Man Salad (Pigeon, Pear & Walnut Salad)

Salad for men. Or women who also like meat in
 their salad (**puts hand up**).

Haven't blogged for a long time. But don't worry, I have been eating. Just not much in the way of new recipes as we were still doing building work. And I had a baby. Keeps you on your toes but now have my cooking mojo back. Whoop! Here's a nice new one to ease us into Autumn...

Many men balk at the idea of a salad. Throw some meat in and suddenly they are interested. Throw in some perfectly seared, just on the right side of pink, tender as anything pigeon breasts and they will barge you out the way before you can say 'I thought you didn't do salad'. This is so quick to put together, properly seasonal for right now and substantial and delicious enough to keep both hungry boys and the girls happy.

Feeds 4. Boil approx 400g of baby new potatoes in salted water until just cooked. Next do the pigeon breasts as they need a little time to rest after cooking. Take 8 breasts and season really generously. Get a heavy bottomed frying pan super hot and heat some olive oil or butter. Sear the breasts for no longer than 2 minutes each side, you want caramelisation on the outside but still pink in the middle, without blood running all over your greens. Give them a squidge, cut one open, better to have to put them back in than over cook and ruin them). Take out and put aside to rest.

Now make the dressing. In a pestle and mortar bash a small clove of garlic and a few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked, with a pinch of salt to make a paste. Stir in 2 tsp of sherry vinegar (can use whatever type you want, I just love sherry) and 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Chop two quite firm pears into small cubes, no need to peel.

Slice each pigeon breast into about 3 strips. In a large bowl combine your salad leaves, (I like to use chicory, romaine, rocket, watercress and little gem, any combo, just one type is fine, do what you like) with the pear, two handfuls of either walnuts or toasted hazelnuts and pigeon. Toss with the dressing at the last minute, go easy, as you can always add more.

Get stuck in and feel good about your lunch choices. Until the cheese comes out that is...

Get Dressed

The humble but divine vinaigrette

How many bottles of various salad dressings do you have in your cupboard? I bet there is at least something with sweet chilli and one with whole grain mustard and maybe something poncey and artisanal that you've never opened. And they are all gross because salad dressing should be made at home. Practically free and one million times better than something bought. For years I've been trying to emulate my Dad's recipe, the problem being it's not really a recipe as he just makes it on the spot, a little taste here and there, until 'Aaah, just right'. I'm no salad hugger, but along side a juicy steak I want nothing more than a perfectly dressed salad. And chips. Lots of chips. When eaten with something on the heavy side, like a risotto, a perfectly dressed salad is a necessary and complimentary accompaniment. Friends have often asked how I make my dressing so I figured, yes, dressing does matter! How awful is a thoughtless splash of screamingly tart Balsamic vinegar over a beautiful salad? How is it so acidic and so sweet at the same time? 

You don't need fancy vinegars to make a decent dressing, lemon juice and olive oil works perfectly, but below are the ingredients I use to make what I reckon is a pretty near perfect lick for otherwise, lets face it, boring salad leaves.

Oil base: I always use extra virgin olive oil, don't understand this rape seeds oil stuff, bleurgh.
Acidity: Anything you fancy from lemon juice, cider or white wine vinegar etc etc
Sweetness: this will stop that burning in the back of your throat, the tiniest pinch of sugar, I use whatever is to hand. It's not to make it taste sweet, rather to neutralise the acid a little.
Seasoning: essential, freshly ground salt and pepper.
Heat: I nearly always add a little pinch of English mustard powder or a little Dijon mustard.
Flavour: For a simple salad I always like to let a bashed clove of garlic flavour the dressing.

I never bother measuring but the general rule is one part acid to three parts oil. The rest of it is personal taste but add a little at a time, you can always add but it's annoying trying to take away. I don't have anything fancy to make dressing in, I just use a little glass and give it all a good stir. If using garlic let it sit a while, otherwise you're good to go. Also great for asparagus and globe artichoke.

A nicely dressed salad adds much needed freshness to anything from steak to pasta, go forth and mix, elevate your drab lettuce leaves to something wonderful!

(Not enough) Pumpkin & Serrano Ham Salad

There is some pumpkin in there...somewhere

This is the kind of salad I like, the protagonists, salty Serrano ham and sweet pumpkin marry so well together and the punch from the spices really pulls it all together. I ate something similar in an airport lounge the other day, and thought 'I could make that' so I did.

I was slightly hindered by the INSANE SEED TO FLESH RATIO of my little pumpkins (I bought fun-sized ones for my friend and I to carve), so I managed a few pathetic slivers and made a fuss of the seeds instead. This is such a tasty salad which makes a great starter, you could serve the pumpkin warm or cold, and beef it up with more root vegetables if you fancied it.

