Roast Pork with Crackling

A medium sized pork joint with crackling fat, cooked for an hour in a casserole dish in the oven (190 deg C, on the middle shelf), and then for a further fifteen minutes without the lid, to brown the crackling. The dish was brushed with sunflower oil, and the crackling was dressed in a dusting of sea salt.

The gravy was made with the juices from the joint, augmented by some ham stock, and some Bisto gravy granules.

The pork was cut into slices with a sharp knife, running with the grain of the meat.

Served with batonned carrots, cooked for twenty minutes along with the Maris Piper potatoes, and halved Brussels sprouts, cooked for eight minutes.

Beef and Apple Tikka

I'd prepared ground beef beforehand, browned it in some sunflower oil, and cooked with spring onions, diced apple and carrots for twenty minutes, stirring frequently. Afterwards I added boiling water to the pan and cooked the dish under glass for an hour and a half at a low heat.

After which I added tomato Puree, Cardamom seed, Tikka spices, diced garlic, and one large deseeded and diced red chilli. Cooked for another half an hour at a low heat, adding some coriander and oregano.

Served with long grain rice, or basmati if you prefer. Dressed in this case with some diced and steamed curly kale (five minutes), or with some diced fresh coriander leaf.

Salmon and Cod Potato Pie

The base of the pie was a thick vegetable stew (from the fridge) of sweet potato, potato, carrot, diced mushrooms, and spring onion, plus kamut grains, a little chopped red chilli, chopped garlic, and cardamom seed, fresh from three crushed pods.

The fish pieces were placed on top of the vegetable stew in a roasting dish, distributed evenly.

On top of that, a layer of potato mashed with a knob of butter was added (and a little salt and pepper), and textured with a fork.

The roasting tray was placed on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 190 deg C, uncovered. Depending on the depth of the roasting dish, the cooking time will be somewhere between 45 minutes and one hour (it will be properly cooked after 45 minutes, but it may take longer for the desired browning of the potato topping - judge by eye!).

Served with a little American or German mustard.

The fish pieces were sourced from Sainsbury's, who often make up inexpensive packs for making this kind of dish.

Cumberland Sausage Stew, with Sweet Potato and Spring Onion

Chopped Cumberland (pork) sausages, with a vegetable stew of sweet potato, potato, carrot and spring onion, plus kamut grains, red chilli, chopped garlic, and cardamom seed. What is the best and tidiest way to get cardamom seeds out of cardamom pods? I use a metal garlic press.



The sausages had been cooked for an earlier meal, and came with a spring onion and vegetable stock gravy. They were added to the vegetable stew, which had been simmered for about forty five minutes. Chilli, garlic and cardamom seeds had been added, along with more vegetable stock, and two pinches of oregano and one of sage.

Cooked for at least twenty minutes before serving. Serve hot!

Smoked Paprika Stew, with Chorizo Sausage

An utterly delicious chorizo sausage  stew, made with carrot, garlic, mushrooms, spring onion, and yellow pepper.

First cooked was the diced chorizo sausage, which provided the fat for the other ingredients. I added the diced carrot, mushrooms, some crushed garlic, and the spring onion, and cooked them for around thirty minutes, until tender. Also added were strips of yellow pepper. Twenty minutes of cooking all told.

I added some boiling water to the mix, and stirred together thoroughly. I addded smoked paprika and oregano to the dish.

I used Thai black rice as part of the rice combo. This releases a lot of purple dye in the course of cooking, so I precooked that for fifteen minutes, and drained it. After that, I added the black rice to the American long grain rice, cooked for another fifteen minutes.

Delicious!

Smoked Haddock with Vegetables in a Cheese Sauce

A large fillet of haddock, smoked but undyed, poached in water in a flat lidded pan for twenty minutes. Starting at a high heat, and then reduced to the lowest heat when the water began to boil.

In another pan, the diced vegetables (parsnip, potato, carrot, spring onion) were boiled for twenty-five minutes.

While the vegetables were cooking, I prepared the cheese sauce.

