jill dupleix's broad bean crostini with parmesan

After a cheeky 5k run around the park in the sun this morning with Mrs B, we get an unexpected health boost with dinner this evening. Well 'boost' might be pushing it. It might be better to say "an unexpected reduction in calories" as tonight's fab-looking experimental Jilly D dinner turns out to be about a quarter of the size I thought it'd be.

Admittedly she does say it's a 'light supper', but 40 minutes of podding a tiny hillock of broad beans later, and 'light' seems a bit of an exaggeration. Health eh, it's great!

Oddly enough though, it's surprisingly filling. Okay, so we doubled up on the eggs, but pfaffy podding aside, this turns out to be utterly marvelous, albeit teeny tiny, and another candidate for the Yummington Mummington.

Wine Time
We used some left-over olive oil from the roasted peppers we had on Monday, so this has a more intense flavour than I imagine was planned, but it's not a particularly acidic meal; The egg and beans are quite creamy, as is the parmesan I suppose but with some salty piquancy.

Chardonnay would be a great friend for this but not I think, a woody one. You want fruit and buttery creaminess, so go New World and think South Africa and Australia or, if you want to show off your vino chops, I've had a delicious unoaked chard from Piemonte before. Boom.

sources
broad bean crostini with parmesan - Jill Dupleix, Delicious, May 2008, p82

mediterranean halloumi salad

Having subjected Mrs Barnes to two days of bargain-basement meals, the least I can do to kick the week off with is to let her choose something for dinner. Naturally, being the equable and elegant lady she is, she doesn't immediately take revenge by insisting on her favourite and my least-favourite squeaky cheese. Oh!

Actually, I think I've finally got the hang of frying the halloumi so it has a creamy element to it, rather than salty and squeaky. Secretly I do love this salad, it's so easy to construct with some nice touches like soaking the onions in boiling water to take the edge off, which make you feel slightly more competent than usual. There is a hidden trap though - less oil from the peppers is definitely more. Too much and it overpowers everything. Oh, and if you can find really ripe tomatoes, they are infinitely nicer!

Wine Time
I usually like to wax lyrical at this point about dominant flavours, acidity and textures to think about when you're choosing wine to match with these meals, but not tonight. There's no need see, because there's only one wine you're going to need with this: A super crisp, super dry, pale pale pale pink Rosé. Easy!

sources
mediterranean halloumi salad - Delicious, June 2010, p24

angela boggiano's rich beef ragu

More bargain cooking for you tonight, as in addition to yesterday's special offer bream I also picked up a kilo of heavily reduced stewing steak.

Now Ana is not massively enamoured with my bargain-hunting, as quite rightly she thinks we should be eating things in date rather than on the cusp of turning to mush. To be fair I think she's broadly right, but it's hard to break my mother's habit of filling up the shopping trolley with reduced stuff. However we do have a compromise that allows me to go off-message with reduced beef/pork/lamb: I can buy it IF I make a stew or casserole within a day. Long, slow cooking with plenty of other bits and bobs makes all the difference to grey meat.

As it's a bit wet and woolly today, the beef is gets a three hour simmer with a whole host of veg, herbs (and wine), care of Angela Boggiano's comforting rich beef ragu. Sorry about the wonky picture...

See, you'd never know that was horse.

Wine Time
Hopefully the meat is falling apart, with a rich, unctuous sauce full of sticky tomatoes and resinous herbs. Red is the obvious match here, so let's cut to the chase and stick with Italian - it is a ragu after all! The trick here is to note how much, and how ripe the tomatoes are, as they are the base component battling away with the wine.

Canned tomatoes tend to be fairly standard in flavour, so if you use a single tin go with a lighter-bodied red like a Sangiovese or a Montepulciano. More than one tin, or plum tomatoes or even ripe, fresh tomatoes, new wave Barbera or Nebbiolo all the way! The difference here is in the acidity of the wines, they should all be fruity, but the latter wines will have a mouthwatering snap of acidity.

sources
rich beef ragu - Angela Boggiano, Delicious, March 2007, p51

pan-fried sea bream with spiced chickpeas and gremolata

Seeing how it worked so well last month, tonight we've been lured back to try the pan-fried sea bream and chickpea stew.

