Needed a quick supper tonight, so cooked some really nice linguine pasta. Once it was cooked I tossed it in olive oil and added a couple of teaspoons of pesto. Tossed again and served with some freshly grated parmesan.
Simple, quick, yet delicious.
Why so expensive?
The other day I made some Chorizo Frito al Vino and I used some Chorizo that I had bought from Morrisons. It had cost £1.99.
I was therefore surprised to see in Sainsburys when I wanted to buy a very similar Chorizo sausage that they were charging £2.99. It was even more expensive from the deli counter where it was £3.49.
I don’t know it if it will be a better Chorizo sausage, but if it is similar then a 50% markup is terrible.
Still missing the (fresh) cooking chorizo from Tesco.
Sirloin for Beef Wellington?
One of the things I do like looking at for this blog is the stats and particularly the referrals, most of which come from Google searches.
This one caught my eye recently:
can sirloin beef be used for beef wellington
This blog comes up quite high in the search rankings (number five at the time of writing) and a recipe I posted back in August 2008 does use sirloin steak for beef wellington.
Here is the recipe.
This is my version of the classic Beef Wellington.
I used sirloin steak, which I cooked in a pan until it was cooked medium rare. You can of course cook the steak how you prefer it. Ensure it is cooked to a point before you would call it perfect, as it will cook more in the oven.
I then cut the steak into portions, about two inches square.
The steak was then spread with a mixture of chopped mushrooms and mustard. I used French whole grain mustard.
Using some puff pastry (and I will admit I do buy ready made puff pastry as I have no idea on how to make it).
I cut out some circles, about four inches in diameter. Placed one circle on the baking tray, added the steak. Using beaten egg and a pastry brush I brushed egg around the edges of the circle and placed a second circle of puff pastry on top. This top puff pastry circle was then brushed with beaten egg.
The parcels were then baked in an oven for about ten to fifteen minutes until golden brown.
Tapas
Cooked my own tapas, with variety of dishes.
Pan fried squid and prawns: Simple slice the squid into rings and fry on a hot pan with a splash of olive oil. The prawn, I butterflied and again just cooked in a hot pan.
Patatas Bravas – Fried potato, topped with a spicy tomato sauce. I made the tomato sauce myself, onions, tinned tomatoes, a hint of chilli and a splash of balsamic vinegar. The potatoes, I cheated and used frozen fried potatoes baked in the oven.
Chorizo Frito al Vino: Remember to buy the whole sausage and not the thinly salami style sliced version.
My method is to cut the chorizo into slices about quarter of an inch thick. Fry in a large frying pan until sealed on both sides and just starting to go a little crispy. At this point I add the red wine (Spanish red wine is best, but I am sure you can use any good red wine).
Cook the chorizo for a few more minutes and then serve.
Rosemary flavoured roasted chicken breast: Simple roast a chicken breast on a bed of rosemary with a splash of olive oil.
Overall some delicious dishes.
Photo source.
Organic Carrots
I do like carrots and I like organic carrots even better, as they have a much fuller flavour than “standard” carrots.
In a recent report however as reported by the BBC and commisioned by the Food Standards Agency it was found that:
Organic food is no healthier than ordinary food, a large independent review has concluded.
There is little difference in nutritional value and no evidence of any extra health benefits from eating organic produce, UK researchers found.
Things change, back in October 2007 I read that:
Organic produce is better for you than ordinary food, a major European Union-funded study says.
The £12m four-year project, led by Newcastle University, found a general trend showing organic food contained more antioxidants and less fatty acids.
That survey said organic food, well organic produce, could be better for you than non-organic produce.
So who is right?
When I started buying organic, and about 90% of what I buy is organic, the data and research seemed to indicate that there was no real difference between organic and non-organic produce.
I justified it to myself that possibly it was good for me, but in reality the main reason for buying organic was the flavour, and I still stand by that.
I buy organic for the flavour and so should you.
The £11,750 bottle of single malt
So would you pay £11,750 for a bottle of whisky?
Some one did.
A single bottle of whisky has sold for £11,750 at auction in Glasgow.
The 50-year-old Macallan, a bottling of three casks distilled between 1926 and 1928, sold to a private collector in California at McTear’s auctioneers.
It is the most expensive bottle sold this year and the most expensive 50-year-old bottle of Macallan ever sold.
Dragon Fruit
Dragon Fruit, had you heard of it? I hadn’t.
Looks weird.
Then you cut it, and it’s even more surprising.
So what is it like?
The texture is a cross between melon and kiwi fruit.
So what does it taste like?
Not much, probably got a dud or an unripe version.
Will I get it again?
No.
Fresher Beer?
Beer will be last longer on shelves if brewers take advantage of new technologies to increase shelf life.
A material that could lead to beer with significantly longer shelf life has been designed by researchers.
The approach works by removing riboflavin, or vitamin B2, which causes changes to beer’s flavour when exposed to light passing through the bottle.
Read more.
Does this mean fresher beer? No just means less stale beer!
Slow roasted pork belly
You don’t always have to use expensive cuts of meat to make a wonderful meal, sometimes the cheapest cuts cooked really slowly can have fantastic flavour and texture.
I do have a passion for pork belly, and remembering a dish I had my local pub, when I saw a slab of pork belly on sale at Marks and Spencer decided to create my own version.
Turn on your oven to its highest temperature.
I chopped some root vegetable, onion and carrot, added some mushrooms and potatoes and placed it in a roasting pan.
I placed the belly pork on the root vegetables and seasoned it. I then placed this in the really hot oven, turning the temperature right down to 160. I then left the pork to roast for about two hours. This may not seem long, but it wasn’t a huge piece of pork like a leg joint.
As it cooked I did add some wine and water now and again to the bottom of the roasting pan, so it didn’t dry out.
The result was a fantastic moist, tender wonderfully flavoured piece of pork. Which I sliced and served with vegetables.
The pan contained the cooked root veg and the juices and made a wonderfully rich sauce.
Overall very tasty and a well received on the table.
Basil, garlic & chilli squid
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in the Guardian has a really nice squid recipe.
Few things are more delicious on a summer’s day than squid hot from the barbecue.