Sausage and Vegetable Linguine

This is such a quick and easy recipe, I make a variation of this whenever my budget and enthusiasm are running low, and when I want some healthy comfort food. I always love pasta dishes that don't need a shop bought sauce added to them; this is one of those, where the ingredients just make their own lovely sauce once cooked down with a little water. 

For 1 hungry person, you will need: 

2 good quality sausages- herb and garlic would be perfect | dried linguine for 1 | a mix of chopped red pepper, tomato, mushroom and 1 crushed garlic clove | a few broccoli florets | salt/pepper to season | a little parmesan or other hard cheese 

1 | First fry your sausages until they are just brown all over. Remove, slice down the middle and cut into bitesize pieces. It doesn't matter if they are slightly raw inside. Keep to one side.

2| Add your vegetable mix (save the broccoli) into the pan and stir. If the pan is really hot and it is clearly catching, add a good tablespoon of water and stir away. 

3| Meanwhile add your pasta to boiling, salted water, shortly followed by your broccoli florets (stem part first, bushy part above water).

4 | Add your sausage bites to the vegetable mix as it cooks away. Keep the heat hot, just slowly adding a small amount of water as it bubbles away. You don't want a runny puddle, but rather just enough to make a light silky coating. You will see what I mean as it cooks away. 

5 | When the pasta is al dente (normally between 7-10 minutes) drain and add straight to your sausages and other vegetables, stirring to coat the pasta in the sauce. Add a generous helping of parmesan shavings (for this I use a vegetable peeler) and give a quick stir before eating. 

L 

Chicken, Fennel, and White Wine Risotto

There is something about making and eating risotto that feels rather luxurious and indulgent. Once you have chopped a few ingredients, you can stand with a glass of something in one hand, chatting to friends, or flicking through a fancy magazine. Once it gets going all you really have to do is add stock and stir; it couldn't be simpler. And, for what turns out to be such a gorgeous dinner, it can be extremely good value for money.

Here I use boned and skinned chicken leg pieces from the butchers, which are much cheaper than the breast meat, and stay much moister I think. However buying chicken thighs and then skinning and boning them yourself would be cheaper still if you have the time.

Fennel has become one of my most recent loves. I hadn't eaten it before a couple of years ago. It has a slight aniseed flavour which shouldn't put you off (I still hate liquorice and sambucca). When it is cooked, particularly in this recipe, the flavour becomes mellow, fresh and slightly lemony. Fennel seeds are something that can be used a lot in other dishes so it is worth having as a kitchen basic.

Ingredients Serve 2
2- 3 CHICKEN THIGHS: skinned and boned, chopped into bitesize, but not too small, pieces
1 SMALL FENNEL BULB: sliced with feathery green tops kept aside for garnishing
2 SHALLOTS: finely chopped
1 GARLIC CLOVE: finely chopped/crushed
1 TEASPOON FENNEL SEEDS: crushed in a pestle and mortar to release the flavour
1 LARGE GLASS OF DRY WHITE WINE
OLIVE OIL/SALT/PEPPER
PARMESAN: a great store cupboard ingredient that really lasts, don't be put off by the expense!
1 LADLE FULL OF RISOTTO RICE
500 ML CHICKEN STOCK the real stuff heated, or add chicken stock cube to 500 ml boiling water.

1|  On a high heat, brown off your chicken pieces in a large non-stick pan. It doesn't matter if they are completely cooked through at this stage. Once white, starting to brown, set aside for later.

2| In the same pan gently cook your shallot, garlic and fennel seeds for 1-2 minutes, mixing all together.

3| Turn up the heat and add your fennel, mix together and cook for another couple of minutes before adding half the glass of wine. Let the wine cook down.

4| Add your rice, stir together, and add the remainder of the wine, continuing to stir on this high heat for a couple of minutes.

5| Turn the heat down a fraction and add one or two ladles of your heated stock. At this stage we are going to slowly add all of the stock until absorbed by the rice. With the heat too high, the rice will cook too quickly on the outside. Too low, and you'll be there all night long. So don't rush it but just keep everything at a nice simmer. Stir and add more stock after the previous ladle seems to be absorbed. This process should take about 40 minutes but will vary.

6| When it starts to appear more like it should, take a taste. When you have a lovely oozy consistency but the rice still has a slight bite to it, add your chicken pieces and continue to cook for another couple of minutes. If you have run out of stock by this point, you can always add more boiling water.

7| Once you think the rice has cooked, turn down the heat, grate a generous helping of parmesan over the top, and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Parmesan can be quite salty so taste, before adding the salt.)

8| Serve into bowls, with feathery garnish on top, some crunchy bread and a glass of your remaining wine... If you haven't drunk it all whilst cooking that is.

