New Lurpak Cook's Range

We love Lurpak spreads which are a perfect match for a slice of toast, and I was very excited to hear about new Lurpak Cook's Range, which includes four different products: Clarified butter, Cooking Liquid, Cooking Mist and Lurpak Baking.
In the last week I have been testing two of the new products, Lurpak Cook's Range Cooking Mist and Clarified Butter.

Clarified butter brings back memories of the Russian markets with the dairy stalls which used to offer a great variety of dairy products, some of which are unknown beyond the Eastern Europe. Buxom sellers would grin and offer you to try their wares, and each one would try to convince you that their produce is the best. Clarified butter has always been popular in Russia. This was one of the ways of keeping the butter for longer, especially in the days before fridges.
Most grannies knew how to make their own clarified butter, which is though not difficult, requires patience.
If you haven't tried the clarified butter before, it is a concentrated pure butter from which the milk solids have been removed. It has a yellow colour and thicker texture than the standard butter.

It endures much higher temperatures than the standard butter, and can be used at higher cooking temperatures required to fry a steak, fish or potatoes. It is a versatile product, and it adds an amazing nutty flavour to the dishes cooked with it.

Cod fillets with fried potatoes was a simple but delicious meal.

Crumbed chicken cooked with clarified butter was also very tasty.

When I spotted these gorgeous looking mixed mushrooms in the supermarket, I knew they would be fab with the fried potatoes, and so they were. First fry the thinly sliced potatoes in the clarified butter (2 medium potatoes, 30g of clarified butter, sea salt, thyme). Add the mushrooms later and maybe another spoonful of clarified butter. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the pan.

Fried potatoes and mixed mushrooms

I have also used the clarified butter in a sweet dish, which I wanted to try after seeing a recipe for Dulce de leche coconut squares by Jagruti Dhanecha in Issue 27 of My Favourite Recipes. These coconut squares are very chewy and lovely with a cup of tea or coffee.

Dulce de leche coconut squares

Lurpak Cooking Mist is a sprayable liquid blend of Lurpak butter and rapeseed oil. "The spray mist is the perfect basting tool to make sure roasts are evenly glazed and crisp, and works brilliantly as a quick and efficient way to grease pans and tins. The mist can also be used as a glaze for the final flourish on pies too".
I haven't yet tried it on meat roasts, but the vegetables are coated evenly and efficiently. I cooked the butternut squash with a sprinkle of cinnamon. And yesterday I roasted the sweet potatoes and sweet peppers, which I later blitzed into a lovely light soup.

I loved both Lurpak products which I have tried. In fact, after I finished the tub of clarified butter which I received for testing, I have bought two tubs (on offer in Waitrose at the moment, two for £4).

Disclosure: I received two Lurpak products from their new Cook's range for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Cod fillets in crumbs

Fried fish and potatoes... when it's done properly, it's one of the most satisfying meals. As I have mentioned already on my blog, these days I am going crazy for the clarified butter as introduced by Lurpak's new Cook's Range. I even tried it in a sweet dish (but I will do a separate post about it). To keep the prices down, go for the bag of frozen cod fillets (for example, Tesco has frozen cod for £3.25 for 5 fillets).

Cod fillets in crumbs
Ingredients:
2 Cod fillets (about 130g each)
1 egg
bread crumbs (from 3 slices of stale-ish bread)
1tsp grated lemon zest
1tsp finely chopped parsley
sea salt, pepper, thyme
2tbsp clarified butter
2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
2 spring onions, chopped
2tbsp+ clarified butter

Start by slicing the potatoes thinly and frying in the clarified butter until golden and cooked through for about 15 minutes. Keep stirring them. If you like your fried potatoes chunky, you might need to parboil them first. Add the spring onions, finely sliced, in the last few minutes of cooking. Season with sea salt.
This is the most delicious way of cooking fried potatoes. Simple, easy but oh so tasty! The clarified butter takes this simple dish to a new level.

Pat dry the cod fillets, dip them in the beaten egg with chopped parsley, then coat in bread crumbs with finely grated lemon zest.
Heat the clarified butter in a frying pan, when it starts sizzling, put the cod fillets in it. Fry until the crumbs are golden brown on both sides for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Season with sea salt and pepper (I use the salt grinder with pepper and thyme, but this is optional).

