Monthly Archives: September 2012

Jamaican curried snapper

Last time I cooked snapper I tried to pan-fry it. It was a disaster. The fillets weren’t cooked inside but the outside was overcooked. Since I’m in a bit of a ‘slow & low’ phase, I thought I would give this good looking fish a second chance.

I’m adapting this Ainsley Harriott recipe: jamaican curried snapper. I will modify the ingredients slightly but the main difference will be that I’m going to make the sauce first, then gently poach the fish in it until the fish gets to 45 degrees.

Sauce ingredients:

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
groundnut oil
40g/1½oz butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 – 8 garlic cloves, crushed
Root ginger, about 1.5 times the volume of garlic, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp light brown soft sugar
200ml coconut milk
2 bay leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice to taste, added just before serving

The sauce is for 500g red snapper fillet, skinned and cut into pieces.

I’m serving with jerk roasted cocquina squash based on Jamie Oliver’s roasted squash, except I’m using 1.5 tsp jerk seasoning instead of his flavourings and serving with chapattis, plain rice and salad leaves.

What I did: The snapper was at room temperature before cooking. I made the sauce then poured it over the fish pieces in a baking dish. The dish went into the oven which was at 50. After about 20 mins I turned the oven up to about 75 degrees because the temperature of the fish wasn’t changing at all. After 10 mins at 75 degrees the temperature hadn’t changed much either. In the meantime the squash had finished ages ago so I transferred the curry to the hob instead. The temperature went up a lot quicker and I took the fish off the heat at about 50 degrees.

Result: The snapper turned out ok but still a bit chompy. I was aiming for very soft, melt-in-the-mouth fish like you get at Asha’s. I think perhaps very gently poaching the fish in the sauce on the hob is the best way to go, for control and because the temperature needs to be checked frequently. Also next time I might add the lime juice and season the sauce properly before I poach the fish in it, as it lacked salt and tang. I thought the squash turned out fantastic but it was too hot for Mark, so perhaps just 1 tsp of jerk seasoning next time!

Jerk goat shoulder

We were given a goat shoulder bought from am organic goat farm in Dorset. I marinaded it in a decent jerk seasoning mix for 1.5 hours at room temperature, then baked in the small oven with the dial at 100 degrees for 3 hours. I had to scrape the seasoning off for serving as it was too hot to eat but the meat was absolutely perfect: soft and succulent. I’ve had goat in the past and it has been chewy but I think this was a very good piece of meat to start with.

Atul Kochar’s lentil curry

I adapt Atul Kochar’s black lentil sauce recipe. He calls it a sauce but you can eat it as a curry. It’s worth making twice as much and freezing it. The herb pulao is good too.

Ingredients:

200g red or yellow lentils
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds OR mustard seeds for tempering
3 tbsp fresh ginger and garlic paste
1 whole green chilli, finely chopped without seeds
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp each ground coriander, ground turmeric, garam masala and fenugreek leaf powder
2 tbsp tomato paste
30g/1oz butter
2 tbsp single cream, optional
½ green chilli, chopped for garnish
chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp salt

Notes:.

1 small fresh, deseeded chilli provides enough heat. I always add turmeric to make it look appetising.

I have used the following variations:
– start with 1 medium chopped onion, fried until translucent
– add 2 tbsp pulverised Indian pickle for an extra kick. No more than this as it becomes overpowering.
– use smoked chipotle instead of dried or fresh, but a little goes a long way; 1/4 is ok for 400g dry lentils
– add acid (little by little, tasting as you go) such as tamarind or 1/2 of the juice from a lemon and possibly sugar/1.5 tsp finely chopped jaggery
– add a little butter instead of single cream
– add some jaggery shavings dissolved in water

Tomato sauce for pasta

I’m trying to perfect the recipe for tomato sauce for pasta. I’ve started by adapting one I found online.

Ingredients:

2 onions or 8 shallots (sweeter), finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
4 fat cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 400g tins peeled cherry tomatoes
200ml red wine
1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
50g finely grated parmesan (as recommended by Jamie Oliver: http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com/recipe.php?title=bolognese-sauce-with-pasta)

Method notes:

Fry the onions (sprinkled with 1 tsp salt) on their own before adding the carrots, celery and garlic. Then add the other chopped veg and garlic and fry until everything is soft. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for an hour. Taste for seasoning then liquidize. Best way to make ‘ready meals’ to store in the freezer is to add the finished sauce to freshly cooked pasta. It’s best to add a bit more than just to coat it because pasta is bland and needs a lot of flavouring. This amount of sauce is enough for about 600g dry pasta, cooked.


