fri02dec2011: tagine of chicken

with such a great response from the lamb tagine a few weeks ago, for the last of the auckland sessions for some time i've gone for a popular choice: tagine, with chicken.

spicy&fruity&meaty&flavoursome the meat will marinate overnight & will slowly come together for friday afternoon, being served with either couscous or bulghur wheat, the standard green salad on the side.

what i love about tagines, infact so much middle eastern cuisine shares this, is the feeling of sensuous indulgence when eating it. maybe its the sweet savoury combinations that delight with their relentless saturating deliciousness, it's always so good it's almost as if it should be bad for you!!
then you realise, as you munch, that what you're eating is healthy & nutritious too.

as a takeout dinner, this fridaynightdinnerbox is the perfect solution.

AND>>>

this, as mentioned, will be the last of the auckland fridaynightdinnerboxes until i return from hawkes bay...which will be who-knows-when?!  this blog will continue, the recipes & everything else...but pakowhai rd just out of hastings will be the next local til then.

your part is easy, drop me a line via email or txt, let me know how many you'd like by late thurs;
delivery thru mid/late fri afternoon to homes/offices/sites in my ever increasing drop-off zone;
meals are $20 each & suit being warmed in the microwave - so no dishes afterwards;

txt: 021 2414 020
email: pabloskitchen@yahoo.com (subject bar: fridaynightdinnerbox)

talk to you soon/see you friday

recipe: terrine, braised pork & du puy lentils

in terms of preparation, this week's terrine recipe is much the same as the last one in that, once cooked, your ingredients are simply placed inside a lined terrine dish (or something of a similar shape) with stock poured over the top at the end to fill any gaps, before gladwrap is folded over & it sits, weighted, in the fridge overnight to set into shape.
this week i've used du puy lentils, cooked separately in stock & added at the final stage, mixedGENTLY in with the onions & meat, to bind.
as an extra detail, inside the gladwrap that lines the terrine dish, i've layered blanched savoy cabbage leaves, which overhang the sides during the filling process & are folded over the top at the end. this creates a casing which i rather like, helping to hold it all together once sliced, but also offering a wonderful colour contrast to the richly textured meats & dark round lentils inside.

so then, briefly, cooking the fillings:

>onions/garlic/carrot/baythyme/stonedprunes/peppercorns/baconhocks/csabaiorkhulensausage: cover with water (or chicken stock) & simmer for several hours. i put mine in the crock pot & turn it off that evening.
>in a fine sieve, strain the stock into a ready saucepan, put it on a medium flame (reduce it by half. cool it at that point, to pour over terrine filling before closing); with the meat, the sausage should remain whole, the ham should at this point fall from the bone, leave as intact as you can; discard the bones, fatty tissue, skin, bay leaves & herby stalky bits
>dupuylentils/stock: lentils in a saucepan, quickly swipe a ladleful or so of the reducing stock + an h2o top up to cover lentils if necessary. simmer for 20-30 mins, till they reach the not-crunchy-but-firm, firm to the bite you might say (aka al-dente) stage. drain them.
>combine lentils/meat/vegGENTLY & add to the terrine & proceed as for the last terrine
(followthislink)

tips:
*think about the cross-section effect of your layering. i usually julienne some carrot, chives, baby leeks if i can get them, spring onions are pretty cool on the slice, but also are different sizes of meat, larger or smaller widths of sausage. make a pattern! what the heck
*i used a layer of blanched (to soften, also to bring out the colour) savoy cabbage leaves, but spinach is possible, really thinly sliced lengths of carrot, roast capsicum, or bacon, proscuitto...

to serve: 

flash it in a hot pan for just a mo, flip it, the same, or nuke it for 30 if that works for you; 

on the side a choice chutney, my current fav is the quince chutney i made last summer; 

to drink, pinot gris 2008 from millars vineyard in mangawhai was outstanding on a sunny saturday, full&warm&spicy it brought a mellow&golden depth to the richly flavoured meats.

fri25nov: terrine of cured pork, du puy lentils

bacon hocks bound by du puy lentils, layered with fresh herbs & a mildly spiced, perhaps clove-ish, finish. the terine will be accompanied by some spring veg on the side, & a garden salad as per usual.

your part is easy - just drop me a line, by txt or email, & tell me how many you'd like.
my deliver run usually starts around mid to late afternoon,
your fridaynightdinnerboxes brought to you at home or at the office, let me know which suits you best.

