Recipe for Blinding Pickled Eggs

Yet another festive feel good cupboard filler that graces most homes up and down the country this time of year is the love it/hate it pickled egg.

I find them really enjoyable with the cold spread left over Christmas buffet, just as well as simply dropped in a bag of crisps. (I know, strange custom, but it always conjures up memories of childhood evenings in the Village club, whilst drinking fizzy Vimto and listening to Andy Ford singing and telling jokes).

The problem, as usual, these days is that there a lot of poor quality eggs out there due to not enough flavour going into the Vinegar. 

This recipe of mine changes that. The method is quick and simple where the only tedious part comes from having to wait for the little oval gems to steep adequately enough.

My Father-in-Law makes masses each year and prefers them to be shelved for at least 3 months. However, I feel that they are good to nosh from as little as two weeks after bottling.

Read on, join in and get pickling!

Latest Addition to the tray of loveliness....Pickled Eggs.

Ingredients

• 48 fresh Free range Eggs, medium. (I tend to collect mine from a couple of local farmers where I know the eggs could not get any fresher, and that the Chickens really are Free Range)
• 1 litre Malt Vinegar
• 500ml Balsamic Vinegar
• 1.5 litres White wine Vinegar
• 8 Cloves
• 1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
• 1 Dessertspoon Dried Pink Peppercorns
• 1 Teaspoon toasted and crushed Black Mustard Seeds
• 12 Dried Dates, Blitzed or finely chopped
• 10 sprigs of fresh Thyme
• 1 Large Onion, Diced
• 1 Garlic Clove, cut across the horizontal
• 2 Pinches Seasalt flakes
• 1 Pinch Cracked Black Pepper
• Juice of ½ Lemon
• 1 ½ dessertspoons Truffled Honey (or good quality plain Honey)
• 2 dessertspoons Muscavado Sugar
• 3 Sage Leaves
• 2 Dessertspoons Tomato Puree

Method:

• Add all the ingredients (except the Eggs) into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, Stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool right down.
• Bring a pan of Water to the boil and place the eggs in (in batches if need be). Boil for 10 minutes if Eggs are stored at room temperature, or 12 minutes if stored in the fridge.
• Empty water, flush eggs with cold water for 8-10 minutes to stop the cooking process.
• Peel and place in fridge covered until needed.
• In clean and dry Jars, add your eggs. Make sure there is room in the jar to allow the Eggs to move around.
• Strain the pickling vinegar through a sieve and retain the seeds, onion etc.
• Pour the Vinegar over the Eggs, ensuring they are fully covered. Add a touch more Malt Vinegar if required.
• Share out the Seeds etc, in amongst the Jars.
• Seal with a tight fitting lid and gently shake to disperse the seeds etc. Add a  Label with the Date they were made and store in a cool (not cold) place, ideally a cupboard.
• Two weeks later, pop open and enjoy (with your banquette spread, or your packet of Crisps...).

Mackerel-icious Sandwich filling

Sustainability.

Still carrying on about it.

 It may have gone quieter, but Fish discards and sustainable sources are still a very hot topic and justifiably so. Fish species are in as much danger as the Giant Panda, Tiger or the Black Rhino. In fact, two out of the top ten Endangered species are the Beluga Sturgeon and the Mako Shark.

 As I write this, There has already been a debate in the House of Commons with regards to Fish discards, Fish Fight and the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) which is great news, but retiring early feeling all is done would be a mistake.

As a nation of food lovers, and especially all us within the catering industry we need to continue the support by means of opting for alternative fish, experimenting with flavours and creating new exciting recipes.

The beautiful Mackerel (AKA the Sea Pigeon) is in abundance round our Coastal shores and is such a versatile choice of Sea meat you cannot go wrong.

It can be grilled, baked, roasted, pan fried, deep fried, Barbecued, smoked and even Curried. It has a rich aroma that is not unpleasant at all and its flavour is one of depth and freshness.

We have a local Gent who goes beach fishing regularly and will turn up of an early morning with his trophies which we then serve up to eager diners in a multitude of ways.

