These Garlic and Za’atar Knots are a tear and come again treat. Perfect for a get together and irresistible after the first bite. When you think of feta cheese, a Greek salad of filo pastry pie might come to mind. But I bet you didn’t think it could become a dip!
This Cheese, and Rosemary Christmas Tree is a terrific addition to any Christmas party, and best of all its quick and easy to make. Use it to form a centrepiece for your party table. Each branch of the ‘tree’ breaks off to become a cheese straw ready to be dipped into a suitable sauce. I like to use my Tomato and Chilli jam as a dip. But it could be anything you like.
Bacon and Avocado Wedges make an interesting party snack that is quick to both make, and serve.
Most people only think of avocado ether in a salad or as a support for prawns. They are much more versatile than that. This recipe makes use of classic flavours that marry well with avocado, bacon, garlic, lemon, and basil.
The Aioli is a simplified version of the classic French sauce. Don’t worry, no frantic crushing or beating needed, we are using ready-made mayonnaise. A small food processor or hand blender is all you need.
Make the wedges a little time ahead, then store them in the fridge. A quick blast in the air fryer is all that’s needed and you’re ready to serve. I have served these alongside my Cheese, and Rosemary Christmas Tree as the two go together brilliantly.
For the Basil Aioli
The finished wedges can be stored in the fridge ready for cooking. They will be fine prepared in the morning to be cooked in the evening. But I wouldn’t recommend making them the day before as the avocado may start to discolour.
Take the avocados and cut each one in half longways from the stem downwards, then remove the stone. Take care when doing this, it’s a very simple process, but one of the most common ways that people cut themselves.
To remove the skin, start at the pointed end of each half and peel the skin back towards the base of the pear. Hass avocados if you can find them are the best for this. But the skin on this type of avocado is thick and hard so you will find it will come off in chunks rather than strips.
Once peeled take each half and rub with the half of lemon. This will lightly flavour the avocado, and also help prevent them from discolouring.
Take each half of avocado cut side down on the chopping board. Holding the knife at an angle cut the each half of avocado into three equal wedges.
Do use good quality dry cure bacon for this. The cheaper waterlogged versions will give you a disappointing result.
Take a slice of bacon and place it on the chopping board. Stretch the rasher out by using the back of your knife and drawing down the length of the bacon.
Place a wedge of avocado at one end of the rasher, then tightly roll the wedge in the bacon. Start at one side of the wedge and let the travel down the wedge overlapping each turn slightly.
Peel and chop the garlic, sprinkle the salt on top and using the flat of the knife crush the garlic to a paste. Place the paste into a suitable jug and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Leave the jug to stand for five minutes. The lemon juice will react with the garlic and take away some of the harshness from the flavour.
Add the mayonnaise to the jar. Then take the basil and pick the leaves off the stem adding them to the jar. Keep one or two leaves to act as a garnish when serving.
Using the hand blender in a up and down motion, blend the contents of the jar together. As everything is crushed together the Aioli will take on an appealing pastil green colour. When everything is ready remove the blender, scarping off as much sauce as possible. Cover the jar with cling film and store in the fridge.
Organise your serving dish and spoon the Aioli into a dish wide enough to let people dip the wedges into the sauce with ease. Set the air fryer to ‘air fry’ at a temperature of 210˚c .
Take the avocado wedges and lightly brush or spray with olive oil. All you need is a very light coating, don’t overdo it.
Set the wedges onto a cooking rack leaving a gap between each one and start the cooking. They should only take 7-8 minutes according to your air fryer.
Of course, if you don’t have an air fryer you can use a convection oven. Make sure the over is completely pre heated and the temperature is cranked up as high as it will go. That’s about 240˚c on most ovens.
When the avocado wedges are ready the bacon should be crisp and golden. And the avocado will have taken a little colour to the edges.
Arrange the wedges around the Aioli and serve at once.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
The ubiquitous Brussel Sprout must be the largest topic of discussion at the Christmas dinner table. Love them or hate them they are here to stay so why not make them the biggest hit of the meal.
Make a Christmas Stollen this year and forgo the heavy Christmas cake!
The Stollen, is a German fruit bread made with yeast, and contains dried fruits, candied citrus peel, nuts and spices. Traditionary marzipan is folded into the dough before baking. If that’s not to your taste, it can easily be left out of the recipe.
Harissa Paste is a condiment originating from Tunisia and one of those flavours that once tasted, you become hooked on. If you like spicy, rich flavours, then this is a must-have ingredient in your kitchen. Its tones of fragrant spices, together with the kick of chilli, place it firmly in my top 12 store cupboard ingredients. This recipe uses peppers as well as chilli to make a more refined, smother paste than all chilli versions.
