New Year's Borscht

In our house, new year would not be new year without soup. It brings us luck.  We are going away tomorrow so have decided to bring our good luck a day early. This is a New York recipe so the measures are American. I haven’t translated them as I think you can be fairly flexible with soup.

2lb beef shin, on the bone

6 cups water

1 onion, peeled and halved

2 carrots

3 beetroots

6tbsp tomato puree

4 garlic cloves, crushed

½ lb red cabbage, shredded

2 medium tomatoes, roughly cut up

1 bay leaf

2tbsp red wine vinegar

3tbsp sugar

1lb waxy potatoes

2tsp flaky salt

1/3 cup chopped dill

Freshly ground black pepper

Garnish

Sour Cream – at least a tablespoon each

Chopped dill

This takes all afternoon but it’s worth it.

Put the potatoes on to boil. When just cooked, but still firm, set them aside. The boy can dice them when they are cool.

Cut one carrot into quarters and get the boy to grate the other one. Put Mozart’s Prague Symphonies on the CD player. Put the quartered carrot, the halved onion and the beef in a large pot. The beef can go in whole. Bring to the boil and skim off all the fat or scum that comes to the surface. Lower the heat to a bare simmer and give it 1 and a half hours. You will run out of Mozart. The boy has chosen to move on to what might or might not be The Killers.

Strain it through a sieve and when it’s cool enough, fish out the beef (still whole). Put the stock back in the pan, with the saved beef and the beetroot. The boy has scrubbed off all the dirt first. Bring it back up to the boil and simmer for another 30 minutes.

There is a lot of stop start with this recipe. Luckily The Killers CD has finished. Bach’s Art of Fugue now.

Once it is cool rub the beetroot skin off with your fingers and grate it coarsely. Put the grated beetroot back in the soup.

Dissolve the tomato paste in ½  a cup of water – this is pretty much a tube full so use the best brand you can find – I prefer Cirio. Stir this in. Add the grated carrot, garlic, bay leaf and cabbage. I’m giving the cabbage an extra chop as the boy has done it very coarsely. Add the tomatoes, sugar and vinegar and simmer for another hour and a half. I appreciate this is almost 4 hours plus all the chopping time, but it will be worth it.

Remove the beef and strip the meat from the bones. Slice or shred it – it will be so soft it will be a combination of both. The boy’s little black cat is asking prettily so he gets a scrap or two.

Add the cooked potato and beef back to the soup, along with the dill and salt & pepper and warm it through. At least 3 minutes as this is a lot of dill. Get the boy to check the seasoning. It’s winter so he wants more of both.

Ladle into bowls and serve with a big spoonful of sour cream and chopped dill.

I would serve with a light salad but the boy points out that it has enough veg in it already.

Harissa & Preserved Lemon Butter

I’m a big believer that a steak is improved with the addition of a thick disc of flavoured butter, after serving. This one makes up in advance. Surprisingly the boy likes it – I guess a steak is robust enough to stand up to it.

A third of a pack of salted butter - about 8 tbsp

1 tbsp harissa

1 preserved lemon

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

There are recipes for harissa and preserved lemons on this blog. I have preserved lemons in the cupboard from the summer and as this only uses a little harissa, I’m using shop bought. As always I favour the Phare Du Cape Bon brand.

Cut the flesh away from the preserved lemon and discard it. Finely chop the skin.

Put the butter in a food processor to break it up a bit and add the lemon peel, harissa, garlic and parsley. Whizz it until it is basically all butter again.

Spoon it out onto a piece of greaseproof paper and roll it up into a sausage, twisting the ends. Chill in the fridge until you are ready for it.

When it goes on the steak, I like to sprinkle on just a few caraway seeds to accent the harissa - and besides, it looks pretty. 

The boy thinks this would be great over barbecued chicken. I can see he is looking wistfully at the frost covered garden – I fear it is many months before he will get to try it.

Hot & Sour Prawn Soup

It’s Christmas week. The boy is only working a half day today so I want to make him a lunch that is both light and warming.

1tbsp oil

3tbsp Thai red curry paste

750ml chicken stock

1tsp grated lime zest

1tbsp shredded ginger

1 head pak choy, quartered

500g raw king prawns, peeled

3tbsp lime juice

1tbsp Nam Pla (fish sauce)

1 red chilli, thinly sliced

Coriander leaves to garnish

Jasmine rice to serve

It’s a dark grey day, so I’m putting on some misattributed Haydn string quartets to lighten the mood. This recipe is so quick, that I should barely get through one quartet.

The boy usually needs filling up so I’m serving this with rice on the side. I’m not rinsing it, so that it remains sticky. It just goes in the rice cooker (aka the kitchen god).

 Start by gently frying off the curry paste in the oil, to release the aroma. A decent brand, will be thick and almost dryish. Add the stock, lime zest and ginger.  If the prawns were whole and unpeeled I would add some heads and shells too. Bring to the boil and simmer for just a few minutes. If you have been lucky enough to use prawn heads and shells, fish them out.

Add the pak choy, chilli and raw prawns and cook until the prawns are pink – just another few minutes. Season with the fish sauce and lime juice. I’m not as keen on fish sauce as the boy is, though I do like Worcestershire sauce, which surely has the same derivation.  Taste and adjust to suit. Sometimes a little sugar will rebalance it. Sprinkle with coriander.

