Braised Quails in Wild Mushroom Sauce

Sounds good, eh?

These little tasty birds were on offer, and made a nice change from chicken / beef / chicken / beef.

And then I realised that you usually have to baste these birdies and use quite a lot of fat to keep them moist and make them tender.

But I wasn't going to let a little detail like that deter me, and so here is what I did:

For 2 people

4 quails
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
A small handful of dried wild mushrooms, rehydrated and keep the liquid!
3 tbsp corn flour
1 large glass of cooking wine, in this case Noilly Prat
1 chicken stock cube
8 carrots, cut into batons (optional if you are in PP)

First, brown the quails in a non-stick pan without any fat. Season.

In a casserole which will fit the quails kind of snugly, soften the onions with some water on low heat. Turn up the heat and add the wine. Let it bubble away a bit, then add the garlic, carrots, mushrooms (incl. liquid), stock cube and finally snugly fit the quails into this. Get it to the boil, then leave it on a low-ish simmer for 25-35 minutes (test that the juices are running clear and that you can pretty much tear the leg off easily).

Take the quails out, keep them warm and then add the cornflour mixed with a bit of cold water to the sauce and let it thicken. Season to taste. I added a bit of lemon juice to balance out the sweetness.

Serve and enjoy. And you know what? The birds were tender as can can be! I could not believe it. Ok, when we are done with Dudu, I'll do this again, but brown them in some butter and oil to bring out an even nicer colour.

Spanish Chicken

And... We're back for a short round of Dudu!

Starting with a few PP days, I wanted to try something new to keep me motivated. And it was met with a resounding "I hope you make this soon again".

I made this in 2 stages, just because I had time to prepare it yesterday, but we were going out, and then we would have it all ready for tonight.

In a 180C oven.

In an oven-proof casserole:
- cover bottom of the casserole with sliced onion, sliced garlic, heaped tsp of pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika) and barely cover with tomato passata and tiny bit of water
- on top, place the chicken pieces so that the skin won't get under the sauce

Cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Now this is where I took the whole thing and placed it outside (it's November, and it wouldn't fit in the fridge) until tonight. If cooking it the same day, just adjust the following cooking time accordingly, since you won't need to bring the whole dish up to temperature first.

So I pre-heated the oven to 200 C and put the casserole in, lid OFF this time and let the sauce bubble down to a thick sticky mess and the chicken skin get crispy (I know, skin is a no no in this diet, but guess what... I can't throw it away!). It took roughly 1 hour

I think this might work well as a technique with all sorts of other flavours. To be continued...

Zingy Spring Stew

After several months of non-compliance, we are back on the wagon. But the seasons have moved on and the last thing I feel like at the moment are autumnal and winter dishes. Coupled with a new kitchen (in a new home), my inspiration has returned and I decided to bring back my beloved stew but in a fresh form. It's already smelling good, but it's for tomorrow so no idea if the taste will match. Here's to hoping.

If you can trust me on smell alone, here is what I bunged into a oven-proof casserole 1,5 hours ago.

Diced stewing steak
1 whole leek
2 celery stalks
Coriander seeds
Fennel seeds
Peppercorns
Bay leaves
Fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme
White wine
Paired zest from one lemon

Let me know if it works for you. Bon appetit!

Cottage Pie della Mamma!

This is really a misnomer for what is a bolognese ragu, topped with root vegetable mash, but I had to call it something. I actually prefer shepherd's pie (with left-over lamb), but Dr D. doesn't approve of lamb...

For the ragu:
Low fat mince beef

Chopped finely in mixer:
A few carrots
Some celeriac
Celery stalks
Onions
Garlic

Red wine (all the alcohol will evaporate!)
Tomato passata
Tinned tomatoes
Tomato puree
Bay leaves
Rosemary

Brown the meat in a large, deep saucepan. When all browned, add the chopped vegetables, then all the other ingredients. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer covered for 1 hour, stirring now and then. Then take the lid off and let some of the liquid evaporate until you get a thick ragu (should take 1/2 hour).

I like to do this the day before, to let the flavours develop.

For the mash:

Whatever root vegetables you like. In our case it's mostly celeriac and swede, boiled in salted water and then blended.

Pour a thick layer of the meat sauce (reheated) in a deep dish (or individual ones), and top with the mash. Grill until the mash is brown and the ragu bubbling through.

To give credit where credit is due, Skat always prepares the ragu, but 'della Mamma' sounds so much better than 'del Pappa' :-)

And our pie will be enjoyed tomorrow night. Yum!

Lunch Ideas

Pre-Dukan, I used to have a variation of last night's dinner for lunch, ie some cold stir-fry with a salad or a stew made into a soup. But eating like we are now, there aren't that many left-overs as protein is now the bulk and vegetables are a no-no every other day.

