Leaving on a jet plane and Summer BBQ 2009 menu

As most of you will be personally familiar with who I am and where I live it will come as no surprise to you that I am due to jet off to Victoria, Canada a week from today in order to undertake two years of study at the University of Victoria within the History in Art faculty.

Leaving London and all its culinary high points will be difficult (I will of course miss the people too!) but I am hoping to jump feet first into a world of fresh fish, sushi and maple syrup and therefore will certainly be continuing with this blog while I am on the North West coast of our former colony.

In the meantime check out the menu I intend to rustle up for the annual summer BBQ that will be held this saturday. It happens but once a year and while this may be the last for a couple of years (at least to be held in the UK) and it won’t be as exciting or ambitious as past years, I think I am going to stick with the basics and stick with the recipes and dishes that have been tried and tested favourites.

For those of you who aren’t going to make it salivate and realise the error of your ways. For those who are going to make it, salivate and pray that Saturday comes as quickly as possible!

 

Summer BBQ 2009: Farewell fair Britain…:

Homemade herb burgers: Either hache style or minced beef burgers seasoned with a special herb heavy spice mix, onions, cornichons and bound together with egg. Served in a traditional bun with choice of cheese, salad and condiments.

Slow roasted shoulder of pork: Trimmed shoulder of pork slow roasted for 8hrs, rubbed with a special BBQ style rub 24 hrs before and cooked from 6am to be ready for 2:30pm. Served with a bun and accompanied by homemade coleslaw and BBQ sauce.

Slow roasted pork ribs: Slow roasted pork ribs, again rubbed with a traditional BBQ rub 24hrs in advance and cooked for at least 6 hrs (8-2:30pm). Served with the same homemade BBQ sauce as the pulled pork.

Anything else that I can think of and find at the last minute: I am borrowing a large gas grill (I know that BBQ purists may take issue with this as you could possibly get the same smokey charred flavour as when you use wood or charcoal, but its for ease of service and efficiency ok!) so may pick up extras along the way to accompany the dishes above.

Sides: Mixed leaf salads with homemade dressings, potato salad, Coleslaw etc.

Simple and effective is the name of the game. Stuff em with well cooked, attention to detail protein based foods and your laughing. The sides are a mere side thought… Meat is the name of the game, lots of it!

Anyway, if I don’t post before I hit the shores of Vancouver Island be sure to check back after the 27th August and I will keep this sparsely viewed blog updated with my Epicurean adventures from across the seas.

As ever thank you for reading.

 

The Epicurean Candidate

Away days: Recipe to come

While I am perfectly aware that there aren’t hordes of fans waiting with baited breathe for me to post a new and exciting recipe or food related musings, I thought I would warn those that have subscribed that the blog will remain dormant for a couple of weeks as I am about to jet off for a 2 week holiday to America.

Here are some pictures of the latest excusion into food heaven. Leg of lamb with Garlic, Rosemary and Anchovies. The leg was purchased at Lingers Butchers in Bedford, and while it cost a fairly hefty £26 it was a serious piece of meat, that I suspect had been hung due to the rich red colour of the meat. It easily served 6 and while there are very rarely any leftovers when I am around there was copious amounts to go round.

So check out the images and hopefully now you really can wait with baited breath. Failing that check out the following book: Roast Chicken and other Stories by Simon Hopkinson and Lindsey Bareham (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roast-Chicken-Stories-Paperback-Cookery/dp/009187100X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248961363&sr=8-1)

This is where I took the recipe and all is explained within.

Lingers Leg o Lamb: Amazing piece of meat

Jeweled leg with Garlic, Rosemary and Anchovies (ingredients shown...)

Leg of lamb slathered in anchovie butter

Pre-rested leg.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. I would seriously suggest investing in the book. It has some classic dishes and are so easy to impress with.

Until I return and thank you for reading,

 

The Epicurean Candidate

Recipe 011: Smoked Mackerel and Horseradish fishcakes (with images!)

I was gifted a huge bag of potatoes recently (a result of an over order on Ocado Ithink) and decided to grab some of those trusty smoked mackerelfillets from Waitrose (and any other good supermarket) and make myself some fish cakes.

Once again this is inspired by many different recipes and as there is nothing original about a fish cake I am not going to pretend its an Epicurean Candidate original, I am also not going to post up links to any original recipes I looked at. It’s an easy dish to make and everyone should be able to give it a go.

