Tag: bay leaves

• 

  Jacques Pépin’s Traditional Chicken Liver Pâté

  Made from bird livers, Pâté is one of those things you either love or hate, there is no middle ground. I have eaten it ever since I was a small lad and my favourite is chicken with green peppercorns.

  Edit – People have told me there is a middle ground if I would just stop mentioning that it is made from livers. 🙂

  This is my first attempt at making it so I wanted to use a recipe from the amazing French chef, Jacques Pépin. The result was amazing and gave me the confidence to experiment with new ingredients going forward.

  Steps

  1. Cooking the chicken livers
  2. Pureeing the livers with butter
  3. Setting the pâté over night
  4. Serving

  Ingredients

  • ~230g chicken livers
  • 1/2 small brown onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tsp table salt
  • 120g butter
  • 2 tsp brandy
  • Cracked black peppercorns to taste
  • Additional butter to seal jars (optional), melted

  Equipment

  • 1 chef’s knife
  • 1 chopping board
  • 1 wooden spoon
  • 1 medium saucepan
  • 1 wet blender
  • Plastic wrap
  • Jars or small bowls/ramekins

  Cooking the chicken livers

  1. Bring enough water to cover the chicken livers to a boil.
  2. Add:
     • 230g chicken livers
     • 1/2 small brown onion, thinly sliced
     • 1 garlic clove
     • 1 bay leaf
     • 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
     • 1/2 tsp table salt
  3. Reduce to a simmer and cover, stirring occasionally, until livers slightly pink in the middle.
  4. Remove pan from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

  

  

  Pureeing the livers with butter

  1. Take the bay leaf out of the saucepan.
  2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the livers, onion, thyme and garlic to a wet blender.
  3. Add the 120g butter.
  4. Blend until you get the consistency you like (I like a smooth mousse texture).
  5. Add 2 tsp of brandy and blitz again, adding salt and pepper a bit at a time to get the taste you like.

  

  Setting the pâté over night

  1. Scrape the pâté into your jars, bowls or ramekins, gently pressing out any air pockets.
  2. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pâté and refrigerate until firm. Serve chilled.
  3. The pâté containers can also be covered with a thin layer of melted butter before being wrapped in plastic.

  

  The jars look oh so fancy if you top them with melted butter and some herbs to keep out nasties.

  Serving

  I love smearing pâté on water crackers, sandwiches and even on toast. Another guilty pleasure is topping  a thick beef steak with large amounts of Pâté and slices of melted cheese!

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  October 25, 2018

• 

  PK’s Slow Cooked Rabbit Soup

  This one is just for Dad because my kids are big into Peter Rabbit at the moment. 🙂 Rabbit soup is just as easy to make as chicken soup, especially if you use a slow cooker.

  Note: Rabbit is a lean meat that makes for a very light healthy soup.

  Simply

  1. Cut up your rabbit like so.
  2. Chop up your vegetables, I used onion, celery, carrot, green beans and coriander roots.
  3. Add some bay leaves, a sprig of thyme and a hearty slash of dry white wine.
  4. Throw everything into your slow cooker (medium heat) with 4 cups rabbit stock (any stock will do actually) and 4 cups water.
  5. Add some duck fat if you like as it helps keep the meat moist.
  6. Wait for 4 – 6 hours, stirring occasionally.
  7. Pull the meat off the bones (turn the latter into bone meal for a great soil improver), returning it to the slow cooker.

  Serving

  It just needs a bowl, some cracked pepper and crusty bread drowned in butter. 🙂

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  May 2, 2018

• 

  Bay Leaf Tree: Grow and Eat

  The humble Bay Leaf tree is a must have in a kitchen garden. Once you try fresh or freshly dried bay leaves in your cooking you won’t go back to the store bought version. Like many herbs, they lose their fullest, layer rich aroma and taste as they wait in transport and store shelves.

  

  I normally use one or two small leaves fresh from the tree. I haven’t found them to be overpowering like some websites suggest.

  I use them whole in stews, casseroles, curries, the list goes on. I always remove them post cooking (bouquet garni bags make this easier). They give the liquid in said dishes a earthy almost bitter tang. By itself this might not sound tasty but it works with the other ingredients to make a dish tastier than the sum of its parts.

  

  I also recently got into bay leaf tea. It is a refreshing change despite it being reminiscant of a cup of mild green tea. It is like drinking the Aussie bush. 🙂

  

  Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians,  vegans and is gluten free.

