Chicken Salad with Garlic Yoghurt

A great chicken salad, and quick to prepare. The vegetables came already assembled in a bag from the local Co-op. Decanted into a glass bowl and dressed with some olive oil, two dashes of Tabasco sauce, and two dashes of Worcester sauce. Stir.

I roasted a medium-sized chicken the day before, and prepared it for use once it had cooled. After that it was kept overnight in the fridge.

I diced one chicken breast, and added the pieces to the salad.

In a  smaller bowl I prepared the garlic yoghurt. Four or five dessert spoonfuls of fresh yoghurt, infused with two finely grated cloves of garlic. Stir together and allow to stand for fifteen minutes or so.

Served in a pasta bowl, with the garlic yoghurt spooned on top. Excellent dish!

Roast Pork with Vegetables and Gravy

The pork joint was cooked in the oven for two hours in a casserole dish, and allowed to cool. Carved with an electric knife.

The vegetables were carrot, onion and red  pepper. Cooked in the base of the casserole dish under the joint. I added 100 ml of water to the dish. Middle shelf of the oven, at 180 deg. C.

I made the gravy with some pork stock, and the juices from the joint. I drained the juices into a small dish and put it into the fridge. I removed the pork fat from the top with a spoon before mixing the juices and the stock.

The pork, the vegetables and the gravy were reheated in a flat lidded pan for fifteen minutes before serving. Some sage can be added. Delicious! Could also be served with rice or potatoes, according to choice.

Chorizo and Scrambled Eggs

A fabulous breakfast dish, made with finely sliced chorizo, which I then diced, halved piccolo tomatoes (six), and two large eggs and milk.

First I fried the chorizo and the tomato halves together in a skillet at a medium heat, until the oil came from the sausage, and it began to become slightly crisp.

I beat the eggs in a bowl, and added some milk and some salt (not much!). The mixture was added to the skillet, and left to stand for about a minute. Then I stirred the mixture occasionally until the dish was ready (about five minutes. Judge when it is ready by eye).

Served on some buttered toast, with a sprinkle of coriander leaf.

Fried Lamb Leg Steak

One of the best meals I ever had was in Warsaw Airport in 2003. Fried lamb leg steaks served with basmati rice.

I was about to return home, and was looking to park somewhere for about 45 minutes, and to have something to eat. I found a small restaurant some distance from the departure lounge. I did not expect the glory that was put down in front of me.

The lamb was tender, and had delicious flavour. I complemented the manager on the quality of the food.

This is my take on that fabulous meal. Two lamb leg steaks, cooked slowly in olive oil for at least half an hour. Mostly under glass. Served with slightly caramelised batonned carrots, cooked in a little butter, and some turmeric rice (with some coriander leaf mixed through it), cooked for about twelve minutes.

The Warsaw dish was slightly better - I suspect the lamb was cooked by their chef for a little longer. But this is a great way to serve lamb steak!

Beef and Chickpea Stew

Made with half a standard tin of corned beef, plus onion and chickpeas and sweetcorn direct from the cob, along with two dessert spoonfuls of tomato puree, plus beef stock.

The chickpeas were softened in water overnight, and then added to a pan of boiling water, along with the sweetcorn and finely diced onion. Cooked for ten minutes, and then I added the corned beef, which had been cut into small chunks. Cooked for another ten to fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.

After that I added the tomato puree and the beef stock.

Served with spicy chips, roasted under the grill for fifteen minutes, and turned once. The salsa they were dipped in was made with a little tomato ketchup, olive oil,  coriander and oregano, and black pepper. With a pinch of chilli powder and a dash of Worcester sauce. Plus two finely diced spring onions.

Black Olive Salad

 Another summery salad for a grim winter in the UK. Made with black pitted olives, half of a diced red onion, diced red pepper, shredded carrot, red cabbage, and lettuce leaves. Dressed in olive oil. No herbs, no salt. You could add oregano or coriander leaf. Or even salt. Served in a pasta dish.

Fabulously simple, and nutritious!

Beef Chilli Egg Noodle

Egg noodles from the local Co-op. Stir fried in olive oil for ten minutes, along with some turmeric rice from the fridge, at an intitial high heat, and then lowered.

The beef chilli was pre-made with corned beef, chillli powder (half a dessert spoonful) two varieties of chickpeas, plus red kidney beans,
and onions.

All the chickpeas and beans were dried, and soaked overnight until soft. Sweetcorn from the cob can be added.

I added beef stock to the chilli, and diced garlic.

Delicious and filling!

Stilton Cheese Salad with Black Olives

Sometimes, in the depths of mid-winter, it is good to have a summery salad, to remind you of other times. The weather here at the moment alternates between miserable, and dangerous. We are looking forward to the spring.

This is a very simple salad, which can be prepared in just a few minutes. About 100g of Stilton cheese, diced into pieces, plus about twenty pitted black olives, strips of red pepper, and diagonally diced spring onion.

No herbs, no seasoning required. Just raw and delicious!

The dish could also be dressed with olive oil, or served with lettuce leaves, or with diced coriander leaves.

Kala Chana Curry

A chickpea curry, made with diced leek, lentils, and standard chickpeas and black chickpeas. I used madras curry powder, cumin seeds (one pinch), dried coriander, turmeric and tomato puree.

The standard chickpeas were dried, so were soaked overnight. Cooked with the leek and the lentils for an hour. Then the contents of the pot were mashed.

After that I added the black chickpeas (200g from a tin), and all of the other ingredients. Simmer for around half an hour, and serve the curry with basmati rice, or with a toasted garlic and coriander naan bread. Delicious!

