An Exciting Delivery

My very own copy of Clotilde Dusoulier's first book 'Chocolate and Zucchini' based, of course, on her blog of the same name arrived for me at last yesterday. I've had the book on order for some time and have been eagerly awaiting its delivery. As I've mentioned before, I adore cook books and a new one always excites me, but it's a thrill to hold in my hands a fellow blogger's first ever book.

Clotilde, many, many congratulations, it's a remarkable achievement and I can't wait to settle down to read it from cover to cover.

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of May - The Round Up

Well, May is almost over and this month's ‘In the Bag’ event has closed. For this very first month Cherry, Scott and I challenged you to cook a dish using the 3 seasonal ingredients we had chosen - Asparagus, Sea Trout and Spring Onions.

The first entry was this stunning 'Sea Trout Koulibiac with Asparagus', created by Achilleas from Ala Grecque:



Susan of Porcini Chronicles gave us 'Trota al Cartoccio con Risotto di Asparagi (Trout Baked in Parchment with Asparagus Risotto)', which was, fantastically, baked in a bag!



Marona from El Tiempo de la Marmota took us in an entirely different direction with this Deep Fried Trout with Asparagus-Spring Onion Dip:



This 'Baked Sea Trout with Creamy Asparagus Sauce served with Bashed Potatoes and Spring Onions' came from Amanda of Little Foodies:



Lorraine from Italian Foodies went with a delicious 'Risotto con punte di asparagi':



Joanna of Joanna's Food made this 'Simple Seasonal Supper':



This 'Sea trout with asparagus n spring onions' was invented by Padmaja of Spicyandhra:



Our lovely Cherry of Cherry's English Kitchen whipped up 'Cherry's Seasonal Creamy Trout & Tarragon Pie':



My other co-host, Scott from Real Epicurean entered this interesting 'Chilled Radish Leaf and Asparagus Soup':



Finally, my own entry was a 'Lemon Asparagus and Sea Trout Pie:



Thank you so much to everyone who took part, I've really enjoyed hosting this and I can't wait to see what next month brings!

Classic Combinations

There is a very good reason why some things are partnered together again and again - quite simply, they work. Vodka and tonic, the little black dress and high heels.....chicken and avocado.

So little goes into this salad, yet the flavours are incredible; they marry together so well. The creaminess of the avocado and roasted chicken, the sea salt which the avocado really needs, the lemon and olive oil bringing everything together on the background of salad leaves. It’s quite amazing how something so simple can be so spectacular.

Chicken Avocado Salad

Scatter chunks or slices of roast chicken on a bed of salad leaves. Halve an avocado, remove the stone and cut each half into three before removing the skin with a knife. Add the avocado slices to the salad. Drizzle over some freshly squeezed lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil then finally sprinkle over some sea salt.

Patience is a Virtue

Risotto doesn’t take long to make, but it’s not a no-effort meal. It does require something from you. It needs nursing, watching over and gentle encouragement. But this loving care rewards you ten-fold. The homely, satisfying plate of food you get is the culinary equivalent of a big hug. Even more so if you’ve made your own stock to feed the little grains of rice.

I’ve waited a long time for the roast chicken and spring onion risotto I’ve just eaten; since Sunday, to be exact. That’s when I roasted the chicken which was destined to become this dish, after it had given up its breast meat to a Sunday dinner. I knew then that I would make a roast chicken risotto in the week. The legs remained untouched so they would provide the meat and the bare bones of the whole chicken the stock.

Today I worked from home so at lunchtime I pulled the leftover meat from the bird and put the remains in my large stock pot, along with the usual stock ingredients. There it simmered slowly during the afternoon, making me hungrier and hungrier as time went on. When I finished my work for the day I turned my attention to the risotto.

I poured myself a glass of wine, turned on the gas and placed a heavy, medium sized pan over the heat. In went a knob of butter to melt and sizzle as I chopped a shallot to add to the pan. And so the gentle stirring began. After a few minutes it was time to throw in some risotto rice. I didn’t measure it; this dish was far too relaxed for precision. Time for more stirring, to coat the rice until it was slick and glossy with butter, next a slosh of vermouth which sizzled and made sweet, alcoholic steam. Once the vermouth had reduced down I started to add the simmering chicken stock, a ladleful at a time, with more stirring in between. And there I stood, stirring, sipping wine, letting the cares of the day evaporate to join the steam drifting out of the kitchen door into the garden.

Towards the end of the cooking time I chopped a couple of spring onions and added them to the pan along with the roast chicken I’d torn from the legs, a sprinkling of sea salt and a grinding of black pepper. When the chicken was heated through and the risotto rice al dente with a nice bite to it I took the pan off the heat and stirred in some shaved parmesan cheese. My work was done and my reward was steaming and ready to be devoured.