Gratin Dauphinoise Potatoes are an absolute classic crowd pleaser, and so versatile. The lusciously rich creamy potato with a boost of garlic is a great accompaniment to both red and white meats. Its easy to make and can be made ahead and reheated if needed. I’m going to show you the correct method for making the gratin, so forget what you may have had in the past and try these out.
These, Easy and Delicious, Apple Crumble Overnight Oats make the perfect Autumn breakfast. Layers of apple compote, oats, yoghurt, and shortbread. What more could you want?
These Mocha Overnight Oats are packed with flavour. Rich peanut butter and Maple syrup are backed up with a kick of coffee to get your day started.
I like to serve the Mocha Overnight oats topped with a crunchy layer of muesli. Choose a variety with plenty interesting ingredients or add some more dried fruits if needed. We are looking for some texture and interest rather than adding more oats to our breakfast.
Place the peanut butter into your mixing jar then add the maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Dilute the instant coffee with the hot water then slowly add the warm coffee to the jar using it to blend everything together.
Beat the yoghurt into the mixture then work in the milk. Slowly fold in the jumbo oats, then pop the lid into the jar and leave in the fridge overnight.
Spoon the contents of the mixing jar into two glasses then set a good mound of yoghurt in the centre of the glass. Sprinkle some muesli around the yoghurt making sure you have plenty of nuts and fruit on each glass.
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.
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©John Webber. 2023
Super Easy Overnight oats, make the perfect lazy breakfast. Packed with goodness they are one of the most versatile breakfast options around. Very little, is any cooking is required and the simplest versions can be made in minutes.
This Thai Chicken and Prawn Soup for me sums up the joy of Thai cooking. Been both fresh and light yet with plenty of substance in the flavour department.
This Easy Creamy Mango Milkshake is a guaranteed hit with the kids, and who doesn’t like a milkshake? Make sure you have a nice ripe Mango to get the best flavour and texture.
If you don’t have limes handy, lemon will do and make sure you are using evaporated milk. Don’t get confused with condensed milk, which is much thicker and sweeter.
Getting at the flesh can be tricky, but the best way is to trip ether end first. This gives you a flat base on which to set the fruit upright and carefully cut off the skin. Once that’s done the fresh can be sliced off the stone. As we are blending the milkshake it doesn’t matter how neatly to slice off the fruit.
Finally remember to follow the golden rule of working with Mangoes. You really must suck the stone after removing the flesh. One of life’s small pleasures.
To get the best texture have the mango and limes ready waiting for your guests. Then blend the milkshake when needed. Serve directly from the blender to get the best fluffy texture in the mix.
And don’t forget to look up our home page on Easy Summertime Coolers for more summertime drinks.
Peel the mango and cut into small pieces, you should have about 250g of flesh.
Pop the fruit into the jug of the blender then grate the lime rest over the top and add the juice.
Pour the stock syrup and evaporated milk into the jug. Add the crushed ice and place the lid on the blender jug. Keep you hand on top while you start the machine to avoid splashing, and blend until smooth.
Pour the mango cooler into glasses and decorate with a spring of mint.
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.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
This Easy, Family Citrus Peach Cooler takes just a few minutes to make using ingredients you may already have in the house.
Beautifully light Helston Pudding. It’s easy to make comfort food which makes a light alternative to Christmas Pudding. I have put in a couple of minor changes to make it even more Christmassy, and served it with an orange brandy sauce.
Make your own Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce, it’s easy! You simple can’t buy a ready-made sauce that compares with a homemade fresh tomato sauce. Processing spoils the fresh flavour of the sauce and adds in preservatives. And the best thing- as I said, it’s dead easy to make.
The ideal is to make this in season with home grown ripe tomatoes. I have used my San Marzano Tomatoes from the polytunnel. As they have more flesh and less seeds than a traditional tomato. But don’t despair, normal main crop tomatoes will do fine.
If you don’t have home grown tomatoes, don’t use shop bought unless you have a good farm shop close by. You can used tinned, but buy the best. I use Muti Tomatoes ether tinned whole or as Poppa which is produced purposely for making sauces.
So, if you need to remove the tomato skins, here’s how to do it.
Using the tip of a small knife carefully remove the core of the tomato about 1.5 cm deep. The turn the tomato over and make a small shallow cut through the skin. Repeat this will all the tomatoes to be peeled
Fill a medium sized saucepan two thirds full of water and bring to the boil.
Have a large bowl of cold water ready with plenty of ice added.
Take your slotted spoon or spider and lower two tomatoes into the water and cook for 10 seconds. When the time is up lift the tomatoes out the boiling water directly into the iced water.
Let the tomatoes cool for a few moments then lift them out onto a plastic tray to drain. Test one of the fruits to see if the skin will peel off easily. If its stubborn give the next two tomatoes 12 seconds cooking, but don’t go over that time.
If the skin is mushy and just slides straight off reduce the cooking time by a couple of seconds. Once you are happy, repeat the process with all the tomatoes to be skinned.
