This is a thick and rich soup, perfect for winter. It also makes a great starter for a dinner party; just serve it in small portions as it is quite rich. The truffle oil makes this soup even more luxurious, but you can easily leave this out. You can also use less cream if you prefer a lighter soup.
Ingredients
- 50g butter
- 3 large leeks
- 2 white onions, chopped
- 3 large potatoes, cubed
- 2 sticks celery, chopped
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 200ml single cream
- ½ tsp truffle oil (optional)
- salt & pepper
Method
- Remove the green portion of the leeks and wash thoroughly. Slice the white part of the leeks.
- Heat the butter in a large saucepan and add the sliced leeks, along with the potatoes and celery. Add a good pinch of salt and cover the saucepan. Cook on a low heat for 10 minutes until the vegetables have softened completely.
- Add the chicken stock and whizz using a stick blender. Simmer gently for 5 minutes then stir through the truffle oil and cream. Season to taste with salt and plenty of freshly-ground black pepper. Garnish with a drop of truffle oil or a blob of cream and some finely chopped chives.
Serves 4.
Here’s a recipe for a rich and unctuous potato dauphinoise - perfect for using up your leftover Christmas ham and red cabbage. Unlike a lot of recipes I’ve seen for dauphinoise, I don’t start mine on the hob. I prefer to cook from scratch in the oven which allows me to season each layer of potatoes individually. This means the dauphinoise will always be perfectly seasoned.
Purists will tell you that a proper dauphinoise should not contain any cheese, that the potatoes and cream form their own golden crust. Well, I’ve tried both, and I prefer this with cheese. Of course, you don’t need a mandoline to cut the potatoes, but it certainly speeds things up. Using a mandoline also has the advantage of ensuring all of your potato slices are of the same thickness and therefore cook evenly.
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium potatoes
- butter
- 250ml double cream
- 250ml whole milk
- ½ clove garlic, grated or minced
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan cheese (or Gruyére)
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
- Slice the potatoes, using a mandoline if you have one . If doing this using a knife, ensure the slices are of a similar thickness, about 3-5mm.
- Add the milk, cream and garlic to a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and take off the heat.
- Butter a baking dish (about 24cm squared) and add a layer of potatoes. Give the potatoes a light sprinkling of sea salt and a few turns of black pepper. Keep adding layers of potatoes, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper. I normally get about 6 layers from this amount of spuds.
- Add the cream and milk mixture then top with a couple of handfuls of grated cheese and some more black pepper.
- Cook for about 1 hour at the bottom of the oven. You might want to place some buttered foil on the baking dish for the last 15 minutes if you don’t want the top to get too brown. I don’t bother, as the crispy bits are very tasty.
Notes
- Nigel Slater (as always) has some great variations on dauphinoise in his book, Real Food - including a tasty looking version made with smoked mackerel fillets.
- You could use a full clove of garlic, but I prefer to keep the garlic flavour subtle in this one. Make sure the garlic is grated or ground to a paste though, you don’t want to end up with chunks of garlic in this one.
Serves 4.
I can remember my first “proper” curry - a chicken madras in Khan’s Balti House in Donnybrook about 15 years ago. Strange I know, but I tend to remember things like that. I’ve been smitten with Indian food ever since, but some time ago I realised that restaurant style food is difficult to achieve at home. You need a lot of time and vast amounts of ghee, a type of clarified butter. You should also let your food rest overnight before serving; this allows the flavours to mature and the spices to mellow and mingle.
Happily, some restaurant dishes produce better results at home than others. This korma is the perfect example - it’s reminiscent of the restaurant version but includes fresh green chillis, dried fruits and toasted nuts. It tastes spectacular and it’s very quick and easy to cook. Serve with pilau rice and naan bread.
Ingredients
- 4 free-range skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
- 2 medium onions, chopped (about 200g)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- thumb-size piece of ginger, minced
- 2 tsp curry powder (good quality)
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 150ml single cream
- 65g creamed coconut
- 4 tbsp ground almonds
- 5 tbsp sultanas
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1-2 fresh green chilli peppers, sliced
- 2 tsp garam masala (to taste)
- fresh coriander
- 5 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
- 2 tbsp flaked coconut, toasted (optional)
Method
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy saucepan and add a knob of butter. Fry the onion gently for about 10 minutes until it’s well caramelised. At this point, add the garlic and ginger and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add the dried spices and stir-fry for another minute.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add 2 cups of cold water. Whizz the mixture with a stick blender until it’s completely smooth.
- Add the chicken pieces and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Add the cream, ground almonds, sultanas and dissolve the creamed coconut then simmer gently for another 5 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and add a little extra sugar if you think it needs it. Stir through the garam masala and fresh coriander. Garnish with flaked almonds and toasted coconut, if using. Serve.
Serves 4.
A posset is a very old drink which dates from the Middle Ages. It was originally a milky drink used as a cure for minor illnesses. Wine was frequently used to curdle the flavoured/spiced milk. Nowadays, possets are generally dense cream desserts made with cream, sugar and citrus fruits. This is the classic recipe, made with lemon.
Ingredients
- 300 ml double cream (must be double cream)
- 75g caster sugar
- juice of 1-2 lemons
Method
- Add the cream to a saucepan with the sugar and bring slowly to the boil. Stir constantly to ensure the sugar dissolves.
- When the cream reaches a gentle boil, reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring all the time.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the juice of 1 lemon. The mixture should begin to thicken. Taste and add more lemon juice if necessary. The mixture should be sweet but very fresh and tangy.
- Leave to cool for 5 minutes then pour into 4 shot glasses or espresso cups. Bang the glasses/cups to remove air bubbles.
- When cool, chill overnight, or at least 3 hours before serving. Take out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving.
Serves 4.
