Chorizo Tortilla, Serrano Ham and Melon, Manchego Cheese

With this horrible weather I wanted to create some sunshine in the kitchen and make an inexpensive lunch that reminded me of Spanish holidays. I used three basic ingredients from Andrew's: 100g each of chorizo, Serrano ham, and Manchego cheese, all sourced from Spain. As the ingredients are quite rich, a small amount goes a long way; I was able to make a wholesome lunch for the four of us for around £10-£15 (salad and potatoes included).

The only cooking is in the Spanish tortilla: a thick omelette made with eggs, sliced new potatoes, and onions. The recipe I used is Delia's which can be found by clicking here. The only adaptation I made was to add the chorizo, which I diced and added to the pan with the potatoes and onion, and some fresh herbs added with the egg. I used a much bigger frying pan which meant the omelette was a lot thinner and took less time to cook, so think about that when considering your timings.

 I then just added the slices of Serrano ham to a board with sliced melon and the Manchego, and served alongside a salad; I really love these sorts of meals where everyone can dig in and help themselves.

Customer Collaborations: Gill's Beef Wellington

This week one of our good customers, Gill, sent me pictures of this delicious Beef Wellington she made for a dinner party using Andrew's beef fillet and prosciutto ham. All Andrew's beef comes from local farms in Suffolk and Norfolk that adhere to high welfare practices to produce the best quality beef; once it is at the shop, our team hangs it for a minimum of 21 todays until it is deliciously tender. So while buying fillet beef is expensive, buying it from a good butcher assures you won't be let down on the night and makes the meal just as special as if you were in a high class restaurant...

This meal seems simple and easy to cook but looks incredible; it is definitely one I want to try! The original recipe, shown below, comes from Gordon Ramsay for BBC GoodFood.

Beef Wellington
Ready in 1hr50min-2hrs. (inc. aprx. 50 mins chilling)
Serves 6

3 tbsp olive oil

250 g chestnut mushrooms

50 g butter

1 large sprig of fresh thyme

100 ml dry white wine

12 slices prosciutto

500g pack puff pastry, thawed if frozen

a little flour for dusting

2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tsp water 

1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Sit the 1kg beef fillet on a roasting tray, brush with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with pepper, then roast for 15 mins for medium-rare or 20 mins for medium. When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven to cool, then chill in the fridge for about 20 mins.
2. While the beef is cooling, chop 250g chestnut (and wild, if you like) mushrooms as finely as possible so they have the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. You can use a food processor to do this, but make sure you pulse-chop the mushrooms so they don't become a slurry.
3. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil and 50g butter in a large pan and fry the mushrooms on a medium heat, with 1 large sprig fresh thyme, for about 10 mins stirring often, until you have a softened mixture. Season the mushroom mixture, pour over 100ml dry white wineand cook for about 10 mins until all the wine has been absorbed. The mixture should hold its shape when stirred. Remove the mushroom duxelle from the pan to cool and discard the thyme.
4. Overlap two pieces of cling film over a large chopping board. Lay 12 slices prosciutto on the cling film, slightly overlapping, in a double row. Spread half the duxelles over the prosciutto, then sit the fillet on it and spread the remaining duxelles over. Use the cling film's edges to draw the prosciutto around the fillet, then roll it into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of cling film to tighten it as you go. Chill the fillet while you roll out the pastry.
5. Dust your work surface with a little flour. Roll out a third of the 500g pack of puff pastry to a 18 x 30cm strip and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Roll out the remainder of the 500g pack of puff pastry to about 28 x 36cm. Unravel the fillet from the cling film and sit it in the centre of the smaller strip of pastry. Beat the 2 egg yolks with 1 tsp water and brush the pastry's edges, and the top and sides of the wrapped fillet. Using a rolling pin, carefully lift and drape the larger piece of pastry over the fillet, pressing well into the sides. Trim the joins to about a 4cm rim. Seal the rim with the edge of a fork or spoon handle. Glaze all over with more egg yolk and, using the back of a knife, mark the beef Wellington with long diagonal lines taking care not to cut into the pastry. Chill for at least 30 mins and up to 24 hrs.
6. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Brush the Wellington with a little more egg yolk and cook until golden and crisp - 20-25 mins for medium-rare beef, 30 mins for medium. Allow to stand for 10 mins before serving in thick slices.

