Cheddar & Duck Magret Mini Scones
Makes: 2 cups
Prep time : 5 min
Cook time : 15 min
Tasty savory mini scones in a generous number, perfect for a cocktail party or as part of a buffet.
Ingredients
90 g dried duck magret
2 c flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
150 g grated cheddar
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper
1/2 c butter
5 Tbsp cream
1 egg
Method
Preheat the oven to 200° C.
Prepare a large baking sheet, covering it with a piece of parchment paper.
Slice the magret finely and put it in a frying pan, over medium heat for a few min just to melt the fat then leave it to cool.
In a large bowl, put the flour, the baking powder, the cheddar, the salt and a good grinding of pepper and stir.
Add the butter and rub in to form a sandy mixture.
Add the chopped magret with the melted fat to the bowl.
Beat the egg with the cream and add to the bowl then mix the lot to form a dough (I start with a fork to blend everything then use my hands as it is easier, be careful not knead the dough formed unecessarily).
On a heavily floured surface pat the dough into a square or rectangle and flatten using a rolling pin to a thickness of 2 cm.
Cut the square into strips 2 cm wide then crosswise into 2 cm pieces. Pick up the pieces and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
Cook for 15 to 18 min until risen and lightly coloured. Leave to cool.
Salt Cod Fritters
Makes: 35
Prep time : 15 min a day ahead
Cook time : 15 min
Salt cod needs to be soaked ahead of time, but when that’s been done, preparing these is a cinch! You can make them in advance and then heat in the oven when ready to serve but they are best when fresh fried. They are great with a sweet sauce like chutney.
Ingredients
250 g salt cod
A bouquet garni *
1 small onion
1 large garlic clove
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp chopped chives
Cayenne pepper
Pepper
1 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
Juice of half a lemon or more
Vegetable oil for frying
*thyme, laurel & parsley tied together
Method
A day ahead, soak the salt cod in water and change the water 2 to 3 times to rid the cod of the excess of salt it contains.
After you’ve soaked the salt cod, place in a pan with the bouquet garni in enough cold water to cover it and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and leave to cool a little before taking the cod out and flaking it, removing the bones as you do so.
Chop the cod with a large knife on a chopping board to make it into a very fine textured mixture. Put the fish in a bowl.
Peel the onion and the garlic and chop very finely then add to the fish.
Add the parsley, chives and spices as well as the flour and the baking powder to the fish and mix well.
Add the lemon juice and 1 c of water and mix.
Prepare a plate lined with a double layer of paper towels.
Heat 3 cm of oil in a small frying pan on high heat and drop heaped teaspoonfuls of the fish mixture into the oil, then fry until browned, turning once. Fry in batches and turn the heat down a little if the fritters seem to brown too quickly.
Boerek
Makes: 30
Prep time : 25 min
Cook time : 10 min
Finger shaped filo dough savoury pastries with either a meat or a cheese filling, to serve as an appetizer straight out of the oven: make them ahead of time but bake them only before serving, they only take 10 min to cook. Traditionally these are fried but I prefer to make them in the oven because I can effortlessly take them out of the refrigerator and bake them when my guests are here.
Ingredients
10-12 sheets filo dough (250 g)
1/4 c butter
cheese filling for 15 boerek:
200 g feta cheese
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 beaten egg
meat filling for 15 boerek:
1 small onion
1 Tbsp corn oil
175 g ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp pine nuts
Method
To prepare the cheese filling: In a bowl, crumble the cheese finely with a fork then mix in thoroughly the parsley and the egg.
To prepare the meat filling: Chop the onion. In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat and and cook the onion gently for a couple of min. Add the meat and stir to brown all over, breaking up any lumps as you do so. Mix in the spices and the pine nuts, add 1 Tbsp water and cook over low heat for 5 min. Cool the filling before using it.
To shape the fingers: Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
Prepare a baking sheet, covering it with parchment paper.
Unroll the sheets of filo dough carefully and cut into thirds lengthwise through all the layers.
Cover 2/3 of the pastry with a dampened kitchen towel while working with the remaining third.