You can substitute cod for any other white fish, if you like.

Crumbed chicken with crispy sage

Now that I have re-discovered the clarified butter, there's no stopping me. I chuck it into everything, and love its rich intense flavour. If you haven't seen it yet in the supermarkets, keep a eye on Lurpak's new Cooks Range of butter. The recipe for Crumbed Chicken which is cooked in the clarified butter is quite easy but totally lip-smackingly delicious.

Crumbed Chicken with crispy sage
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts/fillets
2 cloves of garlic
a handful of thyme, chopped finely
1 egg
1tbsp chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme)
bread crumbs (made from 3 slices of bread)
2tbsp+ clarified butter
1 red onion, thinly sliced
sea salt, pepper
a handful of fresh sage leaves

Start by chopping the garlic with thyme leaves and spreading it all over the chicken fillets. Wrap in a cling film and leave to infuse for 30 minutes or an hour.
If making your own crumbs, take 3 slices of white bread, which is quite stale, but not completely dry either. You can just blitz them in the food processor, or just grate them, but be careful with your fingers.

Beat the egg, dip the chicken fillets or breasts in the egg and then in the crumbs, they should be covered well but not too thick-layered. Melt the clarified butter in a frying pan, and once it is sizzling hot, put the chicken fillets in it. Season them with sea and pepper. Cook for about half an hour or less, check with a wooden skewer if they are ready.
Slice the red onion and fry it with the chicken for the last ten minutes of cooking. Remove the chicken and onion on a plate with a paper kitchen towel. In the meantime fry the sage leaves until crispy, this will take literally a minute or two.
Serve with a fresh salad.

You can substitute the clarified butter with the olive oil, but the clarified butter gives this dish a deeper flavour and a delicious aroma.

Chicken liver pate with juniper berries

In the last few days I have been cooking with clarified butter, adding it to almost everything. It tastes delicious and has a lovely aroma. Add a dollop to a plain dish of boiled potatoes or fry the breaded fish fillets in it. It is also great for fried potatoes. I plan to do a series of recipe posts where I use the clarified butter, while today's recipe is a Chicken liver pate with juniper berries.

Chicken liver pate
Ingredients:
250g Chicken livers
80ml milk (or more)
2 banana shallots
2tbsp clarified butter (to fry)
1tsp ras el hanout (optional)
2tbsp brandy
50ml milk
sea salt with pepper
4tbsp+ clarified butter (to top up)
1tbsp or more of juniper berries (I use Schwartz juniper berries)

Defrost the chicken livers (if buying in the frozen ailse). Place them in a medium sized bowl and pour milk over them, leave for a couple of hours to soak. Discard the milk later. Finely slice a couple of banana shallots or one medium sized red onion. In a hot sizzling pan fry the livers and the onion together, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with some ras el hanout spice mix, and season well with sea salt and pepper (ras el hanout is now widely available, for example, in Waitrose or Tesco, I love the exotic touch it adds to any meal).
The livers should be well browned but slightly pink inside (but not bleeding). Add a dash of brandy to the frying pan. Heat up the milk in a small pan. Blitz the chicken livers and onions with a hand blender or in a food processor, adding a bit of hot milk, a spoonful at a time, to reach the right consistency, not too thick but not runny either. Spoon your pate in a ceramic dish or bowl.
Melt the clarified butter and pour on top of the pate. Scatter a handful of juniper berries on top. Let it set, preferably overnight in the fridge (cover the bowl with a lid, or cling film).

In this recipe I used Lurpak clarified butter, which is a product in their brand new Cook's range. It is a versatile product, which adds a soft nutty flavour to many dishes. I liked it so much that I have already run out of the tub which was sent to me for testing, and bought two tubs today (they are on offer of 2 for £4 in Waitrose at the moment).

You can of course, make your own clarified butter if you have time. It is very common in Russia, and in the days when people didn't have fridges, the clarified butter would keep much longer in the larder than the "normal" butter.

Juniper berries add a touch of sweetness, but if you don't like them, add some peppercorns instead.
This pate is best served on wholemeal or multi-seeded bread.