Dirk’s Smoked Fish Chowder

A rich, creamy soup that smacks of the sea and brings a smile to any grumpy face - even mine! It's quick and easy to make. You can use a mixture of smoked fish, but please try to avoid the obvious cod and haddock and they’re becoming scarce. It's also best to avoid heavily salted/smoked fish or that nasty yellow-dyed stuff, full of chemicals. As smoked fish contains a good amount of salt, it shouldn’t be necessary to add any - just taste for seasoning at the end and add some then if needed.

Shopping list for 4 people:
500g of mixed, lightly-smoked fish - try to get your hands of some pollack, trout, hot smoked salmon - or anything interesting and seasonal that your local fishmonger has available fresh - make sure it's thoroughly filleted with skin removed; 1 whole head of celery (including the leaves) or a whole fennel bulb; 1 large carrot; 1 large onion or 3 shallots; 1 medium leek; 1 large potato; 50g butter; 500ml of good fish stock; 500ml water; a good handful of fresh parsley or dill; 1 fat clove of garlic; 100ml double cream; a few good grindings of freshly black pepper.

Method:
Finely dice the vegetables and remove the herbs from their stalks and finely chop. Bring the stock to a gentle simmer mixed with the water. In a seperate soup pan, melt the butter and sweat the vegetables for 5-10 minutes over a gentle heat, until softened. Add the garlic and sweat for another few minutes before adding the warmed stock/water. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for a further 10-12 minutes, before adding the fish (it will break up quicklly). After a couple more minutes, turn down the heat to the lowest setting and add the cream, stirring it in gently. Remove from the heat and add the chopped herbs and black pepper. Check the seasoning. Serve immediately.

The soup can be kept in the fridge (once cooled) in a sealed container for a couple of days. Alternatively you can freeze the base soup (without the fish, cream and herbs) for up to one month. Defrost thoroughly and boil gently for a good 5 minutes before adding the fish etc.

Serve with some warm, crusty bread by a campfire on the seashore.

Dirk’s version of Dawn’s Chestnut Soup

This is a great recipe given to me by our good friend Dawn - who's a great cook. I've modified it slightly, as I'm prone to do. It's a thick, winter soup that's hearty and flavoursome. A little goes a long way. Don't overcook it otherwise you'll be parping for days to come!

Shopping list:
300g fresh chestnuts or 250g vacuum packed or tinned, roasted chestnuts; 1 small head of celery; 2 medium carrots; 1 medium parsnip; 1 large onion; 1 medium leek; 50g butter; 75ml Marsala, Madiera or Medium Sweet Sherry; 1 litre of vegetable stock; a handful each of fresh thyme and fresh parsley; salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Method:
First of all, prepare the chestnuts. Roast the fresh chestnuts in a moderate oven for around 10 mins. When cool enough to handle, peel (including the inner membrane). Discard any brown chestnuts. The chestnuts can be a bit fiddly to peel, so alternatively use vacuum packed or tinned. Roughly chop the chestnuts. Dice the vegetables and remove the herbs from their stalks and finely chop.

In a soup pan, melt the butter and sweat the chopped onion, thinly-sliced leek, diced celery (with leaves), diced carrots and parsnip and the chopped thyme for a good 15 minutes over a low heat, until softened. Add the Marsala and leave for a minute to burn off the alcohol, then add the chopped chestnuts and vegetable stock. Season to taste. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for a further 15 minutes. Add a good handful of chopped fresh parsley at the end, the cool a little and liquidise.

Storage and serving:
The soup can be kept in the fridge (once cooled) in a sealed container for 2-3 days. Alternatively it freezes well and can be kept frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost thoroughly and boil gently for a good 5 minutes, stirring often to avoid sticking to the pan - it’s a thick soup!

Serve with some warm, pumpkin bread and a sparkler on Halloween or Guy Fawkes Night.

Dirk's Thai Curry

The recipe here is for a chicken curry, but pescotareans like my good mate Paul can make this with fish or vegetables instead (try it with carrot, butternut squash, green beans and cauliflower - or any good firm fish / shellfish you like). This recipe begins with making a Thai Curry paste. There’s a lot of wee things to buy, but you can make it in bulk and freeze the rest for later. It should keep for a couple of months in an average home freezer or about a week in the fridge.

