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‘Barigoule’ baby artichokes and rubber bands for life
Last week a courier service mistakenly delivered an envelope containing 1,580 rubber bands to our house. They were in fact destined for the UK, so they hadn’t even got the right country, which is really no recommendation when you’re an international courier service. Bearing in mind that we live well off the beaten track, about six kilometres from the nearest village, I had the following conversation with the misguided driver this morning:
Driver : ‘Hello we were wondering whether you still had the envelope containing 1,580 rubber bands delivered to you last week by mistake?’
Me : ‘Yes. I kept the envelope – I was going to add them to my collection.’
Driver : ‘I have to come and pick the package up this afternoon and wondered whether you could bring it to the nearest village?’
Me : ‘Sure, I’ll make a 12km round trip to save you the trouble. Shall we fix a time now or later for you to come to me and muck out the horses and vacuum the house?’
In the end, he did reluctantly concede that it was probably part of his job description to drive out to us to pick up the envelope and anyway, he would definitely rather do that than muck out my horses. I don’t think he ‘got’ the irony though and probably just thinks that I’m a batty, lazy, rubberband-hoarding hermit! Not that it really matters what he thinks because this conversation was six hours ago and he still hasn’t managed to find us :lol:.
Artichokes are an excellent source of fibre and also contain plenty of folic acid and vitamins C, K and B complex. They are also a rich source of antioxidants and minerals such as copper, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus.
This makes a delicious starter or even on its own as a light meal.
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium sized onions, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
8 baby artichokes, stems and outer leaves removed and chopped lengthways
4 rashers of smoked bacon, sliced
1 bay leaf
150ml white wine
water to cover vegetables
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon piment d’Espelette (or paprika)
Brown the onions and garlic in a casserole dish (Dutch oven) in the olive oil. Add the artichokes, being sure to turn and coat them well with olive oil, and the bacon and continue frying for a few minutes. Add the wine and seasoning , cover and continue to simmer for about 45 minutes. There should be just enough liquid to cover the artichokes so you will probably need to add some water. Towards the end of cooking, remove the lid and reduce the liquid by about half. -
Orange and coriander chicken tagine
Please bear with me because this is complicated (for you) and exhausting (for me):
The young red hens must be separated from the black hen to be fed; she bullies them relentlessly, preventing them from eating. It is imperative, however, that they eat with the white hen who calms and protects them. The barking dog must be kept at a distance as he is inclined to fluster eating hens, potentially causing indigestion or choking. The oldest horse (who roams the grounds because everyone is bothersome in his book), must also be kept away from the hens, even the belligerent black one, as he would not hesitate to stomp and blow air through his nostrils with intent to gain access to more grain. He is temporarily condemned to the tool shed (yes, really :-)), while the hens eat in the tack room. For all of this to be achieved, the black hen must be repeatedly chased, the dog restrained from shredding his lead and Texas, the extremely wilful old horse, prevented from either breaking the tool shed door down or harming himself on the chainsaw. Thankfully the cat, having no doubt pulled an all-nighter, is asleep somewhere and therefore not a problem.
I find the fragrant aroma of tagine cooking very calming , which is why I make it on a regular basis 😉 Is 9am too early for brandy?
Ingredients (serves 4):
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
8 chicken thighs
2 orange, peeled and roughly chopped (2cm)
6 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
150g chickpeas, precooked
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bay leaf
500ml chicken stock
Fresh coriander to serve
There is a mixed Moroccan spice you can buy called Raz el Hamout, which combines all of the above spices and sometimes more. If you have some, you may use it in place of the separate spices.Preheat the oven to 180°C. Gently brown the onions, garlic and chicken in the olive oil in a medium-sized casserole dish. Once golden brown (this should take about eight minutes), add the orange segments, seasoning and spices and continue to brown for a further five minutes. Add the chickpeas and chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook in the oven for about an hour and a half or until the sauce is beginning to caramelise. -
Chickpea flour pancakes (gf) and hens with attitude
Hello it’s Salt writing today. Just so you know, I’m the prettiest of the hens.
