Dine with Daryl Chadwick
Words by Michaela Quinn
December 04, 2020
|
9m
Hi, I’m Daryl Chadwick. I’m the chef patron of Chadwick & Co café, based in Barker & Stonehouse’s Teesside Park store, and of Levan, my new venture just off Norton High Street in Stockton on Tees. Levan is a wood-oven kitchen and larder, selling the food we’re well-known for and a wide range of produce. It’s a real one-of-a-kind for the area and fills a niche in Norton where there is already a good range of places to eat.
I’ve been involved with restaurants and food for most of my adult life, first as front of house and then later, when I really found my passion for cooking, I started learning alongside some of our region’s leading chefs and restaurateurs in a very much hands-on manner.
I’ve now had my own restaurants and cafés for many years but I still love cooking every day. It can be hectic and unpredictable at times – let’s not mention 2020! – but at the end of it all I get real pleasure from seeing people enjoying what I cook.
Good food is something that we should all be interested in, and hopefully with the recipes I’m sharing with you here, you’ll see that a lot of it is really quite simple. Yes, you need a little bit of prep and a little bit of time to cook, but it will definitely be worth it.
Many of the ingredients I use are sourced from the Tees Valley, North Yorkshire and the North East coast. I’m a true believer in getting the best ingredients you can, from as near by to you as you can. Buying locally means that you can support local food producing businesses and also means you will enjoy very fresh high quality ingredients. For me, knowing that I’m buying local also adds to the pleasure of the finished dish.
I hope you enjoy the recipes I’m sharing with you. These are some of Chadwick & Co’s signature dishes. I spent a lot of time sailing in the Mediterranean before settling down to life in the kitchen and being a husband and father. The dishes are all from that region, with strong Greek and Levantine influences and flavours. Regulars at the café will have no doubt tried some of these dishes, but I hope many more of you will give these zingy favourites a go! Bon Appetit everyone and enjoy your winter cooking.
Sweet Potato Falafel
What you'll need
Ingredients
Method
1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in the refrigerator. Make sure they are well covered with water as the level will drop as the pulses absorb the liquid.
2. Drain the chickpeas and dry with a clean tea towel or in a low temperature oven on a baking tray for 10 mins. Blitz to coarse crumb in food processor (you can use a potato masher but will end up with a more rustic finish, but this is fine and tastes just as good).
3. Peel and dice the sweet potato to 1cm cubes and season to your personal taste. I would typically use 2 teaspoons of good quality sea salt, and 1 tbp of 7 spice or Baharat spice, about 3-4 tbsp of olive oil and 4 x cloves of crushed garlic. Stir all together to ensure the sweet potato is fully coated in the seasoning mix. Roast for 25 mins at 185 degrees until tender and squashable. Leave to cool.
4. Chop the spring onions and a cup full of the chopped mixed herbs (coriander, mint, flat parsley, dill).
5. Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix together thoroughly. Mash to a coarse paste with the potato masher, or blitz quickly in the food processor (not too smooth). Taste mixture, adding more salt to taste if required, then briefly mix again. You need a mixture that holds together well when formed into balls.
6. Form into golf ball sized balls and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight as this will help to hold them together when they are placed in the oil. (If your falafel is not firmly bound together it will just fall apart in the pan so don’t skip this step.)
7. If you are going to deep fry, keep them in their golf ball shape. If you are going to shallow fry, flatten them into patties about 1cm thick. Fry until golden. This will take just a couple of minutes if your oil is hot (as it should be but please be vigilant with deep fat frying).
8. Serve with tsatziki, harissa and tahini sauce and lemon wedges.
That’s it. I bet you won’t be able to resist eating one or two before they get to the dinner table…. enjoy!
Classic Tsatizki
What you'll need
Ingredients
Method
1. Peel the whole cucumber on the coarse side of a box grater, place on a clean tea towel and squeeze out liquid over the sink (there will be quite a lot of liquid and it’s important you squeeze it all out, otherwise your end mix will be too watery and a little tasteless).
