Shepherd's Pie

A dish made to use up some leftover ground lamb from the fridge. I added freshly podded peas to the minced lamb and lamb stock, plus the herbs rosemary and coriander and decanted the mixture into a traditional pie dish. Boiled potato was mashed with a little salted butter, and this made the crust of the pie.

Cooked on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 190 degrees C, until it begins to brown. Which should be around an hour or a little longer. Watch carefully by eye, particularly if you don't have an accurate oven thermometer.  

Omelette with Brunswick Ham

New Year's eve breakfast. Brunswick Ham with a two egg omelette, seasoned with a little salt. Served with some tomato ketchup. The omelette was cooked slowly and turned, so it was pale on both sides.Cooked in some salted butter.  

 

Salmon and Pollock Seafood Pie

A strightfowrard oven based meal.  A tray of fish pieces intended for a fish pie: I used the salmon and the pollock for this. Cooked on a base of julienned purple onion, in a wheat and milk sauce, dressed in fines herbes and vegetable stock. 

The fish base was covered in mashed and textured potato, mixed with salted butter, and cooked for at least an hour at 180 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven. Served with garden peas, cooked separately. 

As a Scot, I love fish food. It was a major part of our diet until recently. We've been favoured with ingredients and dishes from all over the world. I can live with all of it :-).

 

Lancashire Hot Pot

Traditional lamb dish with gravy, onion and thinly sliced potato,  roasted on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 180 deg C.The surface potato was drizzled with a little sunflower oil, and some thinly sliced slightly salted butter.  

Often made with diced lamb, but I used ground lamb for this particular dish. The gravy was made with the juices from the lamb, with added lamb stock and tomato puree. Dressed in Basil and Coriander leaf. I added some dried red finger chillies for heat. 

 

Banana Bread, with Oats and Peanut Butter

A simple banana bread, made with Khorasan wheat (about 200g), plus 300g of rolled oats, and three medium sized bananas, mashed. Stirred together with water (300 mls), 100g of Demerara sugar, salt, yeast, and three dessert spoonfuls of olive oil. 

Blend the mixture together thoroughly, and allow the mixture to stand in a warm place, and to rise. 

Spoon into a standard bread tin, and texture the surface with a fork. Bake on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 190 deg C for fifty minutes (judge progress by eye). 

Allow to cool. Serve with salted butter, and peanut butter. Delicious! 

Omelette with Coriander

A simple omelette, seasoned with a sprinkle of dried coriander. I'm aware that the US prefers more plain omelettes than elsewhere, so I've been working at how to make these.This omelette was cooked in butter at a high heat, which was turned down almost immediately to a low heat. Cooked for four minutes on each side. Folded when plated up.

Buttered Toast with Brussels Pate

A favourite snack dish made with lightly toasted wheat-free bread (Genius brand), salted butter straight from the fridge, so not very runny, plus 75g or so of Brussels pate. Spread thick across the surface of the buttered toast.

Cut the slices into triangles.

Dressed in black pepper. Delicious! Two minutes to make.

Pear and Apple Crumble

Two cored and diced apples, and five cored and diced pears, stewed in a pan of boiling water for an hour and a half. After that the contents of the pan were gently mashed. The lid was removed, and the contents allowed to thicken (judge by eye).

Two dessert spoonfuls of demerara sugar were added to a bowl, along with three dessert spoonfuls of spelt flour. plus 70g of salted butter. All mixed together by kneading. This can take ten minutes or so.

Cooked in the middle of the oven at 180 deg c for between 40 and 50 minutes (again, judge by eye). Served in this case with a couple of spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt. Eat hot or cold.

Apple and Banana Crumble, with Cinnamon

A simple crumble, made with four apples (diced and cored, but not peeled), and one small peeled banana. Stewed in a lidded pot for a couple of hours at a low heat, along with one cinnamon stick (powdered cinnamon will do just as well).

The crumble mix was made with four dessert spoonfuls of spelt flour, four dessert spoonfuls of sugar (in this case preserving sugar, but any granulated sugar will do, including demarara). Mixed together with around 75g of salted butter (best done with your fingers, for around fifteen minutes).

After removing the cinnamon stick, the stewed apple was spooned into a pie tin, and the topping was laid on top. Cooked on the middle shelf of an oven heated to 180 deg. C for forty minutes. Judge progress by eye! Served with several spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt.

