Sunday, December 18, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Beef Wellington
serves 6
prep 45 mins cook 30�€"45 mins
Ingredients:
1kg (2 ¼ lb) fillet of beef,
cut from the thick end of the fillet,
trimmed of fat.
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp sunflower oil
45g (1 ½ oz) butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
250g (9oz) mixed wild mushrooms
500g packet ready-made puff pastry
beaten egg, to glaze
Preparation:
1-Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F/Gas 7).
Season the meat with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the beef
until browned all over.
Place the beef in a roasting tin, roast for 10 minutes,
then remove and leave to cool.
2 -Melt the butter in a pan and fry the shallots
and garlic for 2-3 minutes,
stirring frequently, until softened.
Finely chop the mushrooms, add them to the pan,
and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes,
or until the juices evaporate.
then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
3 - Roll out a third of the pastry to a rectangle
about 5cm (2in) larger than the beef.
Place on a baking sheet, prick all over with a fork,
then bake for 12-15 minutes,
or until crisp and golden.
Remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
4 - Place the cooked pastry on a baking sheet,
and spread one-third of the mushroom mixture on the centre.
Place the beef on top and spread the remaining
mushroom mixture over the meat.
Roll out the remaining pastry and place it over the beef,
tucking in the edges and using beaten egg to seal it to the base.
5 - Brush with egg to glaze.
Make a slit in the top for steam to escape.
Bake for 30 minutes for rare, 40 minutes for medium,
or 45 minutes for well done.
If the pastry starts to become too brown,
cover loosely with foil. Remove from the oven
and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Roast Chicken with lemon, Garlic and Thyme
As far as herbs go, I think fresh thyme works best with chicken. I sometimes add four or five bulbs of green garlic (young garlic that looks like baby leeks) when it's in season and if I find it at the farmers' market. Ready in 1 hour 10 mins Serves: 10 Ingredients 2 lemons 2 whole chickens 2 large onions, peeled and quartered 6 shallots, coarsely chopped 8 cloves garlic, unpeeled 3 tablespoons olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 100g (4 oz) butter, softened 8 sprigs fresh thyme Preparation Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 50 mins 1.Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas mark 5. Lightly grease a medium baking dish. 2.Pierce lemons several times with a fork, and place 1 inside each chicken cavity. Arrange chickens in the centre of the prepared baking dish. Place onions, shallots and garlic around the chickens. Sprinkle vegetables with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Spread butter over the chickens, and line each with thyme sprigs. 3.Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Increase temperature to 200 C / Gas mark 6, and continue baking 30 minutes, or until exterior of chicken is golden brown, meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Allow to cool about 15 minutes before serving. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)