Lamb Tagine

Introduction

Looking at the veg we got in the last delivery, there were a few interesting things we thought we'd like to do. I've always wanted a proper tagine, but there was no reason why we still couldn't make one. A recent addition to the cookerybookshelf was the Hairy Dieters which contained an interesting and easy looking Moroccan tagine. Adapting it slightly based on our ingredients gives us the following, delicious recipe.

Ingredients

500g or so of lamb

1 medium onion

1 stick celery

1 chilli

3 cloves garlic

1 aubergine

1 carrot

5 mini peppers (1 normal pepper would also work)

500g tin of tomatoes

about 10 sundried tomatoes – the recipe calls for dried apricots but the kids are not a fan so I've substituted toms instead

1 tin chickpeas

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp coriander

Method

• Mix the the cumin, coriander and cinnamon together and rub into the chopped lamb pieces. Put aside
  
  
  
• In an ovenproof pan, heat some olive oil and stir in the chopped onion, celery, garlic and chilli. Cook on a medium heat until it all softens slightly
• Now stir in the meat an cook until browned
  
  
  
• Stir in the chopped aubergine and carrot and fry for a minute or two
• Mix in the tin of tomatoes and fill the tin with water twice and add to the mix.
• Stir in the chickpeas and bring to a simmer
• Put in a preheated oven. I used about 160 degrees and cooked for about two hours – you know me, long and slow ;-)
  
• About 10 mins before serving, add the chopped sundried toms and the chopped peppers
• Garnish with fresh coriander

Enjoy :-)

Bacon Risotto

Introduction

Risotto is a lovely way to use up leftover veg in a healthy, filling meal. I love the combination of bacon chilli and garlic thrown in with a nice pile of whatever veg we have. More importantly, the kids also love this. Mrs Thinchef dose a very different but equally delicious risotto which I'll post one day but here is mine

Ingredients

half a large butternut squash – carrot, pumpkin or other root veg work just as well

1 courgette

1 stick celery

1 leek

2 cloves garlic

Good bunch of a strong green leaves – I used perpetual spinach

3 espresso cups of shortgrain rice

Veg stock – I used a cube with hot water, can also put a good slug of white wine

About 8 slices of streaky bacon

1 chilli if you are feeling frisky

2 tsp oregano

Method

• Heat some olive oil and a good spoonful of butter in a wide flat bottomed pan
• Mix in chopped leek, celery, & garlic. Keep stirring until it softens, try not to let the garlic burn. Keep the heat low if you need to
  
  
  
• When the mix is translucent, add the chopped bacon. Continue to stir until the bacon is cooked.
• Add the chopped squash and courgette. Stir for a few mins while you boil the kettle (or heat your stock)
  
  
  
• Now add the rice and mix well
• Add the stock cube and about half a cupful of boiling water. Stir well.
• As the water is absorbed, keep adding more slowly and mixing well
• 
  
  
• When the rice is cooked just right, the risotto will be nice and creamy. Add the chopped greens and stir in.
  
• If you want it a bit more creamy, as a touch of cream or natural yoghurt
  
  
  
• Serve with a nice bit of garlic bread and balsamic vinegar

Enjoy :-)

Simple Carrot Soup

Introduction

When I was little, my Nan used to make the most amazing carrot soup. For me, it was magical. How did this pretty disgusting veg (I'd didn't like them then) turn into a delicious soup?

So it turned out we had a bunch of carrots in and a bit of left over coriander from my last curry. With weather changing, this has wholesome carrot & coriander soup written all over it. I did a little bit of research (I googled carrot soup) and discovered it seemed to be really easy.

So this is my attempt at a very simple and quick recipe that turned out to be delicious. I suspect it would work with other root veg instead of carrot. Given the time of year, perhaps pumpkin or (bleurgh) beetroot. Or maybe that massive squash I got recently...

Ingredients

7 or 8 large carrots – no idea what the weight was but this made a lovely amount

1 stick celery

8 shallots

1 espresso cup of red lentils

Veg stock – I used a cube with hot water

Spices

1 tsp coriander

2 tbps coriander seeeds

Small bunch of fresh coriander

Method

• Heat some olive oil and a good spoonful of butter in a pan
• Very roughly crush the coriander seeds
• Mix in in the roughly chopped shallots, carrot, celery & crushed coriander. Keep stirring until it softens
• Stir in the coriander power and the lentils. Mix well

• Add enough stock to cover well
• Bring to boil and simmer until the carrots are soft
• Stir in the chopped coriander leaves
• Blitz with a food processor. The soup should go thick and creamy and delcious

Enjoy :-)

Green Lentil Curry

Introduction

One of the reasons I haven't posted a new recipe for a while, is that I've been using the blog as intended. I've been making the stuff I've already written about. So when I made a new lentil curry, I wondered if it was worth adding.

I think it is different in that this is a fairly quick recipe, not one of my usual slow cooked meals. As for the ingredients, they were pretty much what we had leftover the day before a new veg delivery.

Ingredients

1 pound or so of meat. I used diced pork but chicken would work well.

Green lentils – about 4 espresso cups worth

Veg

1 turnip

2 courgettes

2 onions

1 large carrot

1 stick celery

Spices

About 2” fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic

1tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp fennel seeds

2 crushed Allspice cloves

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbps coriander seeeds

1 tbsp curry leaves

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp fenugreek

Good bunch of fresh coriander

Method

Curry

• Get the pan hot and add a good glug of nut oil. Add all the seeds and the curry leaves. Stir fry until the seeds darken and start to pop

• Throw in the finely chopped onion, garlic, ginger, celery & chopped stalks from the fresh coriander. Turn the heat down a notch so the garlic doesn't burn and go bitter. Keep stirring until the mix goes translucent

• Add the other chopped veg, the carrot, the courgette and the turnip. Mix well and cook for about 7 mins, until they begin to soften.

