This is a collaborative work-in-progress!

(We all like a good home-cooked meal aboard Aldarion!)

Meals cooked on the cruise with Gill Stowell, David Hilton, David Gundry, Rona Gundry, Karen Refsgaard and John Bryden, Aug 2013.

Day 1. Sat. Chicken with garlic and bay leaf and olives

6 Chicken thighs, breasts or legs with skin on. Olive Oil. 12-18 Whole Garlic Cloves in their skin. White wine. Roast the garlic in olive oil until brown, adding the bay leaves at the last minute, take out and set aside, add the seasoned chicken to the pan and fry each side until nice and brown. Add back the garlic and bay leaves, and then add the wine to cover the chicken. Stir around and turn the chicken. Cover and simmer for 30 mins or so. Serve immediately.

Day 2. Sun. Swedish meat balls

This deserves no comment, as the meat balls were purchased in Soderkoping!

Day 3. Mon. Spaghetti Bolognese (David Gundry please add))

Day 4. Tues. Prawn Biryani (Thanks to  Gill Stowell)

Ingredients for 4

Small onion thinly sliced

Light olive oil 2tbsps

2 tsp cumin seeds

Zest of 1large lemon

500g raw prawns defrosted(can use cooked prawns but add at very end)

4 ripe or tinned tomatoes –can add red or green pepper too if liked

150g toasted almonds or cashews –optional

1tsp dried chilli flakes

200g basmati rice & 500ml hot water

Fresh coriander leaves

Frozen peas and crème fraiche or yoghurt to serve

 Heat oil and cook cumin until sizzle/aromatic then add onion and lemon zest and fry until translucent. Add chilli flakes then tomatoes and nuts if using. Stir fry for 30secs then add rice and stir. Add hot water and simmer very low with lid on tight for 10minutes. Add prawns and return to simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir in coriander and serve with peas and crème fraiche.

Excellent!

Day 5. Weds. BBQ

Day 6. Thurs. Kedgeree (thanks to David Hilton)

KEDGEREE for 4
Put 700g of smoked haddock in a pan with 570ml of water. Simmer for 8mins while you chop an onion. [just a small word of warning when you buy Nordic smoked fish – it is very salty compared, for example, with Scottish smoked haddock, and I think should be soaked for a while beforehand to reduce the salt levels! JB]

Remove the fish from the water which you need to keep. You need to keep the fish too but put it somewhere warm.
In the same pan melt 50g butter and soften the onion in it for 5mins.
Add 3/4 teaspoon Madras curry powder (or more/less to taste)
Cook for another 1/2 min then add 225ml Basmati rice with 450ml
(i.e. double the volume of rice) of the water you have saved.
Bring to the boil and stir once then cover tightly and reduce heat to a low
simmer.
Use the next 10mins to hard boil, peel and roughly chop 3 or 4 eggs and flake the fish.
Put the fish and egg along with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, some parsley and another 50g of butter on top of the slowly simmering rice and re-cover.
After a further 5mins stir everything together and serve with peas and copious quantities of white wine or cider.

If you can’t get smoked haddock try it with any smoked fish and, if you haven’t got a measuring jug, just guess the quantity of rice you need and assess it’s volume by putting it in a cup/empty can of peas/whatever you please and use twice the volume of liquid as you have used of rice.

YUM!

Day 7. Fri. Penne Arabbiata (John’s recipe, based on the River Café Italian recipes book; but Gill and David Cooked a slightly different version of their own)

Ingredients:-

Penne: 500gms

Garlic cloves 4, peeled and halved

Plum tomatoes 2 cans

Ex.V. Olive Oil 2/3 tbsps

Dried Chillies 2

Basic leaves ¾ tbsps.

Heat the olive oil in pan and add garlic and whole chillies. When the garlic is brown, remove with the chillies and save. Put the basil leaves in the hot oil for about 5 seconds and remove. Add the tom,atoes to the oil, season and break them up. Cook gently for 10 mins.

