Devilled Kidneys for Supper

I write, copy and redact recipes all day every day. I do this for my books and for my main website, Celtnet Recipes. For this blog, however, I try and present some of the recipes that I actually cook every day.

Sometimes they are elaborate, sometimes they are unusual or exotic. But sometimes, just sometimes they are new twists on old classics.

For the Victorians, devilled kidneys were often served for breakfast. Here I have put a new twist on them and I'm preparing devilled kidneys with shredded cabbage on toast for supper. Accompanied by purple sprouting broccoli, which is in season now.


Devilled Kidneys with Shredded Cabbage on Toast

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
500g pig or veal kidneys
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
Tabasco sauce, to taste
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
4 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp red wine
200g white cabbage, finely shredded
1 thin ciabatta loaf, sliced lengthways

Method:
Slice the kidneys into rings and core them. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and when hot add the onions. Fry for 4 mintes, or until soft then add the garlic and the kidney pieces. Fry for a couple of minutes, until the kidneys are coloured then scatter over the curry powder and black pepper.

Stir to combine then add the soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, Balsamic vinegar and red wine. Add a few shakes of Tabasco sauce (or to taste). Brig to a simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage (and a little water if the sauce looks too thick).

Cover and cook for about 6 minutes more, or until the cabbage is cooked through but still crisp.

In the meantime slice the ciabatta loaf in half lengthways. Toast the bread until nicely browned then slice into squares.

Arrange the squares of bread on a warmed serving plate and spoon over the kidney mixture. I like this accompanied by steamed purple sprouting broccoli and a glass of robust red wine.

This serves two.

It may be simple and old-fashioned, but this is one of my favourite 'winter warmers'.

For all the curry recipes on this blog, see the curry history and curry recipes page.

Find more British recipes on the Recipes from the British Isles page of this blog.

Restaurant-style Lamb Korma Recipe

Restaurant-style Lamb Korma


Ingredients:
500g lamb meat (preferably from the leg), cubed
250ml basic curry sauce
100ml vegetable oil
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
2 bayleaves
1/2 medium onion, finely sliced
salt, to taste
2 tsp korma curry powder
125ml warm water
80ml coconut cream
4 tsp granulated sugar
150ml single cream
2 tbsp ghee
cream, to garnish
fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

Method:
Heat a little oil in a wok and use to fry the lamb pieces until nicely browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the remaining oil in a wok and when hot, add the cardamom pods and bayleaves and fry gently for 1 minute. Now add the onions and stir-fry for about 4 minutes, or until soft and translucent, but not coloured. Season to taste with salt then add the curry powder and fry, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes before adding the curry sauce.

Bring to a simmer then add the lamb pieces and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now reduce to a simmer, cover and cook gently, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the lamb pieces are very tender.

At this point stir in the coconut cream along with the sugar and cream. Bring the mixture just to a boil (do not allow to boil for any time or it may split), reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally (add more water if the gravy looks too thick). Finally add the ghee and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low, cover and allow the curry to rest for 10 minutes.

To serve, turn the curry into a warmed serving dish. Pour over a little cream, garnish with coriander leaves and bring to the table.

For a large collection of curry restaurant dishes on this site, see the: Celtnet Restaurant-style Curries page.

For even more restaurant curries, and curries of all kinds (from traditional curries of the Indian sub-Continent to curries from Asia, the Caribbean and Africa as well as British curries) why not but my Big Book of Curries eBook, sold via Amazon (use the link on the left). Sales of this eBook go towards helping keep this blog and the Celtnet Recipes site on the web.

This is a proper eBook with over 700 recipes in it, along with the history of curries around the world. If you are interested in curries then I recommend that you check the eBook out (and its cheap!)

For even more curry recipes, why not check out the Celtnet Curry Recipes collection page where you will find thousands of curry recipes from all over the globe.

For all the curry recipes on this blog, see the curry history and curry recipes page.

Crowberry and Ginger Smoothie

Today's recipe is for a classic smoothie from Iceland that uses the island's native berry, the crowberry. Crowberries are a member of the heather family that produce dark, blue-black berries similar to miniature blueberries.

They are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and are common wherever there is marshy peatland. Though often described as insipid in flavour and watery they are enjoyed in Iceland and are commonly used in Alaska. In the UK they are more typically used to bulk-out other wild berries that grow with them, such as bilberries or cowberries.

