Making Sweet Pickled Cucumber is a great way of using up excess cucumber and giving a rather bland food an enticing lift. I decided to have a go at growing cucumbers this year. And I quickly discovered that they had teamed up with the courgettes …
Cheese, Bacon, and Red Onion Muffins are great served as finger food or taken on a picnic. In fact, they are great all year round and are one of my regular contributions to village social events.
Muffins are easy to make, and once you have mastered the basics there is a wealth of ingredients that can be added, both sweet and savoury. Let me take you through the process, and lets get baking!
These Scottish Venison Meatballs are so easy to make, and so 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.
Of course, it’s great to make at any time of year. And you can change the mushrooms you use according to what’s available to you. If you are making this out of season (as I am) I would recommend you always add the dried morels into the mix.
If the idea of gathering your own dinner attracts you, great. But DON’T just go off and pick whatever takes you fancy, get some tuition first.
Picking wild mushrooms needs care and experience. A few taste wonderful, a few are ok, and some are extremely dangerous. Before you head out on your own go on a tutored course and ideally have an experience friend with you for the first few trips out. And the golden rule – if you’re not sure, don’t touch it!
If you are keen to learn on how to forage for wild mushrooms, there is a great guide available HERE.
Don’t be put off this recipe thinking the venison will be strong and earthy, not a bit of it. Been classified as game gives people an image the meat will have an overpowering flavour.
In fact, the meat has flavour, but it’s a more delicate herbaceous, almost nutty flavour. that marries will with red wine, fruits, and mushrooms.
Venison is also one of the heathiest meats to eat. Venison has less intermuscular fat that beef and because of this has less calories wight for weigh. It is high in omega 3 and nutrients and of course in one of few totally natural meats available to us. You can of course also get reared venison, and if you are looking for a more tender cut to sauté or roast it’s a very good product.
The one drawback of venison for a chef is the fat, its quite unpleasant. Because of this if fat is needed in the preparation, beef or pork fat would be added.
To make our meatballs we are adding belly pork to the mix. This will do two things, lighten the mixture, and add in some fat which will improve the texture and flavour in the mouth. It’s quite common in Italy for a cocktail of meats to be used when making meatballs. Most commonly, beef, pork, and gammon.
First of all, we need to cook the onion, so many recipes add raw onion into the meat mixture. That should never happen! Peel and finely chop the onion, pop it into a shallow pan and add the 1tbsp of olive oil. Using a mortar and pestle break up the fennel seeds then add them to the pan.
Gently cook the onion in the oil without letting it colour then scrape all the onion our of the pan into a bowl, and let it cool completely. In a second smaller bowl soak the sliced bread in milk until soft.
If you are using the dried Morels, place them in a small container and cover them with boiling water. Put them to one side to use later.
Mix the meats together in a large bowl and add the salt and cinnamon. Finely grate the clove of garlic into the bowl and add the cooled, cooked onion.
Lift the bread from the milk, squeeze it out to form a soft ball and add to the meat with the parsley, and egg yolk. Mix to make a smooth mixture then form the mix into balls of roughly 30g. you should make 24 meatballs from the recipe.
Dust the meat balls in flour and place in a tray until all the mixture is used.
Heat a shallow pan on the hob and add the 60ml of olive oil. Check the oil is hot by placing a meatball in the pan, if it sizzles in the oil add more meatballs but don’t over crowd the pan. The oil needs to be hot but not smoking, we want to cook the meatballs with a golden-brown crust but without burning the meat. If you can’t get all the meatballs in at once do the cooking in two batches.
As the meat balls are ready remove them and drain well on a tray lined with absorbent paper.
If you don’t want to serve the meatballs straight away, let them cool completely, then cover them and store in the fridge. Do this in the morning, then all you have to do is re-heat the meatballs in the oven while you make the sauce and cook the pasta, easy!
Use the same pan the meatballs were cooked in. Drain off the excess cooking oil and put the pan over a medium heat.
Add the butter to the pan closely followed by the fresh mushrooms then let them sauté in the for three to four minutes. Now we are ready for the whisky.
WARNING! When the whisky hits the pan on the hob there is a likelihood that the alcohol will burst into flames! This should not be a problem as long as you are prepared and expecting it.
If you are cooking on a gas hob its almost certain the alcohol will ignite. It may look good on television, but not such a good idea at home.
Insure there are no flammable materials anywhere close to where you are cooking, and your hob extractor is clean and not full of grease.
If there may be a risk of the whisky igniting, remove the pan far away from the hob before you add the whisky and let the alcohol completely evaporate safely away before returning the pan to the heat. Have the pan lid close to hand and stand well back when adding the whisky.
Add the stock to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan with a silicone spatula to lift any flavours into the sauce. Let the pan simmer to reduce the stock by half. While the pan is simmering lift the Morels from the soaking water and give them a squeeze. Check the stem of each one is clean then slice each Morel in half longways and add them to the pan. Decant three quarters of the soaking water into the panto reduce with the stock.