• Add the meat to the mixture and stir in until browned

• Mix in the green lentils and then pour in enough stock to cover. I just used a chicken stock cube and boiling water.
• Simmer until the lentils are tender and the sauce is as thick as you want it.
• Finish with chopped coriander leaves and a splash of lemon juice. If you're feeling frisky, stir in a splash of natural yoghurt just before serving. I served this with half a caulie that I'd blitzed in a food processor and fried off with garlic and coriander. Delicious!

Enjoy :-)

Cheesebake (Updated)

Introduction

When I first set up this blog, for the purpose of simply recording recipes when I could access them, one of the first I wrote was a Cheesebake. It was very simple, no pictures. More of a reminder to be honest.

Recently, we had a massive pile of spuds and a lot of cheese. This usually means a cheesebake. I also saw it as a good opportunity to put a full recipe with pictures on.

Just as a bit of background, I'm sure I've been told somewhere along the line that this is an old family recipe. I bet there are loads of similar variations but what is true is that I have had this for tea for as long as I can remember. It definitely feels like an old family recipe, one I hope my cheese and potato hating daughter will learn to love...

Ingredients

Potatoes – Enough to fill the tin you are using. I always use too many but as a good rule I would use 3 to 4 spuds per person. This gave us two meals for two adults and a greedy little boy

Grated Cheese – whatever type you like. I was lazy and used a whole 250g bag of ready grated mature chedder

Bacon – about 2 pieces per person

1 Onion

2 tins chopped tomatoes

Method

1. Peel and wash the taters. Slice into about 1cm thick slices. Cover with salty water and bring to the boil.
   
2. Meanwhile, slice and dice the onion and bacon. Fry gently in a little olive oil and a spoonful of butter until the onion is clear and the bacon is cooked.

5. The potatoes should be cooked until they are soft; about mashing consistency but not quite ready to disintegrate. Drain and allow to cool slightly so you can handle the pieces
6. Mix the tomatoes in the bacon/onion mix. There is no need to keep the heat on
7. Preheat your oven to about 200°C and oil up an oven dish.
8. Now, layer the bottom with potatoes. Use the different sizes to fill as many gaps as possible. You should use about half of the spuds.
   
   
   
9. Put about half of the bacony-tomato mix as the next layer. Try to spread it evenly
10. The third layer should be grated cheese
11. Repeat with another layer of spuds, tomato and cheese
    
12. Bake in the oven for about 20 mins or until the top cheese layer goes crispy
13. Serve with lashings of Brown Sauce

Enjoy :-)

Meat & Potato Curry

Introduction
It's been a while since I've posted a recipe. I have made a few tasty things but nothing very different from previous posts. I suppose I've been using this blog as what it was intended for; a store of recipes for me to refer to.
Anyway, there came a moment when we seemed to have a lot of root veg in the fridge, a nice bit of pork shoulder (again - it's cheap) & a longing to make a nice curry. So I consulted my books, my blog & the good old internet.
The basis for this recipe is once again my wonderful Madur Jaffrey book. Early on there is a delicious looking basic recipe for lamb with potatoes. What I have done is adapt this based on the ingredients I had in. This is very adaptable and very simple. And note there is not a lentil in sight :-)
Ingredients
Meat
800g Pork Shoulder - The original recipe calls for Lamb Shoulder. Use whichever you have or prefer. Dice.
Base
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Celery
Chop these all finely
Spices
1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Chilli
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds - Ground up roughly
1 tbsp Cinnamon
3-4 Cardamom Pods - recipe call for black but I only had 1 black left

Veg
2-3 Big Spuds - The original recipe calls for waxy potatoes. I used Valor which are white & floury. Choose whichever spud you like or have in. A different potato will give a different texture & feel.
1 small/medium Celeriac
2 Carrots
3-4 large Salad Tomatoes
1 Courgette
Peel & dice the roots, just chop up the others
Other
Fresh Chilli
Fresh Coriander
2 Bay Leaves

Method

1. Add the onion, garlic, ginger & celery to oil over a medium heat. Stir well and fry for 8-10 mins. You want the onion to turn transparent but the garlic not to burn so keep it moving.
2. Now turn up the heat & add the Tumeric, Chilli, Garam Masala & Coriander Seeds. Continue to stir for about a minute
3. Add the diced meat and again stir well for a couple of minutes, until the meat is just about browned.
4. Add about 200ml water, bring to the boil and turn the heat down. Mix well.
5. Add the bay, cinnamon, cardamom, tomatoes and courgette and cook for 5 mins. Stir occasionally and if the sauce looks too dry, add a touch more.
6. Now add more water, preferably hot. Enough to cover the meat by a few cms. In my pan that was 600ml. Bring to boil, turn the heat down and cover. Cook for about 10-15 mins.
7. Add the rest of the roots and simmer uncovered for a further 15 or so minutes. The sauce should begin to thicken and cling to the meat/roots. The oil should begin to separate. This is the Bhuna method.
8. Just before serving, stir in a tablespoon of creme fraiche or natural yoghurt for a creamier finish. Garnish with fresh coriander and chilli.

Enjoy :-)

 

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