Chicken Torunska

 Another simple dish, made with diced torunska sausage and chicken, plus carrot and leek. Fried, and then I added water and tomato puree. Cooked for half an hour. The sweet potato wedges were cooked in a lidded casserole dish, after being soused in some vinegar, paprika, rosemary and basil. Plus a little black pepper. For about forty minutes (watch by eye).

Chicken and Green Bean Minestrone

 The contents of the fridge needed to be reorganised. I rescued what could still be used to construct a dish, and I ended up with a minestrone. The onion and the chicken were cooked first in some olive oil, The rest of the vegetables were prepared and added to the flat pot at a medium heat, along with about half a pint of water. Cooked for ninety minutes under glass, stirring frequently. Delicious!

Cubed Beef and Pasta

 Cubed Scotch beef, cooked for an hour and a half in a lidded pan at a medium heat, with olive oil. The green beans and spinach were cooked for ten minutes along with some dried rosemary in a separate pan. The wheat free pasta was cooked in a third pan for ten minutes or so at a medium heat. Fabulous meal!

Turkey and Parsnip Stew, with Oven-roasted Chips

Leftover Turkey from a roasted leg joint, stewed in some chicken stock along with diced parsnip and carrot. Cooked for around two hours. The Rosemary and the paprika were added towards the end of the process.

Served with roasted potato chips in olive oil. The potato chips were parboiled for fifteen minutes first. Cook until a little browned. Turn once.
 

Green and Black Olives with Feta Cheese

Simple dish bought from the local Co-op. Green and Black stoned olives in olive oil, with feta cheese and the herbs oregano and rosemary. Cheaper than assembling the ingredients myself separately.
 

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.  

Pea and Ham Soup

A pea and ham soup made with some surplus breaded Wiltshire ham. The base of the soup was made with diced turnip, potato, diced leek, and whole yellow peas. Plus ham stock. 

The vegetables were cooked first, for about seventy minutes, after which they were mashed. A pinch of paprika was added, along with a little rosemary. The diced ham was then added, and cooked for another twenty five minutes under glass. Added black pepper. 

Serve as is, or with a bread of your choice. 

 

Devilled Chicken

Chicken Breast marinaded in a salsa made with tomato puree, black pepper, a pinch of paprika, crushed garlic, a quarter teaspoonful of red chilli powder, a pinch of dried rosemary, a dash of soy sauce, plus some Cox's 'Bloody Mary Spice' (optional!).

The spicy salsa was rubbed into the chicken inside a sandwich bag, and then was put in the fridge for two hours. Cooked in an open casserole dish on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 deg C for 45 minutes. 

The chipped potatoes were marinaded in olive oil and salt for an hour and a half, and then drained. Grilled in a roasting dish for 25 minutes (judge progress by eye). 

 

Chestnut Meatloaf with Brussels Sprouts

Made with outdoor bred pork sausage meat from Sainsbury's, one diced apple, one diced onion, three medium handfuls of porage oats, one beaten egg (actually optional, and it was skipped in this case), 100g of diced cooked chestnuts, and 40 g of salted butter, Mix together thoroughly by hand in a large glass bowl.

Herbs and spices used were a pinch of nutmeg and a generous pinch of rosemary.

 Cooked in the oven on the previous day at around 180 deg C, for forty minutes (watched carefully). Sliced when cold, and stored in the fridge.

Because the meatloaf contained pork sausage meat it was important to make sure it was thoroughly heated. Cooked under the grill, and the slices were turned once using a fish slice (about seven minutes each side - judged by eye). Can also be reheated in a flat lidded pan.

Served with brussels sprouts (6 to 9 minutes in boiling water under glass), and semi-skinned potatoes. Can also be served with roast parsnip chips.

Tomato and Unsmoked Gammon Risotto

A simple Italian style dish, made with chopped roast gammon (from a 1 kg joint, cooked in the oven for one and a half hours), carrots, courgette and red pepper. The carrots, the red pepper, and courgette (all diced) were stir-fried in a drizzle of olive oil for fifteen minutes at a low to medium heat. After which water was added, along with two squirts of tomato puree. Allowed to boil down until the sauce had thickened (about twenty-five minutes). The herbs rosemary and basil were added. Plus diced garlic. 

The rice (basmati or long grain) was prepared separately, cooked for fifteen minutes at a low heat in slightly salted water, and allowed to stand for another fifteen minutes. Then drained. 

Stirred together on the plate, and dressed with ground white pepper. 

