Salmon Parcels with Watercress Sauce

Ingredients for 8 people

2 x 16 oz sheets all-butter puff pastry
2 1/2 pound salmon fillet (2 smaller pieces will also work)

Mushroom filling:
8 oz mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp sour cream
1 egg, beaten

Sauce:
2 tbsp sweet onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups vegetable stock
6 oz frozen peas
6 oz watercress, chopped
6 tbsp sour cream

To make mushroom filling, heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large pan. Add onion and fry, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 3-4 mins to soften. Increase heat and add mushrooms. Fry until the liquid has evaporated, adding the garlic towards the end with a garlic press. Season lightly. Add lemon juice then parsley. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Place one sheet of pastry on baking paper on a baking sheet. Lay one salmon fillet on top and trim pastry to fit, allowing 1/2 inch of pastry all round. Spread the mushroom filling over the salmon, then place the second fillet on top like a sandwich. Season lightly again. Cover with second pastry sheet, trimming as before - it will take more pastry for the 'lid' because the fish-mushroom filling is thick. Dampen edges of base sheet and press top sheet on firmly to prevent leaks. Crimp edges of parcel. Now take the discarded pastry strips and use them to make a crisis-cross design over the top. Brush the parcel with the beaten egg. Place in pre heated oven (425 F) and bake for 30 mins, covering with foil if pastry starts to brown. When the pie is done allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

While the pie is cooking make the sauce - melt the butter in a pan, stir in the onion and and fry for a few minutes until soft but not colored. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, then off the heat slowly add the stock. Return to heat and cook, stirring all the time until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the peas. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in watercress. Purée the mixture in a food processor. Return to pan, stir in sour cream and mint, check seasoning and reheat gently just prior to serving.

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

This is great to serve with coffee after a meal. Makes 10 large, very rich slices.

Ingredients

4 1/2 oz unsalted butter

3oz golden syrup
7oz dark chocolate - minimum 60% cocoa solids, broken into pieces
1 egg
2oz graham crackers
2oz whole walnuts
2oz sultanas
2oz glace cherries, reserving a few for decoration

Method

Line the loaf tin with baking parchment and set aside.

Melt the butter and syrup together in a small saucepan over a gentle heat until they begin to boil. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended over a saucepan of barely simmering water, then mix thoroughly with the butter and golden syrup. Beat the egg slowly and continuously into the hot chocolate mixture.

Break up the biscuits slightly. Add the walnuts, sultanas and most of the cherries.Pour the chocolate mixture on to the dry ingredients and mix together with a spatula or wooden spoon. Press the mixture into the tin and decorate with reserved cherries. Leave to set in fridge for about four hours.

Remove from the fridge, peel off the paper and cut into slices or cubes.  Serve chilled.

Spicy Lamb Kebabs with Yogurt and Cucumber

Ingredients for 4 people

1 lb lean minced lamb

1 egg

1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs

1/4 cup minced green onion

1/2 tsp each ground cumin, coriander seed and cardamom

couple of pinches of chili powder

juice and grated rind of one lime

salt and pepper

handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped

8 long wooden skewers soaked in water for 30 mins

For the sauce:

1/2 an English cucumber, partially peeled and cut into small cubes
couple of sprigs of fresh mint, finely chopped
small pot of Greek-style yogurt
salt

Method

In a large bowl mix all the kebab ingredients. Tip: dampen your hands and use them rather than a utensil, to ensure that everything is well mixed together. Divide the mixture into eight and, again with dampened hands, shape each piece into a sausage. Push a drained skewer through the sausage, then squeeze and reshape it so that it is well formed and stuck to the stick. Repeat for the remaining kebabs. Sprinkle with a little olive oil.

Place in a preheated oven at 450 F, or under a hot grill. These are also great on the Weber or a charcoal grill. After 5-10 minutes depending on the cooking method it should be seared on the outside, but not overcooked inside.

Combine the yogurt ingredients and serve alongside. A dish of chili sauce is another good accompaniment for those who like it hot.

Cheese Flan

When it comes to cheese, the Swiss can teach us a thing or two. Same goes for cheese flan. This is a simple and irresistible tart from the Swiss Cheese Union in Berne, Switzerland.

Ingredients

9 oz shortcrust pastry
butter to grease flan tin
Filling:
7 oz Emmental, grated
7 oz Gruyere, grated
2 eggs
1 level tbsp all purpose flour
9 fl oz cream (1 cup + 1 tbsp)
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Method

Roll out the dough and use to line a 10" greased flan tin, pricking the base and the sides with a fork.

