Alex's Tips - Recipe tips
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Q. I have some whole chestnuts. Can you recommend a tasty easy vegetarien recipe?
A. There are two good vegetarian recipes using chestnuts on this page of our website. http://www.merchant-gourmet.com/recipes/product/23/
For something lighter in summer, the whole chestnuts go well, sliced and lightly fried or grilled, on top of salads, in the same way as you might use a crouton. I find they combine well with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. Try a roasted pepper, goats cheese and crisp chestnut salad, with or without salad leaves. Or slice some beef steak tomatoes thinly then scatter cubes of mozzarella, cucumber and SunBlush tomatoes then scatter the crisp chestnuts over the top for a lovely mixture of textures. You can try similar salad combinations with roast aubergines, sweet potatoes, squash and courgettes. You can also use these combinations for pasta dishes, in this case some of the chestnuts can be added to the roast vegetables whole and others sliced and scattered over the top for a delicately sweet crunch.
I hope this gets you started!
Q. Do you have a good recipe for Paris Brest?
A. I hope you are well, I love Paris Brest too, but I don’t know that I have ever made a ‘true’ one. I’ve found a recipe for you from Eric Lanlard who is an outstanding Pastry Chef I worked with a few times for Great Food Live on UKTV - http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/513043. His is a real French, no holds barred number.
However, I do a cheats version of the cream, a 50/50 mixture of mascarpone and cream, whipped, mixed with toasted hazelnuts and sweetened with dulce de leche. You can also sweeten it with icing sugar and flavour it with vanilla seeds if you prefer.
Q. How can I cool a home made curry down if it's too hot?
A. The quickest way there and then if you’ve made a curry too spicy is to serve with plenty of yogurt, cucumber and mint, or for a nice change try adding fresh apple or mango to this mixture, that’ll all help cool your mouth down but obviously won’t take the heat out of the actual curry.
I have been making curry with the pre-cooked beluga lentils, you could stir a bag of these in, plenty of plain boiled rice on the side also helps.
Another way, which will help to dilute the flavour a bit is to add some coconut milk, stock or cream depending on the type of curry you are making.
The ideal solution if you have a bit more time, is to make another batch of the curry sauce without any hot spices at all and then add it to the original.
Q. What is the best vegetarian sandwich out there?
A. Foccacia with Ricotta and SunBlush Ratatouille. Cut a Foccacia in half through the centre, mix ricotta with basil and black pepper, spread across the bottom half of the foccacia, mix ratatouille with SunBlush tomatoes and pop on top of the ricotta, top with foccacia and devour standing up. You can make a no-cook version of this with the ricotta, SunBlush tomatoes and piquillo peppers. It is also very good in a baguette or in a wrap. If you’re eating it at home rather than taking it out, warm gently in the oven for 3-4 minutes.
Q. Any tips to make my lunchtime soup more satisfying?
A. Puy Lentils are an excellent addition that will add elegant body and taste to all soups from a light vegetable broth to creamy soups of butternut squash or pumpkin. They are also outstanding with tomato and rosemary and make a robust meal in a winter soup with chorizo and onion.
Q. I’m looking to do something different with my salads – any suggestions?
A. Lentils make a delicious and filling salad, to which you can add anything from roasted peppers to grilled chicken to tinned tuna. Camargue Red Rice is also a lively little beauty to treat the same way. In both cases, the key is to dress them while they are still hot, this way they’ll soak up the dressing and seasonings. For an original replacement for croutons, slice and grill cooked chestnuts then toss them through green salads.
Q. I want to cook a lower fat version of my favourite meal - a cooked breakfast. Any tips?
A. Very simply, grill the bacon, tomato and mushrooms and poach your egg. You can also do a fun version by baking whole field mushrooms stuffed with Mi-Cuit Tomatoes, top with grilled bacon and poached egg, then put a second mushroom on top to make a bread free breakfast burger.
