Pommes Boulangeres

image provided courtesy of tescorealfood.com

Boulangeres is one of those potato dishes that goes pretty well with everything, and is useful alongside hearty dishes as well and lighter ones, they go phenomenally well with meat and fish dishes and much like every potato dish they can serve well as a "vehicle" for a variety of flavours. This dish uses a rosemary herb focus, but it doesn't have to be that way it can easily be amended to suit your preference.


You will need (serves roughly 6):

1.2 kg desiree, king edward or romano potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly on a mandolin (/or carefully with a chefs knife)
2 medium onions (peeled  & sliced thinly into same porportions as the potatoes)
large handful fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
300 ml vegetable stock
150ml milk
50g butter

The doing bit:

Take the rosemary and rub in a pestle and mortar until it softens a little. If you dont have one you can do the same with a rolling pin on a hard surface. Take two thirds of the rosemary and chop finely. Take the sliced onions and the potatoes and garlic, and create a layer in a baking dish followed by a scattering of rosemary and season with a little salt and pepper. Continue layering, until your top layer has a layer of potatoes and onions that slightly overlap.

Mix the milk and stock together and pour over the potatoes into the dish. Season the top layer, then scatter the remaining rosemary over the top for decoration.On the top add the butter in small pieces until the dish is evenly covered and place in oven on the highest shelf into a preheated oven to 180C, until the top is crisp and the underneath is soft, tender and creamy.

Remove from the oven and devour.

Poached duck egg / black pudding / grlled portobello mushroom / horseradish cream

Image courtesy of jessicalettucetomato.wordpress.com

*part of the sizzling-staffordshire menu series*

This is a wonderful dish, and in combination provides great balance of flavour, texture and general yummyness. I suppose it could be easily attributed to being a breakfast dish, but in the same respect it goes well equally as a light lunch or even as a main course starter.

You will need (per serving):

1 duck egg (large or small its up to you)
1 large portobello mushroom, stallk removed.
1 large round slice of black pudding (roughly 1/2 inch in thickness). if you can only get a smaller one, dont worry. We can rework the arrangement.
1/2 tsp creamed horseradish.
35ml white wine or vermouth.
100ml double or whipping cream.
1/2 tsp chopped chives
1.2 tsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp fresh thyme.
sea salt and black pepper.
2 tbsp white vinegar.

The doing bit:

Combine the herbs in a small bowl and mix. Season the mushroom (top side down) with the salt, pepper and a pinch of the herbs. Add a little oil (no more than 1/4 tsp) and then grill on a moderate heat along side the black pudding until the mushroom is soft to touch, and the black pudding has cooked also.

Add some ater to a saucepan and heat until boiling. add the vinegar and some pepper and turn to a simmer. Add the egg and bring up the heat a little until the egg is poached to desired preference. Remove from the liquor, then allow to dry on a piece of kitchen towel.

For the cream: Heat up the white wine and then add the cream to a pan. Add the horseradish and simmer gently for about 3 mintues until the mixture has thickened.

Assemble as follows: black pudding, mushroom on top then poached egg (in the well where the mushroom stalk was). Serve with a small amount of cream on top of the egg and the rest around. Garnish with the remaining herbs and devour.

Herb butter (for fish, white meats, sauces and vegetable dishes)

image courtesy of bitlessbridle.co.uk

Another one of the good larder ingredients, this butter provides a wonderful herb element whilst giving a moderate sweetness with the shallot presence. Perfect accompaniment and finishing tool for a variety of sauces, meats, fish, and vegetable dishes.

You will need:

250g salted butter softened
3 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
1 tbsp sage finely chopped
1 tbsp rosemary finely chopped
1 tsp tarragon finely chopped
1 crushed clove of garlic,
1 shallot very finely chopped

The doing bit:

In a saucepan add a small amount of oil then add the shallots and garlic and cook gently until soft. Allow to cool.

Combine all ingredients and mix into uniform paste. Wrap in cling film and form into a sausage shape. Chill until required.

Lemon Butter (as an accompaniment)

There are all kinds of flavoured butters used in cooking to give a different element or dimension in flavour. This infusion uses elements that are versatile for many different applications, inclusive of fish, green vegetables, white meats such as chicken, turkey or even pork. It can also be used as an alternative means for butter sauce derivatives such as hollondaise where necessary. It can even be used as the base of a sauce such as bechamel when making the roux for said sauce. Used in this manner it makes dishes like lemon veloute alot deeper and developed in flavour.

You will need (makes about 8-10 portions depending on usage):

1 lemon, zested and juiced.
6 tarragon leaves.
Pinch of black pepper
250g salted butter (soft)

The doing bit:

Combine all ingredients above until the a uniform paste. Wrap in cling film in a sausage shape and chill until required. Use as a finishing tool for a variety of meat / vegetable dishes or as a sauce medium (mentioned above).

Spring onion and herb broth / pancetta & parmesan dumplings

Image courtesy of bbc good food.

This dish is perfect for springtime and will serve well as a hearty lunch or as a light evening meal. A complete meal in itself, will bring delight to the palate and satisfyingly filling, with herb inspired overtones providing a light yet fragrant dish.

You will need (serves 2):

For the broth

600ml Vegetable stock (boiling)
1 large clove garlic finely chopped
2 shallots, finely diced
1 bunch / 8 spring onions, very finely chopped
handful of mix of fresh parsley, tarragon, sage and basil, finely chopped
Teaspoon of arrowroot powder

For the dumplings:

6 Gyoza wrappers
4 slices pancetta, finely chopped
thumb sized piece of parmesan, finely grated
1/5 of the herb bouqet mentioned in the broth section
Thumbnail sized piece of butter.
1/4 tablespoon black pepper

The doing bit:

Make the dumplings first.

Mix the pepper, pancetta, parmesan, butter and herbs together in a small bowl.
Take a gyoza wrapper and add a teaspoon sized mixture of the above, and then close each wrapper and seal the edges with a little water. Set to one side.

For the broth, sautee in a saucepan the shallots until soft, add the spring onions until they turn bright green, then add the herbs and the stock. Bring to the boil.Wet down the arrowroot with a little cold water and work to a thin paste and add to the broth. Allow to cook for 2 minutes then the broth is ready to use.

In a large frying pan, add a little oil then sear the dumplings until coloured each side. Place lid on pan then turn off the heat, adding a little of the broth to the pan. Allow to stand for 2 minutes then serve in a large bowl with the broth.