Stir Fried Duck with Asparagus and Green Beans

I don’t often add fruit to savoury meals, but duck and orange is a classic combination, and a combination that I think is much better Chinese style than French.   I have had duck a l’orange, a long long time ago, I wasn’t impressed, and it wasn’t a combination I wanted to repeat.   So why this?   Well, I had some duck breasts and  some asparagus and I haven’t posted a Jamie recipe for IHCC for  few weeks and so I did a search for Jamie Oliver, duck and asparagus, and this is what came up.  I didn’t have any mange tout or sugar snap peas in, but I did have green beans which I felt would be an acceptable substitution, and I always have oranges as  I eat an orange every morning for breakfast.   But what really persuaded me to make this was the picture on Jamie’s website.   All that green and orange, it just looked so pretty I had to make it.  And it was good. The honey was subtle – not too sweet and the oranges did not overpower the rest of the flavours.   Definitely a success.   Maybe I should give the classic French dish another chance…

Ingredients

2 duck breasts

1 tsp five spice powder

10 asparagus spears, each cut into about 3 pieces

Handful of green beans

1 red chilli, sliced

Small knob ginger, diced

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 tsp honey

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 orange, segmented

How to Make Stir Fried Duck with Asparagus and Green Beans

1. Rub the five spice powder into the duck breasts.   Fry for about 3 minutes on each side in a wok. (I had removed the skin as I don’t like it, but if the skin is still on it may need a little longer).  Remove and set aside.

2. Add all the vegetables to the wok and stir fry quickly at a high temperature for about 2 minutes.

3. Slice the duck thinly and return to the wok along with the soy sauce, honey and orange segments.   Add a dash of hot water if it is too dry.   Bring back to the boil and then take off the heat.

4. Serve with rice or noodles.

 

Garlic Sea Bass

This dish was inspired by our Croatian holiday but as I had run out of olive oil and used butter instead, it is slightly more French.  Well, that’s what I say, a French person may not agree.  But, going back to this dish, Dubrovnik is by the sea so fish is really popular everywhere especially, it seemed, sea bass.   It was usually served very simply with boiled potatoes and greens and a garlic and olive oil dressing.   As far as I know, it isn’t usually served with broccoli, it was generally chard.  The fish was grilled/barbecued, usually whole and had a lovely crispy skin.   As you can see from the picture, my fish is not whole, I didn’t grill it, I fried it, but it does have a crispy skin.    Next time I’ll make sure I have some olive oil in the kitchen before I start and will use that instead of butter.    After all, although the butter was nice, and the garlic delicious, I am more of an olive oil girl at heart.

Ingredients – serves 2

2 sea bass fillets

5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Olive oil

Small knob butter

Garlic salt

1 Lemon

New Potatoes

Broccoli or other green vegetables

How to make Garlic Sea Bass

1. Put the potatoes on to boil.   Five minutes before they are ready, add the broccoli.

2. Wash the sea bass.  Scrape off any scales if necessary.   Dry and season with garlic salt.

3. Heat a little oil in a frying pan.   Add the sea bass.   Turn after 2-3 minutes.

4.When ready take the sea bass out of the pan.   To the pan, add the butter, a little extra oil if necessary and the chopped garlic.

5. When the garlic begins to brown, spoon some of the butter and garlic over the fish.

6. Drain the potatoes and brocoli and add to the frying pan with the rest of the garlic and butter.    Shake to coat the potatoes and broccoli in the sauce and serve with the fish.

7. Serve with lemon wedges and black pepper.

 

Fish with Spinach, Olives and Tomatoes

Why is it with fish that whenever I have a particular dish in mind when shopping, the shops never have the fish I want?  I really wanted a flat fish for this – lemon sole would have been my first choice, but I’d have settled for Plaice, which is what Jamie Oliver used in  Happy Days with the Naked Chef, which is where this recipe is adapted from.  As there was no flat fish, I chose some small fillets of pouting as they were the flattest fish I could see and they didn’t have many bones in them.  I just hate removing bones, trying to grasp them between your nails and pulling only to be left with raw fish beneath your nails and the bone still in the fish.  Yes, I know I could use tweezers – but that would mean going on a hunt around the flat to find them.

