Tropical treats

My daughter has just arrived in Martinique.

This was no ordinary arrival though- she came all the way across the Atlantic from Cape Verde with a crew of just 3 others- on a catamaran.
And this is no ordinary tourist trip.
Intrigued?
You can read all about it on their Facebook page
 https://www.facebook.com/missionocean06/

In their honour we broke out the rum and coke - and I made a Caribbean themed meal.

To celebrate the food of Martinique I am making a Chicken Colombo with vegetables, a Baked Banana Tart and a Flan Coco-Anis, along with links to other Caribbean themed recipes previously on the blog. I also used the leftover Colombo in a tagine.

Colombo spice is a mild curry powder, made from cumin, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek and  paprika- you can make your own with a teaspoon of each of these plus a teaspoon of madras curry powder- or you can buy a Colombo spice mix (readily available in France- and the Levi Roots Caribbean spice powder is an acceptable alternative in the UK).

To serve 2 (with leftovers) you will need- 2 chicken breasts, 1chopped onion, 1 tsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp chopped red chilli, 1 courgette, 1 sweet potato, 1 carrot, 2 bay leaves, juice of 1/2 lime and 3 heaped tbsp of Colombo powder plus 500 ml vegetable or chicken stock .
Begin by preparing your veg-  part-peel and slice the courgette and chop the carrot into batons,then steam until just tender.

Stripey peeled courgette

Bake the sweet potato ( 5 minutes in the microwave ) in its skin- then peel it and slice it.
Fry the onion, garlic and chilli until the onion is translucent, then add the spices. Next add the chicken and brown it lightly.

Brown the chicken, onion and spices

Put the meat and veg into a casserole dish, along with the bay leaf.
Deglaze the pan with the stock and pour over the meat.

Ready for the oven

Cook for 2 hours until everything is tender. Finally add the lime juice and adjust the seasoning.
You can thicken it with cornflour if you wish- I left it runny to soak into the rice.

Chicken Colombo with Rice

You can make different versions with whatever meat or vegetables you have to hand. Here are a veal and aubergine version, and a pork and potato version.

Veal Colombo with Veg

Pork Colombo with Potatoes

The leftovers were mixed with some chopped tomatoes, leftover mango and apple chutneys and sultanas ( soaked in a little Earl Grey tea to plump them up) to make a tagine served with couscous.

Now, here are two puddings to complement the main course.


Flan Coco-Anis

Heat 1 400 ml can of coconut milk with 100g of sugar and 3 star anise
When the sugar has dissolved, put to one side to infuse and cool a little.
Beat 4 eggs with a tsp of cornflour until smooth.
Discard the star anise ( or keep them for garnish) and pour the milk onto the eggs, whisking all the time.

Whisk the infused coconut milk into the eggs

Pour the mixture into 6 ramekins (lightly oiled in preparation with a neutral veg oil)

Custards ready for the oven

Put the ramekins into a baking tray, half filled with hot water to make a bain-marie.
Bake at 200 degrees for 25 minutes and then 170 degrees until set. (Another 15 minutes or so).
Leave to cool and then serve either turned out of the moulds onto a plate - with a fruit salad on the side- or glazed with vanilla sugar and blow torched or grilled to make a crème brulée.

Flan Coco-Anis Brulée

Baked Banana Tart

First bake a pastry case blind and leave to cool.

Blind baked pastry case- you can tidy it up later!

Take 2 bananas- slice one thinly and mash the other one with a fork.
Spread the banana mash onto the pastry case then beat 3 eggs with 60g of sugar, a splash of milk or cream and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Pour the custard into the pastry case and then arrange the sliced banana in the custard.

Carefully place in the sliced banana

Grate some nutmeg over the top and bake in a moderate oven (170 degrees) until the custard is set.
Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and serve with ice cream

Baked Banana Tart

And served with ice cream

A couple of other ideas from the blog- Pina Colada Crumble

Pina Colada Crumble
https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/53cfca4be4b052b219fcaaef/1077175

 and good old Ginger Cake.

Ginger Cake
http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/ginger%20cake

I hope this tropical post has brightened up a dull February day for you- and has you dreaming of warmer days to come.

Who know where in the world my culinary odyssey will take me next.

That's up to Mission Ocean!

Camp fire Cookery

If cooking on a camp stove means corned beef hash or sausages and beans to you, I thought I might try to inspire you with something a bit different this summer.
After a weekend of fun and frolics canoe-camping in the gorgeous Wye Valley a few weeks ago, I was myself inspired by my fellow campers.






So, I'm offering you Halloumi and Chutney fritters with couscous, Couscous Chicken Doris and Chocolate Orange Bombes for dessert. How does that sound?

Halloumi and Veg kebabs

Halloumi cheese is great for cooking on the BBQ- lightly oiled, sliced and cooked with peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms as a kebab.