I'd like to say this is because over the past year we've become complete piscatarians, but sad to say the truth is we're more susceptible to a damn fine offer at the fish counter. Still, it's pretty bloody good excuse to crack this dish out for a second time.

It's a definite all-rounder this one; the crispy skin and lemony gremolata hints sing out 'summer', whilst the chickpea and tomato stew take the edge off the spring evenings. Give it a go, you'll surprise yourself! It's so good Milo ended up having an extra chunk of my fish/skin, which was gratifying if annoying.

Wine Time
The previous paragraph should give you a good idea where we're going with the wine match: Something lemony and fresh to balance the herbs and fish, whilst crisp enough to cut through the pulses creaminess: It's got to be a young, fresh and zippy Muscadet hasn't it? Get a bottle that has been left on the sediment (sur lie), and it'll have a little extra texture which you were looking for.

Brilliantly enough for those of us on a shoestring budget, if you can't get hold of a good-yet-cheap Muscadet, look for a Picpoul. It's a great little citrus bomb from the South of France, comes in a mad bottle and shouldn't set you back more than a tenner. Even better, it's one of those wines only those in the know drink, so you'll like a mighty vino swell when you get it out of the fridge.

sources
pan-fried sea bream with spiced chickpeas and gremolata - Delicious, April 2013, p135

silvana franco's spiced cannellini and couscous burgers

I don't know why, but I'm craving burgers at the moment. The phrase du jour chez maison Barnes is "When I get a job, I'm going to reward myself with Kiwi Burger from GBK", and then I stare off into the middle distance, drooling on my CV.

These reveries have inspired me this year to create a totally selfish challenge: As I think this summer cannot be as bad as last year, I figure we'll be having loads of BBQs and therefore burgers, so I'm stepping up to the hotplate and attempting to eat one imperial burger a week. Anybody else fancy joining in? In a fit of media madness I shall call it #GreatSummerOfBurger, and I'm sure Twitter and our waistlines are going to go mental! Ana's not entirely convinced, but surely that's part of the fun?

Tonight we kick off #GreatSummerOfBurger (see, it's catching) with an off-beam vegetarian number from Silvana Franco that I've been desperate to try for aaaaaages: Spiced Cannellini and Couscous Burgers - behold!

I don't know who is more surprised of their success, me or Lady Barnes, because they are most definitely a hit. I suppose in many ways they are like giant versions of Jilly D's polpettine which certainly helps Lady Barnes get over her reservations, but it's the inclusion of the couscous and lemon zest which really adds the wow factor: The lemon bringing obvious freshness, but the couscous gives a surprising lightness to the patty... as does bulgar wheat as we'd run out of couscous.

Totally. hash tag. amazeballs. But Silvana is right about how delicate they are - definitely one for the pan rather than the BBQ.

Wine Time
One of the reasons I like writing this blog is I get the opportunity to do some (minimal) research with drink matching. It's interesting and appeals to my inner-geek, but sometimes it's deeply frustrating as you can't quite nail the perfect match, and tonight is one of those occasions. My head says you'll want a crisp and clean white to go with the lemon, but the spices and the body the couscous give it pull me towards a lighter red. Do you know what, I genuinely don't know - why don't you try some and let me know what works, and when I work it out I'll let you know.

sources
spiced cannellini and couscous burgers - Silvana Franco, Delicious, now the Parsley Book

peter gordon's fried halloumi topped with chilli, spinach, water chestnut, hazelnut, orange and sun-blushed tomato salad

After a heady day manny-ing in the sun for Kendra, Finn and Rafe, I return home to discover tonight's dinner is far more experimental than planned.

Admittedly this is a recipe we've had loads before, but the thing is we've given the book back to Brenda, and whilst I could probably guess most of the ingredients from the pictures (it is only a salad after all), I do like the comfort of a recipe. A recipe a certain Mrs Taylor failed to text me in time. I'm looking at you Brenda...

The chances of successfully completing the dish take a further hit when I discover the prime mover for choosing this meal has eaten all but one of the required oranges. Still, with judicious use of extra tomatoes, two sorts of salad leaf and making the dressing with IoW Chilli Rape Seed Oil, we make a pretty good fist of it:

Until Ana points out I've forgotten the dill. And then I spot the jar of hazelnuts I'd put to one side, but forgotten to add. Bugger.