Cumberland Sausage with Beans and Chestnut Mushrooms

A simple and delicious meal of Cumberland Sausage, baked beans, chestnut mushrooms and carrot.

The sausages (pricked) were fried in a lidded flat pan for 25 minutes, half of the time unlidded (initially at high heat, then turned down to a low to medium heat). The sausages were turned several times. Cooked with the batonned carrot and the chestnut mushrooms (two, sliced).

The baked beans (200g) were augmented with dried basil, half a teaspoonful of paprika, and two dashes of black pepper. Heated slowly.

The sausages were served on a bed of beans, with half a teaspoonful of German mustard.

Mince, Potatoes and Green Beans

A delicious variation on this favourite British dish.

Diced leek and carrot were stir-fried slowly for twenty minutes in some sunflower oil. The vegetables were decanted to another pot and boiling water was added to it. Slowly simmered for half an hour.

The ground beef was added to the original saute pan, and browned over twenty minutes (judge progress by eye).

Then the ground beef was decanted to the pot containing the vegetables using a slatted spoon, leaving the surplus beef fat in the saute pan. Stir through thoroughly, and add the vegetable stock, two dashes of dark soy sauce, half a teaspoonful of paprika, and half a dessert spoonful of cornmeal. Stir together. Allow to simmer under glass for forty-five minutes or so, by which time the beef will be beautifully tender.

Serve with boiled potatoes cooked for twenty minutes,  and green beans boiled for seven minutes.

Beef Chilli, with Red Kidney Beans

Made with ground beef, chickpeas, red kidney beans, sweetcorn, red pepper, red chilli, tomato puree, chestnut mushrooms, diced leek, potato, garlic, and spring onion.

The ground beef was prepared first, browned in a little sunflower oil at a medium heat for about 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Then boiling water was added.

Thickened with half a teaspoonful of arrowroot, and flavoured with beef stock. The sweetcorn came straight from the cob, though tinned sweetcorn will do just as well.

The dried chickpeas and the kidney beans were soaked overnight, drained, and then cooked in fresh water with powdered red chilli and crushed garlic. Then simmered with the beef, sweetcorn, diced red pepper, mushrooms, tomato puree, potato, and chopped spring onion. The beef stock and another half a dessert spoonful of red chilli powder were added last.

Serve with plain boiled basmati rice, or with a chilled Greek yoghurt.

Sirloin Steak with Caramelised Onions

Best quality sirloin steak (200g) from Sainsbury's, fried in olive oil for eight minutes each side at a medium heat after initial high heat.

The julienned onion was also cooked in olive oil, but for twenty-two minutes or so at a medium heat.

Served with some authentic German mustard (or American mustard), and a dash of black pepper for the onions. Great and simple dish!

Cullen Skink (with Leek)

Made with I tablespoon butter, half of a medium sized leek,
2 smallish potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes, 300ml water, 250g of dyed smoked haddock, 250ml milk, salt and (white) pepper to taste, Plus a little parsley.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the diced leek and fry gently until transparent. Cook for about 10 minutes at a low heat.

Add potatoes and water and bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

In another pan, cover the haddock with the milk and poach it gently for about five minutes until  tender. Remove from the milk and, when cool enough to touch, flake gently into large pieces, removing bones.I used a plastic fork to flake the fish, in order to avoid scratching the non-stick surface. 

Add milk and flaked fish to saucepan containing the potatoes and the other ingredients. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Fabulous dish!

Mince, Peas, and Potatoes

A traditional British dish, particularly liked in Scotland, where it is known as 'mince an' tatties'.

The mince was browned in a drizzle of sunflower oil for twenty minutes, beginning at a high heat before the heat being turned down. I added half a large leek, cut into strips lengthwise, and then diced. Stirred frequently, and cooked at a low heat for another twenty minutes. Often an onion is used instead of a leek.

After that boiling water was added to the pan, plus the beef stock. Allowed to simmer under glass for an hour or so, by which time the leek has begun to dissolve and thicken the dish (stirring will speed up this process).

Served with garden peas, and boiled potatoes (peeled red rooster potatoes in this case).

That's it. No herbs used at all. Sometimes diced carrot is added in addition to onion or leek.

Smoked Haddock Risotto

The black rice was cooked for fifteen minutes, and then drained. Fresh boiling water was added to the pot, and then the basmati. Half a teaspoonful of turmeric was added.

Half a red pepper, diced, and one julienned white onion, were fried in a skillet with sunflower oil for fifteen minutes, and then the drained rice was added.

The fish was cooked in a skillet for 12 minutes, turned once. Added to the rice, and broken up with a plastic fork.

Served on a bed of black pepper. Delicious!

Spicy Mushroom, Chickpea and Sweetcorn Stew

Made with chickpeas, sweetcorn, red pepper, chestnut mushrooms and spring onion. Thickened with half a teaspoonful of arrowroot, flavoured with herbes de Provence and vegetable stock. The sweetcorn came straight from the cob, though tinned sweetcorn will do just as well.

Dried chickpeas were soaked overnight, and then cooked with powdered red chilli and crushed garlic. Rinsed, and then simmered with the sweetcorn, diced red pepper, mushrooms, and chopped spring onion. The vegetable stock and the herbs were added last.

Served with a mixture of Thai black rice, and basmati rice. The black rice was cooked for fifteen minutes, and then drained. Fresh boiling water was added to the pot, and then the basmati. Half a teaspoonful of turmeric was added.  I used an ice-cream scoop to create the rice balls, as they do in Korean restaurants. Wonderful vegetarian dish!