Welcome to my first menu of the month. In this column-cum-bl
Doubling up on preparation for different dishes also saves time, space and money. We don't want menus that make us run to the doctor for a cholesterol test.
Balance is the key First on the board is chicken liver pâté. Not some additiverich, bought-in affair with the texture of wet mud. Oh no! This is home-made heaven without the grief. Just put the livers with some chopped onion, garlic and thyme into a pre-heated oven tray with a little olive oil and bake until the livers are just a little pink in the middle. Then mix it in a food processor with some cream, a splash of brandy, and bingo!
If you embrace the idea of multi-purpose dishes, you can construct a menu of just five or six core items. Take the humble salmon, for example: just season, sear and flake and you've got a base for a starter, a main course salad, or, served on little leaves of baby gem with a lemon mayo dressing a great platter to share. Likewise the sweet-corn fritters, which can be a starter, snack item or served as part of the platter. Just shallow fry in advance and then heat through in the oven for service. Make a separate dip with crème fraîche, a squeeze of lemon and some chopped chives or parsley.
The sausage and mash burger comes from the Heston Blumenthal "full English breakfast ice cream" school of thought why serve separate items when you can combine them into one handy little bundle? First, make a creamy mash and let it set in the fridge. Then knock up a seasoned minced pork mixture with finely chopped onions, herbs and a little egg for binding. To assemble the burgers, just shape half a patty, press in some of the mash mixture, put the other half patty on top and seal round the edges. When it's cut in two, the mash oozes out in a delicious molten flow.
The concept of utilising cheap, everydaypre-made items in a different format is an obvious, but strangely under-used one: I've been making fish-finger sandwiches for years at home just chuck in some peas and tartare sauce, for an extra-value filling and you won't look back. You can follow the pre-prepared idea through for the veggie sausage bake and you've already got the mash topping sorted out from the burgers. Just add a couple of tins of baked beans, some brown sauce and anything else you fancy for an original, yet familiar vegetarian dish.
Bon appetite.
