Roasted Glazed Duck with an Apple and Walnut stuffing

I think Duck is a very tasty meat that is quite under rated within the Western world. It has been the stable of many cultures throughout the world from Mongolia to France. It can be prepared in numerous ways, each exploring the rich flavours and exploiting the nutrients. What many people don't know is duck meat is high in protein (around 18g per 100g), zinc and iron to name but a few.

This is also a great dish for Christmas and will definitely be a spin upon the more traditional birds that are cooked at this festive time. 

So what do you need to make this fowl taste good (see what I did there?):-

1 Duck, about 3 kilos is good for 3-4 people
1 orange
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar (I used Apple but you can use anything from malt to wine)
250ml chicken stock
2 tbsp Cointreau (optional)
2 tbsp crushed almonds
70g breadcrumbs
40g chopped walnuts
100g sausage meat (or in places where no sausage meat is available buy pork mince and put it in the food processor)
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
handful of thyme and rosemary
1 egg
2 tbsp double cream

Turn your oven on to 225oC. Sauté the onion and garlic in some butter until soft, add to a bowl with the walnuts, breadcrumbs, sausage meat and the thyme and rosemary, mix all together, add some seasoning, the cream and egg, then set to one side. Now prepare your duck by washing it out under the cold tap, inside and out, then using paper towel pat it dry. Remove any obvious bits of fat from inside the bird. With a pin prick the skin all over, do not go too deep. Turn it breast side down and press down until your hear the back breaking (Some of you may find this squeamish, don't worry the duck is dead and won't hold it against you, or you can get your big brave partner to do it), this will help the bird cook more evenly.

Fill the inside with your stuffing mixture (any left over you can make into balls for later) and then put breast side down on a wire rack over a tray. Put into oven for 25 minutes. While it is in the oven make the glaze by first zesting and juicing the orange, then put the vinegar and sugar in a pan and caramelise, it should take about 2-3 minutes. Add the zest and juice to the pan also the Cointreau and chicken stock, put on a higher heat to reduce by half, it should also go thicker.

After the 25 minutes take the duck out of the oven and turn it down to 175oC. Turn the duck so the breast side is facing up, use a spoon or pastry bush to baste the duck. Return to oven and baste every 20 minutes. After one hour check the duck by poking a skewer into the thickest part of the leg, if the juice run clear put the remaining glaze on the duck and sprinkle the almonds on top. Return to oven for 15 minutes and then take out and serve.

This goes great with roasted veggies and a nice rich red wine gravy. I guarantee that it will bring the wow factor to your dinner.

Karjalanpaisti, Karelian Hot Pot A National Dish from Refugees.

Karelian Hot Pot (or Stew) is considered the national dish of Finland but its popularity throughout Finland is a recent occurrence. 75 years ago Finland was plunged into a war that it didn't want, the Soviet Union invaded with over 750,000 troops and all that Finland could do was send 250,000 young men, with antiqued equipment to stand against the Red Bear. After a valiant defence which saw the Soviet Union stalled on every front, peace negotiations managed to end the war. However, despite all that Finland did, it lost 11% of its territory and 30% of its economy. The territory was mainly the eastern region of Karelia and given the choice, the Finnish citizens decided to pack up and move away from the Russia areas leaving a ghost region. This caused the biggest refugee crisis that Finland has seen. With the move, the Karelians brought with them many things, like food, music and history.

One such dish, and the most recognised alongside Karelian Pastries, is the Karelian Hot Pot. This dish arose as a festive meal due to the scarceness of meat. It is another dish that exemplifies the simpleness but wholesome tastiness of Finnish foods. It traditionally uses bits of beef and pork cooked in water, black peppercorns and salt. However, nowadays, it is usually seen with added ingredients like allspice, carrots and onion. It is so quick to prepare and is just braised in a iron pot in the oven.

This is a great dish for those with little time, like on Sundays.

So for a nice feeding of 4/5 people you will want to have:-

250g stewing beef, cut into 1" pieces
250g stewing pork, cut into 1" pieces (alternatively you can use just 500g of beef or pork)
1 large onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1tsp salt
1tsp black peppercorns
1tsp allspice
2 bay leaves
250ml beef stock
500ml water

Preheat your oven to 150C. Brown your meat in the iron pot over a medium heat, take out the meat and set aside. Now add a little bit of oil to the pot and add the onions, cook for 30 seconds, add the carrots and meat, salt, peppercorns, all spice and bay leaves. Stir until all mixed and add the stock and water. Cover with a lid and place in oven for 3 and a half hours.

