Garlic Prawns [#129]

As I didn't use the garlic and lemon butter to top the grilled chicken on Sunday, I thought I'd deploy it in Nigel's simple recipe for Garlic Prawns. I didn't use fresh-in-shell prawns, as you really can't get good examples in Oxford. I think you are better off with defrosted frozen prawns from a good supplier - in this case, Waitrose's frozen raw tiger prawns. After defrosting overnight in the fridge, and de-veining them, they were dried thoroughly and thrown into a stonkingly-hot wok with the garlic and lemon butter, along with a big handful of roughly chopped parsley. After only about 90 seconds of vigorous stirfrying, the prawns were pink and still succulent. Served simply with crusty white bread to mop up the buttery herby juices, along with more lemon, they were delicious, and followed a simple broth of good chicken stock with green beans, courgettes, carrot and fresh home-made pesto. Followed by blueberries and peaches, this was a scrummy supper. We are pigs, but there you go.

Orange Yoghurt Water Ice [#128]

I should have started this sooner! I was hoping that my ice-cream maker would do its duty, but it was pathetic today - it is only one of those ones you freeze overnight, and it didn't have enough welly for either the quantity or the texture for this ice (not at all creamy - a sorbet really with a bit of yoghurt). We had to resort to a plastic box in the freezer, and were only able to scrape together a few scoops from around the edges tonight - my fault, and it will be fully frozen tomorrow. We served it, as Nigel suggests, with slices of fresh peach and also some luscious ripe cherries from Kent. The ice was tart and refreshing - I expect it would be totally marvellous on a blisteringly hot July day, but it is rainy, windy and chilly outside - well, we can dream!

Grilled Chicken with Garlic and Lemon Butter [#127]

Despite the title, Nigel uses Poussin in his recipe. I took the title literally and used a big free-range chicken, which I spatchcocked (ignoring the fact that the bird looked faintly pornographic in this position) and marinated it in lemon, garlic and chilli. I then grilled it long and slow although the legs could have done with a wee while longer. However, I just couldn't bring myself to daub the chicken before eating with the garlic and lemon butter! Daft I know, but the chicken was perfectly succulent in its own right, and it seemed an unnecessary addition of fat to the meal. So, I have frozen the butter and will use it to saute some sole or plaice another time with fresh parsley.

Bream with Lemon and Anchovy Potatoes [#126]

Yum, yum, in my tum, as we used to say when little! As always, this recipe depends for success on really fresh fish, and Hayman's in Oxford's Covered Market came up trumps again, with beautiful gilt head bream. They are roasted whole with oregano and a little olive oil, and served with potatoes roast/simmered in stock with anchovy and lemon. The fish emerged after 20 minutes with lovely crisp skin and succulent flesh. Served with new season's green beans from Medley Manor Farm PYO in Binsey (the potatoes were from there too), this was just a perfect Friday night supper with a bottle of chilled white. Thanks Nigel.

Cannellini Beans with Coppa, Spinach and Mustard [#125]

As usual, I took some liberties with this recipe. No coppa as I don't really like it - too fatty - so used some delicious roast gammon leftover from earlier in the week. Also, I used tinned cannellini beans 'cos life is just too short to soak and boil! Also, I just couldn't bring myself to use a whole TABLESPOON of Dijon mustard in a dressing for two people, so it was cut down to 1 teaspoon - perfectly nice with that, thank you. So, a nice easy salad, with great local spinach from the pick-your-own. We accompanied this with some delicious courgette and feta fritters, just because we are greedy and wanted something hot too. Well-seasoned with chilli, garlic, shallot, mint and coriander, we have loads left over for lunch tomorrow, including some for my mate Dibbles, whose magnificent courgette was used for the fritters.

Roast Tomato Soup with Basil and Olive Oil Toasts [#124]

Lovely smoky soup with a good aniseedy basil hit. The thin olive oil toasts were a lovely textural counterpoint. We ate this hot rather than cold, as the weather wasn't really suitable for chilled soup, but I imagine it would be lovely iced on a hot day.....should we ever get another one! I upped the quantity of red pepper in this, mainly because I had extra in the house, and also, I just love the flavour of roasted red pepper, especially in a soup. I also added onion, because I couldn't think of a soup without it.

