Lamb and Vegetable Stir Fry

The lamb was from a joint cooked and sliced the previous day. Cut into strips and set aside. The vegetables were cooked first from raw, including red pepper, yellow pepper, Chantenay carrots, fresh peas, chopped spring onion, and shredded tomato. Add Rosemary and Oregano, and shortly before serving, stir in some Chervil. 

Once the carrots were soft, after cooking under glass at a low heat (in sunflower oil, and stirred occasionaly), the strips of lamb were added to the pot and the heat was turned to high for three minutes. The contents of the pot were stirred twice a minute during this period to ensure even heating. The heat was turned down to zero (I have an electric cooking hob which retains a lot of heat) and the pot was left under glass for another three minutes, stirring twice more.  

Lamb and Vegetable Stir Fry

Effectively this dish is a ratatouille without the aubergine, courgette, garlic, and the sauce. If you want it to have a sauce, add a litte tomato puree or passata, and some boiling water, and simmer for five minutes before serving (add the chervil at the very last minute, since its flavour is quickly damaged by cooking).

Parsnip and Green Pea Soup

A simple soup made with twenty five pods of fresh peas, two parsnips, one leek, a dozen Chantenay carrots, vegetable stock, two small handfuls of porridge oat flakes, vegetable stock, and some Herbes de Provence (the link is to a Wikipedia article which points out the relatively recent commercial homogenisation of the idea of Herbes de Provence). Tarragon or Marjoram are good choices, as are Rosemary and Thyme. Sage also. Experiment. 

Peel the parsnips, slice the leek, and top and tail the carrots. Place in boiling water along with the podded peas, and simmer for half an hour. Then mash the vegetables. Add the vegetable stock and the herbs, and the oat flakes. From this point on there is the risk of the oats sticking to the bottom of the pan, so frequent stirring is required to prevent this. Cook for another twenty minutes or so before serving. 

Parsnip and Green Pea Soup

Lamb and Leek Chilli

Excellent aroma and flavour on the first day, and a wonderfully subtle dish on the second day. The ingredients are: 400g of ground lamb (minced lamb), mushrooms, chantenay carrots (halved), one whole finely chopped leek, podded peas (about twenty pods), a dozen halved cherry tomatoes, chopped green beans (about fifteen of them), a quarter of a red pepper, paprika, lamb stock, and six red and green chillies preserved in vinegar. 

Brown the minced lamb slowly in a saute pan along with the chopped leek. After ten to fifteen minutes or so, with regular stirring,  add some boiling water. Allow the mince and leeks to simmer under glass for half an hour. 

During this half hour there is plenty of time to prepare the vegetables, which can be added to the contents of the pan at the same time. Stir them in thoroughly. Add the chillies, half chopped, the other half of them whole, except for the stem. Add the lamb stock, and the paprika. Simmer at a low heat for another forty five minutes. 

Prepare the basmati rice during the last fifteen minutes before serving. Measure a third of a cup of basmati rice for each person, and drop the portions into water already boiling vigorously. Turn the heat down. Add some sunflower oil to stop the grains from sticking to each other. Half lidding the pot allows you to cook the rice quite slowly at a much lower heat than usual. After twelve to fifteen minutes at the lowest heat, rinse the rice in boiling water, drain, and serve. 

Lamb and Leek Chilli

Beef Chilli with Yoghurt

Chantenay carrot, onion, Spanish onion, green pepper, chestnut mushroom, Tomato, tomato puree, beef stock, ground beef, chilli, garlic, and Greek style yoghurt.

The beef was browned in its own fat for half an hour at a medium and then a low heat, stirring frequently to ensure a thorough browning.The tomatoes carrot, onion and green pepper were added to the mix, followed twenty minutes later by the chopped chestnut mushrooms. Stir-fried for another ten or fifteen minutes, then boiling water was added, plus the beef stock. Simmered under glass for another hour at a low heat.

Served with three spoonfuls of Greek style yoghurt (the yoghurt I had in the fridge - any good quality plain yoghurt will be fine). 

Beef Chilli with Yoghurt

Carrot and Leek Soup with Curly Kale

A simple soup made entirely with vegetables common in northern Europe: Chantenay baby carrots (200g), three medium sized leeks (500g), a bag of curly kale (300g) from Leicestershire, and half a swede (200g). Plus two ham stock cubes and a half teaspoonful of white pepper. 

The chopped leek was stir-fried in sunflower oil for fifteen minutes at a low heat, then the Chantenay baby carrots were added, after topping and tailing. The kale and the swede were added for the last five minutes, then boiling water was added, along with a third of cup of red lentils, bringing the volume of soup up to 2.5 litres. 

The soup was allowed to simmer slowly on the hob for two hours under glass, and was stirred occasionally. After one hour the contents of the pot were mashed. More water can be added if you prefer a thinner soup. 

Carrot and Leek Soup with Curly Kale