Quail, Southern Indian style....

Indian spiced grilled quail, corn onion spiced relish and pomegranate raita.

A descent dose of balanced Indian spices offset with an equally balanced spiced crunchy nutty sweetcorn relish and pops of creaminess vs sweet sharp with a fresh pomegranate and green tomato raita. 

Oh how we love the teeny weeny little quails we get fresh here.  They lend themselves to so many cuisines, not just the Middle Eastern dishes they are sold in such abundance to serve.

Soaked lentils, roasted corn, broad bean, chorizo, crisp jambon cru and salmon

I used a mix of red moong lentils and channa dahl lentils.  The soaking idea comes from an Indian (Goan) salad served with fish.  Where lentils are soaked overnight but not cooked.

I soaked them overnight then sauted them with onion, garlic, chorizo, sherry vinegar a touch of pernod and chopped sage.  Adding roasted corn, fresh chopped tomato, broad beans and fresh dill.  The result was a form of salad where the chorizo, pernod and sherry vinegar formed a dressing of sorts, keeping things beautifully light and fresh.

Lentils done in this way retain crunch and texture.  These lentil varieties when cooked turn mushy (and therefore why they are used extensively in dahls where that is the result required). 

I added fresh pretty little beetroot sprouts and some cute edible flowers.  Cooked cured Bayonne ham until crispy and some beautifully fresh salmon again cooked crisp.

A delicious dish of contrasting textures, flavours and colours that surprised me with the divinity of mouthfeel and taste.

Yum.

Middle Eastern Salad Entree

Middle Eastern flavours of cardommon, honey, orange blossom water, black pepper and lemon juice make a beautiful salad dressing.

Fig, pear, goat cheese, baby beetroot (mandolined and lightly pickled) and freeze dried blueberries were the salad ingredients.  Light and delicious.  A salty sweet note with the honey, goat cheese pear and fig.  Frankly a bit of jambon cru wouldn't go amiss though.  Note to self, when doing this salad again - add some pig!

Chicken cooked with sage, cinnamon bark, lemon zest, whole garlic cloves in their paper and  ….. milk.

Yes it sounds rather strange but it works.  Indeed it works.  

The chicken was a sublime concoction of light lemon, rich whole garlic, reduced milk and that cinnamon.  Oh the cinnamon.   Very impressed indeed.  If I were to fully evaluate,  I would say  it can take a little more lemon zest, a hint of heat (I used lots of black pepper, it could also use a touch of cayenne) , some strained local yoghurt.  Andy suggested small currents and pine nuts, sweet and creamy rich.  Yes it would work beautifully.  This can take acid and flavour.  The only reason I comment is for myself and note to self it’s a bloody phenomenal dish that can handle even more.   Yum yum yummity yum. 

Jamie Oliver I do not study you but you have the most incredible ideas and this is the product of one. An Italian symphony.  oh that sounds so naff but it's true!

Beef slow cooked with star anise consume

I have had this dish in my head for some time. Slow cooked beef shank, using the stock to make a beautiful clean consume, then to wrap the slow cooked beef in Serrano ham and cook it again for the sweet salty carmalised effect.  Served with sort of a salad (beetroot, tomato, coriander leaf, onion and teeny cubes of feta). 

The beef had been cooked for 3 hours in a spice mix of star anise, chinese 5 spice, chilli, sherry vinegar, onion, garlic.  Then removed from it’s stock sauce (after sitting overnight in the fridge).  The beef itself was wrapped in Serrano ham and cooked until caramalised.  The stock sauce was clarified with egg white to produce a beautiful clean clear beef stock star anise taste.

Beetroot, little cubes of feta cheese, slow cooked beetroot, very good quality cherry tomatoes, lightly pickled onion, a touch of fresh coriander leaf.  Fine.  Very fine indeed.  Elegant, light but rich and heady at the same time. 

Where would this dish originate?  Well mainly middle east in flavour so I’ll say it’s a middle eastern dish non halal and very very delicious.

Andy suggested duck and yes he's right.  The same technique applied (I'd change the veg) with a beautiful crispy piece of duck leg on duck stock consume would be utterly divine.   Next time!!