Most people will be familiar with Harissa stirred though cous-cous, but its uses stretch far beyond that. It makes a great marinade for meat or fish, particularly for the barbeque. Try a spoonful in a tomato sauce or a lamb stew, or simply stir it into some mayonnaise to make a summertime picnic dressing. The ubiquitous Prawn Cocktail can be given a sneaky edge with a little Harissa mixed into the sauce before adding the prawns.
A great cheat is to add it to a shop bought item like Coleslaw or Hummus. Your guest will assume you have been busy in the kitchen all day. Just remember to hide the containers or the game will be up!
Beware though, once you start using harissa it becomes additive. The good news is that it freezes well so you can always have it on hand. Its one of my Top 12 Seasonings, see the rest of them HERE.
Let me explain this with a short story. Some years ago, when perfecting the recipe, I thought it would be a clever idea to buy a ready – made version to compare the flavours. So, we when to a supermarket and bought a well-known leading brand of harissa and performed a taste test.
Well, putting it simply, the bought version was flat and lacked any of the characteristics of a good harissa. Been a bit puzzled I checked out the ingredients list on the container, and what do you think was the main ingredient? Peppers? Chilli? Even tomato? No, it was carrots!
I think today things might have improved, but it’s still better to make your own. You have the ability to tune the recipe to your own liking, hotter or milder Some people like to add some roasted and ground caraway seeds, its up to you. You’re in control.
Traditionally the peppers would be roasted in the coals of an open fire. This not only cooks the pepper buy also allow the skin to be removed easily. During the process, the flesh of the pepper takes on a smoky flavour which enhances the paste immensely. I also use a little smoked paprika in the recipe to capitalise on the flavour.
This is a bit messy, but this is about 80% of the work in making the paste.
If you cook on gas its easy, just place the pepper over an open gas flame turning it with a pair of tongs. Have some clingfilm on hand, and once the pepper is black all over, wrap it in the clingfilm. Don’t be put off by the colour thinking the pepper is ruined. The black is only the skin, which we will remove. Repeat this for the second pepper, them leave them to cool completely. Some people like to roast the chillies as well, I just use the smoked paprika instead.
Now I don’t have gas, so I use a picnic stove backed up by a blowtorch. It works fine, as long as it’s not raining!
Once the peppers have cooled, we get to the messy bit. You will see that the peppers have collapsed a little as they cooked, and there will be some liquid sitting inside the flesh. Keeping the film in place slice down one side of the pepper and open it up a little. Cut off the stem, and you will be able to open the pepper right out to a flat sheet. Flip the pepper over using the film to lift off as much of the black skin as possible. The rest of the black skin can simply be scraped off with the back of a knife. Don’t worry about a few bits of black still adhering to the flesh, it’s all flavour.
Cut the stems from the chillies, split them open and remove the seeds and the white membrane holding them. Peel the garlic, and crush using the salt to make a smooth paste.
Add the chillies and garlic to a small food processor, followed by the peppers.
Add the tomato puree, salt, and spices to the machine, then process the contents to a smooth paste. Lift off the lid then work in the olive oil and lemon juice into the paste. Have a taste, it should linger in the mouth with each individual flavour coming through. If its not spicy enough for you, add a little cayenne pepper into the mix.
The paste will keep a week in the fridge. Store it in a covered jar with a little olive oil covering the surface of the paste. I always keep some in the freezer, Ice cube trays are ideal for freezing. The cubes can then be stored in a freezer bag or box. If you need to make the paste, double the recipe so you have some to freeze. Double the joy, and you only have to clean up once!
By wrapping the pepper in the film, the heat is retained, and the pepper will cook from within. This is also a wonderful way of preparing peppers for use in a salad or stuffing as well. If you object to the cling film, you can put the peppers into a plastic bag. Its not quite as good, but should work.
Rose Harissa is similar to a standard Harissa bit a little milder. The paste is made with the addition of rose water and rose petals to add a floral fragrance. If you would like to make some, there is a great recipe ‘HERE‘
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Making Sweet Pickled Cucumber is a great way of using up excess cucumber and giving a rather bland food an enticing lift.
These Scottish Venison Meatballs are so easy to make, and much better that the shop-bought versions. To go with them I’m making a mushroom and whisky sauce to toss through buttered Tagliatelle. The dish uses ingredients abundant in the Scottish countryside, perfect for autumntime when a variety of wild mushrooms are available to use.
Lebanese Fattoush Salad is a great summer salad perfect for eating al fresco with friends or at a barbeque. This is a rustic country salad from Syria and Lebanon that uses a dressing make from buttermilk. This gives the salad a smooth let sharp finish that makes it so refreshing.
This is a method of using left-over, day-old pitta bread to prevent waste. I suppose you could put the thinking on the same track as a French Panzanella salad.
