BBQ Goat Chops

Having The Goat Company at Jesmond Food Market regularly means I've been able to get hold of goat meat much more easily; and hearing James Whetlot of Cabrito speak the other week about his endeavours to make it available more widely, has also encouraged me to try it out more. It's a really tasty yet subtle meat, which I would like to cook with more often. I tried out a goat ragu a couple of months ago; browned then slow cooked with onions, carrots and celery, some red wine and chopped tomatoes, served with polenta, it was simple and delicious, but not particularly photogenic. This time round I went for some chops...

I am without a kitchen at home at the moment and am really missing cooking for myself, friends and family. It has been knocked down to be rebuilt and will be wonderful once it is finished but washing up in the minuscule bathroom sink just isn't feasible so we're surviving on salad, Cook House leftovers and accepting every dinner invitation thrown our way! Subsequently a holiday in the Lake District, for a few days, with a working kitchen, bbq and smoker sent me into a bit of a frenzy... Menu planning, shopping lists, orders placed; this was not going to be time wasted! A little simple bbq to kick things of when we arrived was actually one of the highlights.

I began by marinating the goat chops in a mix of chopped rosemary, a clove of grated garlic, the juice of half a lemon, olive oil and salt and pepper. I thought simple was best, to appreciate the flavour of the meat and I like a BBQ that is a bit Greek in style; home made flat breads, choppy salads and dips... lots of things to pick at on the table, it's the best way and delicious.

Leaving the goat to sit for an hour or so, we lit the bbq... and I set about some simple side dishes. Some asparagus, spring onions and sliced courgettes, with just a bit of olive oil and salt are delicious on a bbq. More often than not people pile a ton of meat on, every type at once, with a token corn on the cob, but I like a vegetable on the bbq just as much as a chop!

BBQ pea pods were a good discovery over the weekend, just put fresh pea pods onto the bbq, turn until they are charred, then open them up and you have tasty steamed peas, sprinkle with a bit of salt. They can go on while the bbq is still too hot for everything else so are a good pre dinner snack, as they only take a couple of minutes...

I made some homemade flatbreads, which sounds like a lot of effort but is the opposite. 250g plain flour mixed with 150ml of warm water, a teaspoon of salt and a table spoon of olive oil, mix it into a dough and knead for 2 minutes then let it sit under a bowl until you need it. It will make 4 large flatbreads. Just divide it into 4 and flatten out into a thin disc when you need it and chuck on the bbq at the end, it will puff up and char a bit. The dough takes 2 minutes as does the rolling out and you will be rewarded ten fold by the delight of your own fresh bread!

I also made a sweet cumin yoghurt, a smoky aubergine yoghurt and a spicy tomato sauce; my favourite trio of dips, you can see how here...

Time to BBQ. Make sure you have left it calm down a bit, all the coals white but not volcanic, you don't want everything burnt to a crisp within a minute of being on the grill. We put the veg on first and a bit of sliced halloumi... lush... Then the goat chops, about 3 minutes on each side, I put a sprig of rosemary on at the same time as the chops which caught fire coating them in a lovely rosemary char... Then take it all off into a nice hot bowl and put the flatbreads on, roll them quite thin and they will only take a minute while everyone tucks into the rest of the offerings... It was a lovely evening.

Asparagus, Pesto and Mozzarella Tart

I don't know why my guests found it so funny that my dining room window sill was full of chitting potatoes the other night. I haven’t planted them for so long that they have just become part of the furniture to me... There was much laughter, they seemed to think that when you come for supper at mine you don't know if this kind of thing is decoration, a project or a starter!

Gaga is a vegetarian so I made a delicious asparagus tart, she loves asparagus, and the others just like a good laugh at my expense, I should have fed them the shrivelled potatoes and sent them on their way! I've had quite a few recipe requests since I tweeted a photo of the tart, so I thought I best share it. It really is very simple and delicious, perfect when you need something quick...

You can make your own rough puff pastry, which is much simpler that making actual puff pastry, but for this I cheated and bought a ready made roll. After being at work all day there was a very short window of time to prepare food before people arrived, so menu planning had to be very strategic.

Unroll the pastry into a baking tray and spread about 5 heaped teaspoons of pesto over the whole sheet so there is an even layer, I used this home-made Wild Garlic Pesto which was delicious. Leave a 2/3 centimetre gap round the edge to allow the pastry to puff up. Then line up spears of uncooked asparagus all the way along (remember to snap the ends off) you will probably need about 20 spears.

Tear up a ball of mozzarella and scatter over the top. I added a little grating of Parmesan too, for saltiness, a little drizzle of olive oil and some black pepper. Then bake in the oven, at 180°C for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown round the edge.

Lovely buttery pastry with asparagus, melted cheese and aromatic pesto, I'll definitely make it again. I served it with this cold Roasted Ratatouille, a simple green salad and some fresh bread. When the guests had calmed down from the hilarity of the potatoes we all had a lovely and delicious evening...