You can also turn it down to 125C and cook for 5 and a half hours.

It is normally served with mash potato and lingonberry jam.

So go on, give it a try, this is a perfect dish for Sundays as you can make it all up the day before and just pop in oven before you head out to church.

Coconut and Treacle Flapjacks

When I was younger I loved to get flapjacks as a treat from the local bakery. There was something about the soft, gooey oaty bars that appealed to me. As I got older I seemed to put them on the back burner. I am not sure why I did that.

They are so easy to make and can be knocked up in a matter of minutes, so they are easy to make at short notice if you have guests coming round. I made mine for Family Home Evening, which is a night in the week (traditionally Monday) which the family gets together and does activities. It is encouraged in the Church and is designed to help strengthen families. They were a smash hit with those present.

To make one baking tray (33cm*36cm):-

250g rolled oats
125g butter (not marg)
125g brown sugar
3tbsp treacle
40g dessicated coconut
pinch of salt

Start by pre-heating your oven to 175C. Put all your ingredients into the food processor and pulse until mixed. Don't overdo it as you want to keep the oaty texture.

Grease up your baking tray and put in the mixture. Using the back of a spoon, press down the mixture firmly and flatly and the score into your desired portions.

Put into the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes (15 makes really soft while 20 makes really crunchy). Take out and place on a cooling rack until cool enough to eat.

It is all that simple and the entire process takes 25-30 minutes. So no more excuses to not having snacks for your guests. They will also keep for a month in a sealed container.

Smoked Reindeer Liver with Potato salad and Beetroot Purée

A friend from work gave me a wonderful gift last week, a smoked Reindeer liver. This gift was in response to a conversation earlier in which I stated I hadn't tried reindeer liver before. Reindeer is a popular meat in Finland (as well as other Nordic countries) and is used in everything from Soups to Pizzas, Steaks to Bagels. Products from reindeer, like milk, cheese and meat are considered some of the healthiest in the world. A recent Norwegian study showed that 100 grams of meat contains your daily dose of omega 3-6, double the amount of Vitamin B12, high in Iron, Zinc and low in fat (around 2% , Beef is around 9%).

As Reindeer is a big part of Finnish culture, I wanted to produce a dish I thought reflected Finnish food culture but also wanted to make it in a way that you would see served in a good quality restaurant. I decided upon all the ingredients based upon my perceptions of their use in Finnish cuisine.

So for this you will need (feeds 4):-

Beetroot purée:
2 medium beetroot, trimmed (around 400g)
1 clove garlic
50g butter, melted
1 tbsp Greek yoghurt
pinch of coriander
pinch of salt and pepper

Potato Salad:
1 Basic Mayonnaise recipe
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cooked
2 gherkins, diced

Lettuce
200g smoked Reindeer Liver, sliced
Carrot, grated for decoration

Boil your beetroot in lightly salted water until soft. Cool down and put into the blender with the garlic, butter, yoghurt, coriander and some seasoning. Turn on until it makes a nice paste and put into the fridge.

Mix the potatoes and gherkins into the mayonnaise. Now it's time to construct your plate. Put some lettuce on the bottom and top with your potato salad. Stack your liver slices on top and then place some carrot on the liver. Using two spoons, shape your beetroot purée and put on the plate. Serve with some fresh bread and butter and watch everything disappear into the satisfied mouths of your guests.

In our home the children eat the same as the adults.... however beetroot isn't all the child friendly.

Slow Roasted Sabbath Chicken Dinner

We all know what it's like, we wake up on Sunday morning, rush around getting ourselves and the children ready for Church, then after Church come home to start cooking dinner, kids screaming, tempers rising and all of a sudden all that nice spiritual feeling is leaving us. We all just want to come home and have dinner ready. Well I have the perfect solution, I present, THE SLOW ROASTED SABBATH CHICKEN DINNER, [enter ta-da here]. This meal isn't just for Sundays but for any day of the week, you can prepare the day before hand and just pop in the oven on the day. It is simple, easy and can be done on a small budget.

Sunday Dinner for me as a child was a highlight, it had Yorkshire Puddings, Gravy, Vegetables, Roast Potatoes and of course, Roasted Meat. As my family wasn't all that well off, we ate a lot of Roast Chicken with the dark meat for us children and the white for my parents. It was always very tasty and I remember my mother in the kitchen for hours and then when I was old enough, helping with it.

