Take 3 Seasonal Ingredients…

Even though I’m hosting this month’s ‘In the Bag’ event I couldn’t let it pass me by without entering myself. I hope you’re enjoying it, I certainly am and I’m seeing some very inventive dishes being entered. But then, how can you not enjoy such fabulous seasonal ingredients as these? We’re in asparagus season after all, and asparagus is arguably one of the very best of the British crops. We also have crisp, fresh spring onions in this month’s bag along with beautiful pink sea trout.

I’ve combined these wonderful ingredients here in a creamy, lemony fish pie topped with spring onion mash and parmesan cheese.

Sea Trout tastes like a slightly milder, lighter version of salmon, so the lemon is a natural partner and the light green spring onion and asparagus adds texture and freshness. The asparagus cooks perfectly from raw in this pie, with a good bite to it – so long as you don’t chop it too small; keep it bite-sized. This is quite a light, fresh-tasting fish pie, despite the cream. I think the percentage of vegetables, along with the lemon, make this the case.

Lemon Asparagus and Sea Trout Pie



I’ve given measurements as a guide but please don’t get hung up on them, really use what as little or as much as you fancy.

Sauté 2 chopped shallots in a large knob of butter until softened. Add a good slosh of vermouth (or white wine) and allow to sizzle until reduced. Next add about 300ml of double cream and a handful of chopped flat-leafed parsley. Season well; using a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Add the zest and juice of one lemon, stir well and simmer until the sauce is thickened.

In the meantime boil and mash some potatoes for the topping and stir in a couple of chopped spring onions.

To assemble the pie chop about 500g of skinless sea trout fillets and scatter in an ovenproof dish. Add in as much chopped asparagus as you like (I used 3 stems). You could add in some other green veg if you wanted, such as tenderstem broccoli which I used (because I happened to have in the fridge). Now pour over the sauce and top with the mashed potato. Sprinkle over some grated parmesan cheese and bake at 200c for 30-40 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Mediterranean-Influenced Chicken and a Seasonal Gem

We had my favourite for dinner today - roast chicken - but I fancied something different to my usual full roast chicken dinner or roast chicken with salad. As it’s been a lovely, warm, day today I thought I’d go for a Mediterranean influence with smoked paprika and roasted cherry tomatoes, which turned out to be a fabulous combination. The tomatoes are actually fundamental, adding juicy moisture to a dish that could otherwise be a little on the dry side with no sauce or gravy, and complimenting the very subtle paprika in the chicken.

I picked up some Jersey Royal new potatoes today so served those with the chicken too. They are in season now and are an absolute must-buy. These creamy, nutty-flavoured waxy potatoes are grown, as the name suggests, on the island of Jersey, and are considered by many to be the cream of the crop of new potatoes. With one bite you can taste why.

Lemon and Smoked Paprika Roast Chicken

1 free range chicken
1 lemon
25g butter
A bunch of cherry tomatoes on the vine
Jersey new potatoes
Tenderstem broccoli
Sea salt
Spanish smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 225c.

Mix the butter with the zest of a lemon and a pinch of salt. Separate the skin from the breast by putting your hands underneath the skin and carefully tearing it away from the meat. Stuff the butter and lemon mix under the skin.

Cut the lemon in half and put it in the cavity, then rub the skin with about a teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika. Sprinkle over some sea salt and put the chicken in the oven.

After 20 minutes take the chicken out of the oven and baste it with the fat that has been released into the tray. Turn the oven down to 190c and roast the chicken for another hour.

Once the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear remove it from the oven and set aside, covered in tin foil to keep it warm, for 15 minutes. Put the cherry tomatoes, still on the vine, in a roasting tray and drizzle over some olive oil. Roast these at 200c for 15 minutes while the cooking is resting. In the meantime steam the broccoli and boil the potatoes in salted water.

Once the potatoes are cooked through (test by sticking a knife in to check they are tender), drain them and add a knob of butter. Slice the chicken and serve with the potatoes, broccoli and tomatoes.

Love Is…..Breakfast in Bed

Often it’s the simple things that leave us feeling truly loved. A small but selfless act with a lot of love and thought behind it can say more than the most extravagant of gestures such as bouquets of flowers and champagne (although I’d like to add at this point that we love those too so keep them coming!).

Breakfast in bed is one of those acts of love I’m talking about. It doesn’t have to be fancy, a cup of tea, a thick slice of buttered toast and a kiss on the nose is perfect and, I promise you, will leave your loved one feeling wonderful, looked after and very, very loved. How about surprising that special someone tomorrow morning?

Cold Outside, Hot Inside!

As you probably know by now, I love my creature comforts. When it’s cold and drizzly I want to come home to a warm house, a hot bath, soft blankets and comfort food. And today was one of those days.

As the weather has turned rather autumnal so has my cooking. Gone are the light fish dishes and long forgotten are the salads. As suddenly as the turning of the weather I’m craving pies, roast dinners and mashed potato. The chicken legs in the fridge were destined for one thing and one thing only today; stew.

I wanted a particularly comforting and warming stew so I opted for sweetness provided by spring carrots, sweet potato and Madeira and, to balance this out, I thought I'd add a little heat in the form of dried chilli flakes, thyme and lots of black pepper. Except I added more than 'a little heat'. I didn’t measure the chilli flakes but lobbed in what I thought was about a teaspoon. This was far too hot for me and left me doing a goldfish impression as I tried to get some cool air into my mouth. Rob, on the other hand, loved it, so it really does depend on your own tolerance of heat I guess. Nether the less I suggest a prudent ½ teaspoon in the recipe below. For my own portion of stew I added in some natural yoghurt in order to take out some of the heat, which not only cooled it but made it deliciously creamy and it worked really well with the sweet potato so I’d highly recommend doing this if you fancy a creamier version.



Chicken, Chilli and Sweet Potato Stew

4 chicken legs (or other chicken pieces)
1 stick of celery
1 onion
1 sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks
A handful of carrots cut into chunks
1 litre of chicken stock
2 bay leaves
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
½ wine glass full of Madeira
1 tablespoon of plain flour
½ teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (or according to taste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Natural yoghurt (optional)

Brown the chicken legs over a high heat and set aside.

Finely chop the celery, onion and 1 of the carrots. Gently sauté the vegetables in a casserole dish until softened.

Turn the heat up, add the flour and stir well, then add the Madeira. Once the Madeira has stopped sizzling add in the rest of the ingredients along with the chicken. Season well, adding a generous amount of pepper.

Bring the casserole to the boil then simmer gently on the hob, with a lid on, for an hour and a half to two hours. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

For a creamier version, stir in a dollop of natural yoghurt at the end.