Three Bean Chilli
Last time we cooked this, I based it on our original chilli recipe but reduced the seasoning to account for the lack of meat. We both felt it could take more heat though so this time, I upped the seasoning. I also used madeira instead of red wine because that’s what I had. The recipe isn’t that different to last time but I’ve reproduced it here to reflect the increase in seasoning.
4 tbsp olive oil
3 red chillies, roasted, deseeded and pulped
4 garlic cloves, roasted and then pulped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chipotle chilli powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
Glass Madeira (or red wine)
1 large red onion, finely chopped
600ml beef stock
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
Salt and pepper
Bay leaf
500g mixed beans
1 tsp cocoa powder
Roast the chillies and garlic in the oven for about 30 minutes, on 190 degrees, before removing from the oven leaving to cool down. Remove the seeds from the chilli and squash together with the garlic.
Boil the (soaked overnight) beans for 20 minutes and then rinse well.
Grind the coriander and cumin together in a mortar and pestle and transfer to a bowl, mix with the chilli powder, cinnamon and paprika.
Soften the onions with some salt, add the garlic and chilli pulp to the softened onions with the tomato puree and let it cook together for a couple of minutes. Into this mixture, add the powdered spices and cook for a further couple of minutes. Deglaze with some madeira and allow the alcohol to cook out.
Next, add the stock, tomatoes and the bay leaf and season. Allow to cook for about half an hour before adding the beans, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for an hour and a half.
Remove from the heat and refrigerate overnight. When reheating, add the cocoa powder just before serving.
I didn’t get round to cooking this last night so left it to cool for four hours before reheating. I also added some lime juice and some chopped coriander as the madeira led to a sweeter dish than we were intending. This balanced the sweetness well but also added a light, fragrant note which we both enjoyed and will do again.
Lentil and Feta Salad
After more than a week of wonderful and indulgent food, the time has finally come to cut back our meat intake and start eating a little healthier. Worried about how our bodies would react if we went cold turkey and ate only salad and water, we decided a lentil salad with just a little extra protein would be a good compromise. The added bonus was that all the ingredients were available in the cupboard which hopefully means we’ll have little wastage come the end of the week.
As well as being healthy and relatively frugal, this was also easy to make and quick too. We both enjoyed it and it felt good to be eating a lighter meal too. Hopefully we won’t be raiding the fridge for sausages come midnight.
Lentil and Feta Salad – Serves Two
200g puy lentils, cooked
Handful of peas, cooked
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
Small bunch mint, chopped
100g Feta cheese, cubed
10cm cucumber, chopped
5 Peppadew peppers, finely sliced
Cook the lentils and peas, drain and rinse under cold water. When all the water has evaporated, add to a bowl with the spring onion and pour on the oilive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and add the mint leaves. Leave for 15 minutes so that the lentils have absorbed the flavours from the oil and lemon, add the Feta, cucumber and peppers. Mix and serve.
We ate this with some Middle-Eastern style flatbreads but usually we would eat grilled bread, rubbed with garlic and olive oil. That works better I think as the crunchy bread adds a good texture contrast.
The Bull and Last
After a week of intensive meat-eating in the Lake District, the very last thing we should have been doing was eating another big, meat-heavy meal. We had already booked this some time ago, as part of Dine with Dos Hermanos so, we made our way to Highgate feeling slightly apprehensive and very guilty about the prospect of yet another rich meal.
We started with a martini, mixed with Plymouth gin which has been our favourite since visiting the Beefeater distillery. Shortly after these were finished, the food started to arrive and we quickly forgot that we should really have been eating salad and fruit.
I’ve heard from a few people recently that skate cheeks are very good but I haven’t been able to find anywhere that sells then. I’m not sure we could produce something as brilliant as they did at the Bull and Last though: silky, chewy flesh encased in crisp, orange crumbs and served with a punchy tartare sauce. I would have been happy to eat these all evening.
I’m glad I didn’t though because that would have meant missing out on the razor clams. I love these and particularly enjoyed this version, Stephen commented that they tasted of the sea with some garlic added which is pretty accurate I think.
