Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie, made with the remains of a lamb joint. Augmented with onion, mushroom, red pepper, root ginger, red wine, lamb stock, and celery. 

The lamb stew had been prepared the day before, and stored in the fridge after cooling.

Four white potatoes were chopped and boiled for twenty-five minutes, with a couple of dashes of salt, while the oven was heating. The potatoes were drained, and then mashed with two knobs of butter. The mashed potato was then spooned out of the pan onto the top of the pie-dish containing the lamb stew.

Cooked in the oven at 150 deg. C for seventy five minutes, until the potato topping was golden brown.

Sea Food, with Crispy Noodles

Sea food, with squid rings, mussels and prawns, cooked in a steamer with oyster sauce. The sea food was precooked, and bought from Sainsbury's supermarket. Steamed for 12 minutes. The noodles were soaked in boiling hot water for seven minutes, drained, and then cooked in a saute pan with sunflower oil for ten minutes, to make the base of the noodles crispy. No herbs, no spices. Add a layer of dark soy to the plate before serving the crispy noodles. 

Chicken, Parsnip and Brocolli Soup

A simple soup made with chicken stock, two parsnips, half a head of brocolli, some red chilli, black pepper, rosemary and oregano.

Chop the parsnips and the brocolli. The brocolli was left over from another meal so was already cut into spears and steamed. Add the chicken stock to the pot and a quarter teaspoonful of red chilli powder (or cayenne pepper, which is essentially the same thing). Boil and simmer for twenty five minutes, by which time the parsnips will be soft. Mash the soup, and simmer again for ten to fifteen minutes. Use a hand-mixer to blend the soup (one minute), Add the black pepper (according to taste), and two pinches of rosemary and oregano.

Serve as it is, or with freshly segmented apple as an encore.

Lamb Stew, with Potatoes

 A simple but nutritious antidote to a blowout Christmas dinner, for Boxing Day. Lamb with potatoes! Simpy made with roast lamb, lamb stock, Onion, Spring Onion, Celery, Green pepper. Chestnut mushrooms

The roast lamb leg was prepared the previous day. Carved, and the meat placed into a pot with lamb stock, sliced onion, chopped celery,  green pepper, and chestnut mushrooms Left to cook for a two hours under glass at the lowest heat.

Served with boiled redskin potatoes, and black pepper to taste.

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Chicken and Sausage Meat Stuffing, with Roast Potatoes

Roast potatoes, chicken breast, a sausage meat stuffing, carrots, brussels sprouts, sausages wrapped in bacon (pigs in blankets), cranberry sauce, and a delicious gravy made with chicken stock, sage, thyme, rosemary, onion, spring onion, and red currant sauce. 

This meal was largely created in two sessions on the preceding day. The gravy and the potatoes were prepared first. The onions were added to a mixture of cornflour and water. Heated until it began to thicken. Cooked for half an hour, stirring regularly (don't take your eyes off it). The potatoes were parboiled for fifteen minutes, then decanted into a glass bowl and allowed to cool. Four dessert spoonfuls of goose fat (sunflower oil will do just as well) were drizzled across the potatoes. With a plate sealing the glass bowl, the potatoes were shaken around vigorously, until fluffy. Then placed in the oven on the middle shelf at around 160 deg C, and cooked until a golden colour. Turn two or three times.The stuffing was commercially bought, but is essentially made with (usually pork) sausage meat and stale breadcrumbs, plus generous amounts of sage. Rolled oats or oatmeal can be substituted, and sometimes it is given extra physical integrity by adding an egg during the mixing of the ingredients. 

Unless very thick, the stuffing should roast in twenty minutes at 180 deg. C. Watch this one closely too!

The chicken was in the form of a crown (both breasts), and was cooked for 70 minutes at 180 deg C, and turned two times during the process, with the juices spooned over the top. Covered with aluminium foil for 65 of those minutes. The chicken was allowed to rest before carving, and reheated in the microwave on the day. You could reheat in a steamer instead.

  

Finally the brussels sprouts were cooked for nine minutes in boiling water, and the carrots for twenty. 

Cauliflower and Brocolli Florets in a Cheddar Cheese Sauce

A 400g bargain tray of cauliflower and brocolli florets at Morrison's yesterday, for 19 pence instead of £1.76, inspired this variation on cauliflower cheese. Easy to make, nutritious, and a pleasure to eat. 

