the concept

the concept

The idea came from some friends, Lucy Jason & George, who were back home briefly & raved about a chef in London's East End...http://fridaynightakeout.blogspot.com/
I thought it was such a good idea, the best thing to do would be to bring it to life here where I live in New Zealand.
So...I'm also a freelance chef, each week I cook a different dish, depending on what's in season, what's good now, or just how I feel. Lately I've been cooking a lot of my mother's dishes

Dish descriptions will be posted here online early in the week, recipes later over the weekend, with links to:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pabloskitchen/130053437081945 & http:/twitter.com/#!/pabloskitchen

As I play with the idea through the week, the dish maybe evolves a little, but that's half the fun. Meals will be priced at $20, incl delivery & orders can be made anytime up to roughly lunchtime Thursday, which is when I go shopping. Simply get in touch, email or txt, you can order as many as you like!
Afternoon Friday I'll deliver dinnerboxes warm/cooling/cold, locally in & around my base, which admittedly does change a bit - currently I'm north of Auckland, living by the beach in Mangawhai (just let me know where you are when you get in touch).

tel: 021 676 123
email: pabloskitchen@yahoo.com

I've recently included an email subscription option at the bottom of this page &, while I have no idea how it works, the hope is that it automatically sends to subscribers email notifications each week about the dish...so, sign up!

disclaimer:
From time to time, when the wanderlust takes over, I hit the road & disappear in search of dishes, tastes & ingredients elsewhere. Then this blog takes on a different kind of persona; a travelling recipe book of notes, pics & stories, ideas to inspire & for me to return to, once I get back home.

Monday, 26 November 2012

Fri30nov2012: alubias blancas con manitas de cerdo - white beans with knuckle of pork


“Del cerdo, hasta las andares” - I love the pig, right down to its walk…

I spent a good couple of months or more walking & travelling across Spain, & I loved it. From Catalonia to Galicia, Basque country to Andalusia, the pig is celebrated at every other meal. This week then, a Spanish inspired dish, with more of the same to follow.

Hand of pork, gently & slowly braised in onions & garlic, with white beans. A thick & meaty rich stew, some freshly baked brioche to accompany the dish, for mopping up the sauce of course. 

Your part is simple: get in touch by thursday afternoon, cos that's when i go shopping, & tell me how many you'd like.
Drop-offs from 4pm onwards, to the office/site/home just let me know what suits.
To order, contact me by email:
pabloskitchen@yahoo.com (subject heading: “fridaynightdinnerbox”)
& I’ll confirm your order when received.
talk to you soon…
cheers - Pablo


kitchen talk: home again in Aotearoa


Just putting the word out that I’m back here in Mt Eden, centre of the civilised world & heart of the fridaynightdinnerbox universe. Having pretty much eaten my way around Europe, there is a whole pile of new ideas & dishes that I want to try out.  Cooking starts again this Friday, a dish to be posted…any minute now.

Drop me a line to say hi, or even to place an order, same arrangement applies: the dish will be cooked through the day & delivered to you at home/the office/wherever some time through the afternoon. I look forward to talking with you soon!

My email remains the same, but please note: I am getting a new phone number this week, but not yet – so until further notice, please email me!

Sunday, 18 November 2012

fri28sept: melon & ham salad, port dressing

One Saturday at Souillac market I noticed a table with boxes of ripe looking cantaloupes. Holding one & weighing it in my hand, I reached for my purse to pay when a chap in overalls put a hand up to stop me. "Monsieur, excuse moi," he began, proceeding to take the fruit from me then asking, in English, when exactly I was intending to eat these melons? A concentrated series of tappings & gentle squeezings followed for each melon in turn, testing its readiness. Five minutes later I was walking away with a box of numbered cantaloupes, numbers corresponding to days when I was allowed to eat them: #1 today; #2 tomorrow... 

