Mark Hix on Baking

Mark Hix (right) was formerly Chef Director of Caprice Holdings, overseeing The Ivy, Scott's, J. Sheekey and Le Caprice, four of London's most fashionable restaurants. 

In 2008 he opened Hix Oyster and Chop House in London and Hix Oyster and Fish House in Dorset. His latest restaurant, Hix, opened in London's Soho in 2009 to rave reviews.

Mark's commendations include GQ Chef of the Year, Tatler Restaurateur of the Year 2009 and 2011 winner of the Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year at The Guild of Food Writers. He writes for the Independent on Saturday Magazine and Country Life. Previous books include British Regional Food, winner of both a Guild of Food Writers' Award and the Andre Simon Book Award, and British Seasonal Food, The Guild of Food Writers' Cookery Book of the Year 2009.

Mark has made numerous television appearances, most notably BBC 2's Great British Menu.

In this new and appealing book Mark uses the broadly interprets baking as anything that can be cooked in the dry heat of an oven.

Split into chapters covering snacks, bread, neat and fish, vegetables, tarts, puddings and cakes his recipes are based on those he has been using for years or that he has collceted in his worldwide travels.

The publishers have kindly allowed me to reproduce two recipes from the book here. I have chosen two dishes that I intend to make over the holidays.

Chicken baked in the pot with garlic

Preheat the oven to 240°C/gas mark 8.

Season the chicken inside and out, halve the garlic horizontally and place in a clay pot or casserole dish with the bird. Rub the breasts with the butter.

Place the chicken in the oven and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 190°C/gas mark 5. Scatter the rosemary over the chicken, baste it with some of the juices, cover with the lid and cook for a further 40–50 minutes.

To serve, simply place the pot on the table and let guests carve and help themselves, or remove the chicken from the pot and cut and joint it in the kitchen, before returning to the pot to serve.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Clay pots are great for cooking

meat. Traditionally this method

of cooking is referred to as a

pot roast, with the tight-fitting

lid retaining all the juices in

the pot – creating a steam which

helps keep your meat nice and

moist. A good-quality chicken

here is crucial to the end

result, and generally the more

you pay for your bird, the better

it will be. Here I’ve used a bulb

of the sweet, large jumbo or

elephant garlic, though normal

garlic bulbs work just fine.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serves 4

1 x 1.5–2kg good-quality

chicken

salt and freshly ground

black pepper

1 bulb of jumbo garlic, or

2–3 normal sized bulbs

a couple of good knobs of

butter

a few sprigs of rosemary

Tomato freekeh

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Cut the tomatoes into roughly

1 centimetre dice. Set aside. Rinse and drain the freekeh.

Melt 60g of the butter in an oven-proof dish, add the onion and garlic and

cook gently for 2–3 minutes, until soft. Stir in the drained freekeh, add the

stock mixture and season to taste. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the

freekeh is tender, adding a little more stock if it looks as though it is drying

out. Stir in the tomatoes and the remaining butter and cook for a few more

minutes, until the freekeh is risotto-like in consistency – you may need to add

a little more stock. Check and adjust the seasoning, if necessary, and serve.

Serves 4

4 tomatoes

150g freekeh, soaked in

water for 2 hours

100g butter

1 medium onion, peeled,

halved and finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and

crushed

600–700ml hot vegetable

stock, mixed with 3 tbsp

tomato purée

salt and freshly ground

black pepper

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This is rather like a rice pilaf but made with

freekeh, a lightly roasted green wheat that is

often used in Arabic and Egyptian cooking. It is

delicious served either hot or warm as a

colourful garnish for fish or meat, while topped

with pieces of fried haloumi it makes a great

vegetarian alternative.

MARK HIX ON BAKING
Quadrille - NZ$49.99
Distributed in NZ by Book Reps.