We offer Mackerel Salads, Grilled Mackerel with Crushed New Potatoes a zingy Tomato sauce and fresh Pesto, Mackerel in a Grain Mustard & Cider Batter served in a Rustic Roll and our new  Sandwich/Jacket filling; Smoked Mackerel with Spring Onion & Horseradish Mayonnaise.

The latter has become a big seller which replaced the staple Pub filling of Tuna & Sweetcorn. We opted to remove the fishy filling because of the largely unknown sourcing and fishing methods that were utilised to produce the tinned Tuna. All we knew was the fact it was processed and canned in Asia. Customers showed mixed emotions when the filling was removed, but was soon forgotten and we now sell more of the Mackerel than we ever did with the Tuna.

Smoked Mackerel with Spring Onions & Horseradish Mayonnaise

Ingredients for 4-5 Jacket Potatoes/Demi Baguettes

6 Smoked Mackerel fillets.

3 Spring Onions

Juice of ½ Lemon

Pinch Cracked Black Pepper

1 ½ Dessertspoons Quality Horseradish Sauce

6 Dessertspoons Quality Mayonnaise

Good Handful Chopped Fresh Coriander

75g Fresh or Defrosted Frozen Peas

Method:

• Remove the skin from the Mackerel fillets, and any bones that can be found. Tear flesh by hand into small pieces and place into a mixing bowl.
• Peel the Spring Onions, top and tail. Slice finely into rings and add to the Mackerel.
• Add the Lemon juice, Black Pepper, Horseradish & Mayonnaise. Stir the Ingredients together until well mixed. (The mix needs to be bound and coated without being too wet. If in doubt add four dessertspoons of Mayonnaise, mix and add more if required.
• Add the freshly chopped Coriander and Peas and fold through the mix.
• If this is being made in advance and being stored in a Fridge, there will be a layer of Oil formed when utilised. This is from both the Fish and the Mayonnaise. Therefore for better results mix the Horseradish and Mayonnaise in its own bowl and add just before use, Mixing the fish oil back into the other ingredients first.

-Containing Protein Vitamins B, A & D, Calcium Iodine, Fluorine, Magnesium, Zinc and high amounts of the Clinically Ratified Omega 3 Oils, Mackerel is a fabulous food to aide and maintain a healthy heart, body and mind. Get some, try some and Enjoy. 

JP’s Nana's green Tomato Chutney

This is an aged recipe that my Nana used to make amongst other chutneys and jams.

I have modified it slightly to help bring out the best of the flavours, but by and large this is still the same Chutney that I used to enjoy with a doorstop of fresh Bloomer & some proper Farmhouse Butter.

Ingredients

1.5kg green tomatoes

4 large apples

2 small cucumbers

3 large onions

200g sultanas

275g Demerara sugar

2 tblspn mustard

1 ½ tspn ground ginger

1 tspn cayenne pepper

1 ½ tblspn salt

1.1 pints vinegar

Method 

• Remove tomato eyes, slice onions, apples (peeled), cucumbers and place in pan with all the ingredients.
• Bring to boil and simmer for 1 ½ - 2 hours, stirring frequently.
• Put into jars and seal.
• This is good to use after 3 days.

This little Piggy........

"Everything in a Pig is good. What ingratitude has permitted his name to become a term of opprobrium?""
Grimod De La Reyniere

I love meats. They are a beautiful medium to use in the kitchen that often gets showcased as the best meal on the menu, be it in a pie, as a chop or cutlet, roasting joint, steak, burger, casserole or sandwich filler. People are willing to pay phenomenal prices for certain cuts of meat from specific animals because they know how good it will taste.

When I purchase my meat, I insist on knowing where the animal has come from, which means I often visit the Producer along with my trusted and valued Butcher to ensure that I feel comfortable with the way they are reared. This includes the way they are kept, their feed, their space to roam, their shelter and how much the farmer actually cares for them. There is one small holder I know that plays music to his Sheep & Lamb daily, and another that believes in massage for his herd, amazing!