It also seems that I’m the only one to be doing any work at the moment. Pepper has been nesting for the past ten days (to no avail – when will she learn? 🙄 ) and we have two new recruits: ginger adolescents with huge feet and no brains. The first day they arrived, the big black dog called Hugo came to say hello and put his paw on one of their wings, not in an unfriendly way I thought. She was so traumatised that she completely disappeared for a whole day. How silly – what a chicken! Any fool knows that Hugo wouldn’t harm a flea. In fact, he’s such a wuss that he’s probably even scared of us *evil cackle*. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I’m in favour of anything the yellow-haired one cooks, especially when there’s lots left over. The only things I’m not keen on are her chicken dishes for some reason. Anyway, I must dash – there are eggs to lay, dogs to unnerve and teenage hens to boss around.
These deliciously fragrant savoury pancakes are gluten free and may be served with Indian food or as a standalone. Chickpea flour is rich in vitamins A, K, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and folate. It is also an excellent source of minerals: iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper and selenium. What’s not to like?Ingredients (serves four)
140g chickpea flour
250ml water
half tsp salt
half tsp cayenne pepper
1 small red onion, very finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
2 fresh green chillies, very finely chopped
olive oil and coconut oil
nigella seeds to garnish
Put the chickpea flour into a large mixing bowl, slowly adding the water to obtain a smooth batter. Add the salt, cayenne pepper, onion, garlic and chillies, stir and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
Melt 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of coconut oil in a non-stick frying pan. Once the oils are hot, pour enough batter to cover the pan once tilted in all directions. While the batter is still raw sprinkle with tsp of nigella seeds. Cook as you would cook a crêpe until reddish golden brown on both sides. Remember to stir the batter before each new pancake. -
Chinese pork salad and dogs with bones of contention
Hello! It’s Hugo again. Today I have a bone to pick with the cook (I use that expression at every opportunity – it’s a personal favourite ;-)). I did say I wouldn’t be unkind about the bossy one as she takes me for walks, but I’ve changed my mind. Apparently only fools never change their minds and I may be a bit mad, but I’m not a nincompoop. My problem is this: all it takes is for the sun and a few yellow flowers to appear and she gets all enthusiastic about salad. Salad is for rabbits and perhaps other herby fours, but it certainly isn’t for dogs. We used to have a rabbit called Madeleine until one of the horses let her out of her hutch and she did a runner. I know that the noisy yellow-haired one that shoots me with plastic bullets agrees with me, because we’re on the same page when it comes to food. I feel a bit sorry for him sometimes; she really gives him an earful about ‘not eating enough vegetables’. We both wish that she’d knock this healthy eating fixation of hers on the head. Anyway, please don’t compliment these unappetising green creations, because she’s a bit of a sucker and it’ll only encourage her. Perhaps you could suggest she get all gung ho about red meat?
Ingredients:
Crisp lettuce, washed and shreded
White cabbage, washed and cut finely
1 carrot, peeled and cut into ‘sticks’
1 orange, peeled and cut into small pieces
Thin slices of pre-cooked pork (or duck)
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cashew nuts
Dressing:
Rice vinegar
Sesame seed oil
Maple syrup
Soya sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
Assemble the salad ingredients in a bowl, add the dressing and serve. To be consumed away from petulant dogs 🙂 -
Prawn curry and inanimate neighbours
Things aren’t looking good: I had a conversation with a plastic bag this afternoon. Obviously not a conversation in the strictest sense of the word — more of a mad monologue if precision is called for. My neighbour covers her scarecrow with a plastic bag to protect it from the rain. Which, come to think about it, is pretty random; If her aim is to hoodwink the birds, then why not a raincoat? Birds may be somewhat mentally-challenged, but I’m sure they know that people tend to wear raincoats and not plastic bags in the rain. Anyway, rushing along the track, blinded by the sun, I thought the plastic bag was my neighbour, which probably isn’t very flattering. But then again, who cares what somebody who shoots the breeze with a plastic bag thinks?
