Chicken with Morels & Vin Jaune

This is the kind of cooking that reminds me how wonderful French food still is. It comes from Alex Jackson's lovely book Frontières which has recipes from all the regions of France that border other countries or, in the case of the south, North Africa.

Although it includes hard-to-find vin jaune it does make the dish. I suspect you could use fino sherry but it wouldn't taste the same.

If you can't face making it yourself it's often on the menu at Noble Rot, Soho where Alex is head chef.

Alex writes: "A classic dish from the Jura, where the chicken would traditionally have been the most expensive part of the meal – the morels foraged for free in spring and the vin jaune (yellow wine) an affordable local wine.

Nowadays the opposite is true, unless you happen to have a patch of morels in your garden. Vin jaune is a rather special thing; a slightly oxidized wine made from the Savagnin grape, with a flavour not unlike dry sherry – well worth tracking down if you have a pretty penny to spare.

When this is served in the Jura the chicken comes swimming in a vat of cream sauce: c’est correct, as the French say. This will feel luxurious, although it is really a very simple dish: use the best ingredients you can get your hands on and it’s sure to be a winner.

A little trick to boost the vin jaune flavour in the sauce is to splash in a little extra wine at the end, along with some butter and perhaps a squeeze of lemon.

This is traditionally, and best, served with a simple rice pilaf. At the restaurant where I work we add a few crispy curry leaves to the top of the rice – most untraditional, of course, but something that pairs nicely with your glass of vin jaune on the side."

Chicken with Morels and Vin Jaune

Serves 4

For the stock:

500g/ 1lb 2oz chicken wings

An uncooked chicken carcass

½ shallot

½ celery stick

1 bay leaf

1 sprig of thyme

A few black peppercorns

1.5kg/ 3lb 5oz chicken, jointed (you can ask a butcher to do this for you)

Oil and a knob of unsalted butter, for frying

30g/1oz/ 2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus 15g/1oz/1 tbsp (cold, cubed) to finish the sauce

1/2 shallot, finely diced

At least 20 morels – fresh when in season, or dried ones soaked in cold water until soft

A small glass of vin jaune, plus an extra splash at the end to finish the sauce

1 litre/ 1¾ pints/ 4 cups good chicken stock (preferably homemade)

150ml/ 5fl oz/ ¾ cup double cream

Lemon juice (optional)

Salt

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.

First, make the stock. Put the chicken wings and the carcass in a large roasting tin. Put in the hot oven and roast until a light golden brown. Transfer the wings and carcass to a large stockpot (leave the chicken fat in the tin) with the remaining ingredients and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, skim well, then reduce to a simmer for 1½ hours, skimming periodically.

Strain through a sieve, then reduce the liquid by half – you want 1 litre/1¾ pints/4 cups. Set aside while you prepare the chicken.

Season the chicken pieces with salt. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and brown the pieces on both sides, adding a knob of butter towards the end. When the pieces are golden all over, remove to a plate and pour off the excess fat in the pan.

Melt 30g/1oz/2 tablespoons of butter, then add the diced shallot and a pinch of salt. Cook slowly until the shallot is very soft.

Halve the morels if they are large but leave any small or medium ones whole. Add the mushrooms to the pan and fry gently until they have softened and absorbed some of the butter – season them lightly with salt. Add the vin jaune and simmer until reduced to a syrupy consistency.

Reintroduce the chicken pieces, skin side up, and add the chicken stock – you might not need it all – to almost cover the chicken but leave the golden skin sitting above the liquid.

Half-cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes at a simmer. The sauce should reduce until it tastes powerful and delicious but bear in mind that the aim is to have a lot of it, so don’t reduce too far (add a little more stock if you think it needs it). Now, pour in the cream and swirl the pot. Simmer slowly for a further 15 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened slightly.

Remove the chicken to a serving dish that will also hold the sauce. Taste the sauce for salt and finish by whisking in a good splash of vin jaune, the cold cubed butter and maybe a little squeeze of lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve, with a rice pilaf on the side.

What to drink: Alex suggests drinking vin jaune with the dish which would be the perfect match but an expensive option. (Majestic has one at the time of writing for £54.99 as part of a mix six deal which is about par for the course.) If. you need more than one bottle I'd supplement it with another savagnin or savagnin/chardonnay blend from the Jura region or an aged white burgundy.

Extracted from ‘Frontières: The Food of France’s Borderlands’ by Alex Jackson (Pavilion Books). Image credit Charlotte Bland. I've suggested using an extra chicken carcass for the stock rather than the carcass from the jointed chicken Alex suggests as it doesn't look as if the chicken pieces are taken off the bone.