Wine Time
It might the fact it's been lovely weather, but I'm veering towards Prosecco tonight. It's a bit decadent I know, but it's always on offer in the supermarkets so it's only slightly more expensive than usual, and it'll perfectly tame all the big flavours going on in here, and the bubbles will lift the heaviness of the spinach and/or cheese. *Pop!*

sources
fried halloumi topped with chilli, spinach, water chestnut, hazelnut, orange and sun-blushed tomato salad - Peter Gordon, Salads: The New Main Course, p65

pasta with asparagus, mint pesto and poached egg

Despite carping on at great length yesterday about the asparagus in the supermarket coming from Chile rather than Albion's bejeweled shores, it doesn't stop me taking advantage of getting two bunches for the price of one. There's a great-looking  Angela Harnett recipe in the Guardian today, but it looks more starter-er than enough for dinner so we're fall back on a classic.

Strangely enough, despite all the years I've been making this I've never actually got round to doing the mint pesto until tonight, and do you know what? It's a total game changer: The zingy mint really cuts through the denseness of the pasta, whereas the shop bought basil-n-parmesan stuff is a bit too claggy. I buggered up the eggs though...

Wine Time
To be honest I'd stick with a herbaceous Kiwi sauv, particularly now we've thrown in the mint pesto plus the extra heft of the pasta needs cutting through in the same way as yesterday's salmon. This lark is easy eh?

sources
pasta with asparagus, pesto and poached egg - Delicious, May 2005, p110 - now the Parsley Book

pancetta-wrapped salmon with griddled asparagus and lime creme fraiche

Seasonal and summery, and finally it's the hottest day of the year so far! A day where I managed to get my first sunburn/tan on my run around Richmond Park this morning and following ride to Twickenham's glamorous Job Centre Plus. Who said being on the dole was bad? It's good for suntans and fitness!

I suppose a brief post-school run around the park probably helped as well, although luckily (or not) Milo decided it was so lovely and summery, he'd rather spend the evening sat in a sleeping bag on the sofa watching Captain America. Children, tsk!

Whilst he grouched about the weather, we got into the spirit of it all with a classic summery fish dish - pancetta-wrapped salmon and bang-on-season asparagus. Again.

Strangely, and I can't quite fathom why, this week it's infinitely less fishy than when we had exactly the same recipe as last week. Maybe getting the fishmonger to skin the fillets helped? Either way, it's a total winner tonight, and a great way to use up some sad-looking salad.

The asparagus launches me into whole world of middle-class fretting: We're slap-bang in British Asparagus season, so how come all the angiosperms in Waitrose are from Chile? Not that it makes much difference to my asparagus wee of course, it's I'd just like it to be good, honest British asparagus-smelling wee. It IS St George's Day after all!

Wine Time
I'm going to avoid all the usual St George's Day hoopla about English wine, mainly because fizz apart, it's generally awful. Instead we're heading down under because there's one grape that screams asparagus, as well as being crisp enough to nail the oily salmon: Kiwi Sauvignon. You want a grassy version rather than anything too tropical, so look for green notes rather than passion fruit, mango and Um Bongo and you won't go too wrong.

sources
pancetta-wrapped salmon with griddled asparagus and lime creme fraiche - Delicious, June 2010, p23

rosemary salt-crusted roast chicken and salad

Having used half of the bird for yesterday's picnic lunch, the fridge is predominately full of baleful-looking mutant chicken, that's mainly two legs attached to a carcass.

Luckily for the fridge (and my OCD wife who takes a very dim view of any lurking unsavory dead animals), being a skiving dole bludger means I've got plenty of time on my hands to not only fully dismember the remaining body, but to turn it into one litre of delicious chicken stock on the one hand, and on the other, a second installment of last week's rosemary salt-crusted roast chicken legs.

I have to say the enamelled pie dish is just about the best kitchen acquisition I've made this year: It's perfect for nestling chicken legs in for a thorough roasting, and due to the snug fit they rarely dry out. In fact there's usually the perfect amount of roasting jus at the bottom of the pan, for judicious tasting with any handy bread.

Even better, it provides perfect portion control for those of us attempting not to eat for England. Admittedly though, I had a sandwich whilst it was roasting, plus the judicious tasting, which explains why I'm full after dinner and Ana's still hungry. Keep that under your hat though...

