THREE COUNTIES KITCHEN

Two hours of cooking tips and the tastiest recipes with Nick Coffer Every Sunday evening from 7.00pm to 9.00pm

Three Counties Kitchen: Factsheet 10 24 October 2010 Nick Coffer’s Hallow’een pumpkin soup

Serves 4 Preparation time 10 minutes Total cooking time 35 minutes 1 medium sized pumpkin 1 onion

1 carrot 2 sticks celery 800ml high quality vegetable stock 25g butter Single cream Salt and freshly ground pepper Peel and coarsely chop all the vegetables. Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and melt the butter. Pour in all the chopped vegetables and cook them gently for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add in the vegetable stock and bring to a gently simmer. Cook the vegetables for about 25 minutes until they are all soft. Using a food mixer or food blender, blend the soup. If it is a little thick, add some water. Season to taste and serve with a swirl of cream in each bowl and lots of crispy bread!

Ross Tustain’s Daddies Chilli 1kg beef, cubed into 2.5cm pieces (I use brisket, but as you cook this for so long any cut will do it) 250ml hot coffee (from instant) 2 large dried chillies Olive oil 1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin 1 heaped teaspoon of smoked paprika 1 teaspoon of dried oregano 1 bayleaf (fresh or dried) 1 large red onion 2-3 fresh chillies 1 cinnamon stick 5 cloves of garlic peeled and finely sliced or crushed 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes 2 tablespoons of molasses (or if you haven’t got that dark brown/muscavardo sugar will do) 1 red pepper and 1 orange or yellow pepper (sliced into strips) 1 x 400g tin of kidney beans 1 x 400g butter beans (you can always just use two tins of kidney beans)

1. I always get my butcher to cube and trim the meat for me (loads quicker!!) but if you didn’t do this first

2. Make your coffee up (use 2 teaspoons of coffee) 3. Place your dried chillies in the coffee to rehydrate and flavour that

coffee

4. Into a large pan (which you should have on a low heat) put 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil, your cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, bay leaf and onion. Fry for around 10 mins or until the onion has started to soften)

5. Take your fresh chillies and deseed and chop your chillies, then slice up the rehydrated chillies (They are in your coffee!! Don’t pour the coffee away!!)

6. Now add your chillies, the cinnamon stick, garlic, heaped teaspoon of salt and pepper and a little of the infused coffee.

7. Give it all a stir then add the rest of the coffee, the tined tomatoes and molasses (or dark brown sugar)

8. Add your meat and another teaspoon of salt and pepper 9. Leave to simmer on the hob for about 2.5 hours (I give it a stir every

hour) 10. After 2.5 hours start to break up the mean with two folks (pull it apart,

don’t worry about every single piece but you want it to be broken down which should happen fairly easily at this point but don’t panic if not still got more cooking time to go yet!!)

11. At this point add your sliced peppers and tins of beans and leave the lid off while it simmers away for another 45 minutes (stirring occasionally)

12. The meat should not be super tender and you can season with a little more salt and pepper to taste (also been known to add a little more fresh chilli at this stage if you like it really hot!!)

Ross Tustain’s Lou’b’Lou’s (Maple Syrup and Pecan Tart) Shortcrust pastry – Any standard recipe or indeed pre-made For the filling: 55g butter 340g maple syrup 3 x tbsp golden syrup 170g breadcrumbs Zest of 2 oranges 2 x apples (I prefer cox’s) Small piece of fresh ginger (about the size of a 50 pence coin) grated up finely About 80g of shelled pecan nuts

1. Line an 11inch loose bottomed tart tin with your pastry and place in a freezer for an hour

2. Turn on your oven to gas 4/180c/350f 3. Take you pastry out of the freezer after the hour and put in the oven for

about 15 mins (just want it lightly golden

4. Remove and allow to cool while you get on with step 5 5. Heat the butter, maple syrup and golden syrup in a pan, once melted

together mix in the breadcrumbs, orange zest, apples, ginger and half of the pecans

6. Spoon into the pastry and sprinkle over the remaining pecans 7. Pop in the oven for about 20 mins then serve

Henry Dimbleby’s Leek Vinaigrette

Leeks vinaigrette is a classic vegetable dish, and Simon Hopkinson does it best – the vinaigrette itself is unsurpassed. This is an adaptation of his recipe. Serves: 4 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes 1.5kg leeks (about 8 medium) 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 150ml groundnut oil or other flavourless oil 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 2 tablespoons capers sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Trim the leeks, split each one down the middle lengthwise (leaving the base on to keep the two halves together), and wash thoroughly in warm water to remove any dirt.

2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the leeks and

cook them for around 15 minutes, or until they are tender.

3. Put the mustard, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water into a blender or food processor and blend. With the machine still running, gradually add the oil until all the ingredients are homogenized. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little water if you think the dressing is too thick.

4. Drain the leeks well in a colander. Allow to cool a little, then cut off the

base so that they separate into halves. Arrange neatly in a serving dish, cut sides downwards. Drizzle with the dressing.

5. Chop the capers and sprinkle over the leeks, together with the chopped

chives.

6. It is essential that you don’t use olive oil for this dish. As Simon says: ‘The dressing is important – and a good one too, if I might say – as it not only doesn’t use olive oil, but is all the better for it being omitted from a salad dressing, for once; oh! the ubiquity of that particular lotion, these days, delicious as it surely is…’

7. Simon serves his leeks with a chopped hard-boiled egg on top instead

of capers.

8. Parsley can be used instead of chives. This can be made well in advance. It gets better as the vinaigrette seeps into the leeks. If you

serve it from the fridge, make sure you let it warm up for an hour or so at room temperature, as cold food doesn’t taste of much. This is great as a light dinner, with some sourdough toast and a poached egg.

Henry Dimbleby’s Ceviche A simple, stunning and super-fresh dish for a hot summer’s day. The lemon juice ‘cooks’ the fish delicately. Eat with a glass of white wine so cold there’s a kind of mist on the side of the glass. Serves 4 (as a starter or light lunch) Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 0 minutes ½ a fresh red chilli ½ a red onion a handful of radishes (the bigger each radish the better) 250g of sea bass fillet (equivalent to a 600g bass), boned and skinned juice of 1 lemon 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 avocado a small bunch of fresh coriander sea salt & freshly ground black pepper 1. Deseed and slice the chilli into fine strips and peel and slice the red onion as fine as you can manage. Slice the radishes very thinly. 2. Finely slice the sea bass into strips and put it in a bowl with the chilli, onion and radishes together with the lemon juice and olive oil. 3. Season well with salt and pepper – this is the most important step with ceviche. You have a very simple balance of flavours, so take time to get the seasoning just right. Add more chilli and lemon juice if necessary. 4. Leave for 10 minutes – and no more (less if you like it a little sushi-style). If you leave it for too long the fish will ‘overcook’. 5. Peel the avocado and cut in half, remove the stone and slice each half into delicate half moons. Arrange the fish mixture on a large plate, pour over any remaining lemon marinade and drizzle with a little extra olive oil. Scatter over the coriander leaves and serve. ° In Peru this is a national dish. They often eat i t as a simple lunch – almuerzo – with baked sweet potato. The orange colour and sweet taste of the potato make a wonderful switch for the avocado in this recipe.

° Ceviche is one of those dishes you can experiment with. Try lime juice instead of lemon. Change the fish – use scallops, raw prawns, or salmon. Use pieces of grilled corn on the cob from the barbecue instead of avocado.