This post was supposed to be my entry into the PaperChef Challenge #53, but due to workload & lack of time it didn't get written up in time :(
The ingredient were selected by Cathy from ShowFood Chef
They were:
Dried Mushrooms
Thyme
Vodka
& her selection of Salmon.
As soon as I read that I knew what I wanted to do: Vodka cured Salmon, thyme potato pikelets & a mushroom paste.
The vokda cure is very simple & easy, but needs at least 24hrs curing time.
Simply mix 2tbls sugar, 2tbls sea salt, 2tbls (unflavoured) vodka, 1 tsp English mustard, 1 tbls fresh black peppercorns crushed (they were in season so why not). This amount of cure covers a 500g piece of salmon. rub the paste into the salmon & then place the fish skin side up on a bed of dill. Pour all the remaining paste over the fish & cover it with cling film, place a weight on the fish & leave it in the fridge to cure.
Paul created a mushroom "caviar" using the dried truffles that have been hiding in the back of the cupboard. The potato & thyme pikelets were a quick & simple recipe on which to serve these little canopes.
I think I'm going through an un-motivated cooking stage as looking back through my blog, the Paper Chef entries seem to be the only recipes that I'm posting.
This month's ingredients were selected by Bron from Bron Marshall with a some help from her little fairies.
They selected: Prosciutto, Floury Potatoes, Thyme, and (just for something different) a theme of Mother’s Day for the fourth ingredient.
No stuffing around with wild ideas for this one, I went with my first thought: Gnocchi, with herbed butter and crispy fried prosciutto. And the Mother's Day theme? Flowers, vivid blue Rosemary flowers, both colourful & eatable. If you're looking at the photo you maybe wondering what the black specks are. Well my partner Paul suggested adding some crushed dried truffle to the butter sauce. We had a pack of them sitting in the pantry & they hadn't been used for anything as yet.
The recipe for the gnocchi can be found here. It was my first ever blog post which I had initially posted on Paul's now closed blog Eat Me! which I moved onto here when I started Spikey Mikeys.
Ingredients:
1 portion gnocchi
100g unsalted butter
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
Rosemary flowers
5-6 fresh sage leaves
scraping fresh nutmeg
1 tsp dried truffle, crushed (optional)
salt
fresh ground black pepper
100g prosciutto
Olive oil
Fresh grated Parmesan
Method:
Fry the prosciutto in a little olive oil till it nice & crispy.
Remove & place on paper towels & allow to drain of any excess oil.
Melt the butter of a low heat & add thyme, rosemary, nutmeg & crushed truffles and allow to gently infuse.
Cook the gnocchi as instructed.
Gently toss the gnocchi with the butter sauce and place into a serving dish.
Crumble the crispy prosciutto over the top of the gnocchi.
Sprinkle with the rosemary flowers and serve with the grated Parmesan.
Happy Mother's Day Mum!!! x
