Favourite Recipes from Pine Flat Place August 2013

 

 

This month is my last column as we are moving house shortly. I have enjoyed writing this column and hope that some of you may have enjoyed one or two of the recipes I have written about. At this time of writing (mid August) cherry tomatoes are in abundance and this lovely simple recipe has these, fresh basil and lovely new potatoes combining to create a lovely very economical Mediterranean flavoured dish. It’s a recipe by the lovely Gennaro Contaldo from Two Greedy Italians. Vegetarian.

 

PATATE ARRAGANATE

 

 INGREDIENTS

7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500g new potatoes, thinly sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Large handful of fresh basil leaves torn
300g red onions, sliced
400g cherry tomatoes halved and de-seeded
I tbsp white wine

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°/Gas 4

Pour 3 tbsp of the olive oil into an ovenproof roasting tin. Arrange a layer of the potatoes, season with the salt and pepper, scatter over some basil leaves. Follow with a layer of onions and tomatoes and a drizzle of the remaining olive oil. Continue with another layer of potatoes and repeat the process until all of the vegetables have been added to the dish. Pour over the remaining olive oil and white wine.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minute. Remove the foil and loosen the potatoes from the bottom of the dish with a fork, taking care not to break them. Continue to bake uncovered for a further 15 to 2 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. Serve immediately.

 

As this is my swan song, as it were, this next recipe is one of my favourite game dishes ever, it’s an incredibly delicious Greek dish full of the flavours of late summer and it is one from Clarissa Dickson-Wright and Johnny Scott’s The Game Cook. If you can’t get hold of quail use partridge or 2 small wild ducks. If you can use organic unwaxed lemons as the flavour is better,

 

THESSALIAN QUAIL

Photo by Gus Filgate

 

INGREDIENTS
6 quail
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
1-2 sprigs of thyme
4 juniper berries, crushed
3 cloves
Rind of ½ orange, cut into julienne strips
2 oz (50g) fresh breadcrumbs
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp flat parsley
2 oz (50g) toasted pinenuts
12 Greek black olives
1 glass of red win
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Rub the birds inside and out with half the lemon juice, olive oil and crumble the bay leaves together with the thyme, juniper berries, cloves and orange rind.

Pre-heat the oven to 190° C/375° F/Gas 5. Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and gently fry the breadcrumbs. Add all the other ingredients, except the olives and wine to the breadcrumbs. Cook gently for a little longer and use to stuff the quails. There will be mixture left over, arrange this in an oven-proof dish and put the stuffed quails on top. Sprinkle the olives and the wine on top and cook in the oven until the quails are cooked – about 15 to 20 minutes.

I cannot leave without parting with this gem, the chocolate peanut bars beloved by so many people, these sweet and salty gems have become extremely poplar at many a church event; so here it is. This glorious recipe is from Nigella Lawson’s Kitchen. If using dark chocolate in the main part use a round tin and cut thin wedges of it, if using more milk chocolate use a rectangular tin and cut into bars.

 

SWEET AND SALTY CRUNCH NUT BARS

INGREDIENTS

200g dark chocolate and 100g milk chocolate
Or 200g milk and 100g dark chocolate (I use this one)
Or 300g milk chocolate
125g unsalted butter (it must be unsalted)
3 x 15ml tablespoons golden syrup
250 g salted peanuts
4 x 40g Crunchie bars

1 x 25 com spring form tin or 1 rectangular foil tray

METHOD

Line your tin with foil or use foil tray, break up the chocolate into pieces and put in a heavy based saucepan with the butter and syrup, put on a very low heat and gently melt together.

Tip the peanuts into a bowl and crush the Crunchie bars with your hands and add to the bowl. Stir this mixture into the melted chocolate, then tip into your cake tin or foil tray. Smooth the top of the mixture as much as you can pressing down with a spatula. Put into the fridge once cooled for about 4 hours or until set hard and cut into slices as desired. Keeps for 3 – 4 days.