First we will start with the chicken itself:-

1 1.5kg whole chicken
1 lemon, halved
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp aromatic salt
1 tsp oregano
50g butter, softened

Preheat your oven to 125oC. Mix the herbs and salt with the butter. Squeeze half the lemon over the chicken, rub in all the butter everywhere. Squeeze the other half into the cavity and put in the two halves. Cover with tinfoil, make sure it is completely sealed. Put into the oven for 4 hours. Remove the foil and increase heat to 225oC and place for a further 30 minutes (if making Roast potatoes, see below, add now). Take out and serve.

For the Roast Potatoes:-

1 kg potatoes, peeled and halved
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp flour
Salt and Pepper

Boil your potatoes in a large pan. They should take around 5-10 minutes, they should be par boiled (hard but soft enough to stick a knife in), strain into a colander. You can do this the day before, put them in the fridge overnight. Now put them in an oven dish and sprinkle the flour, paprika and seasoning over them, mix till coated then pour over the oil, mix again until all fully coated. Put into the oven with the chicken. When the chicken comes out, turn them and put them in for another 15 minutes.

Serve it with vegetables and Gravy. I love spiced carrot and turnip mash, Broccoli and Cauliflower but you can put anything. They also go great with Yorkshire puddings.

Eighth Wonder of the World: Yorkshire Puddings

When I think back to my childhood meals, one of the things that really sticks out is the Sunday Roast Dinner and when we look closer at that meal we know that the crown that tops it all off is the Yorkshire Pudding. The origin of these delights is a mystery, some have suggested they were brought to England by ancient Egyptians escaping the war with Atlantis (well maybe some people say that...) others that the Wizard Merlin created them for King Arthur and His Knights to give them a hearty meal before quests. Whatever the real origin is, we do know that the first recorded recipe appears in 1737 where a pancake batter was put in a pan under mutton and used to catch all that lovely dripping fat, they were occasionally shaken and would become risen and fluffy. The first recorded use of the name Yorkshire Pudding appears in a cookery book ten years later (1747). My wife has really come round to liking them, as well as her family, but states that she does not understand the function of them...pfft, like they need one.

Over the years many people have developed different recipes and ideas on how to create the perfect Yorkie. I know that I have tried and it has taken me until recently to find the best one for me. However, I'm not a selfish guy and so will share my entire recipe with you all so you can taste the wonder that is the Yorkshire Pudding.

To make a standard muffin trays worth (12), you will need:-

150g plain flour
2 large eggs
250ml whole milk
1 tsp salt and pepper mix
4 tbsp Oil (I use rapeseed oil but vegetable, sunflour or even beef fat will do, Don't use olive oil.)

Ok so in a mixing bowl put your flour and seasoning in, combined and make a well in the centre. Pour in the milk and eggs and whisk until smooth, I like using a hand whisk but you can use your fancy electric whisks. Then put in the fridge to sit for 30 minutes. While this is happening, turn your oven on to 225C and put in a muffin tray with a little oil in each one, use all 4 tbsp, then place inside.

After the thirty minutes take your batter out, grab a ladle and here comes the trick, take your muffin tray out, close the oven door and quickly but carefully divide the batter into the muffin tray. The batter should start sizzling. Place back into oven and leave for 20-25 minutes until nice, tall and golden. Take out and serve immediately.

They are also fine for freezing and/or reheating later.

Now there is no excuse to having those frozen things in your freezer.

Tasty Chicken Stroganoff

Stroganoff has become a popular dish throughout the world, especially in English style pubs. It has its origins in 19th century Russia with the first recipe showing up Elena Molokhovet's classic Russian cookbook A Gift to Young Housewives. It was lightly floured cubes of beef cooked with bouillon, mustard and finished with sour cream. It evolved from there, things were added to it like onions and mushrooms, different meats were used or sometimes even just vegetables.

My version uses chicken and just came about because I was hungry at work and decided upon something different for a change.

So to make enough for yourself and 3 others you will need:-

1 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken breast, cut into strips
1 large onion, sliced
4-6 mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp tomato purée
150ml chicken stock
2 tbsp sour cream
paprika and parsley for decorating

Start by heating a pan over medium heat, then add olive oil. Sauté chicken strips and onions until the onions are soft but not browned. Add the mushrooms and garlic, sauté them for about a minute. Stir in the mustard and tomato and cook out for another minute. Pour in the stock and simmer until reduced by about half. Fold in the sour cream to finish and serve with either rice or pasta. It also goes great with garlic bread.