A regular lunch during the long weeks of summer, cantaloupe & serano ham is a classic combination. Married with the smoothness of a creamy buffalo mozarella, or perhaps a soft salty chevre, garnished with greens from the garden, oregano or basil, mint works nicely too, sprigs of rocket, or just a salad of mixed lettuce leaves, this salad is quick to make, light, tasty & full of summer. 
ingredients: the salad
cantaloupe or honey dew melon, cut to preference
cured ham/jamon, proscuito/serano 
soft cheese, I prefer a fresh buffalo mozarella, but chevre or feta can be subsituted
rocket leaf, though a fresh herb is a nice variation, basil/mint/oregano
a nice drinking port
method:
*assemble on the plate just before serving
*splash the port over at the last minute

A couple of points on the above:
1) I have used a range of cured meats at different times, necessity is the mother of all invention after all, some work better than others. I particularly like using speck in this salad, though that may be  simply because I love eating speck. In Israel, I have used pastrami, which I also love to eat! Jamón Serrano/Prosciutto di Parma as a point of reference, follow the link. 
2) There are a million & one dressings possible for this salad, the application of port for this recipe is the result of sitting down to lunch one day at La Brugue, Sally in the kitchen getting this salad ready, Al disappearing over to the wine cache & returning with said bottle of port & splashing liberally, with great satisfaction. Heavens parted, angles sang; I was, in an instant, converted.

One of the freedoms of growing up in a culinary environment which draws on such a range of cultural traditions is that influences vary & we are not tied to one form or choice of ingredients or another. In New zealand this is the case &, because perspective is a prerogative, I see this as a freedom & an advantage which allows me the happy flexibility of using what works for me in the moment. The recipe is a guideline, not a set of rules. 

The pictures below document some of the versions we ate at La Brugue & will be added to in the coming months, what with the coinciding of my return to New Zealand & the arrival there of summer. A happy coincidence.

 cantaloupe spears with rocamadour, jambon, oregano
cantaloupe spears with rocamadour, jambon, rocket leaf, basil
 cantaloupe with rocamadour, jambon, buffalo mozzarella, purple basil, honey drizzle
Portuguese cantaloupe, presunto, mint  (wedding feast entree)

Saturday, 17 November 2012

fri21sep2012:gin&vanilla hot smoked salmon

Another culinary chapter of my stay at La Brugue, in the Lot region of southwest France, involved the arrival of Rachel & Ben to the farm.  I'd heard all about Ben's love of smoked salmon long before I met the man & was looking forward to exchanging a few ideas about this dish, also a favourite of mine. 
On the menu, smoked salmon is always a hit. In New Zealand, where we are obsessed with Eggs Benedict, there is not a cafe I know of that does not have salmon as an option, usually smoked, to replace the Eggs Benedict bacon or ham. At the last cafe kitchen I ran we smoked our own, & it was one of the most popular items on our menu, not to mention one of the mis-en-plus tasks I most looked forward to  completing! 
One of the things I love most about cooking is that everyone loves eating delicious things , so it's easy to get excited about food when you're surround by people who love to cook delicious things! Ben & I wasted little time getting started with the serious business of just what would happen with the salmon fillets we'd shortly be preparing. A proficient smoker of foods,  Ben had brought with him the "Smoke Daddy", a portable device which he fitted to the side of the bbq drum which had been lurking dusty & neglected in the old stone out buildings at La Brugue until now.

As it turned out, our treatment of the salmon was similar, both favouring the brining method as an integral part of the process. Only the recipe needed experimenting with, so we combined ideas & got started. Not wanting to get between a man & his bbq, Ben went for it with the cooking side of things while I took photos & poured the g&t's.
 
 Ingredients: the brine
a large bowl full of cold water
salt/sugar in equal quantities, i use about 1/3 of a cup of each
gin, about 3 or 4 generous glugs
vanilla, preferably a dried pod, split in 1/2 & the seeds scraped in
juniper berries, 3 or 4, bruised with the back of a knife
a salmon fillet, whole or cut into portions
ingredients: the smoking
sawdust - I love manuka, we used oak, but grape vine prunings are wonderful too
brown sugar/maple syrup
method: the brining
*mix the salt/sugar/gin/spices in the bowl of h2o & stir to dissolve
(taste & adjust salty/sweetness accordingly, if you feel it necessary)
*to portion the fillet, one cut down the middle & divide each 1/2 into 5 or 6 equal sizes
*immerse the salmon in the brine & set aside over night
method: the smoking
*pat dry the salmon & lay out on a wire rack 
*sprinkle/drizzle a spoonful of brown sugar/maple syrup on each piece
*lay a generous quantity of sawdust in the bottom of your smoker, ignite a low flame
*when sufficient smoke is happening, quickly open the smoker, place in the rack of salmon portions, & close the smoker again - minimising loss of smoke in the process
*cooking time will vary, depending on the smoker, the strength/intensity of the flame/heat source, the size of the portions; trial & error is the only gauge here for doing it yourself
-for my small pieces, 120g or so, roughly 7-10 minutes is ample
*remove & serve immediately, or set aside to set in the cooler overnight
*when ready, gently slice the salmon as finely as possible to serve
(tip: a sheet of foil over the sawdust during smoking will stop oily/sugary drips falling on the sawdust & producing an unpleasant black smoke which taints the final flavour
We brined our fish in the early morning allowing it to sit for a 12 hour period during the day, finishing the smoking process later that night. An outdoor exercise, everyone sat waiting patiently in the pool house, sipping more g&t's in readiness for repeated sampling. Fortunate indeed to have so many willing volunteers, Ben was kept busy slicing salmon in varying degrees of cookedness & delivering them to the waiting panel of experts.
The next morning, watching Ben slicing the finished product, we gathered at the dining table at the back door garden where most meals at La Brugue were enjoyed, while summer lingered on. Together we stood around eating cool gin&vanilla freshly smoked salmon with salted capers & Rocamadour cheese.
Nice one Ben, love your work!

