Chicken and Onion Soup

A  simple soup made shortly after Christmas to use some left over sliced chicken.

First I browned some diced onions slowly in a small pan, stirring occasionally. After about twenty minutes I decanted the onions to a larger pot and added 400 mls of boiling water, plus chicken stock, and some onion gravy granules (Quixo from Aldi).

The chicken slices were diced and added to the pot, plus a finely diced carrot. The soup was simmered slowly under glass for half an hour, then a pinch of Herbes de Provence was added and stirred through the soup.

Serve as is, or with some potato scones. Delicious!

Scrambled Egg and Bacon

Fabulous breakfast! The scrambled egg was made with two eggs, a pinch of salt, plus a quarter cup of whole milk, cooked slowly in a melted knob of salted butter. I used a small pan for that. Stirred about four or five times until ready.

The smoked bacon strips (two) were cooked slowly in an omelette pan in their own fat. Cooked until crispy at the edges.

Three quartered mushrooms were cooked slowly in the small amount  of bacon fat remaining, until they browned.

Served in this case with a squirt of American mustard and a dusting of black pepper.

Excellent served with buttered toast or slices of potato scone.

Lentil & Bacon Soup

Made with four strips of smoked bacon, diced, chopped onion, diced brussels sprouts, a handful of diced spinach leaves, a third of a cup of red lentils, vegetable stock, and some onion gravy granules.

The bacon was fried first in a small pan, in some sunflower oil. The vegetables were prepared at the same time (the bacon was stirred frequently along the way). Once the bacon began to brown, the onion was added. Once the onion began to become transparent, the brussels sprouts and spinach were added to the pot. Cooked for another fifteen minutes.

The ingredients were then decanted to a larger pot, and about 400mls of boiling water was added. Followed by the third cupful of red lentils, and the onion gravy granules. Stirred frequently. Cook for at least another half an hour, adding the vegetable stock after about fifteen minutes.

Served with two toasted potato scones. Simple and delicious! Lentil and bacon soup is a Scottish staple dish (the recipe is flexible in its ingredients, according to availability).

Christmas Dinner with Chicken and Chestnut & Onion Stuffing.

 The  components were: roast Maris Piper potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts, sliced chicken breast, a sausage meat and chestnut and onion stuffing, oven roasted sausages dressed in bacon (pigs in blankets), and a chicken and onion gravy.

The main trick is to get all of the components hot at the same time, and delivered to the plate within a couple of minutes. Everything was prepared the previous day. A microwave oven was used to reheat the sprouts and carrot (in one glass tray), the chicken and onion gravy. The chicken slices were wrapped in some aluminium foil, and reheated for ten minutes in a fan-assisted oven. The roast potatoes were reheated in the microwave. The chestnut and onion stuffing was also reheated in the microwave,  along with the chipolata sausages wrapped in bacon (the 'pigs in blankets').

What follows is the initial cooking process on Christmas Eve, which took half the day. I started with the vegetables, the gravy, and the potatoes. That took three pots. Allowed to cool, and placed in the fridge. The  gravy was made with chicken stock and some onion gravy granules.

The chicken breasts (four altogether) were cooked in in the oven, in a lidded casserole dish on a bed of diced onions. cooked for around 45 minutes at 200 deg C. Allowed to cool and placed in the fridge.  The next morning the chicken breasts were sliced with an electric knife. The chicken was very tender when served.

The pigs in blankets were cooked from scratch at 180 deg C, for a notional 25 minutes. I wrapped them in some aluminium foil so they would not burn.  Cooked for twenty five minutes, and then for another five to ten minutes unwrapped, in order to brown.

The next item was the chestnut and onion stuffing. Cooked in the oven as a block, and uncovered, for thirty-five minutes.at 180 deg C,  The sausages can be cooked along with the stuffing, if you watch the timer carefully.

 I've blogged about roasting potatoes before, so search on roast potato for the details. In this case I used  goose fat, which is a popular choice at Christmas, but isn't strictly necessary to get excellent roast potatoes. In a nutshell, parboil the potatoes, drain, shake around a lidded pan, and then roast at about 200 degrees C for thirty-five to forty minutes after drizzling them in goose fat. Watch carefully!

All components of the meal were thoroughly heated and cooked and still hot before serving. All components were on the plate quickly, starting with the sausages and the stuffing, followed by the chicken, the roast potatoes, the vegetables and the chicken and onion sauce. Serve with Cranberry Sauce jelly!

Venison Sausage Casserole

Some bargain venison sausages from Sainsbury's, used as the basis of a winter casserole.

I added diced green beans, onion, celery, batoned carrot, and spring onion to a casserole dish. The sausages were delinked, and pierced four times each. They were added on top of the layer of vegetables.

I made a gravy with onion granules and some ham stock. It was allowed to cool to room temperature, and then it was added to the casserole dish, just covering the vegetables. I drizzled some sunflower oil over the sausages, and then placed it in a preheated oven at 190 deg C. Allowed to cook for at least fifty minutes.

Served with lightly roasted maris piper potatoes. 

Ground Lamb Chilli with Mushrooms

Ground lamb, cooked in a little sunflower oil, along with white onion, peppers, and some dried red chillies, and three green chillies.