One thing I must mention, and following the tradition of telling you my mistakes so you don’t make them yourselves, is that I made three cakes without the breadcrumb outer layer. While they tasted fine, the texture did suffer and they managed to stick to the frying pan quite nicely! There are some recipes out there where they omit this covering but I think it helps to hold the cake together and allows a nice crunchy texture to compliment the smooth potato and mackerel chunks.

Smoked Mackerel and Horseradish Fishcakes:

Serves 2 (2 cakes per person) or 4 (1 cake person)

Ingredients:

1 pack of smoked mackerel fillets (about 4 -5 medium fillets)

2 large potatoes

handful of spring onions

good handful of breadcrumbs (I just lightly toasted the end of a loaf and crumbed it in a blender, real stale breadcrumbs would be better and provide a more consistent texture, although on the other hand the irregular texture of the toasted slice was good too!)

1-2 eggs lightly whisked

handful of flour

For the seasoning:

2 tsp of horseradish sauce (or freshly grated horseradish)

1 tsp of mustard (I used wholegrain as its all I had, Dijon would probably be better)

1/2 tsp of paprika (smoked)

good amount of salt and pepper

Method:

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes and boil until a knife passes through them easily. You don’t want to over cook them as they will become too wet and won’t make a good mash. To ensure they are dry enough drain them well and leave to one side to make sure all the water has drained away.

2. Mash the potatoes and mix together. You can add a little butter here but I didn’t ad don’t think its imperative.

3. Finely chop the spring onions, all the way to the green shoots and add to the potatoes.

4. Remove the mackerel skin and flake the fish into the potato and spring onion mix. You want some good chunks of fish in the mix to provide as much flavour and texture as possible.

5. Add the horse radish, mustard, salt, pepper and paprika and mix thoroughly.

6. Once the ingredients are all well distributed, take your clean, washed and dried hands and make 4 medium sized cakes.

7. Place the eggs, flour and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes. Dredge the cakes carefully in the egg mix, then the flour and finally the breadcrumbs. Make sure that the cakes are nicely covered in the breadcrumbs without being overwhelmed. You want about a mm of coverage over all sides.

8. Add a drop of olive oil to a good nonstick pan and heat until it smokes slightly. Take the cakes and add them to the pan one by one. Makes sure they don’t stick or burn and turn them carefully until each side is nicely browned.

Smoked Mackerel and Horseradish fishcakes

It is a seriously simple recipe and is also relatively quick. The flavour and kick imparted by the smoked fish, mustard, horseradish and paprika really works well together and makes what could be a fairly bland, fishy dish into one full of punch and texture.

Serve this as a starter or a nice mid-week dish for two, or even as a good sized meal for one with one saved over for lunch the next day. Accompanied by a good crunchy salad, this dish is satisfying and without stumbling over too many more cliches very comforting. Equally suited to the darkest, coldest months of winter or the sunny, alfresco dining room of the summer.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the picture !

The Epicurean Candidate

External link: Nose to Tail at Home

I stumbled across this blog during a bored half hour.

Someone in America is actually trying to cook their way through Fergus Henderson’s Nose to Tail cookery books. Brains an all!

http://www.nosetotailathome.com/

The Epicurean Candidate

10th Recipe!: BBQ Season: Butterflied leg of lamb, studded with garlic and rosemary with a herb and spice rub.

This is one the easiest and most satisfying BBQ dishes you could imagine. Forget about slapping shop bought burgers and sausages on the summer BBQ. Feed the masses with a huge slab of seasonal British lamb, packed full of flavours and oozing with juices.

The rub for this recipe is simple and allows the flavours to permeate the meat through the 24hr marination. There are thousands of rub recipes and every true BBQ chef has their own favourites. I use them on ribs and pork shoulder for slow roasting and they always add so much flavour it really is worth doing. There are no hard and fast rules but it is probably better to avoid too many tender herbs, or at least ensure they are well chopped/ground down so that they don’t burn when you cook over hot coals.

One of the best aspects of this dish is that due to the nature of the cut, ie: butterflied off the bone, you get a range of thicknesses throughout the meat. This means that some parts cook more thoroughly then others, you can essentially please all the guests/eaters. Slicing this after leaving it to rest for about 10-20mins in front of the congregated masses is also highly theatrical and hugely satisfying.