txt: 021 2414 020
email: pabloskitchen@yahoo.com (subject: fridaynightdinnerbox)

talk to you soon

kitchen talk: go east my boy

in a few short weeks, i will travel to the east coast for hawkes bay, rejoining my chef kent baddeley's brigade at a new location, just out of hastings along pakowhai rd, at ten-twentyfour.
the fridaynightdinnerbox(es)/(ers) will continue to continue, week by week posting dishes & recipes, more of the same, & more
only the delivery geographics will alter slightly!

aucklanders, thankyou for your support in these early days. this has been a good project.
&! i look forward to hearing from you still
                                          - on dishes you've cooked from this repertoire, tips you feel like sharing, etc
                                                                                                                                                                                   whatever.
part of my early statement lays out the idea of a global kitchen, cooking & eating from the same menu, as it were. a collective culinary journey.

with that in mind then...

fri18nov2011: jambalaya

the fact is that there is a mob of fridaynightdinnerboxers who are demanding jambalaya, as seen in fridaynightdinnerboxes just a few weeks ago. the problem is, i love it too. 

for those who missed out, i use a spicy mediterranean sausage & prawns, there is saffron, there is a little cream to bind it all, there may well be roast capsicum in there, herbs from the garden, served over rice, a salad of greens to come with. a triumph.

so then, this week: jambalaya!

your part is easy, just send me a txt or drop me an email by thursday night & tell me how many you'd like, i'll be delivering mid-late afternoon to works&homes in an ever widening circumference, & i'll see you then!

txt: 021 2414 020

email: pabloskitchen@yahoo.com (subject: fridaynightdinnerbox)

for this the recipe for jambalaya, scroll down to 23rd october, picture of prawns & chorizo happily sizzling, or hit this link & go straight there. i used aborio rice, cooked in chicken stock, in the rice cooker, thyme & bay in there too, of course.

recipe: tagine of lamb, prunes & coriander

tagine is both the dish & the pot it is cooked in. the pot is important; clay, domed or peaked lid, tight fitting to collect steam, a moist stove-top oven of sorts is the effect. what else is important is time; for best results, take plenty of it.

quicker versions of tagine are possible, i prefer to allow the spiced marinade mixture to work its magic into the lamb by sitting round for a night, chillun in the fridge & mellowing in intensity thru the process, tenderising. in the cooking, again slow makes the difference, but so too is keeping away from the tagine while it cooks; dont mess with it. let it go for a good hour or so, more if you can, before lifting the lid on what is gently bubbling away. ok, so it's a nerve racking hour, but the right pot on a low flame you wont kill it. go get a wine :)

a dish transformed by traditional method, this week's fridaynightdinnerbox recipe is my own of many variations. originally i learned about tagines from an old friend, chef kurt sampson, who cooked for several years with well known lebanese chef, greg malouf, in melbourne. we had a temporary kitchen set up & cooked in the markets there, massive great tagines with fresh coriander, toasted almonds & lemon, bucketfuls of couscous to accompany...it's just such good food.

this recipe follows a similar fashion:

>cubed lamb/garlic/freshginger/cuminseeds/corianderseeds/saltflakes/whitepepper: cut the lamb to bite sized chunks & put the other ingredients into a mortar&pestle, working it to a paste. be generous with your quantites. once at smooth consistency, massage the paste into the meat, in a bowl, & gladwrap it up to sit overnight.

>next day carrots/onion/coriander&parsleystalks/salt/butter&oliveoil: roughly dice the veg & finely chop the herb stalks, sweat in the tagine pot with the lid on, low to moderate heat (ie about 1/3 strength flame) until onions are transparent, about 20mins.

> seasonedlamb/chickenstock: add lamb to the tagine, turn to mix all, cover with chicken stock, place the lid on & turn the flame low & walk away. do not lift the lid for at least 1 1/2 hours. do not lift the lid for at least 1 1/2 hours, did i say that already? finally, & this part is of particular importance: do not lift the lid for at least 1 1/2 hours. then, check to see you havent murdered it! if everythings ok, the lamb will be tender & flavoursome, & ready to take off the heat. allow tagine time to sit & cool, refrigerate overnight.

>next day (or later that same day) prunes: bring tagine up to temperature, enough that the stock turns to liquid & the meaty chunks can be removed. (try not to sample the lamb, or you will never stop). once removed, add to the broth about 1/3 weight of prunes to lamb, adding a little more stock if necessary, cover with a lid & simmer for a further 20mins. return lamb to the pot, simmer a little before serving with couscous.