Wine Time
The rosemary is obviously one of the bigger flavours here, but the rape seed oil is surprisingly power-packed: It's difficult to pin down, suffice to say it has a heavy, straw-like quality. Generally I'd go for chardonnay with the chicken, but the heaviness of the oil plus the punchy, resinous quality of the rosemary means you're looking for something with similar weight AND with herbal notes. Viognier is probably going to be a little too sweet, and a dry Riesling would be too green, but Pinot Gris combines the best of both worlds: Weight, aromas and it's a little off-dry. Perfect!

jill dupleix's sesame chicken salad with celery and cucumber & thai-spiced mussels with skinny fries

Whisper it, could summer finally be here? After yesterday's warm-but-windy opener, it's lovely today; a perfect day for a birthday picnic at Kew Gardens for our neighbour and professional Welshman, Al 'Is that coat my jacket?' Carter.

The problem is we've got nothing to take, unless we sacrifice our planned roast for one of Ana's favourite salads and picnic standby Sesame Chicken. There are swings to go with these roundabouts though. If we take the salad it means we've definitely got mussels for dinner which is definitely NOT in her top ten.

In the end the birthday boy gets Jilly D's zesty salad on the basis it's fab, quick to make and far easier to transport to Kew Gardens than half a kilo of shellfish.

As it turns out the mussels are a genius Sunday evening meal, not least because we're all fairly full of mini-Scotch eggs and other picnic fayre, so 500g of shellfish splits nicely three ways, accompanied by Bill Granger skinny fries.

Now we've finally got some baking parchment the chips work a treat - crisp, salty and perfect for soaking up the sauce - and though I say it myself, revisiting the Thai-spiced mussels from mine and Brian's birthday trip to L'Atelier des Chefs is my tastiest version yet! I urge you to try one of their courses as I still use all of the techniques I learned there.

However, having eaten mussels four or five times and previously enjoyed the whole debearding process, my mini right-hand man in all things mollusc lets me down and point-blank refuses to eat anything other than chips or baguette.

Wine Time
The trick here is to recognise that the mussels aren't the key flavour here, the sauce is, so all the usual suspects would work a treat. Take your pick from Kiwi Sauvs, Gewurtz and Gruner Veltliner for a classic and classy match. If you're feeling daring, take a leaf from Belgo's book and try a Belgian Witbeer, where the citrus notes make perfect sense with the fragrant Thai sauce.

sources
Skinny fries - Bill Granger, Simply Bill
Thai-Spiced Mussels - L'Atelier des Chefs

spinach, tomato and chick pea curry

Having spent yesterday running around the Tower of London with the Pitcher-Manwarings, today we're in recovery-mode. There's not much going on, we mooch around the flat and mow the lawn, with a side-trip to the supermarket and movie night watching the next-installment in Milo's ongoing superhero addiction.

Strangely enough despite going to the shops today, tonight we're in left-over mode as inexplicably there were some unloved tomatoes hiding in the fridge, alongside a bag of spinach. Well, the spinach is more explicable because I suspect most of us have salad sadly wilting away. Anyway rather than bin it, it's rescued in the form of one our favourite curries - Waitrose's spinach, tomato and chick pea curry.

Regular readers will note (other than my ongoing battle with tardiness), this is a regular meal chez Barnes. It's also unusual in that rather than making my own curry paste, it's probably the only recipe I make with a bottled sauce, and tonight it's Patak's Madras. I think it's one of the main reasons why we like it, because you can easily vary the flavours and spice level from week-to-week with a different sauce.

Tonight we also get Milo back on the curry bandwagon. He turns his nose up at the spinach - "It's slimy! - but everything else goes down a treat, accompanied by healthy dollop of yoghurt. To be honest, as he loves chick peas, rice and tomatoes, I'm not standing for much moaning.