Feeds two. Remove the seeds and flesh from a medium sized pumpkin (do not be fooled by the super-cute mini ones) and separate the seeds from all the stringy flesh. On a baking tray, scatter the seeds on one side and the cubed pumpkin flesh on the other, drizzle with olive oil and toss with 2tsp crushed freshly toasted coriander seeds and a pinch of dried chilli flakes and salt. Roast for about 15/20 mins, until the seeds are dry and crunchy and the pumpkin cooked. Put all this in a bowl and add a small bag of rocket. Make a dressing with 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Mix the salad well with the dressing and plop onto plates. Top with a few slices of Serrano ham and parmesan shavings. Then marvel at how pretty it looks. And then, how good it tastes.

A Very Sexy Salad

Nice fig plate...

Now we all know that salads aren't always lame, the likes of Hugh and Jamie are often whipping up leafy delights freshly picked from their kitchen gardens, all looking heavenly and virtuous. Sadly, the reality is that the only things that grow in my little garden (and next year I WILL change this) is a tiny strawberry plant that somehow planted itself and a bunch of herbs. And that's only if the devil slugs have stayed away. I'm not sure that this little rant is adequately relevant to this recipe, but my point is that even if you don't have a garden bursting with green goodness, you can always go to the shop, buy some asparagus and halloumi and make this sexy salad.

Serves 2 greedy people as a main, or 3/4 as a starter. Start by making some dressing by mixing the following in a cup/jam jar/whatever: juice of half a lemon, two tbsp extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, a bashed clove of garlic, a pinch of thyme leaves, half a tsp sugar and half a tsp English mustard powder.Slice one block of halloumi cheese into slices approx 1.5cm thick. Lay it on kitchen roll to get rid of any excess liquid. Steam or boil a decent bunch of asparagus until cooked but with a nice bite (snap off the ends to avoid woody bits). Get a frying pan nice and hot (the more non-stick the better) and dribble in a little olive oil. Lay the halloumi in the pan and fry until golden, then flip to do the other side, if the pan is hot enough this will happen fast, so work quickly. Sometimes the cheese leaks out a bit of water, just pour it out and carry on. As the halloumi cooks, take it out of the pan, pile on a serving plate, cover with the asparagus and drizzle over the dressing. 

Dig in and wait for the scream of horror when the boyfriend realises there is no meat content. You could man it up a bit with some fried chorizo or something but it's lovely as it is. 

Chicory dickery dock

I had six girlfriends round for lunch today, I'd been looking forward to it for ages, and due to the volume of wine that I knew would be consumed, I decided to keep things simple. I was grateful for this decision when up I woke up later than planned, realised the house was a hell hole and Boyfriend planned to spend the morning finishing the plumbing for our dishwasher. There is nothing negative I have to say about the latter, the sooner that magical machine was installed, the better. As I write this, the dishwasher is swishing away, draining into the driveway, filtering through a very exciting make-shift contraption involving old guttering, a few bricks and an old door mat.

I went for a Spanish theme, grilled chicory with sherry vinegar and jamon to start, the main was chicken with bay and garlic (I cook it all the time and will post the recipe next time) and for pud, Seville orange tart. I had a disaster with the pastry, the tart case fell apart in my hands as I tried not to get burnt when taking it out of the tin, hence a panicked call to one of the girls who picked up a beautiful sweet pastry case from Waitrose. I will never make pastry again. What's the bloody point??

Endibias con vinagre de Jerez y jamon is a beautiful starter completely inspired by my Moro cookbook, I am yet to eat in their restaurant but the book is keeping me satisfied for now, I highly recommend it. The following recipe serves 4.

Prepare the heavenly and brilliantly simple dressing by pounding a clove of garlic with a good pinch of salt and approx. one teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves in a pestle and mortar. They must be fresh. No point otherwise. In a small pan reduce 6 tbsp of sherry vinegar (about a fiver a bottle but sooooo worth it) to about 2 tbsp. Add this to the garlic and thyme with 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and pepper. Slice the very ends off two or three heads of chicory, cut each one in half, then into three. Griddle them in a dry pan so slightly scorched and arrange on one half of a serving dish. I finally posess a decent le Creuset griddle pan and its all about stripey food, food with lines on it. Awesome. Splash on the dressing and sprinkle on some chopped parsley. Add as much or as little jamon as you like/can afford. It's well pricey. I actually used Serano ham but don't tell the girls.