Cheoff

A site about food, drink and other random stuff!

Risotto: Supplemental

Mrs. Cheoff is back on form! Not content with recovering from her temporary malaise, she has taken over the menu planning big-time. A week after her comforting courgette risotto she suggested a different version with smoked haddock. When Mrs. Cheoff gets suggestive I normally just lay back and think of England... not before sourcing the necessary ingredients, of course!

This one involved another trip to my Man Thursday, Dean and his fish van. I haven't bought the traditional turmeric painted yellow smoked haddock for years but I thought it would add some interesting colour to this dish.

After a bit of internetting I came up with this mash-up. Remember that my meal was for two and adjust accordingly for your needs. You might well recognise a small amount of Jamie Oliver influence:

200g risotto rice (Carnaroli for me this time)

750ml vegetable stock

1 small chopped onion

40g butter

75ml vodka

400g smoked haddock

500ml milk

1 bay leaf

100g frozen peas

1 tablespoonful of chopped fresh tarragon

Things are well under way here. The stock is warming under gentle heat;  the onion has been softened but not browned in the butter and the rice added until glistening; smoked haddock is poaching with the milk and bay leaf.

The vodka goes in with the onions and rice - stir until most is absorbed and the alcohol is driven off. Then add ladlefuls of vegetable stock and do the stirring thing which starts to break down the surface of the rice grains. 

Take a break and rescue the smoked haddock. Flake it into generous pieces and set aside. Do not discard the milk!

The rice gets a couple more ladles of stock and from then on you add the milk instead. Keep stirring, thinking of England or (infinitely preferable) listen to Cooker #2 or Cooker #3

Your judgement here - don't expect me to do all the work for you! Around twenty minutes in add the peas and smoked haddock pieces and stir with more milk, as needed, until you have softened rice with a little central bite.

Add the chopped tarragon and you are ready to eat. Fish and cheese is a bit of a no-no - so no-no to Parmesan with this one.

I added some walnut oil and chopped walnuts to some of my wholemeal dough this week. The resultant 'cob'  was an ideal partner to the risotto.

Looks good, doesn't it... it was! ;)






 



A Quick One, While She's Away!

The ‘She’ of my title refers to my wife. Please don’t take offence… I am very well aware of the tutting which ensues over the likes of ‘The Other Half’, ‘Er indoors’, ‘The old trout’ and any number of terribly dismissive terms which are too often given to dearly loved partners. I will immediately revert to the all-enveloping ‘Mrs. Cheoff’ which is used here as a veil of relative anonymity and, of course, for tax-dodging purposes!

Last week these words formed the basis for this post: “Just have whatever you fancy for lunch… I’m off with a friend for a double birthday celebration and catch-up.” We spend huge amounts of our life together but when Mrs. Cheoff is otherwise occupied I take full advantage.

The solo lunch was needed for Thursday… Thursday morning being Dean’s Fish Van Day, I walked the six hundred metres to my maritime meals supply unit with purpose and a little excitement. It was my chance to have something with which Mrs. Cheoff might struggle. A Grimsby (Grimsby; once ‘the largest fishing port in the world) lass, she has a fish preference for haddock alone!

I found myself coming away with what I’d had in mind more or less before setting out… a lovely filleted mackerel.

All was set for my midday indulgence… once I’d fired up the barbecue!

While the coals were getting to temperature I whisked up a marinade of

Zest and juice from one lime

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

1 finely chopped green chilli

1 tablespoon olive oil

(add sugar if the mirin doesn’t add enough sweetness for you)

 

The mackerel was laid in the marinade and turned over after ten minutes.

I had already parboiled some slices of baby potatoes and these would be the only accompaniment to the fish. They were finished off by flashing around in a little olive oil until golden.

The coals were now fit for work and after a generous grind of pepper the mackerel began its final journey across the grill. I'm a coward when it comes to delicate fish so this one was neatly trapped in a sausage cage!

Some of the marinade was drizzled over during a sizzling, smoky seven(minutes)-a-side cooking. 

The sun made a timely appearance and shone its rays on the remnants of my meal in what I can only imagine was a mark of respect. I had certainly grasped my opportunity. Those bones would have made Mrs. Cheoff shudder. I was happy to allow them to slow down my progress through one of the tastiest and most enjoyable of lunches I've taken alone. All cooking smells were dispersed outdoors and all the evidence below was in an outside bin before 'The one who wears the trousers'... MRS. CHEOFF (!) returned. ;)

Lovely stuff - all the better for being a very occasional delight. One which will be repeated if I can encourage someone to go out and leave me alone on her next birthday! ;)

What?... Oh, please... you surely don't have to ask! Yes, as soon as I took the first photographs of that splendid mackerel I knew perfectly well how all this would finish. So, this is for one and all - the doubters and those who know me so well!

The Mackerel Falcon!

O Sauce, Where Is Thy Sting?

Here’s a recipe which I've known of for seven years… since getting a copy of Diana Henry’s ‘The Gastropub Cookbook: ANOTHER HELPING’ 

If you don’t have the book you can find a recipe including the sauce accompaniment here. 

I’ve referenced mint sauce before  but never until now used this version. A trip to The Pipe and Glass Inn on Mrs. Cheoff’s very recent birthday provided the oomph to get back to my kitchen and reproduce at least one of the elements of the rather lovely meal we enjoyed there.

My main choice at the Inn was lamb rump with a mutton belly fritter. It demanded a certain sauce and the chef did not disappoint. Mint made its appearance but brought along its very welcome mates... some young nettles!

Please don’t be put off by the thought of a little foraging. This will take you into the fresh air for a few minutes (at least it forced me to go further than the herb pots outside our kitchen door)

I reckon you should find nettles pretty close by. A clump away from a busy road and traffic fumes would be ideal.

After tearing off the leaves with gloved hands I put them in boiling water for a minute. This blanches them and takes away any trace of ‘sting’.

Plunge these soggy greens into cold water and then drain them. An excess of water will remain so a salad spinner or a good hand squeeze will drive off more. Don’t despair on watching the bright liquid disappearing down the sink - there is still plenty of green left!

The nettle leaves join the roughly chopped mint, olive oil and wine vinegar. Pulse in a blender until you get a smooth mix.

You now have a delightful addition to almost any lamb dish. The vibrant emerald green seduces the eye and the flavours should make you wonder why you haven’t made this before. Mint impresses as usual but then the nettles underscore everything with a clean and deeper hint of grass and hedgerow.

I’m sure the science would explain this with reference to photosynthesis and chlorophyll but I prefer to lean towards the more fundamental senses of sight, smell and taste. This sauce asks for no understanding - it just pleases all those senses in abundance.

Please don’t wait as long as I did before you make your own.

You should know that there will be more here about our meal at 'The Pipe and Glass' pretty soon.

All images and content are the property of Geoff Griffiths. Copyright Geoff Griffiths 2020 ©