The boy is happy to have a two bowl lunch – one of the soup and one of rice. He has found an oily garlic pickle to have with the rice. We have grown our own this year – far too much and it has put me in mind of trying to pickle some of it Asian style….. 

Home Made Marzipan

The boy adores marzipan and has been known to just nibble it straight out of the packet. Frankly, Christmas cake is just an excuse to have marzipan.  He has no concept of being able to make it, or how easy it is.

500g blanched almonds

100g icing sugar + more for dusting

50ml water

A couple of drops of rosewater (optional)

You can use almonds with the skin still on, but I think this gives it a flecky look and the boy will be more impressed if it looks like what comes out of a packet. I never feel this is a good yardstick for food quality, but it is his treat. The almonds should be fairly fresh as they will have more oil in them – pick the ones with the most distant sell-by date.

You need a food processor for this. Put the almonds in until they become a paste. That is the oil working. Pour in the icing sugar and whizz again. Add the water (and rosewater if using – but don’t overdo it), and whizz again. If it feels too sticky to work, add more icing sugar.

Dust your surface with yet more icing sugar and knead it like bread dough for a few minutes . It won’t take on the elasticity of dough but it should start to feel like a big firm lump of marzipan. After this it is ready to go.

I’ve pinched a big cube off for the boy to nibble but the rest is going in the fridge for the Christmas cake. It will keep for 2 weeks .

Constance Spry offers a version that contains beaten eggs, sherry and orange flower water but I’m not convinced that it needs them, or about trying to keep something that uses raw eggs. I’m sticking with this version.

Incidentally, if you don’t like Christmas cake, it is probably because you haven’t had it with Wensleydale cheese!

Grilled Cucumber & Walnut Salad / Cucumber Slush

I’m including both of these recipes because I crave fresh tasting foods in cold weather, almost as much as I do, warm and hearty ones. I wouldn’t include these in the same meal, but am showcasing cucumbers as the boy thinks they are only for salads. I got both of these recipes from the Guardian and found them fascinating.

Chargrilled Cucumber with Walnuts

1 cucumber – a long thin one would be best

25ml white wine vinegar

25g Dijon mustard

5g salt

100ml extra virgin olive oil

30g walnut halves

I always think, that with so few ingredients, you should go for the best you can get. Get a ridged griddle pan really hot.  Peel the cucumber and then cut it into four roughly equal cylinders.

Toast the walnut halves  in the oven at 180 for five minute. If you have a two skillets you could do it that way. Chop them roughly.

Put them in the griddle pan and slowly roll them around so that they get lovely black char marks all over them. Use tongs to up end them so they get char grilled all over. You’re not looking to cook them through. Set them aside until cool enough to handle.

Cut them into coins, appropriately about pound coin thickness (5mm) or so. Whisk the oil, vinegar, salt and mustard together. And stir in the walnuts. Pour this over the cucumber, give it a quick mix to coat and just let it all socialise for 10 minutes.

I’m letting the boy taste for extra salt as it can often take it.

Frozen Cucumber Slush

The boy is making this as puddings are more his thing than mine, though I’m reading him the recipe.

2 cucumbers

Caster sugar (see below for volume)

Lemon juice, to taste

So a lot of discretion here, Freezing mutes flavours so again I’d go organic if you can so that the cucumber taste more of cucumber than water. Oh and you need a juicer.

Juice the cucumbers. If you don’t have a juicer, peel them, blend them and wring as much juice out of them by wringing the results out in a clean tea towel.

Next, weigh the cucumber juice – odd instruction I know! Add 10% by weight of caster sugar. Ours weigh 220g, so it needs 22g of sugar so we have  a net weight of 242g. The boy is doing the maths, not me!

Stir until the sugar dissolves. Squeeze in the lemon juice to taste, remembering that the flavours will tone right down after freezing.  We’re using half a lemon.

Pour into a plastic tub and put it in the freezer. The tedious part is that every half an hour I have to prod the boy to whisk it with a fork until it is frozen and grainy. You've got time to listen to the whole of Meistersingers while this freezes. Make the most of it.

When you sere it you can make it extra special by pouring a tablespoon of liqueur over the top. I don’t add it to the mix as the alcohol just inhibits the freezing. My two recommendations would be  Gordon’s Cucumber Gin, or St Germain which is an elderflower liqueur. Anything goes really but I think delicate flavours would work best.

Lebanese Chick Peas with Chard

This is properly a mezze, but it makes a really good side dish. Swiss chard is one of the best things about the colder months.

800g canned chickpeas (probably 2 tins)

3tsp harissa paste

2tbsp oil

1 red onion, thinly sliced

8 cherry tomatoes

1 bunch Swiss chard

Juice of 1 lemon

Small handful parsley, chopped

No idea what size of bunch the chard should be, so I’m just going with what I have got. Remove the leaves and shred them. I’m keeping a few of the stems and slicing them very finely, as they will take longer to cook and it seems a shame to waste them.

I really favour the Harissa brand called Le Phare du Cape Bon. The boy told me it translates as The Good Hope Lighthouse. No idea what that has to do with anything. Anyway its packaging is iconic, though I think it needs loosening down with a little olive oil if you’re using it as a condiment.