There are numerous recipes for this dish online, including an example from Hugh FW and one from Ainsley Harriot. I am slightly ashamed to say that I got my inspiration from Ainsley, but as with all my dishes, artistic license took over and I think I can call this my interpretation.

BBQ Season: Butterflied leg of lamb, studded with garlic and rosemary with a herb and spice rub.

Ingredients:

1 Large leg of lamb (preferably British and best eaten with the new spring season in full swing. Get the butcher to butterfly the leg off the bone. You could take the bones too and make your own stock if you have time or the inclination)

1 clove of garlic (cloves and skin removed. cut into thin chunks)

Handful of rosemary (think more leafy and less woody)

For the rub:

Good handful of sea salt

Good handful of pepper

3-4 springs of fresh thyme (leaves removed and stalks discarded)

1 large spring of rosemary (leaves finely chopped)

1 large sprig of sage (leaves finely chopped)

2 tablespoons of dark muscavado sugar (less granulated and finer works better when you’re rubbing into the meat)

1 teaspoon of cumin

Method:

1. lay the meat out and wash with cold water. Dry and trim off any large pieces of fat. You want the fat to keep the meat moist but don’t want it to burn on the BBQ.

2. Take a small sharp knife and make small 1cm incisions all over the flesh, on all sides. Take a leaf or two of rosemary and a sliver of the garlic and place these in the incisions until they are all occupied.

3. Lay the lamb out on a shallow, non-metallic dish and leave to one side while you mix together the rub. Make sure all the ingredients are finely chopped and ground and mix together thoroughly. Either sprinkle the rub onto the lamb or take a small handful and start to work it into the meat.

4. Once the lamb is completely coated in the rub return to the dish and cover with cling film. Place in the fridge and marinate at least over night.

5. Get your BBQ sparked up and make sure that all the coals are glowing red hot and have a good covering of ash over them. Spread them out to an even layer and place the grill over the top. Wipe the grill with a good covering of oil. While you are doing this remove the lamb from the fridge and allow it to return to room temperature, this ensures that the cold meat doesn’t get too much of a shock when placed on the hot grill, and decide to tense up and become tough.

6. Cook on the coals and sear on all sides. Don’t allow the meat to burn, you may want to cook it over indirect heat to ensure this doesn’t happen.

7. As with most of my cooking being aware of what your doing is important. It not only ensures that the meat won’t burn, it also allows you keep an eye on cooking times. I prefer my lamb to be slightly pink. you may want to cook this over the coals for around 30mins. As I mentioned above the beauty of this is that as the meat is not a standard thickness you will have some parts more thoroughly cooked than others. Hopefully this will please everyone.

8. Take off the heat and wrap in a large sheet of tin foil. Cover this with a tea towel and allow to sit for 10-20mins to allow the meat to become tender. Slice thickly and pour any congregated juices over the meat. Avoid serving too much of the fat with it, it can get a little chewy. Serve in a nice, wholemeal bap with some tomato relish or a side salad of leaves, sweet, summer cherry toms, red onion and a light honey dressing.

This is one of the easiest but still most impressive dished you can prepare on a BBQ. It looks great, tastes great and is as honest as you can get. Get the butcher to butterfly the leg for you and the hardest part is done.

Try it out (once the summer rains have passed) and thank you for reading. Sorry no photos this week. I shall endeavor to create something over the weekend and record it for posterity.

 

The Epicurean Candidate

Recipe 009: Strawberry and Lemon stacked Cheesecake with Hazelnut Shortbread base

I was recently treated to a vegetarian feast at a friends house (very nice it was too, and no meat to be seen!). I had bought her the Ottolenghi cookbook for her birthday and decided to try a couple of the recipes out as a thank you.

(book available & cheapest here:http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0091922348/ref=s9sims_c4_img1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=1P8E7RW0ZYZW36CF1TPG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139045891&pf_rd_i=468294).

I had recently bought a job lot of Hazelnuts while on the search for some change and decided to utilise them in the shortbread base of the recipe about to unfold before your eyes. It’s also as close to summer as we can be so fresh, fruit flavours I felt were needed too.

Check out the photo of the finished article (sorry it was only taken on my phone camera, but it looked so damn good I had to record it for posterity!) The recipe I created describes how to make smaller individual cheesecakes but you could adjust the amounts and make one big one.