Monday, 12 November 2012

kitchen talk: a tart for every occasion

 
An earlier post, entitled kitchen basics: shortcrust pastry (click on the link) details the method behind using shortcrust pastry to cook a range of relatively easy to prepare dishes. Lately it seems I am again in a phase of cooking quiche & flans & tarts of all descriptions. A pastry case is perfect when there's, say, only one capsicum or the last of the mushrooms or a little cheese left in the fridge, perhaps some pears that need using in the fruit bowl, or maybe there's glut of figs now that the tree in the garden is in season. Even left over roast veges or chicken from the night before can be used to create a delicious tart for lunch the next day.

I've developed a few combinations that have become favourites over the years, signatures even, but combinations really are endless in variety. What I love is the moment a fresh pastry comes out of the oven, soft yet brittle, a new creation melted together, ingredients caramelised or covered in an egg custard that has risen in the oven. The alchemy of ingredients which, when brought together, is always a wonder to behold. Mainly, I just love a good tart. 

For the purposes of reference then, this is an opportunity to catalogue some of these tarts & quiche combinations. For my cooking classes, below are a few pointers to set tart aside from quiche, but below is mainly about a series of pictures & dish descriptions only which, over time, will be added to.

1) the tart: a blind baked pastry case, ingredients prepared appropriately (perhaps cut perhaps not, perhaps cooked perhaps not) & fitted inside, then finished in the oven. I like to add something that will melt or loosen in such a way that everything will hold together. A jam or jelly for sweet combinations has the added bonus of acting also as a glaze; a cheese  for savoury will melt some, colouring even, & keep everything in place.

2) the quiche: as above re ingredients, but with an egg/cream mix poured over, a baked egg custard that will cook in the oven. This egg/cream mix is known as royale & can be sweetened or seasoned for a savoury dish. It is poured into the pastry case to about 1/3, as it will rise & roughly double in volume while cooking in the oven (you don't want overflow!) 
recipe: royale mix
6 eggs/1 litre cream
salt/pepper/cayenne pepper a pinch of each
beaten together & stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

roast beetroot & pumpkin, black pepper & herb baked egg custard
fig & parma ham, goats cheese, fresh thyme, quince paste
 
 crabapple jelly & pear, blue cheese & walnut
blackberry jam & camembert, figs, thyme, bayonne ham 

Sunday, 11 November 2012

fri14sept2012: meatballs de la chateau

In Tissonais, at Johnno's place in Brittany, the decision had been made that we'd try to cook & eat all our meals outside on the fire pit recently constructed & that all our produce had to be local. We were a little spoilt by the markets of fresh fruit & vegetables in nearby villages, also by having a country abattoir just along the road & around a corner or two. I particularly liked choosing my own cuts for mincing, which was done there & then, at the counter.

The choice of meatballs was an easy one: we all love meatballs! I mean, who doesn't?? The spice blend in this recipe can be varied to taste, as with the combination of meats; we simply chose a blend that worked for us. In this recipe, cumin/tumeric/paprika/chilli in careful amounts & for the meat a 60/40% ground beef/pork blend. It's a combination which for me is tried, tested & comes out great every time. Always delicious, this dish can be made in advance & reheated with good result. Hard to beat.

