Lincolnshire Poacher and spinach tortilla

Bring a little Spanish sunshine to the ‘shire!  This is a great way of combining seasonal ingredients with one of my favourite cheeses.  This tortilla can be served hot or at room temperature, it’s a great picnic staple.  Lincolnshire Poacher’s a wonderful unpasteurised hard cow’s milk cheese, it has a delicious, mature nutty flavour.  If you can’t get hold of Poacher you can substitute a mixture of mature cheddar and parmesan.

Ingredients (to feed 4)

8 eggs

2 onions

1 handful of new potatoes

Large bag of spinach

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Large handful of grated Lincolnshire Poacher cheese

Directions

1) Wash the spinach and then add to a lidded pan over a medium heat with a good seasoning of salt and pepper, as soon as the spinach starts to wilt remove from the heat, squeeze out as much liquid as you can and put aside to cool.  Once cooled squeeze into a ball, draining any residual liquid and shred finely.

2) Cut the potatoes into 1 cm dice and slice the onions, add to a 24cm non stick frying pan with a tablespoon of olive and cook over a very low heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft but not coloured, this will take 10-15 minutes.  The pan may seem a little crowded at this stage but don’t worry, it gives the tortilla real substance!

3) Combine eggs, cheese and spinach together and use a fork to break up the egg yolks.

4) When the onions are sweet and the potatoes are softened add the egg mixture and stir through positioning the ingredients in one even layer.

5) Leave the pan over a low heat and cook for 10 minutes or so until the egg has set and you can smell a gentle nutty browning. 

6) Place a plate over the frying pan and then turn upside down, turning out the tortilla (you may have to loosen gently with a fish slice), before sliding back into the pan, now upside down, to brown on both sides.

7) Cook for a few more minutes until browned underneath and then allow to cool and set a little longer in the pan before turning out.

I prefer to serve this dish at room temperature.  This is another recipe that’s very easy to adjust, modify and make your own, enjoy!

North African flavoured broad bean dip

My supply of broad beans are coming to an end and are now a little large and tough, this recipe was an attempt to use these up (thrifty as ever) but actually tasted delicious and is well worth a go.

Ingredients (for a ramekin sized quantity)

2 large handfuls of broad beans (still in their pods)

1 garlic clove

Juice of half a lemon

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp chopped parsley

Paprika (to garnish)

Directions

1) Add the podded broad beans to boiling well salted water and boil for 5 minutes until tender, immediately place in cold water and then remove the tough skins and allow the bright green beans to dry and cool.

2) Add the broad beans to a blender along with all of the other ingredients except the paprika, blitz until an absolutely smooth paste.

3) Taste and adjust seasoning as you feel necessary (this is a very personal thing, but try to balance lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

4) Spoon the dip into a serving vessel and garnish with a little more olive oil and a shake of paprika.

Serve this dip at room temperature with bread or raw vegetables.

Barbecued whole sea bream

This is one of those simple recipes with which to impress (as you can see in the photo the other 3 on the plate had disappeared before I could even photograph them!).  Farmed sea bream is readily available from the supermarkets these days, it is fairly inexpensive and nicely portion sized, you could substitute for mackerel or even sea bass or red mullet / snapper here if you’re feeling rich and would like to experiment!

The flavour combination is classic and simple, very similar to those served in many a taverna around the Ionian.  The only skill here is in the cooking, you’re looking for a nice, crisp skin and moist flesh underneath, don’t be tempted to use your barbecue whilst there are still any flames in sight.  This recipe also works well in a griddle pan or under a hot grill.

Ingredients (to serve 1)

1 single portion sized fish, gutted and scaled but otherwise intact

1 garlic clove

1 slice of lemon and a wedge to serve

1 teaspoon oregano

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

1) Remove your fish from the ‘fridge at the same time as lighting the barbecue, you need your fish to be room temperature and have a brief cure / marinade.

2) Liberally oil the fish and rub all over (inside and out) with oregano lots of course salt and pepper.

3) Insert a lemon slice and a lightly crushed (but not peeled or chopped) garlic clove into the body cavity of the fish.

4) Leave well alone out of the ‘fridge for around 1 hour whilst the barbecue gets to the ‘glowing coals’ stage!

5) Place directly onto the barbecue grill, or in one of those fancy ‘fish cages’ if you have one, and leave undisturbed until the skin is well crisped.  It’s impossible to give a timing for this, I usually replace the barbecue lid and check after around 5 minutes.  Turn the fish over (it shouldn’t stick if you’ve left it long enough) and repeat to crisp the other side.  By the time that the skin’s crisped the fish should be cooked through, but if you’re unsure just check that the flesh peels away from the bones easily.

6) Serve with a lemon wedge and some salad leaves simply seasoned with good olive oil and lemon juice.

Don’t be afraid to try this, it’s very simple and makes a great change from bangers and burgers!