PP days are especially tough, I find, as I'm always more inspired by vegetables and just need to get this over and done with. So I've turned to my fatherland, Denmark, for some culinary inspiration, which must be a first. Danish cuisine (Noma notwithstanding, but pleeeease don't get me started on that one) is a lunch cuisine, in the way that British food used to be a breakfast cuisine.

So, what do I have for lunch? Well, lots of fish and lots of egg, sometimes together. One memorable and not-to-be-repeated under any circumstances variation was a tuna omelet (even 3-year old Miss Pink who loves egg AND tuna could not eat that).

I always have some smoked pepper mackrel in the fridge, some ends of hot-smoked salmon, some lumpfish caviar (no, not a luxury item).

A typical plate could be some flaked mackrel, some salmon mixed with fromage frais or yogurt, mustard and capers and a soft-boiled egg (just set enough that it can be peeled).

Or some lumpfish caviar with soft-boiled eggs and finely chopped shallots. I have also made Oeufs Mimosas, ie hard-boiled eggs, where the yolk has been scooped out, mixed with fromage frais / yogurt and some curry powder and placed ack into the halved eggs. Good starter on PP days when the thought of just a steak or a chicken breast just doesn't bear thinking about...

Hainanese Chicken Rice Without the Rice

This is what happens when one is properly disorganised and cannot find ones recipes...

Some time ago (in a pre-Dukan life), I tried a recipe by a recent Masterchef winner, Dhruv Baker, for Hainanese Chicken Rice and it was probably the best chicken stock I have ever made. But try as I might, offline, online, I cannot seem to find the recipe again. But I ploughed on undeterred, and apparently it was worth the effort and general improvisation, just ask my mum...

I hate waste. So when I cook a whole EXPENSIVE chicken, I want to make sure that all is put to good use. And this recipe really allows for that!

In a BIG stockpot, put:

2 onions studded with a few cloves
6 unpeeled garlic cloves
1 cinnamon stick (Chinese cinnanom or Cassia Bark is even better)
1 big tsp black peppercorns
3 whole dried chillies
2 star anise
some coriander stalks, preferably with roots
half tsp coriander seeds
thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thick rounds
1 chicken, breast down

Optional: a few carrots and leeks

Cover as much with water as possible. My pot is not big enough to cover the whole bird, which is why I cook it breast down, otherwise it takes even longer to cook. Also add some chicken stock cubes or powder, how much is up to you, but it really enhances the flavour (and no, it's not cheating).

I try to do the boiling the day before I want to eat the bird, so I can cool down the broth and just scrape off the fat the next day. Obviously, sieve the broth before cooling it (dont't discard the garlic cloves, just press the skins to release the mushy garlicky bits and mix with the broth).

For the picture above, I lifted the 2 chicken breasts off the bird and gently re-heated them in some of the broth, while steaming some pak choy (or other cabbage) on top.

Keep all the 'solids' warm, while you mix the dipping broth:
the broth you have just used to heat the meat
chili sauce (I like Sriracha Chili and Ginger)
oyster sauce
lime juice
soy sauce
finely chopped / grated ginger
finely chopped / grated garlic
mirin or other rice wine (just a dash, if you are ok with that on Dukan)

Serve the dipping broth in a small bowl along the meat and vegetables, with some chopped spring onion.

Now, for the other uses...

For lunch yesterday, I had one cup of the lovely broth to bulk up my otherwise meagre PP lunch (forgot to shop).

Last night I picked the rest of the meat off the chicken (except 1 drumstick) and I made a lovely Asian broth with some finely chopped vegetables and I added some of the same ingredients as for the dipping broth but in a less intense version. Serve with lots of lime to squeeze over. For our toddler, the chicken was just re-heated and served with some boiled potatoes (and ketchup, sshhh)

Today I had the remaining meat with steamed leeks and a hard boiled egg in a bechamel sauce (mix 250 ml of skimmed milk and 1 tbsp corn flour with 1/2 stock cube and 1 tsp mustard. Heat the whole thing until it thickens and pour over the other elements. Place under the hot grill for 10-15 minutes and enjoy!)

PS: I understand that in the original version, all the goodness of the broth is mixed with the rice and the chicken is served skin-on
PPS: I still felt guilty throwing the very neatly picked carcass and the scraps of skin away...

Miso Cod My Way

As opposed to Nobu's, which is Miso Black Cod. I have no idea how it's cooked or how it tastes, but the name inspired my dinner tonight and what an inspiration!

I simply took some cod fillets and marinated them for under an hour in a mix of lime/lemon juice and one of those little sachets of ready-made miso soup paste with sea weed. I then put the dish under a hot grill for as long as it takes to cook the fish and YUM!

The sauce tasted of the sea with a sharp twang of citrus. Next time I might add some wasabi, just a hint.

It was so tasty, I ate the whole thing with a spoon!