The recipe is for a simple and healthy smoothie. If you do not have crowberries, you can substitute blueberries in this recipe:

Crowberry and Ginger Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

100ml orange juice (fresh if possible
1 very ripe banana, peeled
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
1 tsp freshly-grated ginger
2 generous handfuls of crowberries, stems removed
2 ice cubes

Method:

Combine the banana, orange juice and maple syrup in a blender. Process for about 10 seconds, or until smooth.

Now add the grated ginger and the crowberries. Blitz for 5 seconds then turn the blender off and allow the smoothie mix to rest for 10 minutes.

Blitz again briefly, pour into a tall glass, add the ice cubes and serve.

For more information about crowberries and for more crowberry recipes see the Celtnet Crowberry information and recipes page.

It is just coming to the end of the crowberry flowering season right now. However, the plants keep their berries almost all winter, so you should find no problems finding this fruit (as long as it grows in your area) even now.

For all the wild food recipes on this blog, see the wild food recipes page.

Roman-style Sea Aster Recipe

Sea Aster (Aster tripolium) is one of the wild foods of the moment in the UK, thanks partly to patronage by celebrity chefs and partly due to Waitrose stocking it on its shelves.

It is a pretty flower that grows in coastal areas or places where there is plenty of salt in the environment. The leaves are fleshy and have an unusual sweet and salty flavour. They can be eaten both fresh and cooked. Personally, I like them slightly wilted. They can be added to any recipe where you would normally use spinach.

In the recipe below I have substituted Sea Aster for spinach in a classic recipe from Rome, Italy.

Roman-style Sea Aster

Ingredients:

1.3kg sea aster leaves, washed and trimmed
3 tbsp olive oil
100g pignoli (pine nuts)
1 garlic clove, mashed
2 tsp lemon juice
black pepper, to taste

Method:
Cut any large sea aster leaves into pieces then heat the oil in a large, deep, frying pan or wok. Add the pine nuts and cook until golden then add the spinach, garlic, lemon juice and black pepper to taste. Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes or until the spinach is barely tender. Serve immediately with pasta or gnocci (roast potato gnocci are excellent).

For more information about Sea Aster and to see more sea aster based recipe, please visit the Celtnet Wild Food information page for Sea Aster, Aster tripolium.

For all the wild food recipes on this blog, see the wild food recipes page.

Rugosa Rose Hips as Wild Food

As autumn is pretty much here, this article is the first in an occasional series dealing with autumn fruits and fungi as they become available. This article deals with the first of the autumn fruit, the Rugosa rose hip.

The Rugosa Rose, Rosa rugosa (also known as the Japanese Rose, Ramanas Rose, Beach Tomato, Sea Tomato, Saltspray Rose and Beach Rose) is a deciduous shrubby rose species originally native to eastern Asia, (particularly northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia), where it grows on the coast, often on sand dunes. Due to its tolerance for salty conditions and its ability to stabilize sand dunes it has been transported and introduced worldwide.

This hardy rose species has been introduced to many British coastal and city areas. Though much larger and robust in all aspects than the native British Dog Rose (Rosa canina) the rugosa rose's hips and flower petals are edible and can be prepared in the same way as dog rose petals and hips.

However, the much larger hips of the rugosa rose are much softer than those of the dog rose. They are in peak condition right now, when the dog rose hips are not quite completely ripe yet. So, this weekend, if you have rugosa rose bushes near you why not go out to pick rose hips.

You can find suggestions for recipes for them on the Celtnet Rugosa rose information and recipes page. You can also substitute them for the recipes on the Celtnet Dog Rose Information and Recipes page.

All rose hips are very high in Vitamin C and they were collected to make cordials during the Second World War.

But to get you started, here is a new recipe for a Rose Hip Leather:

Rugosa Rose Hip Leather Recipe

Fruit leathers are an excellent way of preserving certain fruit for later use in the year. Leathers are dissolved to make drinks in the Middle East and are also used as the basis for fruit desserts or they can be eaten as sweets (candies), making them much more versatile than you think. This recipe is for a classic recipe using rose hips that preserves the fruit's vitamin C content in the leather.

Ingredients:

1l rugosa rose hips, picked when ripe

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

Pick clean rugosa rose hips that are very ripe (just beginning to soften). Trim the stem and blossom ends of the fruit then place in a pan along with just enough cold water to barely cover. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for between 10 and 15 minutes.

