Roast Pork, Pasta, and Tomato Salsa

The dish was begun with frying diced leek and onion in some olive oil, for about seven minutes at a medium heat. Then I added a third of a pint of boiling water, and added three squirts of tomato puree.

After that I added some finely diced fresh coriander leaf (dried will do just fine instead), some oregano and half a teaspoonful of paprika.

Then I deseeded a red chilli and cut it into thin strips. I diced two cloves of garlic, and added them to the pan. I broke a couple of slices of the roast pork into smaller chunks, and added everything to the pan. The resulting pork and tomato salsa was simmered for half an hour at a low heat under glass.

Served in this case with wheat-free pasta, cooked in salted water with a little olive oil to prevent sticking Ten to twelve minutes preparation time.

Dress with some freshly ground black pepper.

Chickpea, Kidney Bean, and Black Bean Curry

A vegetarian recipe, with chickpeas, red kidney beans, leek, potato, and red chilli. Built on an existing garlic and black bean sauce.

I used dried chickpeas and red kidney beans, so they were soaked overnight. Then they were boiled for forty-five minutes, along with the potato pieces, the garlic and black bean sauce, and the diced leek. After that I added the ginger, the Madras curry powder, and the red chilli.

Diced coriander leaf was then added, and stirred through. Served with two lightly toasted Peshwari naans, and a serving of lime pickle. Fabulous!

Spicy Beef and Leek Soup

Made with brisket beef, beef stock, vegetable stock, chopped celery,  chilli (deseeded), diced garlic, chopped  leek, julienned onion, and some tomato puree. Break up some slices of brisket, and cook together in a pan of boiling water for at least half an hour. Stir occasionally. I used some of the stock from the slow cooker also.

This soup is easy and quick to make once you have your brisket slices prepared. Cooking a joint of brisket however takes a lot longer, and the process is described below.

Cook the joint in a slow cooker for between 4 and 8 hours, after sealing the joint with oil in a saute pan.

Cook two large onions,  one large leek, both finely diced, also in some olive oil. It is necessary to do this since onions and leek need a higher temperature to cook properly. Once they have browned a little, transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker with the joint.

Cook  for five hours at low heat. Turn the joint several times to ensure even cooking. An hour later, add the beef and vegetable stock.

Altogether the joint was cooked for eight hours, and then allowed to cool overnight. The next morning I washed the joint, and then cut the joint into tender slices with an electric knife.

Chestnut Smoked Pork with Five Leaf Salad

A chestnut smoked joint of roast pork (1.2kg), cooked with a small number of vegetables (leek, carrot and celery).

The roasting tray was covered with aluminium foil, and covered in the diced vegetables (a quarter of a head of celery, two medium size leeks, and two medium sized carrots).

The vegetables were drizzled in a little sunflower oil before the joint was added on top. 100mls of water was added to the tray. The joint was dressed with sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper, and sealed with more foil.

Cooked in the middle of an oven preheated to 190 deg C, for 1 hour and 45 minutes. With twenty minutes to go, the foil covering was removed, to allow the surface to brown.

Once cooled, the joint was carved with an electric carving knife (remove the string from the joint!). Served with a five leaf salad of chard, purple lettuce, spinach, rocket, and coriander. Plus garlic, diced spring onion, and baby plum tomatoes. Dressed in olive oil, and a little white pepper. Delicious!

Pork, Leek, Carrot and Celery Soup

 A simple and utterly delicious soup made with the juices from a chestnut smoked joint of roast pork (1.2kg), and a small number of vegetables (leek, carrot and celery).

The roasting tray was covered with aluminium foil, and covered in the diced vegetables (a quarter of a head of celery, two medium size leeks, and two medium sized carrots).

The vegetables were drizzled in a little sunflower oil before the joint was added on top. 100mls of water was added to the tray. The joint was dressed with sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper, and sealed with more foil.

Cooked in the middle of an oven preheated to 190 deg C, for 1 hour and 45 minutes. With twenty minutes to go, the foil covering was removed, to allow the surface to brown.

The joint was removed from the roasting tray, and allowed to cool, before being stored in the fridge. The vegetables and juices were scooped out and placed in a pot, with extra water, and cooked for half an hour before serving. No extra pork stock or herbs required! An excellent and flavoursome soup!

Haggis, Hash Browns, and Caramelised Spring Onion

Deeper into heresy! Slices of haggis served with hash browns and caramelised spring onions.

