Coq au vin
(French traditional rooster cooked in red wine)
Ingredients
Marinade:
-1 bottle of red wine (French full body, Bordeau is perfect)
-1 whole rooster (or very good Irish outside reared chicken)
-2 bay leaves
-100g peeled pearl onions (you can use frozen), or small shallots (not pickled)
For cooking:
-50g flour
-1 table spoon of cooking rapeseed oil
-150g button mushrooms
-1 table spoon tomato paste
-250ml beef stock
-50g smoked lardons (diced smoked streaky bacon)
-1 garlic clove
-sea salt, whole black pepper
Method
-portion the rooster in 8 pieces keeping the skin & bones on (the bones will add so much flavour to the sauce). You will end up with 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 4 ½ breast.
-marinate the meat in the red wine in the fridge overnight with the onions & bay leaves.
-decant the rooster pieces and pat-dry them with kitchen paper.
-roll the meat in the flour with a large pinch of sea salt
-in a large oven proof skillet, fry off the floured pieces of rooster with the rapeseed oil on high heat until golden brown.
-add the smoked lardon and fry off for 1 to 2 minutes
-add the red wine and onion, turn the heat to medium-low and reduce to half.
-add the mushrooms, tomato paste, black pepper, a whole garlic clove and beef stock
Cover and place in a preheated oven at 150° C for 45 minutes to 1.5 hrs until the meat falls of the bone.
Check the seasoning and serve with chopped thyme.
Note: the cooking time will depend on the quality of the chicken/rooster. Better quality is the chicken, longer it will take to cook entirely.
Bouillabaisse with an Irish Twist
Ingredients
-bones and heads of 2 rock salmon (or any other type of fish bones)
-3 medium carrot
-1 large onion
-3 celery stalk
-100g of tomato paste
-1.2kg of chopped tomatoes
-6 garlic cloves
-1 pinch of saffron strands
-1 pinch of coriander seeds
-1 pinch of fennel seeds
-1 small pinch of cayenne pepper
-1 table spoon of olive oil
-2 glasses of dry white wine (one for the bisque and one for the chef)
Method
Roast the fish bones & heads onto a roasting tray for 15 minutes at 180˚C.
Peel and chop the carrot, onion and garlic.
Toast the spices in a large dry saucepan on low heat for 2 minutes, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sweat the vegetables for 3 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and the white wine and cook while stirring for 3 more minutes.
Add the roasted fish bones & heads and the chopped tomatoes.
Cover with cold water and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
Blend and pass through a fine sieve. You can add a dash of crème fraiche and a squeeze of ½ a lemon before serving. Goes best with sourdough toast & aioli
Note: you will need a good and strong blender.
Zero-waste omelette
Ingredients
-2 or 3 free range or organic eggs per serving
-2 tablespoons of fresh cream
-grated smoked cheddar
-hand full of spinach, kale or chard.
-leftover cooked chips diced up
-1 small pinch of sea salt
-5g butter
Method
Break the eggs in a mixing bowl.
Whisk very well with little sea salt.
Add the cheese and cream and keep whisking for a minute.
Melt the butter in a hot unstick frying pan, poor the egg mixture and add straight away the potatoes and spinach.
Put under a medium heat grill for few minutes until cooked.
Flip over unto a plate and serve with fresh leaves immediately.
You can add any cooked meat left over a bit of roast lamb with a sprinkle of smoked paprika, for example.
Beetroot burger
Ingredients
-600g raw beetroot
-75g organic gluten free flour
-sea salt
-50 ml rapeseed oil and little more for frying
-1/2 tsp cumin seeds
-chopped chilli -
-40 g millet grain (or quinoa)
Method
Rinse the millet in a sieve under a cold tap.
In a small saucepan, simmer the millet with salted water for 15 minutes until the grains just start to open up, strain in a sieve and cool under a cold tap.
Peel and coarse grate the raw beetroot, put it in a large mixing bowl and add the sea salt. 'Massage’ the grated beetroot for 2 minutes.
In a small frying pan on a medium heat, toast the cumin for 2 minutes, add the oil and chopped chilli and let infuse off the heat.
Add the spiced oil in the grated beetroot, mix well, add the gluten free flour.
Portion in 6 generous size burgers. Coat the burgers lightly with the cooked millet.
Fry off the burgers for 4 to 5 minutes on each side in a large frying pan on medium heat with a little rapeseed oil.
Serve in a Blaa with salad leaves, pickles and yoghurt dressing.
Note: you can use any root vegetables instead of beetroot.