Stuff yer bake

I bought some more frozen squid this week and had two dishes in mind to make with it. The first one is a recipe taken from one of Rick Stein’s book. I can’t remember which one it is as it has been a few years since I made it, but I imagine it was one of his early ones.  I first saw it when he came to a book signing in the BBC shop in Belfast about ten years ago and cooked it for us. That was the first time I had tried squid and have really enjoyed it ever since. 

I found the recipe on line, so here it is. It really is a beautiful and simple dish. I served it with a couple of slices of sourdough bread but a glass of chilled white wine wouldn’t go amiss either. 

I cooked a little squid for Poppy but she sniffed it, poked at it and then walked off. Obviously nothing but prime tuna can satisfy her. 

I was back in Northern Ireland on Thursday for a wedding. The sun shone in a cloudless sky on the day and I managed to get a little burnt, but a lot of fun was had by all. Getting on the plane early in the morning to return to Coventry we passed into cloud and a greyish day but I thought a sunny Sunday brunch would lighten the mood (especially since I came back to my eight month old car to find some git had kicked off my wing mirror!!!).

To make this, whisk up about five free range eggs with a fork. Melt a little knob of butter in a saucepan, add the eggs and over a very gentle heat, slowly fold the egg mixture. You don’t want small bouncy nuggets of scrambled egg, but a soft, creamy mixture. Cook for about ten minutes continually folding until done to your liking. Meanwhile slice soda farls into two across the way and toast until a little golden. Lay slices of smoked salmon on top of the soda bread (you could butter the soda bread if you are feeling gluttonous) squeeze a little lemon juice over the salmon and heap the scrambled egg on top. Season, drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with a sprig of parsley (I do realise that I have put coriander on top but I didn’t have parsley). Serves two happy people. 

I sometimes struggle to think of something quick, cheap and yet satisfying for an evening meal during the week. This recipe, although I use ‘recipe’ in the broadest sense of the word since it’s more of an assembly with little effort, definitely fits the bill.

I had a block of puff pastry in the freezer so I dug it out of the deep freeze, let it defrost and rolled it into a centimeter thick rectangle. I then gently carved an indent about an inch in from the edge and gave the pastry a brush over with a beaten egg. I layered a couple of handfuls of spinach over the base then topped with sliced red onions, pitted black olives and crumbled feta, then seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. The pastry was cooked in a 200 degree centigrade oven for about fifteen to twenty minutes, or when puffed up and golden brown. Cut into generous slices and serve with a lightly dressed green salad.

This is so versatile as you can put pretty much anything onto the puff pastry, like butternut squash, morels, toasted walnuts and goats cheese or tomatoes, basil, mozarella and pine nuts. Get creative and enjoy.

This simple concoction was originally intended to be a plain sweetcorn soup, but the only bread I had in the house was naan bread and I thought adding a hint of spice might compliment the bread very well. The soup is cheap, easy to make and reasonably healthy so it probably ticks most peoples boxes.

Ingredients:

• Two 400g tins of sweetcorn, try and get good quality stuff that hasn’t had salt and sugar added. Leave a tblsp aside to decorate
• Two large potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch dice
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 red chilli pepper, deseeded if you like, and chopped
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• 4 heaped tsps of cumin seeds
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tblsp yoghurt to serve
• a small sprig of parsley or coriander to garnish
• naan bread

Method

Heat a small pan on a medium to high heat and dry fry the cumin seeds until they release their aroma and slightly colour, (keep an eye on them so they don’t burn) then grind them with a pestle and mortar. Heat a small amount of oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat then add the onion and garlic. Fry for a few minutes until slightly softened then add the potatoes, chilli and ground cumin. Stir for a few minutes then add the chicken stock and simmer for about 15 minutes before adding the sweetcorn and cooking for a further 5 minutes. Check the potato and onion are soft ,then take off the heat and blend until smooth. It is quite a thick soup but if you find it too thick add a little water. Season the soup and then ladle into warm bowls, with a spoon of yoghurt, a small heap of sweetcorn and a sprig of parsley on top. Serve with warm naan bread.

Serves 4