This must be one of the easiest recipes I can think of, nothing fancy, super quick and really tasty. It’s a perfect mid-week meal when you don’t have time for anything big, easily done in 30 minutes or less. I always make extra, because it is so easy to eat and so good, it’s hard to put the fork down. Any leftovers can be reheated the next day for lunch. Use good quality, smoked streaky bacon.[…]
Gin & Yang
Beetroot Jelly
I love beetroot, it’s a wonderful vegetable. Beetroot and stovies, beetroot in stews and beetroot in jelly. Beetroot jelly reminds me of when I was a kid, one of our neighbours discovered I liked beetroot (he grew a lot of his own veg in his garden and would always give me something to take home). He told me about jelly beetroot, it sounded strange to me but the next time he made some, he gave[…]
Candied Rosemary
Candied rosemary is easy to do. It makes for a nice addition to teas and desserts or in my case, my Forest Floor recipe. This particular recipe is more “sugared” than “candied” but it doesn’t make much difference. Ingredients: 16 sprigs Fresh Rosemary 8 sprigs Fresh Thyme 200g Sugar 250ml Water Method: 1. Bring the water to a boil in a small pan. 2. Steep the thyme sprigs in the water for[…]
Smoked Salmon Sashimi with Watermelon & Wasabi Sorbet
This was the first dish from my tasting menu. The key feature of this recipe is the watermelon and wasabi sorbet. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time, ever since having wasabi ice cream a couple of years ago at Whatley Manor (probably the best meal I’ve ever had). With that as my inspiration I felt that this would make for an excellent amuse bouche. I love sashimi but it is[…]
Ribeye Steak with Straw Potatoes and Jim Beam Glaze
I return to one of my favourites, steak. You can read my previous article on how to properly cook a steak here, so I won’t cover it in much detail this time. My initial plan with this recipe was to do steak and eggs but I was reminded of the bottle of Jim Beam (white) which is so bad, I can’t even drink it with coke. It’s like that overly excited aunt or uncle you always see at[…]
Duo of Horse Steak with a Warm Bean Couscous
With all the recent news about ready made meals contaminated with horse meat, I wanted to try it for myself. Us Brits and the Americans revile horse meat but I’m not entirely sure why? I can understand the anger over eating horse meat when it was meant to be beef, especially when the horse isn’t the type bred for its meat; but I can’t understand why we don’t eat horse that is bred specifically for[…]
Ginger, Fennel and Golden Zucchini Couscous with Venison and Chorizo Sausages
I have never been a big fan of couscous and nor is my wife, every dish we’ve tried has been too bland. That was until I decided to give it another go at my local restaurant – The Bridge Brassiere. I had their Ginger & Fennel Couscous with Venison sausages for lunch. It was wonderful, and that’s not the usual word I use to describe dishes with couscous! The ginger and fennel gave the couscous[…]
Roast Chinese 5 Spice Pork Belly with Green Peppers
One of the first times I had Pork Belly was at a Chinese restaurant following a funeral (I know, not exactly where you would expect to have memorable food experiences) but I was about 10 or 12 years old and I couldn’t get enough of this pork belly. Crispy skin, melt in the mouth fat, moist and tender pork meat, no little salt and the taste of those spices; It took several more years to[…]
Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Mousse with a Raspberry & Limoncello Granita
My final dish from my dinner party. It was a nice, relaxing way to finish the meal as it can all be made well in advance, all that is required is to get the granita out of the freezer a few minutes before serving. My first challenge was to make a dairy free mousse. I’ve made a mousse without any cream before and it turned out fine, although it was very rich. This time, I[…]
No Roast Char Sau
This is my all time favourite dish since I was young. Char Sau in Hakka is roast pork. It is served in chinese takeaways all over the UK, but I find some of them can be quite dry. I can eat it everyday, but it’s not a very healthy one as it contains quite a bit of fat and sugar. The most delicious part of the dish is the sauce. I always find that the[…]