We Love Cooking! [Search results for ciabatta] 

I do have to apologise for another chorizo recipe but I think it may just be my current food addiction. Hopefully there won't be too many complaints! While I was in London recording episodes for Market Kitchen down at the Borough Market a few weeks ago, there was an amazing little Spanish food shop called Brindisa which was selling all different types of chorizo and an amazing selection of fantastic, high quality Spanish ingredients. Myself and Leonie, the amazing Market Kitchen home economist, picked up some and we actually used it in one of the dishes I cooked on camera.

Brinidisa also had the coolest little stall just beside where we were filming, where there was two busy stall holders with a massive hot plate frying up thick pieces of chorizo for the funkiest sambos I have ever seen. I later learned, after a quick google, that these little babies are famous right the way around the world, with mentions in many travel guides from Japan to Australia!

Brindisa Chorizo and Rocket Sandwiches
Isn't it amazing that some of the most tasty dishes are always the easiest. This recipe is hardly a recipe really, it's a case of assembly when you get down to it. Do try and get your hands on some good quality chorizo from a speciality Spanish food shop if you can, it makes all the difference in taste!

Serves 2
4 good quality fresh chorizo sausages, halved
2 roasted piquillo peppers, sliced
2 large handfuls of rocket leaves
2 ciabatta, lightly toasted
A good drizzle of olive oil
A splash of balsamic vinegar
A good pinch of sea salt and crushed black peppercorns

In a large hot frying pan, fry the chorizo halves until roaring red and sizzling on both sides.
Toast the ciabatta halves and slice in half.
Toss the rocket leaves in a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with a little sea salt and black pepper.
Assemble the sandwich, place the chorizo on the ciabatta, add a few thick slices of roasted peppers, and some dressed rocket leaves.
Devour immediately!

Ok so I'm kind of playing catch up at the moment and unfortunately when things get busy the blog is what suffers. Here is a piece I wrote for my column in the Cork News on the last day of shooting the photography for the new cookbook last week.

It was been an absolute pleasure to have been able to see the whole process of creating a cookbook from start to finish.
Over the last few months I have been over and back to London for meetings three times but haven’t actually had the chance to experience the London lifestyle or see anything much of interest. However this all changed last weekend, when we immersed ourselves in all the foodie sights and sounds with visits to Brixton Market, Portobello Market, Spitalfield Market, all nicely rounded off by a lunch in both Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen on Saturday and the highly praised River Café on Sunday. Both meals were absolutely delicious, however I felt Jamie’s place was definitely better value, with hearty dishes full of flavour which left you satisfyingly stuffed! I started with a savoury homecured Bresola and Beetroot salad full of earthy flavour and for mains a really rustic dish of Italian Sausage and green lentils. Don’t get me wrong our meal at the River Café was stunning, with a mouth watering menu, and beautiful surroundings with an air of Mediterranean elegance which probably can’t be matched anywhere else in London, I just felt it was a little pricey for the lunchtime trade. I had a delicious main course of summer Lamb and roast seasonal vegetables which was beautifully cooked. It really is one of those places that as someone with an interest in food, I think you just have to visit for the experience, and I am glad I did!

One of the places I had been looking forward to eating at was Rosie’s Café Deli at Brixton market run by Rosie Lovell, after receiving her saucily titled book “Spooning with Rosie” as a birthday present from my pal Aoife N earlier this year. Her writing style is fantastic which makes the book not only full of quirky recipes but also a compelling read. The café is full of home comfort and for a quick Saturday morning breakfast we gobbled down a cheese toastie with real cheese and tomato and these amazing scrambled eggs with Chilli Jam which I have I have officially decided is now the only way to serve scrambled eggs. Click on the link below for my recipe for chilli jam which appeared on the blog a year or two ago!

My Perfect Scrambled Eggs with Chilli Jam
The perfect scrambled eggs are most definitely down to personal taste, for me they have to be creamy so that they slide smoothly off the back of a wooden spoon. The eggs will continue to cook after you remove them from the heat so I think the key is to err on the side of them being underdone rather than ending up with chunky rubbery scrambled eggs.

Serves 1
2 large free range eggs
Sea salt and ground black pepper
2 slices of ciabatta toast to serve
2 tablespoons of chilli jam to serve

In a small non stick saucepan, whisk the eggs until they are slightly frothy.
Place the pan over a low heat and allow them to warm through. With a wooden spoon keep the mix on the move, making sure not to let it catch on the sides too much.
Cook until you have creamy scrambled eggs.
Serve the eggs on toasted ciabatta with a good dollop of chilli jam and season with a little sea salt and ground black pepper.

Simple Garlic Mushroom Bruschetta
I love quick and tasty snacks like this which are easy to throw together and are packed full of flavour. Garlic is one of my favourite ingredients, and the fact that it has so many healthy properties, is one of the biggest reasons I justify the amount I use when I cook! Getting some decent quality bread makes all the difference for a bruschetta, you want something that has a nice crisp crust and a soft but chewy inside!

Serves 2
200g of mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 small ciabatta loaves, sliced in half
A generous pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

Heat a frying pan over a high heat and add a little olive oil.
Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds, then throw in the sliced mushrooms.
Fry the mushrooms until they are soft.
While the mushrooms are cooking, drizzle the ciabatta with a little extra olive oil and toast under a hot grill or on a griddle pan, until golden.
Place a generous amount of garlic mushrooms on each toast and season with sea salt and ground black pepper.
Devour!

I'm sure there are Italians out there who may crucify me over this recipe, but this is the way I like to do it. So apologies in advance to those who may find it slightly sacrilegious to heat the tomatoes. The girlfriend also pointed out that this was not the way she wanted it, to which I informed her that it was the last time she was getting breakfast made for her on a Sunday. The thing about a breakfast like this is, it's the type of food that can be eaten all day really, so to serve it as a late morning breakfast, feels just right. Plus with fresh ingredients, it really gives you a zingy start to the day!

Breakfast Bruschetta

1. A good glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
   
2. Punnet of Cherry Tomato's
   
3. 1 Clove of Garlic
4. Handful of fresh Basil
   
5. Some nice hearty Italian bread (Ciabatta)

Enjoy!