The spices in curry are packed full of antioxidants, which are, amongst other things, very effective at helping the brain to function properly 🙂
Ingredients (serves 4)
500g raw prawns, peeled and rinsed
Juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 onions, chopped and sliced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
150g tomato purée
1 tin of sliced mango
250ml fish or chicken stock
1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
3 lime kaffir leaves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (or a fresh chilli, finely chopped)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup of frozen peas
Squeeze the lemon juice onto the prawns and set aside. Melt the coconut oil in a deep frying pan or casserole and gently brown the onions, garlic and cumin seeds. Once the onions are translucent, add the mangos, tomato purée, stock and spices and bring to a gentle boil to reduce the liquid. Add the peas and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the prawns and cook for a further ten minutes. Serve immediately with basmati rice. -
Chicken tagine with prunes and almonds and black labrador narration
Hello! It’s Hugo writing today’s recipe. I have a feeling the bossy, yellow-haired one often refers to me as the ‘neurotic canine’ or some such. She’s a fine one to talk — you should have seen the state she was in when I was ill recently *evil cackle*. I’m not going to say anything bitchy about her though because she takes me for a nice long walk everyday, if I do abandon her the second we set out, only coming back to shake my dripping, muddy self all over her. This tagine was paw-licking-good, although I might suggest that next time she remove the prune stones. I don’t mind crunching on bones, but stones are for girls. In fact, I spat them out and left them for the hens!
Ingredients (serves 4)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
8 chicken thighs
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bay leaf
Two generous tablespoons of orange marmalade (or apricot jam)
400g dried prunes
200g almonds, roughly chopped
500ml chicken stock
Fresh coriander to servePreheat the oven to 180°C. Gently brown the onions, garlic and chicken in the olive oil in a medium-sized casserole dish. Once golden brown (after about eight minutes), add the lemon juice, seasoning and spices and continue to brown for a further five minutes. Add the marmalade (or jam), prunes, almonds and chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook in the oven for about an hour and a half or until the sauce is beginning to caramelise slightly.I served this with spicy cauliflower. -
Easy fisherman’s pie (gf) and assorted ailments
I have been anything but a Healthy Epicurean this past week 🙁 If I ever give tips on flu-dodging, please feel free to ignore – I obviously don’t know what I’m talking about. My endless witterings about optimal vitamin D levels and the like, have proved to be as useless as they are boring. Having said that, so far, neither husband nor son have caught it, so maybe I’m just better at dispensing advice than implementing it. True to form, poor Hugo developed piroplasmosis, a potentially fatal tick-borne canine disease, as a mark of sympathy. One syringe full of antidote and two raw steaks later and he was raring to go again. I only wish the same could be said for me #whingemoan 🙄
I adapted this fish pie from a recipe by Tana Ramsay. My version is gluten-free.
Ingredients (serves 4)
300g white fish (cod or haddock), skinned and boned
200g salmon, skinned and boned
150g prawns, peeled
200ml milk
200ml vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 leeks, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 mushrooms, peeled and sliced
3 large potatoes, peeled
half a celeriac, peeled
knob of butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
150ml double cream
4 tablespoons grated cheese (cheddar, compté, parmesan)
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Place the fish and prawns in a frying pan and cover with the milk and stock to poach (for approximately ten minutes). Fry the onion, leeks, carrots and mushrooms in olive oïl to soften. Cut the potatoes and celeriac into large chunks and boil until tender. Drain and mash with a knob of butter and the seasoning.
Add the drained fish to the fried vegetables and double cream and combine well. Place this mixture in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the mashed potato/celeriac over the top, sprinkling the grated cheese on top. Cook for about 30 minutes until the potatoes and cheese are golden brown and bubbling. -
Aubergine lasagne (gf) and potentially badly-behaved tennis mothers
Léo, my son, played in a tennis tournament yesterday. For me, this resulted in an acute attack of what I can only describe as Internal Tourettes. In my head, I morphed into a sort of raging maniac. Believe me, it wasn’t pretty; move over Tiger Mother – you’ve got competition! My shameless unsportsmanlike mind cheered at double faults, hissed and snarled at anyone deigning to applaud theenemyopponent and yelled things that I’m certainly not going to commit to type. And yet, there I sat with a beatific smile that said ‘it’s the taking part, not the winning that counts’. Yeah right
. This was definitely one of those occasions that called for unbridled hypocrisy, something I’ve apparently mastered to a T.
