its asparagus season both green and the very special white chefs love asparagus so over the coming days we will have a few asparagus dishes from the restaurants of the culinary gangsters

first up is Gary “G.Q.”Quigley and a starter he loves

 

Blanch my asparagus for 30 secs then place into an ice bath

when cold I wrap them in smoked salmon and filo pastry leaving the tips exposed

place into oven when needed for 5 minutes at 180 ,

then finish off with hollandaise sauce 😃 very simple but very tasty dish enjoy

a simple to make yet very tasty salad that takes minutes to make as either a starter or yummy lunch and very summery dish

50g/2oz black olives 

3 medium tomatoes, diced into 2cm/¾in cubes

• 1 cucumber peeled, diced into 2cm/¾in cubes
• 1 red pepper  de-seeded, diced
• ½ red onion sliced finely
• 100ml/3fl oz extra virgin olive oil
• 150g/5oz feta  diced
• 1 generous sprig of oregano
• 50ml/3 tbsp. red wine vinager

place all ingredients in a bowl and toss lightly

without question every chef and I mean very chef who wants to call themselves a chef must know the five mother sauces by heart, they are the foundation of cookery. Without these base sauces you can not make all the other sauces, and sauces finish dishes and lift them to new heights, often the difference between a good dish and a great one.

Set in stone by two of the greatest chefs to have ever lived Maire-antoine Careme and the godfather of cookery Auguste Escoffier. so here they are

Béchamel

made with milk thickened with a white roux

from this you get mornay, soubise etc

pomodoro sauce (tomato sauce)

napolitana bolonesa, ketchup

Holandaise

maltaise, noisette, bernaise

espanola

the base of most sauces

charcutera, sauce africaine, chasseur

veloute

bercy , poulette , aurore

there are thousands of derived from these mother sauces , I will do each sauce in detail in the coming weeks from making to all the derived sauces

 

Ingredients for Cajun Chicken

2 large Chicken supreme Breasts

Cajun Spices (Normal mix)

Cracked black pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Fresh Garlic 2 cloves

Diced Shallot

Olive oil 50ml

Crème Fraiche

Spring Onion

2 Large shots of Pernod

Ingredients for Chilli and lime Jam

1 Tin of Chopped tomatoes

1 clove of garlic

4 chilli peppers Red/Green

60g of brown sugar

30ml water

Zest and Juice of 3 limes

5ml Cider vinegar

1 shot of Jack Daniels

In a large bowl place the Chicken Breasts with the selected amount of each spice ( depending how hot you like it ) Then slowly add 50ml of Olive oil , Coat each Breast with the mixture and leave to marinate for up to 6 hrs or Longer in a fridge cover in cling film

After the Chicken has Marinated take a Hot pan and drain off a small amount of the marinate into the pan with the 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 2 diced shallots fry for 20 seconds then place the Chicken supreme’s skin side down in the pan seal both sides then place the Pernod into the pan an flame off  the alcohol then place into the oven at 180C for 15 minutes . Finish with Chilli and Lime jam on top with some Crème fraiche and diced Spring Onion

Chilli and Lime Jam

Place all the ingredients into a thick bottom pot and slowly cook it out for 1 hour you may need to add more water to give a good consistency . After 1 Hour take off the heat and add the Jack Daniels and allow to cool . Keep in a fridge on till ready to use .

recipe by Anna “cookie” Kurdziel   Tralee culinary gangster

also a blogger chef and writer check out annas blog  http://www.anulaskitchen.com/

 Golabki is a dish that’s very popular in Poland. They are great with mashed potatoes and thick, velvety tomato sauce. You can use raw meat, like myself, but I know that many Polish families will use cooked meat – from making a broth etc., hence making golabki very budget friendly dinner. You can serve them on its own – as you have all “ingredients” of a fully balanced dinner already there: meat, rice and veg 😉 Personally I think that simple, plain tomato sauce gives it another dimension, and its acidity goes really well with delicate cabbage.

Ingredients:
– 1 big savoy cabbage
– 500 g minced pork (or 250 g minced beef + 250 g minced pork)
– 1 big white onion, finely diced
– 1 whole egg
– 1 cup boiled rice
– salt, pepper to taste

Method:

Put the whole cabbage into a big pot and cover with boiling water (but do not boil the cabbage!) and leave for few minutes. You want the leaves to soften and make it easy to work with them.
Mix the minced pork and beef (if using) with rice, egg, onion, salt, pepper and mix well together (I found it some time ago that it’s best to use your hands for that job).
Separate the leaves from the ‘head’ of the cabbage, trying not to tear them, and place them on a bog plate. Take a bit of the meat mixture (depending on the size of the leaf, it’s best to use a spoon for that) place the meat on the bottom end of the leaf and fold to form a little parcel.

Continue until you run out of the meat mixture and the cabbage leaves. You will be left with some small leaves, that won’t be good for making golabki, so just fry them quickly in a little but of butter – everything gets used here!

Take a big, tall pot and arrange a layer of those small fried leaves at the very bottom – this will prevent golabki from sticking to the pot. Layer your rolled golabki, making sure you put them in very tight. Pour water over the cabbage rolls to cover them completely, not over, but just so they’re all immersed in it. Cook golabki over a medium heat for minimum 1 hour – meat has to be cooked right through and cabbage leaves soft.

 

Tip: If you’re not sure about the meat mixture being seasoned properly, take a little pan and fry tiny burger and try before even forming golabki (1 tablespoon amount of the meat will be more than enough). That way you’ll know straight away if you need to add salt or pepper, or maybe you’ll want more onion in yours. It’s really a good idea and saves your golabki from turning out bland.