The mackerel pate that was served next was really good although I got into a bit of a mess trying to eat it. Slightly too large for one bite but not big enough or the right texture to bite in two. The soda bread it was served on worked really well, adding a sweetness that balanced the strong hit of dill.
Next came the calves brains which I was keen to try but slightly nervous about. I think I enjoyed them but the texture is unlike anything I’ve had before. Gelatinous might be the right word for it, squidgy would be another. I couldn’t pick out any particularly meaty flavour but it wasn’t unpleasant and the crumb helped.
Finally, there was steak tartare which was beautifully arranged. Having oohed and ahhed about how pretty they were, I couldn’t really turn one down which was challenging because I don’t like eggs. I survived and actually managed to enjoy the perfectly-seasoned meat, despite the orange orb sitting on top.
Already feeling rather full, we then sat down for dinner which began with a rare hare loin salad. I’ve been keen to try hare for a while now and this didn’t disappoint; a rich, meaty flavour with a texture similar to liver, it worked very well with the sweet pumpkin and incredibly fresh walnuts. I hope we can find some of this to cook at home soon.
Next was a slow-roasted dish of mutton served with lentils. Our last attempt at cooking mutton wasn’t very successful and it put me off eating it again, this has pushed it back to the top of the list though. The strong flavour normally associated with mutton was much more delicate in this dish, although definitely still noticeable.
As if this wasn’t enough, we were then presented with a huge hand of pork that was expertly sliced at the table and distributed amongst the eager diners. I was really very full at this time and was starting to experience a little meat-blindness, consequently I can’t remember much about the flavour or texture of the pork but I was disappointed that there wasn’t a lot of crackling.
I’m not much of a dessert fan and so wasn’t that excited when I heard that we were to be eating trifle and Eton mess, if I do eat dessert then I usually favour those of the chocolate variety rather than the fruity, creamy type. The custard in the trifle was very good though with a strong vanilla note and the dark, bramble sauce on the Eton mess was lovely and made a nice change to the usual, summer fruits.
And then there was cheese. I remember it being good but I was completely over-full by this point and can’t remember enough about it to do it justice. Which is just as well because the picture is terrible.
At this point, we realised it was almost 11pm and, knowing it was going to take over an hour to get home, we had to leave. What we really wanted to do was curl up in the corner and go to sleep but instead, we picked up our enormous and incredibly heavy goodie bags and walked very slowly to the station. 14 hours later and I’m still too full to eat. I can’t wait for the next event!
Full set of pictures can be viewed here.
Bull and Last
168 Highgate Road
London
NW5 1QS
020 726 73641
More Cumbrian Lamb
After a week of pretty intensive meat-eating, we really should be on a diet of water and vegetables today but it would have been such a shame to freeze the lamb shoulder we brought home so we decided to delay the diet.
A week away when there is bad weather involved inevitably results in a huge amount of unpacking, washing and boot cleaning so, knowing we wouldn’t have much time to spend in the kitchen today, we opted to slow roast the shoulder. Using our usual recipe, we put the meat on at 1.30 and left it to do its thing while we got on with our chores. By 7.30, the meat was done so Stephen made the sauce while I served the roast potatoes and sauteed cabbage.
We had this cabbage while we were away but didn’t have a picture of it, it was really good then and just as good as an accompaniment to today’s lamb. We also had some of the best roast potatoes we’ve had for a long time, the lamb fat we used in conjunction with the vegetable oil made all the difference.
Sauteed Cabbage
Start by sweating off a chopped onion for as long as you can, you want it to caramelise slightly and be soft and sweet. I find the easiest way to do this is to start with a high temperature and then reduce the heat when the edges are starting to brown. Cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes. When this is done, add a clove of chopped garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add some shredded cabbage with a little water and cook through. Turn up the heat, pour in a little wine, cook off, season and serve.
Cumbrian Ice-Cream
In the weeks leading up to our week in the Lake District, various important meetings and conversations took place where we discussed the finer points of the trip. Who was driving who? Who was taking their barbecue along? Who would be in charge of finances? Most importantly though was the Ice-Cream Council, a prestigious group and one which I was lucky enough to be a part of.