Onwards! Drain the chick peas and warm them through in the oil with the harissa paste. Add the onions and tomatoes and cook for another few minutes, until the tomatoes start to blister and split. Add the Swiss chard leaves and let them cook for a further 3 minutes until just starting to wilt.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and sprinkle with parsley – ideally flat leaf.

The boy is cooking the steaks, that this will accompany. His cat is wrapping himself around his legs. Good luck kitty! I think a big spoonful of thick set yoghurt would also not go amiss. I’m having a little more harissa for dipping. The boy decidedly isn’t.

Polish Pot Roast with Sour Cream

Amongst all the winter stodge I crave a hint of sharpness and freshness, and thought this would fit the bill. It’s from a book called The Old Warsaw Cook Book. I have kept the measurements as they are in the book.

3-4lb chuck or rump steak

3tbsp butter

1 bay leaf

½ cup beef stock

2 onions, cut

2 carrot, cut

Flour

Salt & Pepper

1 large dill pickle

2 cups sour cream

The boy doesn’t much like dill pickles, but as these will cook with the meat, they will mellow. I’m cutting it into very small dice. I sought his opinion as to how fine the “cut” vegetables should be and reckons very coarsely, as otherwise they will disintegrate during cooking. Very wise.

Get a large flame proof casserole and brown the beef all over in the butter. Add the bay leaf, carrots, onions and salt and pepper. Once it’s all coated with the melted butter, add the dill pickle.  Cook over a low heat for about 3 hours, basting with water from time to time so it doesn’t burn. This gives me plenty of this Sunday afternoon to enjoy with the boy. We’re making Christmas wreathes out of dried orange slices, dried chillies and cinnamon sticks. Very foodie! I have to admit his is better than mine, so we will keep my one and give his to his Mum.

So keep basting and 30 minutes before it is done, sprinkle the beef on all sides with the flour. Add the stock, to make a sauce.  Once it is bubbling away. Mix a tbsp. of flour with the sour cream and whisk it well so it is smooth. Pour this in and stir it in as well as you can. Cook for the final 30 minutes so the flour cooks through and it all combines and thickens.

We are having this with boiled, buttered potatoes and green beans. The boy is agonising over red wine for the beef or white for the cream sauce. He goes for an unstructured Chilean Chardonnay.

It’s good – it chases out the winter chill, but still has a fresh taste. I’d like to try a version of this in a Crock pot/Slow Cooker some time. I also think a little chopped dill sprinkled over when serving would be good, but I don't have any.

Asian Virgin/Bloody Mary

My search for the perfect Virgin Mary/Bloody Mary recipe continues. The boy spotted this on in The Guardian and thought we should give it a go. Our local supermarket isn’t quite cosmopolitan enough for Wasabi powder, but we did find it an Asian grocer. If we hadn’t found it, the boy had sweetly offered to go into Chinatown.

750ml tomato juice

1tsp Wasabi powder

Juice of 1 lime

1tsp chilli garlic sauce

1tbsp Worcester sauce

A few drops light soy sauce

1 Jalapeno, very finely chopped

Pinch of celery salt

A big pinch of finely ground black pepper

4 spring onions to garnish

Cucumber to garnish

We are using Libby’s tomato juice, as it’s got more flavour than Del Monte, which is insipid, but less salty than Princes. I do love Princes, but I want to give the seasoning more chance to stand out. The chilli garlic sauce is Maggi.

The boy thinks this should be made by the jug full and I agree.

Mix the wasabi powder with the lime juice until it’s smooth and add to the jug with the other ingredients and some ice cubes.  Give it a good stir.

For the garnish, trim the spring onions and make a slits in the green part and curl them over the back of a knife, like you would do with ribbon, for gift wrap.  Ours are not perfect but it’s the garnish, not the main event. Add a strip of cucumber. You’ll need to judge the depth of your glasses to know how long the cucumber and spring onions need to be.

The boy is having his with vodka.,which surprises nobody. I will definitely be toasting the Chinese year of the sheep (or ram, or goat, depending on who you ask), with this.

Meanwhile, my search continues

Portuguese Eggs with Chorizo & Peas

This makes a lovely light lunch. Telling the boy he is getting eggs and peas for lunch won’t go down that well. Letting him know a Portuguese dish is on its way works better.

50g cooking Chorizo

2tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

400g peas

1tbsp chopped parsley

2 large free range organic eggs

A little paprika (the sweet kind)

Salt

It’s too late for fresh peas but frozen are good, as long as they are defrosted first. The eggs need to be free range organic. Unfortunately free range on its own just means “brought up in a shed”.  If your chorizo is whole, peel the skin off and slice it up into coins and then halve them.

Heat the oil and gently cook the onions until soft and golden. Add the chorizo and garlic. The chorizo should leach a lot more oil which will turn the entire pan orange, from all the paprika. After a few more minutes, add the peas and salt to taste.

Add a cup of hot water and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Give the bottom of the pan a good scrape so all the sticky goodness joins the broth. When this has almost evaporated make two hollows in the mixture and crack an egg into each one.  Cover the pan to raise the heat and check every few minutes. The boy likes his yolks runny but the whites completely cooked through.

