I’ve developed an obsession with my freezer. All my family seem to see these days is me upended, my head buried in its depths, muttering like a deranged man. Every so often I make it my business to get to the bottom of it. Our week of eating from the freezer can throw up a mad jumble of half dinners, like the aftermath of an illegal substance-fuelled supermarket sweep. Bits and bobs are cobbled together, sometimes with dubious results. I don’t always get it right.
It’s a chest freezer, and that’s part of the problem. Anything could be lurking in its chilly depths. My mother-in-law has a fabled goose in hers that we reckon has been there for at least seven years. In her mind, frozen is frozen. She’s just waiting for the appropriate occasion. That, and I think she might be waiting for me to volunteer to cook it. Frankly I’m terrified at the prospect.
Today I wanted to do new versions of old classics, no freezers involved. A Spanish-inspired roast chicken is something a little different. Its burnished, buttery skin glistens while perched above a crusty baked rice that’s infused with the perfume of chicken juice, smoked paprika, orange and rosemary. It’s a one-tray affair that would be lovely eaten with some aioli and a simple green salad.
This baked potato is a riff on Tartiflette, that formidable potato dish from the French Alps that groans with Reblochon cheese, cream, bacon and onions. Just what a fella needs after a hard day skiing in Les Trois Valées. I’m caramelising the onions a little with just a hint of cinnamon.
I’ve chosen Gubbeen cheese but you could change it, by all means, as long as the cheese melts. That’s the main thing.
The next, very simple dish is the love child of chowder and haddock smokies. It’s rich, so you don’t need a lot of it. The cream carries the sweet smoke of the haddock perfectly.
I’m using a pre-prepared chowder mix that’s easily available, but you could buy the fish from your fishmonger. A little bit of crusty bread is all you need to accompany it.
Recipe: Roast honey pimenton chicken and rice
Recipe: A grown-up baked potato
Recipe: Chowder smokies