Spring Panzanella Salad

The EAT! Festival is in full swing in Newcastle and Gateshead at the moment, with markets and events happening everyday, all over the city. On Monday I went to an Eat-a-long film, we watched 'Julie and Julia' whilst being served the same food appearing in the film. We all sat at little tables and chairs in Gateshead Town Hall, checked table cloths and menus laid out and began to watch the film. Every so often the film would pause as the characters were about to tuck into something tasty and waiters would scurry around bringing us the same dish. It was a brilliant idea and a brilliant evening. We were served pepper and basil bruschetta, fresh bread and butter, little cups of lobster bisque, brie and grapes followed by beef bourguignon and raspberry and white chocolate truffle for pudding. We left incredibly full having thoroughly enjoyed the film...

Some salads were called for, to balance out huge French feasts on a Monday night... This is a lovely spring salad of bread, peas and asparagus. A traditional Italian panzanella is a stale bread salad made with squashed tomatoes and basil that soak into the the toasted bread. This is a green version that I found on the '101 Cookbooks' blog full of lots of spring greens, it will serve 2 or 3 people as a main dish or more as a side.

To start cut some day old bread into chunky cubes, I used a traditional wheaten Irish loaf which I love. Place the bread in a bowl and add a finely chopped shallot, a finely chopped clove of garlic, the leaves from a few springs of thyme, a pinch of salt and a large glug of olive oil. Mix everything together and then turn the bread out onto a baking tray and bake in the oven at 170°C for 15 minutes or so, until golden and toasted.

In a cold frying pan pour a splash of olive oil, a large splash of water and a pinch of salt. Turn the heat up high and when the water is bubbling furiously add about 8 spears of asparagus cut into segments, boil for about 20 seconds, then add 2 large handfuls of peas. Fresh or frozen, I used frozen as mine are still tiny pods on my pea plants. After a few seconds add 2 large handfuls of spinach and allow to cook until the spinach begins to wilt. There should still be a small amount of liquid left with the greens, this becomes a dressing for the whole salad.

Mix the greens with the toasted bread in a large bowl and add a handful of shredded basil and mix again. The bread is toasty and warm with garlic and thyme and the greens are tasty and perfumed with basil, all combined together it is a very fresh delicious spring salad.

Asparagus, Manchego and toasted seed Salad

I invited some friends over for some supper and a TV premier the other week. Supper was good, three lovely fresh salads and honey and sunflower bread. The less said about the TV premier the better, it's new, it's on MTV, it's set in Newcastle, it's full of awful people...

I decided on my Mackerel and Horseradish Salad, without the eggs this time, and with crème fraiche instead of yoghurt, it's much creamier. I also made the Ottolenghi marinated Mozzarella and Tomato Salad.

The new addition to the salad club was an asparagus salad with manchego, toasted pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and a balsamic dressing. The toasty nuts go really well with the nutty asparagus, creamy nutty cheese and sweet sharp dressing.

Scatter a large plate with mixed leaves. In a dry frying pan toast a large handful of pumpkin seeds and a large handful of pine nuts until lightly toasted. Transfer them to a bowl and leave to cool a little. Crumble the cheese into small pieces over the leaves, about a handful per person.

To cook the asparagus fill a frying pan with about an inch of water, add a large pinch of salt and bring it to the boil. Snap the hard end from the bottom of the asparagus spears and add them to the boiling water, about 5 or 6 spears per person. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes, until soft, but with a bit of bite still.

Drain the asparagus spears and drizzle a little bit of olive oil over them. Place them onto the salad plate in amongst the cheese and salad. Scatter over the still warm seeds. Quickly mix a simple dressing of two parts olive oil, one part balsamic vinegar and some salad and pepper. Whisk it all up and drizzle over everything.

Asparagus, Jersey Royals and a soft boiled egg

British asparagus is in season and I plan to cook as much as possible while it lasts... So far I have bought a bunch every time I have visited a shop... The season generally runs from the end of April to the end of June, so I have a bit of time left... It is difficult to grow, I gather, and you can't pick it for three years from planting, it is perhaps a bit beyond my gardening talents at this stage.

Asparagus has a natural nutty type flavour and goes very well with salty dairy ingredients like hard cheese, butter and hollandaise; as well as eggs, lemon, truffle, new potatoes and oily fish. I tackled my first hollandaise this weekend, a grapefruit one and it was delicious, you use the juice of a grapefruit instead of white wine vinegar, it was perfect with poached salmon and asparagus.

But for my first taste of new season asparagus I opted for a simple lunch of Jersey Royal new potatoes, asparagus and a soft boiled egg. The potatoes were tossed in butter, salt and pepper, the asparagus cooked in an inch of salted water for 4 to 5 minutes and an egg boiled for 3 to 4 minutes. Served together with a little pile of watercress it was delicious. I wish my egg had been a bit runnier to dip the asparagus in, I left it a little long...