Author Archives: Home Cooked Heston

Meatball Minestrone


MEATBALL MINESTRONE

I have had this dish a handful of times every year during winter for the last six or seven years. It is one of my favourites and I have it laminated tucked away in my files for many years to come and I hope for you guys too. It is a very simple dish but the beauty is that you can add and subtract what ever you want to make it your own. Once I have moved into my new house and into my new lab (Kitchen) I will start to ramp up things big time. I hope you enjoy.

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INGREDIENTS

– 1 Tbsp Grape Seed Oil

– 1 Onion, Finely Chopped

– 1 Garlic Clove, Crushed

– 2 Bacon Rashers, Chopped

– 1 Carrot, Coarsely Chopped

– 1 Stick of Celery, Coarsely Chopped

– 400g Can Tomato Soup

– 2½ Cups Beef Stock

– 1 Cup Pasta Shells

– ½ Cup of Frozen Peas

– Shaved Parmesan

FOR THE MEATBALLS

– 500g Beef Mince (But you can use any)

– ¼ Cup of Breadcrumbs

– Salt and Pepper, to Taste

METHOD

To make the meatballs, mix all ingredients in a bowl by hand. Next you want to roll out your meatballs so that they are about three centimetres in diameter.

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Next heat the grape seed oil in a large saucepan over medium heat then add the onion garlic and bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to soften. When this starts to happen add the carrot, celery, tomato soup and the stock. Bring to the boil and add the pasta. Reduce the heat and bring down to a simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

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Add the peas and meatballs to the minestrone, cover and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the meatballs have cooked through. Garnish with parmesan and serve with a nice big crusty roll.

Dont Let the simplicity of this recipe fool you – it is a great recipe and one of my favourites.

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Credit to Barbara Northwood

Duck À L’Orange


DUCK À L’ORANGE

I wanted to cook a great meal for my beautiful girlfriend Emma and I thought the best way to do this was to cook her something from Shannon Bennett’s cook book “My Vue” and take her back to our Vue de Monde experience. This was the second time I have cooked this dish but this time round I had a lot better of a recipe. I had to improvise a little but managed to produce a very good-looking dish. Duck being one of my favourite types of meat, it really was a spectacular dish. I did adapt this dish however because I had a whole duck to get rid of.

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INGREDIENTS

– 1 Whole Duck

– 2 Shallots

– 1 Garlic Clove

– 5 Sprigs of Thyme

– 4 Star Anise

– 2 Bay Leaves

– 100 ml of Grand Marnier

– 2 Cups of Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

– Sea Salt Flakes and Freshly Cracked Pepper

– Grape Seed Oil

– 8 Thin Slices of Pancetta

– 1 Small Onion

– 100 ml of Double Cream

– Thermometer

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180º. Cut the legs off with poultry scissors, place on a tray lined with baking paper and then season with salt and pepper and place in the oven until they reach 54º. Let rest and shred the meat and set aside for later.

Next remove the breasts. Heat a large heavy base frypan, season the breasts with salt and pepper and sear on all sides. Then place in the oven with a thermometer and cook until you reach a temperature of 54º remove from the heat and let rest. The temperature should rise to around 58º to 60º which is the temperature you want.

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To make the orange sauce you need to melt ½ a tablespoon of butter in a heavy-based sauce pan. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, star anise, bay leaves and cook for 2 minutes. Add the Grand Marnier and reduce by two-thirds. Add the orange juice and reduce by half. Whisk in one tablespoon of butter which gives it a smooth, thick sauce. Strain through a fine sieve and season with salt and pepper. Place a thin slice of orange and a slice of pancetta into the oven this was the flower shaped garnish I used.

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For the sautéed cabbage heat one tablespoon of grape seed oil in a large fry pan. Add the pancetta, onion and sauté for two minutes without colouring. Toss in the duck leg meat, remove from the and set aside. In the same pan, warm the cabbage for one minute. Add a teaspoon of water to create steam to help cook the cabbage. Return the pancetta mixture to the pan and the double cream. Reduce for two minutes or until the sauce resembles mayonnaise.

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To plate up slice the duck into centimetre pieces and position on the plate. Spoon full of the pancetta mixture next to the meat and push the slice of orange on top. Lastly, place the curled pancetta on top of the orange slice and spoon the orange sauce over the dish as little or as much as you like.

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Full Credit to Shannon Bennett on this dish. I have made a number of recipes from his limited edition book and boy are they good!