When it’s ready sprinkle the eggs with the paprika and a little more salt. Serve with bread rolls for dipping. I tell the boy it is Ovos Com Ervilhas.

Vietnamese Coriander Chicken & Rice Casserole

I love the clean fresh flavours of Vietnamese food, and this recipe is especially good as it can all be done in one pot. You will need a 2.5l casserole – ideally one that can go on the stove top but use a frying pan for the first part, otherwise.

8 dried mushrooms

1tbsp coriander seeds

8 chicken thighs

1tbsp oil

400g long grain rice

2 onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1tsp turmeric

700ml chicken stock

2tbsp fish sauce

3tbs chopped coriander leaves for sprinkling at the end

Start by pouring water over the mushrooms and let them stand for 20 minutes. Drain and chop them. I’m saving a small ladleful of the soaking water to add a little depth to the stock. We’re using Shitake mushrooms, as they were the best I could get. I ignore the uual instructions to discard the stalks, but slice them thinly.

Give the coriander seeds a quick bash in a pestle and mortar. Our chicken thighs still have the skin on, so this needs to be removed – the boy’s cat gets one of them. Heat half the oil and brown the chicken in batches.  Ours are bone in by the way as it will add to the flavour. Drain on kitchen paper. The boy loves chicken and has come sniffing around the kitchen. Too bad for him that he has to wait about an hour.

Heat up the remaining oil and gently fry the onions, garlic, coriander seeds and turmeric. This needs to be slow so nothing burns. I always add the garlic after the onions have had a couple of minutes as the onion steam slows things down a bit.

Put everything, including the rice and fish sauce, into the casserole. This is one of those few occasions when I recommend American long grain rice rather than Basmati – its delicate flavour would be lost here. The chicken goes on top of the rice mix. Pour in the stock and saved mushroom water. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 45 minutes at about 200/Gas 5, but just check that the rice is done.  Sprinkle the coriander leaves on top.

The boy seems as pleased with how little washing up is needed as he is with the dish.

Lebanese Butternut Soup with Almonds & Chilli

It’s been the first genuinely cold day of the year, which means it’s the perfect day for soup!

1 butternut squash

2tbsp oil plus more for drizzling

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

¼ tsp chilli flakes

½ tsp cumin seeds

900ml chicken stock

2 apples, peeled and grated

100ml plain yoghurt

3tbsp flaked almonds, toasted

Salt and white pepper

The original recipe starts with peeling and cubing the butternut squash but as it is then going to be roasted, I’m not putting myself through this torture, and blunting my best knives in the process. Instead I get the boy to cut it in half and then into quarters. He does this in the most macho way possible with the cleaver. Still, job done. Remove the seeds and the stringy stuff in the hollow bit. Put in the oven at 190/Gas 5 for around half an hour or until the flesh is cooked through and soft.

Meanwhile heat the oil and gently soften the onions. Add the garlic chilli flakes and cumin seeds. The chili flakes are supposed to be smoked chilli but I can’t find this so am just using a mild Turksih variety called Pul Biber. Cook off for another 3 minutes, while you peel and grate the apple. If the almonds aren’t toasted just toss them in a dry skillet for a few minutes.

Pour in the stock and grated apple. Get the squash out and it should lift from the skin very easily. Chunk it up and add it to the pan.

Use a wand blender to get this into a smooth soup consistency. The boy likes soup to be soup and sometimes pumpkin soups are pretty much baby puree in a bowl, so I add more stock to thin it down if it needs it. It’s a good job stock usually comes in 1 litre pouches, so there is some left to top up with, but water would do.

Let it cook for a minute or so and then pour in the yoghurt. Turn the heat right down so it doesn’t split and add plenty of salt and white pepper.

Pour into bowls and garnish with the almond slivers and chilli flakes. I’m actually putting hot chilli flakes on mine and the mild Pul Biber on the boy’s. Drizzle with olive oil.

The Boy's Marmite Toast & Canned Spaghetti

I cannot believe the boy has persuaded me to post this recipe. It really isn’t a recipe. However he loves it and thinks it’s the perfect pre or post pub treat. In the name of a quiet life I have agreed.

2 thick slices wholemeal bread to toast

1 knob of butter

Marmite to spread on the toast

1 400g can Heinz spaghetti , in tomato sauce (ideally with sausages)

Freshly ground black pepper

His recipe:

Come home a bit drunk and absolutely starving. Put the bread on to toast – I like it quite well done so the spaghetti doesn't make it soggy.

Heat the spaghetti up but don’t let it boil. The kind with sausages is the best though I'm not sure what the sausages are made of. I think it has to be Heinz really.

Butter the bread and spread with Marmite. Quite thinly spread, usually. Put on a plate.

Pour the spaghetti onto the Marmite toast. Add a big knob of butter on top, allowing it to melt. Add loads of black pepper. This is apparently one of your five a day so it doesn't need a salad to go with it!

This works just as well with baked beans. Again Heinz, and again the ones with the little sausages are best. Also not the reduced sugar, low sodium etc….

I told you it wasn’t a recipe!

Meatballs with Spinach & Chickpeas

There is never a day when the boy doesn’t want meatballs. The spinach and chickpeas are part of the deal.