Cook the penne in boiling salted water until al dente, Drain.

Add the garlic, chillies and basil to the pasta Stir in the tomato sauce and stir well before serving.

Day 8. Sat. Salmon with ginger, soy sauce and olive oil.

Marinate the salmon in 1 TBS dark soy sauce, 1 tsp EV olive oil, 2cm nob of root ginger, marinade 10 mins+, fry in hot oil, out in salmon skin side down about 3 mins each side, let rest, pour the rest of the marinade into the pan, add spring onions, cook for 1 minute,  serve salmon on the spring onions with crushed potatoes.

Day 9. Sun. Fish Meal out at great smoked herring place in Allinge, Bornholm

Day 10. Mon. Moroccan Tagine with Flat Bread and Tabbouleh

Chicken Tagine (Gill Stowell)

A Moroccan tagine is a stew that takes its name from the heavy earthenware pot in which it is slow cooked, traditionally over an open fire, or bed of charcoal. But it can be cooked in a heavy iron pot – preferably shallow – with a well-fitting lid. They can be cooked using many types of meat, but favorites are lamb and chicken. They all like  low, slow cooking.

In this recipe we use chicken with preserved lemon and olives, partly because John had a kilner jar full of his own preserved lemons on board!  Although in Morocco, Tagines are normally served with bread, we chose to serve it with flat bread and whole pearl barley (pearl bygg) included in a Tabbouleh.  The recipes for these are given below.

Ingredients

We used Chicken breasts without bone, but bone in and whole jointed chicken gives a better flavour.

Red or yellow onions  cut into strips are a must in a tagine, used as a bed for the chicken.

Spices usually include ginger and saffron, a pinch of cinnamon to sweeten the onion, and lots of fresh coriander and parsley if available.

Black or Violet olives are good. We used the whole preserved lemon, but bear in mind that these are preserved with a lot of salt, and some prefer only to use the skin.

A Tagine is a stew, so needs liquid in the form of water (or stock, or wine, or a mix). About 175-200ml will give a nice strong sauce

This Serves 4-6

3tbsp olive oil
,;2 red onions, thinly sliced lengthways
; 3-4 garlic cloves; 
2tsp ground ginger; 
½tsp saffron, inflused in a little warm water; 
1tsp cinnamon; 
Juice of ½ lemon
; 2 small preserved lemons; 
2tbsp chopped parsley; 
Small bunch of fresh coriander
; 6 chicken thighs; 
3tbsp  olives

Heat the oil in the  heavy-bottomed shallow lidded pan on a low heat, followed by a layer of onion. Mash the garlic with ½tsp salt and add to the pan after the onion is soft.

Sprinkle over the ginger, saffron water and cinnamon, followed by the lemon juice, and coarsely chopped pulp of one preserved lemon and the rind of both, cut into slivers. Add the parsley and 2tbsp chopped coriander and toss it all together well.

Arrange the chicken on top and scatter over the olives. Pour 175-200ml water/stock into the pan, cover tightly and simmer very gently for about 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.Season to taste and top with the remaining coriander, chopped.

Flat Bread for 6

600 gms unbleached organic strong bread flour

¾ tsp fine sea salt

yeast (preferably fresh)

255ml tepid water with a little honey dissolved

1.5 tblsp Ex V olive oil

Zatar or Rosemary or Sesame Seeds to garnish

Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the honey water, and then pour the oil on it. Now sloly mix the water mixture into the flour by hand, kneading for about five minutes and adjusting the amount of flour/water to give a very slighltly tacky but soft elastic and smooth dough. Rest to rise for about 45 minutes on a floured surface and covered by a cloth.

Heat the oven to 230C (450F)

Divide the dough into 6 and roll into balls. Roll out the balls into oval flat breads about 3-5mm thick, and dust with the garnish and a little olive oil before baking on an oiled baking tray for 5 to 10 minutes. Each bread should partly bubble up and colour slightly, but remain rather soft to the touch (ie not crisp).