Pita or flat bread for an integral part of the salad. Shop bought pitta is fine, but you could also try making your own flatbreads. See our post on how to make your own flatbreads (HERE).
Firstly, prepare the salad ingredients. Remove the root from the little gem lettuce, then separate off the individual leaves. If the lettuce leaves are on the large side, they can be shredded up later. Keep the little gem and mixed salad separate at the moment.
Wash the salad in deep water then drain well, a salad spinner is ideal if you have one.
Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and slice the flesh into strips then put to one side.
Thinly slice the red onion, spring onion, radishes and baby cucumbers and were good to go…
Next job is to make up the dressing. Peel and crush the garlic with a pinch of sea salt. Squeeze the juice from a lemon then mix the crushed garlic into the lemon juice. Leaving this to stand for a few minutes while we get organised will take the rough edge off the garlic and make it more acceptable to non-garlic lovers.
In a small bowl mix together the buttermilk, extra virgin olive oil, sumac and cider vinegar. And locate a mixing bowl large enough to take everything.
Stale pitta is ideal for this, but if they are too fresh, pop them into the toaster for a minute or two to firm them up. If you are using flat breads, you can miss this out.
Tear the pitta breads into small pieces letting them fall into the bowl. Add the garlicy lemon juice to the dressing and Sumac, then season with more salt and mill pepper as needed.
Pour half of the dressing over the bread, again if using pitta let the bowl stand for three or four minutes to soften the bread. If you are using flatbreads just carry on making the salad.
Add the onions, little gem lettuce and radish, then toss in the dressing.
Add the cucumber and tomatoes to the bowl followed by the mixed salad leaves turning it over in the dressing. Chop the parsley and mint then add to the salad keeping a little back to finish the salad.
Transfer the salad to a large shallow serving dish arranging the ingredients for the best presentation. I like to lay the little gem leaves out first then pile the tossed salad in the centre, letting it spill outwards.
Sprinkle the salad with the reserved chopped herbs and more Sumac and you are ready to serve…..
Sumac is the ground dried berry of a shrub found in the middle east. Once the fruit is dried it is ground and the seed removed. This produces a dark red powder with a sharp refreshing taste. It’s a bit like dried lemon juice, but it also has interesting tones that can act a bit like salt and help bring out flavours. Been sharp, it’s a great accompaniment to fatty meats like lamb, Grilled oily fish, and even fruit.
Enjoy Life.
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
How to make – Cheats Chocolate Fondant. The classic restaurant chocolate fondant is a challenge for the pastry chef needing dexterity and exact timing to be served to perfection.
This version is much easier to make and is far more forgiving in cooking and serving as it is made in advance.
Vanilla Panna Cotta must be one of the easiest desserts to make, but perhaps harder to get exactly right. Success depends on using the best ingredients and taking care to blend them perfectly. Read on to learn just how to do that.
This Asian Mussel Stew is light, yet packed full of flavour. I love mussels and this is one of the best ways of enjoying them. Its full-on flavour, and not expensive, so, what’s not to like?
The west coast of Scotland is known for its seafood. And we are lucky enough to have three of the best fish restaurants within a short drive. The Pierhouse Hotel Port Appin, The Crannog Fort William, and the Loch Leven Seafood Café.
Take a table at any of these and all around will be tucking into, crab, lobster, and oysters not to mention every type of wet fish imageable. So, with all this fantastic seafood on the doorstep what do I crave? A nice big bowl of mussels! Don’t get me wrong I’ll eat all the others as well but for sheer simplicity and depth of flavour you can’t beat a bowl of the rich blue / black shells.
Go French for some Moules Mariniere, Belgian for Moules Frites, or perhaps a Tuscan seafood stew. One of my favourites is to go Asian, adding some of the flavours of the east to the saltiness of the mussels works fantastically well. Do give this a try, don’t be put off by the stages, its quick to make and a cheap treat. Be sure to have plenty of crisp crusty bread to dip into the juices.
Most of the mussels available in the shops are farmed, which is fine as they are a lot cleaner that foraged mussels. They are also a lot safer as farmed mussels are checked for contaminates such as chemical or biological products.
Dredged mussels can be quite dirty. Its best to soak the shellfish for 20 minutes in a saltwater bath. Remember they are a sea creature and not accustomed to fresh water. Use about 35g of salt diluted into cold water as a bath. As the mussels relax dirt will be expelled from the shell.
Farmed mussels are pretty clean but they will still need a rinse and check over before use. There are a few ‘old wives’ tales about dealing with mussels. Have a look at the F.A Qs at the end of this blog where I’ll do some myth-busting.
