Cooking with mackerel and guinea fowl

Everyone, understandably, will be cautious with money so the restaurateur in me must remain conscious of offering good value within surroundings which, hopefully, are always welcoming, comforting, even charming. Meanwhile the chef in me yearns to offer great food, every day, so my goal is to blend value with interest, excitement and fine flavours.

Taking into my calculations what guests may be prepared to spend could mean using less expensive ingredients. The smart cook, either at home or in a professional environment, must make ingredients go further, or work harder or look more intriguing. Even the humblest ingredients, with a little diligence and thought, can be raised to something spectacular.

Hence a pie or stew might be fine at home. In a restaurant setting, a classic pithivier transforms those same ingredients into an elegant dome, encased in buttery flaky pastry. A simple step; a significant difference.

Creative shopping helps. Instead of opting for predictable chicken, I might turn to succulent guinea fowl, or affordable duck legs, stretching them further in a warm salad or flaking them over an open tart. As a result, I (and home cooks too) can offer finesse and flavour for an accessible price, making a good start to a new year for everyone.

Puff pastry pithivier of braised guinea fowl, prunes and mushrooms

Recipes serve four

To prepare the guinea fowl legs:

4 legs of guinea fowl

A small onion, finely sliced

A couple of button mushrooms, finely sliced

A carrot peeled and sliced in rounds

A couple of cloves of garlic, peeled

A bushy sprig of thyme

A teaspoon of black peppercorns

5 cloves

A teaspoon of juniper berries, crushed lightly with the underside of a saucepan

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

200ml of madeira, marsala or sherry

Dessertspoon of tomato paste

Olive oil, about 2 dessertspoons

Thick slice of butter, about 60g

1 ltr brown chicken stock

For the filling

200g button mushrooms

A clove of garlic, finely chopped

150g pitted prunes, sliced into halves or quarters, depending on their size and your preference

For the pastry

500g fresh puff pastry (good quality and readymade)

2 eggs, broken into a small bowl mixed with a dash of milk, beaten with a fork

Some plain flour for dusting the work surface when rolling pastry

1 Soak the prunes in the madeira or other chosen alcohol for at least 30 minutes. Next, begin to cook the guinea fowl legs: season well with salt and pepper then heat a cast iron casserole pot, add half the olive oil and brown the legs all over, then remove and set aside.

2 Add the rest of the olive oil, the butter and add the carrots and thyme and fry for five minutes over a moderate heat, browning only lightly. Add the onions, garlic, sliced mushrooms and remaining spices and fry these, stirring regularly for a further five minutes. Add the tomato paste, stir in and caramelize for a few minutes. Pour the madeira from the prunes into the pan but reserve the prunes for later. Now return the guinea fowl legs to the pot, add the stock and cover with a parchment paper disc and simmer gently over a low heat until the leg meat is tender and melting – about an hour. Leave to cool in the liquid before lifting the legs out. Strain the liquid into a clean pan and bring to the boil, then simmer until reduced to a syrupy consistency. Shred the leg meat, removing skin, bone and sinew. Once the liquid is reduced, stir the meat back into it then set aside.

3 For the filling: heat a large saucepan and add a film of olive oil then fry the mushrooms and garlic gently until cooked. Remove from heat and stir in the prunes, finally folding all this into the leg mixture.

4 Now divide the mix into four balls, shaping them with your hands. Press each one into a round-based tea or coffee cup or a ladle to help create a dome shape. Place on a tray or plate lined with parchment paper then chill until firm.

5 Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface so it is no thicker than a pound coin. Cut out four discs which will act as the bases by cutting round a coffee saucer measuring 8cm, and four discs for the lids measuring 10cm. Lay the smaller discs, which are the bases, out on the work surface, patting off excess flour. Brush each base with a little of the eggwash mixture. Place a dome of the meat mixture in the middle of each then drape a larger disc over each one. Press down firmly but carefully to create a dome shape, ensuring air is expelled. Press down firmly at the edges. Cut off excess pastry leaving you with a neat dome. Repeat so all four are complete. With the tip of a small knife, make a small nick in the top centre of each. From this top centre position, run the tip of the knife down in a curve, like a half moon, running from the top towards the seal repeating all the way around to complete the pattern. Ensure as you do this you are only lightly scoring the pastry surface. These can now be refrigerated until needed, covered with cling film, for a day or so. Alternatively, freeze at this point and defrost in the fridge when needed. To cook, pre-heat the oven to 200c (gas mark 6). Place the pithiviers on a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Brush all over with eggwash then bake for around 20 minutes, turning the tray half way through. Serve with wintry vegetables such as red cabbage and honey roast root vegetables.

Smoked mackerel with horseradish, pickled cucumber, dill and warm beetroot

2 large fillets of smoked mackerel, skin removed, flesh flaked to remove bones

250g tub of thick, good quality creme fraiche (you may not need quite all of this)

A small bunch of dill, picked, half of it roughly chopped, the remainder kept in leaves for decoration at the end

2 dessertspoons of creamed horseradish, or to taste

Good quality olive oil

Juice of a lemon

Pickled cucumber:

Half a cucumber, skin still on, sliced very finely on a mandolin, or by hand, no thicker than a ten pence coin

To pickle the cucumber:

150ml white wine vinegar

75g sugar

75g salt

For the beetroot:

2 large heads of beetroot

1 bushy sprig of thyme

Small clove of garlic

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 Combine the ingredients for the pickling liquor, warm to dissolve the sugar and salt then cool. Once cold, add the sliced cucumber and marinade for at least an hour or up to three.

2 Wash the outside of the beetroot. Tear off a sheet of tin foil big enough to be wrapped around the beets and lay this on a work surface. Place the beetroot in the middle of it then add the thyme and garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper then wrap snugly and place on an oven proof tray. Bake in the oven at 190c (gas mark 5) until the beetroot is soft in the middle when skewered, about 30–45 minutes depending on size. Once cooked, peel the skin away.

3 Combine creme fraiche and horseradish and taste. Add a pinch of salt and some black pepper then stir in the chopped dill and a squeeze of lemon juice. Refrigerate so it goes firm again. Now cut the beetroot into wedges, warm in the oven and, when hot, arrange across the plate. Now scatter clumps of the smoked mackerel in between them. Drain the cucumber on kitchen paper towel allowing about five per person and scatter these in between the other items. Finally scoop small quail egg sized dollops of the creme fraiche neatly in between, about three per plate. Scatter the rest of the dill all over then drizzle with olive oil and serve at once.