Taboulleh for 6

The salad

150 gms Organic Pearl Barley, boiled for about 40 minutes and drained

600 gms small sweet tomatoes cut into quarters

6 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

4 small bunches of flat-leaved parsley, roughly chopped

2 small bunches of fresh mint, roughly chopped

Mix all the ingredients together after preparation

The dressing

3 garlic cloves crushed to a paste with salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground allspice

3 tblsps fresh lemon juice

4 tblsps Ex V Olive Oil

Sea salt and black pepper

A teaspoon of honey if desired

Mix the spices and garlic together with the lemon juice to disperse flavours, then add the honey and the olive oil and season if needed with salt and pepper. Toss in the salad just before eating.

Day 11. Tues. BBQ with marinaded pork

Day 12. Wednesday. Seared strips of steak with a barley, mint and parsley salad.

Seared sirloin salad with barley, grapes and sumac  (6 people)

80gms pearl barley

2 or 3 good sized, thick sirloin steaks about 750gms

drizzle of olive oil

4-5 bunches flat leaved parsley, leaves picked from stalks

500g white seedless grapes

sea salt and black pepper

MARINADE

Small onion, grated

2 tblsps red wine vinegar

2 tsps sumac

2 tsps freshly ground coriander seeds

1 tsp allspice ground

black pepper freshly ground

DRESSING

2-3 small garlic cloves crushed with salt

2 tblsps red wine vinegar

6 tblsps Ex V olive oil

3 tsps sumac

2 pinch freshly ground allspice

2 pinch freshly ground coriander

Simmer the barley in boiling salted water for about 40-45 minutes, drain and cool.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and rub evenly over the steaks. Leave to marinate for 1-2 hours.

Blend the ingredients together for the dressing, seasoning with salt and pepper

After the steak is marinated heat a griddle pan until it smokes. Rub the steaks with olive oil and griddle. For medium rare, just sear the steaks on both sides, about 1 minute both sides. Season with salt as the meat is turned. Remove from heat and rest a minut while you assemble the salad.

Put the barley in a large salad bowl, adding the parsley and grapes. Taste for seasoning. Slice the steak into thin slices across the grain about 1 cm thick. Toss half of the steak strips in the salad and lay the rest on top. Serve immediately.

Day 13. Thursday.

Day 14. Friday (Anholt). Wonderful fresh fish bought at the fish shop on the pier at Gillelejo, Zeeland that morning!

Day 15. Saturday. A pork  casserole made by Karen.

Pork Casserole (Karen please add the recipe)

Additional items from other cruises, etc

Ratatouille Provençal (Ragout) (The one I like) (serves 6-8 or more if accompanied)

(Adapted by John from Joan Weir: From Tapas to Mezze)

2 large aubergines cut into 1 inch cubes, salted washed and dried

6 tblsps Ex V Olive Oil

2 red bell peppers cut into ½ inch strips

1 red chilli pepper, seeded

4 small courgettes (zucchini) trimmed and cut into ¾” slices

2 large yellow onions cut into 8 wedges

8 garlic cloves crushed with sea salt

5/6 tomatoes, skinned and cut into 1 inch cubes

3 tblsps tomato paste

3 bay leaves

4 tblsps chopped flat leaved parsley

¾ tsps. Fresh chopped thyme

2 tblsps red wine vinegar

20 frch basil leaves cut into thin strips

Large glass of white wine

Glass or two of water as needed

Heat 3 tblsps olive oil in large heave pan. Add the aubergine and brown on all sides (15 mins). Remove with slotted spoon and reserve. Add 1 tblsp olive oil and add the bell peppers, cooking and stirring occasionally until wilted (6/8 mins). Reserve with the aubergine. Add the courgettes and cook until lightly browned (4/5 mins). Reserve with the other veg. Add the remaining 2 tblsps of olive oil with the onions and cook until soft, adding the garlic half way through ( 8/10 mins). Add the tomatoes, paste. Bay leaves, parsley, thyme and pepper, and simmer slowly for 20 mins. Add the reserved veg. to the pan with the wine and vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 mins, adding in water as necessary. Place on serving platter and garnish with the strips of basil.

