Chorizo Regio Sausage, with Potatoes

Chorizo Regio with boiled potatoes and fried mixed vegetables. Dressed in some freshly ground black pepper.  

Smoked Haddock with Hash Browns

Steamed skinless haddock, served with garden peas and hash browns, along with a dusting of freshly ground black pepper.
 

Bacon, Egg and Hash Browns

Simple and delicious brunch, with pan fried hash browns, fried bacon, and fried eggs, served with black pepper, a pinch of salt, and American mustard. 

The hash browns were cooked in a small pan for twenty five minutes at a low to medium heat, in sunflower oil. Watch carefully, and turn occasionally. 

The bacon came from a pack of cooking bacon. Normally these consist of rashers which didn't quite make the aesthetic grade, but what I was working with was a solid block of bacon. I cut it up with a serrated knife. Fried slowly for half an hour, the last fifteen minutes of which were under glass. 

Eggs cooked for five minutes at a lowish heat in the bacon fat, and dosed with a pinch of salt. 

 

Breaded Haddock Fillets

My favourite way of serving shop bought breaded fish fillets, whether cod, haddock, basa fish, etc. Really easy to prepare. 16 to 18 minutes in a roasting tray on the middle shelve of an oven preheated to 180 deg C. The (semi-skinned) potatoes were boiled for twenty minutes on the hob, These peas came from a can, and were heated in a small saucepan. Served with a little black pepper.

 

Roast Pork Casoulet, with Smoked Paprika

Roast pork from the freezer, cooked in a tomato and red wine sauce for an hour. Plus diced spring onion, and a white onion.

The wine was an Artusi Merlot, which is both delicious and cheap.

 I added a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.  I also added pork stock, plus the herbs sage and tarragon.

I added potatoes and strips of yellow pepper. Plus the herbs oregano and basil, plus a quarter teaspoonful of smoked paprika. Cooked for an hour before serving, and dressed in dried coriander.

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 :-).

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.

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.

Unsmoked Gammon Joint

A bargain 1.4 kg gammon joint from Sainsbury's over Christmas. Oven roasted in a casserole dish with Spanish onion and diced carrots, and a drizzle of Olive oil.

Cooked for two hours altogether, on the middle shelf of the oven, at 190 deg. C. Take off the lid of the casserole dish for the last thirty minutes. A glorious smell in the kitchen!

Leave the joint to cool for an hour or two before carving with an electric knife.

Served with - in addition to the onion and carrots -  boiled potatoes,  cooked with coriander seeds. Also well served with Brocolli spears.

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.

Breaded Cod with a Chive Sauce

Two pieces of breaded North Atlantic cod bought from Morrisons supermarket. Cooked in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 200 deg. C.

Served with a white sauce made with cornflour milk and water. One desert spoonful of cornflour and a third of a cup of milk, and half a cupful of water. I added a bundle of fresh chives chopped into half centimetres, and brought to the boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickened to the desired consistency.

The potatoes were roasted in the oven along with the cod. Dressed in freshly ground black pepper. Delicious tender fish!

Lamb Stew, with Potatoes

 A simple but nutritious antidote to a blowout Christmas dinner, for Boxing Day. Lamb with potatoes! Simpy made with roast lamb, lamb stock, Onion, Spring Onion, Celery, Green pepper. Chestnut mushrooms

The roast lamb leg was prepared the previous day. Carved, and the meat placed into a pot with lamb stock, sliced onion, chopped celery,  green pepper, and chestnut mushrooms Left to cook for a two hours under glass at the lowest heat.

Served with boiled redskin potatoes, and black pepper to taste.

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