The filling in the middle is a variation of tapenade so you could use a jar of tapenade instead of making it, but it can easily be made while the sauce is simmering.   I loved the ways the olives flavoured the sauce but my lovely husband found it a bit fishy.  Unfortunately, that is a problem he seems to have with fish.  Why can’t you get sea bass? He asked.   Ok, next time.  Or, as soon as I can find it…

I am submitting this to IHCC. The theme this week is Something Fishy.

Ingredients – Serves 2

4 small fish or 2 larger ones – flat fish is best but small thin white fish also work, ideally skinless and boneless

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped

1 large clove of garlic, chopped

1 cup stock (or wine)

75g stoned black olives

2 anchovies

1 tsp dried basil – but use fresh if you have it

2 handfuls of spinach

Salt

Black pepper

Olive oil

How to make Fish with Spinach, Olives and Tomatoes

1. Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan.   When hot add the onion and garlic.  When it softens add the stock, basil and chopped tomatoes. Turn the heat down so it simmers gently.

2. Prepare the olive paste.   Put the olives and anchovies in a food processor with a little olive oil.   Blend till smooth.

3. Remove the skin from the fish if it has it and any bones. Spread the fillets with  the olive paste. Roll up and secure with cocktail sticks.

4. Gently place the fish into the sauce.  Put the lid on the pan and leave to simmer for about 15 minutes.

5. Carefully remove the fish from the pan.   Add the spinach and stir till it wilts then spoon the rest of the sauce over the fish.

6. Serve with fresh bread.

 

Inspired by Masterchef: Gnocchi with Chorizo and Garlic

The poor contestant, Claudia, who made these gnocchi didn’t last long and was out of the show the same week, but not because of the gnocchi.   So that does not mean they are no good.   Oh no, anything with chorizo, garlic and tomato just has to be good.   That’s my view anyway.   In fact, if you don’t want to make the gnocchi, you could even serve this with pasta or shop-bought gnocchi.   It’s good, very good, and I will probably make the exact same sauce again to go with the gnocchi in the freezer, rather than experiment with anything new.  After all, when you find a perfect gnocchi sauce, you want to spend more time with them.

But, back to Masterchef.   The contestants’ challenge was to cook something that used egg, but besides that they could pick any ingredients they wanted from quite a large selection.  I tried to decide what I would have made if I’d been there and I decided I’d probably have made something coated in breadcrumbs.   People say that in that situation your mind goes blank and it’s strange, even at home and not having to do the challenge there and then, I found it difficult to think of anything interesting using egg.

Anyway, I would not have thought of gnocchi, but well done to Claudia, you may not have got through but I loved your dish.

If you’d like to join me in making a dish Inspired by Masterchef then the details are here.

Ingredients for Gnocchi – serves 4, half the gnocchi can be frozen

430g mashed potato

130g flour

1 egg, beaten

Salt

Black Pepper

Ingredients for Sauce – serves 2 or double the quantities

4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

Approx 15cm of chorizo, sliced thinly

Approx 15 cherry tomatoes, halved

Parmesan, grated

Olive oil

How to make Gnocchi with Chorizo and Garlic

1. Mash the potatoes.   Use a potato ricer if possible or mash the potato then pass through a sieve.  This gets rid of any lumps.  Put in a mixing bowl.

2. Sieve the flour onto the bowl of potato. Add the beaten egg.   Mix with a spoon so it forms a dough.

3. Flour the work surface and your hands and knead for about 5 minutes.  Keep adding extra flour as necessary to stop it sticking.

4. Divide the dough into four.   Divide each in half again then roll out into a long sausage about one centimetre wide.   Slice into gnocchi about one centimetre long each.  Repeat with all the dough.   If only serving 2 people, put half the gnocchi in the freezer.   Let them freeze individually on a lined baking tray, then put them all together in a bag when they are frozen.