Other ideas/variations:

Chorizo:
Buying from a butcher or deli, you can buy inch thick slices of this gorgeous Spanish sausage and have chopped into bitesize pieces. Add in at same time as garlic and shallot. Flavour and colour your stock with a few strands of saffron. Add a handful of frozen peas at the end for more colour and use delicious Spanish cheese Manchego instead of Parmesan. Basically a very stripped back Paella, but still delicious and indulgent.

Fillet of Beef and Mushroom:
If you're really looking to impress and show off, a mushroom risotto served with fillet of beef is heavenly. Use a spoon of dried porcini mushrooms at the garlic/shallot stage, before adding chopped chestnut mushrooms, or wild mushrooms if you are feeling more adventurous. For this recipe, I would definitely pinch a glass of my mother's Vermouth, Noilly Prat, for a more intense flavour. Lashings of parmesan and a knob of butter at the end are essential. I would serve the finest fillet steaks on the side, cooked pink; slicing and cooking in the risotto just isn't going to work.

Lamb and Aubergine Rosemary Skewers

BBQ season just doesn't feel right without a kebab does it? But growing up, my lamb or pork Andrew's kebab always seemed overcooked (sorry Dad!) and ended up being put to one side in favour of juicy sausages and meaty spare ribs. The ones I used to make with friends, with some courgette and mushroom didn't fair much better either. A few years ago I stumbled across this fantastic Nigel Slater article laying down kebab law: keep things simple, one meat and one veg, playing with flavours away from the classic bit of shrivelled mushroom, or mushy tomato. 

Shop wise, Richard started making kebabs by hand, on slightly smaller skewers (much more appetising as part of a BBQ selection) and they are now marinated in delicious sauces to keep the meat juicy and singing with flavour. And yet there's still something about making our own! Here in Paris I had a delicious lamb neck fillet in the freezer: plenty of marbling for flavour, very reasonable and the perfect shape for cutting into kebab cubes! Nigel gives a recipe for Pork and Mango which sounds amazing but here I experiment with his other suggestion of Lamb and Aubergine and make with saffron rice, salad, pitta and tzatsiki. 

Ingredients 

One good sized lamb neck fillet makes three kebabs | Three strong sticks of rosemary or normal wood skewers (available to buy at Andrew's) | One small aubergine cubed | 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed | Chilli powder | 150g Greek yoghurt | Rice | Salad | Good handful of fresh mint leaves | 

1| Preparing your lamb is super easy, you just need a sharp knife (your butcher will do this for you if you would really like!) Cut length ways into three, and then slice each strip into five equal good sized pieces. 

2| Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and move to one side on your board. 

3| On the same board, prepare your aubergine, cutting into cubes of a similar size to your lamb, sprinkle with 2 of the crushed cloves of garlic, some torn mint leaves, olive oil, and chilli powder ( I would have loved to have used some crushed fennel seeds but couldn't get hold of any) and put to one side with the meat. 

4| Making your kebabs on rosemary skewers is not only a great way to get flavour throughout the kebab but also looks fantastic too. If however you can't get hold of good quality rosemary, you can always push some rosemary leaves into the kebab once on a wooden skewer. If using rosemary, strip of the leaves, leaving some still intact at the end of the kebab and keep aside for use another time. Then place about four aubergine pieces, and five lamb pieces alternately on the skewer. 

5| You can now make your tzatsiki which is a lovely light and refreshing accompaniment. Simply add the other two cloves of crushed garlic with a handful of finely chopped mint to the greek yoghurt and stir. You can also add finely chopped cucumber, but that is optional.

6| Add your rice to a pan of salted boiling water and cook for ten minutes. Saffron is an expensive herb so can be definitely done without if not already in the cupboard!

7| Heat a hot non stick pan on a high heat. Place in your kebabs and use a fork to press the meat down into the pan, so that they really brown off, for a couple of minutes each side. The rosemary skewer makes it very easy to turn over and fit in the pan. 

8| When your rice comes to the end of cooking, use a ladle to add some of the cooking water to the pan, and turn the heat down slightly to let it simmer away. This will just help the kebabs retain liquid for the rest of the cooking, for about another 5 minutes, and stay lovely and juicy. 

9| Meanwhile prepare your salad and toast some pitta bread. Once kebabs are cooked serve immediately. You can either use the pitta bread whole to place everything inside, or cut small as a little extra on the side. 

"Bavette" Steak, Mini Roast Potatoes and Garlicky Green Beans

This week I go totally French and discover the beautiful cut that is "Bavette" or what us Brits may or may not know as Skirt steak. This cut is usually used for Minced Beef or as Casserole Steak: basically anything that isn't a quick-frying steak.