Can be served hot, warm cold, and is very good the day after!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara (4-6 people) John, based on the New Times Cookbook recipe.

225gms streaky bacon thick sliced and cut into short strips

5 or 6 cloves garlic peeled but not chopped

2 tblsps Ex V Olive Oil

30 gms butter

4 or 5 tblsps white wine

salt and freshly ground black pepper

450 gms spaghetti

3 large eggs

84 gms parmesan cheese

3 tblsps chopped flat-leaved parsley

Bruise the garlic with the back of the knife and add with the chopped bacon to a pan with melted hot oil and butter, cooking until the garlic and bacon are golden colour. Add the win and shake. Boil until the wine is well reduced, then discard the garlic. Keep warm while cooking the spaghetti to al dente.

Break the eggs into a warm serving bowl, add the cheese and parsley and black pepper, beating all lightly together. Add the hot cooked spaghetti and toss in the egg mixture until well coated. Add the bacon with its fat, and toss again. Serve immediately!

Simple Bread

1 kg unbleached organic white or mixed brown/white bread flour

Yeast

2 tsps sea salt

700 ml tepid water

Mix all ingredients together  and beat until smooth. Put the mix into two well oiled and floured bread tins. Cover and let rise for as long as needed, usually about 3 hurs. Preheat the oven to 230C (450F), and bake in the middle shelf for 35 minutes. Remove from tin and bake for a further 10-12  minutes, after which time the bottom should sound hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Simple Rolls (Boller/ Rundstukker) (Karen please supply!)

Simple Ginger biscuits (John, based on Anne Carr’s recipe)

250gms butter melted

250 gms castor sugar

2 tsps ground ginger

chopped stem ginger if available

440 gms self-raising flour (or normal flour with 2 tsps baking powder mixed in it)

Melt the butter and sugar together gently, then remove from hear and slowly mix in the flour and ginger (including the stem ginger). Press into a 30x20cm baking tray. Bake in a modferate oven, 190C for 15-20 mins until lightly browned. Cut into squares and transfer to a wire rack t cool.

Linda’s Incredible Fruit Cake (sufficient for 3 standard loaf tins)

(With many thanks to Rona Gundry for this delicious sailors cake – who would be without it with a nice mug of good tea! I will try to take at least three of them with me to Russia!)

450g butter

560g S-R flour

112g ground almonds

4-6 eggs

450g demerara sugar

900g sultanas or other dried fruit chopped.

Melt butter with sugar in saucepan then remove from heat.

Add fruit, eggs, ground almonds and flour.

Divide into lined loaf tins.

Cook in slowish oven ‘until done’.

Fantastic! 

Rona’s nutty biscuits (These are ever present when Rona or David are – or have been – on board! Now the secret recipe is out, thanks to Rona!)

[ The official name for them is Butter Nutball Cookies (Rona thinks it is a dreadful name – and says we should all feel free to improvise!)

Strong Marmalade (John’s recipe based on the New Times Cookbook)

(Not to be made on the boat!)

900 gms oranges, preferably Seville

2 lemons

2.25 litres water

900 gms granulated or preserving white sugar

900 gms demarara sugar

2 large tblsps dark treacle preferably molasses

Cut the peel off the oranges and lemons and insert into juicer to remove juice and separate the pith and seeds. Then cut the peel into short thick strips.

Tie the pith and pips into a muslin bag and hang into the large pan. Add the water and peel to the pan and boil gently until the peel is very tender and the liquid well reduced (about 2 hours). Lift the muslin bag out of the pan and squeeze as much of the thick pectin mixture into the pan. Add all the sugars and treacle into the pan and return all to the boil rapidly. Test for setting, and when it sets, remove from heat and take off the skimmings. Stir rapidly with a glass of whisky. Cool a little and put into the sterilised jam pots. Leave to cool and cover.

