Unsmoked Gammon with Sweet Potato and Spring Onion

A 1.3kg gammon joint was roasted in the oven for two hours (at 190 deg C) inside a wrapping of foil. For the last thirty minutes the wrapping was opened to allow the joint to brown.

The sweet potato wedges and the diced spring onion were placed in the base of the oven for the last hour in a lidded casserole dish, after being dressed in peanut oil (ground nut oil).

Served with a gravy made with the juices from the joint, vegetable stock, and some dried sage. Delicious!

Blended Tomato and Lentil Soup

Blended tomato and lentil soup. Made with celery, Bramley apple, tinned tomatoes, red onion,  red lentils, and vegetable stock, plus oregano, basil and parsley.

The vegetables were boiled first until tender. Then the tomatoes were added, and the red lentils. After ten minutes or so, the herbs and the vegetable stock were added.

After another ten minutes of cooking at a medium heat under glass, everything was thoroughly blended using a hand blender.

Cooked for another ten minutes, by which time the soup was ready to serve.

Rice Noodles, with vegetables, chilli and garlic

A pack of vegetables for stir-fry from the co-op, including bean sprouts, cabbage (different varieties), red onion, and carrot. Which I augmented with spring onion. Cooked in peanut oil, with continuous stirring.

I added finely diced garlic, and deseeded green chilli, also finely diced.

The rice noodles (from Sainsbury's) were blanched in boiling water for two minutes, before being drained, and added to the stir-fry in the last two minutes.

Cooked for about ten minutes overall at a reduced heat. Dressed in dark soy sauce on the plate. A fabulous dish!

Pork Steak with Vegetables

Cheap pork steaks from Sainsbury's led to this dish. Half of them furnished a decent breakfast; the other two steaks were cooked with vegetables (peppers, onion, celery, mushrooms, spring onion).

The steaks were pan-fried for six minutes on each side at a medium heat, along with diced white onion, spring onion,  and celery. After that, the vegetable and pork stock, augmented with the onion granules, was added. Followed by the diced peppers and the mushrooms.

Cooked under glass at a low heat for at least half an hour.  

Serve with boiled potato, or with grilled spicy chipped potatoes. No herbs necessary! Delicious, just as it is!

Lorne Sausage with Vine Tomato

Lorne sausage, cooked in its own fat for around 12 minutes, and turned once, served with a potato scone, halved vine tomatoes, and squirts of ketchup.

Also good with fried white onion. The following day I fried both the onion and the tomatoes under glass. Delicious!

Toulouse Sausage Casoulet

This is a variation on the standard recipe, using plain pork sausages. Toulouse sausage is made with 75 percent pork, and is flavoured with wine, garlic, pepper and salt. All these ingredients are present in this dish.

Made with chopped onion, potato, carrot, tomato, plus haricot beans, tomato puree, pork or ham stock, white or red wine, garlic, and two sachets of Bouquet Garni, which is a mixture of Bay leaf, Parsley, Marjoram, Thyme, and Rosemary.

The sausages were cooked and browned first in a saute pan (in a couple of dessert spoonfuls of goose fat), along with the onion. Then the other vegetables were added, along with the garlic, and the contents were  soused in boiling water and the pork stock. Add a standard glass of wine.  Add pre-cooked haricot beans and tomato puree (other beans can be used in addition).Simmered under glass for at least forty-five minutes.

The sachets of bouquet garni were added last, during the final ten minutes, in order not to destroy the flavour. Serve with black pepper. Garnish the dish with some leaves (spinach in this case).

Seafood Pie (Red Salmon, Haddock and Smoked Pollock)

This pie was made with a selection of fish pieces found in Sainsbury's supermarket. The fish was first blanched in boiling water, and then poached for seven minutes under glass.

I made a white sauce with cornflour, milk and some Blue Stilton cheese (about 100g). Stirred until the cheese had entirely melted. Add the fish pieces to the sauce, along with a couple of dessert spoonfuls of drained garden peas, and remove from the heat.

Four large potatoes were boiled until soft, then mashed with a little butter and pepper. The oven was heated to 150deg C while the potatoes were cooking on the hob.

Add the fish sauce mix to an oven-proof baking dish, then spoon the mashed potato on top. Texture the surface of the mash with a fork, until it looks a little like a ploughed field.

Cook the pie in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes. Check frequently that the potato topping is browning. The pie will be ready when the topping is a golden brown.

Pepper Salad with Hummus

A fabulous hummus salad, served with diced red and green pepper, deseeded and diced red chilli, chopped carrot and red onion, plus a bistro salad of green and purple lettuce, finely chopped beetroot, and spring onion.

The vegetable salad was soused in a little olive oil and malt vinegar for an hour or so, with a generous pinch of oregano, plus a squeeze of lime juice. Occasionally tossed.

Dress with black pepper when served.

Green Pepper Salad

The tomato, red onion, and the green pepper were diced and tossed in a bowl with olive oil, white pepper, a dash of malt vinegar, and a smaller dash of balsamic vinegar, with the bistro salad leaves.

The chipped Jersey Royal potatoes were parboiled for seven minutes in salted water, and then were put in a bowl with tomato puree, olive oil, and the herbs oregano and basil and stirred around until the chips were properly dressed.

Placed in a preheated grill in a roasting tray for fifteen minutes until properly cooked. This is a better way to prepare healthy chipped potatoes than a hot oven - the oven method tends to result in some of the chips sticking to the tray. None of these chips got stuck. 