Dried morels can be quite gritty, so by not adding all of the mushroom juice to the pan we can leavy any dirt and grit in the container to be disposed of.
When the stock and mushroom juices have reduced add the cream. Return the meatballs to the pan and coat in the sauce to reheat them. Put the pan on a low heat and pop on the lid to let the flavours blend while you cook the pasta.
Take your warm deep plates and nestle the buttered paster into each one. Set the meatballs into the centre of each nest of pasta arranging the mushrooms on top. Divide any remaining sauce around the plates, scatter some chopped parsley and parmesan shaving on top and serve.
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
For these tarts we are using two distinct types of apples. Bramley apple for full on flavour, backed up with a dash of good cider. Green apples, Granny Smiths of French Golden delicious provide texture and a hint of freshness to the tarts. These tarts can be made the night before and stored in the fridge. The trick is to glaze and seal the apple with melted butter and lemon to spot the apple discolouring.
Fattoush is a great summer salad perfect for eating al fresco with a friends or 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.
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.
The primary flavour is of course chocolate, so be sure to use a superior quality 70-75% cocoa solids chocolate. Cheap chocolate with low cocoa solids will be unable to punch through the butter, eggs, and sugar. This will give you an insipid tasteless dessert.
No fancy equipment needed, we are using tinfoil pudding basins to form the fondants and make then very easy to turn out.
This can be done in the morning for use later. If you want to be well ahead, make the truffles then freeze them so they are ready whenever you want to serve the fondants.
And of course, you could make enough truffles to serve with coffee at the same time. Don’t freeze these though, or the condensation will spoil and coating you roll them in.
Break up the chocolate into small pieces. Place the chocolate in a bowl large enough to take all the ingredients and allow you to mix them altogether. Pour the cream into a small pan and add the butter, vanilla, and salt.
Pop the pan onto the heat and watch it closely until the butter melts and the cream begins to simmer. Now tip the whole contents of the pan over the chocolate in one go and straight away begin to the mix the truffle base together. The heat for the cream should be enough to melt the chocolate and allow it to emulsify together with the butter and cream. When ready cover the bowl and when cool enough, place in the fridge to firm up.
Chefs know this mixture as a Ganache. And if you have ever wondered what that was, Congratulations, you have just made one!
When the mix is firm but not really hard scoop out a little of the chocolate with a teaspoon and roll in the palms of your hands to form a truffle. If you are just making these for the fondants, they don’t need to be perfectly round.
If you are having problems with the chocolate sticking to your hands, rub then with a little flavourless oil. Good for your skin as well!!
Before you start brush the insides of the moulds with soft butter to help the cooked fondants slide out. Don’t miss any areas but also don’t overdo it or you will have melted butter running onto your plates.
Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of hot but not boiling water and add the butter. Let he butter melt slowly over a low heat then once melted add the broken-up chocolate. Melt the chocolate into the butter then take the bowl off the pan and place to one side.
In a second bowl whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. When ready the mix should hold traces of where the whisk as been. we call this, the Ribbon stage. When ready, sieve the flour and fold into the egg / sugar mix.
Fold the melted chocolate and butter into the eggs and fold together lifting the mix from the bottom. Make sure the chocolate is not too hot (blood heat is perfect) and only mix until the chocolate is barely folded into the eggs. Overmixing will spoil the dessert.
Half fill the buttered tinfoil moulds then place a truffle in the centre of each mould. Now complete the filling of the moulds and place them in the fridge to be cooked later.
My advice is to now ball the ice cream into a cold plate then return it to the freezer. We need to serve the fondants as quickly as possible and have the ice cream ready is a big help.
When you are ready to serve the dessert, have the oven and a baking tray preheated.
Place the fondants directly from the fridge onto the hot tray and cook then on the centre of the oven for 12 to 14 minutes.
When ready the centre of the fondants should still be runny. The cheat is that of course the truffle will melt and form a sauce even if the centre is a little over cooked.
Work as fast as you safely can, turn the fondants out onto plates. Place a ball of ice cream on top of each one, dust with icing sugar and sprinkle with grated chocolate.
As the timing of the fondants is quite important, I would recommend have a test run of the dessert on the family. Everyone’s oven is slightly different in temperature and efficiency. So, the only way to be absolutely sure of the cooking time is to test it.
Cook the fondants as above then take one out at 12 minutes than at 2-minute intervals until you are happy with the result. Be sure to be in and out of the oven as quickly as possible or the oven will cool too much between each test.
Melted butter tents to run down the sides of the mould and sit on the base, frying the sponge as it cooks. It’s also easier to see if you have missed any bits with soft butter.
Chefs call these ‘runouts’ It is simply melted chocolate piped onto nonstick paper and allow to cool. In fact, you don’t even need to pipe it. Just letting the chocolate fall off the tip of a spoon will give you a shape, just not as neat.