Cottage Pie with American Mustard

A dish which uses this beef mince recipe as its basis:

5% fat ground (minced) beef from the local Co-op. First I fried a whole Spanish onion (julienned and diced) until it was caramelised. Then I added tomato puree, red pepper, and carrots, plus 100mls of water, and simmered these for about forty minutes, along with beef and vegetable stock.

During this time I browned the beef in a drizzle of olive oil, stirring frequently (in another pan). The heat was turned down after ten minutes (brown, not burn!) I added diced chestnut mushrooms after fifteen minutes.

After thirty minutes I added the beef (etc) to the Spanish onion salsa, and simmered under glass at a low heat for about an hour.

The remaining beef mince spent 48 hours or so in the fridge, then I added it to a traditional enamelled pie dish. I boiled semi-skinned potatoes for twenty five minutes, then mashed them with about 50 grams of slightly salted butter, using a fork. The mash was decanted onto the beef with a spoon until the beef was evenly covered to a depth of about an inch. The surface of the pie was textured using the fork. 

Cook in an oven preheated to at least 180 deg C for between forty and forty five minutes (middle shelf). You can leave it in for longer than that if you prefer a more browned result.  

Leek and Carrot Soup

A typical Scottish soup, made with easily available ingredients, and entirely uncomplicated. The ingredients were: one diced leek (cut lengthwise, and then cut into smaller chunks), diced carrot, plus some semi-skinned potatoes, originally prepared as a mash with butter (i.e., leftovers).

I also added some vegetable stock, and a generous dash of black pepper.

Simmered in a lidded pan for at least an hour before serving.

Nutritious, and not a burden on anybody's digestive system :-).

Mussels in Garlic Butter

Fresh mussels cooked in garlic infused butter. Cooked under glass for seven minutes. A favourite dish!

Black Pudding, Beans, and Chestnut Mushrooms

A simple dish of black pudding, chestnut mushrooms, white onion, and baked beans (from Sainsbury's).

I coated a flat pan with a little butter, and added the black pudding, the onion and the mushrooms. Cooked at a high heat at the beginning, then reduced to low heat, for twenty minutes, mostly under glass. The heat was increased and the lid removed for a final five minutes.

The beans were heated in a small pan at a low heat, so that they were ready at the same time as the black pudding. The beans were dressed with a little black pepper.

Breaded Cod Fillets

Two breaded cod fillets from Morrisons. Cooked for twenty two minutes in the oven, at 200 deg. C, in a roasting dish brushed with some olive oil.

The flat cut potatoes were pan-fried in a little butter, first at a medium heat, and then at a low heat under glass for half an hour. The potatoes were turned once.

Served with a couple of gherkins. Delicious and easy to prepare!

Caesar Salad

A Caesar salad is essentially a chicken salad with croutons, lettuce and mayo. This is a variation on the basic recipe.

Made with diced roast chicken pieces (chicken breast in this instance), fresh from the fridge. Plus bread croutons (wheat-free), fried in butter in an omelette pan until browned and crisp.

Once cool, the lettuce salad, the chicken, and the croutons were mixed together in a bowl with some mayonnaise. Along with some diced or crushed garlic, a couple of dashes of Worcester sauce, and also two dashes of Tabasco sauce. Simple and fabulous!

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!

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!

Smoked Basa Fish, Poached in Milk

A beautiful Smoked Basa fish fillet from Morrisons, poached in milk, and served with potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

The potatoes were boiled in salted water for twenty minutes, and the sprouts for seven.

The fish was added to a skillet already heated, and with a knob of butter sliding around. Then about 100mls of milk was added. The fish should be cooked at a slow simmer under glass, for between 12 and 15 minutes (the fish changes colour when it is nearly ready). It does not need to be turned.

Decant the vegetables to the serving plate, add the fish (carefully!), and drizzle some of the poaching milk over it.

This fish poaches very well, though it is not usually included in lists of fish which do. Delicious flavour, and delicate texture. One of the most popular dishes on this site, as of March 2021.

Peppered Ham with Fried Onions and Mushrooms

A simple dish of peppered ham (sourced from Aldi), served with slow fried onions, and a little American mustard.

The onions were browned at a medium heat for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, and then for fifteen minutes under glass (also stirring occasionally).

The mushrooms were cooked in a separate pan in a little butter until browned. Around ten minutes or so.

The onions and mushrooms were mixed together for serving, and dressed in freshly ground black pepper. Delicious!