Brush the pastry carefully with a little melted butter. Place some filling ( 1 Tbsp of the cheese or 1 heaped Tbsp of the meat) at one end of the pastry leaving 1 cm on either side of the sheet. Roll into a finger shape and place on the prepared baking sheet seem down.
Roll all the fingers the same way.
Brush them all with more butter.
Cook in a preheated oven at 200° C for 10 min or until golden.
Labneh
Makes: approx. 350 g
Prep time : 5 min 1 day ahead
Labneh is a soft cheese made with strained cow or goat’s milk yogurt, that is the most popular breakfast and snack dish in the Middle East, always on hand. It is easily prepared at home for those of us who cannot go out and buy it in the shop (indeed it is made at home in a lot of households even so). It is often eaten with zaatar, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh mint or olives and is always topped with olive oil.
Ingredients
1 kg plain yogurt
1 tsp salt
Method
Mix the yogurt with the salt.
Line a colander with cheesecloth (you can also use 2 or 3 sheets of overlapping paper towels) and set over a medium sized bowl making sure that there is enough room for the water to collect without the bottom of the colander touching it.
Pour the yogurt in it and cover with a plate then put in the refrigerator for 8 h or overnight.
Remove the labneh from the cheesecloth (it will detach very easily) and set in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil.
Minestrone
Serves 5
Prep time : 20 min
Cook time : 1hr 15 min
Minestrone is an old-fashioned and traditional soup from Northern Italy of cut up vegetables cooked in broth, that will do much to satisfy and comfort in the cold months. It is excellent reheated.
Ingredients
70 g of pancetta
2 Tbsp butter
One leek
One large carrot
One medium onion
One stalk of celery
One medium potato (about 150 g)
One courgette
100 g green beans
1 1/2 c borlotti or cannellini beans (or 1/2 c dried, soaked overnight and precooked in water)
1 small tin of crushed tomatoes (400 g)
1 l chicken or beef stock
1 1/2 tsp salt
Pepper
100 g greens (cabbage, kale or spinach)
1/2 cup small pasta or short grain rice (about 80 g)
Parmesan to serve
Method
It is best to prepare your vegetables before hand so that all your cooking goes smoothly. Be sure to cut all the vegetables to an even diced size.
Trim, wash and chop the leek, the carrot and the celery stalk. Put in a bowl.
Chop the onion finely and add it to that bowl.
Peel and dice the potato.
Dice the courgette.
Trim the green beans and dice.
Chop the pancetta and put in a large saucepan over medium high heat with the butter, cook for 5 min.
Add the leek, carrot, onion and celery to the pot, stir and leave to cook, turning down the heat to medium, for 5 min.
Next add the potato, courgette and green beans and stir to coat with the fat, leaving to cook for 5 min.
Finally, put the beans, the tomatoes, the stock and the salt and pepper into the pot and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer, over low heat, for 45 min.
Shred the chosen greens and add them, and the pasta or rice and cook, covered, for a further 15 min. You can squash de potatoes with the spoon against the sides of the pot to thicken the soup a little.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with grated Parmesan.
Chicken & Vermicelli Soup
Serves 5
Prep time : 30 min
Cook time : 2 hr
This classic on many continents is always considered to be the best cure when feeling under the weather, but you definitely don’t need an excuse to tuck into it! You must make the soup a few hours in advance if not on the eve of when you intend to savour it so that you can actually get rid of all the fat from the broth, keeping only the best part for the soup.
Ingredients
1 chicken
2 bay leaves
1 stick cinnamon
A few allspice berries
A few pepper berries
1 large onion
5 cloves
2 large carrots
65 g vermicelli
2 tsp salt
Pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Chopped parsley
Method
Wash the chicken removing any excess fat from the abdominal cavity and put in a large heavy saucepan.
Add the bay leaves, the cinnamon, allspice and pepper.
Peel the onion, stud it with the cloves and add to the saucepan.
Peel the carrots, cut them into 2 or 3 pieces and add them to the pan then add 8 c of water and bring to the boil.
Skim any froth that rises to the top and simmer on medium low heat, partially covered, for 1 1/2 hrs.
