reading

MICHAEL JOSEPH

Michael Joseph is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

First published 2012

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Design by Nathan Burton

ISBN: 978-0-241-96160-5

The Weekend Cookbook

Catherine Hill

Photography by Tim Winter

Introduction

Whilst this book was originally written with a weekend away in mind, it is equally valuable as a cookbook for recipes to be enjoyed at home when friends and family come to stay. I hope that it will become an invaluable book for those times when you fancy a weekend of cooking with loved ones and need some inspirational ideas for hassle-free eating.

I reckon the world is pretty much divided into two kinds of people: those who have a weekend away and rarely venture into the kitchen other than to make a brew or a bit of toast and maybe hunt out the bottle opener. And then there are those who love to cook . . .

I undeniably fall into the latter category and, I’m happy to say, so do most of my friends and family. I’m not for one minute suggesting I’m a slave to the kitchen, but I really couldn’t imagine a weekend away without great food making an appearance at every opportunity.

As for most people, my perfect weekend away would probably include fish and chips on the beach (and I’m prepared to do this whatever the weather) or a stonking lunch in a snuggly bar with a pint of local beer. But when the opportunity arises, I will always head to the kitchen and cook something glorious for everyone to share.

My approach to food, whether cooked at home or on holiday, is the same as it’s always been: simple, relaxed, delicious and without any pretence. In other words, I’m a family cook. I truly believe that the food should suit the mood and do its best to enhance a weekend and it should in no way stop you from having lots of fun.

The trick to getting the balance right for a great weekend away lies in planning ahead (more about that later), sharing the workload and choosing the right food for that particular occasion. There’s no point in really going to town on a Friday evening, your first night away in a strange house and an even stranger kitchen. Friday night is all about taking it easy, warming something through that you’ve made ahead and brought with you. Or why not throw something together from scratch that requires minimal ingredients or do something that might involve a little help from eager friends?

In contrast, Saturday night is the time for getting a bit clever in the kitchen. You’ll hopefully have had time to relax and take stock, so doing something that bit posher or trickier might just tickle your fancy.

Whilst all of the chapters are arranged chronologically, from Friday through to Sunday, feel free to dip in and out as the mood takes you. All of the recipes – unless otherwise stated – serve four. I could have written them to serve six but I always think it’s easier to do half again for six people, double them up for eight or halve them if you’re lucky enough to have a romantic getaway!

Children will love some of these dishes but you know what your kids will and won’t go for. No matter what, I always end up packing Weetabix, endless amounts of cheese for toasties, fresh pasta for instant suppers plus a few emergency fish fingers, if only to ensure a bit of peace and normality during the weekend.

Making life easy

Can I just say at this point that you’re dealing with a woman who learned the art of efficient food packing and planning the hard way? I spent the first few weeks of a six-month bike tour of New Zealand carrying endless bottles of soy, spices and sauces, packs of noodles, cans of coconut milk and various dried sausages, not to mention the large bottle of fake tan I managed to hide in my husband’s pack for several weeks! Needless to say, I very quickly worked out how to carry just the essentials and nothing more. Below is a list of ingredients, tools and tricks that I’ve discovered through trial and error (via a lot of self-catering trips!) that will hopefully help to make your weekend away that little bit easier.

It’s a real rib-sticker that tastes just great with big gutsy sauces and ragùs. Just remember to pile on the flavour and season well as it soaks it up like a sponge. Most varieties cook in minutes and one 500g pack will easily serve four hungry adults.

If you’re going to choose dried, it’s worth investing in a quality brand. I honestly don’t think you can beat DeCecco. It costs a little bit more than most pastas, but if you’re going to the effort of cooking a really great sauce, why would you pour it over second-rate, flabby pasta? Try it and see what you think.

There are loads out there and it’s simply just a question of tasting your way around them and finding your favourites. Once you’ve made your choice, you can promote them from the simple task of coating pasta and use them elsewhere . . . As toppings for pizza; with a dash of white wine as the base for a cheat’s fish stew; or add a splodge to pep up home-made chilli (especially good if you’ve been heavy-handed with the spices!).

Good for soaking up one glass of wine too many, but also great finely chopped and turned into a coarse, garlicky home-made tapenade. I use it under the skin of whole roast chickens, stirred into salad dressings for extra oomph or just spread thickly on hot toast.

OK, not the most glamorous of ingredients, but there are some pretty good ones out there now. You know the kids will love them, they’re great for padding out a main-course salad if everyone suddenly comes over all ravenous, plus they make the perfect edible ice pack for transporting your food. What’s not to love?

I love this stuff and it travels really well. It’s great on a barbie, wonderful with salads, yummy with couscous and it makes a pretty good fake paneer cheese should you suddenly feel the need to make a veggie curry.

The whole dried sausages are just perfect if you’re travelling long distances as they don’t need a jot of refrigeration. They’re completely addictive sliced and dry-fried until crisp. Try them in stews, scattered over salads or serve as a near-instant savoury snack.

These highly transportable fruit add instant flavour to fish dishes, pasta, salads and anything full of spices. And can you imagine a G&T or Mojito without them?

Go for pots of herbs if you need a bit of longevity. Otherwise buy fresh and give them a good dunk in cold water before placing in food bags. When you seal the bags, make sure you keep a little air in them to cushion them for the journey.

When I know what I’m going to cook, I dispense just enough into little stackable make-up pots to save transporting the entire kitchen across the country.