Wine Time
Partly due to the aforementioned paste variations, this is a very adaptable meal to pair with wine. Generally you could team it with a crisp white with a touch of residual sugar as it can be quite spicy, think Riesling, Gewurtz, Pinot Gris or Viognier. We went red tonight, and Chile's heroic Carmenere is a great go-to with curry, but I'd wager a new wave young vintage Rioja would be a great alternative. Obviously no wine for Milo.

sources
spinach, tomato and chick pea curry - Waitrose Recipe Cards, Early September 2010

random risotto

I don't know if anybody else has this issue, but I've noticed every time people come around for dinner, it doesn't matter when  they come around you'll never have anything to cook the following evening. It can be a Monday night dinner party, but you'll have nowt in the fridge on Tuesday despite going shopping on Saturday. And this is despite the fact everybody ordered take away. Does that happen to anybody else, or is it just us?

Anyway, we're down to the bare bones tonight but there's enough in the cupboard to knock up an experimental risotto. Well, we've always got some sort of vino in the house...

It's a fairly earthy number: there's dried porcini plus a couple of sad-looking chestnut mushrooms from the fridge, and the peas. Also, we only had red wine left-over from last night, which added some oompf.

I have to say I love making risotto now I've nailed it, it's a very zen process. And wine is involved.

angela boggiano's tuna, cannellini bean and red onion salad on tomato bread

Mini-update today because rather than cooking tonight, we've got the mighty Mani-Itchers and McPartsons coming over for a take-away this evening.

Instead I'm going to wow you all (hopefully) with a lunch thingy: Consider it a tangential benefit of redundancy as lunch is getting big in the SW14, mainly because I've really got nothing better to do than cook and go running...

Anyhoo, idly flicking through some back issues of Delicious I came across this Angela Boggiano doozy from the 2008 Italian issue. Even better, we've got everything in the cupboard - apart from the Tomato Bread of course, because who the flock ever has tomato bread.

To be honest it's not massively different to some of the other tuna and white bean salads we've had, but the addition of the sour-dough smeared some sun-dried tomato paste actually makes it a pretty good addition to the cannon. Deffo one for the Yummington.

wine time
*Obvs* we're not drinking at lunchtime, but if we were we'd be totally going super-citric and dry as this has got a hefty whack of lemon juice, plus the cherry tomatoes also have a fair dose of acidity. If you're feeling flush, don't rub it in but feel free to get a Sauternes as it'll be divine. Those of us spending the Government's cash, steer clear of the Stella, but seek out a white Bordeaux as the mixture of Sauvignon and Semillon will do the same job at half the price.

sources
tuna, cannellini bean and red onion salad on tomato bread - Angela Boggiano, Delicious, May 2008, p95

rosemary salt-crusted roast chicken and salad

Cobblers, cobblers and double cobblers! I forgot to take a picture of tonight's dish du jour, which is in fact quadruple cobblers as it's my own freakin' invention.

It's an annoying way to end a top day, full of jobless fun. Seriously though, actual jobless fun because Ana's still on half-term, so whilst Milo's at school a-book learnin' we spend a nice day at The National Portrait Gallery. I wanted to go to the Imperial War Museum but was sadly over-ruled, still it was sunny and warm, and I did get to see some of my favourite pictures including Catherine Parr, Fanny Burney, Richard III and a moody-looking John Donne. For the record, Ana's favourite picture appeared to be Sam Taylor-Wood's video of David Beckham sleeping - WHICH IS NOT ART, IT'S PORNOGRAPHY!

Anyway, after a top post-school play in the park, and a manic playdate, it's time for experimental roast chicken'n'salad. It's a classic in this house, and it's a fab way to use up some frozen chicken legs, but tonight's difference is inspired by the huge bunch of rosemary drying out in the fridge: Ground up with some rock salt and rape seed oil, and slathered on the thighs it makes brilliantly crispy, salty skin, with tender, juicy meat underneath. Delish, and clearly I'm a genius... although not on the photography front.

sources
My genius.

hugh's mexican tomato and bean soup

After yesterday's distinct touch of summer, we're back to a definite grip of spring today. It's not exactly cold, but there's an edge to the wind as we trek around Richmond Park in the next stage of Operation Negative-Fattie-Boom-Batties.

Actually, with Milo back at school today, we've got a week of quality time together (or pointlessly bickering depending who is in what mood - I was in the doldrums today), but today we're clearing the decks post athleticism.

With monkey chops in bed we're at a bit of a loss what to cook. It's a slight case of recipe ennui combined with forgetting to take anything out of the freezer, and forgetting where I spotted a fab-looking recipe for a mixed bean soup. Could've been 'magic bean' though, which sounds even better.