Combine all the ingredients for the cheese mixture. Pour this into the flan case.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 425 F for 25-35 minutes. Serve hot, accompanied by a salad.

Fried Green Tomatoes

This side dish is on the menu in one of my favorite East Coast spots - Lambertville, NJ. Jim Hamilton's great restaurant, Hamilton's Grill Room is in a picturesque canal-side courtyard, and you can have a cocktail at the neighboring Boat House before dinner.

Here's my version of the classic Southern dish.

Ingredients

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 firm, large green tomatoes, cut into slices 1/3 inch thick
vegetable oil
salt

Method 

Beat egg gently with buttermilk. Mix half the flour with the cornmeal, a scant teaspoon of salt and the pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge the tomato slices in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Dip them into the egg mixture, then the cornmeal mixture.

Heat oil (or oil mixed with rendered bacon fat) to a depth of 1/2 inch in a large cast-iron skillet. Test the temperature with a teaspoon of cornmeal-egg mixture. It should sizzle but not turn brown too quickly. Drop tomatoes, in batches, into the hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt immediately.

Latin-inspired Cocktails and Virgin Alternatives

I'm hosting a Latin-themed party in a few days' time: an authentic Spanish paella cooked outdoors on the Weber grill, with some tapas appetizers and a flan and to finish. I want to serve pitchers of drinks in the same vein, but one of my guests has recently stopped drinking alcohol, so I shall be offering virgin alternatives too.

Sangria

Half fill a pitcher with ice. Pour in one bottle of Spanish red wine, a glass of brandy and a glass of club soda. Add slices of orange, apple, lime and lemon. To serve, pour into wine glasses, adding a helping of ice and sliced fruit.

Virgin Sangria

Half fill a large glass jug with ice. Add slices of orange, apple, lime and lemon. Top up the jug with fresh cranberry juice and the juice of an orange, a lemon and a lime, and serve as above. Adding a little club soda to each glass gives a longer, less sweet drink, which I find more refreshing.

Mojito

Half fill a tall glass with ice. Add a measure (2 1/2 fl oz) of white rum, half a lime cut into wedges and 2 tsps sugar. Add a large sprig of mint and the lime wedges, and muddle the glass to release mint and lime oils and juice. Top up with a splash of club soda and decorate with another wedge of lime.

Cuba Alcohol-Libre

Half fill a tall glass with ice. Add a splash of tonic water and the juice of half a lemon and half a lime. Top up with Coca Cola. Decorate with a slice of lime.

Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons fast-acting yeast
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, softened
4 oz sugar
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
1/2 cup raisins and peel
short crust pastry trimmings (or a thick paste of flour + water)
2 tbsp sugar and 4 tbsps water for glaze

Method

Mix salt with flour. Rub in butter. Add yeast, sugar, spice. Combine eggs with warmed milk. Pour into flour mixture and mix. Add fruit. Knead well to form a springy dough. Leave to rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in size.

Knock back the dough and divide into 18 pieces. Shape into balls with hands and place close to each other but not touching on a baking tray. Allow to prove in a warm place, covered, until doubled in size.

Cut pastry into 3/8" strips or make up a thick flour and water paste and put in piping bag. When the buns have doubled in size brush a little water in a cross over each bun and place two strips of pastry over the top; or if using flour paste pipe a cross on each bun.

Bake in a preheated (425 F) oven for 8-10 minutes. While the buns are baking heat sugar gently with water until you have a pale golden syrup. Brush this over the buns immediately you take them from the oven, then cool on a rack.

Gazpacho

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh tomatoes
3 green onions (more if small)
1 English cucumber
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2-3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 pints chicken or vegetable stock or water
few teaspoons sun-dried tomato puree
1 tbsp chopped parsley
salt & black pepper
2-3 tbsps red wine vinegar
4 tbsps good olive oil
1 tsp white sugar
1 small glass vodka*
1 thick slice white bread soaked briefly in a little water*

*optional but well worth considering

Method

Chop ingredients roughly (and mix with soaked bread if using). Add oil and blend briefly to give a coarse, lumpy puree. Stir in the stock, vinegar, sugar and seasoning. Chill for several hours. Stir in parsley and optional vodka just before serving.

It is traditional to hand around small dishes of chopped cucumber, red pepper, onion, hard boiled egg and croutons as accompaniments.

Salud!