Preserved Lemons (these keep well in a large kilner jar on the boat and can be used for several great recipes).

10 unwaxed organic lemons washed and dried

1 kg coarse sea salt

3 roughly broken up cinnamon sticks

1 tblsp coriander seeds

1 tblsp whole cumin seed

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp cloves

5 small dried red chillies

5 bay leaves

juice of 8 extra lemons

`make a cross on the top of each lemon and continue to cut 2/3 of the way down. Open out slightly, pushing some salt inside each one, and press together again. In a large steralised preserving jar of about 1.5L, alternate the salt with the spices and lemons so that everything is more or less evenly packed into the jar. Press down on the lemons to help extrude some of the juice. Pour on extra lemon juice to cover completely. Close the jar and leave at room temperature for about 2 months, or until the skins are soft all the way through. When ready to use a lemon, remove from the jar, rinse under cold water to remove excess salt, pull out and discard the pulp, then chop the skin as desired. Will keep in the fridge for up to a year, or in the sole of the boat.

Another quicker method is to boil the lemons whole with lots of salt and the same spices above until the skin is soft. Place in a jar with the cooking liquid and spices and leave to cure for 5 days. Cover with olive oil and keep in fridge or in skin of ship.

Marinaded Salmon with ginger and soy.

Thanks to David Gundry!

1. marinade 2 salmon fillets in soy, ginger and oil for 10 mins.[longer is better]

2.Heat pan  [no oil] until smoking. add salmon, skin side down and cook for 3-4 minutes each side.[I use  1tbsp soy sauce 2cm piece fresh root ginger peeled and grated ) 3mins and 3 mins as you know. depends on thickness fillet, hotness of pan and preferences]. Remove from pan and keep warm.

1tsp olive or rapeseed oil [i tend to use more]

3. add onions, and marinade and fry for 1-2 mins. serve with salmon on top of onions and pour juices from bunch salad onions..

Good with crushed new potatoes. ENJOY!

Roast shoulder of lamb stuffed with saffron rice

This classic dish is based on Moro’s recipe  – Classic for parties in N Africa: Serves 4-6.

saffron rice 
1 shoulder of lamb, about 1.6-1.8 kg, boned and trimmed of most skin and fat 
3 tbsp olive oil 
sea salt and black pepper 
75ml water 
4 tbsp orange-blossom water or finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange

to serve:

blanched and braised chard or braised spinach 
200g homemade or Greek yogurt, thinned 
with 2 tbsp milk, with crushed garlic clove 
and a good pinch of salt

Cook the saffron rice (see recipe below) and set aside. Preheat the oven to 220 C/gas mark 7.

Place the shoulder, skin-side down, on a board and open out fully. Put half, or as much as will fit, of the saffron rice into the pockets of the boned lamb, roll up and tie with string. Place a large roasting tray on the hob, over a medium heat, add the olive oil and brown all sides of the lamb until sealed. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, place in the oven and roast for about 1 to 1 hours or until the meat is pink inside. Remove, transfer the lamb to a board and let it rest for 10 minutes, loosely covered with foil.

Meanwhile, make the gravy. Pour off any fat and return the roasting tray to the hob and heat over a medium heat. Add the water and orange-blossom water (or zest and juice) and bring to a gentle simmer, scraping the meat juices off the bottom of the pan. Taste for seasoning, transfer to a small saucepan or bowl and keep hot. When you are ready to eat, slice the lamb and serve with the orange-blossom gravy over the top, the rest of the saffron rice (warmed) on the side, some braised chard or spinach, and a little yogurt.

Saffron rice

Saffron rice is eaten at weddings and on special occasions throughout much of the Muslim world. It is an elegant rice, subtly scented with butter and spice. This dish can be made in 15 minutes if the rice has been soaked. Serves 4.

80g unsalted butter 
cinnamon stick 
5 whole green cardamom pods, cracked 
3 whole black peppercorns 
200g basmati rice, washed and soaked in salted water for 3 hours 
2 tbsp roughly chopped pistachio nuts (optional) 
2 tbsp barberries (optional) 
sea salt 
1 good pinch of saffron threads (about 100 threads) infused in 4 tbsp boiling water

to serve:

200g homemade or Greek yogurt, seasoned 
with 1 crushed garlic clove, salt and pepper 
caramelised crispy onions

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium to low heat. Add the cinnamon, cardamom pods and black peppercorns and gently fry the spices until their aromas start to be released (about 4 minutes). Drain the rice well, add it to the butter, and stir to coat for a minute. Turn up the heat to medium to high. If you are using pistachios and/or barberries, stir them in now. Pour enough water over the rice to cover it roughly by 1cm, and season with salt. Rest some greaseproof paper on the surface of the water, then place a lid on the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Lift the lid and paper off the pan and drizzle the saffron water evenly over the rice. Replace the paper and lid. Turn down the heat to medium to low and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Serve with the seasoned yogurt on the side and caramelised crispy onions on top.

Slow-Cooked Roast Lamb

Ingredients (serves 4 – 5 people, but not many left overs)
1 shoulder of lamb with the bone in (about 2kg’s). DON’T trim the lovely fat off, it’s what helps to keep it from going dry.
3 tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
5 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
18 garlic cloves, skin on
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
1/2 bottle Spanish white wine
3 tbsp brandy (optional. I didn’t have any at home, so I left it out)
a big bunch of potatoes
a few beetroots (again, optional but delicious)
1 nice big throw away metal tray (trust me, it will save you a HEAP of cleaning up)

Chop up the 1 tbsp of thyme and 1 tbsp of rosemary.

Rub the shoulder of lamb with the 3 tsp sea salt, half of the chopped thyme and half of the chopped rosemary (if you use a bit more of any of the three, it’s OK). Put it aside and let it stand for between 20mins and around an hour. If it’s more than an hour, it’s OK, but make sure it’s not less than 20mins. While you’re waiting, heat the oven up to 175 degrees celsius.

Roughly chop up the onion. Put the 5 tbsp oil, chopped onion, 18 cloves of garlic (skin on) and a good pinch of salt in a pan or tray over a medium heat. I use the same tray I plan on baking the roast in, saves a bit more washing up. Lightly fry the onion for about 10 minutes, or until they soften and starts to get a little colour. Add in the 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika and 1/2 bottle of wine (making sure you have a glass of Spanish wine in your hand…after all, you need to make sure the wine isn’t off!) and the 3 tbsp brandy if you’re using it and mix it together.

Put the lamb shoulder on top into the baking tray, on top of the onion mixture and skin side up. Stick it in the oven, and you’re almost done with anything that could even be considered difficult.

Roast it for 2 1/2hrs, making sure you baste it every half an hour. This is really important! Basting helps make sure it doesn’t dry out, and also helps give you the nice crunchy top which everyone will fight over. When you’re basting, make sure none of the onion or garlic pieces are left on top or they’ll burn.

While the lamb is baking, prepare your beetroot and potatoes however you want them. I don’t peel my potatoes for this dish, but I did halve them to help them cook quicker. I also peeled and halved the beetroots.

Once the meat has cooked for 2 1/2 hours, put the potatoes and beetroot into the tray, sprinkle on a good pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil if you want, and crank the oven up to 220 degrees celsius. If the pan’s dry, add a splash of water. Bake for around 40mins, or until the potatoes are cooked. Once the potatoes are ready, take the meat out and leave it to rest for 10mins.

Then you’re done. All that’s left to do is serve, enjoy and let the compliments roll in. Don’t forget to add a nice crunchy salad on the side, and a good bottle of wine. Chocolate for desert is also advised.