  This particular cooking ingredient is in PK’s Essential Pantry Cupboard Contents.

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  MORE RECIPES USING BAY LEAVES

  THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST

  MORE VEGAN , VEGETARIAN , GLUTEN-FREE INGREDIENTS AND MEALS

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  Follow these links to see what to plant in a given month or read my monthly journal where I talk about what I am doing, have learned and have harvested.

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 29, 2018

• 

  PK’s Easy Squid Salad

  This squid and green salad is a treat for the eyes and the taste buds. It makes a bit of squid go a long way. 🙂

  The trick is only boiling the squid rings long enough to to make them go opaque and slightly bumpy. Don’t over cook them or you will make rubber salad!

  Simply:

  Make a green salad and drizzle with a bit of balsamic.

  

  Cut your squid rings.

  

  Boil a pot of water with some citrus and herbs.

  

  Cook the squid rings for about a minute, drain and serve warm or chilled.

  Scrummy!

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Related Links:

  • see more NoRecipe goodness here
  • see more cooking with squid posts here

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  PK

  ·

  January 15, 2018

• 

  PK’s Pea And Ham Hock Soup

  Talk about nostalgia. My mum used to make this for me as a kid and it brings back happy memories every time. I think I might have done my mum proud with my recipe and stayed true to the dish’s thriftiness to boot :). It also freezes well so I got a whole week’s worth of lunches.

  You don’t have to cook pea and ham soup in a slow cooker but it is worth the low and slow cook for the extra depth of taste you will get. I will also leave the decision to blend or leave the soup chunky up to you. I did a halfway option, blended soup with some of the ham left chunky.

  You will be:

  1. Preparing your ingredients
  2. Cooking low and slow
  3. Removing the bones
  4. Blending or not
  5. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1.5 cups dried yellow split peas
    • 2 celery sticks, rough chopped
    • 2 carrots, rough chopped
    • 1 brown onion, rough chopped
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 ham hock (mine was ~850g)
    • 10 cups water
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a slow cooker
    • a pair of kitchen tongs
    • a wooden spoon
    • a stick mixer

  Preparing your ingredients

  1. Thoroughly rinse the split peas under cold water until it runs clear.
  2. Place them at the bottom of your slow cooker, turn this on to low.
  3. Chop the:
     • 2 celery sticks
     • 2 carrots
     • 1 brown onion
  4. Add them on top of the layer of split peas.
  5. Add the bay leaf.
  6. Add the ham hock after giving it a quick rinse.
  7. Add 10 cups of water and cover.

  

  

  

  

  

  Cooking low and slow

  Cook for about 6 to 8 hours (more if the meat is not falling off the bone) turning the hock over every now and again.

  

  Removing the bones

  Remove the main bones and then look carefully for any other little bones. This is important if you are going to blend the soup. You can use the bones to make Bone Meal for your garden.

  

  Blending or not

  Blend the soup now if you want to. I did but I kept some of the ham hock whole for serving purposes.

  Serving

  Some crusty bread and cracked black pepper would go a treat :).

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Related Links:

  • see more soup post here
  • see more slow cooker posts here
  • see more pork posts here

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  September 7, 2017

• 

  PK’s Creamy Cauliflower And Parmesan Soup With Soft Pork Belly

  I was day dreaming about a new dish for dinner and thought it would be cool to try pork belly with this soup instead of bacon.

  Hope you like it.

  Pork belly aside, the soup only takes about 30 minutes to cook and the hands on bit only takes 10 of them.

  You will be:

  1. Making the pork belly
  2. Making the cauliflower soup
  3. Serving

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • A slice of pork belly for each serving (ingredients are here)
    • A good slug of olive oil
    • 1 celery stalk, rough chopped
    • 1/2 onion, rough chopped
    • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
    • 1 potato,  rough chopped
    • 3 cups PK’s Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 500g cauliflower florets
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
    • Water, add in small portions if soup is too thick
  •  Equipment:
    • 1 chef’s knife
    • 1 chopping board
    • 1 soup pan
    • 1 stick mixer
    • 1 wooden spoon

  Making the pork belly

  Make and then chill a strip of pork belly for each serve. Please see the recipe here.