This dish was devoured between moans of joy (route to a womans heart?) but did leave the devourer tired and full afterwards so maybe the portion control should be looked into.  Regardless it’s a perfect summer dessert and looks very impressive. Try it out and enjoy!

Strawberry and Lemon stacked Cheesecake with Hazelnut Shortbread base:

As ever I butchered the recipe for this from numerous sources. The shortbread recipe came from here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/shortbread_1290.shtml. The basic cheesecake recipe came from here: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/514277.

Ingredients:

For the shortbread:

125g unslated butter

55g caster sugar

180g plain flour

1 large handful of hazelnuts, oven roasted til warm and aromatic, all papery husks removed (explanation below)

For the cheesecake:

1 tub of full fat cream cheese

Icing sugar

Strawberrys, chopped.

1 lemon (juiced and zested)

Couple of dashes of Vanilla Essence

Thick double cream

Method:

1.  Firstly make the shortbread. It’s an incredibly simple recipe and as with much of my cooking and culinary creations I did most of it by eye. Follow the ingredients list and you should have more shortbread than you need, just make a few round to act as the base and middle layer of the cheesecake and make the rest into lovely tea time treats for you and your friends!

2.  Prepare the hazelnuts by making sure they are all shelled (buy them shelled, there’s no point in having to do it yourself). Roast them on a baking sheet in a medium oven for a few minutes until you can smell they have taken on the heat and are beginning to colour slightly. Tip them into a colander and and run them under cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Make sure you remove as much of the papery husks as you can and set to one side to dry (you can even put them back in the oven to speed the drying process and make sure they are fully flavoured and the essential oils flowing!) When they are dry grind them in a mixer and collect in a bowl ready to add to the shortbread mixture.

3. Beat the sugar and butter together until you get a pale and fluffy paste. Sift the flour into the bowl, add the hazelnuts and mix until you have a manageable mass. Turn this out onto a floured surface and roll out the to required thickness (around 5mm-1cm). Cut into 4 rounds (to make 2 cheesecakes) and make rest into any shape you want. Transfer to a lightly greased baking tray, chill for 20mins and bake in an oven pre-heated to 190c for 15-20 mins or until the biscuits are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before moving to a wire rack and putting to one side.

4. Onto the cheesecake itself. I was only making 2 small cheesecakes (although they were incredibly filling) and so, as with the shortbread bases I played it by ear and just made up a mixture that looked to be the right consistancy.  It’s incredibly simple and as its a refrigerator cheesecake it requires no cooking! Mix the icing sugar, cream cheese and vanilla essence until you have a well congregated mess. Fold in the double cream and make sure you end up with a thick mixture that isn’t too loose.

5. At this point I divided the mixture into two and made the strawberry and lemon flavoured cheesecake filling separately. For the strawberry layer simply add the chopped strawberrys to one half, making your that you gently fold them through the mixture, don’t be rough as you may end up crushing the fruit and creating a pink mess. The aim is to have a nice white cheesecake mixture with little jewels of strawberries.

For the lemon mix, simply add the zest and a little of the juice of the lemon. Make sure you don’t get too much liquid involved otherwise you loose the structure of the mixture and it will have a hardtime setting later on. The aim for this level is to allow the flavour to be apparent in the zestiness of the mixture. You want that acidic lemon kick to compliment the sweetness of the strawberrys.

6. Compile the cheesecake! For this I used 2 metal chef rounds (essentially just a round piece of metal without a base or top). If you have measured the rounds then you can cut the biscuits a little smaller than their diameter to account for expansion during the baking process. I didn’t do this so had to cut the biscuits again to fit inside the round. This presented a problem when trying to turn the cheesecakes out as the biscuit was jammed in there. It is best to make them to fit so that you are able to remove the dessert when fully chilled.

Place one shortbread biscuit in the chefs round and then layer on the lemon cheesecake mixture. make sure it sits in the mould compactly and smooth off the top to allow the other biscuit to rest on it. Push this down gently and then layer on the strawberry layer. Again smooth this off and  tidy up any spillages. Slice some fresh strawberry thinly and decorate the top in a style of your choice. Refrigerate the desserts overnight on a flat plate or tray so that they are fully set.

