Recipe corner - D's frankly amazing mussel and saffron soup

So let us attempt to leave all the doom and gloom behind us and talk Nice Things to Eat.  And this, my friends, is one of my all time favourites.  It would probably be the course with which I would start my final meal on Earth – and I don’t generally hold with soup as a starter.  Even people who think they don’t like seafood love this soup.  In fact, just thinking about this soup (while writing the post) is making me slightly sad that I don’t have a bowlful for my tea.

As with most favourite dishes it comes with a little back story.  Although in this case, the story is pretty much – went on holiday, had this soup, came home and took to the kitchen to recreate.  But imagine, if you will, Paris in early November: crisp, clear days and star flecked nights, a young(ish) couple still in the heady days of early romance, a tiny bistro tucked away somewhere near Montmartre.  That’s what I think about when I eat this soup.  And I also think, gosh, I like mussels.

 

Incidentally, the powder you can see on top of the soup in the picture is dehydrated mussel powder.  Which is made by, er, dehydrating mussels in a low oven. D has dehydrated prawn powder in his kitchen cupboard as well.  He goes in for pretention.

Ingredients

1 kg mussels

2 pinches saffron
500ml white wine
50g butter
5 shallots, chopped finely
2 large garlic cloves
30g plain flour
200ml skimmed milk
200g half fat crème fraiche (ensure that this is at room temperature before adding)

Serves 6, 7 pro points per portion

 

First prepare your mussels – de-beard, discard damaged ones, give a quick rinse - you know the drill.

In a large pan, bring all but a 50ml shot glass of  the white wine to the boil and then tip in your mussels and cook briskly for around 5 minutes until all of them are open (any that aren’t open at the end of cooking should also be discarded).  To the extracted shot of wine, add the saffron and leave to infuse.

When the mussels are cooked (the point at which the majority of the shells have opened to reveal their plump treasures), drain over a large bowl.  D recommends muslin to ensure any grit is caught.  Put aside the delicious liquor and set about removing all the mussels from their shells.  Yes, a slightly tedious job but cook's prerogative – you get to nab a few at this stage.

Now rinse and wipe out your pan and put the butter on to melt while you blitz the shallots and garlic into a smooth puree.  Add this to the melted butter and cook for around five minutes, after which time add the flour and stir vigorously into a smooth paste. 

Ladleful by ladleful return the reserved mussel liquor to the pan, simmering for a minute or so when it has all been incorporated.  You can now add your golden shot of saffron infused wine, the milk and the crème fraiche.  Simmer gently, while whisking, until you have a fragrant, creamy soup base.  The mussels can now be returned to the pan to warm through while you, the cook, season to taste.

Recipe corner – Braised fennel with butter and parmesan

It goes a bit against the Weight Watchers grain to advocate a vegetable side dish which is higher in points than the chunk of protein that is sitting alongside. Vegetables are zero point under the WW regime which means that the hungry WWer can be inclined to develop the mindset of vegetables as bulking agent rather than vegetables as delicious thingummies in their own right.

Well, no more. As delicious as the slow roast pork shoulder was on Sunday evening, this braised fennel dish was the undoubted shining star of the meal. We had originally intended to make some roast potatoes as well but neither of us could be bothered when it came to it and to be honest, I really didn’t miss them. Yet again proof that I never need as much food as I think I do to be satisfied.

This very simple but fabulous recipe is by the quite lovely Simon Hopkinson and the original can be seen on the BBC website. The only tweaks I have made are to reduce the amount of butter and Parmesan slightly – not by much, mind you, but it has shaved a couple of points of per portion. The point of the dish would be lost without the buttery, salty richness provided by these ingredients, but I should add that even in the original recipe, the delicate sweetness of the fennel is enhanced rather than overwhelmed.

Ingredients

1 large fennel bulb, cut in half lengthwise and trimmed
40g butter
4 tbsp vermouth
40g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Serves 2, 7 pro points per portion

Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees while you prep the fennel.

Put the butter in an ovenproof dish and stick in the oven to melt (or, conversely, melt the butter and pour into the dish). Season the fennel halves and then add to the butter, cut side down along with the vermouth and the trimmings. Season the whole well with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil and roast in the oven for half an hour.

One the thirty minutes have passed remove from the oven and turn over (trying to maintain the structural integrity of the fennel bulb while doing so!) Return, covered, to the oven for a further thirty minutes or until the fennel is tender.

Tip the trimmings and cooking juices through a fine sieve into a small saucepan. Warm through gently and add two thirds of the Parmesan cheese. Using a small blender, whizz this mixture up until smooth.

Pour this over the fennel halves, adorn them with the remaining Parmesan and then stick under the grill until golden and bubbling.

Recipe corner - curry night

As per my last post here are some of my current favourite curry recipes. They're dead easy, quick to cook and seriously tasty.

First up - Creamy spiced dahl. Granted, it's a bit high on points for a side dish but it is really good (promise!) and the lentils are so filling that you can cut down on your rice portion.

Ingredients

1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1cm fresh root ginger, grated
4 cardamon pods
pinch of dried chilli flakes
200g red lentils, rinsed and drained
200ml reduced fat coconut milk

Serves 4, 5 points per person, 7 pro points per person

Toast the seeds over a low heat until fragrant, and transfer to a pestle and mortar. Add the cardamon pods and the chilli flakes to the seeds and give a good pounding.

In the same pan, eat the oil and soften the onion, garlic and ginger.

Tip the lentils and seeds into the pan and stir well before adding the coconut milk and water to cover. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat until the lentils are soft - probably about 20 mins.

And now for the Cumin-spiced chicken one of my all time favourite WW recipes. In our household, the ultimate mark of recipe appreciation is cooking it on a regular basis (because we try so many new recipes and many don't make it into regular rotation).

Ingredients

Large onion sliced,
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into 8 pieces
2 garlic cloves, crushed
tsp cumin seeds
tsp ground coriander
tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 medium green chillies, de-seeded and chopped
300ml chicken stock
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp 0% fat Greek yoghurt

Heat a non stick frying pan and stir fry the onion for about 4 mins until soft.

Add the chicken pieces and continue to cook until browned on all sides.

Add all the other ingredients except the lemon juice and the yoghurt. Heat gently until simmering, and then cover the pan and cook for 15 mins.

Remove the lid and cook for a further 2-3 mins until the sauce has reduced and thickened.

Stir through the lemon juice and yoghurt, season to taste and serve.

Serves 2, 2.5 points per person, 4 pro points per person