J Sheekey’s cod with braised lentils and prosciutto by Tim Hughes
Prosciutto or bacon are the perfect accompaniment to pulses.
Serves 4
parma ham 4 thin slices
cod 4 x 180g fillets
sunflower oil for frying
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the lentils
puy lentils 250g
extra virgin olive oil 40ml
prosciutto 100g, thick, diced (ask your deli for the end of the ham)
onion 1, finely diced
carrot 1, finely diced
leek 1, finely diced
celery 1 stick, finely diced
garlic 2 cloves, peeled and crushed
thyme 2 sprigs, leaves removed and chopped
rosemary 2 sprigs, leaves removed and chopped
chicken stock 1 litre
unsalted butter 30g
flat-leaf parsley ½ small bunch, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Spread the parma ham out onto a baking dish and cook in the oven until crisp. This should take around 20 minutes, but keep a watchful eye so that they don’t dry out too much. Keep to one side.
Soak the puy lentils in cold water for an hour.
Pour 20ml of olive oil into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and gently cook the chopped prosciutto, onion, carrot, leek, celery, garlic, thyme and rosemary for 5 minutes. Add the drained lentils, stir and then add the chicken stock (a good quality cube is fine). Bring to the boil and simmer until the lentils are soft to taste but not mushy. This should take around 20 minutes but taste to check. The consistency should be sauce-like. Retain the cooked lentils to one side.
Heat a non-stick frying pan. Add olive oil. Season the cod and gently cook skin side down for 5 minutes. Turn over and cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes.
To serve, reheat the lentils and gently stir in the butter and parsley, and season. Spoon the lentils onto warm plates, place the cod on top and garnish with the crispy parma ham.
From J Sheekey Fish by Tim Hughes (Preface, £25). Click here to order a copy from the Guardian Bookshop for £21
Fuchsia Dunlop’s braised chicken with chestnuts (ban li shao ji)
Chestnuts are one of China’s native crops and have been cultivated there for millennia. They are grown in many parts of the country, but particularly in the north, where they are used in soups, stews and stir-fries, or ground into flour for breads and sweetmeats. Chicken and chestnuts are a classic Chinese combination.
One September morning, I drove out with my friend A Dai into the Zhejiang countryside, through a lush greenness of paddy fields, bamboo groves and lotus ponds, into the teabushed hills. Up a rough track we left the van and walked out into the twittering, humming undergrowth. A little further and there was an orchard of chestnut trees, where we plucked the prickly fruits and peeled open and ate, raw, some of the crunchy young nuts. Later, back at A Dai’s restaurant, we tasted more of them, stir-fried with ginger and the meat of a young chicken, a tender dish that can only be enjoyed early in the chestnut season. When the nuts are plumper and more mature, they find their way into braises such as this, perfect for a winter’s evening. In China, this would be made with a whole chicken, chopped up on the bone, but this quick version is made with boneless meat. Prepare it in advance if you like and reheat just in time for your meal.
Serves 2 with rice
chicken thighs 4, boneless (about 350g)
ginger 20g, unpeeled
spring onions 2, white and green parts separated
cooking oil 3 tbsp
Shaoxing wine 1½ tbsp
chicken stock or water 300ml
brown or caster sugar 1 tbsp
dark soy sauce 1 ½ tsp
chestnuts 200g, cooked and peeled (canned or vacuum-packed)
salt
Cut the chicken thighs evenly into bite-sized chunks. Crush the ginger and spring onion whites slightly with the side of a cleaver blade or a rolling pin. Cut the spring onion greens into neat 4cm lengths.
Heat the oil in a seasoned wok over a high flame. When it is hot, add the ginger and spring onion whites and stir-fry until you can smell their fragrance. Then add the chicken pieces and fry over a high heat until they are lightly browned: don’t move them around too much, but let them rest against the base of the wok so they have the chance to take on a little colour. Drain off some of the excess fat at this stage if you wish. Splash in the Shaoxing wine and stir well. Then tip in all the stock.
Bring the stock to a boil and add the sugar, soy sauce and chestnuts, with salt to taste (¾ tsp should do). Then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes to allow the chicken to cook through and the chestnuts to absorb some of the flavours of the sauce, stirring from time to time.
Increase the heat to reduce the liquid if you wish and adjust the seasoning if necessary. At the last minute, add the spring onion greens, cover for just a moment to let them feel the heat, then serve.
To cook and peel your own chestnuts, slice off the bases of the raw chestnuts and blanch them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain. When cool enough to handle, remove their shells and inner skins as far as possible.
From Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop (Bloomsbury, £25). Click here to order a copy from the Guardian Bookshop for £20.50
Skye Gyngell’s braised kid with squash, tamarind and chickpeas
Goat is an underused meat with a wonderful rich, almost earthy, flavour. I like the legs and shoulders best – slowly braised with spices until meltingly tender and falling apart. If kid is difficult to find, you can substitute lamb – the flavour is not dissimilar.
Serves 4-6
shoulder of kid 1, about 4kg
olive oil 1-2 tbsp
dry white wine 300ml
garlic 1 bulb, halved horizontally
bay leaves 4-6
dried chilli 1, roughly chopped
cinnamon 2 sticks
star anise 3
chickpeas 250g, cooked jarred or good quality tinned, drained
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the squash
winter squash 1 (onion squash is my favourite)
cumin seeds ½ ts
nigella seeds ½ tsp
mustard seeds ½ tsp
coriander seeds ½ tsp
dried chilli flakes ½ tsp
tamarind paste 2 tbsp
honey 1 tsp
lime juice of ½
olive oil 4 tbsp
To serve
Greek-style yogurt 200g
garlic 2 cloves, peeled and crushed
lime juice of 1
herb leaves sage, marjoram and/or parsley
extra virgin olive oil to trickle
Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat. Season the meat well with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, then the meat and brown well on all sides, turning as necessary.
Transfer the meat to a roasting tin. Pour on the wine, add the garlic and scatter over the bay leaves, dried chilli, cinnamon and star anise. Cover the tin with foil, sealing well. Cook in the middle of the oven for 3½ hours, turning the meat once or twice, until tender and falling from the bone. Uncover and leave until cool enough to handle, then lift the meat onto a board and remove the bones.
Return the meat to the roasting tin and add the chickpeas. Re-cover with the foil and return to the oven for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, to prepare the squash, halve lengthways, scoop out the seeds, then slice into wedges and place in a bowl. Toast the spice seeds in a small dry frying pan over a medium heat. As soon as they begin to pop, take off the heat. Pound the toasted spices finely with the dried chilli flakes, using a pestle and mortar.
For the dressing, put the tamarind paste in a bowl, add the ground spices, honey, lime juice, olive oil and a good pinch of salt, and stir well to combine.
Spoon the dressing over the squash and toss to coat the wedges. Transfer them to a roasting tray, cover with foil and place in the oven alongside the meat for the last 35 minutes of its roasting time.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the yogurt with the garlic, lime juice and a good pinch of salt.
Check the squash is tender by piercing with a knife. Arrange the meat, squash and chickpeas on warm plates and add a spoonful of yogurt. Scatter over the herbs and finish with a trickle of extra virgin olive oil.
From Spring by Skye Gyngell (Quadrille, £25)
Nigel Slater’s plum crisp
I have made this with apples, plums and damson – all divine. But I insist on cream or ice-cream with it. That biting coldness is essential with mouth-scalding hot fruit. If you are using damson, I suggest you add a tablespoon or so of sugar to the fruit. Oh, and you really do need only the merest whiff of cinnamon.
Enough for 6
ripe plums, greengages or damsons 1kg
ground cinnamon a knife point
soft white bread 125g
light muscavado sugar 75g
butter 75g
vanilla ice-cream or double cream to serve
Set the oven to 190C/gas mark 5. Cut the plums in half and remove their stones. Drop the fruit into a buttered pudding basin or shallow casserole and toss very gently with the ground cinnamon.
Whizz the bread to rough crumbs in a food processor. You don’t want them to be too fine – more of a soft rubble than a fine sand. Mix the breadcrumbs and sugar and cover the plums loosely with the mixture. Melt the butter in a small pan, then pour it over the crumbs, making certain to soak them all. Bake for 35 minutes, till the plums are soft and melting and the crumbs on top are golden and crisp.
From The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater (Fourth Estate, £30). Click here to buy a copy from the Guardian Bookshop for £21
Elisabeth Luard’s rice pudding with honey and bay
Bay leaf, the traditional flavouring for junket, is just as good in a slow-cooked rice pudding sweetened with honey. Bay leaves also discourage insects, so when storing winter woollies, tuck a sprig or two in the folds to keep away the moths.
Serves 4
pudding rice 100g
full-cream milk 1 litre
butter 50g, diced small
honey 4 tbsp
bay leaf 1
Preheat the oven to 140C/gas mark 1. Put all the ingredients in a shallow ovenproof dish and stir them up. Bake for 3½ hours, stirring every hour, but leaving it to form a skin in the final hour.
From A Cook’s Year in a Welsh Farmhouse by Elisabeth Luard (Bloomsbury)