Remove the chicken to a plate, and with gloved hands, pick the meat off the bone. Reserve the white meat for another use and shred with your fingers all the rest of the meat and keep in a bowl to use later, covered and refrigerated.
Put the carcass back into the broth, bring it back to a boil, and simmer for an added 30 min.
Cool the broth then put in the refrigerator overnight or long enough that the fat congeals on the top.
When ready to prepare the soup for eating, remove the congealed fat layer from the top of the soup and get rid of it, then heat the soup a little to get it to a liquid state.
Filter the soup through a fine sieve, measuring the quantity of broth and adding enough water to get 8 c. Pour it back into the pan.
Get rid of the carcass, the bay leaf, the cinnamon stick, the allspice and pepper berries and the cloves that studded the onion.
Take a couple of pieces of carrot and cut them into small dice then put them back in the broth. Press the remaining carrots and the onion through the mesh of the sieve and incorporate them back into the broth.
Take the reserved shredded chicken and put into the pan with the broth. Bring it to a boil.
Add the vermicelli (use either rice or wheat vermicelli and break them into pieces if they are long ones) and cook for 5 min.
Add salt and pepper and lemon juice, stir well and taste to adjust seasoning.
Serve with extra lemon wedges and the chopped parsley on the side.
French Onion Soup
Serves 6
Prep time : 15 min
Cook time : 40 minutes
A few simple ingredients that you will easily find in you kitchen make for a delicious soup. The caramelized onions are the stars of this soup, giving it a rich taste. It is traditionally served as a late supper after a night out.
Ingredients
450 g yellow onions
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp flour
6 c chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper
Baguette slices
125 g comté or gruyère cheese
Method
Peel and chop the onions into thin wings.
Put the butter and olive oil in a saucepan over low heat and add the chopped onions. Cover and let the onions cook in their own steam for 10 min. The onions will have softened and have started browning.
The onions need to caramelize to infuse the broth with their wonderful flavour so cook them, uncovered, mixing regularly and scraping any brown bits, for another 10 min. Add the sugar towards the last 3 min of cooking.
Add the flour and cook it for a min, stirring.
Pour the bouillon, stirring and add the salt and pepper and bring to the boil over high heat. Simmer the soup, uncovered, over low heat for 20 min.
Taste to adjust the seasoning.
Toast the baguette slices and grate the cheese coarsely.
To serve you can either:
-Make melted cheese toasts and serve them with the soup, or
-Serve the soup in individual bowls that you can put under the grill in the oven topped with the cheese toasts until those are melted and bubbly.
Sides
Potato Pancakes
Serves 6
Prep time : 5 min
Cook time : 20 minutes
Potato pancakes originated in Eastern Europe where potatoes were a staple food for peasants. Many countries have recipes that can vary somewhat, this is my version and I find it does well as a delicious accompaniment to drinks as well as to a main course such as a roast chicken for example . Make them quite thin to allow them to crip to your liking.
Ingredients
1 medium onion
2 large potatoes
1 garlic clove
3/4 tsp salt
White pepper
2 Tbsp flour
2 eggs
Vegetable oil
to serve:
Sour cream
Chives
Fleur de sel
Method
Preheat the oven to 150° C to keep the cooked pancakes warm until ready to serve them.
Grate the onion in a large bowl. Peel and grate the potatoes in the same bowl and mix well (the onion juices will prevent the potatoes from oxidizing).
Mince the garlic finely and add it to the potatoes.
Add the salt and a good grinding of white pepper.
Add the flour and mix.
Lastly, add the eggs and beat them in thoroughly.
Heat 1/2 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium high heat.
Line a plate with paper towels for the cooked pancakes.
Putting 1 Tbsp of potato mixture at a time in the frying pan, make the pancakes, flattening each pancake into an approximate 6 or 7 cm circle. Bring the heat down to medium and cook the pancakes for 3 min on each side. Transfer them to the paper towel lined plate when done. Put the plate in the oven.
Continue frying all the potato pancakes in the same fashion adding 1/2 Tbsp of oil for each batch.
Serve the pancakes with a dollop of sour cream mixed with chives and some fleur de sel.