Take off the heat and press through a fine-meshed sieve. Turn anything left in the sieve back into your pan, add cold water to barely cover then bring to a boil (this will extract any fruit flesh still left). Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes then press through the sieve once again. Repeat the cooking process one more time then discard anything left in the sieve (you will only have seeds and skins left.

Combine the honey and lemon juice with the fruit puree. Now line a baking tray with heat-proof clingfilm (the kind you can microwave). Note that an average baking tray (about 30cm x 42cm) will hold about 500ml of purée.

Add the purée to the covered baking tray, spread evenly with a spatula (you want a depth of about 4mm) then place in an oven pre-heated to 140°C. Place the baking tray in the oven but leave the door ajar (you want the steam to escape, as you are drying the leather) and cook for about 6 hours, or until the fruit leather is very dry. The exact drying time will depend on the sugar levels, the more sugar the longer it will take to dry.

The leather must be completely dry, or it will not keep. To ensure the leather is dry simply try to pull it away from the clingfilm (plastic wrap). If it comes away easily and holds its shape then it is dry (make sure its not too dry though, as then it will crumble bit it can still be eaten as a candy).

To store, cover the fruit leather in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and roll loosely. Place in a clean, dry container and seal (I typically use a pasta jar with a bung). It will keep in the store cupboard for between 4 and 12 months or you can refrigerate and keep even longer.

For all the wild food recipes on this blog, see the wild food recipes page.

Find more British recipes on the Recipes from the British Isles page of this blog.

Common Mallow Cheese Recipe

I know that autumn is here when the flowers have all fallen from the common mallow plants and the fruit, called 'cheeses' are still green and edible. These can be eaten raw and taste quite bland but mildly nutty. They can also be cooked and can be used instead of peas in just about any recipe.


Fowl Sauté with Common Mallow Cheese

Ingredients:
left-over cold roast fowl (chicken, turkey, goose etc)
250g mallow cheeses
300ml weak stock
60g butter
1/2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp caster sugar
salt, freshly-ground black pepper and ground mace, to taste

Miscellaneous:
Strip the meat from the fowl and cut into pieces then sprinkle with the salt, black pepper and mace. Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the seasoned fowl meat and fry until well browned. Scatter the flour over the top and stir in to form a smooth roux.

Slowly add the stock, stirring constantly to form a smooth sauce. Now add the peas, bring to a simmer and cook gently for about 20 minutes, or until the peas are tender. Add the sugar and take off the heat.

To serve, arrange the meat around the sides of the dish and the peas in a mound in the centre. As an alternate, you can substitute button mushrooms for the peas.

Find more Mrs Beeton Recipes Here and more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here.


This recipe is adapted from Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861 for Fowl Sauté with Peas.

For more Common Mallow recipes see the Celtnet Common Mallow Information and Recipes page.

For all the wild food recipes on this blog, see the wild food recipes page.

Find more British recipes on the Recipes from the British Isles page of this blog.

Vegan Chocolate and Parsnip Muffins

It surprises many people, but grated parsnips can be used in cakes, just like grated carrots or grated (but cooked) beetroot. Parsnips are particularly suitable because they have a subtle but sweet flavour.

Here is a classic recipe for a vegan muffin that uses grated parsnips in the mix.



Vegan Chocolate and Parsnip Muffins

Ingredients:
180g plain flour
35g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 whole, ripe, banana, mashed
100g Muscovado sugar
100ml unsweeteled apple sauce (or stewed mango)
60ml almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g finely-grated parsnips
4 tbsp finely-chopped walnuts

Method:
Line your muffin tin with paper and lightly spray the inside with oil.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground cinnamon.

Mash the bananas in a separate bowl then cream together with the apple sauce and the sugar. Add in the milk and beat to combine then mix in the vanilla extract, grated parsnips and nuts. Stir until thoroughly combined then add the flour mix to the wet ingredient mix in three or four batches.

Stir until just combined then spoon the batter into the greased muffin cups (fill each well no more than 3/4 full). Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170ºC and bake for between 18 and 25 minutes, or until the top is springy and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the muffin emerges cleanly.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

You can find many more recipes for muffins of all kinds on the Celtnet Muffin Information and Recipes page.

Find more British recipes on the Recipes from the British Isles page of this blog.