Lemon

Article: Pasta of The Sea

I began my love affair with samphire purely by accident.  I received it as a gift from a market fresh produce delivery company called Solstice. They used to have a handy little webshop that had almost everything gastronimic you could imagine. It was good enough to negate a trip to Borough Market and it's droves of food gawkers. When I opened the punnet I was intrigued by the look of samphire. I took a bite of it raw and was completely hooked. Samphire is a coastal plant that grows in the sea marsh. Samphire has vibrant green stalks, akin to baby asparagus. In the states samphire is called sea bean. so seek it out! It has wonderfully crisp and fresh sea taste. I love it raw and lightly cooked.

Article: Citrus Steamed Puddings

All hail mother nature! Today, for the second day running, London has seen it's first glimpse of proper spring. I can hear birds chirping, the faint buzz from lawns being mowed and I bet that fruit bearing trees are beginning to bud. Yes people, spring is on it's way! It's not all jubilation, there still a while for the great British fruit season to come into season. There is one saviour of this winter into spring time lull in fruit desserts, namely the citrus desserts. I've fallen in love with this citrus steamed pudding. I've given it a rather generic title of citrus because there is not a citrus fruit that does not shine in this dessert. I've tried it with lemons, I've tried it with limes, sampled it with satsumas...

Article: Basic Poultry Brine

I've adapted Heston Blumenthol and Thomas Kellers approach to poultry brining.  It's simple basic brine that will make you bird ultra tasty and moist. The aromatics used are completely up to you. Experiment with chili, lemon grass, star anise and coriander seeds for an Asian style brine. 15g of table salt per kg of Bird3 tablespoons honey5 bay leaves1 head of garlic, smashed but not peeled1 tablespoons black peppercorns2 star anise3 large rosemary sprigs1 small bunch of thyme1 small bunch of parsley2 lemons halved Weigh the bird and calculate the about of salt you will need.  In a sauce pot, combine 3 pints of water and the salt, the honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, star anise, parsley and lemons zest. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Let c...

Article: Ad Hoc Crispy Braised Chicken

Everything I cook from Thomas Keller's latest book Ad Hoc at Home is scrumdelicious!  I've now cooked about 15 of the 200 some recipes so that's pretty good odds so far.  In fact i would love to challenge anyone who can't complete any of these recipes. All of the recipes in Ad Hoc are attainable for even the most novice of home chefs.  The Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs is no exception.  Its a super simple autumn dish that will please anyone that tastes it. The flavours smack of summer, which is a great mood lifter when the weather is less than summer-like.  What is there not to like? Crispy skinned chicken on a bed of soft braised fennel,...