Because in Tissonais the vessel of choice was the tagine, courtesy of Nico, picked up on his wanderings around Morocco, this version was made accordingly. In fact, a good cast iron pan & a casserole dish, started on the stove & finished in the oven is what I generally do at home.  Flavour is what is important. I've written before about the importance of creating a good base for flavours as you cook; taking your time & allowing that foundation to build & intensify with each layer; in the end this is what makes all the difference. Because in Tissonais we were cooking every night, we had the benefit of using the deglazed pan juices & sauce from our previous night's dinner, such as shin of beef/soy/ginger/cider dish as a base. Thick rich & saucy, it made the ideal base for our meatballs.
the ingredients: meatballs:
minced beef/lamb 60/40% ratio -1kg
garlic/onion, minced -1 onion/2 garlic cloves
salt/white pepper/cumin/tumeric/paprika/chilli powders -tspoon of each
the ingredients: the sauce:
olive oil -a good slug or so
onions/garlic/salt - 2 onions/3 garlic cloves
aubergine -1/tomato puree -1 squeeze/tomatoes -fresh 3 or 4/canned 1/silverbeet -2 leaves
the ingredients: couscous:
couscous -1 1/2 cups + boiling water 3 cups
olive oil - a good slug + a knob of butter 
parsley & lemon zest
method: stage1: meatballs
*combine the beef & pork mince in a bowl & add garlic, the onions, the spices, mix well
*roll the mince into small balls & set aside (cover with a tea towel)
(tip: the onions & garlic need to be chopped as finelyfinely as you can, so they mix in well)
(tip: have a small bowl of cold water by your board & splash a little on your hands every now & then, it keeps the mince from sticking to your hands as you work)
(tip: think about size - there's no rule, but small cooks quickly & is easy business when eating)
(note: some people throw in a handful of breadcrumbs & an egg, to bind, but i prefer just meat)
method: stage2: preparation & cooking:
*wash, peel, slice & dice the remaining ingredients & have ready;
*warmed dish, olive oil, onions & garlic added, cook covered til translucent & sweet, set aside;
*add meatballs, more heat to brown lightly on each side, remove & set aside with onions;
*add the aubergine to soak up the meaty oil & cook for 5 minutes on slightly more heat til golden;
*add tomato paste & stir a little, you want it to begin to caramelise, then add tomatoes;
*when tomatoes are bubbling away, add the chiffonade of sliverbeet, folding through;
*lastly, return meatballs & onions to the dish & cover, so everything can happily simmer;
(tip: cooking the early ingredients in oil keeps the flavours intact & allows colouring; adding tomatoes at the end introduces liquid & the cookery method changes from frying to poaching/braising)
(tip: this is a dish of necessity, changing each time, so your choice of vegetables will vary according to taste/seasonal availability)
 
method: stage3:couscous:
*measure out the couscous, mix a little olive oil through, a knob of butter in the bowl too;
*pour over the boiling water, stir one time, cover tightly, sit for 5 minutes;
*give the container a firm tap to loosen couscous, uncover, stir thru one time to aerate; 
*sprinkle over gremolata -parsley/lemon zest finely chopped
*serve either separately or combined
(tip: I find the couscous works well mixed through when the meatballs de la chateau is particularly saucy, it soaks up the juices & is easy to plate up)
Emerging over time as a clear favourite, we repeated this dish again & again as we travelled on westward & southward through France. Certain aspects would change for the purposes experimentation or when necessary, but we kept the tagine as our vessel of choice regards the cooking of our meals, just because we love it so much. What the hell, it's a matter of preference & we like it this way. The limitations of the tagine were that it was difficult to get a good heat for the sealing stage, at the start, so our meatballs came out more poached than fried, as in less browning, but the flavours were great & thats what counts. The time frame with a less intense heat is longer than normal: in Brittany we found that a few beers round the fire pit helped pass the time; in La Brugue we had to adapt to taking dips in the pool instead.
Everywhere we reproduced these meatballs, in other words, at every chateau stop along our way, the mention of this dish was always well received, from kids to grown ups, & us too. I guess it's comfort food. Certainly my mother had her own version...Now, some time later, & with my travels in France behind me, I sit typing once more with a bellyful of meatballs de la chateau, having pulled out this dish once more while I stay with my sister. I am as happy with the dish as ever.
 
