A Rich Cabinet

I love chicken livers. It’s absurdly cheap, because it’s so un-trendy. (Like offal, generally. Fools.) It’s strange, in a way, because it’s got a lot going for it: very tasty and very simple and quick to cook.

A proper bolognese should really have chicken livers, of course. Or you can make paté (which I’ve never tried making). Basically, most recipes involve sautéing them so they are brown and crispy outside but still pink on the inside - this only takes a few minutes. (I usually cut them in half to make single-bite-size morsels.) You can roll them in flour, and if you want just mix a little cayenne pepper or paprika into the flour, before sautéing them. Then just decide what to serve them with. Most often I have them with a rich spicy tomato sauce (flavoured with paprika and chilli or hot pepper sauce, that kind of thing) and couscous (or rice). It just works somehow. Or rice and vegetables (pilaf-style) perhaps.

And I’ve just come across a recipe for warm chicken liver salad that I’m just going to have to try. I don’t have perry vinegar, but I do have cider vinegar for the dressing instead.

I have a duck leg from the freezer, which I’ll simply roast in the oven (first 35 minutes or so wrapped in foil, then open to crisp up the the skin). Probably roast some vegetables at the same time to go with it. And I have some local (”Air Miles = 0″!) green beans.

But I want a tasty sauce too. I very much like the sound of this sweet and sour apricot sauce, which I can make pretty much from the store cupboard. Except that I don’t have an orange, though I could try lemon zest instead.

I got a packet of smoked trout trimmings - a lot cheaper than buying neatly packaged fillets, but exactly the same part of the fish, and you can use them in any recipes that involve flaking or chopping up the fish (quite a lot of them…). Look also for smoked salmon recipes; they’re pretty similar in flavour and texture. (And the same cardinal rule as smoked salmon: be very careful not to overcook it.)

I already made part of it into a Sunday brunch with scrambled eggs on toast. Yummy.

This smoked trout and potato salad is pretty simple. (I don’t have any horseradish, but I think it’ll be OK without…). Or a variation on the same theme.

Alternatively, I could get some creme fraiche and make a creamy pasta sauce, probably throw in courgette and red pepper and stir in the flaked trout at the last minute. (If I’m feeling enthusiastic, I could add eggs and make carbonara. But I probably won’t be.)

Dammit, you virtually have a meal. Especially if you’ve got some cream or milk as well.

I love potato gratins and bakes. (I love almost everything that involves potato, but let’s focus here.)

Take your waxy potatoes, slice them fairly thinly (about 1/4″) and boil them for a few minutes until cooked (but still firm - you don’t want them overcooked). Then you can layer them in a ovenproof dish of some kind, with plenty of grated cheese (cheddar is good, or similar types of hard cheese) between the layers. That could quite easily be it, especially as a side dish. Just spread a bit more grated cheese on top, put it in a hot oven or under a grill for perhaps ten minutes. Yum.

But even better, you could pour cream (or creme fraiche diluted to pouring consistency with water or milk) or even just milk over the potato/cheese layers and cook it for slightly longer at about 200C till it’s bubbling all the way through and golden brown on top (the liquid should only come about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way up the layers so you get a crispy top layer) . If you have excess liquid, mop it up with some bread.

Then you could layer the potato and cheese with other things to make a more substantial meal - finely sliced mushroom is very good; sliced leeks that you blanched with the potatoes; flaked tinned fish; diced ham. You can slice tomatoes and put them on top too. (Tomatoes, cheese and potatoes is another of those heavenly combinations.)

All very simple and satisfying.

Couple of recipe choices:

BBC
Times

I’ve got a couple of pork steaks, more than I need for one meal, so I’ll set aside some of the meat to put in a mixed veg stirfry with noodles tomorrow night. (Like this.)

That is to say, venison curry. From Sophie Grigson’s Meat Course (out of print, I think. I noted down some of my favourites from a friend’s copy, which means I didn’t bother to get metric measures).

It’s one of those cookery books that tends to do things in large quantities, so be prepared to scale it down.

For 6
2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
3 lb tender venison steak cut into 1″ cubes (you know, half a pound of meat per person seems a lot of meat to me these days: I’d only want about half that much, and I’d do more onion and add some red pepper or some other veg)
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2″ piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp mild curry powder
5 curry leaves (if available)
2 sprigs of thyme (I just use a pinch of dried)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
12 oz tomatoes, skinned, seeded, roughly chopped (I generally use tinned; but if I do use fresh, I don’t bother with skinning or de-seeding them)
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
salt & pepper

Heat oil in a wok over a high heat. Brown the venison in small batches and set aside.

Saute onions in the same oil till golden brown. Add garlic and ginger, sprinkle over the curry powder, stir and fry for 3 minutes.

Add the curry leaves, thyme, parsley, tomatoes, salt & pepper, continue cooking for a couple of minutes.

Add 5 fl oz water, bring to the boil. Return the meat to the pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the meat is just cooked.

Adjust the seasoning and serve sprinkled with the coriander.

(A wok isn’t essential. A saucepan or casserole pot will do fine.)

……

Or if I want something simpler with my venison steak, I just fry it, put it to one side and then make a quick creamy sauce in the same pan, which has the added bonus of not wasting any of the juices and flavour: deglaze with some red wine, add some water and probably a little soy sauce or stock concentrate (but taste first and see whether it really needs extra flavouring), and and make it creamy with a dollop of creme fraiche or cream (it’s best to take the pan off the heat for a few seconds while you stir in the creme fraiche, in case it curdles, and then cook it just enough to heat it through). It only takes a couple of minutes to cook, and it works well for any kind of quick-cooking steaks or chops. And it goes well with very simple boiled new potatoes and mixed veg.

If you have a local farmers market, do go and give it your support.

Ours, which is held twice a month in the summer months, is small but extremely good. Or at least, it is for meat-eaters. The point of a farmers market is to represent local farmers and producers - and so, if the farming in the area is mostly animal husbandry (there isn’t much you can grow on Welsh hills apart from sheep and cattle), then that’s what you’re going to get. And cheese. But we do have a truly wonderful bread and pastries stall.

It’s not just about buying delicious food at surprisingly good prices (let’s put it this way: of course you can buy cheaper food in supermarkets, but if you go into a supermarket and look for the same quality that you get at a farmers market stall it’ll be in the “premium” ranges - if it has such a thing at all - and it’ll cost you a lot more). It’s also about getting to know the people, and being able to have confidence in where your food came from and how it was produced (especially with meat).

In any case, I prefer buying my food in small shops where I can get to know the people - where it’s as much about social interaction as consumption - and I’m lucky enough to live in a small town where that’s possible, and without requiring a stratospheric salary. (As my income has risen, it should be said, the frequency of trips to the supermarket has gone down. It does have a few particular things that I like and can’t get elsewhere. But even when I was a student I shopped there as little as possible. Especially for fruit and veg. I just hate that homogenous-glossy-overpackaged effect.)

I have bought, amongst other things today, a venison steak. This doesn’t really require a “recipe” (er, “put in pan or under grill and cook until done to your taste”), unless I decide to make Sophie Grigson’s delicious venison curry. Mmm. Will think about that.