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.
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