Pasta with mushrooms, kosho and toasted parmesan rind

This recipe is from a new book called Wasted by chef Conor Spacey which is published by the Irish publisher Blasta Books as part of a charmingly illustrated series of single subject books

I made a couple of changes to the ingredients and method when I road tested it but absolutely loved the recipe. (Maximumrespect to Conor for coming up with the best ever way to use parmesan rinds which is basically catnip for humans

Conor writes: It’s definitely not traditional, but I love to use kosho, a Japanese condiment (see recipe below) with pasta. Mushrooms and the crispy parmesan rind give it an extra umami boost.

CONOR SPACEY’S PASTA WITH MUSHROOMS, KOSHO & TOASTED PARMESAN RINDSERVES

20g parmesan rind

240g shop-bought fresh pasta - spaghetti is perfect for this. (I used 150g dried bucatini which was what I happened to have in the cupboard)

40g butter

a splash of rapeseed oil

160g mixed fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced

3 tsp kosho (see below)

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Preheat your grill. Put the parmesan rinds on a baking tray, skin side up, and put the tray under your grill. Keep a close eye on them and wait until they start to bubble and colour, then remove them straightaway. Put them on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, chop the rinds into small cubes.

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions but reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes to keep it al dente. When the pasta is cooked, keep a mugful of the cooking water from the pot before straining the pasta.

Put the pot that you used to cook the pasta back on the hob on a medium heat. Add the butter and a splash of rapeseed oil. When the butter has melted, add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, until they begin to soften. Stir in the kosho and the mugful of pasta water (I didn’t use that much - about 4 tbsp I’d guess) then add the drained pasta, stirring to make sure the pasta is all coated in the sauce.

Check the seasoning – the kosho is quite salty and spicy so I don’t add any salt throughout the cooking process, but you may like to season it to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, divide the pasta between two wide, shallow bowls. Top with the toasted Parmesan rinds and chopped fresh coriander (I added the coriander to the mushrooms when I added the pasta)

KOSHO (see also my note below)

Kosho is a Japanese seasoning with a umami explosion. The word ‘kosho’ means ‘pepper’ in Japanese, referring to the chilli pepper it’s made with. Traditionally it’s made using yuzu, a citrus fruit found in East Asia that’s hard to get here, so I swap it out for lemons, limes or grapefruit. Once you make this and have it in your fridge, you’ll become addicted to it. Kosho is a great way to cut through the richness of many dishes, from meat to noodles and everything in between

To make kosho, halve 6 red chillies lengthways and remove the seeds. Cut them into chunks, put them in a blender or food processer and pulse until they are finely chopped. Zest the citrus fruit you need to use up (either 4 lemons, 3 oranges or 1 grapefruit) and add it to the blender or food processor. Pulse until it’s well mixed with the chillies, then add 16g flaky sea salt and pulse again until it forms a paste.

This is ready to use straightaway, but I like to put it into an airtight jar and leave it at room temperature for one week to slightly ferment and take on more flavour. Store the kosho in a sealed jar in your fridge, where it will keep for up to three months.

It’s not entirely clear from the illustration whether you should pare or grate the zest. Most recipes suggest equal quantities of chillies and citrus zest. I made about half the quantity suggested - 40g of each - and used a grapefruit, 3 limes and 5 limes so maybe paring it would be more economical though it would be harder to break down the citrus peel. Experiment anyway - it’s delicious. Oh, and my chillies were large ones not birds eye chillies which I think would be too hot!)

From WASTED by Conor Spacey (Blasta Books, £13) Illustrations: Nicky Hooper

What to drink: the pasta sauce is quite punchy and citrussy so am not sure it needs more citrus. A dry white wine like a Picpoul de Pinet or a pinot grigio would work best if you wanted a glass of wine though I drank a kombucha with it which was excellent.

Pizza by any other name

What to eat on a Sunday night when you've been out for the day and everyone suddenly wants supper? Rosie Sykes addresses just this issue in her delightful Sunday Night Book which was published in 2017.

It's full of short, easy but tempting recipes to rustle up from ingredients you're likely to have readily to hand or can pick up without too much effort from a small supermarket. This is one of my favourites.

Rosie writes: "What I’ve done here is turn a pizza on its head: this is basically a slightly sloppier version of the tomato sauce you might spread over a pizza base, spiked with some tasty morsels from the fridge, then topped with mozzarella and chunks of bread and baked. Couldn’t be easier, and it needs little in the way of accompaniment – although a green salad is always good. Feel free to pick and choose what to add to the tomato sauce, depending on what leftovers you have."

For 4

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

6 rashers streaky bacon

2 red onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped from stems

400g (14oz) stale bread, torn into chunks

250g (9oz) mushrooms, sliced

half a 280g (10oz) jar roasted red peppers, drained and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 x 400g (14oz) tin of tomatoes

1 bay leaf

175g (6oz) mozzarella

few sprigs of basil (optional)

sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.

Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan (with a lid) over a medium heat. Using scissors, snip the bacon into chunky lardon-like pieces straight into the hot oil, then let it sizzle and release its fat. As soon as the baconhas browned a little, lift it out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Throw the onions into the pan with a pinch of salt and stir to coat in the bacon fat. Add asplash more oil if they don’t look shiny, then turn the heat down to low and cook gently for about 7 minutes, or until soft but not brown.

Meanwhile, make the topping. In a large bowl, mix the garlic and thyme leaves with any remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Throw in the stale bread and toss to coat in the oily mixture. Season generously with black pepper – and maybe a pinch of salt, depending what kind of bread you are using.

When the onions are soft and sweet, turn the heat up to medium and add the mushrooms, along with another sprinkling of salt. Keep the pan moving while the mushrooms cook – this should take about 3–4 minutes. Next, add the peppers, return the bacon and, after a brief stir, add the tomatoes and bay leaf.

Bring the lot up to the boil and simmer vigorously for about 5 minutes to let everything get to know each other and for the sauce to reduce a little.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, then pour into a baking dish about 20cm x 15cm (8in x 6in) and shake gently to level, so that it completely covers the base of the dish. Tear the mozzarella – and the basil, if using – into bite-sized pieces and distribute evenly over the tomato sauce. Scatter the bread over the top, making sure everything is covered, then bake in the oven for 15 minutes until golden, crisp and bubbling. Serve straight away.

What to drink: Given this is a leftovers dish I'm tempted to say whatever wine you have leftover from the previous night but in case the contents of your bottle have a habit of mysteriously disappearing a simple Sicilian or Southern Italian red - like a nero d'avola - would hit the spot perfectly. Nothing fancy. FB

From THE SUNDAY NIGHT BOOK: 52 short recipes to make the weekend feel longer by Rosie Sykes (Quadrille, £12.99) Photography: Patricia Niven

Spiced Venison with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Sauce

An elegant main course recipe* from one of my favourite food writers Sue Lawrence's A Cook’s Tour of Scotland that would be a great option for a haggis-free Burns' Night supper.

Sue writes: "This is a really tasty dish that can be prepared in advance – apart from the actual cooking of the meat. The weight of fillet from red deer can vary from around 250 – 400g/9 – 14 oz, but if you use a roe fillet, it will weigh only about 100g / 3 1/2 oz and so you must reduce the cooking time drastically (and use a fillet per person) Whichever type of venison you use, remember always to undercook and allow to rest for a perfect even pinkness and tender meat. Serve with pappardelle or soft polenta."

serves 3-4

1 level tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 level tbsp whole juniper berries
1 whole venison fillet , trimmed (about 350g / 12 oz)
2 tbsp olive oil
Truffle oil
Seasalt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce
40g / 1 1/2 oz dried porcini ( ceps), rinsed
200 ml / 7 fl oz/ 1/3 pint dry white wine
40g / 1 1/2 oz butter
2 shallots or half a small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
200g / 7 oz fresh mushrooms, wiped and chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
150 ml / 5 fl oz/ 1/4 pint double cream

Toast the peppercorns and juniper in a dry frying pan over a high heat for about 3 minutes, shaking often, until a strong spicy smell emerges. Tip into an electric grinder - or use a mortar and pestle —and grind until coarsely ground. Brush the venison with 1 tbsp oil then press in the spices. Leave on a plate somewhere cool for a couple of hours.

To make the sauce, soak the dried mushrooms in the wine for at least 20 minutes then strain, reserving the wine. Heat the butter in a pan and gently fry the shallots/onion and garlic for 2 – 3 minutes then add the mushrooms (soaked and fresh) and stir. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes or until tender.

Increase the heat and sprinkle over the flour, . Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then add the reserved wine and the cream, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil then simmer, uncovered, for 5 – 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Season to taste and set aside.

To cook the meat, heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan (preferably one that can go into the oven) and, once hot, add the venison and brown all over : this takes 4 – 5 minutes. Season with sea salt as you brown it. Then transfer the pan to a preheated oven ( 220°C/425°F/Gas7) and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Remove the meat and place on a warm plate. Cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Carve the rested meat and serve with some of the sauce and a few shakes of truffle oil on top

What to drink:
This is a dish that is hugely wine friendly so you could drink almost any medium bodied red you enjoy. My own choice would be a Western Australia Cabernet-Merlot (Cullen’s or Cape Mentelle) or a Pinot Noir

* Note this picture is not exactly that of Sue Lawrence's recipe but similar to it. Photo © Marina Grau - Fotolia.com