I'd actually got to the point of having rice and dried porcini mushrooms on the worktop for a risotto, but in the end we opt for an equally-great, and more importantly, warming St Hugh soup:

 We've definitely had this before, so I can't believe I can't find it in the blog, but on the basis my promises of 'catching up' are at best vague, let's consider this it's first appearance here. It's a great soup, and an interesting variation on similar tomato and pulse-based dishes, mainly because it feels so fresh, light and zingy. The lime juice obviously helps here, but the whole thing sits a little easier than the infinitely heavier chickpea, tomato and chorizo soup for example.

Obviously we have half portions (twice) and Ana teams it with Ryvita. Cos we is fit, innit.

sources
mexican tomato and bean soup - HFW, River Cottage Veg Everyday! p138

melissa's morrocan chicken stew

I've alluded to this recipe a couple of times, especially the first few times we had the turmericky Delicious version we know and love. However after a beautiful balmy Sunday spent prepping the garden for a great summer of barbeques, we both have a craving for Melissa's version of Moroccan Chicken, stuffed with cinnamon, apricots and raisins, and a thick savoury gravy - perfect to be soaked up by cous cous.

I think the Delicious version is homelier; the combination of the turmeric, ginger and the gremolata making it more of a winter/autumn warmer than this version. The fruit and the lemon juice make Melissa's version lighter and fresher.

The trick here is the chicken needs a good few hours marinading for the spice, garlic and lemon juice to do their work. When we lived in Putney (pre-blog, darlings) I used to make it first thing in the morning before work, and then we'd have it that evening. No such luck today, but a good couple of hours whilst I cut and re-seeded the lawn whilst Milo was at a birthday party, just about did the trick.

Even better for our waistlines, we're using up some sort of barley cous cous, which has a nuttier taste than the usual stuff and clearly is much healthier by dint of fact it's got the word 'barley' in it. Feel the roughage!

sources
Moroccan chicken stew - Melissa Turner, The Black Book

spinach, tomato and chick pea curry

I know Chaucer favoured April showers, but this is getting ridiculous. Not only has it tanked down for a whole week, the weather gods have kindly thrown in some arctic winds into the mixer. Thanks Thor.

To make matters worse, I'm in a right, redundancy-based grump and spend most of the day picking arguments with lovely Ana. It could be our new alcoholic cold turkey of course. Anyway, she gamely plays along for a while, pointing out my inadequacies, before finally snapping and kicking me out for a run in the tempest on the basis it'll cheer me up.

15K later, she's almost right as I return damp, cold and marginally mollified. Even better, not only have Ana and Milo made a tray of brownies, perfect for post-run energising, but there's also the latest Scandi-crime-drama, Arne Dahl, on TV to look forward to.

Chilled to bone, I'm half tempted to join Milo in the bath, but just about sort myself out with a shower and a temporary injection of brownies. I still manage to fall asleep on snuggling duty.

Still, curry for dinner and seeing as it's so cold, I double the ginger to drive out the damp. No photo though, sorry...

sources
spinach, tomato and chick pea curry - Waitrose Recipe Cards, Early September 2010

double fish-whammy

After a week on the glorious(ly wet) Isle of Wight we return home to a slightly-controversial fish double-whammy. I suspect we're still slightly delirious from the sea bream success the other day, so we temper our fishy appetite with two dishes we know we like.

First off, we have a hale and hearty lunch with classic Yummington warm tuna salad with white beans. Sadly no accompanying vino though. Well, it is only lunchtime and we've got an annoying five year-old who would rather watch - and explain whilst it's happening on TV - the storyline of Captain America.

We follow this up with a stab at seasonality with another classic, pancetta-wrapped salmon with griddled asparagus. Here's a question though, given we're supposed to be at the start of British Asparagus Season, how come all the angiosperms in Waitrose come from Chile?

I'm so outraged, I take an out-of-focus picture.

Fuzzy picture aside, I've discovered my newly-fashionable enamel baking tin is perfect for making this dish as it allows the asparagus to bake without drying out, and the salmon can sit on top and crisp up - aces!

sources
warm tuna and white bean salad - Delicious, October 2012, p27
pancetta-wrapped salmon with griddled asparagus and lime creme fraiche - Delicious, June 2010, p23