Perhaps this should be retitled “We have a decent bottle of Spanish wine and we had better drink it before it goes off.” My only reservation with that is, while true, it might not tell the recipe story. It is the inspiration but not the dish. So, let’s stick with Spanish Inspired Monkfish, Chorizo and Bean Stew as the title and please forgive the mentions of the seventeen year old bottle of Faustino 1 that went with (and in) the food.
What do you do? The Wicklow Hunter’s youngest brother calls to the office and leaves a sack. He tells me that it’s a gift from the brother. “All legal ‘an all” he assures me. I thank him profusely and check the contents. YES! It’s another venison leg, from a pretty young deer by the looks of it. This gets me thinking.
I used to think it was pretty straightforward. “Build it and they will come” was my approach. A pork stew was a pork stew. If I announced it and cooked it, they would be there, happy to be fed in the family kitchen. In more recent times, I have noticed a worrying trend. The casual conversation is no longer “Whatyacooking Pops?”. No, it has shifted slightly towards “Oh, Pork Casserole. How are you cooking it? What are you adding? What will make it really special this time?”.
Why does Anthony Worrell Thompson stick celery in his and sprinkles it with parsley?
Why does Julia Child crumble bay leaf into hers?
Why does Jamie Oliver needs two bottles of wine?
Why does Nigel Slater use one bottle in his?
Why does the Belfast Telegraph shove a chicken stock cube into theirs?
Why does Gordon F***** Ramsey recommend Irish Soda Bread with it?
Why does James Martin say to have it with mash?
Why does AWT above say to have it with new potatoes?
Why do ‘all recipes dot com’ not use carrots in theirs?
I want you to imagine my youngest daughter. She is an innocent thing who likes small animals and fluffy things. She loves Disney cartoons. One of her favourites is Bambi. She finds the various scenes of innocence touching. When she watches it, she will be heard to say things like “Ahhh, so pretty.” and “Ohhhh, aren’t the chipmunks so cute.”
I am telling you all this because I recently suggested that I cook a rabbit stew for the family. This led to the following unfortunate conversation:
