Happy New Year 2021

Well it’s a happy new year from all of us here at Bread and Flowers and I have to say we have really enjoyed having a few days to just chill out since Christmas Eve. We hope you’ve all been well and managed to catch up with a few family and friends throughout the ‘festivities’.

I had an early Christmas present from my sister, a cook at home box of goodies from Rick Stein in Cornwall. We’ve all heard about these of course but most of us have never tried them. Well, I have to say, from opening the box to food on the table was about 14 minutes. It was a three course meal and the only thing we had to actually ‘cook’ was two portions of hake which were grilled for eight minutes, so not exactly challenging. The hake sat on a portion of peperonata which just needed heating up. Starter was a smoked mackerel pate, pudding was sticky toffee with a pot of Cornish clotted cream. It was indescribably delicious and the ‘cook at home’ bit means access to more beautiful ingredients which don’t re-heat so well.

This is our first take away of 2021 and I’m super excited to introduce everyone to a classic dish, but one perhaps not everyone is familiar with. It’s a creamy, comforting, stylish, Swedish potato dish called Janssens Temptation. Potatoes cut into matchsticks, layered with buttery soft onions, cream, anchovy and capers. It’s a real star of a dish and for me works as the main event with a simple salad alongside.

Taking a note out of Rick’s book, we’ve paired it with some lovely, fresh lambs liver which we’ve marinated in rosemary, thyme, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and black pepper for a couple of days, leaving you to cook in a hot pan when you get it home. For those who don’t have the heart for liver, we’re marinating some sirloin steaks as an alternative, a bit boring but it’s the start of the year so we need to ease you in gently.

Then we’re making one of my recent favourite dishes, a delicious peperonata, red and yellow peppers, melting red onion, tomatoes, red wine vinegar basil and garlic. The peppers and the meat go really well together if you’re not a fan of anchovy, I know they divide the nation like no other. Actually, any bit of grilled meat, or fish go really well with either the Temptation or the peperonata, so you could just pop out and buy your favourite, a proper Hampshire, free range pork chop would be great, as would a fillet of white fish.

The pudding is raisin, lemon, marsala bread and butter pudding. a classic all-rounder that loves being re-heated. It’s from Diana Henry’s ‘Simple’ cookbook, it is exquisitely subtle & comforting.

We’ll be back with fresh fish on next week’s menu. At time of writing this menu, I wasn’t sure what would be available.