Hearts have been very much on my mind recently, but not, unfortunately, in a romantic sense. Ten days before Christmas I found myself in Mater Dei recovering from a sudden heart attack, and I have to say I could not have received better treatment anywhere. The ambulance crew, the A&E staff, the nurses and doctors in the Coronary Care Unit and the professor himself were all superb. I am truly grateful to them all.
It was all a bit of a shock, particularly for someone like me who has never been ill and rarely catches so much as a cold, but it certainly has been a wake-up call. So naturally, I have been giving some thought to heart-healthy food and that dreaded word cholesterol.
On one of our visits to the US, we made the acquaintance of a rancher who produced cattle for the beef market, who maintained that cholesterol was the stuff put in meat to make it taste good! To some extent, he was right. A well-marbled rib-eye steak with its nugget of fat in the middle is much more succulent and has more flavour than a fillet steak denuded of fat.
But while I refuse to go on a low-fat/low-cholesterol crusade and continue to believe that moderation in all things is best, I have swapped butter (which I love) for low saturated spread (which I loathe).
Fortunately though, olive oil, which I also love, is still on the menu, and I have discovered that some of the spreads you can cook with make a surprisingly good replacement for butter when making sauces or sautéeing, or for beating into mashed potatoes.
Obviously, the emphasis in my diet will now be more fish and fowl and less red meat, which is a bit of a bore because while fowl is no problem for me, fish has never been top on my food list. But I’m trying, and starting off as I mean to go on with ċerna (grouper), cooked en papillote, which is moist and flavoursome. You’re supposed to serve the parcels for diners to unwrap themselves so they get wafts of delicious aroma as they open them, but then what are you supposed to do with the soggy paper? I’m happy to forgo a few wafts of aroma for something less messy and serve the fish directly on to the plates.
Grilled salmon brushed with lemon rind and juice, honey and a spoonful of grainy mustard, served on a bed of sautéed spinach, is good and healthy. Alternatively, brush the fish with a mixture of soy sauce, honey, ginger and lime juice. Either way, it’s nice served with noodles.
The Americans like to describe pork as the ‘other white meat’ and a well-trimmed pork fillet has little fat. Serve it with red onion chutney and some potatoes roasted in a spoonful of olive oil and sprinkled with crushed fennel seeds.
I think chicken thighs have more flavour than breast and I’ve been buying them a lot recently.
Cooked with carrots, butternut squash, peas, a jar of small artichoke hearts and lots of herbs, you not only get tasty chicken, but four of your essential five-a-day vegetables as well.
I don’t know how long I can hold out before I succumb to that juicy rib-eye, but I’m going to try my best.
Ċerna en papillote
(Serves 4)
Olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, cored (skinned if preferred) and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and sliced
2 tbsps roughly chopped, pitted black olives
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and ground black pepper
4 pieces ċerna or ocean perch fillet, about 200g each
4 tbsps dry vermouth or white wine
Chopped parsley and lemon wedges to serve
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small pan and fry the onion and pepper until both have softened.
Add the garlic and fry for a minute more, then stir in the tomatoes, olives and parsley and cook for another two minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper, then let it cool.
Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Cut four pieces, about 40 centimetres long, from a roll of baking parchment, then brush the centre of each piece very lightly with a touch of olive oil. Season the fish with salt and pepper and sit it in the middle of the parchment, then top with the onion mixture, dividing it equally.
Bring the parchment up over the fish and scrunch it together, leaving a small open space in the middle.
Fold in and crease the sides tightly so that they don’t unravel, then transfer the parcels to a large baking tray. Pour a tablespoon of vermouth or wine into each parcel through the open space in the top, then close it.
Bake for about 10 minutes, then open the parcels and transfer the fish and juices to warm plates.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with small, boiled potatoes and lemon wedges.
Chicken with vegetables and herbs
(Serves 4)
8 chicken thighs
2 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, chopped
250g carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic
400ml chicken stock
½ small butternut squash, or 300g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 tbsp each chopped parsley and celery
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper
100g frozen peas
1 jar artichoke hearts
1 heaped tsp conflour mixed with 1 tbsp water
If the thighs still have a bit of the backbone attached, cut it off but either leave the leg bones in or take them out, as you prefer. Heat the oil in a large frying pan with a lid and fry the chicken, skin side down, until it is well browned. Turn and fry the other side for a minute, then put it on a plate.
Drain off most of the fat from the pan and add the onion and carrots. Fry until the onion starts to soften, then add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to the boil, lower the heat and cook for five minutes.
Return the chicken to the pan, together with the butternut or pumpkin and the herbs, then season well with salt and pepper. Put the lid on and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the thighs are cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish, cover and keep warm.
Add the peas and artichokes to the pan and simmer for another five minutes, stir in the cornflour mixture and cook for two minutes more until thickened. Taste and season as necessary, pour the vegetables and sauce over the chicken and serve with a pile of garlic mashed or plain boiled potatoes.
Pork fillet with red onion chutney
Any leftover chutney can be stored in the fridge in a screw-topped jar and will keep for ages. It’s good with sausages, burgers, cold cuts, cheese, anything really, and a spoonful added to gravy gives it a bit of extra zing.
(Serves 4)
3 tbsps olive oil
500g red onions, quartered and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
80g dark brown sugar
80ml balsamic or sherry vinegar
Ground allspice
Ground nutmeg
Salt and ground black pepper
1 large pork fillet, about 600g, well-trimmed
1 tsp dried thyme
Flour
200g beef stock
Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a pan, add the onions and fry until they start to soften. Stir in the garlic and fry for a minute more, sprinkle with the sugar, lower the heat and cook until the onions are very soft.
Stir in the vinegar and a large pinch each of allspice and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook over a low heat until all the liquid has been absorbed. It’s a lovely sweet and sour sticky mass. Turn it into a serving dish.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Sprinkle the pork with the thyme, rubbing it well in, then season with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in an ovenproof pan and fry the pork fillet until browned all over. Put it in the oven and roast for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until just cooked through. Wrap the fillet in foil and let it stand in a warm place for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Sprinkle enough flour into the pan to absorb the fat and cook over low heat for two minutes, scraping up all the brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Then stir in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for two more minutes. Taste and season as necessary and pour into a gravy boat. Carve the pork into thin slices and serve with a big spoonful of onion chutney and the gravy.
Salmon with sautéed spinach
(Serves 4)
3 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps honey
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp dark brown sugar
Rind and juice 1 lemon
Salt and ground black pepper
4 salmon cutlets about 200g each
1kg fresh spinach
Noodles and lemon wedges to serve
Mix together two tablespoons of the olive oil, the honey, mustard, brown sugar, lemon rind and juice. Season with salt and pepper, brush the mixture over the salmon and leave it to stand while preparing the spinach.
Pull all the stalks from the spinach, wash it in several changes of water and drain well.
Grill the salmon for about five minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it flakes easily when tested with the point of a knife. While the salmon is cooking, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large pan.
Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper and sauté, stirring and turning until it’s wilted, then turn into a colander and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
Divide the spinach between four warm plates and top with the salmon. Serve with noodles and lemon wedges.