Out for dinner with three other English friends in one of my first weeks in Paris we only paid half the bill when we realised that we had been served this cut as a steak for our main course! It really was so tough. So for the last six months I have wondered why on earth I have seen it cropping up on menus all over town as the "Plat Du Jour"... Until I tried it for lunch and realised it really is rather delicious when done right! Ever so slightly harder to cut, but absolutely full of flavour. And of course the reason I'm raving about it on here, is that it is so much cheaper per kilo than any other steak you will buy.

Reading around I believe that this cut is sneaking on to menus in London, and am predicting it is a cut that foodies will become much more familiar with in a year or so!
My top tips for buying and cooking skirt steak are as follows: 

1| You absolutely MUST buy from a top quality butcher, and tell them that you're looking to cook it as a steak. Expert butchers will know exactly what they're giving you, if it is matured enough etc, and it will be of a quality that allows you to cook this cut like a steak, for a short time.

2| Marinading is key! You can tell just looking at the steak, that it is more tightly textured, which is why it takes longer to tenderise... Lemon juice, wine, or vinegar are going to help make the meat more tender before cooking. Here I used a good squeeze of lemon juice with olive oil, herbs and spices, make it up as you like. Also remember nothing is going to happen in less than an hour!

Ingredients

Ask your butcher to cut you a steak per person | An acidic ingredient like white wine or lemon juice + mixture of herbs and finely chopped garlic... I used mint and basil although would normally use more woody herbs like thyme, it's dependent on taste and availability. | A little sprinkle of chilli powder or fresh cut chilli will add a kick but shouldn't over power the dish. | Fresh french green beans | Potatoes for roasting. | Finely chopped clove of garlic.

1| Create your marinade. Herbs, spices and chopped garlic in a bowl first, before adding olive oil and lemon juice/white wine. A good glug of each! Mix trying to mash the ingredients together into a paste. Massage into the meat and leave out for an hour before cooking to bring to room temperature.

2| In the meanwhile prepare your roast potatoes. Peel and chop slightly smaller than the traditional roastie, wash in cold water, and bring to the boil in fresh cold water in a pan. Boil for five-six minutes.

3| While they're boiling, heat a roasting dish with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on a high heat of 200C for at least 5 minutes. When your potatoes have boiled, drain and shake with the lid on. Then add to the hot roasting dish keeping the saucepan down low to the oil so that it doesn't splash all over your arm. They should sizzle immediately- this is how you get a good crispy edge! Try to put straight back into the oven as soon as possible to prevent losing heat. These will probably cook in around 45-50 minutes, try to keep an eye and turn over half way through. Place in serving bowl and keep in turned off oven.

4| Let's prepare the green beans. Blanche in boiling water for about 2-3 mins and drain. In a frying pan, melt a good tablespoon of butter and sautée the garlic on a soft heat as these will burn easily. Add the beans and fry on a high heat for a good 5-7 minutes until cooked to taste. If they look like they are burning just add a splash of water, it will soon cook away. Place in a serving dish and keep in the oven with the finished potaotes.

5| Now for the steak. In the same pan, add your steaks. I cooked these for about 3-4 minutes each side. You want them pink but definitely not raw. Really it depends on how thick they are, you can always cut with a sharp knife in the center to see how they are getting along. Towards the end of frying I threw in a small glass of water for two reasons. Firstly I wanted to slow things down, and not burn or overdo the steaks. Secondly, on a high heat that water is going to, for want of a better word, "unstick" any meat juices stuck to the pan, making a gorgeous jus, or gravy.

6| Once my steaks were cooked, I lifted them from the pan and let them rest a minute while I concentrated on this sauce. If all that water has cooked away or is looking like it is starting to burn on just add a splash more, using a wooden spoon to lift any of the juices stuck to the pan. Then, if quite runny, just add a light sprinkle of flour (or cornflour) over the whole pan, mixing really quickly so that you don't have any lumps. In about two minutes you will have such a delicious sauce that you can pour over the steaks to keep them juicy. (Soup bowls are actually great for serving something like this!)

7| Serve immediately with potatoes and vegetables on the table, letting everyone help themselves.

Haloumi and Store Cupboard Rice Salad

Living and working in Paris, my flatmate and I are often too hot to eat a hot meal, and really can't afford to eat meat for every meal either. We have however managed to eat healthily with meals like this one, using cheeses such as haloumi and feta as meat substitutes, and making use of nutritious red peppers, onions, peas and olives. I know Andrew sells great quality Greek feta and Cypriot haloumi which per person are such good money for value! His range of different olives are also pretty amazing too, and what's nice you don't have to buy a whole tub like you do in the supermarket.

Ingredients for two people:

Half a pack of haloumi, four to six slices | Half a red onion, finely chopped | Half a red pepper finely chopped | Frozen peas | Drop of olive oil and balsamic | Sprinkle of dried oregano or mixed herbs | Rice, about 1 mug full | Feel free to adapt accordingly for what you need to use up in the fridge

1| Slice your haloumi and drizzle over a little olive oil and sprinkle some dried herbs, massage in and set to one side.  2| Then start to gently fry your onion, and a little crushed garlic if you have it. 