All three components were cooked in a large and glass-lidded flat pan. I started with the flat cut hash browns, because they would take up to twenty minutes to cook. The hob was set to a high heat and a drizzle of sunflower oil was added. Once the potato started to sizzle, I added the diced spring onions after that, followed by the slices of haggis.

Once the haggis began to brown, the heat was turned down to a low heat, and the ingredients were cooked under glass for ten minutes. The potato pieces were turned over, and the haggis slices, and the spring onions were given a stir occasionally.

The final five minutes of cooking were at a medium heat with the lid removed.

Served with tomato ketchup and a little ground white pepper. 

Beef and Garlic and Black Bean Noodle

Tender strips of beef from a slow-cooked joint of brisket, with a garlic and black bean sauce, augmented with a tomato sauce, made with diced leek and onion, plus beef and vegetable stock.

The tomato sauce was made during the cooking of the brisket joint, and kept in the fridge for a day or two.

The noodles were hydrated in a small lidded pan for about five minutes at a low heat. The beef was cooked in the sauce for around 15 minutes under glass. The beef and sauce was added to the serving bowl first, then the noodles, then stirred through. Fabulous dish!

Pork and Chilli Stew

Excellent pork stew, with carrot, courgette, roast port, spinach, yellow pepper, vegetable stock, tomato puree, turmeric, red chilli, and herbs (basil, oregano).

Because this was made with a diced courgette, I skipped using onions - the stew would thicken with the dissolving of the courgette.

I stir-fried the diced courgette and carrot for twelve minutes or so, before adding the yellow pepper and the deseeded red chilli. Then I added three quarters of a pint of boiling water to the saute pan, and simmered the contents for forty-five minutes.

Then I added the roast pork, the spinach, the vegetable stock, tomato puree, black pepper, and the turmeric, and stirred them together for a minute or so. Cooked for another twenty minutes under glass. The herbs were added ten minutes before the stew was ready to serve.

Serve with potato, flatbread, or with basmati rice!

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

Cubed sweet potato curry, with onion, tomato puree, turmeric, roast chicken pieces, red chilli, and Madras curry powder. Plus lemon juice and coriander leaf.

The sweet potato and onion were stir-fried for about seven minutes, before being added to a pot of water brought to the boil. I used one clove of garlic (crushed), and two diced red chillies, deseeded. Then I added the curry powder, the turmeric and the tomato puree.

Cooked for forty-five minutes under glass at a low heat. Stir occasionally. Then I added the roast chicken pieces from two drumsticks, and simmered until the curry sauce began to thicken. Served with diced coriander leaf and a drizzle of lemon juice, a sprinkling of coconut, and a teaspoonful of lime pickle. Plus a garlic and coriander naan. Delicious!

Brisket Beef in Tomato Sauce

This is a variation of an old Jewish recipe for the preparation of Brisket. Normally it would have garlic, vinegar, and lots of pepper, but I made this for my mother, who generally doesn't eat food with lots of garlic and spices. So this is a stripped down version, which turns out to be just as delicious.

Brisket is a cheaper joint of beef. It takes a lot of cooking, but the results are well worth the effort.

Normally I would cook the joint in a slow cooker for between 4 and 8 hours, but I decided this time to experiment with cooking the dish on the hob, in a covered saute pan. I sealed the joint first of all in a flat lidded pan with some olive oil, and then transferred it to one which contained water brought to the boil.

I then cooked two large onions, and one large leek, both finely diced, also in some olive oil. Once they had browned a little, the vegetables were transferred to the pan with the joint. The lid was put on, and the heat turned down to the lowest level which kept the contents bubbling.

The joint was cooked for five hours at this low heat. The joint was turned several times to ensure even cooking. Then I added tinned chopped tomatoes to the pan, and stirred everything together. An hour later, I added the beef and vegetable stock.

Altogether the joint was cooked for eight hours, and then allowed to cool overnight. The next morning I washed the joint, and then cut the joint into tender slices with an electric knife. What wasn't needed for this meal was put into the fridge (the meat and the tomato sauce).

The beef was served with flat cut semi-skinned potato, sugar-snap peas, and some black pepper. Thanks to Lyn for talking me through this recipe many years ago. This is my 700th published recipe!

Chicken Mayo Salad

A simple chicken mayo salad, with diced red onion, and salad leaves.

The chicken came from a roast chicken thigh, which had been chilled in the fridge. The diced chicken pieces were mixed with mayonnaise, a pinch of salt, and some white pepper in a bowl.

The red onion was julienned, and added to the serving plate.

The four leaf salad was dressed with a little olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper, and the chicken mayo was added. That's it!

 Adding finely diced garlic to the mayo is an option. Delicious either way.