>couscous/butter/saltflakes/oliveoil/boilingwater/lemonzest: combine a squirt of olive oil & a knob of butter to the couscous, then measure 1 to 1 ration of couscous to boiling water, cover, seal airtight with a lid or ith gladwrap, sit for at least 4 minutes then shake & fluff up with a fork, add lemon zest & mix thru.

i like to serve this tagine with fresh natural yoghurt & chopped coriander/parsley/toasted almonds.

fri11nov2011: tagine lamb, lemon & parsley

sweet spicy savoury north african flavours of the mediterranean flavours linger this week, slow cooked meats, almonds, lemon & dried fruits...and my handshaped black earthernware pot will be what takes us there.

the tagine i make this week will begin on wednesday, marinating in ground spices the chunks of meat over night. & i'll use probably a leg or shoulder, if not of lamb then of mutton, tho my english butcher states the nzl lamb is aged into its mutton years anyway...
anyway, the tagine will be served over couscous, gremolata to finish, a salad on the side

hearty nutritious & flavoursome, easily re-heateable, tagine makes for an ideal fridaynightdinnerbox. there is, as always, a vegetarian option, so drop me an email or send me a txt & let me know how many you'd like. the delivery run is somewhere round mid-late afternoon, to the office or home.

email: pabloskitchen@yahoo.com
txt: 021 2414 020

talk to you soon

recipe: gnocchi marsala mushrooms

having got all the ingredients together for this week's dish, i found myself struck down by a kind of cheffy version of writer's block: i mean, is there a name for that?? anyway, luckily the phone a friend option was clear, so i dialed up my chef for help...
kent baddeley, now back in hawkes bay & opening his latest venture tentwentyfour, always a phone call away for those inspirational shots: chef, help! what to do???

so then, the path fwd from ground zero gnocchi-zone:

stage1: the gnocchi
potatoes/salt'n'pepper/egg/flour(1kgpotato to 300gflour): boil potatoes whole, skins on, remove & peel with a knife (hold potatoes in a tea towel so you dont scald yr hands) & put thru the moulix or just mash to smooth. while hot, season with s'n'p, add the egg & stir in quickly before the potato cooks it. add a handful of flour or two, mix in. turn out and knead in the remaining flour on your bench until firm. roll into long & skinny, cut into pieces & drop, when shaped, into a pot of boiling salted water, 20-30 at a time. you'll know they're done when the gnocchi begin to rise to the surface; this only takes a few minutes. when floating, remove with a slotted spoon & place on a tray, separately, & drizzle with olive oil. they will firm up, but you dont want them either too soggy or too rubbery. herein lies the skill factor; it may take a little practice, but the results speak for themselves.

stage2: the sauce
onions&garlic/oilve oil/thyme/mushrooms/marsala/tomato puree/stock/cream: sweat or pot roast the onions&garlic in olive oil thyme salt; blitz the mushrooms in the blender & add to the onions; on a high heat, cook out for a few minutes, before the liquids are released, then add a squeeze of tomato puree & stir in, deglaze with a generous splash of marsala; add the stock, bring to temperature & simmer briefly. you dont want soup here, the stock to solids ratio should look saucy, ie not too thin. finally, finish with a little cream. pour this over the gnocchi.

stage3: the garnish
(risking bringing together too confusing a range of flavours, the walnuts as a garnish work nicely)
walnuts/porcini powder/icing sugar: i toast the walnuts first, then in a bowl cover them with boiling water & let them sit for 5; drain, place in a tea towel, wrap up & roll on the bench to dry off & to remove the skins; toss in a bowl with porcini powder & icing sugar; place on a baking sheet & into the oven to caramelise; sprinkle over the gnocchi when ready.

so now to confession time: as well as my discoveries & triumphs, it is only fair to catalogue the occasional disaster too...i burned two portions of the walnuts thru turning my back on them. moral of the story: they turn very quickly so keep an eye out! mine ended up feeding the sparrows, tho the semi dark handful i rescued were delicious, they were too far gone to serve to the fridaynightdinnerboxers this week...but thats just the way it goes sometimes.

fri04nov2011: gnocchi marsala mushrooms

mine will be a potato gnocchi,
to which i may yet add something else, spinach or walnuts are current favourites, ricotta or parmessan...

after in depth discussing of mushrooms, the cooking of mushrooms & the value of cataloguing mushroom moments in mind with fellow mushroom lover nico, in cornwall,
the sauce will be of mushroom with marsala

rich mouthfuls, sweet earthy flavours, creamy finish

a salad will be served alongside, oregano will garnish

but your part is easy:
to home or at work, i'll deliver mid-late friday afternoon
so call me & tell me how many you'd like
drop me a txt msg on 021 2414 020
or email to pabloskitchen@yahoo.com (subject: fridaynightdinnerbox)

talk soon,
see you friday