  Making the cauliflower soup

  1. Chuck a slug of olive oil into the pan and bring it to a medium low heat.
  2. Add and sweat the chopped:
     • 1 celery stalk
     • 1/2 brown onion
     • 1 garlic clove
  3. Add the bay leaf.
  4. Add the 500g cauliflower florets and 1 potato and sweat for another minute or so.
  5. Add the three cups of chicken stock and bring to the boil.
  6. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or the potato is cooked.
  7. Pull out the bay leaf
  8. Allow to cool a little and add the 1/2 cup of milk and blend with a stick mixer.
  9. Add small amounts of water if the soup is too thick for your liking (remember that we are about to add cheese which will thicken it further),
  10. Add the 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and mix with a wooden spoon or the like.

  Serving

  My original idea was to serve the soup warm with a piece of pork belly. I ended up chilling the soup however. It was marvelous and the pork belly really complimented the soup’s gentle flavours.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  May 7, 2017

• 

  PK’s Creamy Cauliflower And Parmesan Soup With Pork Belly

  I was day dreaming about a new dish for dinner and thought it would be cool to try pork belly with this soup instead of bacon.

  Hope you like it.

  You will be:

  1. Making the pork belly.
  2. Making the cauliflower soup.
  3. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • a slice of pork belly for each serving (ingredients are here)
    • a good slug of olive oil
    • 1 celery stalk, rough chopped
    • 1/2 onion, rough chopped
    • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
    • 1 potato,  rough chopped
    • 3 cups PK’s Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 500g cauliflower florets
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
    • water to taste, add in small portions if soup is too thick
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • kitchen shears
    • a deep pan
    • stick mixer
    • wooden spoon

  Making the pork belly

  Make and then chill a strip of pork belly for each serve. Please see the recipe here.

  

  Making the cauliflower soup

  1. Chuck a slug of olive oil into the pan and bring it to a medium low heat.
  2. Add and sweat the chopped:
     • 1 celery stalk
     • 1/2 brown onion
     • 1 garlic clove
  3. Add the bay leaf.
  4. Add the 500g cauliflower florets and 1 potato and sweat for another minute or so.
  5. Add the three cups of chicken stock and bring to the boil.
  6. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or the potato is cooked.
  7. Allow to cool and add the 1/2 cup of milk and blend with a stick mixer.
  8. Add small amounts of water if the soup is too thick for your liking (remember that we are about to add cheese which will thicken it further),
  9. Add the 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and mix with a wooden spoon or the like.

  Serving

  My original idea was to serve the soup with a piece of pork belly. I ended up doing so but chilled the soup and unlike the picture, chopped the pork belly into cubes. The pork belly’s skin was crisp enough to not be chewy but not be all about the crackling and the meat really complimented the soup’s gentle flavours.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  May 7, 2017

• 

  PK Makes River Cottage’s Citrus Braised Lamb Shanks

  Everyone has a dish that they feel slightly guilty about. Guilty because somehow it turns out exceptionally good every single time.  This is mine and it has magical powers :).

  It is originally from the hit Channel 4 series and books, ‘River Cottage’ and I merely adapted it to work in a slow cooker. I like dishes that are a bit different and I prefer this lighter white wine and citrus version over traditional red wine based lamb shank recipes.

  River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstool can’t have known its romantic power when he added this dish to his cookbook though, surely not. It was the first meal I cooked for my wife to be and she fell madly in love with me. That’s the magical bit and might contradict her version of events :).

  You will be:

  1. Sweating the vegetables in the slow cooker.
  2. Browning the lamb shanks and deglazing the frypan.
  3. Cooking it slow.
  4. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 4 lamb shanks
    • 2 carrots
    • 1 large brown onion
    • 2 celery sticks
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
    • a few sprigs of fresh thyme or lemon thyme
    • a small handful of parsley or celery leaves, chopped
    • 1 large orange
    • 1 large lemon
    • half a bottle of white wine (I used a Sauvignon blanc)
    • 1 cup of home made stock (I used chicken stock as that was all I had) or 1 cup water
    • several slugs of olive oil
    • a good slug of tomato paste
    • ground rock salt to taste
    • cracked black peppercorns to taste
    • 0.5 Tbsp whole black peppercorns (optional)
    • A handful of small or chopped mushrooms (optional)
  •  Equipment:
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • kitchen tongs
    • a wooden spoon
    • a citrus zester
    • a citrus juicer
    • a large frypan
    • a slow cooker

  Steps:

  Sweating the vegetables in the slow cooker

  1. Put a slug of olive oil into your slow cooker and turn it on high, lid on.
  2. Rough chop the:
     • 2 carrots.
     • 2 celery sticks.
     • handful of parsley or celery leaves.
  3. Finely slice the 1 large brown onion.
  4. Finely chop the 2 garlic cloves.
  5. Add the above to your slow cooker to start them softening up, lid on (mix everything around occasionally).
  6. Once the onions have started to soften, throw in the 2 bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme.
  7. If you like a bit of peppery kick, chuck 0.5 Tbsp of black peppercorns in too.
  8. Juice and then zest the lemon and the orange and add to the slow cooker (retain some of the mixed juice and zest for serving time).
  9. Add the 1 cup of stock or 1 cup of water and mix gently.
  10. Add a good slug of tomato paste.
  11. Add a handful of small mushrooms now if you are using them.