 

Turnip and Potato Soup

Essentially a delicious and warming winter soup, made with half a turnip (bought to accompany a haggis), a large handful of chopped curly kale (a form of cabbage), diced potato, and some grains of Kamut (wheat grains).

The ingredients were boiled for about an hour, and then lightly mashed. I added vegetable stock, some black pepper, and the herbs Rosemary and Thyme.

Serve with potato bread.

Mushroom and Chorizo Casoulet

Sixteen whole white mushrooms, four chopped chestnut mushrooms, around 200g of sliced chorizo sausage, 100g of chopped green beans, eight chopped spring onions, two shredded salad tomatoes, and half of a roughly cut swede. The chorizo and the swede were cooked in a little bacon fat under glass at a moderate heat for around 15 to 20 minutes. I added six whole garlic cloves which were in a chilli suffused sunflower oil. Then boiling water was added to the pot, along with a couple of squeezes of tomato paste, and two ham stock cubes. The casoulet was allowed to simmer for two hours, at the end of which white pepper and two generous pinches of thyme and rosemary were stirred into the stew. Naturally this dish could be made with potatoes instead of a swede. But I had a swede which needed to be used, so I chose to use the swede. The combo is fine. The other half of the swede will find its way into a soup.

Chicken and Sage Stew with Chorizo

A chicken and chorizo sausage stew, cooked in a casserole dish in an oven heated to 180 deg C., with leek, potato and carrots.

Two chicken thighs were on top of the vegetables and the diced chorizo, and 100 mls of water was added to the covered dish.

The vegetables were finely diced, and around 100 mls of tomato passata was added, plus some sage. Cooked for an hour.

The chicken thighs were removed and allowed to cool, after which they were placed in the fridge. The sauce and vegetables were removed from the dish and placed in a lidded pot.

Later, the meat was removed from the chicken thighs, and added to the vegetables.

The dish was served with deseeded raw green chilli (not nearly so hot!), and french fries/chips made with herbs (oregano and rosemary), worcester sauce, ketchup, white pepper, turmeric, and dressed in sunflower oil. The chips were cooked for twenty minutes in a casserole dish placed in the oven,  lidded and at around 180 deg C, and then for another fifteen minutes without the lid. Perfection! But watch progress carefully.

Spicy Shepherd's Pie

Preparing the pie: made with ground lamb, diced onion, diced carrot, four red and green chillies, a clove of garlic, green pepper, diced baby plum tomatoes, chopped parsnip and chopped carrot, mashed potato and lamb stock. 

The mashed potato was mixed with a small knob of butter, and about 50g of Camembert cheese (cheddar cheese can be used instead, or you can skip the cheese component altogether). Seasoned with the herbs rosemary and thyme. 

Add the chopped parsnip and carrot to the bottom of the pie dish. Cover with the layer of spicy lamb. Add the potato on top, and texture with a fork. 

The pie was baked in the oven at a low heat (about 150 deg C for an hour and a half (watch carefully).. 

Served in this case with baked beans, with pepper and some dried basil.

Preparing the ground lamb: browned in a saute pan in its own fat at a high heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning. The onion, chilli, green pepper and diced  baby plum tomatoes were added. The heat was turned down to medium, and the mix stir-fried for fifteen minutes.

After that, boiling water was added to the saute pan. The pot was covered, and allowed to simmer for at least an hour and a half at a low heat, to ensure the lamb was tender.

Add a little turmeric and some oregano after about half an hour, and stir through. 

Meatloaf with Garlic and Potato Salad

Meatloaf salad, made with a four leaf salad of chard, rocket, spinach, and purple lettuce, spring onion (optional), drizzled with olive oil,

Garlic was finely chopped and crushed, and added to two dessert spoonfuls of mayonnaise. Cubes of boiled potato were added to the mayonnaise, with a little salt.

The meatloaf was made using pork sausage meat, oats, cornmeal, diced leek and herbs (rosemary in this case, but sage is also a good choice).

The ingredients were mixed initially by hand in a large pyrex bowl, until the vegetables and meat were thoroughly mixed together. I also added a little sunflower oil, and one large egg.

The mixing can take up to ten minutes. I added a little salt and the rosemary during this process.

After that I continued the mixing process using a medium sized wooden spoon for another seven minutes or so.

Then the mix was decanted into a silicon bread tin, patted down and textured with a fork. Cooked for one hour at 190 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven (check progress occasionally). The meatloaf will shrink a little during the cooking process, so there is no problem getting the loaf out of the tin in one piece after it has cooled.

