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May 25

Keep it Simple

By James Ferguson | Cooked to the Door, Dining, Food for thought, News, Outside Catering | No Comments

For a long time I’ve wanted to provide an alternative to the traditional takeaway offerings so with that in mind I’ve put together a weekday delivery service that offers fresh, healthy, summery dishes. The dishes may change as I’m inspired by different recipes. Keeping the menu small means I can keep prices competitive. I hope you like it!

Monday

Nasi Goreng £9 Amazing rice dish seen on every menu in Indonesia, served with toasted peanuts and kecap manis (with chicken and prawns; please state if you require a vegan or vegetarian version)
Gado gado £7.5 Indonesian salad perfect for the summer. Green beans, beansprouts, potato, cucumber and egg with creamy peanut dressing
Traditional Greek salad £5

Tuesday

Chicken, olive, lemon and chickpea tagine with roasted vegetable and herb cous cous £8.5
Lamb tagine with toasted almonds and roasted vegetable and herb cous cous £10.5
Traditional tabbouleh £4 Bulgar wheat lots of fresh herbs, lemon and cucumber, tomato and pomegranate

Wednesday

Noodle and Asian vegetable salad with slow cooked duck and toasted sesame with soy and ginger dressing £10.5
Bun cha £9 Vietnamese salad with fresh herbs, spinach, spring onions, citrus dressing and belly pork
Beetroot, cherry tomato, roast red onion, pomegranate and pine nut salad £6

Thursday

Gaeng keow wan gai with rice £8 Thai green chicken curry
Middle eastern mezze £10 Falafel, hummus, pitta, moutabal and fattoush. Moutabal is a delicious aubergene dip and fattoush is a mixed Middle Eastern mixed salad
Beef rendang £9 Beef is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture. Lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chillies

Friday

Black bean and sweetcorn chilli with rice and lime and coriander guacamole £8
Chili and pink peppercorn salmon, prawn quinoa £9 Seriously good quinoa salad with fresh herbs, radish, cucumber, kale and lime with chili flaked salmon and prawns
Asparagus, sugar snap, radish, soya bean and green bean salad with feta and herb dressing £6

Ordering, delivery and payment, and Covid-19 safety

All orders to be placed 24 hours in advance, to [email protected] or call Cooked HQ on 736455.
When ordering please leave your address with instructions of how to find your house. Drivers delivering in your area are generally resident to that parish and will know there way around but directions would be appreciated.
Deliveries will made on the requested day between 2pm and 5pm.
Standard delivery is £3 island wide.

Payment should be transferred to the Cooked to the Door account with your name and delivery date as reference.
Please make payment after the delivery has been made and on the day of delivery.
Payment via bank transfer to NatWest account number 74623370, sort code 60-09-20.

Cooked remains ever vigilant to the threat of Covid-19 and as such the kitchen is closed to all but Cooked staff. We are maintaining our usual high standard of hygiene. Vans have sanitiser and antibacterial spray, and drivers and kitchen staff are wearing gloves and masks at all times as well as complying with all legislation. All deliveries will be made with a knock on the door and all social distancing rules will be followed.

May 18

Cooked to the Door

By James Ferguson | Canapés, Cooked to the Door, Coronavirus, Dining, Food for thought, News, Outside Catering | No Comments

Cooked to the Door was initially launched in the wake of the Coronavirus as a way of helping people avoid the shops. The principle worked really well, and the uptake was fantastic. With restrictions lifted, I am delighted to be able to provide this service again.

Cooked to the Door offers the following menus on a delivery basis, providing different options for different occasion, making your life a bit easier…and providing the odd indulgence:

Canapés for a treat
Celebration menus for your bubbles
Salads for the summer (ideal to complement a BBQ)
Breakfast in bed

Canapés for a treat

Something different for the weekend or maybe a special occasion. A selection of 1 bite canapés, I would suggest that you order 5-6 items per person as a pre-dinner nibble or 10-12 if you are replacing dinner to graze throughout the evening. All canapés are priced at £2 per item.

Smoked salmon and cream cheese blini
Ham hock and artichoke croquette
Spiced crab doughnuts
Duck confit, sesame and beansprout spring rolls
Saffron and ginger battered prawns
Beetroot and goats cheese tostada
Roquefort peach and cured ham crostini
Haddock and salmon fish cakes
Prawn and lobster sesame toasts
Sundried tomato and basil cheesecake
BBQ beef and slow roast onion pizza
Lobster salad mini brioche
Chorizo and red pepper scotch quail eggs
Lamb and mint bon bon
Onion and nigella seed bahji
Asparagus, spinach and ricotta arancini
Lemon and pistachio tart
Bannoffi pie#

(Trays will be collected at the earliest convenience).

Celebration menus for your bubbles

Celebrating at home with your bubbles, for a reason or for no reason at all, Cooked is offering you something a bit different. For a minimum of 5 people these menus are designed for the summer; light, full of flavour and simple to re-heat where required.

Indonesian flavours: £27 pp

Nasi Goreng
Gado Gado
Chicken satay
Beef Rendang and rice

Moroccan flavours £27 pp

Chicken lemon and olive tagine
Sweet potato, pepper and chickpea tagine
Traditional tabbouleh
Roasted vegetable and date cous cous
Flatbreads

Asian BBQ/salad £27 pp

Lemongrass and coriander chicken brochette
Beef satay brochette
Noodle and vegetable salad slow cooked duck, honey and sesame
Mango and chili slaw with toasted peanuts and pan-fried prawns

Salads for the summer (ideal to complement a BBQ)

Minimum of 5 people priced at £4.50 pp per salad

Honey roast sweet potato and butternut with chickpeas, red lentils and toasted pumpkin seeds
Fresh beetroot, cherry tomato and roast red onion with pomegranate, red pepper and radish
New potato, green bean, soya bean, fennel and pine nut with lemon and chive dressing
Date and apricot Moroccan spiced cous cous with roasted vegetables
Mango, chili and white radish Asian slaw with toasted peanuts
Mixed bean, kale and spinach quinoa with baby corn and pistachio
Indonesian Gado Gado. Potato, green bean, egg, cabbage, cucumber and beansprouts with a creamy peanut sauce

Breakfast in bed

Weekends only at £26 pp

Treat someone to a little luxury; all you have to do is put the kettle on.

Freshly baked croissants with jam and butter
Pain au chocolat
Mini pastry selection

Selection of fresh fruit
Cured meats
Sliced cheese
Yoghurt
Fruit juice
Breakfast tea

Disposable cutlery and crockery will be supplied

(Trays will be collected at the earliest convenience)

Ordering, delivery and payment, and Covid-19 safety:

All orders to be emailed 48 hours in advance, to [email protected] or call Cooked HQ on 736455.
When ordering please leave your address with instructions of how to find your house. Drivers delivering in your area are generally resident to that parish and will know there way around but directions would be appreciated.

Deliveries will made on the requested day between 2pm and 5pm.
Standard delivery is £3 island wide.

Payment should be transferred to the Cooked to the Door account with your name and delivery date as reference.
Please make payment after the delivery has been made and on the day of delivery.
Payment via bank transfer to NatWest account number 74623370, sort code 60-09-20.

Cooked remains ever vigilant to the threat of Covid-19 and as such the kitchen is closed to all but Cooked staff. We are maintaining our usual high standard of hygiene. Vans have sanitiser and antibacterial spray, and drivers and kitchen staff are wearing gloves and masks at all times as well as complying with all Government legislation.

Aug 25

Velvet Sauce Fit for a King

By James Ferguson | Recipe | No Comments

Fancy a posh fish pie…?

Fish fan extraordinaire, Rick Stein, has one of our favourite fish pie recipes. It’s just a bit decadent with a crisp breadcrumb topping and a hint of truffle oil. The recipe calls for a velouté sauce – one of the five ‘mother sauces’ of French cuisine, coined centuries ago by man of legendary moustache, and more importantly, the ‘King of Chefs’ no less, Auguste Escoffier. (The others for your history lesson, are hollandaise, béchamel, espagnole and – plain ol’ tomato). What’s luxe about a velouté is that it’s translated as ‘velvet’, which is just how your sauce should be. No pressure.

Rick’s tip is to fry the fish first so that it doesn’t thin the creamy sauce in the pie as it cooks. Our tip is get your butter, milk and cream from our obliging Guernsey cows.

COOKING TIME:
1 hour 20 minutes

SERVES:
4 – 6 hungry people

INGREDIENTS:

For the velouté:-
600ml fish stock
300ml milk
50g butter
50g flour
2 bay leaves
1 crushed clove
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg

For the pie:-
200g onion, finely chopped
60g butter
30g parmesan cheese, grated
50ml double cream
Juice of ½ lemon
500g mixed seafood: ¾ fish fillet and ¼ shellfish or crustaceans, such as prawns, lobster or crab. You could use cod, monkfish, hake, pollack, or snapper, with crab, lobster, peeled prawns or scallops. Visit our own fish expert Jason Hamon at Surf ‘n’ Turf on the Castle Esplanade.
50g flour
30ml vegetable oil
10g butter
100g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tsp French mustard
1 tsp truffle oil
For the crust
50g Japanese panko breadcrumbs (trend alert!) or fresh breadcrumbs dried out for 10 minutes in a hot oven
30g melted butter

HOW TO:

Boil the stock and milk together. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly and without browning.

When it starts to smell nice and nutty, add a third of your stock and milk mixture, and keep stirring until it thickens and is completely smooth (like velvet, remember?) Add another third and stir again, then add the final third and when smooth, stir in the bay leaves, clove and nutmeg and leave to simmer for about 30 mins.

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Slow-cook the onion in the butter for 10 minutes. Pour your sauce through a sieve into the sautéed onions and add the parmesan, double cream and lemon juice. A pinch of salt will bring out the flavours.

Cut the fish fillets into bite-size pieces and turn over in the flour with a bit of salt. Fry for 2-3 minutes over a medium heat using the vegetable oil and butter. Transfer the fish to your pie dish. Fry the mushrooms in the same pan, stir in the mustard and add to the pie dish.

Now time to add the shellfish or crustaceans to the pie dish. They can be raw or cooked, but if raw scallops or prawns are large, slice them in half. Drizzle the truffle oil over (sparingly as it’s pungent!)

Pour your exquisitely smooth velouté over the fish. Mix the panko with the melted butter, and spread over the top. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve with samphire on the side for extra lushness. Fish pie poshed up.

Oct 20

Sorry, no belly dancers

By James Ferguson | Dining, News | No Comments

Look what we’re doing! For three nights only, James is conjuring up the tastes of the Middle East in the fabulously evocative atmosphere of Ziggurat. Newly inspired by our recent trip to Marrakech, expect an aromatic menu of fusion flavours, and some surprising twists! (Sorry, no belly dancers).

Book quickly, tickets are selling like gold dust!

e[email protected]

Oct 08

A Hearty Broth

By James Ferguson | News, Recipe | No Comments

Raising awareness of heart and health issues at the Healthy Hearts event, Cooked whipped up a steamy storm. On the menu was a Vietnamese Pho – a noodle broth and a perfect warming dish for an Autumnal day. And if you have a cold hanging around, a bowl of steaming hot pho will see it on its way.

Here’s the how to:

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
For the broth:
2 large onions
4-inch piece fresh ginger
2 (3-inch) whole cinnamon sticks
2 whole star anise
3 whole cloves
2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
6 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 carrots, peeled chopped

To serve:
1/2 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced and lightly seared
8 ounces dried rice noodles
3 spring onions
1 chilli
2 limes in wedges
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup fresh herbs (coriander, basil, Thai basil, mint)

Here goes:

Prepare the onions and ginger: Peel the onions and cut them into quarters through the root. Peel the ginger and slice it into quarters down its length. Char them over a high temperature.
Dry-roast the spices: Chuck the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and coriander seeds in the bottom of a dry frying pan and roast over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until toasty. Watch out for scorching!
Combine the broth ingredients: To the pan with the spices, add the stock, soy sauce, fish sauce, chopped carrots, and the onions and ginger.
Simmer: Bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to give time for the spices and aromatics to infuse.
Freeze the beef: Put the beef on a plate, cover with cling film, and freeze for 15 minutes. The edges of the beef should feel firm to the touch, but not frozen through. This makes it easier to slice the beef thinly. Slice across the grain, and aim for slices no thicker than 1/4-inch. Once sliced, keep the beef covered in the fridge until ready to serve.
Cook the rice noodles: Bring a second pan of water to a boil, drop in the rice noodles and cook according to package instructions. Drain the noodles and run them under cool water to stop cooking. The noodles will stick together after cooking, so divide them immediately between serving bowls.
Prepare the rest of the toppings: Thinly slice the spring onions and the chilli. Cut the lime into wedges. Place the bean sprouts in a serving dish. Roughly chop the herbs.
Strain the broth: Strain the solids from the broth. Discard the solids. Put the broth back over low heat and keep it just below a simmer. It needs to be hot to cook the beef later.
Prepare the bowls: Add a few slices of raw beef to each bowl of noodles. Put the beef in a single layer so that the slices will cook evenly in the broth.
Ladle the hot broth over top: Pour it evenly over the beef in order to cook it. The beef should immediately start to turn opaque. Add the toppings – and get stuck in!

Pho to go, in a heartbeat.