Place the mussels in a colander and run cold water over them. A small stiff brush will help remove any stubborn seaweed, and the back of a knife is ideal to knock off nay barnacles remaining on the shell. using your hands or a clean scrubbing brush to rub off any debris like seaweed, sand, barnacles, or mud spots that could be on the shell. If you find any mussels with open shells, lightly tap that mussel against the side of the sink. If the mussel closes up again in response to this turmoil, it’s alive. Should it not move, discard it.
The “beard” of a mussel is the clump of hair-like fibres that sprouts from the flat side of the shell. Often farm-raised mussels will come debearded, but even so you’ll want to check that there aren’t some pesky ones hanging on. To remove the beard from the mussels, grab it with your thumb and forefinger and tug it toward the hinge of the mussel shell. You can also use a knife to gently scrape away the beard.
Once your mussels are cleaned and debearded, they’re ready to cook and eat.
Take the washed and peeled, carrot and leek and cut into very fine strips. Place the strips on a plate, then cut the ginger into thin strips as well. Add the ginger, and lime leaves to the plate, then using a fine grater zest the lime over the top of the vegetables. Cut the lime in half and place on the plate. Deseed the chilli, and cut the flesh into small dice, adding to the plate as well.
Using a small dish or mortar and pestle crush the peeled garlic and green peppercorns together. Put the dish next to the plate ready to be used in the next stage.
By doing this we have everything ready to hand when it comes to cooking the mussels.
Clean the outer leaves of the lemongrass and split the stalk lengthways. Lightly bruise the two haves with the back of the knife then place onto a pan with the chicken stock. Make sure the pan is large enough to take all of the mussels with plenty of room left for expansion. Add the lime leaves and fish sauce then put the pan over a good heat.
When the pan has simmered for a couple of minutes, add the contents of the vegetables plate. then return the pan to the boil.
Give the mussels one last rinse then as the stock comes up to the boil, throw in the mussels. Whack on the lid making sure the heat is as high as it will go.
Let the pan boil for a couple of minutes, then have a peek under the lid. If the mussels have opened up, they are cooked, you can remove the lid and turn down the heat.
If they haven’t opened yet, put the lid back down and keep cooking rapidly. Give them one more minute then remove the lid and lower the heat.
Add the coconut milk, lime zest and juice, and chopped herbs, and you’re done!
Have a taste of the stock and add more Thai fish sauce and lime juice if needed. Check any mussels you’re not happy with, and if you’re not sure discard them.
Lift out the lemongrass, then ladle the mussels and stock into deep bowls and serve. Have plenty of crusty bread on hand to soak up all the juices.
There is quite a lot of really tasty stock served in this dish. In the past, to make it more refined I have served some of the stock on the side in expresso cups. This makes it a little less messy to eat and will allow your guests to savour the juices on their own.
Mussels are in a group of shellfish known as bivalves. Oysters, Clams, Cockles, and Scallops also fall into this category. They are filter feeders, meaning that they filter out the nutrients that they need from the water they live in. This can also mean that they can filter out any pollutants or bacteria in the water as well. The constant filtration process means that the level of pollutant in the shellfish can be many times higher than the water they live in.
I would never gather shellfish off the beach and then just cook them. It may be very romantic, but you have no way of knowing if they are safe or not. Illnesses you can obtain from mussels include vibriosis, norovirus, and paralytic shellfish poisoning, otherwise known as PSP.
Commercially sold mussels must go through a decontamination process and be sample checked before going on sale. So don’t worry it perfectly safe to eat mussels you have bought. I like to use the farmed versions as thy tend to be cleaner, and less work.
Not necessarily, this is often mentioned because if a mussel dies the shell will open itself, and the golden rule is that shellfish MUST be alive when cooked!
The resting state of a mussel underwater is to be open. Closing the shell is defensive such as protecting themselves from drying out at low tide. When kept cool and moist sometimes they open up. This can mean that you might be wasting good shellfish, checking is simple. Take the mussel that is open and smartly tap the shell on the side of the pan. If the shell begins to close, its fine to use. If not discard it.
The shell of the mussel has a spring-loaded hinge that wants to keep the shell open.
Within the body of the mussel is a circular tendon that closed the shell when needed. During cooking, this tendon usually releases itself and the spring opens the shell. Occasionally the tendon stays intact, and the shells stays closed.
Any cooked mussels with closed shells can be checked by giving the two sides a quick twist, if the shell opens and the meat looks ok it fine to use.
But remember, When in Doubt, Throw it Out!
Enjoy Life !
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Why Not Make Your Own Easy Flatbreads at home? It’s much easier than you think, and makes an impressive addition served with snacks and dips when entertaining
Baba Ganoush is easy to make at home and so much nicer then the bought in versions. Serve it as a snack or as part of a mezze spread with warmed Pita breads. Why not go the whole hog and try our recipe to make your own flatbreads and impress your guests even more.