The lamb was cooked first for 45 minutes, before the onion and diced spring onion was added (three). After that, the diced carrot, and the red pepper (half, diced), six quartered mushrooms, and about half a pint of water. Then  the lamb stock. Simmered under glass for an hour.

Before serving, add two pinches of dried coriander (or diced coriander leaves if you have some fresh available in your kitchen).

Served with basmati rice, cooked with a sprinkling of dried coriander.

Jarlsberg Cheese Salad

A simple and delicately flavoured salad made with grated Jarlsberg cheese (about 60 g), diced baby leaf lettuce, turmeric basmati (third of a cup). half a teaspoonful of olive oil, half a red onion, diced, half a red pepper, diced, chopped fresh spinach, and halved and diced spring onion (two), Also add a dusting of coriander and oregano.  Add a little salt while the vegetable components of the dish are being prepared. 

Serve with freshly ground black pepper. 

Raspberry and Chocolate Framboise

This is a pretty decadent dish - Moroccan raspberries soused in some Gordon's gin, and Crème de Framboise syrup (it is a raspberry flavoured liqueur made near Dijon in Burgundy - "Lejay-Lagoute" brand). I kept the soused fruit in the fridge for three or four days before serving.

I chopped up some dark fruit and nut chocolate and added it to the serving dish, followed by the soused fruit and juices. Then I added two dessert spoonfuls of a Greek style yoghurt, and gave the contents of the dish a couple of gentle stirs.

Fabulous! Plain dark chocolate will do just as well for this dish, but I prefer my chocolate to be leavened with fruit and nut (hazelnut and raisins).

Bratwurst and Spinach Casoulet

A fabulous dish which is easy to prepare. Bratwurst sausage bought  from Aldi (a pack of six, of which I used three here).

Cut the Bratwurst into roundels (six for each sausage). Then cut the roundels diagonally, so that they are wedge shaped. Cook them in a little sunflower oil in a flat pan, until they begin to brown (seven to ten minutes, stirring frequently). Remove the sausage pieces from the pan.

Add the mushrooms (quartered), the potatoes (also cut into wedge shapes), the red onion, the spring onion (two, diced), half a red pepper, diced, and chopped spinach leaves. Stir-fry for about seven minutes until the onions begin to caramelise.

Bring about 400mls of water to the boil, and add to the pan. Add two teaspoonfuls of onion gravy granules and stir through thoroughly for a minute or so, and then put the Bratwurst wedges back in the pan. Add a little oregano and marjoram also (the sausages derive some of their distinctive flavour from marjoram).

Cook under glass for at least 45 minutes at a low heat.

Ham Salad Risotto with Spinach and Red Pepper

A simple ham salad made with diced baby leaf lettuce, turmeric basmati rice (third of a cup). half a teaspoonful of olive oil, half a red onion, diced, half a red pepper, diced, chopped fresh spinach, and halved and diced spring onion (two), Also add a dusting of coriander and oregano.  Add a little salt while the vegetable components of the dish are being prepared. 

The ham is two circular slices of Wiltshire breaded Ham, made with outdoor bred pork. The ham is rolled up, and dressed with American mustard (French's) or some variety of German mustard. Dust the plate with black pepper. 

Garlic & Herb Roulade with Spinach and Rice Salad

Half of a 150g garlic and herb cheese roulade, served with a turmeric rice and spinach salad.

The salad was made with half a red onion, diced, four halved spring onions, diced, a handful of fresh spinach leaves, chopped, a handful of four leaf lettuce salad, chopped, half a yellow bell pepper, diced, turmeric rice, two cloves of garlic, diced, and six quartered baby plum tomatoes. All dressed in half a teaspoonful of olive oil. Plus a dusting of oregano, coriander and salt.

Served with freshly ground black pepper.

Smoked Haddock Poached in Milk

Poaching smoked fish in milk used to be a very common practice in Scotland. The flavour of the dish is out of this world, if you haven't tried it before.

The Fish:

An undyed block of haddock (both fillets from the same fish) was bought from Morrison's supermarket and fried in a little melted butter in an omelette pan for one minute. The heat was turned down to the lowest level, and two tablespoons of whole milk were added. Allowed to simmer in the milk for eight to nine minutes under glass, without turning. Watch the pan carefully in case the milk bubbles up to the lid. Decant the haddock fillets to the serving plate with a fish slice, and pour the mixture of milk and butter over the fish.

The French Fries:

The chipped potato pieces were boiled for fifteen minutes in a small pan of salted water. The pan was drained, and the chips were decanted to a glass roasting tray, brushed with sunflower oil. Each of the chips was brushed with a mixture of sunflower oil, tomato ketchup, white pepper, coriander, oregano, worcester sauce, and a little salt. They were turned, and brushed again on the other side. Cooked under the grill for between ten and fifteen minutes, or until they begin to crisp around the edges.

Pork Sausage, Mushrooms and Peppers

A simple sausage dish served with Brussels sprouts instead of boiled potato.

The sausages were made with outdoor-bred pork, cooked at a medium heat in a little sunflower oil for 20 to 25 minutes, and turned four times.

While the sausages were cooking I diced two medium sized red onions (white or brown onions will do just as well). Plus half of a red pepper, and half a dozen mushrooms, quartered. The sausages were removed from the pan, and replaced with the onion, mushroom, and pepper strips. Cooked for twenty minutes at a medium heat until browned. Stirred frequently to ensure even browning.

After that, about 300 mls of boiling water was added, plus 100 mls of water containing a teaspoonful of dissolved onion gravy granules. Stir together thoroughly. Add the sausages back to the pan, and simmer under glass until the gravy is significantly reduced in volume. This may take as long as thirty minutes - judge progress by eye.

Shortly before serving, I added a little pinch of oregano, and some pork stock. Dress with some freshly ground black pepper.

Omelette with Wiltshire Ham

An omelette made with diced spring onions - split lengthwise, and cut into small pieces. The onions were cooked in a little melted butter.

The beaten eggs were suffused with a little white pepper and a pinch of salt. Plus two dessert spoonfuls of water.

The beaten eggs were added to the spring onions in the omelette pan when they began to brown. The heat was turned down to the lowest level, and the omelette was allowed to cook slowly for five minutes before turning. Once turned, it was allowed to cook for another two minutes at the lowest heat, before being decanted to the serving plate. Three folded slices of the Wiltshire breaded ham were place on the omelette, and the omelette was folded over.

Drizzled with some American mustard, and garnished with a four leaf lettuce salad. Simple, quick, and fabulous!

Mushroom, Carrot and Lentil Soup

A delicious winter soup made with some basic ingredients, including lentils, carrot, spinach, red onion, Brussels sprouts, spring onion, butter, and vegetable stock. Made a bit more interesting with the addition of red pepper, mushrooms and herbs.

The mushrooms, red onion and peppers were cooked first in a little butter, for about twenty minutes, until the onion began to brown.

Once browned, the mushrooms etc were decanted into a pot containing the lentils, grated carrot, chopped spinach leaves, spring onion, diced Brussels sprouts, and the vegetable stock. Boiled together for forty five minutes.

Added were the herbs sage and herbes de provence. Plus some black pepper and Worcester sauce. A great winter warmer.

Served with toasted potato bread.

Bacon and Cheese Omelette

A simple but satisfying cheese omelette, made with spring onion, peas, green pepper and grilled cheddar cheese.

The diced bacon rashers were cooked first, until browned. The bacon was removed from the pan. Then the onion and green pepper were cooked in a lttle sunflower oil. When the onion began to brown, the peas were added, followed shortly by the bacon strips, and by the slightly salted (and herbed) two beaten eggs (with a little added water). Cooked for about five minutes on the hob at a low heat.

Rectangles of cheddar cheese were added to the top of the omelette, along with several dashes of Worcester sauce. The omelette was then put under the grill and cooked until all of the cheese had melted. It was kept near the front of the oven to avoid damage to the omelette pan handle, but it was turned to the left and right during the time the cheese took to cook (about ten to fifteen minutes, depending on the grill).

Served with a dusting of freshly ground black pepper.

Cottage Pie with Ground Beef Chilli

Chilli Con Carne, prepared in the guise of a cottage pie.

I used dried kidney beans, so they were soaked overnight, and cooked for twenty minutes the next morning, until soft.

I browned 500g of Scottish ground beef (minced beef) in some sunflower oil, for twenty minutes stirring frequently. After fifteen minutes I added diced red onion, and batoned carrot.

After the twenty minutes I added three quarters of a pint of boiling water, plus four green chillies (deseeded and diced), the garlic, the diced whole red pepper, and four squirts of tomato puree.

The dish was simmered for an hour under glass at a low heat. Then I mashed the carrots a little, and added diced mushrooms (in this case both white and chestnut varieties), and some shredded spinach leaves. At this point I added the kidney beans to the dish, and stirred them through. Simmered under glass for another hour. After which I added the beef and vegetable stock, plus generous pinches of basil and oregano. Simmered for another ten minutes or so.

Making the pie.

Allow the chilli to cool, and then add to a roasting dish. On top of the layer of chilli, add a thin layer of yoghurt, along with some grated cheddar cheese. Add an onion and potato mash on top of that, and more grated cheese. Texture the surface with a fork.

Cook the pie on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to around 190 deg C for fifty minutes or so. Check the pie every five minutes or so after half an hour in the oven to check progress.

Banana Pancakes

Healthy pancakes, made with one banana and no added sugar (this morning's breakfast).

I mashed up the banana with a fork in a medium-sized glass bowl. In a measuring jug I added two dessert spoonfuls of cornmeal, and 200 mls of fresh milk. Briskly stirred together until the mixture is smooth. Add two eggs and stir again, until the eggs have been broken up.

Add milk to bring the mixture up to 350 mls of liquid. Stir. Add a pinch of salt. Then decant the pancake mixture into the bowl containing the mashed banana, and whisk together for a minute or so. Allow to stand for two or three minutes and beat again, until the banana is thoroughly mixed in to the pancake batter. Pour the batter and banana mixture back into the measuring jug.

Heat about 10g of butter in an omelette pan. When it is thoroughly melted, and hot, add around 100 mls of the pancake batter to the pan. Cook at a medium heat for about three minutes, and then turn and cook for another two minutes or so (judge progress by eye). Decant to a plate and repeat until all the batter is used up. Add more butter to the pan if necessary.

The pancakes were served with a rhubarb and ginger chutney, which is a favourite Scottish flavour combination. Also sometimes made into jam, which will work just as well. If you like your pancakes to be sweet, add sugar to taste when making the batter. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

This recipe is adaptable to almost any fruit which can be blended into a paste, and which is not overly acidic.

Pork Sausage in a Sherry Sauce

Outdoor-bred pork sausages cooked at a medium heat in a little sunflower oil for 20 to 25 minutes, and turned four times.

While the sausages were cooking I diced two medium sized red onions (white or brown onions will do just as well). The sausages were removed from the pan, and replaced with the onion. Cooked for twenty minutes at a medium heat until browned. Stirred frequently to ensure even browning.

After that, about 300 mls of boiling water was added, plus 100 mls of water containing a teaspoonful of dissolved onion gravy granules. Stir together thoroughly. Add the sausages back to the pan, and simmer under glass until the gravy is significantly reduced in volume. This may take as long as thirty minutes - judge progress by eye.

Shortly before serving, I added a little pinch of oregano, and a shot glass of cream sherry to the gravy.

Served with semi-skinned potatoes, boiled in salted water (one pinch).

Yoghurt Omelette (Vorpi Jash)

Vorpi Jash is a simple dish eaten for centuries by Anatolian peasants. The name literally means 'the orphans meal'.

Made with two beaten eggs, two tablespoons of milk, one quarter teaspoon of salt, one eighth of a teaspoon of black pepper, one tablespoonful of butter, and 75 mls of garlic infused yoghurt.

Add the eggs to a bowl, along with the milk, salt,  and the black pepper. Beat together for a minute or so, and allow to stand.

Melt the butter in an omelette pan, and add the beaten eggs. Once it begins to cook, give the mixture a cursory stir, and then allow to cook at a low heat for several minutes. The omelette does not need to be turned. Do not allow the omelette to dry out - it is ready when only melted butter is visible on the surface.

How do you infuse yoghurt with garlic? I had no idea, and simply added three finely diced cloves of garlic to the 75 mls of yoghurt. The result is a yoghurt which occasionally tastes of garlic during consumption. Which isn't what 'infused' means. So, in future I would put the yoghurt and the diced garlic into a blender while the omelette is cooking. Also, I would use much less garlic. Obviously this is not how it would have been done in Anatolia over the centuries, but I have no idea of the local technique for infusing yoghurt with garlic.

[Eventually I found a good way to infuse yoghurt with garlic].

For serving, transfer the omelette to a plate, and spread the yoghurt on the surface. Simple and delicious!

Here is a slightly different version of the recipe by Margaret Cooter, but inspired by the same book in which I found the dish:

http://margaret-cooter.blogspot.com/2018/10/quick-meals-for-one-anatolian-omelette.html

She recommends flipping the omelette when serving, for presentation purposes. I just slid the omelette onto the plate right side up.

Ground Beef Chilli with Kidney Beans

This beef chilli is more like an authentic Mexican chilli dish than the last one I published (chilli con carne), since I added kidney beans and a generous amount of tomato puree (tomato passata will do instead), and I served the dish with yoghurt.

I used dried kidney beans, so they were soaked overnight, and cooked for twenty minutes the next morning, until soft.

I browned 500g of Scottish ground beef (minced beef) in some sunflower oil, for twenty minutes stirring frequently. After fifteen minutes I added diced red onion, and batoned carrot.

After the twenty minutes I added three quarters of a pint of boiling water, plus four green chillies (deseeded and diced), the garlic, the diced whole red pepper, and four squirts of tomato puree.

The dish was simmered for an hour under glass at a low heat. Then I mashed the carrots a little, and added diced mushrooms (in this case both white and chestnut varieties), and some shredded spinach leaves. At this point I added the kidney beans to the dish, and stirred them through. Simmered under glass for another hour. After which I added the beef and vegetable stock, plus generous pinches of basil and oregano. Simmered for another ten minutes or so.

Served with basmati rice, which was first component to be on the dish. I added two dessert spoonfuls of yoghurt along the inward edge of the rice, and then added the beef chilli. I used no cheese topping on this occasion, but often I add some grated cheddar. Delicious either way!

Mango, Blueberry, and Pecan Nut Fruit Salad

Made with a selection of three different varieties of mango (one will do), a handful of blueberries, and some chopped pecan nuts. Swirled together with two dessert spoonfuls of Greek style yoghurt. About three minutes of preparation time!

Black Bean Chicken with Bell Pepper and Red Onion

A three pot dish. Pot one consists of red pepper, red onion, one deseeded red chilli, stir-fried gently for twelve minutes in groundnut oil. After that, diced chicken breast (already roasted the preceding day) is added and cooked at a low heat under glass for another ten minutes. Stir occasionally.

Pot two consists of dried black beans, soaked overnight in unsalted  water. Cook for twenty minutes. Then add two teaspoonfuls of a commercially available garlic and black bean sauce, and cook at a low heat until the sauce begins to thicken again. The black bean sauce is for dipping the chicken pieces. It is very salty, so use sparingly!

Pot 3 is for four diced chestnut mushrooms cooked in butter for five to ten minutes. Add a handful of spinach (diced) and cook for a further one or two minutes.

Three pots to wash, but a fabulous Chinese style dish which is easy to prepare!

Chicken Tarragon with Roast Potatoes and Sprouts

The chicken breast was cooked from scratch the preceding day as part of a batch of four. Cooked in a standard lidded casserole dish, on a bed of sliced red onion, sunflower oil, sea salt, and a little water, for fifty minutes at 190 deg. C.

The Brussels sprouts were prepared Italian style, being chopped up and cooked in salted water. I added a little Tabasco sauce.

The complicated part was the preparation of the spiced roast potatoes. They were par-boiled in salted water for eighteen minutes, then the pot was drained. I drizzled two teaspoonfuls of goose fat over the potatoes, along with some tomato ketchup, powdered cumin, white pepper, dried tarragon, and vinegar. Then the potatoes were fluffed up for roasting by rattling them around the lidded pan.

The potatoes were placed on a roasting tray on the middle shelf of the oven, and cooked for another thirty minutes at 190 deg. C. Turned over once. Watch carefully!

The chicken was reheated in a lidded pan, along with some of the red onion and the gravy for twenty five minutes. If the chicken breast is chopped up, the cooking time will be around 12 to 13 minutes.

When the chicken breast was served, it was dusted with tarragon. The sprouts were thoroughly drained before being added to the plate. Followed by the roast potatoes.

Pork Sausage wrapped in Bacon, with Spicy French Fries

I picked up a bargain pack of 'pigs in blankets' at Sainsbury's. Often served as a component of Christmas lunch, they are just as delicious as the main part of a meal.

I made the French fries first, dicing one large potato. The chipped potato was doused in a bowl containing about one dessert spoonful of a mixture of sunflower oil, tomato ketchup, vinegar, chilli powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, and coriander. Mixed together thoroughly and allowed to stand for fifteen or twenty minutes, with occasional further stir-throughs.

Coat a roasting tray with sunflower oil, and place the chips evenly across the surface. Place on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 190 deg C. Cook for between 35 and forty minutes, turning the chips halfway through.

The sausages were cooked for about sixteen or seventeen minutes in an oiled roasting tray on the middle shelf, also at 190 deg C (watch them closely and judge their readiness by eye). You can put the sausages into the oven with the chips about twenty minutes before the chips are ready, so they are both piping hot at the same time. If the shelf isn't big enough for two roasting trays, transfer the tray of chips to the base of the oven.

Served with half a can of Aldi brand baked beans, dressed in a dusting of coriander leaf and black pepper. Delicious!

Vegetable Soup with Red Camargue Rice

Soup made with carrot, celery, red Camargue rice, red onion, split peas, tomato puree, sunflower oil, and vegetable stock.

The split green peas were soaked overnight. The carrot, celery, red onion were stir-fried for fifteen minutes in sunflower oil, and then I added half a pint of boiling water. I added the soaked split peas, the camargue rice, and the bay leaf. Cooked for at least forty minutes under glass at a low heat.

At this point I added a couple of squirts of tomato puree, and some vegetable stock.

 Cooked for another forty five minutes at a low heat under glass. Add herbs, according to preference. Serve with black pepper. But delicious as is!

Beef Chilli with Bell Peppers and Spinach

We are now in winter, and I wanted

to make a slightly different take on a beef chilli. Ordinarily I would add kidney beans and a tin of Italian tomatoes, and serve the dish with yoghurt.

So, I browned 500g of Scottish ground beef (minced beef) in some sunflower oil, for twenty minutes stirring frequently. After fifteen minutes I added diced red onion, and batoned carrot.

After the twenty minutes I added three quarters of a pint of boiling water, plus the fresh green chillies (deseeded and diced), the garlic, the diced whole red pepper, and two squirts of tomato puree.

The dish was simmered for an hour under glass at a low heat. Then I mashed the carrots a little, and added diced mushrooms (in this case both white and chestnut varieties), and some shredded spinach leaves. Simmered under glass for another hour. After which I added the beef and vegetable stock, plus a generous pinch of basil. Simmered for another ten minutes or so.

Served with wedges of boiled semi-skinned potatoes, and black pepper.  Delicious, and not as hot as you might think, since the chillies were deseeded. A winter-warmer dish, nonetheless!

Tomato and Smoked Ham Soup

A second soup, made with the meat and juices from one smoked ham hough, which had been slow cooked over eight hours.

So the ingredients came from the fridge - some ham, and the rich juicy jelly which provides a rich and flavoursome stock for the soup.

I began by stir-frying some onions (red) and some chopped celery in sunflower oil. After the onions and celery had softened (about fifteen minutes, stirring regularly at a medium heat), I added a tin of Italian plum tomatoes, which I diced up with a spatula.

After that, add about half a pint of boiling water and stir together. Add the jelly/stock, which will dissolve quickly. Once that has happened, add the ham, and stir again. Allow to simmer for up to two hours for maximum flavour.

Add the Basil just before serving. I served the soup with a little black pepper, and a toasted seeded flatbread from Aldi. Delicious!

Jarlsberg Cheese Salad

A simple and healthy cheese salad, made with red camargue rice, split peas, grated carrot, small baby plum tomatoes, herbs, and authentic Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese, served with some Greek style yogurt infused with a (very) little English mustard.

The split peas were soaked in unsalted water overnight, then cooked for twenty minutes until soft. The red camargue rice was cooked for thirty-five minutes at a low heat, also in unsalted water, with a drizzle of sunflower oil to prevent sticking.

Rinse the rice, and allow both ingredients to cool. Set aside. 

The carrot was grated and mixed with a little coriander leaf.   Then the baby plum tomatoes were cut diagonally in half. 

I chose not to grate the Jarlsberg, but instead cut it into wedges. The cheese is mild in flavour, and resembles Emmental, but with fewer holes. 

Add the cooled split peas and the rice to a bowl, and stir together with some Herbes de Provence. Decant to the serving plate along with the grated carrot and coriander, the tomato, the cheese, and the mixture of English mustard and yoghurt. Dress the dish with black pepper, and a small (optional) squeeze of lemon juice (I chose not to add lemon juice). Delicious! 

Garlic Chicken, with Roast Potato Hash

A garlic chicken stew made with the meat from two chicken drumstics, chicken stock, onion, tomato, and a yellow pepper.

The sauce was begun with the onion, half a tin of chopped Italian tomatoes, the garlic (three cloves, crushed) land a diced yellow pepper. Brought to the boil, I added the chicken meat, and the chicken stock,  and then the heat was turned down. The dish was simmered for half an hour under glass. The oregano was added five minutes before serving the dish.

I boiled some potato wedges for twenty minutes, then brushed them with some goose fat (sunflower oil or similar will do just as well) and shook them up in a covered bowl. The resulting fluffy potato pieces were transferred to a roasting dish, and put into the middle of an oven preheated to 190 deg. C for twenty minutes or so. Watch carefully, and remove them once they have become golden brown.

Serve with a dusting of black pepper.

Winter Vegetable Stew with Beetroot and Chilli

Beetroot and chilli? It actually works. I'd already made a borscht earlier in the week, so decided to do something different with some beetroot which needed to be eaten.

Essentially this is a vegetable stew made with carrot and onions, turnip and tomato puree. Plus the diced pieces of beetroot. The vegetables were stir-fried in some sunflower oil. The haricot beans came from a can of baked beans which had been in the fridge for a couple of days.

I added water to the stew, three finger chillies, and some vegetable stock. Allowed to simmer on the hob for about an hour at a low heat under glass, stirring occasionally. Add a little oregano before serving.

Served with half a toasted naan bread, or another flatbread of your choice. Delicious!

Smoked Ham Hough Soup

A soup made with a ham hough, simmered at a low heat for eight hours under glass.

The vegetables cooked with the ham joint were: carrot, celery, onion, potato, half a red pepper cut into strips, and one diced red-skinned apple (Braeburn).

The meat falls away from the bone after cooking for several hours. The joint was carefully removed from the soup pot, and all the bones were fished out. Then some of the ham was returned to the pot.

The bones were discarded, and the rest of the ham was allowed to cool, and stored in the fridge for another meal. A delicious soup, and a great winter warmer. Excellent for using up surplus vegetables in your kitchen.

Ham Hough Pie

Made much the same way as cottage pie/shepherd's pie. The meat is from the joint (cooked for about eight hours the preceding day), and there is also a mixture of winter vegetables and liquor from the ham in the pie.

I used a small oval ceramic pie dish, and lined it first at the bottom with the vegetables and a little of the ham liquor. Then I added pieces of ham on top of this mixture.

Finally I added a layer of mashed potato, mashed together with a little butter and white pepper. Textured with a fork.

I cooked this on the middle shelf of the oven along with a ham hough green bean casserole, at around 190 deg C. Cook for twenty five minutes, and check the dish to see how the potato topping is coming along. If a significant amount of moisture is in the filling and rises through the body of the pie, the textured surface of the potato will take longer to become golden brown. This one took around forty minutes altogether. Check its progress frequently!

The dish works well served with peas, and/or with a sweet mustard.

Banana, Date & Walnut Fruit Salad

Instant fruit salad to go. Stone six to eight dates and cut in half. Dice one whole banana. Sprinkle with walnut pieces. Stir together with half a teaspoonful of maple syrup. Add two dessert spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt and lightly stir together.
Done!

Chicken Pasta Bake

A simple dish made in two parts. First the pasta was prepared in salted boiling water, but not cooked to the full extent. This is because the pasta will be the base of the bake, and will cook further once the other ingredients are added. Drain and allow to cool, and add evenly to the base of the roasting tray.

Stir fry the mushrooms and the onion for ten minutes at a medium heat, and then add a third of a pint of water. Add tomato puree and the chicken stock, and then the meat from two chicken  drumsticks. Stir together and cook for half an hour until the sauce is considerably reduced. You can add a mixture of water and cornmeal to thicken, it, or some onion gravy granules.

Add the chicken salsa to the roasting tray lined with pasta. Spread evenly. You can add the Cheddar cheese in grated form, or in thin rectangles, according to preference. Bake in the oven at around 190 deg C until the cheese has melted and has begun to brown. This could be anywhere between twenty minutes and forty minutes on the middle shelf in the oven. Watch it carefully, at least once every five minutes! Take it out when it looks right. Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

Potato, Carrot and Green Bean Soup

A great winter soup, made with potato, carrot, onion and diced green beans. Flavoured with some vegetable stock, some fresh rosemary, and some dried oregano.

The vegetables were prepared by dicing. The potatoes came ready boiled from the fridge, so were added last, after the rest of the vegetables had been stir-fried for fifteen minutes, along with about half a pint of boiling water, and the vegetable stock.

Simmer under glass for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring frequently. Add the rosemary leaves (pluck from the hard stem), and the dried oregano. Serve with a dusting of freshly ground black pepper.

Mushroom and Bacon Omelette, with Spring Onion

Diced white mushrooms (3), spring onions (3), half a salad tomato (shredded), and one strip of smoked bacon, diced into small pieces.

Cook the mushrooms and spring onions first in a little salted butter at a high heat, stirring frequently (use an omelette pan). After two minutes turn the heat down low. Add the bacon, and cook for a further two minutes. Then add the shredded tomato. Cook for a further three to four minutes.

Prepare the beaten egg (2 large), adding a generous amount of water, which makes the omelette fluffier. Add a pinch of salt, and a pinch of Herbes de Provence. Allow to stand for a minute, and then beat again.

Pour the beaten eggs over the evenly spaced vegetables and bacon. Turn up the heat. Cover the pan with a glass lid. Cook for a minute or so, then turn the heat down low. Cook under glass for four to five minutes, then flip the omelette with a fish slice or similar. Cook at a low heat under glass for another four minutes or so before serving.

Serve with a drizzle of tomato ketchup, and a sprinkling of white pepper. An excellent Sunday morning breakfast. Simple and delicious!

Chicken and Mushroom Soup

A simple chicken and mushroom soup, made with red onion, chicken from drumsticks, and stir-fried white mushrooms. Plus some diced boiled potato.

I diced the red onion and stir-fried it in sunflower oil until it began to brown. Then I added the mushrooms, which were quartered. Cooked for twenty minutes at a medium heat.

The chicken pieces were prepared and added to the dish at this point, along with half a pint of boiling water, and some chicken stock. Add the potato pieces. Simmer for half an hour to forty five minutes. I added Quixo onion granules to thicken the soup a little, and the herbs tarragon and oregano. Sage would also be a good choice.

Served with a flatbread - in this case two quarters of a plain naan. Delicious!

Chicken Stir-fry with an Oyster and Spring Onion Sauce

This is a variation of the chicken stir-fry I had yesterday, with additional spring onion.

A basic mix of stir-fry vegetables from the local co-op - bean sprouts, red and yellow pepper, two colours of cabbage, red onion, and sliced carrot. Supplemented by a handful of unsalted cashew nuts, some bamboo shoots, and a little sliced water chestnut. Stir-fried in a wok for around seven minutes, starting at a high heat, and a middling heat for the rest of the time. Stir frequently. Watch its progress carefully, and judge readiness by eye.

I heated the roast chicken pieces (diced chicken breast), two diced spring onions,  and the cashews in a high sided pot at a high heat,  along with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Stirred for a couple of minutes until the chicken and the cashews began to brown, then the heat was turned down substantially.

I added the Oyster and Spring Onion Sauce (ready made and sourced from Aldi) to the pot and stirred the ingredients thoroughly together. Simmered under a glass lid for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

There is no garlic or chilli in this stir-fry. Why buy a deliciously flavoured sauce only to risk wrecking the result with additional strong flavours?

Decant the vegetables to a serving plate. Add the chicken pieces with the sauce, cashews and spring onion on top of the stir fry, and serve. Fifteen minutes from start to finish, if you are used to using two cooking vessels simultaneously. And delicious!

Chicken and Cashew Stir-Fry

A basic mix of stir-fry vegetables from the local co-op - bean sprouts, red and yellow pepper, two colours of cabbage, red onion, and sliced carrot. Supplemented by a diced breast of roast chicken, and a handful of unsalted cashew nuts (cheaper in Asda than in Sainsbury's).

I heated the roast chicken pieces in a wok at a high heat, with some garlic and three green finger chillies, toppedl along with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Stirred for a couple of minutes, then the heat was turned down substantially. I added the cashew nuts, and half of the bag of vegetables. Another light drizzle of sunflower oil, and cooked at the lower heat for another seven or eight minutes (judge by eye is always the golden rule with a stir-fry).

Served on a spiral of dark soy sauce. Hot and delicious!

Root Vegetable Ground Beef Casoulet

The ground beef was browned at a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, and then I added a diced red onion, and finely diced carrot.

Stir-fried for another fifteen minutes, and then boiling water was added, plus some beef stock and two bay leaves. Simmered for one hour under glass.

Some of the ground beef stew was used for another dish, and the other half spent a day in the fridge. The second half was brought to the boil, and I added more carrot, with larger chunks this time, plus most of a medium sized turnip. Cooked for half an hour, and then I added diced green beans, a teaspoonful of capers, some fresh rosemary leaves, black pepper, paprika,Worcester sauce, and dried oregano. Simmer under glass for twenty minutes before serving.

Smoked Cheese with Apple and Bell Pepper Salad

Great cheese dish. German smoked cheese, served with a four leaf salad, and (mixed together in a separate bowl) diced apple, red green and yellow diced bell pepper, along with two finely chopped spring onions, dressed in mayonnaise, a little splash of Tabasco, and black pepper. Delicious!

This salad would work well with other cheeses, such as feta, blue stilton, and danish blue cheese.

Smoked Cheese Salad

Half of a 125g round of German smoked cheese from the local Co-op, cut into strips, with sliced salad tomato and raw mushoom, served with a four-leaf salad, some freshly ground black pepper, and a little Tabasco sauce.

Can be served on a plate, or in a bread wrap. The sliced mushroom can be sauted in a little butter for five minutes or so, and allowed to cool before adding the pieces to the salad.

Orange and Mango Fruit Salad with Bourbon

I'm partial to slightly alcoholic fruit salads, and this is an example. Made with segments from three easy-peel oranges, and a selection of red, yellow and green mango pieces. Mix the fruit together in a serving bowl.

Add two measures of Bourbon whiskey (according to taste), and stir together. Allow to stand (covered) for twenty minutes.

Add two dessert spoonfuls of Greek style yoghurt. Stir a couple of times, and serve. Also good served with walnuts, and a pinch of nutmeg. A great pick me up if you are slightly under the weather.

Beetroot and Parsnip Soup

A simple borscht style soup made with fresh boiled beetroot (2), 2 medium onions, about 100g of turnip or swede, and one medium parsnip.

All the vegetables were peeled and diced, and cooked in boiling water for about 40 minutes. After that they were mashed. I added some vegetable stock (salt will do instead), and a pinch of marjoram.

Served with a plain flatbread, or one flavoured with some diced coriander, and black pepper. Fabulous!

Date, Walnut and Mango Salad

A great way to start the day - Stoned 'Deglet Nour' dates, an assortment of mango pieces, and walnuts. Mixed with a couple of dessert spoonfuls of Greek style yoghurt. Quick to prepare, and an utterly delicious combination of elements!

Herbed Omelette Wrap (Oregano, Tarragon & Coriander)

A one egg omelette in a wrap makes an excellent snack, or a part of a portable lunch. This omelette was made with a trio of herbs - oregano, tarragon and coriander leaf, along with white pepper, and a pinch of paprika.

The wrap was prepared by drizzling water over both sides, and then being left for five to ten minutes to soften. It was then decanted to a serving plate. Some tomato ketchup was smeared over the surface, with some white pepper.

The egg was beaten in a soup bowl after adding  some water, along with the herbs, some white pepper, the paprika, and some salt.

An omelette pan with sunflower oil was heated to a high heat, but not so high to cause the  oil to smoke. Once hot, the heat was turned right down, and the beaten egg was added. The pan was then covered with a glass lid.


The omelette was allowed to cook on the hob for five minutes before it was turned. Once turned, the heat was increased for two minutes (an electric hob with rings with great heat latency), and then turned off altogether. After a further three minutes, the omelette was ready, and was decanted on to the surface of the wrap.

Fold in the sides of the wrap, and roll it up from the front. Make sure the rear of the wrap is tucked in as you complete the roll. Cut the wrap in two at an angle of 20 degrees. Voila!

Ground Beef with Roast Potato Wedges

5% fat ground beef (400g) from the local co-op. Browned at a medium heat in some sunflower oil for twenty minutes or so, stirring frequently.

I diced a large leek, after topping and tailing, and then cutting it into four lengthwise. Easy to prepare this while the beef is browning.

Turn up the heat and add the leek,  and stir together with the beef. After five minutes turn the heat down to medium, and stir-fry together for another ten minutes, until the diced leek begins to brown.

Add three quarters of a pint of boiling water, along with the vegetable and beef stock, and one large bay leaf.

Simmer under glass at a low heat for ninety minutes. Add more water if necessary.

The carrots (two small) were diced into chunks and boiled in water for thirty minutes, after which I added some dried coriander. Allow to cool while you prepare the roast potato wedges.

The potato wedges were peeled and cut into shape, and then parboiled for ten minutes. Then they were put into a bowl and covered with a plate. I shook them up for a minute or so to make the surface fluffy. Then I drizzled them with two teaspoonfuls of goose fat, and shook them again for another minute or so (the goose fat is not an essential ingredient, and any cooking oil can be substituted). The potato wedges were placed on a roasting tray in an oven preheated to around 190 deg. C.

Roast for fifteen minutes, checking them every seven minutes or so. Turn after fifteen minutes and allow another fifteen minutes. They may be ready by this time, or even after twenty minutes, but it depends very much on the kind of potato you use. Mine took a bit longer than thirty minutes. Watch them carefully, and remove them from the oven when they are golden brown.

An utterly delicious meal which was well worth the preparation time.

Beef and Mushroom Curry, with Garlic and Coriander Naan Bread

The cubed beef was browned in a saute pan with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Started at a high heat, and then lowered, stirring regularly.

After ten to fifteen minutes I added two medium sized diced onions, and two diced carrots. Stir-fried for fifteen minutes or so until the onions became semi-transparent.

I added half a green bell pepper, cut into strips. Cooked for another five minutes before I added about half a pint of boiling water, a little tomato puree, and vegetable and beef stock. I added diced pieces of three large mushrooms.

Stirred thoroughly, and simmered under glass at a low heat for another hour and a half, until the beef is deliciously tender.

I added some powdered cumin and cardamom, some turmeric (teaspoonful), a dessert spoonful of hot curry powder from ASDA, and some dried coriander leaf. Simmered for another half an hour before serving.

The Garlic and Coriander Naan bread was made commercially. It had been in the fridge for a few days, so I dampened it on both sides, and allowed it to stand for ten minutes on a drainer, while I fired up the grill. Cook for three or four minutes on both sides, watching carefully to prevent burning the naan.

The combo was served with a dusting of coriander, and a teaspoonful of lime pickle. Delicious!