The florets were steamed gently for twenty minutes. The sauce was made with standard fresh milk and two teaspoons of cornflour, and 100g of coloured mild cheddar cheese. The milk and the water were added to a measuring jug (about 300mls) containing the cornflour, and stirred together thoroughly. Then the mixture was decanted into a small saucepan. The cheese was cut into thin squares, and gradually added to the saucepan as the sauce began to thicken, stirring continuously. The heat was reduced to the minimum, and I continued to stir for five minutes until all of the cheese had dissolved into the sauce. Then I removed the pan from the heat. 

Decant the florets from the steamer onto a serving plate, and spoon the sauce over them. Dress with freshly ground black pepper. Delicious! Serves two. 

Cauliflower and Brocolli Florets in a Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Lamb and Green Bean Soup

Lots of  Egyptian green beans in the kitchen. So I made a spicy lamb and green bean soup. No actual lamb in the fridge and freezer, so the lamb flavour came from stock. In addition to chopped green beans, the dish is made with tomato passata (about 200g),  two chopped onions, five carrots, one red chilli, a pinch of oregano, a pinch of basil, a small handful of Khorasan wheat (for flavour and thickening), a quarter cup of green mung beans (green lentils could be substituted), and freshly ground black pepper. 

Two days after making the soup I roasted a lamb leg joint in the oven, and so the last of the soup had some actual lamb in it, in addition to the lamb stock. 

Lamb and Green Bean Soup

Pork and Beans

Referred to in a song by Jim Morrison and the Doors ('Back Door Man', written by Willie Dixon), which didn't make much sense to a Brit on first listening. After the start of WW2 baked beans in Britain became just that: baked beans. Before the war tins of beans in the UK were like those in the US - a mixture of pork and beans. The excuse was saving money and making beans cheaper in straightened times. But in Britain we never went back to pork and beans, and plain baked beans has been ever since an important component of the British diet. I always have about eight tins of beans in my kitchen cupboard. 

So I reconstructed pork and beans with some sliced roast pork. A delicious combination. What would you serve it with? Potatoes are the obvious option, which may have been served with the pork and beans on the cattle herding trail in the old West. Boiled, roasted, or even plain hash browns, cooked on the fire. Excellent with black pepper. 

Pork and Beans

Singapore Fried Noodle

Rice noodles, with basmati rice, prawns, chopped mushroom, red chillies, spring onion, fresh parsley, sliced ginger, chopped garlic, black pepper, splashed with some rice wine, soy sauce, and some lemon grass.

Noodles prepared by immersion in water which has been brought to the boil and then the heat is turned off. Ten minutes should be fine for thin noodles. The prawns were blanched in boiled water for three minutes before being added to the wok. Stir-fried for a minute or so, before the vegetables were added. Stir-fry for three to five minutes, depending on the heat. Add the rice at the last minute and stir well together for the final minute. The rice was prepared separately, being boiled for ten minutes. Add Dark Soy, or alternatively you can make a Soy sauce spiral on the plate before serving.

Modelled loosely on a dish eaten many times at the Wong Kei restaurant in Chinatown, London. Often with a large pot of Jasmine tea. A student favourite.

Singapore Fried Noodle

Chicken with a Tomato and Blue Stilton Sauce

Stir-fried pieces of chicken breast, in a Stilton and tomato sauce, with onion, red and green pepper, mushroom, chicken stock, black pepper, organo, basil, and served with brocolli spears and potato waffles. 

The chicken stew was prepared first. Once stir-fried until golden brown, the chicken pieces were decanted into a pot with some water, the chicken stock and the tomato passata, into which around 100g of Blue Stilton cheese had been added in small pieces, and stirred for ten minutes until all of the cheese is dissolved. Then the vegetables were added as they were prepared, while the sauce simmered. Add black pepper and cook under glass for between thirty and forty-five minutes, at a low heat. 

The brocolli spears were steamed for ten minutes until tender, and the potato waffles were prepared in a toaster (three minutes). An easy and delicious meal!

Chicken with a Tomato and Blue Stilton Sauce

Cashew Nut Risotto

A simple risotto made with white basmati rice, chopped onion, red pepper, mushroom, carrot, chives, red chilli, and cashew nuts. 

Prepare the vegetables while the rice is cooking (around 9 nine minutes). Par-boil them for ten minutes while the rice is drained and cooling. Drain the vegetables. Then add both the rice and the vegetables to a saute pan or wok and stir-fry for six or seven minutes at a medium heat. Decant onto a serving plate with a spiral of dark soy sauce. Quick and nutritious!

Cashew Nut Risotto

Lentil and Green Bean Soup

A great winter soup, made with half a cup of red lentils, 150g of chopped green beans, half a chopped parsnip, three chopped carrots, one stick of celery, chopped Cavolo Nero cabbage (from Tuscany), one chopped potato, one quarter red onion, a pinch of coriander leaf, four dashes of Tabasco sauce, one dash of Squid brand fish sauce. and two chicken stock cubes. 

All the vegetables were prepared and added to boiling water in the soup pan along with the chicken stock, coriander, Tabasco and fish sauces. Cook for forty five minutes, turning the heat right down, and covering the pan with a glass lid. Stir Occasionally. Then the contents were mashed for two minutes, and allowed to simmer under glass for another hour. Serve with buttered bread (or wheat free bread). 

Lentil and Green Bean Soup

Vegetables in Hoisin & Garlic Sauce, with Crispy Noodles

Brocolli spears, chopped mushroom, red onion, red chilli, and bamboo shoots, in a hoisin and garlic sauce, served on a bed of crispy noodles. 

The vegetables were stir-fried in a little sunflower oil at a medium heat for about 15 minutes, until tender. Alternatively, the vegetables can be parboiled first, and the stir-fry time reduced. Then the sauce was added to the wok, and stirred in thoroughly to the vegetables. Allow to cook under glass for another four to five minutes. 

The crispy noodles were prepared first, by soaking in boiled water for five minutes. Drained, and allowed to dry a little. Then they were decanted into a wok brushed with sunflower oil at high heat until the underside of the noodles becomes crispy (check by turning at the edges). Turn the noodles over several times over the next two minutes, then decant to the serving plate, and add the vegetables in the hoisin and garlic sauce. 

Vegetables in Hoisin & Garlic Sauce, with Crispy Noodles

Pear and Apple Fruit Salad

Made with one Williams pear and one Bramley apple, some Creme de Menthe, and some single cream. 

The pear was cut into lengthwise slices, and the apple was cut into eight segments, using a useful tool designed to make this easy.  These segments were then each cut into four or five parts. Mix the fruit together. Add the cream to a serving bowl, and add the fruit. Drizzle two dessert spoonfuls of Creme de Menthe. Ready to serve! 

Pear and Apple Fruit Salad

Raspberry and Red Grape Fruit Salad

A very simple salad. Raspberries from Morocco, with red seedless grapes, soused in a little grenadine, and topped with single cream. Mix the raspberries and grapes together in the grenadine, and allow to stand for twenty minutes. Stir the fruit again, and decant to a serving bowl. Add the cream. Delicious! 

Raspberry and Red Grape Fruit Salad

Chicken in an Oyster and Spring Onion Sauce

A simple stir-fry dish, served with flat rice noodles (Blue Dragon brand). I chopped a breast of chicken into small strips and stir-fried them slowly for ten minutes at a medium heat, in a little bacon fat (sunflower oil will do instead, if you prefer). Then I added six sliced mushrooms and a handful of chopped green beans to the stir-fry. Cooked for another eight to ten minutes, stirring frequently. The oyster and spring onion sauce came from Aldi, who do a small range of stir-fry sauces. Cooked for another four or five minutes before serving. 

The rice noodles take eight minutes to cook, unless you intend to add them to the stir-fry, in which case they should be cooked for around six minutes. 

Chicken in an Oyster and Spring Onion Sauce 

Ground Beef, Parsnips, and Brocolli Spears

Made with Aberdeen Angus ground beef, peeled tomatoes and tomato passata, blended Bramley apple, chopped onion and green beans, with basil and oregano. Plus beef and vegetable stock. 

The beef (12% fat) was browned before the chopped onion was added. The peeled tomatoes, the blended apple, and the green beans were prepared first, in a steamer. The vegetables and the passata, and the herbs, were added after the onions were mostly cooked. Water and the beef and vegetable stock were added. Simmer under glass for ninety minutes.

The parsnips were boiled in the bottom of a steamer, for twenty minutes. The brocolli spears were added to the top tier of the steamer for the final ten minutes, and removed when ready. 

Ground Beef, Parsnips, and Brocolli Spears

Parsnip and Leek Soup

Made with three whole parsnips, topped and tailed, half a dozen Jerusalem artichoke tubers, boiled and peeled, and a whole leek. Plus cumin powder, turmeric powder, three large pinches of coriander leaf, chicken stock, and lots of white pepper. 

Mash the boiled parsnips and the artichoke tubers together. The leek was initially cooked separately in a steamer, after being cut into the traditional circles. Then the leek was added to the parsnip and artichoke mix. The dominant flavour of this soup should be cumin and coriander, so add sufficient of these according to your judgement. Add some turmeric and white pepper, and stir into the soup. Simmer for an hour before serving.  

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Parsnip and Leek Soup

Cottage Pie

Made with Aberdeen Angus ground beef, peeled tomatoes and tomato passata, blended Bramley apple, chopped onion and green beans, with basil and oregano. Plus beef and vegetable stock. 

The beef (12% fat) was browned before the chopped onion was added. The peeled tomatoes, the blended apple, and the green beans were prepared first, in a steamer. The vegetables and the passata, and the herbs, were added after the onions were mostly cooked. Water and the beef and vegetable stock were added. Simmer under glass for ninety minutes. Allow to cool. 

Boil five medium to large potatoes for twenty five minutes. Allow to cool. Then mash in a glass bowl with a large knob of butter and a couple of dashes of white pepper. Add the ground beef to the pie dish, and then spoon the potato on top. Texture the surface with a fork. Cook in an oven preheated to 150 deg C for an hour. Don't cook at a higher temperature, or the gravy will bubble vigourously, and break through the potato layer, causing it to sink. 150 deg C is fine. You can cook for longer if you want a crispier potato topping. Served with green beans. 

 Cottage Pie

Fruit Salad with Raspberry, Blackberry and Strawberry

A really easy fruit salad. Since it is December, the strawberries came from Morocco, but I saw some better looking ones from Egypt in Morrison's store yesterday.  But these tasted fine. Halve the blackberries and the strawberries, and souse all three fruits in a little white wine and grenadine,  coat with a dessert spoonful of granulated sugar, and leave to soak in a sealed container for several hours in the fridge. Turn occasionally.

Decant the fruit and the juice into a serving bowl, and pour on some single cream. Delicious!

Fruit Salad with Raspberry, Blackberry and Strawberry

Fruit Salad with Seedless Red Grapes

A classic fruit salad of orange, melon, mango, red grape, and apple. Served with a dressing made with creamy Jersey milk mixed with pomegranate molasses (about 50-50), seasoned with nutmeg and mace. Made in a trice. 

Fruit Salad with Seedless Red Grapes

Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese, made with Aberdeen Angus ground beef, peeled tomatoes and tomato passata, blended Bramley apple, chopped onion and green beans, with basil and oregano. Plus beef and vegetable stock. 

The beef (12% fat) was browned before the chopped onion was added. The peeled tomatoes, the blended apple, and the green beans were prepared first, in a steamer. The vegetables and the passata, and the herbs, were added after the onions were mostly cooked. Water and the beef and vegetable stock were added. Simmer under glass for ninety minutes. 

Served with wheat-free spaghetti and black pepper. Can also be served with parmesan or parmigiano reggiano cheese.  

Spaghetti Bolognese

Potato Salad with Moroccan Hummus

Four components - a potato salad in Mayonnaise, a leaf salad with Iceberg lettuce, red onion, and diced rocket, cooked and chopped green beans (Egyptian dwarf beans to be precise) with Moroccan hummus (chilli and topped with some chickpeas), and finally some peeled tomato mixed with cooked and diced carrot, with cumin seeds, coriander and basil. 

Potato Salad with Moroccan Hummus

The potato, carrot and green beans were cooked a steamer, with the potato and the carrot in the bottom (20 minutes cooking). The beans were in the top half, and were steamed for ten minutes after being topped and tailed. The skin of the tomatoes (3) was cut, and they were blanched in boiling water for three minutes. After which the skin is easy to peel off. 

These ingredients were put aside to cool in cold water. The leaf salad with the onion was prepared (one quarter of a medium size red onion). Dressed in a little olive oil and lemon juice. Allow to stand for fifteen minutes and stir. 

After the vegetables had cooled, the diced potato was mixed with mayonnaise in a bowl. The tomato and carrot mixture was mixed in another bowl with a pinch of cumin seeds, coriander leaf and basil.  Then decanted into a serving bowl, as shown above. The green beans were decanted into a small serving bowl also, and topped with two teaspoonfuls of the hummus. 

Assemble on a plate, and serve. 

Omelette with Onion and Rocket

A two egg omelette, made with half an onion, some salt, and some shredded rocket. 

Stir fry the sliced onion in an omelette pan with some sunflower oil, until the onion begins to brown. Turn down the heat. Beat the eggs with a whisk and add a pinch of salt. Shred half a handful of rocket leaves. Add a pinch of the shredded rocket to the eggs and beat again. Pour the mixture over the onions in the pan and cook at a low heat. Sprinkle the rest of the shredded rocket over the top of the omelette. 

Cook for four minutes each side, at the lowest possible heat setting, and cover the pan with a glass lid. Serve on a plate with some white pepper and two dashes of Tabasco sauce. Fast and delicious!

Omelette with Onion and Rocket