Salad Nicoise

I boiled some new potatoes in some salted water for about 20 mins having first cut the larger ones in half to help them cook evenly.  For the first 5 mins or so I put in two free range eggs to hard boil and after I had taken them out I put in some green beans, cut into approximately one inch lengths, for the last 10 minutes.

While the potatoes were cooking, I drained a can of tuna in olive oil - I used Ventresca tuna this time - into a large bowl and removed some of the excess oil, then added lemon juice in proportion to make a salad dressing.  I use approximately 1.5 - 2 parts oil to 1 part acid (in this case lemon juice) when I make a salad dressing, but I always taste it after whisking them together to judge the proportions.  I adjusted it slightly, then seasoned it with sea salt and pepper and then whisked it again.

I cooled the eggs under a cold tap when I took them out and left them to rest before removing the shells.

I drained the potatoes and green beans and left them to cool slightly and for the excess water to evaporate, then tossed them in the dressing.  I added the tuna from the tin and some pitted black olives and tossed the salad again before plating it up.  I then cut the eggs into four, lengthways, and then arranged them around the plates of salad.

Scrambled eggs on toast with ham

I lightly scrambled two eggs, with some milk, seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground five peppercorns.  I also grated a small amount of strong cheddar into the mix.

Meanwhile I toasted two slices of bread, spread them with olive oil spread and topped each of them with half a slice of breaded gammon ham, before adding the eggs.

Cheese and ham toastie

I didn't cook Sunday lunch today, so I can take no credit for the fantastic shoulder of lamb, roasted with garlic and lemon peel inserted into it, accompanied by minted new potatoes, carrots, mange tout and sugar snaps, nor for the tomato bruschetta which preceeded it, nor the buttermilk tart that followed.  However, I did prepare a little evening snack...

I toasted one side each of two slices of bread, having made sure they would both be the outside bits - it is important in my opinion to get a good match between the two slices of a toasted sandwich, partly for aesthetic reasons, partly because it stops filling poking out in an ungainly way and avoids you ending up with mouthfuls with the wrong proportion of bread to filling.  I never add butter to my toasties, instead I covered the raw side with thinly sliced cheddar - proper, full strength West Country cheddar - and toasted them until the cheese was melted and just starting to bubble.  I topped one side of the sandwich with two slices of applewood smoked ham, tearing and folding them to fit snugly inside the sandwich and to produce a variety of thicknesses of ham within the sandwich.  I then thinly spread the other slice with dijon mustard and assembled the sandwich.

Finally, I cut it into quarters as these allow the best access to the centre of the sandwich, where everything comes together most perfectly and ate it with a nice cup of tea.

Chicken in bacon, pesto mash, creamed spinach...

I had been looking in the fridge and noting leftovers and decided to use up the last four rashers of bacon (rindless, smoked) plus the second half of a packet of spinach and the last 120 ml or so of double cream.  I defrosted a couple of chicken breasts and bought some more Maris Pipers and a nice bottle of wine (more later) yesterday to finish things off.

I seasoned the chicken breasts (just pepper - Bristol blend 5 peppercorn - freshly grated, no salt because of the bacon) then wrapped each breast with two rashers of bacon.  I gave them a quick spritz of olive oil and put them in the oven on gas mark 5 for about 25-30 mins.

The potatoes were boiled in salted water and then mashed.  I added butter and mashed that through, before switching to a spoon to blend in the rest of the ingredients to the mash, which were some pesto (not homemade this time, alas), some Malden sea salt (finest kind), a little white pepper and some of the remaining cream.  I stirred them all through until well mixed.  I didn't bother warming the cream as I used my one Le Creuset pan, which is fairly heavy and retains the heat well.

For the spinach, I sweated down some shallots in a mixture of olive oil and butter, then wilted the spinach down into it.  I seasoned with Maldon salt and white pepper and a good grinding of fresh nutmeg, mixed the seasoning in well and then added some of the cream, stirred it well and brought it up to a very light simmer.  The cream sauce from the spinach when served spread around the plate, adding moisture to the rest of the dish.

The wine I had chosen was from Marlborough in New Zealand and was a Sauvignon Blanc from 2010, called The Ned (named after a mountain).  It was a nice sharp, crisp white which helped cut through the richness of the sauce.

Overall a success.  Quite pleased with this one.

What and why...

I've decided to start another blog, because I was quite impressed with the meal I cooked tonight and so I decided that I should start rambling on about food and stuff as I am rather keen really, in the hope that people will comment and I will be able to use this medium to develop my skills in the kitchen.

As for the title, it is of course a quote from the film 'Letter To Brezhnev', which dates me terribly, where Margie Clarke's character puts off her amorous Russian sailor companion (Alfred di Molina) until after getting some chips, with the phrase, 'Food now, filth later.'