Plaice Parma Parcels

Cooking level:

Medium

Ingredients: (for 2 people)

5 new potatoes, 2 plaice fillets (skinned by fishmonger at supermarket), 2 slices of parma ham, 1 large onion, 8 fresh basil leaves, couple of cloves of garlic, 14 cherry tomatoes, 8 slices of Chorizo sausage, heinz tomato ketchup, smoked paprika (you can get this from the herb aisle), 24 green beans (fine ones the fresher the better), Splash of red wine.

Kitchen equipment you need:

• Baking Tray
  
• Frying pan
  
• 2 Saucepans
  
• Skewer
  

Firstly:

Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the onion into tiny pieces, crush and dice the garlic and slice the chorizo sausage into thin strips. Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Secondly:

Place a pan of water onto boil and cook the new potatoes ( about 15mins). Gently fry the onion and the garlic until softened. Remove half of the onion and garlic mix and place in a bowl for later. Lay 1 of your palma ham slices onto a chopping board and lay the plaice fillet on top of that. Now take 4 fresh basil leaves and rip them on top of the plaice. Mix the chorizo and the onion and garlic mix in the bowl you left aside. Place half of this mix into the centre of plaice. Roll the palma ham to create a big fat cigar with all the onion, basil and plaice inside with the join being at the bottom facing the chopping board. Stick a skewer through to hold everything in place. Repeat the process to create another parcel.

Almost there:

Lightly oil the baking tray and place your parcels in the centre and bake for 15-20 mins. Put another pan of water on to boil for your green beans. The potaotes should be done by now. With the onion and garlic mix left in the frying pan add the cherry tomatoes, a teaspoon of smoked paprika and cook until soft. Add a splash of red wine and a squeeze of Heinz tomato ketchup. Adjust your seasoning to suit.

Service:

Take the parcels out of the oven when cooked, half the new potatoes(mind your fingers, their hot). Spoon a generous amount of tomato onto the centre of your plate and arrange the potatoes around the outer edge of the sauce. Gently place your parcels on top of the sauce. Drain of any excess water of your green beans and place these between each of your potato halves. Enjoy!

Fish in Filo

Cooking experience needed:  

Low to Medium

Ingredients:   

Pre-made filo pastry, Fish?( salmon, cod, haddock, trout) ask a local fishmonger for best priced fish and to prepare the fish for cooking, leeks 1 medium leek for 3 people, pine nuts (handful per 2 people), butter (you decide), single cream (half a cup per 2 people), new potatoes ( 4 per person), parsley, dill, 1 egg.

Kitchen equipment needed:

• Cup (for whisking egg)
  
• Baking Tray
  
• Pan (for the potatoes)
  
• Frying pan
  

Firstly: 

Wash, top and tail leeks, finely slice leeks and mix with a generous handful of crushed pine nuts. Chop up dill ( 2-3 tablespoons per person) and finely chop parsley( 4-5 tablespoons per person)

Secondly: 

You will need to portion the fish into equal amounts depending on the size of the plates and how many people you will be serving. Your local fishmonger would be able to guide you on portion sizes (probably 4-6oz per person). When you have this established, follow the instructions of the filo pastry (2 sheets) and cut the pastry into a square and make sure the square you cut is bigger than that of your fish. You should be able to place the fish into the centre of your pastry, season with salt and pepper and wrap it in such a way that all the corners meet in the middle (if the pastry doesn’t meet into the middle then trim a little bit of the fish to make the pastry fit). Whisk the egg and use this to stick and egg wash pastry so no fish can be seen. Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 20-25mins @ 170C or until pastry is golden brown. Put the potatoes on to boil.

Almost there: 

Just 10 mins before the potatoes and the fish is ready, place a frying pan on a med to high heat and melt some butter and stir fry the leeks and pine nuts until soft and slightly browned, at this point and the chopped dill and half a cup of cream, reduce the cream down by half and adjust the seasoning. Drain the potatoes and mix with butter and chopped parsley.

Service: 

Take your fish out of the oven, spoon the leek mix onto the centre of the plate and gently place the pastry on top of the leeks, scatter the new potatoes around the plate, sprinkle the plate with any leftover chopped herbs and enjoy.

Chicken Chasseur

Cooking experience needed: 

Medium

Ingredients:      

Chicken Thighs (1 per person), Baby onions (3 per person), Chopped Toms (1 tin per 4 people), Baby Button Mushrooms (4 per person), Garlic ( 1 clove per 3 depending on size of garlic), Smoked Back Bacon( 1 rasher per 2 people), Tarragon (dried or fresh -2tbsp per 4 people), Bay Leaf (1 bay leaf per 4 people) Red Wine(1 glass per 4 people), Olive oil.

Kitchen Equipment you will need:

• Frying pan
  
• Casserole dish with cover on (to thicken sauce) or you can use tin foil.
  

Firstly:  

Firstly prepare each of the ingredients, top and tail and peel the baby onions. Open tin of chopped toms, wash and destalk mushrooms, crush and chop garlic, slice bacon into thin strips to about the size of a 10p piece.  

Little tip:  Ideally you want to keep everything around about the same size, so that the flavour is absorbed equally, so if you have a large mushroom quarter it.

Secondly:

Gently fry the chicken thighs in olive oil until all the outside of the chicken is a golden brown colour. Remove the chicken and place on a plate for later. Place the onions, mushrooms, smoked bacon into the same pan and fry gently until golden brown, then add the garlic, the bay leaf and the tarragon(only if you are using dried). Add the wine to the pan and increase the heat, stir occasionally and reduce the wine by half, now add the chopped toms.

Almost There: 

Place cooked chicken thighs into a roasting tin and pour the contents of the pan over the chicken. This would be the point when you add fresh chopped tarragon if you weren’t using dried. Pour enough water over the top of the chicken to ¾ cover the chicken. Add salt and pepper. Cover the roasting dish with tin foil and bake in the oven for 45 mins @ 200 C.

Service: 

Check your roasting dish after 30 mins. Now put on what you will be serving with the chicken. You could serve this with rice, new potatoes or roasted vegetables. When your veg is almost ready take the chicken out of the oven and adjust the flavour and consistency of the sauce. Flavour- salt and pepper to taste, tom ketchup for added sweet tom flavour, add fresh chopped tarragon. Consistency- Add more water if sauce is too thick, if sauce is too sloppy then thicken using chicken gravy granuals. Taste, adjust seasoning if required, Serve and enjoy!