsbury's and no doubt other fine retailers you can find Yarden 'Houmous EXTRA'. Its a bit more pricey than the standard stuff but worth the effort. The Houmous is much smoother and richer, which is the way the Turks prefer it, and it has whole chickpeas, pinenuts and olive oil swirled into it, making it worthy of the 'extra' tag. I love eating this with pitta, chargrilled aubergine and courgette or lamb.

Don Beni’s

As far as I’m aware the Don Beni Italian restaurant phenomenon is unique to the Home Counties. Over the past years I have visited Don Beni’s in Englefield Green, Winkworth Row and Windsor, usually for friends’ birthday parties and the like. Last night I ended up eating at the Wokingham branch with my new mate Daryl after failing to get into, well, every other half decent restaurant in Wokingham.

The restaurant played to the now familiar Don Beni formula of huge portions, noisy Italian waiters and even noisier clientele. On the plus side, the pizzas are a notch above Pizza Hut- the base was reasonably well made if a little bland, the toppings on my four seasons just about passable given the reasonable £7.50 asking price. The pizza is always advisable over the heavy, starchy pasta. The anaemic sliced pale tomato in the mixed salad reminded me of an appalling tricolore (mozzarella, tomato and basil salad) I ordered a few years back at the Englefield Green branch. The lifeless tomato was accompanied by mozzarella that was just entering sourness and the basil didn’t make an appearance.

A decent atmosphere can compensate for such culinary short comings, but unfortunately Don Beni's fails here too. The battered lit up fridges scattered around the dining room, noisily chilling half eaten, suspect puddings and the odd pint of milk does not make for a pleasant dining experience. Nor do the sticky chairs and the corny Chianti bottles covered in patriotic red and green candle wax. But all that having been said, most customers seemed to be having a good time.

Time seems to have past Don Beni’s by. The lamentable food and dining experience might have passed muster in the 1980s but the world has moved on. The Zizzi and Strada chains both offer far superior Italian grub and ambience for similar prices, as do a host of independent Italian restaurants including the tasty and fun Bar Centro in Guildford. Not recommended.

Mango!

Did you know that mangos grow on evergreen trees up to 60 foot tall! I’ve often found mangos can be a bit hit and miss in the UK- no doubt said fruit having to travel refrigerated all the way from Asia to here. But the last three I’ve had from Sainsbury’s have been juicy, silky and gorgeous, after leaving them a few days to fully ripen. Now you can do all sorts of thing with a mango… make it into a salsa, a salad, a drink or do that hedgehog thing if you really must. I prefer to let the fruit be itself. I peel and slice it, then sprinkle the flesh with a little lemon juice, a grind of black pepper and some torn basil. The lemon juice accentuates the mango sweetness, the rough pepper its smoothness and the basil its tang and fragrance. Now I must go and buy another mango…

Mr. Sainsbury, Where have all the sushi gone?

Weirdly, there's been no sushi in either of Guildford's Sainsbury stores for several weeks which means I've had to eat sandwiches every day for lunch :-( I went to M&S to buy some but the queue was crazy, so had to settle for a Sainsbury sandwich. Again. Maybe I'll have to resort to making my own. Sushi-Guide and Tip Sushi are both informative should you have the urge. Or ask the Ivy to courier over some sashimi on a banana leaf. Well we can all dream!

Shepherd's Pie with Braised Lettuce & Peas

I love shepherd's pie and always serve mine with peas gently braised with lettuce and spring onions- otherwise known as 'petits pois a la francaise' which I've adapted and reclaimed for us Brits! Serves four generously.

Shepherd's Pie Ingredients:

1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
500g minced beef
Olive oil
2 teaspoons plain flour
3/4 pint beef stock
1 teaspooon tomato puree
Teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves stripped from the stem or a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
Salt and pepper
5-6 floury potatoes
Butter for dotting on top

Peel, cook and mash the potatoes with a tbsp of butter and seasoning. Let cool.

Gently fry the onions and carrots in olive oil in a saucepan until slightly translucent and soft. Add the mince and brown all over. Add the flour and cook for 30 seconds, stirring well. Add the beef stock (make with a cube or use marigold vegetable powder if you prefer) and stir continuously until boiling. Add seasoning, herbs and tomato puree and simmer, covered for 40 minutes. Check it every so often and add a little extra water if it becomes too dry. The meat should be moist with a little juice but in no way runny.

Set the oven to 200c. Put the meat into a oven proof dish. When slightly cooled, spread the potato over the top. Run a fork over the top to help the potato crisp in the oven. Dot the top with butter and cook in the oven for 30 minutes at which point the potato whould be tanned and crispy. Serve with peas as follows.

Braised Lettuce and Peas Ingredients:

2 tbsps butter
500g petits pois peas, frozen
1 small round lettuce or 2 little gems
Bunch of spring onions
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Shred the lettuce roughly and chop the spring onions. My preference is Little Gem but any lettuce will suffice. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the peas, letting the peas get glossy with the butter. After a minute, add the spring onions and lettuce and stir well. Add 50 ml boiling water, the sugar and season well. Now cover with a lid and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes.

Just before serving, sprinkle with the parsley and serve with the shepherd's pie.

For a great salmon recipe involving braised peas click here.

Courgette Cakes

This recipe is borrowed from a taverna in Crete- these little cakes make a fantastic starter when served with tsatsiki. They are a little labour intensive as they involve grating, breadcrumbing and need to be fried in batches, but they are well worth the effort.

Ingredients:

500g courgettes
500g potatoes
100g grated Edam
2 tbsp chopped fresh leave parsley
A finely grated onion
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
200g white bread, made into breadcrumbs

Firstly, peel and cook the potatoes in salted boiling water. Drain, dry and mash well and let cool.
Grate the courgettes, then squeeze and try to let out the excess water.

Put the courgettes, potato, parsley, onion, cheese in a mixing bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Add one beaten egg and mix together.

Shape into little round cakes about 5 cm across. Coat first in breadcrumbs, then the second beaten egg, then again in breadcrumbs. Now you can shallow fry these in 1cm or so of oil in batches so the frying pan is not too crowded, or use a few tablespoons of olive oil as I do- it doesn't make the edges of the cakes quite as crispy but its healthier.

Serve with tsatsiki and if you are feeling posh a little beetroot and herb garnish.

Tsatsiki

Ingredients:

500 gram pot of low fat or full fat greek yoghurt
Half a cucumber
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Squeeze of lemon
Salt and pepper

Homemade tsatsiki is so much better than the shop bought stuff and can be eaten with so many things- its fantastic with pitta bread, any fried morsels, kebabs, stuffed vegetables, fish and more!

Firstly, peel and grate the cucumber. Squeeze out the excess water, then put in a bowl. Now you have two choices. If you want to do this the proper way, sprinkle over two teaspoons of salt which brings out the moisture in the cucumber. After twenty minutes, place the cucumber in a fine sieve and rinse with cold water to remove the salt. Then pat dry using a clean tea towel (kitchen towel isn't really suitable for this task as the cucumber gets stuck to the paper). Alternatively- the quicker way- sprinkle the grated cucumber with a little salt and after ten minutes place the cucumber in a fine sieve and press to remove water. Because less salt is used this way there is no need to rinse the cucumber and then dry it.

Now to the garlic. Peel and chop the garlic. Then grind some fresh pepper over the garlic and use the tip of a knife to crush the garlic to a smooth paste.

Now mix the garlic into the yoghurt and then add the cucumber, mint, olive oil and squeeze of lemon. Stir together and then chill in the fridge for at least half an hour. This will let the flavours develop. Feel free to make with more or less garlic depending on taste.