5. Put a saucepan of water on to boil.   At the same time put a little olive oil in a wok.  When hot, add the chorizo, stir, cooking on both sides.  The chorizo should release oil, turning the oil red.   Add the garlic and tomatoes.  Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn.

6. Add the gnocchi to the saucepan of boiling water.   Boil for about 3 minutes.   They should all rise to the surface.

7. Drain the gnocchi and add to the wok.   Stir so all the gnocchi are coated in the sauce.   Serve with grated parmesan.

 

Chicken with Oyster Sauce

This meal was inspired by the cookery course I did at the Yangshuo Cookery School.  I served it with rice and the aubergine with chilli bean paste in the next post.   As water is used to make the sauce, it is not too heavy, but the flavours are all still there and it tastes very healthy.    It also uses some of my favourite ingredients – chilli, garlic, ginger.  I really could eat food like this every day.

Ingredients – serves2

2 chicken breast, sliced thinly

1 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, finely diced

Knob of ginger, finely diced

1 onion, sliced

1 green chilli pepper, finely sliced

1tbsp oyster sauce

How to make Chicken with Oyster Sauce

1. Heat some oil in a pan.   Add the chicken.  Stir fry for a couple of minutes until white on all sides.

2. Add all the vegetables,  continue to stir fry for about 3 minutes.  Add the oyster sauce and a dash of water.   Cook for another minute and then serve with rice.

 

Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Risotto is the ultimate comfort food.    It’s also very easy to make.   This is my favourite risotto and the one that I tend to make whenever I get fresh asparagus and don’t have inspiration to make anything else.   Hmm.  That makes it sound like this is not a great recipe.  It is, it’s just that this is an old favourite and one I’m happy to come back to again and again.

Ingredients – serves 2

200g arborio rice

1 onion

Clove of garlic

Approx 12 spears of asparagus

8 medium-sized mushrooms

500ml Vegetable stock

50g Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Black pepper

How to make Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

1. Heat a little olive oil.   Add the onion.   Cook until soft then add the garlic and mushroom.

2.Cook for a couple of minutes then add the rice.  Stir so it gets coated in oil.   The grains of rice will go a little translucent.  Begin adding the stock a little at a time.   Keep stirring. If there isn’t enough stock, just add water.

3. At the same time, blanch the asparagus for just a couple of minutes in some boiling water.

4. After about 20 minutes the risotto will be ready.  Add the asparagus, stir in the parmesan and season with extra black pepper.

 

Asian Beef and Pak Choi

In our house,  I do all the cooking.   I would not have it any other way.  I love to be in charge of the kitchen and usually I make all the decisions about what we’re going to eat.   But sometimes, I do ask my husband what he’d like for dinner this week, and I can almost guarantee that this is the dish he’ll request.   He loves strong flavours and as the sauce in this recipe is not cooked, it packs a really strong punch.  Raw chillis, garlic and ginger.   Mmmm. I love it too.   If you aren’t such a chilli fiend you can remove the seeds but in our house the seeds are there to stay.   This recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients – serves 2

2 steaks

1 lime

1 red chilli, thinly sliced

1 knob of ginger, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, finely sliced

1 pak choi or spinach

5 tbsp soy sauce

Groundnut oil

How to make Asian Beef and Pak Choi

1. Make the sauce by squeezing the lime, adding it to a bowl with the chilli, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and approx 2 tbsp oil.  Mix well. Taste and adjust as necessary.

2. Heat a griddle pan.  Season the steaks with salt and pepper.  Cooking time depends on the thickness of the steaks and how you like it done.    Cook on each side then remove from the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes.

3. Boil  some water in a pan and then when it is bubbling, add the pak choi.   Cook briefly then remove.

4. Slice the steak thinly.   Put the pak choi on the plates.   Arrange the slices of steak on top of the pak choi.  Spoon the sauce over the top.  Serve with rice.