This lasagne is suitable comfort for scrupulously gallant players who might or might not have been defeated by up-themselves whippersnappers 😉
Ingredients (serves six)
2 medium-sized aubergines
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
500g minced beef
400g tinned tomatoes
4 tablespoons tomato purée
1 teaspoon tabasco
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
50ml red wine
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g Mozarella, finely sliced
100g Parmesan, shaved
Peel the aubergines and then cut into roughly 3mm slices. Leave them to ‘sweat’ out their moisture for about an hour by sprinkling with sea salt. Meanwhile, you can begin to cook the meat. Gently fry the onion, garlic and carrot in olive oil in a large frying pan for about five minutes. Add the minced beef and continue to brown for about 5 minutes. Add the tinned and puréed tomatoes, herbs and seasoning and stir well, making sure to break up the mince. Add the wine and gently simmer until the liquid has reduced and the sauce is concentrated and fairly homogenous (roughly 45 minutes).
Rinse the salt from the aubergines, which should by now have shed most of their excess water and pat them dry. Take a good-sized roasting dish and layer the meat, aubergines and cheese (in that order) several times, finishing with a generous layer of Parmesan cheese. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 180°C for about an hour, or until the cheese is bubbling and turning golden brown. -
Spelt bread
I envy mothers who disingenuously exclaim ‘I have such problems with my childrens’ eating habits: they just can’t get enough caviar/oysters/organic broccoli…’. Obviously when I say envy, I mean it in a thoroughly irascible, need-to-suppress-violent-urges sort of way. My son is passionate about bread (he’s partial to ketchup too actually, but I don’t think we really need to go there ;-)). He’s been besotted with bread since his first teeth appeared and his enthusiasiam shows no signs of abating. This spelt bread meets with his approval and believe me, he’s something of an expert in the matter.
Spelt is a tasty and healthy alternative to wheat and has a delicate nutty flavour. It’s actually an ancient grain that has come back into favour as more and more people have problems digesting wheat. Spelt has a tough outer husk, meaning that it can protect itself from attack and making it a very suitable candidate for pesticide-free production. Not only does it have more vitamins and minerals than wheat flour, it also has a higher protein content. Although spelt contains gluten, it is in a more fragile form and therefore easier to digest than wheat gluten, which is why people with a wheat intolerance are often able to eat spelt flour.
Ingredients (makes one small loaf)
250g spelt flour
5g active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
150ml lukewarm water
Begin by diluting the yeast in a few drops of water. Add to the flour and salt and then add the lukewarm water. Add the olive oil and mix well with a wooden spoon and then either knead by hand or mechanically for about ten minutes, until the mixture becomes like plastic. Leave to rise in a warm (25-35°C), draft-free place, covered with a damp tea towel for 45 minutes. The dough should double in volume. Knead again and shape into the desired form. Place on greaseproof paper, cover with the damp tea towel and leave to rise again for about 1h 15 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled baking tray and bake in a hot (225°C) preheated oven for 30 minutes. -
Healthy cheese scones (low-GI)
This week it snowed everywhere in France except here; we got the torrential rain option instead. Yesterday, I donned my guise as a North Sea fisherman (waders are definitely the way forward) to take Hugo for a walk. I squelched my way through sodden fields for 20 minutes before cottoning on to the fact that he wasn’t actually with me. My dog may have ‘issues’, but he’s certainly not stupid. I came home to find him bone-dry and curled up in front of the fire. One nil Hugo.
I used Comté cheese, which I call French Cheddar, to make these scones. I suspect the French might be rather mortified if they heard this moniker, but that’s OK because, as of this week, I am French. This gives me the right, amongst other things, to Cheese Irreverence, so there.
The photo is of the second batch of scones, as my rain-fearing labrador ‘sampled’ the first batch. All of it.
Ingredients (makes 12-15)
150mg spelt flour
100mg buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
3 tsp baking powder
large pinch sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
100mg strong cheddar cheese (or Comté, or similar), grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
125 ml milk
1 egg
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Sift the flour, baking powder, chia seeds, salt and paprika into a large bowl. Add the cheese and mix well.
Beat the egg and milk together in a separate bowl and add the olive oil. Pour the milk/egg/oil mixture into the flour mixture and using a metal spoon / fork, mix the dough until it clumps together, but is not too dry. If it seems too dry, add a tiny drop more milk.
Press the dough out on a clean floured surface until it is about 5mm thick, then fold it over ontop of itself (this gives the finished scones the natural “break” to cut open), flatten it again, using the palm of your hand. Do not use a rolling pin as it is too heavy and will prevent the scones from rising.
Use a round cutter to cut out the scones. Place on a baking tray and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden. Serve hot or cold.