750g minced lamb

1 onion, grated

1/2tsp cumin

Salt & pepper

Vegetable oil

500g raw spinach

1tbsp unsalted butter

420g can chickpeas

1 garlic cloves, crushed

220ml yoghurt

1tsp dried mint

1/2tsp paprika

To set the mood I put on a CD of a well-known Arabic diva. The boy rushes in, asking if the cat is in pain. Ha ha.

Mix together the minced meat, onion, cumin and salt and pepper and roll into small balls – about walnut sized.  Fry them in a little oil in batches, so they don’t overcrowd. They only need to be browned on the outside as they will cook a bit more later. Drain them on kitchen paper and set aside.

In another large pan, add the spinach. I just give it a quick wash and leave the water that clings to the leaves and cook on a low heat with the lid on. That way you don’t need any extra water. It only needs a couple of minutes. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. I find it supremely satisfying to soak dried chickpeas but I didn’t decide to do this long enough in advance. Add the chickpeas to the spinach and season well. Stir it all up and then add the meatballs. Give it a gentle stir and put the lid on.

I give it about 5 minutes – which is time to make the yoghurt sauce. Put the yoghurt in a bowl – I’m deliberately (but not authentically) using one with pouring consistency rather than the good thick Turkish kind. Crush in the garlic and add the dried mint. Mix it well. Just before serving, sprinkle on the paprika.

Plate up the meatball mix – I like mine the traditional way with the yoghurt served on top but the boy likes his on the side as a dip. We’re having ours with flatbreads for all the mopping up. I’d like a tomato and mint salad but the boy points out the spinach is more than enough healthiness for one day.

Home Made Tomato Juice

It’s no secret that I love tomato juice, and am on a quest to find the best one. So far Princes, Libby’s  and Lidl own brand come out on top. I found this recipe in a book published by Marks & Spencer in 1979. The photos in the book are very Delia Smith. Anyway we have the last of this year’s tomatoes and they are so ripe that I don’t think I could slice them, so I’m having a go.

1 1/2kg very ripe tomatoes

2 onions, chopped

8 mint leaves

1tbsp sugar

1tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1.2l water

Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons

[My adjustments to the above were to suit my own taste so I used half the sugar and doubled the salt and pepper. I couldn’t resist a shake of Tabasco. Next time I might add a stick of celery.]

The tomatoes need to be almost too ripe to use in a salad. The lemons should be juicy, with the grated rind picking up no pith. The pepper needs to be powder fine and the salt must be the best you can get.

Too easy. Quarter the tomatoes and put them in a pan with everything except the lemon juice. Normally “not from concentrate” is a good sign on a carton of fruit juice, but tomatoes benefit from the strengthening of flavour from losing some water. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour into a blender and whizz until smooth. Then sieve it with the finest gauge sieve you have. Hopefully this now resembles tomato juice as we know it. Add the lemon juice to sharpen it up and check that you’re happy with the salt and pepper. Bring it back up to the boil and seal in sterilised bottles.

The recipe doesn’t say how long this keeps, so once cool, I am keeping it in the fridge.

Once opened, it needs to be used (and needs a shake), which is the boy’s excuse to make a jug of bloody mary. I had no idea he had a bottle of Stolichnaya in the freezer.

The book cost me £1.49 – The 1979 equivalent of 30p, so it was a bargain in anyone’s money. The illustration shows a jug of this with a goblet garnished with a mint sprig – but no!

Lamb & Aubergine Curry with Green Beans & Yoghurt

Okay it’s cold, rainy and more than a bit breezy. The boy points out that it automatically qualifies as a curry day. I clipped this pair of recipes from The Guardian which both of us devour at every opportunity. (Both the Guardian and this recipe)

2tbsp vegetable oil

2 bay leaves

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp turmeric

1tsp grated ginger

1tsp ground cumin

Pinch of salt

2 onions, finely sliced

1 red chilli, sliced

300g cubed lamb

1 large aubergine, diced

400g can chopped tomatoes

300ml water

A handful of chopped coriander leaves.

Beans in Yoghurt

200g green beans

1tsp vegetable oil

Another tsp ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

6 mint leaves

150g plain yoghurt

Another handful chopped coriander leaves

Juice of ½ a lemon

A massive pinch of chilli flakes

So, the bay leaves have been purloined from the pot outside the pub. Heat the oil and let them sizzle. Lower the heat and add the rest of the spices for the lamb. Add the onion, garlic and chilli. The boy checks to make sure it is only one chilli. If it was just me having this, I’d add another one.

Let the onions soften gently for around 10 minutes. The boy has found an awesome CD – it has a version of Take Five played on the sitar. It’s definitely helping.

Add the lamb and aubergine. I never salt aubergines first. Once the meat is sealed, add most of the water and the tomatoes. Let it simmer for half an hour, when the sauce should have thickened. Add more of the water if it is thickening up too fast. It does need a stir from time to time. Sprinkle on the coriander once you’re ready to serve.

Put some rice on. Say a small prayer of thanks to the kitchen god (aka the electric rice cooker), if you have one.

The boy is making the beans – it’s one of the few vegetables he really likes if they are given a bit of oomph.