Silverside Beef with Curly Kale

 The gravy was made with parsnips, turnip, celery and onion, all diced, and cooked in boiling water for about half an hour, after which the ingredients were mashed. They continued to cook for a further half an hour. Then I added a pinch of paprika, a pinch of both Rosemary and Thyme, and some beef stock.

I blended the whole mixture with a hand electric mixer. Once the roast was complete, I added the juices from the casserole dish to the pan with the gravy, and simmered the mixture for fifteen minutes under glass. Mmm! A beautiful gravy.

Served with boiled potatoes and finely diced curly kale, simmered under.glass for ten minutes. Dress with some freshly ground black pepper.

Preparing the Silverside. The  joint was sealed on all sides in a flat-lidded pan in some sunflower oil. Once browned, the joint was put into a lidded casserole dish with about 300 mls of water, and the dish was put into an oven preheated to 190 deg C, on the middle shelf.

The joint was  900g in weight, so the cooking time was about 80 minutes (25 minutes per 500g, plus another 25 minutes is the basic formula). You can judge by eye how the joint is progressing. The final twenty minutes were spent unlidded, in order to further brown the joint.

The joint can be cut manually into slices with a large sharp knife once it has cooled.

Roast Silverside Beef, with a Parsnip and Onion Gravy

 The joint was sealed on all sides in a flat-lidded pan in some sunflower oil. Once browned, the joint was put into a lidded casserole dish with about 300 mls of water, and the dish was put into an oven preheated to 190 deg C, on the middle shelf.

The joint was  900g in weight, so the cooking time was about 80 minutes (25 minutes per 500g, plus another 25 minutes is the basic formula). You can judge by eye how the joint is progressing. The final twenty minutes were spent unlidded, in order to further brown the joint.

The joint can be cut manually into slices with a large sharp knife once it has cooled.

The gravy was made with parsnips, turnip, celery and onion, all diced, and cooked in boiling water for about half an hour, after which the ingredients were mashed. They continued to cook for a further half an hour. Then I added a pinch of paprika, a pinch of both Rosemary and Thyme, and some beef stock.

I blended the whole mixture with a hand electric mixer. Once the roast was complete, I added the juices from the casserole dish to the pan with the gravy, and simmered the mixture for fifteen minutes under glass. Mmm! A beautiful gravy.

Served with boiled potatoes and carrots.

Pork and Leek Meatloaf

Bargain sausagemeat from Sainsbury's, so I made a meatloaf with it, using oats, cornmeal, diced leek and herbs (rosemary in this case, but sage is also a good choice).

The ingredients were mixed initially by hand in a large pyrex bowl, until the vegetables and meat were thoroughly mixed together. I also added a little sunflower oil, and one large egg.

The mixing can take up to ten minutes. I added a little salt and the rosemary during this process.

After that I continued the mixing process using a medium sized wooden spoon for another seven minutes or so.

Then the mix was decanted into a silicon bread tin, patted down and textured with a fork. Cooked for one hour at 190 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven (check progress occasionally). The meatloaf will shrink a little during the cooking process, so there is no problem getting the loaf out of the tin in one piece after it has cooled.

Served in this case with Brussels sprouts and some cranberry jelly, and some sliced yellow pepper. Dusted with a little parsley. 

Potato, Carrot and Green Bean Soup

A great winter soup, made with potato, carrot, onion and diced green beans. Flavoured with some vegetable stock, some fresh rosemary, and some dried oregano.

The vegetables were prepared by dicing. The potatoes came ready boiled from the fridge, so were added last, after the rest of the vegetables had been stir-fried for fifteen minutes, along with about half a pint of boiling water, and the vegetable stock.

Simmer under glass for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring frequently. Add the rosemary leaves (pluck from the hard stem), and the dried oregano. Serve with a dusting of freshly ground black pepper.

Root Vegetable Ground Beef Casoulet

The ground beef was browned at a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, and then I added a diced red onion, and finely diced carrot.

Stir-fried for another fifteen minutes, and then boiling water was added, plus some beef stock and two bay leaves. Simmered for one hour under glass.

Some of the ground beef stew was used for another dish, and the other half spent a day in the fridge. The second half was brought to the boil, and I added more carrot, with larger chunks this time, plus most of a medium sized turnip. Cooked for half an hour, and then I added diced green beans, a teaspoonful of capers, some fresh rosemary leaves, black pepper, paprika,Worcester sauce, and dried oregano. Simmer under glass for twenty minutes before serving.