Shopping list for the curry paste:
Fresh ginger - a 2” piece about the thickness of your thumb - peeled and finely chopped; 3 fat cloves of garlic -peeled and finely chopped; a good handful of fresh coriander leaves and their stems - washed and chopped; 1 tsp each of whole coriander seeds and cumin seeds; 1 shoot of fresh lemon grass, finely chopped; a good handful of dried shrimps (try a Chinese supermarket for these); 2 tbs of Thai fish sauce; 1 tbs light soy sauce; 1 tsp sugar; 3 medium mild red chillis and 1 small hot green chilli - deseeded and finely chopped; 1 large or 3 small shallots, peeled and finely chopped; 2 tbs of sunflower oil.

Method:
Soak the dried shrimps in warm (not hot) water for about 10 minutes. Then remove from the water and finely chop. Dry-fry the cumin and coriander seeds for a minute in a hot, non-stick frying pan - just toss them around a bit to stop them from burning. Remove the pan and leave to cool a little. You should really be able to smell the seeds now. Bung all of the ingredients together into a food processor (except the oil) and blitz for about a minute. Then add 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil and mix in well. Chill in the fridge for an hour or two to give the flavours a chance to get to know each other. (You can freeze it at this stage too).

Shopping list for the curry:
1 chicken breast or 2 chicken thighs per person (or of course a good portion of mixed veg or fish per person); 1 block of condensed coconut milk or 1 tin of coconut milk; 1/2 a large shallot per person; 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil.

Method:
Slice the chicken pieces so you get around 8~10 slices per person. If you're using chicken thighs, remove from the bone. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan over a medium to high heat and sear the chicken. Do this in batches if you need to. Add the finely sliced shallot and cook until golden and soft. (If using vegetables in place of chicken, chop them roughly and lightly saute them in the pan now.) Put the chicken back in the pan and add one large tablespoon of the curry paste per 2 people. Dissolve the coconut block in water and add to the pan, or pour in the coconut milk, if using. Bring the pan to a light boil, cover and simmer very gently on a low heat, for around 15 minutes - until the chicken (or veg) is fully cooked through. If you're using fish, add it after the coconut milk and cook for just a few minutes.

Serve with basmati rice or noodles and some stir-fried pak choi.

Paula's Sweetcorn Fritters with Tomato & Harissa Sauce

Paula makes these great Sweetcorn Fritters about once a week. She serves it with a Roasted Tomato & Harissa sauce - it works perfectly.

Shopping list for 4 large fritters:
200g tinned sweetcorn; 75g medium/course polenta; 25g gram (chickpea) flour; 1 organic egg; 25g butter, melted; tsp or 2 of ground cumin; 75ml each of milk & creme friache; salt & pepper; half tsp bicarbonate of soda; generous handful of chopped, fresh coriander; some sunflower oil for frying.

Method:
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, polenta, cumin, coriander and seasonings. Beat the egg. melted butter, milk and creme fraiche together; pout over the dry ingredients and mix well (it should be like a very thick cake mix). Add the sweetcorn and mix well again. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and when hot spoon in the mixture to form 4 large fritters. Fry until golden brown on both sides and serve immediately with the Tomato & Harissa sauce on the side.

Tomato & Harissa Sauce:
Ingredients: 1Kg small plum or cherry tomatoes; olive oil; salt, pepper; a pinch of sugar; 1 tsp harissa.

Method:
Halve the tomatoes and place in a large baking tray - cut side up. Drizzle with the olive oil, a generous sprinkling of course sea salt, a good grinding of pepper and a tsp of sugar (it offsets the acidity of the tomatoes and brings out their natural sweetness). Roast in a pre-heated moderate oven (gas mark 5-6; 180-200 degrees C). When cooked, pour the tomato mixture through a siv over a bowl, using a spoon to mush it down and extract the very last of those gorgeous juices. Discard the remianing dry pulp left in the siv. Add the harissa to the tomato sauce and serve hot with the sweetcorn fritters (or anything else you fancy).