He tops and tails the beans and fries them in the oil with the cumin. The original recipe recommends a griddle pan so you get char marks.  The yoghurt goes in a bowl with the mint, coriander and garlic. Once mixed, spoon it onto the plates, pop the beans on top and drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with the chilli flakes. He is quite sparing with his portion but more generous with mine.  His little cat adores yoghurt so he gets the last teaspoon scrapings from the pot, so we’re all happy.

So – lamb and aubergine, with green beans in yoghurt and rice. I found a jar of garlic pickle. I’m insisting the boy has some too or he’ll be avoiding me all afternoon.

Spicy Mango Lamb Burgers

I don’t think I have seen a day when the boy isn’t up for a burger. This comes from a charity recipe book I compiled a good many years ago. I have been meaning to come back to this one for years.

1kg minced lamb

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 onion, finely chopped

2tbsp spicy mango chutney

3cm ginger, peeled & grated

1 red chilli. Deseeded & finely chopped

¼ tsp coriander powder

1tsp cumin powder

Salt & Pepper

Burger buns – we like ciabatta rolls

The Dip/Dressing

6 cherry tomatoes, sliced

200g tub thick yoghurt

Small bunch fresh coriander

1 small red onion finely diced

Squeeze of fresh lime juice

Sharwood’s do a Mango & Kashmiri Chilli chutney, which is the one I’d recommend. It’s still more sweet than hot, so it gets the boy’s vote. A hot version is important though.  This amount of lamb is almost always cheaper from the butcher, than from the supermarket.

Put the lamb in a mixing bowl, along with the garlic, chutney, ginger, chilli and spices and season well. Mix it with your hands.

Shape into burgers – this makes 6 large ones. Two for the boy, one for me and three to freeze for another day.

Chill the ones you are having for about half an hour in the fridge so they firm up a bit.

Brush with oil and cook in a ridged skillet (or even better, barbeque them). No more than 3 minutes a side.

While the burgers are chilling (as the boy is doing), make the dip. We both prefer this to dip the burgers in as we go, but it would be as good piled on top – just have napkins ready for when it squirts out.

The dip- too easy – mix everything and season. I think it can take it quite salty. As it comes with the dip I don’t pile up the burgers with lettuce & tomato etc.

The guy who gave me this recipe was a blond, blue eyed and beautiful with a winning northern accent. Thank you Danny.

Bangladeshi Sour Dal Soup (Tok Dhal Jol)

It’s a drizzly November day. The boy is hinting that something substantial for lunch would be in order. I love Dal soup and have been longing to try this Bangladeshi version. I don’t usually use red lentils for dal soup so I am especially interested.

110g red massor lentils

4tbsp tamarind puree (see below)

3tbsp mustard oil

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small onion, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, chopped

3 green chillies, chopped

Salt to taste

2tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Tempering

½ tsp turmeric

1tsp panch poran

2 bay leaves

2tsp dried chillies, crumbled.

Tamarind puree is made by soaking a hard block of tamarind in boiling water and sieving it. It should be slightly thinner than ketchup.

Soak the dal for an hour or so, just to get it started while you prep the vegetables. I can’t help myself and have a compilation CD of Mohammed Rafi on the go. The boy pads in and out but doesn’t help. His cat pads in and out uninterested as there are no meat scraps on offer.

Drain the lentils and give them a quick rinse. Put them in a large pan along with a litre of boiling water from the kettle and the tamarind.

This needs about 45 minutes or so. Meanwhile in a small skillet, prepare the tempering and other stuff. Heat the mustard oil in a small skillet or wok. You will often find it labelled as “For External use only” in the EU. We’re not using much so it doesn’t bother me but use vegetable oil if you’re not sure.

Stir fry the tempering mix for a few seconds – the panch poran will start popping, quite quickly. The cat scarpers. Add the onion, chillies and tomato, and stir fry for about 10 minutes.

Add to the soup at any time.

After it has had its 45 minutes, adjust the water to get the consistency you like.  I quite like it when the Dal is grainy and slightly separates from the broth until you stir it in the bowl. Add the salt – the boy thinks a little sugar might balance it.

Sprinkle the coriander leaves on top and serve with rice. We’re having our rice with sweet mango chutney and a sharp mixed vegetable pickle.

The boy approves, as it’s filling but a million minds away from the blandness of most comfort food.

Tomatoes with Yoghurt

This is one of those things that sounds not quite right – but it’s lovely. I first had it in the late 80s when my Mum found a recipe in a vegetarian cookbook in a bargain bookshop. I have loved it ever since. The acidity of the tomatoes works really well the sharpness of the yoghurt. The boy claims that this is something I am subjecting him to.

1tsp mustard seeds

6 tomatoes, diced

250ml plain yoghurt

A big pinch of salt

If you can be bothered, peel the tomatoes first by scalding them with boiling water. It doesn’t matter if you can’t get every scrap of skin off. Then chop them up. Having a bowl handy helps as the chopping board gets wet very quickly, so being able to save the juice helps.

Put the mustard seeds in a dry frying pan until they pop and then turn the heat down quite low. Add the tomatoes and their juice, along with the salt and give it a stir until it stops fizzling.

Then the yoghurt. I’m a big fan of Turkish yoghurt and favour Yayla brand – the 10% fat is the best and comes in the tubs with the blue label. The green one is 3.5% and is a bit cheaper, but is also very good.