Or, made into crispy fritters to fry in the pan over the camping stove:

Halloumi and Chutney fritters

1. Slice the halloumi into 1 cm thick slices
2. Beat 1 egg with a tablespoon of chutney
3. Lay out 3 dishes- 1 each of flour, the chutney/egg mix and breadcrumbs

Ready to coat

Halloumi and Chutney Fritters

4. Coat the slices first in flour, then egg mix, then breadcrumbs and fry in hot oil
5. Serve with salad and couscous

Make the couscous with boiling water as directed by the packet
Thanks Ainsley!

The leftover couscous makes the perfect coating for Chicken Doris (named after the skinny chicken who was the mascot for the weekend).

Chicken Doris

1. Marinade chicken breast fillets in 2 tbsp of natural yogurt

mmm..doesn't that look appetising?

2. Coat the yoghurty chicken with leftover couscous, pressing it on all over.

Chicken coated in couscous

3. Either fry in hot oil over the camp stove until golden and crispy or ( if you are at home, bake in a hot oven 190 degrees for 20 mins or so).

Chicken Doris
(Sorry it's a bit blurry- too much wine went in at this point- into the cook that is, not the food.)

Of course, if you would rather have Corned Beef Hash or Sausage and Bean Stew, the recipes are here on the blog too:

http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=corned+beef+hash

http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=sausage+and+bean+stew

And for dessert, I was very taken with this dessert prepared by my camping neighbours:

Chocolate Orange Bombes

1. Cut a lid from the top of each of 4 oranges and hollow them out, using a sharp knife. Keep the juice and pulp to one side.

Preparing the mix

2. Mix up a chocolate cake mix using eggs as directed, but substitute orange juice for the water.
3. Spoon the mix into the hollowed-out oranges
4. Wrap them in aluminium foil and place on the BBQ to cook ( for at least 30 minutes )

Orange Bombes on the BBQ

5. Unwrap and serve.

Chocolate Orange Bombes

The result is a gooey, Brownie-like pud that tastes like a Terry's Chocolate Orange( but one you don't need to share).

http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=clementines

The pulp and leftover juice from the oranges makes a nice breakfast with yoghurt - or mix it with caramel sauce for another pud:












All too soon, the camping weekend was over - as is this post.

Thanks to Steve for the photos, Paula for the pud recipe and Doris for the entertainment!

Can you spot Doris?

Coq-au-Coca!

Our neighbours have a cockerel who, mercifully, doesn't wake us in the morning with the usual 'Coc-a-ric-o'.
Instead he sings at 6pm each evening with a welcome chant of 'A-pér-o!'
It seems that even the chickens in France understand the important things in life!

They make pretty good eating too- as was ably demonstrated at our final Atelier de Cuisine this month, before the long summer break.







On the menu for this 'end of term' special was a cold soup made from fresh green vegetables and coconut milk to start; chicken cooked in coca cola served with a potato and onion tortilla for main course; and a rhum baba style pudding with fruit salad.
The starter is a good one for when you have an excess of veg ( from your veg garden, or when cheap and in season in the shops).

Soupe Froide au Lait de Coco (de Joselyne)

Serves 6

2 courgettes
200g green beans
150 g peas
300g spinach or chard leaves or lettuce
200 ml coconut milk
seasoning (salt, pepper, nutmeg)

1. Prepare the veg, cutting the courgettes into small cubes.

Prepare the green veg

2. Cook in 600ml boiling water until tender
3. Add the coconut milk and cook for a further 5 minutes
4. Blitz the soup with a hand blender and add the salt and pepper (and nutmeg if you like it) until you are satisfied with the seasoning.

Blitz the soup with a hand blender

5. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours and then serve in dainty glasses.

Soupe Froide au Lait de Coco

Cold soups have featured before on the blog- like these Gazpacho Shots:

Gazpacho Shots with Aubergine Toasts
http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.fr/search/label/gazpacho%20soup

Gazpacho Soup II

Now for the main course, with that surprising chicken.

I would never have thought to mix my soft drinks in with my meat, rather than drinking them- but you can always learn from other people. I have altered Yvette's recipe here slightly, as I preferred to use fresh onions rather than dried. I hope she forgives me.

Coq au Coca (for 6)

6 chicken thighs (skinless but bone-in)

1x 330 ml tin cola

2 onions, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped

1 heaped tbsp gravy granules

1. Preheat the oven to 210 degrees

2. Brown the onions in a heavy based casserole dish, add the garlic.

3. Lay the chicken thighs over the onions in the dish

4. Pour on the cola and sprinkle on the gravy granules

Chicken ready for the oven

5. Place a lid on the casserole and cook for half an hour in the oven.

6. After 30 minutes, uncover and contine to cook for a further 30 minutes until the sauce is syrupy and the chicken is tender.

