Beef Casoulet with Yoghurt and Coriander

Ground (minced) beef, browned for twenty minutes, stirring frequently.

With added diced onion, diced spring onion, yellow pepper, chopped baby plum tomatoes (four), diced mushroom, diced carrot, a crushed clove of garlic, and potato chunks.

Simmered for an hour and a half at a low heat under glass. Add beef stock. Add a quarter teaspoonful of chilli for heat, if desired.

Served with Yoghurt dressed in two pinches of dried coriander.

Kabanos Sausage Stew

Two chopped Kabanos sausages, stir fried in a little sunflower oil, along with diced carrot, diced brocolli stems, a julienned onion, two diced spring onions, half a yellow pepper cut into strips, and potato chunks. Stir fry until the onion begins to brown.

Add boiling water, two squirts of tomato puree, and the ham (or pork) stock. Simmer at a low heat under glass for an hour.

Add the herbs (basil, coriander and tarragon five or ten minutes before serving the dish). Add a quarter teaspoonful of chilli powder if you would like some heat. A little lemon zest can also be added.

Baby leaf Lettuce Salad, with Chickpeas

A simple salad made with chickpeas cooked in water and a little balsamic vinegar,  served in dijon mustard and coriander leaf, plus a baby leaf salad, diced spring onion,  and grated carrot. Also chopped baby plum tomatoes.

The dish was served with some black pepper.

French Onion Soup

A simpler version of this favourite soup than I've made before. Essentially two diced white onions caramelised in some olive oil, along with three diced cloves of garlic.

Allowed to cool, then boiling water was added to the pan. Cooked for twenty minutes to thirty minutes, then the contents of the pan were blended together.

After that, I added the vegetable stock, black pepper, a teaspoonful of dark soy sauce, Bisto gravy granules (essentially a thickener), plus a quarter teaspoonful of paprika.

Cooked for another twenty minutes until the soup has thickened. At that point the herbs Oregano and Tarragon were added (two pinches each).

Served with a slice of buttered wheat-free bread.

Cauliflower, Swede and Carrot Soup

One half of a head of cauliflower chopped into florets, half a peeled swede cut into thin strips, one large carrot cut into chunks, and eight diced cherry tomatoes.

The cauliflower florets, the swede and the carrots were stir-fried in sunflower oil for ten minutes at a medium to high heat, stirring frequently.

The diced tomato was added, along with around a pint of boiling water. The heat was turned down low, and the pot was lidded. Simmered for forty-five minutes.

After that, the contents of the pot were mashed for about thirty seconds (I wanted this soup to be chunky). I added the vegetable stock and two pinches of Tarragon. Simmered again for twenty minutes before serving. Great flavour!

Strawberry and Blackberry Bourbon Surprise

Wow! Diced Scottish Strawberries and Blackberries soused for a couple of days in two shots of blended Bourbon whiskey, and two dessert spoonfuls of Demerara sugar. Kept in the fridge. Plus a handful of crushed almonds (I've made this dish before with almonds which were ground in a coffee grinder). Stirred occasionally.

Dress in a little black or white pepper before serving on a bed of Greek style yoghurt.

Any other whisky or whiskey will produce an excellent result. Utterly delicious! Strawberries Rombauer is often touted as the the apex of fruit salads (using Cointreau). It's good, but this has it beat.

Ground Lamb, Sweetcorn and Ginger

Ground lamb cooked with onion or leek, peas and ginger. Plus diced garlic, and half a small tin of sweetcorn.

The lamb was browned for twenty minutes before the other ingredients were added.

 The ginger was diced, along with a clove of garlic. Added to the pot with the sweetcorn and peas, along with the diced onion. Cooked for another twenty minutes under glass. After that the tomato puree was added, along with some water.

Served with boiled rice, Chinese style (sticky enough to be picked up with chopsticks).

Cumberland Sausage in Gravy with Chervil

Cumberland sausage is a favourite dish, though I've noticed the level of herbs diminishing in the actual sausages over the past ten years.

The sausages were fried in a skillet for twenty minutes or so at a medium to high heat, in a drizzle of sunflower oil, and turned frequently.I prepared the onions and the gravy in a separate pan, cooking the onions first, before adding the pork stock, water, and the gravy granules.

The gravy was added to the pan of sausages, and allowed to simmer under glass for another twenty minutes. The herbs were added last (sage, chervil) 

Served with boiled potato pieces.

Minted Ground Lamb with Potato and Onion Patties

Ground lamb with potato and onion  patties.

The potato and onion patties were prepared under the grill, after having been steamed together for twenty five minutes. Then mashed together. Dressed in coriander leaf. I used a pastry cutter as a mould, which works really well.

The ground lamb was prepared in the usual way - browned in oil for twenty minutes or so. Along with diced leek. And dried mint.

After that the lamb was simmered in a lidded pot for an hour or more, with added tomato puree, some potato pieces, chilli, Tabasco sauce, coriander, oregano, plus vegetable and lamb stock, And green peas. 

King Prawns in Mayo, with a Dressed Salad

A simple salad made with king prawns sourced from Vietnam, dressed in mayonnaise, along with a vegetable salad made with red cabbage, carrot, two colours of lettuce, plus a vinegrette of vinegar (from a jar of gherkins) and olive oil.

Dressed in black pepper. Delicious!