7. Turning out. One of my cheesecakes came out without any issues and this is the one that you see at the bottom of this post. The other was a little more stubborn but looked ok once I had teased it out. I have read that you can wipe the outside of the metal mould with a warm towel to encourage the cheesecake to come out but this didn’t really help me. Just be patient and hopefully all should work out well.

8. Serve on its own or make a simple strawberry sauce by mixing a few strawberries and some sugar in a mixer and straining through a fine sieve.

This dessert went down so well and I was pleasantly surprised by how well the citrus of the lemon complemented the sweetness of the strawberries. The shortbread base was a nice alternative to the normal crushed biscuit base and allowed the stacked nature of the dessert to work well. This is well worth a try and if the reaction of my taster was anything to go by, presenting this to anyone with a penchant for desserts should result in moans of delight.

God damn it, thats good!

 

Thank you for reading and sorry the posts have been rather sporadic recently.

The Epicurean Candidate

Recipe 008: Chipotles en Adobo

As promised here is the latest and greatest Chipotle recipe. I have made this sauce up for many an annual summer BBQ and while it packs heat, its a great and versatile way to use the Chipotle chilies. You can marinate chicken in it, add it to mayonnaise, use it as a dip, a smokey steak sauce or as a basis for many different recipes. You can preserve it in sterilized jars and it should last for a couple of months in the fridge. Give it a try, sourcing the Chilies should be fairly easy through any of the locations in my previous post. It’s well worth a go.

Chipotles en Adobo:

This recipe was originally taken from a website and from what I can remember came from a book by Diana Kennedy called “My Mexico”.

Ingredients:

1 pack of dried Chipotle Chilies

2-3 Ancho Chilies (veins and seeds removed)

4 Garlic cloves (coarsely chopped)

Leaves of 2 fresh sprigs of Oregano

2 fresh Sprigs of Thyme

1 Tsp of Cumin seeds (crushed)

1-2 Bay Leaves, finely chopped

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

150ml Cider/ White wine vinegar

2-3 large Tbsp of packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp of sea salt

Method:

1. Take the dried Chipotles and skewer them with a sharp knife (this allows the chilies to be fully rehydrated and makes it easier to remove the seeds when they are ready). Place them in a sauce pan and cover with cold water until the chilies are just covered. Bring the water to the boil and reduce the temp so that the water is just simmering.

2. Allow the chilies a good 15-20 mins or until the are just soft and not mushy. It’s at this point that your whole kitchen will be filled with the smokey scents of the Chipotles. I think it smells great, but is rather intense, maybe open a window.

3. Remove the chilies when they are done and while running them under cold water cut off the stems, remove the seeds and veins and chop roughly.

4. Rehydrate the ancho chilies in the same way and after they are soft, remove the stems and add them to a blender.

5.  Add a 1/2 pint of water to the blender together with the garlic, Oregano, Thyme, Cumin seeds, Bay leaf and most of the Chipotle chilies. Blend until smooth.

6. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan big enough to hold the mixture. Add the blended mixture  and fry on a gentle heat for a few minutes. Add the vinegar, sugar, salt and a another 1/2 pint of water.

7. Add the remaining Chipotles and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened to a nice consistancy.

Serve as suggested.

As I mentioned this can be used in a number of ways and brings a really nice smokey heat to many dishes. Make some at the beginning of the summer and store in the fridge ready to be bought out whenever the sun shines and you got coals aflame.

The Epicurean Candidate

Resolution: Must post more…

I have been away from the blog for a while and realised that nothing of any use or note has been put up here for a while. Now I know I didn’t promise to keep this up to date but so many people have been complimentary about the whole endeavor so I must to keep up the effort.

I am going to return home this evening (if the striking tube workers don’t foil my plan) and find the chipotle en adobo recipe I promised a while back. I also have a review for Stef’s Italian restaurant just off Oxford St and a couple of add ons for the food map.

I promise this will be posted soon. I also plan on trying out a cherry pie recipe this weekend which, if all goes to plan, I will post up in good time (with added pictures of the final product and the cherry pitter I bought to help with those pesky pits!)

Anyway, I can assure you that my hiatus is due to some life changing information I recently received and the post booze funk of a two day hangover. One slightly more justified than the other but neither really valid excuses.

I’ll be back soon.

Thank you for reading,

The Epicurean Candidate

Fly Burgers… Mmmmmm.

