Albanian Liver

I can understand why the boy is unsure about this, but it is good. The secret to cooking liver is not to do it well done like his mum did. Cook it on a high heat so it’s crusty and brown on the outside and tender and pink in the middle and he loves it.

450g lambs liver

2tbsp plain flour

1tbsp paprika plus more to garnish

A good glug olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

200ml thick Turkish yoghurt

Salt & pepper

Slice the liver to get the longest strips you can – about 2cm wide. Mix the flour with the paprika, salt and pepper. I’m using smoked paprika, though I’m also adding a pinch of cayenne. Coat the liver very well. There is a little bit left over, which the boy’s cat gets. Much purring.

Heat about 4tbsp oil in a heavy based pan and fry the floury liver strips. You will need to do this in batches but for no more than three minutes so they don’t overcook and get tough. Let them rest which will bring them closer to warm, rather than hot, which is what you want.

Fry the onion in the same pan, increasing the heat to brown them. You will need more oil and stir it a lot scraping the flour from the bottom. You want the onion to brown.

Make a salad of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, shallots, sliced black and green olives (two thirds black, one third green) and chopped flat leaf parsley and mint. It’s dressed with extra virgin olive oil and lemon, and seasoned.

Serve the livers covered with the onions and with a big spoonful of yoghurt on top. Sprinkle over more paprika (I’m using the sweet kind this time) and a drizzle of oil. The boy has found some fresh French bread so we’re having that with it.

Turns out he really does like liver. He insists this is not like liver though.

Pear Brandy

Oh, I’m looking forward to this, although it will be at its peak next Christmas, rather than this.

1 70cl bottle brandy

750g pears

5tbsp runny honey

1 vanilla pod

5 cardamom pods

A 3 inch cinnamon stick

The boy likes the idea of laying things down for future years as much as I do. I would have used pears from the tree in the garden but we had a really big storm last week and the tree is looking pretty barren. So they are shop bought. We have also bought a 1 litre kilner/mason jar.

A Bach cantata or two on the CD player would work here .I'm thinking number 125, with its haunting countertenor aria. Top and tail the pears, quarter them and cut out the cores. Place a fifth of them in the jar. Add a tbsp of honey. Repeat until all the pears and honey are layered in. Tuck in the vanilla pod. I’ve cut ours into 3 to spread the love a bit. Tuck in the cardamom and cinnamon. Let the Bach do its magic.

Pour in the brandy and make sure everything is covered. We’re using a really cheap supermarket budget brand. I want it to take on the flavours of the honey, pears and spices so there is really no point in using a premium brand.

Give it a shake. Try to forget about it. In a year’s time strain it through muslin. Happy Christmas 2014! Apart from drinking it, the boy thinks a spoonful over a bowl of vanilla ice cream would work. I can’t believe he’s planning what he wants to eat over a year away.That said  I think a shot in a cup of dark coffee on a new year's day would be great. Either way I know I will still want to be listening to the Bach.

Jerk Chicken Rolls

This is a favourite of the boy’s. He wants me to make enough for today and tomorrow. You can, of course, make your own jerk seasoning, but I remain convinced that Walkerswood is about as close to authentic as you can get

6 Chicken thighs, skin on, bone in

1/3  jar Walkerswood hot & spicy jerk seasoning

1 Scotch bonnet chilli, roughly sliced

Juice of 2 limes

1tbsp thyme leaves

1 tub good quality coleslaw

4 ciabatta rolls, or a baguette

Caribbean hot pepper sauce

Coriander leaves to serve

Slash the chicken to the bone and place in a large bowl. Squeeze the lime juice over and toss well. I’ve kept the chilli in big bits. I want it to heat the whole thing up but also want to give the boy the chance to pick the chilli out as it does not always agree with him. Add the jerk seasoning and a handful of fresh thyme leaves and massage it all together.

Leave for at least 2 hours, turning occasionally. Get the grill as hot as it will go and cook the chicken until it’s done. I would do this on the barbeque if it wasn’t raining! Every time I turn it I spread on another tablespoon of the marinade. You’re looking for it to be cooked through, with burned bits all over.

Toast the ciabatta rolls, lightly. Put some coleslaw in each. Shred the chicken from the bone, including the crispy skin. Stuff it in the roll and give the meat a light shake of hot pepper sauce and a few coriander leaves before closing.

Wrap in a paper napkin and hand one to the boy along with a can of Red Stripe beer. We’re having a side salad of shredded cabbage and carrot, sliced green peppers, peeled and sliced cucumbers and quartered tomatoes, with Ranch dressing.

He’s even happier knowing there enough for another one for tomorrow’s lunch box.

[If you do want to make your own jerk marinade, this is the version I make: 25g onions, 2 scotch bonnet chillies, 50g fresh ginger, ½ tsp ground allspice, 15g thyme sprigs, 1tsp black pepper, 120ml white wine vinegar, 120ml dark soy sauce. Roughly chop the onion, chillies and ginger. Take the leaves off the thyme. Whizz in a food processor until you have a thick paste]

Turkish Biber Dolmas

I love Dolmas. It needs small green peppers and the right sized pan to hold them upright. In Wood Green restaurants it is hard to find dolmas that don’t include meat. Not that I have anything against meat, and the boy would certainly prefer a meat version. But I am looking for something simpler.

16-18 small green peppers

4 tomatoes sliced

¼ glass olive oil

1tsp salt

Rice filling

1 glass rice

6 onions, finely chopped

¾ glass olive oil

1 large  tomato

25g pine nuts

25g currants

1tbsp finely chopped mint

22bsp finely chopped dill

½ tsp pepper

1tsp salt

2tsp sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

1 lemon

This looks like a lot of ingredients, but if you can find the right peppers it makes a fairly easy Monday night supper. I was thinking it needed stock, but given the flavours of the ingredients, clearly not. The peppers should be small enough that you can wrap your hand around one.