One of my suppliers is a fab Rare Breeds Piggery  in Dorset where the pigs have acres of space to roam, are fed on nothing but good food, are probably the friendliest ones I have ever met. Their shape is perfect, not over fed and fattened, but not too lean. I often select a Pig from time to time and when ready, it is killed and butchered to the specifications I need at the time, with nothing left to waste (I often train my staff on old school things like Brawn, faggots etc.) My favourite two finish products I enjoy creating are Pork Belly, and Hams.

Hams can be plain, which lets the Meat do all the talking with it's unadulterated freshness and unique taste, but  I enjoy the steeping and cooking with flavours to end up with a truly flavoursome product. This is a curing recipe I have tweaked from an old Farmhouse cookbook which was originally from Oxfordshire area. It is best to cure Hams during late Autumn or Early spring where the air conditions are better for the process.

Beer & Juniper Cure for Air Dried Hams


Ingredients for 8kg Boneless Pork leg:


470g Soft Brown Sugar
250g Rough Sea salt
3 pints of Beer (This is an important factor of the process, as this determines a large portion of the outcome in flavour. Too malty and the product may become bitter, too Hoppy and the Ham may carry a lingering floral note. Taste the ales first, and then decide on the one for you).
235g Juniper Berries
87g Celery powder or salt

Note: The original recipe called for Saltpetre which is the product that created the Nitrates required to cure the meat as well as give it the lovely pink colour that is associated with Hams. These days, Saltpetre is only utilised in some Butchers as a means to keep their Sausages Pink and if they cure their own hams. I have changed the recipe to omit this form of salt by upping the natural Sea salts (which have a good volume of the required Nitrates), and added Celery powder or salt. Powdered Celery is a good natural alternative to Saltpetre. Otherwise, if you have a good specialist food supplier, you could use Pink salt instead.

Method:
Put all the ingredients into a pan and boil for 10 minutes.
Allow to get cold.
Place the Ham into a 5 litre tub and cover with the liquid. Cover and leave in a cold place (ideally in a chill room, or anywhere that the temperature is anywhere between +5 to +10 degrees C
Lift and turn the Ham in the tub, massaging the meat briefly every 3 days over a period of 12 days.
Remove from the Pickle, rinse off brine, double wrap in muslin and hang until dry in an airy, cool and dry place (5-9 months is best, but is ready after 6-8 weeks)

You don't have to be mad........

It's 14:52 on a Sunny, if chilly Friday in September. Lunch service has been good so far, at least 50 peeps braved the cold to eat Al Fresco amongst the beautiful setting of Ham Hill. The service has been adequately paced, no customers demanding timescales etc, so on the whole, all seems calm.......Except for my second in command. Not sure if it is down to the change of weather, too much heat from the griddle and grill, or he has had something and not passed around (skittles i would speculate), but he is bouncing about shouting out bizarre phrases and sentences like his soul depends on it! Maybe he needs a lie down.......

.............Now it's 15:13, the Sous Chef has now maintained decorum for the past 4 minutes and there is a calmer atmosphere descending within the kitchen. I have had the luck and good fortune to have the last two days with my family, so have been away from 'Satans fridge' for at least 48 hours. Things have been relatively calm at home, except for the usual that any family endures/experiences (depending on your view). Obviously, there is the school run first thing in the morning. The mad dash to get the children up, breakfasted, dressed, teeth cleaned, shoes put on, hair brushed/tied/plaited/braided, hair un-plaited/tied/braided, re-tied/plaited/braided, books found and placed in book bags, lunch boxes packed in bags, out the door and to the car.....Back out the car and back through the door to get something that was inevitably forgotten. Back out the door, in the car and to the school. All the while still trying to wake myself up as I am the worst morning person in the world.Then walking the dogs (which is a more enjoyable experience).