I mixed whole milk (around 150 mls) and a dessert spoonful of cornmeal flour in a jug, plus some vegetable stock, and decanted the mixture (with a little butter) into a third pot, and stirred it until it began to thicken on the hob. I added the vegetables, and around 100g of cheddar cheese (thin slices), and stirred until the cheese had entirely melted.

Dress with freshly ground black pepper, and serve!

Turnip and Potato Soup

Essentially a delicious and warming winter soup, made with half a turnip (bought to accompany a haggis), a large handful of chopped curly kale (a form of cabbage), diced potato, and some grains of Kamut (wheat grains).

The ingredients were boiled for about an hour, and then lightly mashed. I added vegetable stock, some black pepper, and the herbs Rosemary and Thyme.

Serve with potato bread.

Peach, Date, and Almond Fruit Salad

One flat peach, diced, with stoned and diced dates (Deglet Nour), and a small handful of whole almonds.

Serve with double cream, and a small sprinkling of nutmeg. A delicious and simple fruit salad!

Brisket Beef in an Onion and Tomato Gravy

A traditional Jewish dish, made with Brisket beef and a gravy of tomato, onion and carrot, served with brocolli spears, and boiled Maris Piper potatoes.

The brisket joint was about 800g, which is enough to feed six people. This meal was for three people, so I used about half of the joint for the meal.

The joint was first browned in the oven  (180 deg C.) in a roasting dish, for 30 minutes each side. Then it was placed in a large saute pan with salted water, and cooked for four hours, with occasional turning.

That left lots of time for creating the gravy. I batonned two medium-sized carrots, and diced a large Spanish onion. These were cooked for twenty minutes. Then I added sixteen diced cherry tomatoes and cooked the ensemble for a further twenty minutes. Crushed and diced garlic was added, along with tomato puree (or passata), beef and vegetable stock. Two dashes of cardamom, plus Herbes de Provence, Coriander, and Basil were also added.

Since this meal was intended for a dinner party the next day, everything went into the fridge as soon as it had cooled.

The next morning the brisket joint was cut into thin slices using an electric carving knife, against the grain of the beef. Tougher to cut, but it is the best way to do it.

The slices of beef were put into a flat pan with the onion and tomato gravy, and cooked for around half an hour to forty-five minutes, by which time the beef is incredibly tender. During which time I prepared the potatoes and the brocolli. The former cooked for twenty minutes plus, and the brocolli for ten minutes under glass at a low heat.

Served in this case with red wine, and utterly delicious!

[Celery can be added to the ingredients of this dish, as well as bay leaf, and rosemary and thyme. There are lots of variations. All delicious.]

Chorizo and Mushroom Tapas

The Spanish like to move around on an evening out, and not park themselves in one place for the evening. Hence the tradition of tapas in Spain: small dishes of tasty food which won't fill you up, leaving room for another dish in another bar or restaurant.

This is a simple dish made with only four ingredients: diced chorizo sausage from a chorizo ring, cherry tomatoes, each cut into three, four quartered white mushrooms, and some diced potato.

The chorizo was added to a flat pan first along with the potato, since the oil for cooking the dish comes from the sausage. From an initial high heat, the hob was turned down to the lowest. After about seven minutes, I added the tomato pieces and the mushroom quarters. The dish cooks under glass in around fifteen further minutes, with the ingredients moved around the pan occasionally.

Serve as is!

Chicken Stew with Green Beans

A simple chicken stew, served with fried flat-cut Maris Piper potato and green beans.

The chicken pieces were roasted on julienned Spanish onion for 45 minutes in an oven preheated to 190 deg C. A little water was added to the base of the roasting dish (about 50 mls).

After cooling, the chicken stew was stored overnight in the fridge.

The stew was reheated on the hob the next day, with added water and chicken stock. I added two pinches of Herbs de Provence. Heat for at least six minutes under glass.

The flat cut potato pieces were fried in some sunflower oil in a lidded pan, for ten minutes each side at a low heat. The green beans were boiled in slightly salted water for seven minutes, and then they were drained before serving.

Pork Sausages in a Tomato and Sage Salsa

Pricked pork sausages, cooked slowly (30 minutes) in their own fat, under glass in a ribbed frying pan. Turned four times.