Peach and Blueberry Soured Cream Cobbler [#123]

There was slight trepidation about making this dish, as I was taking it for lunch with two American friends from the South - peach and blueberry cobbler is part of their DNA! It went down very well, being declared authentic in both looks and taste, which is praise indeed. One thing - Nigel suggests taking walnut-sized pieces of dough in your hand and flattening it then laying on the fruit filling. My dough was way too soft and sticky to do that (which is how it SHOULD be), so ignore this instruction and dollop big spoonfuls over instead. I also made a cherry clafoutis (not Nigel's) with the wonderful English cherries in season at the moment, so the five of us had a very piggy ending to a wonderful meal cooked by our lovely friend Jonathan - thanks for a great day guys! We didn't take any pics - sorry - but this one off the web is pretty much like it! photo courtesy of cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com

Grilled Monkfish with Rosemary, served with Garlic Mayo [#122]

It's been a busy and tiring week so far, with a funeral this afternoon, so we dropped off at Waitrose for a huge piece of monkfish tail on the way home, which would be quick and easy to cook. Cut into meaty chunks and marinated in chopped rosemary, anchovy, garlic and lemon, I was anticipating a speedy supper. About three hours and one bowl of garlic mayonnaise later, I was ready, finally, to cook the fish, even though my arm is ready to drop off! However, this recipe is worth it: lovely succulent fish and the most amazingly delicious mayo I have ever eaten! Accompanied by crisp sauteed potatoes that were dunked into the mayo, and finely shredded English runner beans - the first of the season - we dined like royalty - albeit very late! More mayo left over so we'll saute some more potatoes tomorrow and make a meal of dunking the crisp, salty wedges into the garlicky buttercup yellow lusciousness.

photos courtesy of thekitchensupperdiaries.blogspot.com/

Lamb Chops with Oregano and Tsatziki [#121]

Marks and Sparks had the most beautiful chops from Welsh Salt Marsh lamb, which were perfect for this recipe, and they cooked to delicious sizzling perfection under the grill. Served with tsatziki made with Total Greek yoghurt, and pick-your-own potatoes, spinach and broad beans, it all made for a very good Sunday evening meal, washed down with a glass of herbal, rich Cab Sauv from Australia's Margaret River region.

Roast Tomatoes with Anchovy and Basil [#120]

While not exactly a total convert to the rather overtly fishy delights of the anchovy, Nigel has at least made me happy to prepare dishes with them in. I do, however, drastically cut down the quantity he uses. Simple dish again, and a juicy accompaniment to the chicken couscous. Roasted tomatoes, with a dressing of chopped anchovy, olive oil and chopped basil.

Phew! After a week of no Nigel, I have him three times in one night (go on, you KNOW what I mean!)

Grilled Zucchini with Basil and Lemon [#119]

Yum. Local courgettes from the pick-your-own, bursting with freshness. Sliced lengthways then chargrilled on the griddle pan. Then left to steep in lemon zest and juice, a little EVOO and shredded basil. The warm veg absorbs the dressing making for a really delicious, juicy side dish.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Couscous [#118]

Please PLEASE do not follow Nigel's suggested ratio of stock to dry couscous, or else you will end up with a clarty porridge instead of nice separate grains. He suggests half a litre of stock to 150g couscous - I suggest more like a quarter of a litre. In fact, I always measure couscous and liquid by equal volume, rather than weight.

There. I have that off my chest! Otherwise, nice tasty recipe, excellent flavouring from preserved lemon (which I'd never used before. Wonder why?), aubergine, mint and coriander. I used the remains of a roast chicken from last night, which I kept in big chunks and quickly heated on the griddle pan. Served with two more Nigel recipes as sides: courgettes with lemon and basil, and roast tomatoes with anchovy and basil. A nice Med vibe to the meal. Good to get back to Nigel after a very busy week's absence.

Baked Tomatoes with Garlic, Rosemary and Parmesan [#117]

The recipe title in the book is A Lunch of Baked Tomatoes, but we had these as a side dish with baked Porkinson's Sage and Onion Sausages, (simply the best quality supermarket sausage there is) oven-sauteed anya potatoes and broad beans. I would not normally think of using rosemary with tomatoes - basil, of course, thyme, yes, and tarragon is great too - but the finely chopped fresh rosemary worked really well. The grated parmesan is added at the end of baking, so it melts and toasts into a savoury crust with the garlic and rosemary. Very nice! I am afraid there isn't an online recipe, but I'm sure you get the picture from the description and - well - the picture!

Warm Summer Fruit Compote [#116]

Nigel's recipe calls for a warm compote of redcurrants and loganberries. Well, there ain't no loganberries to be found this side of Borough Market! So, we made this with red and blackcurrants, and some wonderful early season blackberries, all picked from our favourite Medley Manor Farm in Binsey, Oxford. Lovely with some cool Greek Yoghurt (Total.....of course!) and the rest will make a Summer Pudding for Sunday.

Clams with Ham and Sherry [#115]

Such a treat, with lovely clams from Hayman's fishmongers in the covered market. The clams are cooked over a high heat with chopped Parma or Serrano ham, chopped garlic, masses of chopped parsley and some dry sherry, and then I used them and their lovely juices as a sauce to dress linguine. We gobbled this deliciousness down with a beautiful bottle of Chapel Down English Rose from Marks and Sparks. Thanks Nigel, great recipe.

Mushroom Lasagne with Basil and Cream [#114]

Lighter than it sounds, with a lovely freshness coming from fresh pesto. We baked the lasagne and then let it settle for 15 minutes, when it reached a nice temperature for eating on a hot summer's evening. I'm sure we'll make this again.