After the first have a dozen tomatoes, all that steam and dripping water you will be wishing you had a Moulin!!
My personal recommendation for making soups and sauces is to obtain a food mill known in kitchens as a Moulin. It’s one of my favourite pieces of kitchen equipment. They have been around even longer than me. And have been tried and tested in thousands of kitchens across the world. Basically, it’s a mechanical sieve with different plates supplied that dictate the finish of the food you are processing. Pop the food in, turn the handle and the finished product if squeezed out of the bottom. If you’re old enough to remember these were popular for making baby food years ago.
They can be bought in various sizes but a size of 200cm to 250cm will be fine for most people. If you are a lover of mashed potato a moulin is a must. Go for a slightly larger size.
I know you’re thinking why bother? Well by using the moulin it not only gives me my finished sauce consistency. It also filters out the skins and any hard pieces of tomato or basil stalks. This saves all the bother of skinning the tomatoes before cooking.
Whatever you do, don’t use a blender, it adds air to the sauce and changes the flavour closer to a processed sauce.
A wide shallow pan (not aluminium)
Spatula
Chopping board and knife
Medium bowl
Potato masher or Similar
Food mill (moulin) if available
Slotted spoon or spider
Med sized saucepan
Large bowl of cold water and ice
Plastic tray
800g ripe tomatoes
2 plump cloves of garlic
4tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
Large bunch of fresh basil
Black mill pepper
Optional pinch oregano
Peel the garlic then cut in half longways, removing any green shoots visible. Finely chop the garlic (don’t crush) and add to the cold pan with the olive oil.
It’s important to chop and not crush the garlic. Crushing the cloves will expand the flavour of the garlic where it will begin to overtake the tomatoes. We need the garlic to enhance the tomatoes not to dominate them.
Slice the tomatoes into wedges and place into a bowl.
Place the pan over a low heat and watch the garlic begin to sizzle in the oil. We are going to gently cook the garlic in the oil for three to four minutes to release the flavour. It’s crucial that the garlic does not burn, or your sauce will be spoilt. Even if you think you may have just lightly burnt it, throw it away and start again, before adding the tomatoes.
When the garlic is ready, add the tomatoes and bring to the simmer over a medium heat. Add the salt and a couple of turns of mill pepper, then pop on the lid.
Cook the sauce for fifteen minutes then remove the lid and crush the tomatoes with a potato masher. Don’t overdo it yet, we just want to extract all the juices from the flesh.
Add the bunch of basil, stalks and all and mix in. A pinch of oregano can also be added if wished. Continue simmering the sauce for about 15 minutes or so until it thickens.
If you are using a moulin, set it over a bowl with the large or medium plate fitted. The basil can me removed if you like a pure tomato sauce, but I leave it in. You will get bits of basil floating around in the sauce, But I don’t mind that. Pour the sauce into the moulin and turn the handle clockwise. Use a spoon the move the contents around a little every 6 to 8 turns of the handle.
Once all the sauce is though remember to catch any sauce sticking to the bottom of the plate. Turn the moulin over and give it a scrape off. All the skins, and stalks will be held in the moulin and can be thrown away.
If you are not using a moulin remove the basil. Take the pan off the heat and break the sauce down with the potato masher until you are happy with the consistency.
Whichever method you use all that’s left is to check the seasoning. Ether reheat the sauce to use at once or cool the sauce over iced water before storing in the fridge. You can also freeze the sauce; I think it loses a bit of freshness, but still better than from a jar. It’s a great way of using up an excess of tomatoes from the garden
Your tomatoes are just not up to the job. If when you cut them open they have a pale colour below the skin it’s a sign they have been artificial ripened and will lack flavour. Add some good quality tinned tomato (see above) to the sauce to help the flavour.
Try adding a pinch of dried chilli flakes and just a dash of Worcester sauce. But don’t overdo it!
Absolutely, It’s great with vegetable dishes or used as a quick base for a curry.
If you want to use it with meats like chicken, try this.
Add one finely chopped red onion into the pan with the garlic. Use half the oil and cook the onions for five minutes over a low heat.
Add the tomatoes with 35g of butter a pinch of dried chilli flakes and just a small amount of basil.
Cook as before but use the medium plate on the moulin to give a smoother sauce.
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.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Make these easy soda breads at home. It’s so satisfying and rewarding everybody should be doing it.
Make amazing Indian Garam Masala home. Easy to do and packed with flavour.
Something a little different here. A quick kale, egg, and bacon supper, a warming winter supper dish of with a hint of garlic and chilli to provide a little kick. This has been built around kale from the garden. Its one of the hardier veg and survived the feast of wind and rain we have experienced of late.
Its reasonably healthy meal with most of the fat cooked out of the bacon and topped off with a poached egg. Of course you could also use a fried egg if poaching is too much of a challenge. But read on, it’s easier than you think.
