the Picture Kitchen @thepicturekitchen - Tumblr Blog

(via New props, new lens new Lightroom!)

(via White Garlic Soup (Tourin blanchi à l'ail))

Breakfast today - a short stack of pancakes made with a mashed banana, two eggs and a little buckwheat flour with some blueberries stirred in. Delicious with honey drizzled over and a good dollop of natural yoghurt!

marielouiseavery

Lunch (and supper last night). Local gluten free sausages cooked with the vegetables I had to hand, potatoes, parsnip, celery, onions and garlic, with bay leaf, mace, peppercorns, Marigold stock powder, and fresh thyme. All put in a pot together and simmered for a scant half hour. Lovely.

A January King cabbage in February.

Farmers' market celeriac

Terrine de Campagne - my simple French style country paté

Sadly it is almost impossible to find a paté to buy that is free of wheat or maltodextrin, so I can only enjoy one of my favourite treats if I make it myself. Fortunately it is not much effort if you have a strong food processor and the result is so much nicer and cheaper than a shop bought pate that it is a double bonus. This recipe is particularly quick and easy and very adaptable to your own preferences.

Terrine de Campagne

800 g belly pork slices

450 g pigs liver

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp brandy

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp dried herbs - rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley

or a small handful fresh herbs chopped

2 bay leaves

8 rashers of streaky bacon

Heat the oven to 180℃. Line an earthenware terrine with bacon rashers, Peel and chop onions and garlic pulse briefly in food processor. Add the liver, the brandy, herbs, spices and seasonings, and then add the roughly chopped pork in batches, processing in between batches so that the later additions are less finely chopped than the first. It shouldn't be reduced to a puree. Turn this mixture into the bacon lined dish and arrange the bay leaves on top. Place in a bain-marie and cook in the oven for 30 mins. Then lay a sheet of foil on top, reduce the heat to 150℃ and cook for a further 1½ hours approximately Test with a metal skewer plunged into the centre if it comes out hot and the juice is clear remove the paté from the oven. Cover with the foil and weigh down slightly while the terrine cools. Leave until quite cold allow to mature for 24 hours. Do not remove any fat as this preserves the pate. Delicious served with cornichons and capers.

#recipes #Terrine #thePictureKitchen

A Boxing Day walk on Ashdown Forest

It's become quite a tradition of ours to take our Boxing Day walk on Ashdown Forest. This huge expanse (about 6500 acres) of heathland is one of our favourite places, and of course Conker adores it - lots of other dogs around so lots of good smells and thrilling encounters. It was looking fantastic with sparkling sunshine glinting off the snow and clear air enabling us to see for miles - across to where we live.

Sadly the pleasure of this visit was marred by meeting a couple who had lost one of their little Scottie dogs. He had gone careering off after some deer into an area of scrubby gorse and deep snow, and as we started our walk we came across the woman owner with the one Scottie securely on its lead while her husband could be heard calling and whistling for the other from down the slope among the trees. We carried on and an hour or so later when we were on our way back they were still desperately looking and calling. We had kept a look out and had listened carefully at various points but had heard nothing. We felt that if he had got trapped by, perhaps catching his collar on the gorse or by injury of some sort, he would have made some noise and we might have heard him. Anything could have happened - Scotties are hardy little creatures and not particularly sensitive to cold, but it's so cold at the moment he might not survive a night in the open. We had to leave in the end and I don't suppose we'll ever know the end of the story but I do hope it ended happily - I fear it didn't.

Pulled pork and beans for burritos

I was responsible for the food for our annual parish lunch last weekend. I've done it often before and it's always been a barbecue, something like boned out lamb shoulder slowly cooked in a Weber or marinaded chicken legs or large prawns on a skewer. All were delicious even if it's me that's saying so, but all involved lots of last minute work - seemingly always on a very hot day and preventing me from enjoying the party myself. This year I was selfish. Our garden is an English cottage garden, 100 feet of herbaceous borders making a walk down the centre but all the way round, fields and country hedges intent on invasion with plenteous nettles, brambles and bindweed, and as we both work furiously earning a living, we often neglect to keep this onslaught at bay. The thought of 50 or so of our neighbours (who all have beautiful gardens) coming to visit at once threw us into a panic in about May and since then we have used every spare minute (and some that weren't spare) on clearing and replanting some of the areas of jungle, this reached a crescendo in the last days before the party so I was really glad that I had planned a fairly low energy solution to feeding them all, and that I had had an offer of help from my extremely competent and foodie friend Nicki. The party was on July 4th and so an American solution to the food problem popped up fairly easily and we went for a sort of TexMex meal - pulled pork with beans, guacamole, salsa and sour cream all wrapped in burritos. We went easy on the spices fearing a reaction from a fairly conservative bunch of people but supplied a spicy salsa for the more adventurous! I spent a long time researching and testing various recipes and the following is the result of my research! And it went down a treat - we thought we had over catered massively but it all went!

