Stevo985 Posted January 27, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted January 27, 2014 If it were I, then i'd blanch them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, drain them and plunge into cold water (if you can be assed, it stops them miscolouring), then sauté them in your lemon and garlic. Obviously be careful not to burn the garlic, even a little. Definitely going to do this soon, sounds lovely!! Yep, was nice when I did it. Although I did burn the garlic a little bit but don't think it mattered (didn't taste like it did anyway) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Having not tried liver since I was the unfortunate consumer of the leathery version that one got served in school (its dim echoes of warmth helping to convey the idea that it had recently been in close proximity to a, probably unpleasantly sweaty, foot), I have decided to give it another go almost three decades later. Any suggestions other than a very bog standard liver, bacon and onions idea? Or 'with some fava beans and a nice Chianti'? Just got some bog standard sliced lamb's liver - and not much, just in case I do think it's utterly horrid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 If it was leathery, it will have been overcooked. Often happens with institutional cooking. It should be sauteed briefly in melted butter on a medium/high heat, a minute or two each side if cut thin, and served pink in the middle. But one thing about liver that the best cook can't change is the inherent texture. It's slightly granular, like pears, and quite soft and slightly sticky or melting. Some people find the texture unpleasant, I like it. Liver, bacon and onions is a classic for a reason. It's ages since I did it, but now I want to do it again. Make sure to cook twice as many onions as looks reasonable, because they need long slow cooking to caramelise properly without burning, and the volume reduces a lot. Saute potatoes, chips or mash are all good with this, and something green. Another way would be to slice the liver across into finger strips, a bit like Stroganoff, saute them with onions, garlic and sliced peppers, add some chopped tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper, maybe some chilli, a bit of stock or water, and serve with rice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted February 12, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 12, 2014 Chaps I want to cook Salmon tagliatelle on Friday night for the lady friend. Anyone got a good recipe? (yes, before anyone LMGTFY's me, I already have A recipe, I'm just curious to see if any of these super chefs have one of their own or any tips) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 good salmon, lemon, dill, salt and pepper are your friends. make sure you don't eat starchy pasta! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) I fooking hate dill in a sauce .....stevo u making the pasta fresh ? Edited February 12, 2014 by Meath_Villan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 good salmon, lemon, dill, salt and pepper are your friends. make sure you don't eat starchy pasta! Creme fraiche as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Liver is delicious, and I should know better than to dip into this thread and read Peter's suggestions on an empty stomach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Sweet Potato is insanely sweet, so if it was me, then i'd want something to contrast that. i.e. something nice and refreshing. A salad I often make to go with indian food, which could work, would be the following: Finely chopped tomatoes, skins and inner shizzle removed. Finely, finely chopped onions. Lemon Juice. A good helping of seasoning. Coriander. Very simple, and nothing special at all, but it works nicely as a little palette cleanser. You could ofcourse sub in the king of herbs (Basil) for the Coriander if you're not a fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I jest, of course. So, back to curry, how does one make a curry actually taste like the awesome salty fatty colourful goop one gets from a takeaway??? I can never achieve it but the closest I came was fannying around with onion pastes etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted February 12, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 12, 2014 I fooking hate dill in a sauce .....stevo u making the pasta fresh ? Nope, wasn't planning on it. Recipe I found uses Philadelphia in the sauce. Better to use Creme Fraiche? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I jest, of course. So, back to curry, how does one make a curry actually taste like the awesome salty fatty colourful goop one gets from a takeaway??? I can never achieve it but the closest I came was fannying around with onion pastes etc. Try this (salt and fat optional). First make some garlic paste and ginger paste. I peel them and liquidise them with a little water, then fill ice cube trays, freeze them and keep them in a bag in the freezer, so you have some frozen ones whenever you need. Marinade some chicken pieces in garlic paste, ginger paste, chilli powder, garam masala and plain yogurt for a few hours, then bake in a medium oven (170 or 180) for half an hour or so (doesn't need to cook completely at this stage). Make a sauce by simmering a tin of chopped tomatoes with chopped garlic and ginger, half a dozen ground cloves and same of green cardamom and a few bay leaves. I grind the spices and bay leaves in a coffee grinder first, as they won't liquidise easily otherwise. When the sauce is done (20-30 mins), liquidise it and put it in a wide pan with a lid, add salt and a few whole chillis if you like, add the chicken and all the pan juices (there will be lots, probably the same volume as the tomato sauce), put the lid on and simmer very gently for maybe half an hour. Add more garam masala, and some dried fenugreek at the end of cooking. At this point you can stir in a big chunk of butter (the dish is after all Butter Chicken), stir gently until the sauce is glossy, and serve. Personally I