I have to admit that, despite my early enthusiasm, I was somewhat lacking in my research and it wasn’t until another member of the group mentioned that they had spotted a potential contender for ‘Cumbrian Ice Cream of the Year, 2009’ at the local pub that I realised how badly I had let my team down. Luckily for me, and my housemates, the very next evening we paid a visit to the White Lion where they kindly arranged a carry-out for us. As soon as we got home, we sampled a small selection and knew our work was done. We had to wait until the next evening for the group verdict though but we need not have worried, they were all good but the Cinder Toffee was the favourite.
Tatty Pot
This was something we had all been looking forward to since we first planned our trip to the Lake District; Tatty Pot is a traditional Cumbrian dish made up of lamb neck and scrag end, topped with potatoes, onions and black pudding. It’s cooked very simply without a lot of herbs and spices and is the perfect way to showcase the incredibly tasty local meat.
It cooked away for most of the afternoon, meaning that the wonderful lamb flavours drifted all over the house encouraging everyone into the kitchen begging to know when it was going to be ready. When it was served, the entire table of 16 (well 15 as I don’t think the vegetarian amongst the group was quite as excited as the rest of us) fell silent with just the occasional mmmm and oooh to be heard. There wasn’t very much washing up that night since every last scrap was scraped from the baking dishes. A fine way to end a fabulous week.
Barbecued Steaks
Having booked the house we were to stay in some months ago, we were disappointed to find that there was no barbecue available on-site and made arrangements for two groups to bring theirs from London. Having squashed them into the cars for the six hour journey, we were determined to use them despite the fact that it rained pretty much every day.
Out in the rain, Stephen and a couple of willing volunteers donned their raincoats and cooked the corn cobs and sirloin steaks to order. Back in the warmth of the kitchen, I took care of the mushrooms and onions that were to be served alongside. There was also some much-needed salad.
Despite the inclement weather and the challenge of cooking 15 steaks to varying degrees of doneness, it all worked out well. There weren’t quite enough mushrooms and onions to go round but, frankly, the size of the steaks meant there wasn’t much room for anything else.
Roast Chicken with Boulangere Potatoes
One of the most enjoyable aspects of our week away was spending time in the kitchen, cooking with our friends. We’re all keen cooks and, although it’s incredibly immodest of me to say this about myself, all very able. This meant that over the course of the week, there were many people in the kitchen cooking at the same time and assisting each other as went about feeding the 16 of us. Luckily for us, it was never a case of too many cooks and we all got along well together and hopefully picked up some new tips too.
As regular readers will know, we eat a lot of roast chicken and, happy with our usual method, we tend to stick to it. Observing others roasting chickens has certainly inspired me to be a little more creative next time we come to cook this for ourselves though. I wouldn’t have thought of using soy sauce and chilli powder to flavour a traditional roast chicken, worrying that it would add a Chinese flavour but it worked well and added to the overall rounded flavour of the dish.
Roast Pork with Apples and Chorizo
This was no mean feat. Perfectly moist, flavoursome roast pork with wonderful crunchy crackling, roasted apples and a side order of crispy chorizo, for 15 people in an unfamiliar kitchen with incredibly blunt knives. My compliments to the poor chef who managed to not even look a little bit frustrated as he tried to remove the pork skin from a third joint, an hour after he started on the first.
Chilli with Roasted Peppers
Having complete an enormous, Supermarket Sweep style shopping trip at the local supermarket on Sunday, we found ourselves with rather a lot of minced beef that was destined for a pot of chilli. Feeling a little delicate yesterday, Stephen and I stayed behind while the majority of the group went walking in the rain. Not wanting to leave them cold, wet and hungry when they returned, we set about the preparation.
I’m sure it’s obvious to most people but the sheer amount of time required to peel, chop, slice, brown and sautee all the requisite ingredients was staggering. Luckily for us, we both rather enjoy these activities so were more than happy to forego walking for cooking.
While we had managed to find most of the ingredients we normally use when making chilli, we didn’t have everything so we ended up with a slightly different version to that we have had in the past. It was still perfectly edible and pleasant though and, served with some roasted peppers and rice, it filled the stomachs of the hungry walkers rather well.