The next part of the day is a rare moment when my wife and myself get to sit together for ten minutes and catch up on each others lives over a cup of coffee and tea. We then plan the day ahead, find out who is doing what, what plans each other already have pencilled in for the day and  find out when we will get to sit together next. Our lives are more hectic than usual as we have recently become pregnant with our fourth child and we are quite possibly moving house in the next month. Family life can be very difficult when you are not a major part of it through work commitments. My working week normally consists of 5 days a week starting at 9 in the morning and ending at between 10 and 11 at night. This is quite the norm in the trade, as there is always lots to do, organise, create and complete from one week to the next. How the Chefs in this world do it constantly is a testament to their passion and resolve. How their spouses cope is testament to their love and strength. No doubt there are other professionals that do the same and more...I can immediately think of the armed services, emergency services, and oil riggers, fishermen and international rock stars to name but a few, but I can only comment on life through this trade.

I do find things hard at times trying to prioritise what is more important at a time when both the job and your family need you. It is an impossible tug of war at times, and can leave you feeling useless, neglectful and in the wrong. There is the side when you want to be the family man /woman you always envisioned being, but fail to be able to because of your professional work ethics demand you see your shift through. Then there are times you feel you are not showing enough commitment to your career that you chose to do because you need to be there for your family. So recently, I decided to find a way that I can have my cake and eat it too. That is by ensuring the kitchen I run at the moment can run well without me through the dedication, passion and ability of my staff, enabling me to change my role slightly and reducing my hours considerably, to give my family and me time together that we deserve. It is all about compromise and finding a way to realise the true importance in your life. Work to live, do not live to work.

Okay, onto the first recipe to be featured on this site.

I created this dish for a bespoke occasion at the pub and was so well received it ended up being featured on one of our evening menus. The aroma alone caused the mouth to water with the expectation of what was to come. The ingredients are easy enough to get hold of. I will always recommend using local sellers, especially farm shops, butchers and even local door to door vegetable sellers if they still exist in your area. However, I am not a chef that insists you get everything from far off places. As long as you can talk to the seller and they can give you strong knowledge on their produce, you shouldn't go far wrong. Even supermarket counters are better these days, thanks to the trend of local produce and real professionals working them.

This recipe will serve four good size cakes, more than ample for one per person, main meal wise.

Smoked Haddock & Cray tail Cakes

Ingredients
500g Peeled and diced Potatoes
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
250g Natural Smoked Haddock fillet, skinned and diced 1inch
150g Cooked Cray tails (if unable to locate, then Tiger or King Prawns are a fair substitute)
2 Dessertspoons of Baby (Surphine) Capers
2 Dessertspoons chopped fresh Dill
Flaked Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper
Sieved Plain Flour to bind and coat.

The Method

1. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until soft enough to mash.
2. Strain and place into a bowl with the Lemon Juice, and mash till smooth.
3. Add the Haddock (Raw), Cray tails or Prawns (Cooked) and mix in.
4. Add the Capers and Dill and fold in until evenly distributed throughout the mix
5. Add the Seasoning a little at a time, tasting as you go (bear in mind the Lemon and Dill is already adding flavour and depth to the mix, therefore there is no need to add lots of Salt).
6. Add flour a little at a time until you get a smooth, yet firm consistency. Allow to cool in fridge, covered for 1 hour.
7. Once ready, split between 4 (approx 225g each) and roll into balls, then flatten to create a cake about 1 1/2 to 2 inch tall. Coat with Flour. Heat a pan on the stove, and add oil (either sunflower or rapeseed is best). Once hot, add the cakes, cooking for around 2 minutes, turning and cooking for another two minutes. Remove from pan and onto a metal tray. Place in the top shelf of a pre-heated oven (gas mark 4, 200 degrees C and cook for approximately 16-20 minutes.
8. Serve with a mixed leaf and spring onion salad, or with a poached egg on top and simple white sauce with mustard (bechamel).

If you give this a go, let me know how you get on by posting a comment, or indeed if you have any questions or comments regarding this blog, leave a message.

Speak again soon,

JP

P.S. Congratulations to a colleague who has at last finished writing his book on herbs.....It's about Thyme.!