(shared lunch including meatballs de la chateau in Brittany with Johnno & Cuz & all the clan)

Friday, 9 November 2012

fri07sept2012: magret du canard, sauce a la prune (duck breast, plum sauce) a la brugue

Approaching Souillac, an arched viaduct spans the Dordogne. In timeless picturesque, this river meanders its lazy way under a relentless summer sun through wooded hills & valleys. Holiday makers picnic in the cool shade of its river banks, or splash about in kayaks. A boy with a fishing rod sits on his rock, watching the river. From the passenger seat of the Morgan, roaring through this French countryside, it looks lovely. We, however, have no time for such pleasantries. This is foie gras country & it's way way past lunchtime.
There is an abundance in this part of France that is truly delightful. The Lot & Dordogne in particular are known for the food grown & produced here: walnuts & chestnuts, apples & plums grown harvested & available in the markets fresh or dried, in oils & vinegars, syrups & liqueurs;  wild strawberries in the early summer then later ceps & truffles are foraged in the woodlands; for lovers of goats cheese, locally made chevre is displayed on the tables in every marketplace, most famously Rocamadour; & then there is... le canard. 
Sitting down to blog about cooking/eating duck, naturally foie gras presents as the immediate distraction, but here the whole bird is celebrated: there is from the liver, of course, foie gras in all its forms; also the fat, rendered down for cooking (yum!!) or preserving, as with the legs for confit; the carcass stripped of its meat is used to make stock; even the gizzard is often stuffed, sometimes with wild mushrooms sometimes with chestnuts; the breast meat often grilled or pan roasted & appears in this form on every other menu in the region. This week then, using local duck & fruit from the trees in his own garden here in La Brugue, Alan Edwards, bon vivant, all round gastronomic celebrity & also my host, welcomes fridaynightdinnerboxers into his kitchen & shares a own recipe of his own design for duck breast, first grilled then finished in a yellow damson plum sauce.  
ingredients:
a good solid cast iron pan (ok, so it's not an ingredient) -it makes all the difference
duck breasts, skin on (we used two, & fed four people, but normally one each)
olive oil/salt/pepper
fresh plums (i like damsons because they are sugary but also quite tart)
butter/onions/garlic -finely diced
white wine, we used a white bordeaux
pinch each of ginger/juniper/star anise

method: stage1: preparing the plums for the sauce
*clean & wash the plums, a dozen or so will be ample, slice in 1/2
*place in a saucepan with the spices & a glass of the white wine
*on a medium heat, simmer until soft
*pass through a sieve, using a wooden spoon, to remove stones & skin
method: stage2: score & seal the breasts
*take breasts &, using a sharp knife, criss cross the skin side with shallow cut strokes (see pic below for effect);
*in a hot pan, really hot, smoking hot even, lay the breast skin side down (we in the trade call this 'presentation side' & let it sit in the pan for 3-5 minutes or so until it is nice & cloloured. The skin will shrink, the cuts will be defined, a nice sizzling brown edging will be the effect;
*turn the breasts over & seal the other side quickly, then remove from the pan & prepare the sauce;
(tip: the duck we used in France has a high fat content, so sealing at the start releases some of this, which in turns helps to colour & enrich at this stage. At home in NZL the duck I'm familiar with is not as fatty, I often rub the skin with a little seasoned oil to help this process)
method: stage3: preparing the damson plum sauce
*in the same pan used to seal the duck breasts, lowering the heat to avoid burning or even colouring at this stage, & add the diced onions/garlic, using a lump of butter to help the saute & stirring it all about a bit to deglaze the flavours clinging to the pan;
*let it gently doits thing for about 5 minutes or so, when the onions are soft & sweet;
* add the plum sauce to the pan, bringing it back to temperature with the onions;
*add a little more white wine if required & simmer all together, allowing the sauce to develop character & reducing it slightly runny saucy consistency;
method: stage4: bringing it all together, finishing the dish
*return duck to pan, skin side up, good coverage with the sauce, simmer for a good 5-7 minutes;
*aiming to both cook the breast as well as reduce & caramelise the sauce to a nice consistency;
(dont murder it by boiling the hell out of it here, medium/rare, ie pink in the middle, is ideal)
*Al did his entirely on the stove top, though I like to finish with a few minutes under the grill;
*all meat likes a little resting time after being subjected to intense heat, so remove it from the sauce & rest the duck in a warm place for 5 minutes while plates warm & prepare the garnish.
*Carve the duck breast, which should be nice & plump & succulent at this stage on the slant, & serve over sauce.
I hovered about the kitchen, taking photos as Al cooked, while the smells of sizzling duck fat & plum sauce filled the room. Out at the table, Sally had the table set, pitcher of water & a bottle of local white chilled & ready, candles lit, cheese board waiting on the side, & passing the time with Nico drinking g&t's. Actually, probably passing the time keeping Nico away from the cheese board, more likely. 

Another perfect warm summer's evening at La Brugue, overlooking the garden & watching the sun go down. Everyone has their speciality; Al's duck breast with Damson plum sauce was a triumph. Al & Sal, once more, thankyou.