Mushroom Curry with Green Raisins

Made with six large white mushrooms, quartered; carrot, celery, leek, deseeded red chilli, yellow pepper, all diced.

Also a handful of green raisins.

The vegetables were stir fried in a little butter until soft. Then boiling water was added to the pan, followed by the green raisins, Madras curry powder (one dessert spoonful), three squirts of tomato puree, half a teaspoonful of turmeric powder. Simmer under glass for forty minutes.

The black wild rice should be cooked for fifteen minutes before adding the white rice, since it takes longer to cook.

Bacon and Chorizo Soup

Bacon and chorizo soup, with a whole green pepper, celery and turnip.

The bacon was fried first until crispy, then all of the vegetable ingredients were diced and added to a pan of boiling water. Simmered under glass for thirty to forty minutes, and then mashed.

The crispy smoked bacon was diced, along with about 100g of chorizo sausage, and added to the pan. Simmered under glass for forty minutes.

Add the ham stock, black pepper and the herbs (Oregano and Basil in this case). Cook for another ten minutes, when it is ready to serve. Delicious!

Chorizo Salad with Black Olives and Green Pepper

A chorizo salad, made with black olives, diced onion and spring onion, boiled potato cubes boiled with a little turmeric, one green pepper cut into strips, one deseeded and diced red chilli, diced vine tomato, and a dessert spoonful of olive oil.

Plus a bistro salad of green and purple lettuce as the base of the dish. Drizzle with a little lime juice.

Serve dressed with freshly ground black pepper.

Sweet Potato, Hummus, and Chicken in a Ras El Hanout Salsa

Ras El Hanout is a delicious Moroccan spice mix, made with coriander seeds, cumin seeds, crushed chilli flakes, ground cinnamon,  paprika, ground cardamom, ground ginger, and ground turmeric. I made a spicy salsa for the chicken using this spice mix (one teaspoonful), along with smoked paprika (half a teaspoonful), diced onion, deseeded and diced red chilli, and some tomato puree. 

Served on a bed of hummus (sourced from the local Co-op), with a sprinkling of diced onion (red or white), and accompanied by sweet potato wedges (skins on), roasted in the oven (dressed in some sunflower oil), for around forty five minutes at 190 deg. C.

A fabulous dish, and at last I've found a really effective way to use sweet potato!

Lamb Chilli with Red Peppers and Garlic

A lamb chilli, based on one already prepared. The additions are: one red bell pepper, extra garlic, plus a drizzle of lime juice on the rice. 

The chilli was made with six green finger chillies, diced green beans, diced potato and carrot, some garlic, and diced leek.

The lamb was browned for twenty minutes at a medium heat, in its own fat. Then I added the leek, and cooked the mince and the leek together for about twenty minutes, keeping the ingredients on the move.

I added boiling water, the vegetables, and some lamb stock. Simmered under glass for thirty five minutes or so, until the dish thickens. Add herbs according to choice (I used herbs de Provence).

The chilli was decanted into a pyrex bowl, and allowed to cool overnight in the fridge. The fat which appeared and solidified on the surface was spooned off and disposed of. The chilli was then reheated before serving.

Cooked with diced red pepper on the second day, and served with a small bistro salad and long grain rice, drizzled with the freshly squeezed lime juice. .

Melon, Orange and Red Grape Salad

Two different colours of melon, with red grapes and orange segments.  Soused in some white wine and some Grenadine.

Allow to stand in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Served with a Greek style yoghurt, and a dusting of nutmeg. 

Bacon and Mushroom Omelette

A meal intended to pack a punch in a relatively short space of preparation time. The ingredients were two eggs, some rashers of cooking bacon (dice if necessary), and some diced mushrooms (four).

The bacon was cooked first until crispy, with the mushrooms being added to the non-stick omelette pan after seven minutes of cooking at a medium heat.

The eggs were beaten with some water, paprika and herbes de Provence, and a little white pepper.

The beaten eggs were added to the omelette pan, and allowed to cook under glass at a medium heat for about five minutes. After that the omelette was turned, and cooked at a low heat for a further four or five minutes.

Served with a small bistro style salad, and two squirts of tomato ketchup.

Lamb Chilli

Lamb chilli, with six green finger chillies, diced green beans, diced potato and carrot, some garlic, and diced leek.

The lamb was browned for twenty minutes at a medium heat, in its own fat. Then I added the leek, and cooked the mince and the leek together for about twenty minutes, keeping the ingredients on the move.

I added boiling water, the vegetables, and some lamb stock. Simmered under glass for thirty five minutes or so, until the dish thickens. Add herbs according to choice (I used herbs de Provence).

The chilli was decanted into a pyrex bowl, and allowed to cool overnight in the fridge. The fat which appeared and solidified on the surface was spooned off and disposed of. The chilli was then reheated before serving. 

Served with American long grain rice, and some Sharwood lime pickle (one of the strongest, so use with caution!).

Split Pea, Carrot and Leek Soup

A pretty straightforward soup along traditional lines - essentially a split pea and carrot soup.

All the vegetables were diced and boiled for about 35 minutes until tender. Then they were mashed, and then blended.

After that I added the chicken and vegetable stock, and the oregano.

Cooked for a further fifteen minutes, and ready to serve!