I think this makes a tasty tomato sauce but it is definitely basic. Further experimentation would be a good idea e.g. the addition of sausage meat like the Jamie Oliver sausage fusilli recipe, or a Spanish style sauce with chorizo in it.

About a month ago I made a tomato sauce for meatballs and spaghetti based on Heston’s tomato fondue recipe. It needed more star anise flavour, more tabasco and maybe more Worcs. sauce too. I cut down the amount of oil, which was fine but I suppose it would have tasted better with more oil. Anyway, that’s another direction I could go in.

Certainly there is more work to be done here.

The Universe Inside You

This is a great little book which came to my attention through Kindle Daily Deal. It’s science administered to the reader in an entertaining and easily digestible fashion. Packed with facts and food for thought, I’d thoroughly recommend it.

(39th in 2012)

Enduring Love

This is a very strange tale. Throughout I felt uncomfortable and even more so after reading the letter in the appendix at the end. I suppose I should have expected it; this is classic McEwan: disturbing, well written, well researched and razor sharp when it comes to thoughts and interactions. There isn’t anyone I’ve read who can take you into a character’s mind like McEwan can. So, while it’s not a happy read and doesn’t seem as polished as On Chesil Beach or Amsterdam, it’s still worth a read. When you’ve finished it, (re)consider the meaning of the title.

(38th in 2012)

Norway Day 7

Friday 14th September

We spent today in Bergen chilling out. It was wet. We saw a group of pigeons crouched in the street, getting soaked, all facing the same direction. It was very strange, like some kind of bird performance art:


Other scenes of Bergen:


More birds:


We had lunch in the fish market and dinner at Enhjørningen Restaurant:



Norway Day 6

Thursday 13th September

We did the Hardanger in a Nutshell day trip today. The first leg of the journey was by train from Bergen to Voss, which is a very pretty place. Sadly I didn’t take my own photos so I’m borrowing one. Just before the train gets into Voss you see the lake:

and the rather impressive-looking Fleischer’s Hotel.

From Voss we transferred to a bus to Ulvik. This journey offered some incredible views:


One of my favourite panoramas:


Higher up the twisting road:


Finally we arrived at Ulvik, another pretty little place. Norwegians just don’t seem to do ugly. From here we transferred to boat to experience the (at the moment rather menacing) Hardangerfjord:


Scenes from the boat journey:


Approaching another narrow passage, you can just see a little village through the gap:

More scenery:


On the boat trips the viewpoint constantly changes. If the boat is travelling fast you have to grab every shot as soon as you see it, which isn’t always easy in a strong headwind! The following photos show the same place but the first is from closer and the second from further away:


We loved the boat trip, but it was rather windy on deck:


We arrived at Eidfjord, where we visited the Hardangervidda Nature Centre


Our ferret Lucy has relatives here:


Then onwards to the Fossli Hotel, Vøringfossen for a photo opportunity. My photos don’t do the scene justice. You have the waterfall running down from a high plateau which then meanders along a valley:


Perhaps a video will show it better:


Afterwards we were bussed back to Eidfjord where I took a couple of photos before we got back on the boat:


Then we were back on the boat to take in more beautiful scenes:


You can probably guess from the photos that at this point it started to rain quite a lot, so I left the deck and went to sit in the warm, dry indoor compartment.

Norway Day 5

Wednesday 12th September

We spent the night on the coastal ferry in a small but well-equipped cabin. The movement of the boat awoke me several times during the night so I wasn’t well-rested in the morning, but what sights we woke up to when we opened the cabin’s curtains! The coast is simply stunning:



Just to give a sense of scale, check out the buildings in this one:

There were miles and miles of stunning scenery so I’ll wrap it up with the highlights:


Finally, Bergen came into view. Our wondrous coastal journey was complete.


After checking in to our hotel we went to the tourist office and had a look around Bergen. It’s a pretty place:


We ended our first night in Bergen with a very good dinner at Swedish restaurant Naboen: