Chorizo and tomato stew, with potatoes

Raw chorizo. I cut it in half and then peeled the skin off and then cut it into chunks.

Raw onion, chopped.

I cooked the chorizo in the pan for long enough to melt off enough fat to fry the onions. The metal grille is a splash protector.

The wine. Spanish wine goes well with Spanish food..

Raw potatoes, from the garden.

Potatoes cooking in a large pan of water. Started with cold water, not boiled in the kettle first.

Tomatoes from the garden. I soak them in boiling water to make them easier to peel.

Blurred but shows how easy it is. They'd been soaking for a while. The water was no longer boiling but the jug and dish were on a warming plate.

Skinned tomatoes in the casserole dish. One they were bubbling, I added the chorizo and onion, and spices and let that simmer a bit. Then I put the cooked potatoes on top, added some small courgettes and their flowers, and put it in the oven for half an hour or an hour.

Chilli, of which I put in only a small amount. Paprika, of which I put in quite a lot because I have bought a few too many cans over the years.

Finished and on a plate

Bratwurst

The ingredients in their packaging.

Just the sausages, fresh out of the packet.

The beer in the pan.

Sausages in the boiling beer, first time.

Sausages on the barbecue after one turn. I kept the barbecue lid closed.

Sausages back in the beer after being turned a couple of times.

Sausages after several sessions on the barbecue, and then back in the beer.

As served, with sautéed potatoes and onions, and fried courgette.

Chicken à la brun

I make this all the time. The recipe is from Larousse.

Six raw chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry. It was a sunny evening.

Heating bacon rind in the pan, so that some fat melts off, for initial lubrication.

After searing the skin and non-skin sides for a few minutes each. The pan is then moved to the smallest burner, and the heat turned down to the minimum.

After cooking for 45 minutes or more at the low temperature. Plenty of juices have come out of the chicken, which now looks paler for same reason.

The chicken has been removed from the pan. It is in a dish that is also covering the small pan in which leeks are cooking. The chicken pan is moved back to the larger burner and heated to reduce the juices. The half lemon was rubbed on the pan to de-glaze. The juice of the other half has been poured in.

After the juices have reduced and thickened, the chicken is returned to the pan for a few minutes and rolled around in the sauce.

On the plate with leeks and chard. The leeks were cooked in butter, water and caraway seeds.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients: Chilli oil (home-made), celery, chicken thighs, coriander, carrots, golden shallots (Thai ingredient, noodles, chicken stock in a can, chicken stock cubes, garlic

Heated the casserole in the oven

Raw chicken about to be roasted. There's chilli oil in the bottom of the pan. (Six thighs in total.

)

After the chicken has roasted, the stock is poured in. Onions, bay leaf, and golden shallots have been added. The lid is put on and it simmers gently for about 3 hours.

After simmering. The meat is removed, and the rest is poured through a sieve to remove the onions etc.

Supporting cast: Noodles boiling, carrots frying with caraway seeds and garlic in goose fat.

The roasted and boiled chicken is
shredded into three piles: Skin for cats, meat for soup, bones for discard.

Arty angle on the finished soup

Sensible angle on the finished soup, with coriander leaves stirred in

Frozen summer fruit with white chocolate sauce

Frozen sumer fruits


Double cream, being heated ...


... white chocolate, being melted

The cream was mixed with the chocolate and then whipped until snmoothe
Note to self: Put the white chocolate in a basin big enough to whip in the cream and keep the basin over the boiling water until ready to pour

Finished: Frozen summer fruits in a white chocolate sauce


And up close

French onion soup

Onions, skinned and ready to slice finely

This is two onions
Together they were around 600g

Now finely sliced


Up close


Fresh garlic


Oil in the tureen


Softened onions


Onions plus tomato, garlic, salt, sugar


With beef stock, red wine and brandy


Sliced focaccia, for croutons


Focaccia fried on one side


The finished dish: French onion soup with focaccia and gruyere croutons

I thinned the soup with a little water, and baked the croutons for a few minutes topped with grated cheese

Gnocchi in a spicey tomato and bacon sauce

Cubed pancetta in the pan
No oil: there is enough fat in the bacon

Onions added
Frying in the fat already melted off the bacon

Tinned tomatoes added

Once the onions are soft
No need to chop; just split up with a spatula

Dried herb and spice

The pancetta was not that full of flavour

Raw gnocchi

Gnocchi in the bottom of the pan
When it's cooked, it will float to the surface

Cooked gnocchi in the colander

The finished dish