Stir in the yoghurt and heat very slowly so it doesn’t split. It just needs to be warmed through and nowhere near boiling.

This is Indian in origin, but over the years I have been surprised at how many things it goes with.

I happily augment with other things from time to time – turmeric, black pepper, garam masala, fresh coriander or mint. Either way the boy is not impressed.

Dirty Martini

I owe a debt of gratitude to my beautiful Sister in Law for this cocktail recipe. I don’t have a sweet tooth and prefer flavours bitter and sour.

I love this, the boy decidedly doesn’t. The recipe therefore, serves just one (me)

70ml Gin

1 tbsp dry vermouth

2 tbsp brine from a jar of green olives

2 olives to garnish

I have a number of Art Deco cocktail shakers. Fill one with ice and shake with the gin, vermouth and brine. We’re clearly going James Bond here* Strain and serve in a wide cocktail glass with the olives speared on a cocktail stick.

My brother once served this with Thai style peanuts. Not sure I would, but strongly flavoured snacks would definitely work. A bowl of chilli dressed olives sounds tempting and well matched…..

A Hot and Dirty is the same, with a few shakes of Tabasco added. I can’t imagine I wouldn’t like it. The boy looks on in horror. Make him a Daiquiri and show him you love him. (White rum, lime juice, sugar-syrup and crushed ice). If you really love him, add well blended, sieved, soft fruit pulp, like ripe strawberries or peaches. And I do. So I do.

*A note on shaking a Martini – technically a shaken martini is called a Bradford. It introduces air bubbles which gives it a cloudy appearance, and (in my opinion), an improved mouth feel. Real connoisseurs say it ‘bruises’ the gin, but frankly, if you’re going to add olive brine – and you should – this isn’t a connoisseur’s tipple. Allegedly in Ian Fleming’s day, vodka was made from potatoes and could have an oily taste. As James Bond liked a vodka martini, shaking could chill it faster, dispersing the oily texture. Oddly, in the films his cocktails always appeared crystal clear so the barmen clearly suited themselves.

Seven Spiced Chicken Livers

We have bought slightly more chicken livers than the recipe states – because it’s the boy’s cat’s favourite, and it’s not fair that we have it and he doesn’t.

This is really a starter.

250g chicken livers

Flaky salt

Olive oil

1tsp Lebanese Seven Spice

1tbsp unsalted butter

1tbsp pomegranate molasses

1tbsp yoghurt

Flatbreads

1tbsp dried yeast

650ml warm water

1.2kg strong flour

2tsp table salt

Pomegranate molasses are available from Turkish stores. I’ve had to make up my own Lebanese Seven Spice – the Thai kind is easier to find. It’s roughly equal amounts of coriander seeds, cumin, allspice, cinnamon sticks, black peppercorn and half the amount of cloves and nutmeg. Grind finely. Or do as I do and get the boy to do it in the brass cylinder grinder.

I start with the bread – this makes more than you need, but I don’t make bread often and this will be nice for lunch tomorrow.  Mix 10ml of the water with the yeast to get it going. I love the smell of baking yeast – it’s just very yeasty and satisfying. Add this to the flour and salt. Along with the rest of the water and give it a good mix. It will be lumpy but that’s fine.  Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Knead it for 10 minutes. This is exhausting, and why I don’t make bread often. Prove it for an hour, so back in the bowl and cover with cling film.  Pull it into 4 balls. Heat  a griddle pan over a high heat and stretch the bread out to about the same diameter.  Cook for about 5 minutes, turning them once. Blister marks are good.

Now the chicken livers. First give the cat his share. Much purring.

Put some olive oil in a wide pan and salt the livers. Put the livers in and just let them brown for a minute, without stirring them. After you’ve sat on your hands for a minute turn them and add the 7 spice. And then the butter. Now put in the pomegranate molasses and the yoghurt. Have a little scrape around the sides of the pan.

Done! And the flat breads are still hot. We’re having it with a mini salad of grated red cabbage and grated carrot. As if the boy thought he was getting away without one.

Bistro Style Steak Baguette

I have to confess to never having heard of National Sandwich Day, though the boy announced it the moment he got out of bed. I guess to the Sandwich Monster it’s the next best thing to Christmas.

So….

1 Baguette

250g fillet steak

5 triangles of Laughing Cow or Dairy Lea cheese

2 carrots

1 courgette

½ a red onion

1 small bunch flat leaf parsley

½ a lemon

Salt and pepper

I know it seems crazy to buy expensive steak and then use really cheap cheese – if the above even is cheese, but it does work. I slightly prefer Laughing Cow but only because I can’t resist a red cow in crazy ear rings laughing. Who could?

I’ve waited until the boy got home to make this. I found an old box set of hits from the 1950s and for some reason this seems appropriate to be playing.

Sear the steak quickly in a red hot skillet – both sides. He’s seasoning it with salt & pepper while it rests. He prods it with a finger until I tell him to stop. It is best quite pink, but the resting is critical so you don’t end up with a wet sandwich.

It’s not essential but I’m putting the baguette in a hot oven for a couple of minutes so it crisps up.

Chop the parsley and mash it into the “cheese” in a bowl.  In another bowl grate the carrot and courgette.