like it without the butter - lighter, fresher, still tastes great. I know, Butter Chicken with no butter. And no onions stewed in litres of oil. This is very low fat - you can also cut some of the fat off the chicken before cooking. It sounds wrong, but it works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I fooking hate dill in a sauce .....stevo u making the pasta fresh ? Nope, wasn't planning on it. Recipe I found uses Philadelphia in the sauce. Better to use Creme Fraiche? White or tomato sauce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Creme fraiche. And dill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I jest, of course. So, back to curry, how does one make a curry actually taste like the awesome salty fatty colourful goop one gets from a takeaway??? I can never achieve it but the closest I came was fannying around with onion pastes etc. Try this (salt and fat optional). First make some garlic paste and ginger paste. I peel them and liquidise them with a little water, then fill ice cube trays, freeze them and keep them in a bag in the freezer, so you have some frozen ones whenever you need. Marinade some chicken pieces in garlic paste, ginger paste, chilli powder, garam masala and plain yogurt for a few hours, then bake in a medium oven (170 or 180) for half an hour or so (doesn't need to cook completely at this stage). Make a sauce by simmering a tin of chopped tomatoes with chopped garlic and ginger, half a dozen ground cloves and same of green cardamom and a few bay leaves. I grind the spices and bay leaves in a coffee grinder first, as they won't liquidise easily otherwise. When the sauce is done (20-30 mins), liquidise it and put it in a wide pan with a lid, add salt and a few whole chillis if you like, add the chicken and all the pan juices (there will be lots, probably the same volume as the tomato sauce), put the lid on and simmer very gently for maybe half an hour. Add more garam masala, and some dried fenugreek at the end of cooking. At this point you can stir in a big chunk of butter (the dish is after all Butter Chicken), stir gently until the sauce is glossy, and serve. Personally I like it without the butter - lighter, fresher, still tastes great. I know, Butter Chicken with no butter. And no onions stewed in litres of oil. This is very low fat - you can also cut some of the fat off the chicken before cooking. It sounds wrong, but it works. Thanks! I'll give this a go. I just find when I make curries they're always a bit too thin or too tomatoey even if I've cooked them to death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Chaps I want to cook Salmon tagliatelle on Friday night for the lady friend. Anyone got a good recipe? (yes, before anyone LMGTFY's me, I already have A recipe, I'm just curious to see if any of these super chefs have one of their own or any tips) Just keep it really, really simple. Follow a recipe but be careful. Don't overheat whatever cream based product you're using, bake the salmon then flake it and use fresh herbs. Don't add lemon directly to the sauce either. When you bake the salmon, bake it with butter, lemon and dill, then add fresh dill right at the end of the cooking as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks! I'll give this a go. I just find when I make curries they're always a bit too thin or too tomatoey even if I've cooked them to death.That sauce is both thin and tomatoey, but it's great. I suppose you could use less tomatoes, and use butter to thicken, if you prefer that.If you really want to make it like they do in restaurants, there's a website here which specialises in trying to reproduce that style, down to the generic curry sauce that goes in most things. But I prefer the home-style dishes to the standard restaurant style. The recipe I gave was from Vivek Singh, at the Cinnamon Club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks! I'll give this a go. I just find when I make curries they're always a bit too thin or too tomatoey even if I've cooked them to death. That sauce is both thin and tomatoey, but it's great. I suppose you could use less tomatoes, and use butter to thicken, if you prefer that. If you really want to make it like they do in restaurants, there's a website here which specialises in trying to reproduce that style, down to the generic curry sauce that goes in most things. But I prefer the home-style dishes to the standard restaurant style. The recipe I gave was from Vivek Singh, at the Cinnamon Club. I think I'll give yours a try first for sure and let you know how I get on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 VALENTINES MENU TWICE BAKED GOATS CHEESE SOUFLE – with balsamic beetroot, pistachios & chilli jam GRILLED ASPARAGUS SMOKED CHICKEN BOUDIN – celeriac cream PRAWNS IN SATAY SAUCE – with roasted pineapple, mint & melon salsa ‘SHARING IS CARING!’ – MEZZE PLATE – hummus, falafel, tzaiki, spinach & feta filo parcel, koftas & chilli flat bread (supplement €2.00 pp) ********* PAN FRIED SEA BASS FILLETS- with crab & corn cannelloni & a smoked bacon cream ROASTED BALLONTINE OF CHICKEN – with spinach, hazelnut & confit chicken stuffing, cauliflower puree & fondant potatoes LAMB ‘EN CROUTE’ – fillet of lamb in salt crust pastry with herb mousse – fondant potatoes- roasted squash – smoked onion puree & red currant merlot reduction ‘WHEN TWO BECOME ONE!’ CHATEAUBRIAND FOR TWO – fondant potatoes, asparagus, roast parsnips, Yorkshire pudding & pan jus (supplement €6.00 pp) ******* Desserts PASSION FRUIT PANNA COTTA – with strawberry beignets & white chocolate ganache CHOCOLATE FUDGE FONDANT – with praline ice cream & pears in salted caramel ‘SWEETNESS FOLLOWS!’ – ALL THINGS CHOCOLATE – a plate of ten mini chocolate desserts for sharing (supplement €2.00 pp) ******* FRESHLY BREWED TEA OR COFFEE That was the menu tonight ....no pics ...had a full house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Sounds wonderful. I think you should deliver me a complimentary tasting selection, for review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts