orange blossom risotto with duck liver pate

A little ray of sunshine on a Sunday evening. Finely chop a shallot and grate 1-2 cloves of garlic into a non stick frying pan with a cup of carnaroli risotto rice. Half cover with olive oil and turn onto a moderate heat allowing everything to cook for 2-3 minutes and the olive oil to coat each grain of rice. It will glisten in the loveliest way when cooked. Then add half a cup of prosecco or another sparkling white wine and let this cook slowly for the next few minutes.  Add 2 tablespoons of orange blossom water. Keep watching... when the rice has absorbed all of this liquid top up with some boiling water and crumble a stock cube over. Cook slowly over a gentle to moderate heat, it will take about 20 minutes top up with a little more boiling water or stock if necessary. Finely chop one red chilli and zest one orange and add this at the end.  If you have a little mint or chives could finely chop and throw this in too. Serve a little mound of risotto on a warm plate with a slice of the best duck liver pate you can find, mine had some roast shallots in it ymmm!

After all the dreaming I found life was only what I made of it. Hunter Thompson 'The Rum Diaries'.

perfect potted shrimps

Buttery and salty slathered on crispy brown soda bread. It might just be a glorious little starter for another feast. I have been wondering about the value we place on food. Are we driven by cost or availablity or emotion? If every item available to us from a lambs lettuce to a quail or a pint of caviar cost the same what would we cook?

POTTED SHRIMPS
250g unsalted butter
1/4 lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 tsp anchovy paste
200g cooked peeled brown shrimps
Clarify the butter by melting in a pan over gentle heat, then allowing to simmer until all the milk solids have puffed their way to the surface. This will take about 10-15 minutes but it is imperative that you keep your eye on it so that it does not burn and turn into brown butter or 'beurre noisette' which is a separate thing entirely. Some milk solids will remain on the bottom but these will be removed when you sieve the butter. Watch until you see the first dark flecks and then remove quickly.  Strain through some muslin or sheets of kitchen roll into a jug.
Wipe out the pan and pour in half of the butter.  Add the lemon juice, mace, pepper, anchovy paste and a pinch of salt and simmer for 5 minutes then take off the heat and cool.
Divide the shrimps between 4 ramekins pressing in tightly.
When just warm but still liquid divide the spiced butter between the ramekins and put in the fridge to set.  Once solid, pour over the remainder of the clarified butter and return to the fridge to set.  When ready to eat sprinkle with some cayenne pepper and serve with crispy toasted bread.