Guinea Fowl with Mushrooms and Red Wine

Yesterday I visited my very first farmers' market. There is one but 20 minutes away every two weeks but I had never got around to going before now. There is something so quaint, traditional and quintessentially British about a farmer's market and I am a great advocate for anything that supports local farmers and their produce. So much more inspiring than the supermarket aisles, I came across rough and dirty vegetables, all healthy specimens, sturdy oatmeal loaves, fresh scallops, homemade honey and preserves, to name but a few, as well as Guinea Fowl. 

I have never cooked with Guinea Fowl before, although I do not know why as it is, when in the kitchen, just a small, gamier-flavoured chicken. So, I was convinced to purchase such a healthy little bird from a highly helpful and knowledgeable farmer. And boy, am I glad that I had my arm twisted?!

I searched through my recipes books for a recipe, because I wanted to make the most of this unusual (for me, anyway) item. However, I had to resort to the Internet, and came across this extremely successful recipe by Waitrose. The meat is much darker and richer than chicken and the flavour very gamey and earthy, well suited to a red wine-based, lightly spiced, fruity sauce and lots of seasonable root vegetables.

P.s. Apologies for this mound of food - presentation of savoury dishes has never been my strong point...

Guinea Fowl (serves 3)

adapted from Waitrose

1 guinea fowl (jointed into 4 pieces)

a small knob of butter

1/2 tbsp olive oil

4 shallots (or, I used 1 red onion)

5 white mushrooms, quartered

1 heaped tbsp fresh thyme (leaves only)

150ml red wine

1 tbsp caster sugar

1/2 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

a pinch ground cloves

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

juice of 1 clementine

200ml boiling vegetable stock (or use stock from the carcass)

1 tbsp redcurrant jelly

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C/Gas 3. 

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan, add the onion a two of the guinea fowl portions. Turn the pieces, heat up high, until golden brown and sealed. Transfer to a casserole dish and take the onions with them once softened and lightly browned. Brown the remaining guinea fowl pieces and add to the casserole pot.

Cook the mushrooms and thyme in the pan for a few minutes and add to the casserole.

Bring the wine and sugar to a simmer in the pan, stirring to collect the leftover flavours. Pour over the guinea fowl and squeeze over the clementine juice. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and cloves.

Combine the cornflour with the soy sauce and add to the stock. Add to the casserole with the redcurrant jelly, then cover with a lid.

Cook in the oven for roughly 2 hours, checking, basting and turning often.

Christmas Leftovers Noodle Soup

One of my favourite parts of Christmas is all the leftover food. Boxing Day tea usually consists of stuffing, a bit of bread sauce (yuuuum), a spoonful of braised spiced red cabbage, a slice or two of cold turkey, perhaps a roast potato for good measure, with a slice of Christmas cake, a mince pie or a chunk of Panettone or Stollen for pudding. And these makeshift meals are always delightful and relaxed. 

This year one of our usual Christmas Day guests did not manage to attend, so we ended up with a little more leftover turkey than usual. We had a fair few of the controversial Brussel's sprouts left as well. 
After rising at a relaxed hour and pottering about the house leisurely for a few hours, I was ready for some lunch and ready to do some gentle cooking. So these were two of the ingredients that I dug out of the fridge today, when I rustled up a warming bowl of noodle soup. 
Now, I am certain that the Japanese have a culinary title for such a soup/noodle dish, however I do not wish to insult anybody by pretending I know the authentic term nor do I wish to embarrass myself, so I will settle for Noodle Soup, as twee and affected as it may sound!

I apologise for my quantities being very vague and inexact but I literally just threw this together and hoped for the best. To be honest, there is little that you can do wrong with this, it is very much a matter of taste and what you happen to have in your fridge at the time. So get using-up and get experimental - so long as it is hot, contains noodles, some meat, some veg, and plenty of flavour, we are on the same page!

Noodle Soup (serves 1)

Half a 'nest' of dried egg noodles 

1 tsp vegetable stock powder (I used Bouillon powder) 

1 tsp olive oil

4 Brussel's sprouts, sliced

3 broccoli florets, halved

1 generous handful of spinach leaves

1/4 tsp root ginger, finely chopped/grated

1 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped

a handful of cooked turkey strips/chunks 

1 egg yolk (optional)

1/2 tbsp soy sauce

a splash fish sauce

one miniscule pinhead droplet of truffle oil 

salt and black pepper

a squeeze of lemon juice

Fill a small pan with enough water to cover the noodles (about half full), add the stock powder and bring to the boil.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok and add the sprouts and broccoli. Stir-fry gently. 