This is one of my fall-back suppers if Mrs W is working late, and I’m home alone for dinner. To make things even simpler you can poach the eggs ahead of time and warm them up when you are ready. This is a great dodge and widespread practice in kitchens for breakfast or if poached eggs are required for a menu dish. So even if you’re not a fan of kale is worth reading on to improve your skills and become a master of the poached egg.
Serves 1
85g picked kale, well washed and dried
1 clove of garlic
1 small red chilli
olive oil
2-3 tbsp distilled vinegar
Dash lemon juice
4 rashers thinly sliced dry cure streaky bacon (pancetta)
Mill pepper
Sea salt
How to Poach Eggs.
As a child I have fond memories of the metal egg poachers, they produced a kind of egg igloo which was dropped on toast. They were kind of ok, but useless to top off a nice salad or produce Eggs Benedict for brunch.
Weather you choose to poach your eggs when needed or ahead of time it’s up to you. But whatever you choose it’s a two-stage process. You will need an espresso cup or similar, a bowl for some iced water with a perforated spoon. Make sure your pan is deep enough to allow the egg to have formed a skin before it hits the bottom of the pan, about 15cm should be fine. Equally the top of the pan should be wide enough to allow the rim of the espresso cup to sit in the centre of the water when the egg is added.
Fill the pan with fresh water to about 3cm from the top, but do not add salt. Salt will begin to break down the white and spoil the shape of the egg. Add the vinegar to the water and put on the heat to come to the boil.
Its actually a simple process to poach eggs and there is one simple trick – fresh eggs. Have a look at the Food Files page All you need to know about- Eggs to understand why freshness is so important.
Crack your first egg into the espresso cup and fill the bowl with cold water and a few ice cubes leaving enough space to take the cooked eggs.
When the pan comes to the boil, turn down the heat to very low and grab the perforated spoon. Stir the water vigorously to create a whirlpool in the centre of the water. Pick up the expresso cup and lower the cup into the water ensuring the rim of the cup is directly in the centre of the whirlpool. Hold the cup in the water for three or four seconds then gently tip the egg into the water holding the cup in place. You should see a string of egg white from the cup holding the egg in place and the egg itself sitting in the centre of the water. The egg is been held in place by the circulating current of water. It’s important that there are no bubbles forming in the water or the movement will spoil the shape of the egg.
Let the egg cook for about four to five minutes then gently lift the egg from the water with the slotted spoon. If it looks like it’s going to collapse return it to the water for another minute.
As soon as its ready lift the egg into the iced water, this will stop the cooking and wash off any vinegar. Repeat the process if needed and with practice you will be able to poach two eggs at once.
Pop the egg to one side if you are going to use them within an hour or so but make sure the water has not warmed up, (you may need to add another couple of ice cubes). If you are making the eggs for later use, again check the water is cold then cover them and place the bowl containing the eggs into the fridge. When you are ready to serve the eggs fill a clean pan with fresh water and add some salt, (it can’t damage the egg white now that its set).
To finish off our supper you will need a deep sided frying pan, I’m using a stainless sauté pan which is also suitable for frying.
Thinly slice the garlic and the chilli. How much chilli you like is up to you I use about four to five slices if you don’t like it too hot remove the seeds of the chilli.
Heat the pan and add the oil as soon as the oil is hot lay the bacon in the pan and cook over a medium heat. The aim to cook the bacon crisp so don’t have the pan too high or it will simply brown without crisping. Turn the bacon regularly to even up the cooking and when brown and crispy lift the rashers out of the pan onto kitchen paper to absorb the fat.
Remove 80% of the remaining fat from the pan which should have a deep golden coating of flavour from the bacon. Turn down the heat a little and add the garlic, fry steadily for two to three minutes but do not let the garlic burn or it will be ruined.
Your poached egg/s can now be lifted from the bowl into the pan of hot water which should be at no more than a low simmer.
Turn up the heat under the bacon pan and add the kale to the pan closely followed by the chilli, salt, and pepper.
Stir fry the kale until cooked and wilted but don’t cook it right down to a soggy mess. Adding a small amount of water from the egg pan from time to time will help cook the kale without frying it and will also help lift the flavour from the base of the pan into the kale.
Finish the kale with a couple of drops of lemon juice check the seasoning the lift the kale into the centre of a plate and set the finished egg on top. Lay two rashes of bacon on the egg with a twist of pepper then break up the remaining bacon and scatter it around the kale with any cooking juices or a drop of olive oil as you wish.
I must say my poached egg is not one of my best efforts. Been a one man band, I am, Chef, Home Economist, Food Stylist and Photographer all in one. This meant my egg was standing by a little too long and became too firm. You should aim for a runnier yolk which will form a second sauce mixed in with the kale.
Give the dish a try, and by all means ring the changes. I have done this with picante Chorizo sausage instead of bacon. Works very well if you like a bit more spice. And even if kale is not your cup of tea, do practice your egg poaching.
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.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023