2. Place in a mixing bowl with the crushed garlic, the sea salt, the lemon juice, the olive oil and the cup of chopped fresh dill and mint. Mix together and leave for a few minutes to infuse the flavours. (You can be liberal with the salt and herbs to your own personal taste.)
3. Finally, add all of the yoghurt, mix thoroughly. Simple…but delicious!
Spicy Harissa Paste
What you'll need
Ingredients
Method
1. Roast the black cumin seeds and caraway seeds in a dry frying pan for about 1 minute. The spices will start to give off an aroma and may pop a little.
2. Then grind in a spice mill or coffee grinder or with a pestle & mortar.
3. Mix the spices in a large mixing bowl with the garlic, sea salt, olive oil and red wine or sherry vinegar.
4. Blitz the peppers and chillies in the food processor. Mix in with other the ingredients and check for salt.
Store in sterilised jars in the fridge for up to a month.
Tahini Sauce
What you'll need
Ingredients
Method
1. Mix the jar of tahini paste with the lemon juice, sea salt, garlic and about around 100ml of cold water.
2. Slowly whisk in a mixing bowl until you reach the desired consistency (that of double cream). Add more water slowly whilst whisking. Don’t be alarmed if the tahini gets thicker when you first add a bit of the liquid. It can surprise people making this for the first time. It does thin down when you continue to add the liquid.
3. Check seasoning and adjust with more salt or lemon juice to your personal taste.
Easy Flatbreads
What you'll need
Ingredients
Method
1. Pour the water into the mixing bowl with the yeast (whichever you are using) and whisk to mix.
2. Add the flour and salt.
3. Mix on slow speed for 10 mins until dough is shiny and elastic.
4. Add 50ml olive oil and mix for further 5 mins.
5. Remove from bowl, knead and fold for 2 mins.
6. Return to bowl and cover with clingfilm or a clean cloth. Place overnight to prove.
7. Take out of fridge and cut off 150g size pieces. Gently pull out to pitta shaped flatbreads.
8. Fry with a little olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat until both sides are golden.
9. Cover with tea towel to keep warm. These also freeze well if you make more than you want to eat all at once.
Sweet and Nutty Baklava
What you'll need
Ingredients
For Honey Syrup:
For the Filling:
For Frangipane Paste:
For Filo Pastry
Method
Bring the water, honey, sugar, cinnamon stick, 6 cloves, 2 star anise to the boil. Simmer for 20 mins and take off heat.
Blitz 175g walnuts, 175g whole or flaked almonds, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and set aside.
Make the frangipane paste by creaming 100g soft butter, 60g caster sugar with a wooden spoon. Beat in 1 egg until smooth, then mix in 75g ground almonds & half tsp sea salt.
Mix blitzed nuts into frangipane paste.
Melt 100g butter in a pan to liquify.
Cut a full pack of filo pastry to the size of the base of your chosen baking tin. Brush the base and sides of the tin with butter and place 3 layers of filo, buttering each sheet as you layer.
Spread half the frangipane mix over and flatten out with a fish slice or spatula.
Add another 3 layers of filo, buttering each layer, and then the rest of the nut mixture. Finish with 3 more layers, buttering the last sheet on top too.
Use a sharp knife to score through layers of pastry into desired size of pieces. Stick each piece of pie through the top with a whole clove (helps keep everything together).
Bake for 25 mins in a 185 degree fan oven.
Remove from oven and pour over the cooled honey syrup.
Leave covered overnight to absorb at room temp.
To remove from tin, pop in warm oven for 5 mins and score right through all layers of filo with a sharp knife.
Serve at room temp. It doesn’t really need anything with it, as it’s very rich, but if you’re going for full-on indulgence you could serve with cream, ice cream or Greek yoghurt. A small piece is usually enough…it’s just that you’ll want to keep going back for more!
If you'd like to try more of Daryl's delicious recipes, Chadwick & Co, can be found in our Teesside Park store.