I like to think of myself as an adventurous eater. Offal doesn’t tend to scare me and on the odd occasion that I have been served a plate of duck hearts or pigs head its been lovely (mainly due to the genius of the St. John chefs. Yes… St. John again!)

I have watched Anthony Bourdain eat the still beating heart of a Viper, washed down with a nice glass of warm bile from the very same, recently dispatched snake. Its meant to make you strong as ox and virile as a rabbit…

I haven’t ever seen or heard of Flyburgers however, not until I was sent a link by a friend of mine to The Hungry Cyclist website and a recipe entered by “one of Britain’s most promising young explorers”. Check it out and the next time you find yourself caught in a swarm of newly hatched mayfly or common or garden blue bottles. Don’t waste all that protein, scoop those critters out of the air and slap em on the BBQ.

Enjoy!

http://www.thehungrycyclist.com/blog/2009/05/fly-burgers-of-lake-malawi-from-alastair-humphreys.html

The Epicurean Candidate

Recipe 007: My kind of Ratatouille (Quick & Easy no.2!)

Hope you all had a good Bank Holiday weekend. The sun seemed to stay out for most of the time at least.

It’s time for another quick and easy recipe for mid week after work cooking. This is so simple but when done well and the best ingredients are used it is fresh and full of flavour! I suppose it could be seen as my version of a Ratatouille as it follows the same kind of ingredient list and methods of preparation.

The fresh herbs are important as are the sautéed potatoes which add a nice crunch to the softened vegetables. This is hardy but not too heavy and gets some of those valuable 5 a days in! I have included the vegetables that I normally put in but you can add whatever you want.

 Without further ado, here goes:

 

 Roasted Vegetables with Sautéed Potatoes:

Serves 1 with leftovers or two comfortably.

4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into approx.1cm cubes

 1 large courgette, topped and tailed, sliced and chopped into 1/4s

 1 large red onion diced

 Handful of mushrooms (chestnut preferably, but button is fine too), large ones chopped into 1/4s, small ones left whole

 1 red pepper, skin peeled and chopped into thin lengths or diced

 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed lightly with the edge of a knive

 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, left on the stem

 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

 5-6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, preferably not flavoured with herbs. Chopped is best and means you don’t have to chop them up further before you add them to the mix

 Salt & pepper

 Olive oil

 

Method:

 1. Simplicity! Pre heat the oven to around 170 degrees C. Add a good glug of olive oil to a non stick baking try with fairly high sides. Put the pepper, courgette, onion, garlic, herbs, mushrooms and seasoning on the tray and put in the oven. Keep an eye on it and don’t allow the veg to dry out or burn. You want them to slowly cook and just soften while retaining their solidity and texture.

 2. While the veg is cooking take a high sided non stick pan and add another good glug of olive oil. Heat the oil gently and add the diced potatoes. You want the heat to be low to stop the potatoes from sticking and burning but want to end up with small, diced, crispy potato pieces. It takes some time and you may want to briefly boil the potatoes before hand in order to soften them a little. If you do decide to do this you need to make sure that they are dry before frying them off. Don’t leave these alone on the heat as the potatoes will stick and need constant agitation to make sure they crisp up on all sides.

 3. When the veg looks done, they have softened slightly and they are coated in a nice film of olive oil add the chopped tomatoes. Mix the whole lot together and return to the oven. You just want to heat the mixture through and ensure that the tomatoes don’t dry out. When the mixture is thoroughly heated through, check the seasoning and fish out the sprigs of thyme and garlic cloves.

 4. The potatoes should be nice and crisp so drain them of any remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. You can also sprinkle with a little paprika if you want a smoky hit of heat.

 5. Serve the roasted veg with the potatoes on the side and enjoy.

 

This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever see posted here and while I have had mixed results (mainly due soggy spuds or not so fresh veg), it’s surprisingly full of flavour. The fresh herbs are the big aspect of this dish, you can try to use dried, but be careful as they tend to be far stronger in concentration, you will need to adjust the amounts accordingly. The fresh herbs add a nice background flavour to the dish which compliments the vegetables really well.

Try it out and let me know what you think. I need more comments posted on the blog, I know the site is getting a good hit rate but the interactivity could be boosted!

I’ll be happy to post anything you want, within reason, so get commenting.

 Thank you for reading.

 

The Epicurean Candidate