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
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
How To Be A Shortbread Expert. There are thousands of recipes for shortbread, and an equal number of opinions as to the ingredients, methods, and baking. I suppose really you could think of shortbread as posh pastry, uplifted to celebrity status.
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.
How to make Hummus. It’s easy to make this classic middle eastern snack, better and fresher than the bought version. Its smooth healthy, and full of flavour. And once you have mastered the process there is a wealth of other flavours you can add to the basic mix.
I have chosen to use tinned chickpeas (also known as Garbanzo beans) for this as its less work. If you want to cook your own, make sure to buy decent quality chickpeas not the cheapest version. Open the packet and check for any small stones or debris present. Cover the chickpeas with cold water and leave overnight.
The following morning drain the chickpeas and put them into a large pan. Cover them with at least twice the amount of water as there is chickpeas and add 1tsp bicarbonate of soda.
Mix well and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Check to make sure they are cooked through, and if ready drain the contents of the pan and run cold water over the chickpeas. If you find you have cooked to many, then can be kept in the freezer for a couple of months.
While the tinned chickpeas are already cooked, to give us a nice smooth texture its best to cook them a little longer.
Tip the chickpeas with the juices into a saucepan and top up with some more water. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the pan and bring to the simmer. Reduce the heat so the pan is sitting at a steady simmer, pop on the lid and cook for 20 minutes.
Once the time is up, drain the chickpeas into a colander and rinse with cold water.
To make a really refined smooth hummus its best to remove the skin of the chickpeas. Now this is not traditional. The original hummus was a more rustic affair with everything just pounded together. You can if you wish sit there removing the skin from each chickpea one by one. But there is an easier way.
Tip the chickpeas into a large bowl and run cold water over them to two thirds fill the bowl with water. Get your hand in and agitate the chickpeas vigorously. This will remove the skins and they will start to flat to the surface. They can know be lifted from the water using a spider or slotted spoon. I like to do this two or three times, but don’t worry if you haven’t removed every last one.
As you probably know I like garlic, but we don’t want the garlic to be the dominate flavour in our hummus. We can use the lemon juice to ‘pickle’ the garlic and reduce is potency.
Peel the garlic and cut into thin slices. Put these into a small glass dish and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Put the dish to one side to sit for at least 10 minutes before use.
Make sure the chickpeas are well drained, then remove a few to garnish the finished Hummus.
Tip the chickpeas into the food processor and add the cumin, salt, garlic, and lemon juice, with a dash of water. Run the processor for a few seconds to break up the chickpeas.
Add the tahini and blend again, then add the olive oil. I like to use some olive oil in the recipe. Not all recipes for Hummus use it as the tahini is quite oily, but I prefer the texture and taste the oils adds.
You will need to use water to soften the texture as you blend the chickpeas. Don’t put too much in a one as you can’t remove it. Once you have a pleasing texture stop processing and have a taste.
If the Hummus tastes flat, try some more lemon juice and possible a pinch of salt. The right amount of lemon juice is crucial in getting the flavour balance right.
If you can, leave the Hummus for a couple of hours in the fridge for the flavours to develop.
I think Hummus is best served on a deep plate rather than a bowl. This makes it much easier to pick up the Hummus with flatbreads of vegetable sticks. Spread the Hummus around the plate using the back of a spoon. Pour some good olive oil into the groves made by the spoon, then sprinkle with chopped parsley. For an ideal accompaniment have a look at our post on making your own flatbreads.
Yes, there’s loads of options, try some of these. Add some basil pesto, ether mix it all through or leave it half mixed with swirls of pesto through the Hummus.
Sun blushed tomatoes. Chop them through the Hummus and use the oil from the jar in place of the olive oil in the recipe.
Soft green herbs, whatever you have fresh from the garden. Ether fold them in chopped or blend them in for a green coloured Hummus.
Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds and olive oil. Some varieties may also include some sesame oil for added punch. It is used as a thickening and flavouring ingredient in middle eastern cooking. Don’t just limit it to that, it makes a good dip, salad dressing, or just have it on toast!
Yes, try some peanut butter, Greek yoghurt or even Avocado to make the mix. You will need to bring up the seasoning. A dash of sesame oil could be added for authenticity.
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
Flavoured Butters are one of the easiest ways of putting flavour onto a dish. I simply can’t think of anything else you can that make that will transform your cooking so quickly and efficiently. Imagine a simple jacket potato lifted by adding cheesy bacon butter. Boring cooked rice given a punch with lime, ginger, chilli, and coriander butter. Or a grilled chicken breast topped with harissa flavoured butter, amazing!
One of my favourite Scottish dishes, Cullen Skink is a rich fish soup with leek and potatoes. The name originates from Cullen a small fishing village on the Northeast coast of Scotland. And the term ‘Skink is derived from the Gaelic for ‘essence’ a good description of the aroma of fishy peat smoke coming from the haddock.