  I love seeing ingredients together like this:

  

  Nice and soft:

  

   

  Browning the lamb shanks and deglazing the frypan

  1. Season the 4 lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
  2. Chuck another slug of olive oil into the pan and bring to medium heat.
  3. Slightly brown every surface of the shanks. Yep, even the ends with a bit of creative meat stacking :).
  4. Then add them to the slow cooker.
  5. I now deglaze the frypan with half a bottle of white wine. When boiling I then add it to the slow cooker.
  6. If the slow cooker looks a bit full don’t panic. Everything will shrink down as it cooks :).

  

  Cooking it slow

  1. Turn your slow cooker to medium and cook for at least 2 hours using kitchen tongs to periodically move the shanks around.
  2. Now you can keep the slow cooker on medium for speed or turn it down to low for a slower cook (my preference).
  3. When the meat is literally falling of the bone, when you are giving it a gentle mix with the kitchen tongs, it is ready.

   Serving

  I generally serve the shanks on a bed of mashed potato with some steamed green vegetables alongside. This time though I cooked my PK’s NoRecipe Oven Baked Potatoes and served the shanks on the bone with some greens.

  Remember how we set aside some mixed zest and juice? Sprinkle a bit of the zest and then drizzle some juice over each serve to freshen the citrus flavours and aromas.

  On or off the bone this dish is visually appealing:

  

  

  Make this dish for someone you love,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 17, 2017

• 

  PK’s Savoury Mince And Potatoes

  A favourite since childhood, this is simple food that couldn’t be easier to cook. By now you probably know that I think ‘peasant’ food is best.

  It freezes very well and what’s more, you can eat it by itself or stretch it out using rice, bread, noodles or other starchy sides. One of my favourites is savoury mince and cheddar in a toasted sandwich.

  I think this recipe has a couple of standard ingredients and then add whatever you like extra. Have fun and experiment :).

  What are the essentials?

  • beef mince
  • potatoes
  • carrot
  • onion
  • garlic
  • chicken or beef stock (try Italian Beef Stock: Brodo Di Manzo)
  • herbs like oregano, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves
  • tomatoes or tomato paste
  • pepper and salt to taste.

  I also add red wine (boil it off of course) and anything else I have in my pantry or fridge that needs using.

  Par-boil your potatoes:

  

  Prepare your vegetables:

  

  Sauté the onion in some olive oil:

  Add the mince (browning it), herbs and stock (if using red wine bring to the boil) and then simmer until it is all reduced down to your liking:

  This is the consistency I aim for:

  

  Oh so tasty tonight and for tomorrow’s lunch:

  I hope you like it,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  November 14, 2016

• 

  PK’s NoRecipe Savoury Mince

  A favourite since childhood, this is simple food that couldn’t be easier to cook. By now you probably know that I think ‘peasant’ food is best.

  It freezes very well and what’s more, you can eat it by itself or stretch it out using rice, bread, noodles or other starchy sides. One of my favourites is savoury mince and cheddar in a toasted sandwich.

  I think this recipe has a couple of standard ingredients and then add whatever you like extra. Have fun and experiment :).

  What are the essentials?

  • beef mince
  • potatoes
  • carrot
  • onion
  • garlic
  • chicken or beef stock
  • herbs like oregano, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves
  • tomatoes or tomato paste
  • pepper and salt to taste.

  I also add red wine (boil it off of course) and anything else I have in my pantry or fridge that needs using.

  Par-boil your potatoes:

  

  Prepare your vegetables:

  

  Sauté the onion in some olive oil:

  Add the mince (browning it), herbs and stock (if using red wine bring to the boil) and then simmer until it is all reduced down to your liking:

  This is the consistency I aim for:

  

  Oh so tasty tonight and for tomorrow’s lunch:

  I hope you like it,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  November 14, 2016