Once the water is boiling, add the noodles, turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 4 minutes.

Back at the wok, add the parsley and ginger. Cook for just a minute. 

Add the spinach, soy sauce, lemon juice and season well. 

Once the spinach has wilted and everything is cooked but definitely al dente, transfer to a heat-proof serving bowl and put this on top of the pan you are cooking the noodles in. This will keep the veg and bowl warm while you free up the wok for the turkey and egg.

Put the turkey in the wok, turn up the heat, and heat for a few minutes until piping hot. Add the lightly beaten egg yolk and stir briskly and roughly, keeping it on the move so that it cooks quickly and does not stick, and so that it coats the pieces of turkey. This will just take a minute - once the egg is cooked and the turkey is heated well all the way through, it is time to serve up. 

Drain the noodles and put them in the bowl with the vegetables. Add about a third of the stock/cooking water (or whatever seems appropriate with regard to the amount of water you used) and then put the turkey and egg on top. Season well, add the fish sauce and truffle oil (be extremely sparing, you should barely add any at all, it is so potent!). 

Enjoy the comforting, warming homeliness and smile at the assurance that you have not wasted any of the good things you served on Christmas Day : ) 

Salmon topped with Sundried Tomato Pesto

First of all, I'm going to put something out there - I love fish. I really do. I think it's the simplicity of it that appeals, its cleanliness and versatility. A good piece of fish can carry itself quite beautifully, unadulterated it is naturally delicious. But it also promises potential for a plethora of creations - curries, fish stews, goujons, fishcakes, sandwiches, salads...Equally yum, but all very different. 

Salmon is a staple in my home. Usually we bake it in foil, with some lemon juice and zest, and let it speak for itself. However, sundried tomatoes and chillies are not such a staple, and when nearing their expiry date, I simply have to use them up. 

I called this topping pesto. I exaggerated. It's a paste, really. A paste of stuff that tastes good and strong. It is also easy peasy to whizz up. Job done :) 

Sundried Tomato Pesto

100g sun dried or sun blush tomatoes

just under a tablespoon of olive oil (or the oil the tomatoes come in)

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 tsp finely chopped chillies 

1 tsp garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp root ginger, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley

1 tbsp fresh coriander

1 tbsp toasted pine nuts 

Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion for about 2 minutes.

Add the ginger, garlic, and chillies, followed by the tomatoes. Keep everything moving so that the garlic does not burn. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the herbs and pine nuts, cook for 2 minutes more. 

Blitz the mixture using a stick blender or a food processor, until you get a rough paste. Add a little water if it is too dry and thick. Season to taste.

Spread on top of salmon fillets (or whichever fish you like) and bake, in foil, for 10-15 minutes. 

Chicken Mole

Tonight for dinner I made an authentic Mexican dish - Chicken Mole. It is a recipe that I have always wanted to try out because it uses so many spices and other delicious things (e.g. dark chocolate, almonds and raisins). I am always drawn to flavoursome, casserole-esque recipes and this was right up my street for that reason. I had some long grain rice lurking in the larder that was fast approaching its use-by date (I must mention that I cannot abide waste, especially where food is involved!), so I threw in some peas, broccoli florets, and diced mushrooms, along with a knob of butter, and served that up along side the chicken.

Regrettably, I did not take a photograph of the finished meal (partly because we were pushed for time and partly because I was so keen to see what it tasted like!) but I can think of worse things, because it isn't the most aesthetically pleasing of dishes! Nevertheless, I am thrilled to say that it was absolutely yummy and the method of blending together all the sauce ingredients (including the tomatoes, spices, garlic, onion, ground almonds,  and dark chocolate) made for a really unctuous, rich sauce. I will admit that I was unsure of what the dark chocolate would add to the overall flavour of the dish, but it really does work - it adds a distinguishable nuance that I can't describe, but I could certainly taste it and it was certainly to its advantage. I shall definitely be making this again!