There is an easy going comedy from the 1960s on the radio. It is actually quite funny. Have discovered we have raisins not currants so am just swapping them around.

Wash the rice with warm water and drain it. Put the oil, onions and pine nuts in a large pan and cook to soften. Add the salt. Cook slowly over a low heat for about 20 mins. Add the drained rice and stir it around for another 10 mins. Chop one tomato and add it to the pan. Add the currants, pepper, sugar and ¼ glass of warm water. Stir it well and cover and simmer for 12 minutes. This is sometimes not enough water so keep an eye on it and top it up if you need to.

Once it’s cooked and the water is absorbed, add the spices and chopped herbs. Leave it to rest in its own steam for half an hour. I cover it with a tea towel.

The small peppers come from a Turkish grocer. They are paler green than what we usually think of as green peppers. Cut the tops of and remove the seeds. Stuff loosely with the rice mixture. Make ‘lids’ from the sliced tomatoes and put them on top. The tricky bit is getting them to stand up in a pan. They need to be fairly firmly packed so the boy is called into service to help stand them up while I pack them in. Put a few thin slices of lemon over the top of the dolmas.

Sprinkle with salt and olive oil. Pour in ¼ glass water and cook on very low heat. Until the peppers are tender. Probably 45 minutes or so. Again check to make sure they don’t dry out. Let them cool and serve them just warm with a big spoonful of thick yoghurt.

Just because this is veggie, doesn’t mean the boy gets away without a salad. Chopped tomatoes onion and cucumber shredded red cabbage and lots of flat leaf parsley. A squeeze of lemon juice over the top and a pickled chilli to garnish. A wedge of flat bread won’t go amiss for mopping up the rice that spills from the dolmas along with the warm yoghurt.

Baked Creamed Spinach

This is lovely stuff. The boy has second helpings which is a rarity with any vegetable.

A glug of olive oil

A knob of butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 rip juicy tomato (if not manageable, fish 2 out of a tin)

1 whole nutmeg

450g frozen spinach

150ml single cream

50g breadcrumbs

50g gruyere cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

We’re having this with lamb chops. The boy is cooking the lamb in the griddle pan while I’m making the spinach. I tell him I need  a 15 minute head start though. Start with getting the grill as hot as it will go. Meanwhile, put the oil and butter in a frying pan and the onion. Once it softens add the garlic. Give it 5 minutes and then chop the tomato and add it to the pan, Give it a good grate of nutmeg.  Spinach and nutmeg are good housemates.

When it’s all soft, add the spinach. As it’s frozen it will halt the cooking for a while. Once it’s melting, add the cream. Give it another scrape of nutmeg and some salt and pepper. The boy is pointing towards the mint sauce we made from the garden mint. He’s right; It needs to come out of the fridge. I love the half sure, half unsure look on his face.

Put a lid on the spinach pan and give it another 5 minutes on a really low heat. When it’s cooked it goes into an ovenproof dish. I’m transferring it with a slotted spoon so not too much water ends up in the final dish. The breadcrumbs go on top – in this case from a ciabatta roll that the boy didn’t manage to turn into a sandwich. It helps that it’s day old. The cheese is grated on top.

Pop it under the grill until the breadcrumbs and cheese are golden. The boy presents the lamb chops. We’re there. A relaxed meal with some Schubert piano music on the CD player. I love the Moment Musicaux no. 2. Perfect for a relaxed late lunch with a little too much wine.

Poached Eggs with Avocado & Chorizo

I think cooking is the best way to show someone that you love them. I’m making this because I do love the boy and never tire of saying it. It’s for his lunch and besides, I’m determined to master poached eggs.

4 soft cooking chorizo

2tbsp coriander leaves

3 small ripe Hass avocado

Juice of 2 small limes

4 organic free range eggs

2 small seeded baguettes

Skin the sausages and chop them or attempt to. Mine are sort of squashing so it’s a half chop, half crumble affair. Fry them off in a dry pan. They will leach off loads of lovely red oil. Add the coriander and give it a quick stir and then remove from the heat. I don’t want them to cook. Give it a quick grind of pepper.

Peel and stone the avocadoes. These are the world’s most nuisance ingredient. They are impossible to buy ripe and so you need to plan at least 3 days in advance what you’re going to cook. These were destined for guacamole but I’m glad I love him enough to make this instead. Lightly mash them with a fork and squeeze on the lime juice. See if it needs some salt. I think a pinch of cayenne is what it is really crying out for.

Poach the eggs. I’ve bought 6 as I will break at least one of them. They need to be very fresh. Put a splash of vinegar into a pan of rolling water and give it a stir, to create a cyclone. Don’t do more than two at a time. Key is having something suitable to fish them out with. I’ve found that a spaghetti server works very nicely. Drain them well on kitchen paper, and if you’re me, cut off any frilly bits to tidy them up. You do want the yolks still soft though. Work quickly so they don’t get cold.

While the eggs are cooking, do all of the following: Lightly toast the seeded baguettes. These are baguettes because you want a lot of crunchy crust. Though I do think bagels are worth a try one time.

Make some coffee in the cafetiere. I think white cups and white side plates but I’m probably getting over excited here.

Spoon some chunky avocado on to each slice of toasted baguette. Sprinkle on the chorizo.

Finally top each slice with a perfect poached egg. Sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Call the boy down to lunch.