It is fantastic to see the delicious meals our customers are cooking with the meat we sell. If you have a recipe that you think other customers would like to cook (no matter how simple or extravagant), send it to me along with some photos at lauren_rose1992@hotmail.co.uk and I'll do my best to share it in another post! 

Mediterranean Risotto

Risotto is one of my favourite things to cook from scratch, but if I don't have the necessary store-cupboard ingredients- of which the list can be quite long- it can be expensive and take a considerable amount of time. In such times of need, I love that I picked up this sun-dried tomato and black olive risotto mix that Dad has started to stock in the shop.

I gradually added boiling water to the risotto mix in a pan for 25-30 minutes (instructions are on the back), adding some leftover cooked + sliced chicken breast, grated parmesan, and a knob of butter 5 minutes before the end. So simple yet so yummy!

 I think this recipe would be great for dinner parties when you want to impress with little effort or equally great for mid-week suppers. You can add as much or as little as you want to it as it is so delicious to start with. However if I were to make it really special, I might add some fresh sun-dried tomatoes and fresh herbs to garnish and give it that extra something.

NB: Click to see my moroccan chicken, couscous, and tzatsiki recipe that I cooked using a Mediterranean Couscous mix from the same range.

Andrew's Website

After months of taking pictures, writing about everything we do, and working on layout and style, my plans have finally been realised! So I'm very proud to direct you to the new website for our butchers shop at www.andrewsqualitybutchers.co.uk Take a browse and see what we do; the site includes information on where all our meat is from, special services we offer throughout the year, and a little bit about the shop's background. Here's a quick preview below...

Chicken Stir-Fry

Last week I signed up to do Race for Life at the beginning of June, and as I'm by no means a runner, I've been trying to eat as healthily as possible, and tonight I've made this super-healthy stir-fry. I also have a new camera which I'm so excited about... I need to play around with the settings but from now on I hope my pictures will be of better quality!

To make:

1 Slice a chicken thigh/breast thinly and place in a bowl. 2 Add about half a tablespoon of hoisin sauce, and a drop of soy sauce and sesame seed oil, leave to marinate for an hour if possible. 3 Slice vegetables thinly. 4 Stir-fry veg until it starts to soften and brown. 5 Add the chicken and cook until done. 

Quick Lunch: Rump Steak Roll

It's a quick post this week, but I had to share with you this delicious steak roll I had for lunch last week. Running between lectures, it was so quick and easy to prepare but filled me up and put a big smile on my face too- after all isn't that what good food is all about?! Rump steak is great to buy, as it has exceptional flavour, but is a lot cheaper per kilo than other steak cuts making it great value for money. What's more at a butchers like ours, you can have exactly what size you wish, and be safe in the knowledge it comes from local farms and will have been hung in carcass for a least 28 days. 

To make yourself: simply fry your steak in  olive oil and mixed herbs for however long you prefer, I have gone for medium rare here. While it is cooking prepare your roll with some lovely mayo or chutney, and salad. Leave the steak to rest for a couple of minutes, slice and add to your roll. Be warned the juices make it a messy lunch but the satisfaction that comes from eating it is more than worth it! 

Asparagus, Courgette, Smoked Streaky Bacon Tagliatelle

Asparagus season is finally upon us, so I thought I would show you one of my favourite combinations, asparagus and smoked streaky bacon, in this quick and easy pasta dish. Asparagus goes really well with any cured pork meats especially prosciutto ham and pancetta; I tend to think of it as a posh pea and ham combo... But smoked streaky bacon is something I always use as an alternative as it is packed with flavour, a lot cheaper, and easy to have put by in the freezer to thaw and chop up when you want it. This dish couldn't be simpler, I made it in about ten minutes after getting in late from the library this evening... as it tastes delicious there really is no excuse for 'quick' ready meals or take aways at such times!

 1 Par boil chopped asparagus for about 2 minutes to soften. 2 In a pan fry chopped streaky bacon, and finely sliced courgette. 3 In the meanwhile remove asparagus from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the bacon and courgette. 4 Saving water and pans, add some fresh tagliatelle to the saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. 5 Add a couple of knobs of batter to your veg and bacon. 6 Drain the pasta and add to the pan. 7 Dish up, grate over some parmesan, and eat immediately. The best fast comfort food after a long day!