Mixed Mushroom Doria

Doria is a gratin-style dish in which white sauce and cheese overlay cooked rice on the base of casserole dish and is then baked.  I heard that this delicious dish was originally created by a Parisian restaurant when they served an Italian noble family “The Doria”. The name of dish, as you can imagine, came from this noble family.

In the early 90s, this dish was introduced to Japan by a Yokohama’s hotel restaurant chef. Since then, Doria has become very popular in Japan.  There are many variations and here I am introducing our family’s recipe.

Ingredients for 4 people

1oz dry Porcini

7 oz skinless boneless chicken breast or thigh

2 rashers fatty bacon, chopped

8 oz mixed mushrooms (such as Shiitake, cremini or oyster), sliced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup white wine

1.5 tablespoons butter

1/2 finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

7/8 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup Porcini liquor

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

2 cups cooked rice

2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

Wash the Porcini and soak in hot water for 30 minutes.  When they are reconstituted, wrap them with a kitchen paper and lightly squeeze to remove the excess water.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the Porcini liquor.  Remove any extra fat from the chicken and cut into strips.

Heat a frying pan and cook the bacon without oil (if the bacon rashers are not fatty enough, you can use a little of the olive oil).  When the rashers are nearly cooked add the chicken strips and cook for further 2 - 3 minutes.

Add the Porcini and mixed mushrooms and cook for 1 - 2 minutes, then add the white wine and cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes until the liquid evaporates and reduces.  Set aside.

In a large saucepan heat the butter and cook the onion until becomes soft but not brown.  Remove the pan from the heat, add the flour and mix well.  Return to the heat and, beating constantly with a whisk, gradually add the half-and-half.

Add the contents of the frying pan to the large saucepan including any remaining liquid and the reserved Porcini liquor.  Mix well and if the sauce is too thick add a little more half-and-half to thin it a little.

Season with salt and pepper, then add the parsley, mix, and remove from the heat.

Spread the cooked rice on the base of an oven-safe dish.  Pour the sauce over the rice and then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly on the top.  Bake it in a preheated oven at 400F for 30 minutes or until it becomes golden brown.

If you would like to read this recipe in Japanese, please click HERE.

Bon appetit!

Three Colour Bell Pepper Tarte Tatin

Stuffing bell peppers with cooked rice, cheese and vegetables and then baking in the oven is one of our family’s favourite dishes. I have modified that usual recipe, and rather than stuffing the rice into the bell peppers I have used all the ingredients in a tart. When the tart is cooked, I turned it upside-down as if it was an apple tarte tatin.

Ingredients for 4 people

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into long strips

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into long strips

1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into long strips

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 cups brown rice, cooked with chicken bouillon and 1 tablespoon butter

1 medium sized tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

1/4 cup basil, finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

1 1/2 oz Cheddar cheese, grated

1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and then cook the bell peppers for 4 - 5 minutes or until they become soft but not browned. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.

In the same frying pan, adding more oil if necessary, cook the onion and spring onions until softened. Add the garlic and cook further 1muninute or so. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

On the base of a tart dish, arrange the bell peppers in a single layer in an attractive pattern, such as red-yellow-red-yellow-green, red-yellow and so on. If you have different colors of peppers, you can use a different ratio or pattern.

In a mixing bowl, place the cooked rice, tomato, basil, parsley, and both types of cheese together with the onion mixture. Mix and season well with salt and pepper. Spread the rice mixture over the arranged bell peppers evenly.

Roll out the puff pastry slightly larger than the diameter of tart dish and place it on top of the rice mixture. Cut the pastry following the line of the tart dish, leaving an extra half inch all the way around. Tuck the extra pastry down inside of the tart dish.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes in a preheated oven at 375F.

When the tart has cooked, remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a thin knife, gently go round the edge of the tart dish to ensure the crust does not stick, and then invert the tart to a serving dish.

If you would like to read this recipe in Japanese, please click HERE.

Bon appetit! 

Boeuf Bourguignon

Boeuf Bourguignon – what an elegant name for a dish!

I have an inferiority complex when it comes to the French language, because although I learnt French when I was young, now I cannot even count from 1 to 10 in French!  That is a real embarrassment, you know?

Thus, I always adore people who are fluent in French as a foreign language and anything has a French name.  Boeuf Bourguignon, uu…m OSHARE! (OSHARE means elegant in Japanese.)

In this blog, I will introduce 2 different recipes.  One is a traditional French Boeuf Bourguignon and another is a British modification by adding dumplings.  Perhaps, I should call the British version of Boeuf Bourguignon as Beef Burgundy?

Ingredients for 4 people

(Bouquet Garni)

2 - 3 sprigs of parsley

2 - 3 springs of thyme

1 stalk of celery (about 6” length)

1 large bay leaf (use 2 leaves if small)

(Main Ingredients)

2.5 - 3 lb stewing beef

4 oz pancetta, cut into 1/5” cubes

olive oil if necessary

12 - 16 pickling onions (depending on the size)

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 rounded tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups red wine (to be truly accurate, it should of course be from Burgundy!)

1 1/4 cups beef stock

12 - 16 brown mushrooms (depending on the size)

salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste

AJINOMOTO (MSG) to taste (optional)

(Dumplings for the British version of Burgundy Beef)

5 oz all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 oz chilled butter, cubed

1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk, lightly beaten together
2 tablesspoons chopped parsley

Instructions

To make a bouquet garni, put the parsley and thyme into the celery’s hollow and cover with the bay leaf (or leaves), then tie them together twice with string.

If the beef has lots of fat and tendons, prepare 3 lb, otherwise 2.5 lb.  Carefully remove all excess fat and tendons from the beef and cut into 1” to 2” cubes.  After the trimming, you will have roughly just over 2lb beef.

Heat a non-stick (Teflon) frying pan and brown the beef without oil (or with a little amount of oil if the beef is lean), until the beef is browned all over and any excess water has come out of the beef (4 - 5 minutes).

Remove the beef from the frying pan and place on kitchen paper to drain.  Discard the “mysterious” water!

In a sauté pan, heat a little amount of olive oil and cook the pancetta for 3 - 4 minutes.  (I usually cook the pancetta without oil as it is normally quite fatty.)  With a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and drain on kitchen paper.

In the same sauté pan, cook the onion for 2 - 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Return the beef and pancetta into the sauté pan and add the flour.  Mix well to coat the meat and vegetables thoroughly with the flour.

Add the wine and beef stock into the sauté pan, stir well and bring to the boil.

Place the bouquet garni on the top of meat and vegetables, reduce the heat, cover and simmer  for 90 minutes.

Taste and season with salt, black pepper and AJINOMOTO (if using), then add the mushrooms, cover and cook for the last 30 minutes.

For the British version - Beef Burgundy

To make the dumplings, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.  Add the butter then with your fingertips or using a pastry blender, rub the butter into the flour lightly until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the egg mixture and parsley into the bowl and mix well until it becomes a smooth dough.

Divide the dough into 8 balls and place them on top of the stew (well apart from each other as they rise) when the mushrooms are cooked.  Cover and cook for a further 30 minutes.

NOTE: Both the French traditional version and British modified versions are delicious, but I highly recommend the British version when a day is very chilly and you want to warm yourself from the inside out!  The dumplings make your body warm.  They are indispensable for British winter casserole dishes!

If you would like to read this recipe in Japanese, please click HERE.

Bon appetit!

Orange and Cilantro Chicken

The idea of this dish comes from cooking duck a l’orange.  It works for chicken too!

However, chicken has less flavour than duck, so I added some cilantro for a nice tangy accent.  It is very simple to cook, and good for family dinners as well as for guests.

On Saturday, 14th May 2011, I demonstrated this recipe on a local broadcast - kcst9, together with George, the host of the programme and Chef Carol.  It was a very nervous moment, but a great fun, too!

Ingredients for 2 people

2 tablespoon olive oil, add more if needed

4 chicken thighs, trim extra fat

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1/4 cup orange juice

3/4 white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock, 1 teaspoon Maggi chicken bouillon and 1/2 cup hot water combined

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium sized orange, peeled and sliced to about 1/5 inch thickness

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped

cooked pasta to serve together

Instructions

Heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the chicken thighs.  Fry on both sides until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, cook shallot for 3 to 4 minutes, or until softened but not browned.

Add the orange juice, wine and chicken stock and bring to the boil. Return the chicken, reduce the heat, and cover with the lid.  Cook for half an hour. Turn the chicken several times.

In the meantime, cook the sliced oranges.  Melt the butter in an omelet pan with a low heat, add the oranges and sprinkle with the sugar.  Cook for 2 minutes, turn and cook the other side for 1 minute.  Remove from the heat, cover with a sheet of cooking foil to keep warm.

When the chickens are cooked through, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the cilantro. 

Serve with the cooked orange slices.  This dish works well with your choice of cooked pasta.

If you would like to read this recipe in Japanese, please click HERE.

Bon appetit!