Pulled Pork

Properly this American classic should be cooked in a smoker. It works very well, however, in a slow oven. I have an old Raeburn that works well but any oven will do! The smoked paprika is a particularly important ingredient as it really does taste smoky, not available in every supermarket but well worth looking out for - and you will find loads of uses for it once it is added to your spice collection. A boned shoulder of pork gives the right degree of fattiness for this dish and approximates well to the 'butt' cut used in America. Don't be afraid of the fat - it carried the flavour from the rub into the meat and makes it all moist and succulent. Read about the benefits of pork fat in Jennifer McLagan's book "Fat" ● 1 3-5 lb boneless shoulder of pork ● 4 tbsp soft dark brown sugar ● 2 tbsp salt ● 2 tbsp smoked paprika ● 2 tbsp cinnamon powder ● 1 tbsp mustard powder ● 2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground ● 2 tsp ground cumin ● 300 ml apple juice ● 150 ml water

Many boned pork joints will come in a sort of stocking, cut this off so the rub can reach all surfaces of the meat. Leave the skin on. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and rub them thoroughly all over the pork in the same bowl. Tie the meat up again into a joint shape - this doesn't need to be done very thoroughly and might not be necessary if it still makes a tidy shape. Put the meat back in the bowl and leave, covered, in the fridge overnight. About seven or eight hours before you want to eat, preheat the oven or smoker to 200° C (400° F). Place the pork joint, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting tin. Pour the apple juice and water into the bottom of the tin making sure the liquid is not touching the meat. Encase the joint and the roasting tin with three or four layers of tin foil and put in the oven for six - seven hours. Immediately turn the oven down to 150℃ (200℃). Resist the temptation to inspect the pork while it is cooking, just trust it to the gentle heat of the oven and the protection of its layers of foil.

When time is up, remove the tinfoil and allow to cool a little. Lift the meat to a large bowl, keeping the juices in the bottom of the roasting tin and put the tin onto a hotplate to thicken and concentrate. Use two forks to shred the pork. It should just fall apart after the long cooking time, and will be moist and delicate. Pour some of the thickened juices over the pork in the bowl and serve with beans, guacamole and sour cream, with the rest of the sauce on a jug.

#party #recipes #stock food photography

How to hold a chicken

Another topic on our small holders training day at Moons Green farm was on poultry, on how to look after them, feed and house them, and how to handle them. Philip is a natural with his livestock and it was lovely to see how expertly he held this chicken and how it settled in his hands.

#chicken #hen #stock food photography #stock photography #thePictureKitchen

Roast tomatoes with goats' cheese recipe

This is such a simple lunch dish and yet it evokes all the flavours of the Mediterranean and suddenly you can imagine yourself in Provence in a shady square wih a tumbler of rosé.

● 2 firm large beef tomatoes, continental type ● sugar to dust ● Freshly ground black pepper ● 2 tbsp olive oil ● 1 small onion, skinned and very finely chopped ● 1 garlic cloves, skinned and crushed ● 6 anchovy fillets, drained ● 8 basil leaves ● freshly grated parmesan ● 2 tbsp capers ● ½ goat's cheese log

Cut the tomatoes across in half and arrange them in an oiled baking dish. Sprinkle with a little sugar and black pepper and leave while attending to the other ingredients.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, add the onion and garlic and fry gently for a couple of minutes to soften slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil, with pepper to taste. (Do not add salt because the anchovies are salty enough.)

Divide this mixture equally onto the tomato halves, Arrange anchovy filets and capers and a slice of goat's cheese onto each and then sprinkle with the parmesan. Bake the tomatoes in the oven at 220C/fan oven 200C/425F/Gas 7 for 10-15 minutes or until just tender and sizzling. Serve hot.

#stock food photography #summer #thePictureKitchen #tomatoes #food #food photography #food stock photography #recipes

Swedish Nettle Soup

A spring institution is nettle soup made with the soft tops of young nettles. I went out in red rubber gloves to pick a bowlful of these delicacies from the abundant supply in our garden, brought them in, washed them thoroughly and spun them in a salad spinner to get rid of all the little bugs and dirt that hide in their textured leaves. Picking and washing the nettles is the time consuming bit - the soup is a doddle to make. Cook a fInely chopped onion gently in butter until softened and add the carefully washed nettle sprigs and stir until wilted. Sprinkle with a dusting of flour (in my case gluten free) and stir in well. Pour on some good stock, preferably chicken or veal, and simmer until the nettles are soft. Blend in blender or use stick blender until smooth and serve with halved boiled egg in the soup - cut sides up. (The eggs should be carefully boiled so the whites are set and the yolks still a little soft - I took my eye off the one in the picture and it is a little overdone but I couldn't wait for my lunch long enough to boil another one!.)

#soup #recipe #swedish #traditional #husmanskost

loua

Chocolate Moccha Mousse in a little coffee cup

thepicturekitchen

Chocolate Mocha Mousse

This rich, velvety mousse was one of the first things I learned to cook and was my party piece when my parents were entertaining. it can be made ahead and stored in the fridge until serving. (As it contains raw egg it should not be served to the young, pregnant women, elderly people or those whose immune systems are weak.) Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus 2 hours to chill

● 175 g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces ● knob of unsalted butter ● 3 large eggs, separated ● 2 tbsp espresso or strong coffee ● 1 pinch salt Melt the chocolate with the butter in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Leave to melt for a couple of minutes - do not allow the bowl to touch the water. When it has all melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Beat the egg yolks into the chocolate with the coffee.In a clean bowl using clean whisks, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold the whites into the chocolate mixture until completely incorporated. Divide the chocolate mousse between 4 serving dishes or small cups and place in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours. Remove the mousse from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving, to soften slightly.

#thePictureKitchen #recipes #chocolate #coffee #dessert #stock photography

Carne Vinho e Alhos (Fried Pickled Pork)

500g pork belly slices

1 head garlic

bunch of herbs, parsley, chives, fennel including seed heads if available

white wine vinegar or mixture of wine and wine vinegar

freshly ground black pepper

Cut the pork into 1 inch cubes, layer in a deep bowl with the chopped herbs and black pepper. Cut the head of garlic in half crosswise and push in among the pork pieces.

Pour over vinegar to cover. Put a small saucer or similar on top of the meat and weigh down if necessary to keep the meat covered by the vinegar.

Put in the fridge and leave for at least three days, although it will keep for at least a week.

Drain the pork on a kitchen towel and then fry in its own fat until crisp.

#food #food photography #stock photography #recipes #pork