Roast Guinea Fowl

Sunday, 17th July

Forgot to post this one, so it is out of order.
Roasted the guinea fowl fairly simply, stuffed with a half-lemon and some herbs and with bacon over the breast for the first 30 minutes. Roast potatoes and a sort of cross between a ratatouille and a stir fry of peppers, courgette, aubergine, onion and tomato. I usually find ratatouille disappointing but this was much nicer, with the veggies being less stewed to death. I had something similar in a restaurant recently (a scandinavian one I think), which inspired this attempt.
The bird came out very well, juicy and tender, and there was a nice lemony gravy from the pan juices.

Tuna with Spring Onions

Monday, 25th July

Not a very good photo, which is a shame as this is the signature dish of this blog. Even the weather helped out with the rain on the window. As expected, delicious and very easy to prepare, Fry everything in a little oil and the mix of soy, sake and mirin, for less time than you might think, and serve with plain rice.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Wednesday, 20th July

Not really authentic but very tasty. I used bacon instead of pancetta, because that is what I had.
Other than that I stuck pretty much to the standard recipe. Fry the meat until almost crispy, remove and cook onions and hot pepper in the same pan for a while, then add tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or so, then return the meat and heat through.
The half a dried chilli I put in was almost too much, and left the lips tingly and the forehead sweaty. But in a good way!

Parmesan Crusted Salmon Steaks

Friday, 15th July

Covered the salmon steaks with a mixture of breadcrumbs, parmesan and herbs and baked them in the oven for 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile I cooked a sauce of chanterelles, bacon and cream to serve over the tagliatelle.
The salmon was perfectly cooked and juicy, although there were a few too many bones lurking. The combination of juicy salmon, crunchy topping and creamy pasta sauce was excellent.

Roast Pigeon

Monday, 27th June

Rubbed the pigeon with olive oil, roasted it simply and had it with roast potatoes with bacon and creamy leeks.
The pigeon looks very bony in this picture but there was a good portion of breast meat too. The flavour was quite strong, but good. Maybe a little dry though.
The cream sauce for the leeks curdled. No idea why though.

Swordfish

Sunday, 26th June

Marinated the swordfish steak in sake, soy and mirin for a while, fried it with the marinade for 2 mins each side then put it in the oven for 5 minutes with the spring onions. Served with boiled rice, wakame and lightly sauteed shitake with lemon juice and ponzu sauce.
The steak looks well seared but inside it was perfectly cooked, juicy and tender. I don't think I have ever cooked a swordfish steak better. The trick with finishing in the oven seems to work for everything!
Belgian beer to accompany the japanese-y meal.

Merguez and potato fry up

Thursday, 23rd June

Fried the merguez for a few minutes only, then took them out and gently fried onion and boiled potato in butter for a few minutes. Sliced the merguez and put them back in, poured over two eggs beaten with parsley and topped with a chopped green chili (from the balcony!).
I don't usually eat eggs, but this as a meal made from whatever I could find in the kitchen. I made sure not to overcook the sausage or to fry everything for too long, so the flavours were still quite fresh and nothing was dried out or burnt. The spiciness of the sausage and the chili made for a lip-tingling dish that went down very nicely with a beer.