It sounds obvious, but I have been to a few holiday cottages that had either no salt and pepper whatsoever or just dusty old white pepper in a shaker and a smidgen of slightly damp salt. Worth packing just in case.

Gravy does sometimes need that extra little oomph or thickness and who’s to know you sprinkled in a few granules at the last minute?

Instant velvety richness for pasta sauces, soups and dips, or use as a base for creamy home-made fruit fools and desserts.

I’m quite guilty of using olive oil for everything, but it really is a waste of both flavour and money. Plump for a really lovely extra virgin olive oil when you need that wonderful fruity flavour, but for general cooking and frying go for a simple sunflower oil.

Kikkoman has the most wonderful, complex flavour that beats other soy sauces hands down. If you want a lighter flavour, combine with a splash of water and a pinch of sugar rather than ferrying two bottles of light and dark around with you.

The only thing for pouring over hot puddings but also great for mustering up quick assembly-job trifles, or make a bodge-it ice-cream by mixing with whipped cream and plenty of smushed summer berries before freezing.

Tools and tricks

Never in a million years would I take a set of scales on holiday with me, and if I did, it would be in the certain knowledge that my husband would throw me out at the first service station! But then there really is no need for scales when you’re not going to be making tricky cakes, biscuits or meringues. Instead, use the pack size as a guide when you’re cooking, and taste as you go along. As you probably won’t have any real spoon measures to hand (i.e. 1 teaspoon = 5ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml), it’s fine to use the spoons from the drawer. None of the recipes are particularly tricky and none of them will be ruined by a little too much of this or too little of that. Just use your best judgement and keep on tasting! Where I have given recipes for a steamed pudding, I’ve measured it in ml or fluid volume rather than by the gram. I’ve also included a nifty Yorkshire pudding recipe that uses a standard individual-serving yogurt pot as a measuring device.

I have to confess I do always take my favourite knife with me as I can’t bear the thought of struggling with blunt old knives. They’re dangerous as they slip so easily and using a dodgy knife can easily add ten minutes on to your preparation time.

Folded flat into large squares, they take up no room and weigh nothing. Invaluable for bakes, roasts and barbies.

I couldn’t imagine a world without them, but they have to be sturdy and they have to be big. They’re great for decanting sauces, stews and salads into and they’re wonderful for transporting food from home. Just remember to double-bag if you’re dealing with anything particularly saucy.

I tend to go for the soft material ones for shorter trips and the sturdy big boxes for anything longer. A base of thick newspaper can help trap the cold and try to them pack as tightly as possible because any air pockets will sap away the cold.

I tend to transport a fair bit of frozen food, which acts as an edible ice pack. Frozen chips, peas, ice cubes, stews and soups all help keep the temperature down. Take care, though, when you pack soft leaves, fruits, herbs or any delicate veggies – if soft-leaved herbs and salads come into direct contact with anything icy (the back of a fridge, an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas), they’ll wilt and very quickly turn to a dark mush.

Planning and the art of delegation

If you’re holidaying with friends, put your heads together well in advance so that you can plan what each of you is going to cook each day. Not only does it help spread the cost and save on doubling up; it also means that all of you can have a little down time. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re a travelling chef!

Once your meals are planned, the shopping and packing list will come naturally. We have a bunch of friends with whom we regularly go away, so we tend to do a joint online shop. We usually start the list a week or so before we go away. That way, we can add what we need, pack what we can and then split the bill fifty–fifty. Everybody’s happy!

When it comes to choosing what to cook, go for something that won’t leave you in a cold sweat because you’ve taken on too much. Choose something you feel comfortable with, but most of all make sure you’re really going to enjoy cooking and eating it.

If you do fancy more than one course, either split the cooking so each of you makes a separate course or opt for a trickier main course followed by a pudding that requires little more than a quick assembly job from bits you’ve bought (cream, ready-made meringues and summer fruit for an Eton mess, for instance), or wheel out something you managed to whip up earlier and stash in the fridge (double cream, melted chocolate and Bourbon for the perfect boozy pud!).

Friday night easy

I really love that feeling of arriving at a holiday cottage for the weekend, running around looking into every room, opening cupboards and drawers and getting a fire going if it’s a bit cold outside.

It has to be said that the first thing any of my lot do is crack open a bottle of beer or wine to celebrate the start of a weekend away. This is usually followed by the frantic opening of various packets of crisps and snacks, given the drive we’ve all just endured.

I’d love to say I’m the sort of person who then heads upstairs and starts putting clothes in drawers and on hangers and toiletries in the bathroom, but I’m not. I head to the kitchen and start unpacking all those carefully chosen bits I’ve squirrelled away to kick off a weekend of great food with friends and family.

That said, Friday night food is all about ease. Whether it’s a curry that I’ve made a day or two before, ready for the stove, or a quick assembly job that results in something quick and delicious, this is not the time for tricky cooking.

If speed and ease is key, I’m not ashamed of using ready-made sauces and I think everyone should have the confidence to cook recipes that require as little as three key ingredients – where’s the harm as long as those ingredients are well married and top quality?

For anything that does require a little more time and effort, grab a willing helper and get everyone settled and involved in the kitchen – it’s what the best evenings are made of . . .

Easy recipes for a Friday night in

Sausage and porcini ragù with gnocchi

Sausages cooked with garlic and rosemary. Add a ready-made pasta sauce, rehydrated porcini mushrooms and black olives and serve over hot gnocchi. A great dish to make and take, either frozen or fresh.