The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat. Rose Prince
4
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 heaped tablespoons fresh or dried breadcrumbs
zest of 1 lemon
4 sprigs of parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon crushed pink peppercorns
Heat the oil in a small pan, add all the remaining ingredients and fry gently until golden. Serve with roast turkey, wild duck, partridge or pheasant.
kitchen note
Middle Eastern shops are the best places to buy dried nuts of every variety (and dried fruit, for that matter). Large bags of pistachios and walnuts are always fresh and cost about half the price of those found in conventional groceries and supermarkets.
almond, sherry and clove sauce
An aromatic sauce with a crumb base.
Serves 4
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tablespoons fresh or dried breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons ground almonds
8 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
a pinch of ground cinnamon
1 glass of sherry
175ml/6fl oz chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a pan, add the garlic and cook until golden. Stir in the breadcrumbs, almonds, parsley, spices and some black pepper. Add the sherry, bring to the boil and simmer for a minute. Then pour in the stock and simmer for a further minute. Season to taste with salt. Serve with rice, beside roasted poultry or game.
traditional bread sauce
Serves 6
600ml/1 pint whole milk
1 onion, peeled and halved, studded with 5 cloves
a pinch of grated nutmeg
about 10 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the milk in a pan and add the onion halves and nutmeg. Heat to boiling point, then turn off the heat and leave to stand for at least half an hour. Reheat, adding enough fresh breadcrumbs to form a thick sauce, then stir in the butter and season to taste. If the sauce becomes too thick, let it down with more milk.
breadcrumb coatings – suspicious minds
In Italy, difficult food is made appetising for children by coating it in breadcrumbs: veal, chicken or lamb is hammered until thin, then concealed in a crust (see here). It is a proven means of getting children used to the flavour of real meat and away from fast-food nugget culture. You can also use the technique for plaice, prawns, green vegetables such as courgettes – in fact anything that you may not normally get past their suspicious minds on the basis that it is not chips. Crumbed food can be fried in a shallow layer of olive or sunflower oil. Keep an eye on the temperature; the food should emerge from the pan golden, not mahogany.
You need three bowls:
kitchen note
Any food that has been crumbed will keep safely in the fridge for the usual time without spoiling. You can also freeze the crumb-coated food before you cook it.
breadcrumbs and garlic with pasta
If possible, use orecchiette pasta for this dish, because the little, saucer-like shapes catch the breadcrumbs so neatly.
Serves 4
400g/14oz broccoli, broken into florets
400g/14oz short durum wheat pasta
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tablespoons fresh or dried breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
Bring 2 pans of water to the boil and add salt. Cook the broccoli for 5 minutes and the pasta for whatever time is recommended on the packet (reputable Italian brands give very accurate cooking instructions). The idea is for both to be ready at the same time, so you can drain them in the same colander.
Just before you serve, fry the garlic and breadcrumbs in the oil until golden. Drain the pasta and broccoli and return them to the pasta pan. Stir in the breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper and serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
kitchen note
Use steamed courgettes, shredded Savoy cabbage, spring greens, calabrese or string beans instead of the broccoli.
breadcrumb, garlic and parsley butter stuffing for shellfish
A treat for large mussels or clams on the half shell. The butter and crumbs make expensive shellfish go further because you can mop up the juices with crusty white bread. You can also serve scallops in the same way.
Serves 4
120g/4oz unsalted butter, left at room temperature overnight
6 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
6 heaped tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
24 large mussels or 40 clams, cleaned (see here)
sea salt
Pound together the butter, parsley, breadcrumbs and garlic and work in a pinch of salt.
Put the mussels or clams in a large pan, then cover and place over a fairly high heat for 2–3 minutes, until they open. Allow to cool. Remove the top half of each shell, leaving the mussel or clam in the other half. Spread a little stuffing into each (1/2–1 teaspoonful, depending on the size of the shell). Arrange on ovenproof plates – individual ones are best – and place under a hot grill. If you do not have a grill, preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/Gas Mark 9. Cook until the breadcrumbs are singed