Coq au Coca

As you can see, the chicken was served accomapanied by a delicious tortilla made with eggs, potatoes and onions. Here is the recipe:

Tortilla (for 6)

6 eggs

500g firm fleshed potatoes

1 large onion

salt, pepper, oil

1. Peel and slice the onion

2. Peel and slice the potatoes into thin rondelles

Potatoes and onions prepared

3. Cook the potatoes in the oil over a low heat for 15 minutes

4. Add the onion and contine to cook until they start to lightly brown

5. Beat the eggs, add plenty of salt and pepper and pour them over the potatoes and onions

6. Cook without stirring for a further 5 minutes until the egg looks set underneath

7. Slide it out onto a plate, turn it upside down using another plate and return it to the pan to cook on the other side for a further few minutes.

Tortilla

Tortilla really is the best friend of the leftovers cook- a handful of cooked potates, veg, leftover salad, even pasta can be used up and made into a meal with the simple addition of beaten eggs. I make it using leftover spaghetti bolognaise:

Spag Bol Frittata
http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.fr/search/label/frittata

Finally, it's time for the pièce de resistance- the dessert!

I would make these again any day- so simple, no need for yeast or proving. Decorate them as you want, with cream, fruit or crème anglaise.

Bouchées au rhum façon baba (de Joselyne) 

Makes 10 mini babas.

100g self rasing flour

80g sugar

2 small eggs

50g melted butter

For the syrup- 250ml water, 100 ml dark rum, 100g sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Pour the flour, sugar, beaten eggs and melted butter into a large bowl and mix well.

Mix it all together in order

3. Pour into moulds (eg. dariole moulds or muffin cases), place on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, pour the syrup ingredients into a pan and heat over a medium heat until it reduces slightly.

Warm the syrup until it reduces slightly

5. Take the babas out of the oven, unmould them and place in a large gratin dish

Babas ready for their rum!

6. Pour over the warm syrup and let them soak it up. They will drink it all thirstily so don't worry that there is too much liquid.

7. Serve cold.

Bouchées au Rhum

And so we sat down to a delicious 4 course meal- this being the Auvergne, there was a cheese course in between- and celebrated the start of the summer holidays! 

Cock-a-doodle doo!

A la rentrée!*

*Some photos courtesy of Huguette- merci!

:

A Week's Worth of Roasted Vegetables

Mediterranean Chicken (for the recipe see the link below)

There was a time when roasted vegetables meant roast potatoes and parsnips and nothing much else.

Can you remember when we all started tray baking our courgettes and peppers? For me, I first had the dish (in a wondrous balsamic vinegar dressing- totally new to me!) at a party in the Nineties.

http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/week-47-healthy-new-year-recipes.html




I did a quick search on the internet and saw that this dish grew in popularity circa 1995 when Delia Smith brought out her 'Summer Collection' and suddenly we were all making Pasta Puttanesca, Chicken Basque and of course all oven-roasting our veg.
Well, nice one Delia.
It's been a mainstay of my repertoire evcr since.

When you have the oven on (if you're baking a cake or roasting a chicken perhaps), find the biggest oven tray you have and roast whatever is in the veg drawer of your fridge. Onions, garlic, courgettes, aubergines, peppers, tomatoes, squash, leeks, new potatoes- any combination as long as there is plenty of variety.
Cut them into equal sized chunks so they cook evenly, toss them in some olive oil, some balsamic vinegar and loads of salt and pepper and roast until they collapse and caramelize (usually 35-40 minutes at 180 degrees).



You can then serve them hot to accompany your meal- with chicken, steak, chops, salmon, hake...anything really- but then keep the rest and allow to cool completely and absorb the dressing. (Don't waste a drop of that sticky sauce!)

Hake with Roasted veg

Here are some suggestions of how you could use all these cooked veg during the rest of the week.

1. Mix with couscous to make a salad or to accompany  burgers, meatballs or quiche.

Couscous with roasted veg

2. Cook a pack of ravioli or tortellini , mix with the veg and some chopped tomatoes, top with grated cheese.

Tortellini pasta bake

3. Make a vegetable curry - by coating the veg in some korma paste, frying gently and then adding a tin of lentils and half a tin of coconut milk and simmering together until the flavours blend. Serve with basmati rice.

Vegetable curry with lentils

4. Mixed with salad leaves, fresh tomatoes and cucumber, pine nuts etc

Roasted veg salad with spinach and pine nuts

5. Blitzed with peanut butter or tahini, olive oil and lemon juice to make a roasted veg hummus

https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/534564fbe4b06807fd8c4f13

This recipe featured on the Guardian recipe swap website (link above).

6. Packed with slices of mozzarella into a baguette for a substantial lunch

Roasted veg and mozzarella baguettes

7. Any left? Blitz the last little bit to make a sauce for white fish. Red pepper and tomato go particularly well with delicate flavoured fish.

Sea bass with roasted vegetable sauce

So, the week has gone by and the roasted veg have been used up in a variety of ways.

I hope you've enjoyed them and are not vegged-out!