The tomato salsa was made with onion (fried in another pan for about fifteen minutes), and later with diced cherry tomato, sliced mushrooms and diced red pepper. All cooked in a little sunflower oil for another fifteen minutes.

After that a little water was added to the salsa pan, along with two squirts of tomato puree, and a teaspoonful of dried sage. Stirred thoroughly.

The chipped parsnips were dressed in sunflower oil with a pastry brush, and were cooked under the grill for twenty minutes or so (watch by eye!). Turned once. Alternatively you can melt a little butter, and dress the chips in that.

Served with freshly ground black pepper.

Oven Roasted Ratatouille

The aubergine and the courgette were diced into small chunks, and placed in a large glass bowl. The baby plum tomatoes were each cut into three using a sharp vegetable knife, and the mushrooms were finely sliced. Half a red pepper was cut into strips.

I added two pinches of herbes de Provence, half a teaspoonful of oregano, plus half a handful of fresh basil leaves, diced. Add a dash of vinegar, and a teaspoonful of tomato puree or passata. Drizzle with a dessert spoonful of olive oil, and stir together thoroughly.

I decanted the contents into a lidded metal roasting tray and (with the lid on) put it onto the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 220 deg C. It was allowed to cook for twenty minutes, and then taken from the oven and placed on the hob. I turned the semi-roasted ratatouille with a  wooden spoon, and then placed the dish back into the oven, again with the lid on. Allow to cook for another fifteen minutes.

Serve as is, or with boiled rice or pasta. Fabulous dish!

Ham Omelette

This is recipe idea number 800. Diced wafer thin ham, along with diced spring onion, red pepper, and cherry tomato. The vegetables were cooked in a little butter at a low heat for about seven minutes before the ham was added to the omelette pan.

Stir fry at a low heat for a further three minutes. The slightly salted omelette mixture (beaten thoroughly) was added and allowed to cook slowly under glass for about seven to eight minutes. Turned once. Dress in a dusting of coriander and black pepper.

Served with a four leaf salad and a dessert spoonful of mayonnaise.

Lorne Sausage Breakfast

Normally I prepare scrambled egg on buttered toast (wheat-free) when I want a cooked breakfast. But sometimes you want something more calorific.

Two slices of lorne sausage, cooked slowly under glass for 17 minutes altogether, and turned twice. Plus a bread pudding with raisins, and a slice of black pudding (with no cinammon), cooked for the same length of time, and turned once.

The quartered cherry tomatoes and the mushrooms were cooked in a small knob of butter, in a small lidded pan, for about twelve minutes. The beans came out of a tin, because making them from scratch is an interesting thing to learn, but a pain to do.

Serve with freshly ground black pepper!

Aubergine Parmigiana

Aubergine, spring onion, mushroom and courgette with cheese (Parmagiano Reggiano and cheddar), served with a tomato, red pepper and garlic sauce.

The aubergine, the spring onion and the courgette were finely sliced and laid in an oven proof dish. The layer was overlaid with sliced mushroom, then a layer of thinly cut cheddar.

The Parmagiano was finely grated, and the surface was covered entirely. The oven proof dish was placed in an oven pre-heated to 190 deg C, and allowed to cook for 45 minutes.

The sauce was made with diced cherry tomatoes, some tomato puree (ketchup will do instead),  and half a diced red pepper. Also added were some basil and oregano, and one crushed clove of garlic. Dress with black pepper when served. An excellent dish!

Apricot, Date and Almond Salad

An incredibly simple and satisfying fruit salad, with apricots, dates and almonds.

I used semi-dried apricots rather than fresh, which I soaked in water overnight. This version of the dish is sweeter than what you get if you use fresh apricots.

In the morning I halved the apricots, and diced the dates (be sure to stone the dates if you haven't bought them pre-stoned). I kept the juice from the apricots, and fortified it with a shot-glass full of Scotch whisky (Bourbon will do fine instead!).

I added whole almond kernels, without crushing them, and put the fruit and nuts in the fridge for three hours.

Serve with yoghurt dressed in a little nutmeg or mixed spice.