Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 34

After a few days of not feeling too good and being generally lazy when it came to the evening meal I felt the need to snap out of it and make more effort, so to this end I cooked Duck Breast with a Rich Tomato, Jalapeno & Green Olive Sauce from Wahaca (Thomasina Miers). I love duck but haven’t had any for a while and the thought of making it in a Mexican style sounded very appealing. The dish was really easy to make, the sauce just needed to simmer, with the duck being cooked at the last minute, and served with plain boiled rice it really could not have been simpler. The duck could have done with slightly less cooking, because although it was still moist and by no means tough it was just not as pink as I’d have liked it – a note for next time I think. The sauce had a lovely spicy hit from the jalapenos and worked beautifully with the duck, I think to make it a lighter dish I might serve it with something other than rice, but it certainly worked well as a more substantial meal.

The mighty aubergine made a comeback this week with my next recipe taken from BBC Good Food Magazine, for our Sunday meal I cooked Baked Aubergines with Cannellini Beans. Just the thing having walked 15km the day before (accidentally I might add, there may have been a wrong turn somewhere…and some scary cows!), this dish basically looked after itself in the oven leaving me to rest my weary legs – they’re only little so it doesn’t take much! I did take a couple of liberties with the recipe in that I added some crushed chilli flakes to the sauce (naturally), and then when I was ready to serve I scattered some rocket liberally over the top, a dash of green really perked the whole thing up. The aubergines were wonderfully soft, and slightly crispy on top from the layer of parmesan, the beans added a lovely texture and the added kick to the sauce really gave the whole thing a nice lift – I figured the dish was substantial enough so didn’t feel the need for any accompaniments, aside from the rocket garnish that is! 

Feeling invigorated from a healthy weekend I wanted to continue feeling virtuous and so returned from work on Monday to cook Thai Trout with Red Pepper Noodles from Fast, Fresh & Easy Food (Lorraine Pascale). Cooked en papillote it meant that all I had to do was chop the veg and place it along with the trout, and various seasonings, in some little foil parcels ready for the oven later on. The noodles were cooked quickly just before serving and only involved frying some red pepper, adding the pre-cooked noodles and heating through with some soy sauce. This was incredibly tasty, the flavours of ginger, soy, chilli and trout had infused beautifully in the parcels and the aromas alone were absolutely delicious. Hubby was especially pleased with this dish, and even more so when he did his Masterchef ‘palette test’ and managed to identify all the ingredients – next time I’ll just have to make it harder! 

 

Next up was the obligatory weekly pasta dish and this week I chose Penne with Chorizo & Broccoli from BBC Good Food Magazine. I have to admit that I did mess around with the method a bit though, I prefer to cook the broccoli for the same time as the pasta instead of adding it for just a few minutes at the end, I like it when it breaks down into the sauce and is completely cooked – especially in this dish when you have the chorizo for extra texture. I also added the cream cheese to the chorizo before I added the pasta as I find that it breaks down a bit quicker and creates a sauce which coats the pasta more easily. Next time I’m not sure I would add the fennel seeds as I’m not sure they added anything useful to the dish, but aside from that (and my minor modifications) it was a lovely recipe and made good use of the chorizo I had in the freezer.

My final new recipe of the week was Elderflower Cordial Cake from The Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook, and was in honour of my friend’s birthday – she had previously admired the recipe in the book so when I decided to make a cake I knew it would be that one. This was a work in several stages as I made the sponge one night after work and then the following night I made the buttercream and the white chocolate ganache; which I had to leave to thicken and was subsequently slathering over the cake at ten-thirty that same night. My next challenge was to get it into the office the next day without destroying all my hard work, so for any cars following me on Thursday morning I’m very sorry but I had precious cargo (I’d like a ‘Cake on Board’ sticker for my car so that people know why I’m taking my time!). Fortunately it arrived in one piece so all I had to do was add a candle and leave it on the birthday girl’s desk. As she consumed three slices before the designated tea-break I’d say it was a success, and I believe a small piece may have made it home for her hubby to try.

Recipe Count: 112
New Target: 156