Patricia's Celeriac Gratin

Patricia is one of my co-Directors at Earthy, and she's a great cook - especially talented with veg - as an organic vegetable grower, I suppose she should be! We had a Christmas Preview evening at Earthy and she brought along a trio of veggie dishes (2 of which I've included here) to accompany a massive organic turkey from Whitmuir Organics. Appreciative customers and hungry Earthlings all got stuck in to this fantastic fayre. First up is Patricia's celeriac gratin, which was magic. It's probably the ugliest vegetable on the planet, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in taste.

Shopping list for 6-8 people:
2 medium celeriac; 50g butter; 500ml (1 pint) of Bechemal sauce (I've added a recipe for this below, just in case); a few tablespoons of fresh breadcrumbs.

Method:
Peel the celeriac and slice to around 1/2” thick. Boil for 2-3 minutes in water and drain. Melt the butter in a large frying pan and fry the celeriac for a couple of minutes. Place the celeriac in layers in a baking dish and pour over the bechamel sauce. Finally top with the fresh breadcrumbs and pop into a warm oven for 30-40 minutes until golden and crisp on top.

Bechamel Sauce - Pour 500ml of milk into a saucepan and add one, peeled and halved small onion, one bay leaf and a little grated nutmeg, some salt and white pepper. Warm the milk thoroughly on a low heat (but don’t boil it). Set aside and leave to stand for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Melt 50g butter in another saucepan, take off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of white flour and stir well together. Take the bay leaf and onion out of the warmed milk and discard, then pour the infused milk into the butter/flour mixture. Place back on the heat and gently bring to the boil, stirring or whisking lightly as it heats. The sauce should thicken well. If it’s too runny pour a little out into a mixing bowl, leave to cool a little and add some more flour to form a smooth paste, then add this to back into the bechemal sauce and whisk well. When the sauce is smooth and thick, but still pourable, remove from the heat.

Patricia's Honey Mustard Parsnips

These are better than any parsnips I've ever cooked. Patricia certainly knows her veg!

Shopping list for 6-8 people:
6-8 parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthways - removing the ‘woody’ centres; 2 tablespoons of olive oil; 2 tablespoons of whole grain mustard; 2 tablespoons of clear honey.

Method:
Boil the parsnips in lightly salted water for 5 minutes, then drain. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mustard, honey and some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the parsnips into the bowl and mix thoroughly until well coated, then place into a roasting tray and cook in a pre-heated moderate oven (gas mark 6; 200C) for around 45 minutes, until deliciously tender.

Spicy Vegetarian Bolognese

I tried for ages to come up with a veggie bolognese sauce that tasted just as good (if not better) than my meat one. I finally settled on the one shown below, which I hope all you veggies and carnivores alike will relish. The dried porcini mushrooms are vital for giving it that earthy, depth of flavour - sadly lacking from most vegetarian bolognese sauces I've tasted (and made). The sherry or marsala works well with this also adding to the depth of flavour. The chilli just helps to give it an extra bit of zing.

Shopping list:
2 medium red onions; 2 medium carrots; 3 celery stalks (with leaves); 1kg winter squash or sweet potato; 150g chestnut or flat mushrooms; 50g dried mushrooms - preferably porcini; 1 litre jar of passata (or 2 tins of plum tomatoes); a big squirt of tomato puree; one small glass sherry or marsala (optional); a big pinch of dried oregano; 3 fat cloves of garlic, crushed; 1 hot fresh chilli (optional); salt and black pepper; a big glug of olive oil.

Method:
Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water until plumped up - strain, reserving the liquor. Finely dice all of the vegetables, including the strained, rehydrated mushrooms. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pan - sautee the onions, celery and carrots over a medium heat for 10 minutes until the onions are soft, but not browned. Add the garlic, chilli, dried oregano, squash and mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes. Turn up the heat, then pour in the sherry or marsala and cook until most of it has evaporated, then add the passata or tomatoes, the puree and around half of the mushroom liquor. Stir well together and season with salt and black pepper. Put a lid on the pan, turn down the heat and simmer gently for about an hour until the bolognese is thick and unctuous. You can do this on the hob or in a moderate oven.

Good served with wholewheat spaghetti and grated parmesan, or mixed through cooked penne or fusilli, popped into an oven proof dish, topped with cheese and finished-off in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes. The sauce also freezes well.