3| Meanwhile add your rice to boiling water and cook for ten minutes. 

4| Add your pepper and olives and cook for a further five minutes. 

5| Add your green peas and a dash of baslsamic vinegar cooking on a high heat now for around two minutes before adding your cooked rice. 

6| Mix and pour into a serving dish so that you can quickly give your frying pan a clean before cooking the haloumi. 

7| Heat up the pan and fry the haloumi for about two minutes each side until it is nice and golden all over. 

7| Serve immediately with the rice and enjoy! 

Chicken and Sweet Roasted Vegetable Salad

I made this up on the spare of the moment with what we had in the fridge for the first meal in our new flat. I live for sweet potato (so healthy and filling), and adding some diced feta means two quality chicken breasts are more than sufficient for 3-4 people. 

Ingredients 

Half a yellow pepper thinly sliced | Half a red onion thinly sliced | One large sweet potato diced | Two high quality chicken breasts diced  | 1/2 - 1/3 a pack of feta diced | Red Leaf Lettuce | Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar 

1| Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare the vegetables. 

2| Toss together in an oven dish with a generous drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil and place in the oven for about 30 minutes, checking half way through to check it's not burning. 

3| Meanwhile fry the chicken in a pan, dice the feta and roughly chop the lettuce. 

4| Find a nice big plate or platter and start arranging the salad as follows: lettuce first, roasted vegetables, chicken and then feta, before giving another drizzle of olive oil on top to finish off. Serve with some lovely crusty bread, which you can now also buy in Andrew's baked fresh each day by my mum! 

Slow Roast Pulled Pork

If you follow my recipes, you've probably worked out by now that I am a massive Jamie fan! Why? He always cook great dishes with really simple non-expensive ingredients but puts flavours together and cooks things in a way that just makes some of the most delicious and comforting meals I've ever eaten. It's all pretty easy and non-complicated too. Mum and I had wanted to try his Pulled Pork recipe for a while, and did so last weekend as I was finally home from Paris for a quick stop. This all meant we had plenty of family members to feed so had the crowd to cook this amount for!

Shoulder pork is much fattier than the traditional leg that most people roast, and although that fat puts some people off, if you cook the meat for long enough, virtually all that fat will completely melt away magically turning into the most delightful flavour and really keeping all the meat super tender and succulent. 

The piece of pork we cooked was about 5kg and we found that it would have easily fed around 20 people- we had lots of lunch for the following week! So we think it would be great for a big family celebration such as Mother's Day (where Jamie cooked kale and beans we did roast potatoes and greens!) or perfect for a big garden party with just buns and salad for people to help themselves. If you do fancy trying this with a smaller piece of pork, say a kilo less, I would knock a couple of hours off of the total cooking time. 

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons fennel seeds crushed | 1 fennel bulb roughly chopped | 1 tablespoon sea salt | 2-3 medium carrots roughly chopped | 2 onions peeled and roughly chopped | 1 bulb garlic cloves smashed | bunch of fresh thyme | 5kg piece of high welfare shoulder pork (ask for a piece left on the bone and scored) | olive oil | a bottle of white wine | 500 ml chicken stock 

1 | Preheat your oven to its maximum temperature. 2 | Place your vegetables in a large baking tray 

3 | Place your piece of pork on top, skin side up, cover in olive oil and massage the fennel seeds and salt into the skin and gaps where it has been scored. 

                             4 | Place in the oven for about 20 minutes until the skin has really started to crisp up. If it looks like the vegetables are starting to burn, add a glass of water. 

                                               5 | Turn the oven down to 120C and cook for 6 hours. 6 | Remove the pork from the oven and add the bottle of wine to the dish. Let this cook away for another hour, occasionally basting the meat with the sauce to let the flavour of the wine soak into the meat and keep it nice and tender. 

                                                       7 | Take the pork from the tray and let it rest for half an hour to an hour covered in lots of foil and a tea towel to keep the heat in. 8 | Meanwhile pour the sauce into a pyrex jug, let settle and remove the fat from the top. Place in a saucepan with the stock and let this cook down into a lovely gravy. 

9 | When it comes to carving the meat, just take your time and remove from the bone. The meat really will fall away, so don't worry, no tricky butchery involved! Maybe break up the crackling first and set to one side then you really can take a fork and just pull away at it. 

I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we all did, it was such a pleasure to cook as it was so easy and the smells coming from the oven all day were out of this world! And of course it tasted heavenly! Any questions that I haven't already answered in the instructions send me an email at shop@andrewsqualitybutchers.co.uk