Cooking tips and wonderful flavour combinations

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viktorvaughn

Well-known member
Mr. Tea said:
Got my first good haul of the mushroom season today. :) So wild mushroom risotto for tea - just can't get enough of that combo of soft-fried onion/garlic/mushrooms with white wine. Not really a groundbreaking mix of flavours but dependably delicious.

Any other pickers here? Still got loads of scrumped apples I need to do something with (crumble, probably) and a freezer full of blackberries and elderberries. My girlfriend called me a 'bucoholic' the other day, sounds about right...
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Very keen! I started a foraging few years back so any tips for London much appreciated... I've not got beyond wild plums in Haggerston park and brambles on Hampstead Heath... Bit scared of mushrooms.
 
Slothrop

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Land cress - it's exactly like watercress but a little leaner and a little more intense, and it's piss easy to grow even if there isn't a stream running though your garden / window box / windowsill.

We picked some of ours yesterday and had it in a salad with goats cheese, sliced radishes, walnuts and a lemon juice / walnut oil dressing. It was ace. You could buy some watercress and use that instead if you can't be bothered waiting three months, although you will be a little less smug. Either way you get to look down on people who buy rocket, particularly if it's out of season, imported and slightly wilted and they're buying it as part of a fantasy about italian food that involves wonderfully fresh seasonal produce.
 
luka

luka

Well-known member
watercresses patent superiority to rocket is one of the things i never stop harranguing people about. rockt is not bad but watercress is the best eating leaf.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Slothrop said:
Either way you get to look down on people who buy rocket, particularly if it's out of season, imported and slightly wilted and they're buying it as part of a fantasy about italian food that involves wonderfully fresh seasonal produce.
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Um, I buy it because it's tasty - is that bad? :slanted:

Edit: and does rocket even have a 'season'? It's probably grown all year round in greenhouses, isn't it?
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
OK, well it's got to be all about the big flavoursome meat dishes and stodgy, fruity puddings, hasn't it? Some oldies-but-goodies:

  • Toad-in-the-hole - made this the other day with bacon wrapped around skinless sausages and a dollop of wholegrain mustard in the batter, as per Slater. I find you always have to cook it for at least 50% longer than the recipe says to get all the batter properly solid.
  • Leeks with cheese sauce - great as a side dish for a roast, could work as the main dish if you made a big one and maybe added some bacon. Just lightly steam leaks while you make an ordinary cheese sauce, then drain WELL, put in a baking dish, cover with cheese sauce and then more cheese (plus Worcestershire, obvs) and grill till golden
  • Steak, ale and mushroom pie - can't really go wrong. Old Peculier works well. You can top either with proper shortcrust pastry or leftover mash.
  • Venison steaks - got seriously into this last year, it sounds luxury but is cheaper than the best cuts of beef. Pan-fry a minute a side, serve with mashed winter veg and gravy flavoured with blackcurrant jam and juniper berries.
  • Spinach and cheese pie - basically a giant version of those nice pastries you get in Turkish bakeries. I've never made this but my mum makes a wicked one. Great for veggy guests or for whenever you can't afford/don't fancy meat.
  • Mr. Tea's smoky inverted fisherman's pie - see earlier in this thread for details.
  • Crumble! Made one yesterday with wild apples and blackberries and some dried dates I had hanging around. Fantastic with extra-thick double cream.

Sure I could think of a few more. But just because summer's over, that doesn't mean winter's here yet - autumn is a food season in its own right, I reckon. Lots of local fish and shellfish will be in season soon (well, November, a quick google tells me) as well as game. Definitely mean to buy some rabbits this autumn, there are some great recipes for them earlier in this thread.
 
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you

you

Well-known member
Mmmm, Steak ale and shroom pye sounds dope as... could make venison pye too maybe.... or maybe top them with an uber-creamy mash and some strong cheese? Good tip tea, i'll start with pye!!!

I made a fish pie tonight, haddock and slammin salmon... meat would be even better though..

I always feel that slaters stodgy stuff is just wayyy to filling, his 2 mustard, cream and sausage pasta is absurdly rich.
 
Slothrop

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
you said:
Summer is gone - recommend me yo winter recipes dudes, I'm beginning to feel im a muppet putting truffle oil on pasta when it's pissing down outside...
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Roasted winter vegetables are a big one - potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, swede, celeriac, fennel...I've yet to hit on the perfect sauce to go with them, though.

Indian is always good, and gives you loads of good stuff to do with winter veg and nice warming dried spices.

Learn to make stews properly rather than by bunging everything you've got into a pan regardless of whether they go together. Try some proper traditional recipes like bœuf bourguignon or whatever. And black pudding stuck into a beef stew melts into the gravy brilliantly.

Also, don't get too hung up on stodge, sometimes when it's miserable and dark outside you actually want something exciting and crunchy and bold and exotic.
 
Leo

Leo

Well-known member
parsnips!!! not sure why i waited so long, but i first tried roasted parsnips only a few years ago and they are now among my favorite fall/winter dishes. so good.

yeah, now that's it's cooler, i'm into foods that take a long-ish time to roast or simmer. i think a stew is in the cards, and fish pie sounds fab (any good recipes handy?).
 
you

you

Well-known member
I'd like to make a nice and warming eastern soup from scratch. Waitrose has loads of nice ones in pots - ...*goes off to amazon*..
 
M

muser

Well-known member
I made a nice stew a little while ago that shouldve been a winter dish really. I cant find the exact recipe I used, fairly standard anyway but it was lamb neck floured and browned and then put in again later, la cinata paprika (decent paprika ive found makes a big difference), fresh rosemary, garlic, celery, carrot, potato, onions, cooked for ages.
 
V

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
pumpkin/suede soup with dried chilli, cumin and paprika is amazing and a piece of piss

(fry onions, then spiced, add pumpkin with water/stock, cook, blitz)

Lindsay Bareham book all about soup is pretty definitive and probably can be got cheap on Amazon.
 
V

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
muser said:
I made a nice stew a little while ago that shouldve been a winter dish really. I cant find the exact recipe I used, fairly standard anyway but it was lamb neck floured and browned and then put in again later, la cinata paprika (decent paprika ive found makes a big difference), fresh rosemary, garlic, celery, carrot, potato, onions, cooked for ages.
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yeah lamb scrag is amazing for flavour and cheap. you just need patience, you get a massive lamb neck for about 4 quid, gorgeous with turkish spices and beans on a slow cook - i tried here.
 
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