Chicory with orange and blue cheese salad

This is loosely based on a dish from one of my favourite restaurants; The Plough at Bolnhurst in the UK. Chicory is bang in season and at its best now. I'm not one for lots of salads but I like this dish for its simplicity and the flavours work together really well. At this time of year its always nice to have something with some colour to brighten up an otherwise dull winter day.

Serves 2

2 heads of chicory 

100g blue cheese crumbled; my preference would be Shropshire blue, but you can also use stilton

1 medium red onion thinly sliced

2 oranges segmented

Dressing

20ml olive oil

10ml sherry vinegar

10ml orange juice (I tend to squeeze juice from what is left of the segmented oranges)

5ml English mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the dressing ingredients into a jar and shake till combined

Scatter the chicory leaves onto a plate, along with the onion, cheese and orange, mix well and then drizzle with the dressing.

Enjoy!

Brussels sprout purée with roast poussin

It’s that time of year when brussels sprouts are in season and on the menu in many a home and restaurant. Sprouts are the marmite of the vegetable world, you either love them or hate them. I must confess that I’m not the world’s biggest fan, so spent many years eschewing them at xmas dinner no matter how they were cooked. It wasn’t until a few years ago when I had them served as a purée at a restaurant in London that I suddenly had a change of tune. 

So here’s my take on sprout purée, I like to serve this as an alternative to mash at a meal and it pairs well with chicken and fish. I prefer to use baby sprouts as they tend to have a sweeter taste to them. I will warn you, this is not for those of you on a diet as it has plenty of butter and crème fraiche. Think of it as a very indulgent side dish. This is not a dish you should limit to xmas dinner but as soon as sprouts are in season.

Roast poussin with Sprout purée  - serves 2

250g sprouts

50g butter

75g crème fraiche

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the sprouts in boiling water for 5 - 7 mins or until a knife pierces them easily

Drain the sprouts and place them in a food processor with the butter and crème fraiche and pulse till combined in a smooth purée   

Season with the lemon juice, salt and pepper

1 poussin

1 dessertspoon of oil or duck fat to baste the poussin 

Salt and pepper to season

Half a head of garlic and sprigs of rosemary and thyme to stuff the poussin

Place the poussin in the oven at 200c normal oven 190c fan  for 40 - 50 minutes
To BBQ set the BBQ to indurect at 200c and cook for 40 - 50 minutes or it hits 72c core temp

Once the poussin is cooked, cover with foil and allow to rest in a warm place

To serve; halve the poussin and serve with the purée and the resting juices

You can also pep the purée up with crispy bacon or chopped chestnuts mixed through.

Fig and plum chutney

Plums are now making an appearance in the shops and figs are now reaching their peak. Thanks to a rather generous friend and neighbour who had too much fruit on their trees, this year so I got a big stash of both. My own trees have not been so abundant sadly. Here's a recipe I've been making for years that goes great with patés and earthy game meats.

2kg Plums, de stoned and chopped
12 figs chopped
200g demerara sugar
200ml balsamic vinegar
2 red onions finely chopped
100ml port
10g butter
salt and pepper

I would recommend using a heavy bottomed pan and the secret is to keep stirring all along, otherwise you end up with burnt bits and spend several days trying to clean the pan (I learned the hard way the first time I made this).

Sauté the onions in the butter until soft and then add the fruit and sugar followed by the liquid ingredients 
Bring to the boil and then simmer stirring all the time to ensure it does not burn until reduced to a nice thick consistency
I always add a small amount of salt and pepper at the end
Allow to cool and then place in a clean sterilised jar 
It will take a month before the flavours have come together and the chutney has mellowed
Once opened this will keep in the fridge for several months

Asparagus and ham Frittata

My other favourite time of year is here again, the asparagus season! I do have two rules about asparagus, I will only eat it in season and I will only eat it if it comes from the country where I'm living (at the time). If I can get local then that is even better (I apply the rule to most veg and meats if possible). 

In the UK the mainstream crop is green asparagus and up until recently here in the Netherlands it wasn't that widely available, so I had to make do with white. White asparagus is sweeter and pairs well with cheesier sauces and salty ham or bacon. My preference though is for green and I always kick the season off by steaming it and serving it with nothing but butter and salt. Other favourites are of course hollandaise sauce, poached duck/hen eggs or parma ham and balsamic with parmesan.

6 eggs

4 stalks asparagus peeled and quartered

50g cheese of choice grated

4 slices ham
10ml oil for frying

salt and pepper to taste

Beat six eggs in a bowl to make an omelette base, season with the salt and pepper
Place the oil in a frying pan and bring it up to a low heat
Pour the eggs into the pan
Sprinkle the cheese over the egg mix
Add some sliced ham to cover the cheese and place the asparagus on top of the ham
Place the asparagus on top
Once you have finished the assembly, take off the heat and then place under a hot grill for 5 minutes

For those of you who would prefer a vegetarian dish, you can omit the ham.