jill dupleix's lamb tagliata

There's no two ways about it, I'm in a foul, unemployment-based mood today. I spend most of the morning moaning and being obstreperous, and the afternoon under a morose black cloud, barely stringing two words together. This is obviously A Very Bad Thing, but it turns out to be considerably worse as not only is Kay in residence, but Brenda has bought Ben and Feebs up for the day. I'm a bad husband.

I do make lunch and dinner, a begrudging Jill Dupliex double-whammy of the new Yummington classic, Broad Bean Crostini for lunch, followed by a Kay-fave, Lamb Tagliata. Both prepared with the minimum grace and the surliest presentation... actually maybe I could be a Michelin starred chef after all!

Wine Time
I'm torn with the lamb; my head says it's rosemary salt-packed flavour and fatty quality, needs something similarly herbaceous and tannic, in which case I'd be looking for a Southern Rhone or Languedoc red. They have rich dark fruit flavours, with an edge of the garrigue - or herbs de provence - flavours from the surrounding vegetation. However, I also reckon a juicy Pinot Noir would also go down a storm, but choose one from France as they tend to be earthier than New World Pinots and you need that musty quality to snuggle up to the rosemary.

sources

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

lamb tagliata - Jill Dupleix, Delicious, October 2007, p138

nasi goreng

We're rather betwixt and between things at the moment: We're all still slightly catching up after a long weekend under canvas, the house is still full of strange piles of damp and steaming tent, and nobody can be bothered to go to the supermarket as the weekend is only a couple of days away.

Luckily Kay has come up for a couple of days which galvanises into some sort of action, at least where the tent and sorting out the garden is concerned. The shopping is still somewhat elusive though, so once again we fall back on the cupboards for sustenance.

For a while it's a looking a bit grim, (cannellini bean, pasta and tomato puree anybody?) but things are hastily turned around with the discovery of a packet of prawns in the freezer. Bung in the last of the rapidly-fading veg from the fridge, smother it in soy sauce and Bajan yellow chilli sauce, and hide it all under an egg, and voila - Nasi Goreng!

Wine Time
Did you know over the past decade or so the biggest market for Moscato D'Asti is South East Asia? Bonkers I know, but grab a bottle and try it with this sour and spicy concoction and it'll make total sense. The light fizz, floral notes and off-dry touch of sweetness all combine perfectly with Asian food.

sources

nasi goreng with fried egg - Waitrose Kitchen - January 2012, p86

valli little's hot chilli

Is there any better cure for driving back from Dorset in a tsunami, with no exhaust and massive traffic jams than defrosting a huge bowl of Valli Little's herby hot chilli?

Not only is it hearty, hale and warming, instantly reviving flagging spirits, but it means we can focus on sorting out a house full of piles of wet canvas, sleeping bags, boxes of assorted camping 'stuff' and some tired Ana's and Milo's. Okay, so I just defrosted it, and dumped everything in the corner to be dealt with when it stops raining...

Incidentally, here's a thrifty tip for those of you who like that sort of thing: I think freezing tends to concentrates flavours, so I've figured I can freeze even a single portion and then bulk it out with a can of tomatoes and some more chocolate, and it'll still do the three of us. Doesn't always work mind, but usually it's fine.

sources

rich chilli beef with fresh avocado - Valli Little, Delicious circa 2005/6, now The Skull Book

#GreatSummerOfBurger Episode 6: Lou & Greg's meaty bunfest

Not strictly a 'proper' update today. However given we're all about the #GreatSummerOfBurger this year I feel compelled to include Greg and Lou's post-Corfe Castle dinner they knocked up whilst we were camping.

I think the great thing about camp cooking is its simplicity: you've only got a limited number of pots, and the recipes are confined to classics as nobody really feels like popping an indeterminate distance to a shop for herbs and spices, only to discover the village shop doesn't have black cardamon or sumac.

With years of camping experience behind them, Greg and Lou went for a huge BBQ, groaning with meat and prawns. And I mean HUGE:

Burgers, chicken, babyback ribs and prawn skewers - plus beers (not shown). Utter genius, and perfect to fend off the early evening spring chills, as MasterChef Lou demonstrates with her cooking attire.

Interesting top tip from Greg as well, he pre-cooks his burgers before griddling as he reckons they stay together better. Consider that logged.

Emptying the cupboards before camping

With one day to go before we head off with the McPartlins and Connollys, we're in cupboard-emptying mode. This sounds terribly Blitz-spirit and thrifty, and there are huge great wodges of both elements involved, particularly as work seems harder to come by than an Aussie prop who can scrummage without falling over.

However, the sun is shining and having pulled out some haddock from the freezer, cueing us up nicely for Nigella's Keralan Fish Curry for dinner, we look for inspiration by digging out previous May editions of Delicious.

Now, in the good old, pre-Karen 'let's have a campaign or talk about my kitchen' Barnes days Delicious' May editions were Italian specials, and they were blinking brilliant: All of them well-thumbed favourites, and all of them stuffed to the branchie with fab, tasty yet easy recipes, including our new favourite Yummington lunch - Angela Boggiano's Tuna, cannellini bean and red onion salad on tomato bread.

Who doesn't have cans of tuna and beans lurking in their cupboards? And this simplicity is it's genius. This time we had the sun-dried tomato paste, but simple tomato puree or pesto works just as well.

Finally, and seeing how I mentioned it early, here's dinner: Nigella's curry for all.  I think it's the best way of using frozen fish, which tends to be quite fishy in flavour, but this is tamed by the turmeric and ginger.

All I need to do now is find the tent, the sleeping bags, and torches, pack the car and talk Milo down from the skyscraper of over-excitement he's currently stood on top of.

sources

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

keralan fish curry - nigella lawson, Delicious, February 2009, p83

magic bean soup

I think I must be losing my mind. Once again I've spent months searching high and low for a recipe I had spotted ages ago as a definite future experimental soup, only to be denied every time it came to shopping day. Tonight I thought the Gods were finally with me as not only did I stumble across it whilst looking for potential dinners for this weekend's Corfe Castle Camping Extravaganza, but we also had all the ingredients!

Ignore the name mind, you just need a can each of kidney and mixed beans - neither of which count as particularly 'magic', although the filling-yet-curiously-healthy soup is pretty close to magical. Although the half a baguette I stuffed down rather off-set any nascent feelings of 'diet'.

The only downside to this dish is, within minutes of making it I tidied up the kitchen, and all I now know for certain is the recipe is once again somewhere in a pile made up of five years of Delicious magazine. Sorry

rosie lovell's orzo yellow tomato salad

Hmmm... We're channeling Victor Meldrew today, although not in the sense of looking on in bewildered confusion as the sofa stars squeaking, or the washing machine breaks. No, I'm talking more along the lines of "I do not belieeeeeeve it", as despite knowing for a fact we've eaten this dish loads since finding it last year, I can't find neither hide nor hair of it on this very blog. I. Do. Not. Believe. It

Suffice to say, it's a pretty delicious and satisfying summer salad, consisting of orzo, cherry tomatoes, red onions and oregano, in a white wine vinegar-based dressing. If I ever find the recipe again, I'm going to carve the source of it on my arm so I don't forget where the flock it is.

It's not the most helpful of posts is it?  Ha ha - update alert! Completely randomly I found the issue within 3 minutes of pressing 'publish'. Voila!

sources
orzo yellow tomato salad - Rosie Lovell, Supper with Rosie in Delicious, June 2012, p25