Slice the steak quite thinly

Split the baguette open and cut into two so you have one each. Spread the hilarious cow and parsley mix thickly onto the bottom half of each and top with the vegetables. Add the steak strips and squeeze a little lemon juice over the top. Close it with the top of the bread.

We’re having it with a salad of watercress and radish. Happy National Sandwich Day! Happy boy!

Spicy Green Tomato Chutney

My friend Rifat has plenty of tomatoes on her plants that won’t ripen, and the ones she picked and put in paper bags won’t ripen either. Lucky her, as she can make green tomato chutney. If you don’t grow your own, green tomatoes are actually hard to find. I love making chutney – coming across an old jar is like getting treasure for free.

1.3kg green tomatoes, roughly chopped

500g cooking apples, peeled, cored & chopped

500g onions chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, chopped

4 Scotch bonnet chillies

225g sultanas

1tbsp salt

600ml malt vinegar

500g sugar

Spices of your choice – up to 1tbsp in total

Ingredients first – I look for green or yellow Scotch bonnets to keep the colour consistent. How many you use depends on how long you want to keep it, as it will mellow in time. It will keep for a year in a cupboard. Any sugar will work, though I prefer brown sugar. I’ve gone for Bramley apples. You could use wine vinegar but it seems a waste of money for something that is just going to be boiled up.

The spices are more exciting – I’m using cinnamon, mace, allspice and yellow mustard seeds. I confess I use ground (apart from the mustard) as I really can’t do with making up muslin bags to float in the mixture.

Get a large pan and add everything except half the vinegar and all of the sugar. Simmer gently for about an hour.

In a small pan dissolve the sugar in the other half of the vinegar, and add it to the chutney. Simmer for another hour or so, until the chutney is thick. If a wooden spoon drawn across the bottom of the pan leaves a clean line for a few seconds, it’s done.

Spoon into sterilised jars and leave in a dark place for 3 months. Label it. I always think I will remember what it is but I never do. Despite the chillies, the boy actually likes this as the heat does mellow down in time. I push these jars to the back of the cupboard so he won’t even see them until late next summer.

Black Eyed Pea & Tomato Salad

Even though it’s the end of October, it is still very warm which has been good for the tomatoes. Are own are all used up, but the farm shops still have really good ones. It’s a mission of mine to get the boy to have some fresh veg every day. This is technically just a salad, but with some crusty bread it is a good light lunch.

250g dried black eyed peas (beans)

2 shallots

2 ripe red tomatoes, chopped

330g yellow cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved

1 stalk celery, sliced

2tbsp fresh basil, chopped

2tbsp fresh mint, chopped

1 bunch watercress

Dressing

80ml olive oil

2tbsp white wine vinegar

1tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp ground black pepper

2tsp lemon juice

I put the beans in a large bowl and covered them with water last night, before we went to bed. I like the idea of this dish starting to make itself while we are asleep. The boy asked why I didn’t just use a tin, until I show him how much cheaper it is to buy dried – also I can cook them to the tenderness that I want.

So, drain the water off and cover with fresh water in a pan. Bring to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Simmer for around 25 minutes or until the beans are tender. Drain and let them cool. I like to rinse them in cold water, but that’s me.

In a large serving bowl, combine the beans with the chopped vegetables and herbs.

Combine the dressing ingredients and pour over. The boy and I like our dressing quite sharp so I might add more vinegar than this, especially as the chalkiness of the beans will just suck it up.

Season well and gently toss it all together. Leave it for 10 minutes for the dressing to do its magic and then settle down.  Give it another gentle stir and serve. It won't be long before the boy starts telling me it's too cold for salads. I shall not be deterred.

Onion Soup with Serrano Ham & Sherry

The boy is working at home today. It is damp and dark outside. I know he loves soup so I am making this for our lunch. It’s from a book called Moro East. All the recipes are based on the produce from the allotments in East London, which were cleared to make way from the Olympic village. I love French Onion soup but like this Spanish version equally.

1kg sweet white onions

5tbsp olive oil

120g serrano ham, chopped finely

2tsp fresh thyme leaves

3 scrapes of nutmeg

150ml Olorosso sherry

1l chicken stock

Slice the onions finely – I think the only trick to not crying, is to use a very sharp knife, so I have sharpened mine first. Sam & Sam Clark say that it is important to use the right size pan, so the onions are 3cm thick. Deeper, and they will just stew in their own water, and shallower, they will brown before they are sweet and soft. Makes sense to me.

Heat the oil and get the onions in. S&S start this on a high heat and then reduce to low. Stir often until you have a melty slush (my description, not theirs). This can take an hour, with stirring every few minutes. This is what Radio 4 is for.

Stir in the serrano ham, thyme and nutmeg and cook for another 8 minutes. The boy’s cat gets a tiny shred of ham as he’s patiently kept me company for the onion cooking.

Pour in the olorosso sherry and let the alcohol burn off – 2 minutes. Check that the sherry is a dry one as some blends are often called this, but are actually quite sweet. Warm the stock up. I’m not using home made and I’m not washing up another pan so the carton is just getting a minute in the microwave.  Pour it into the onion pan and bring it to a simmer. I’m getting the boy to check for seasoning, which will depend on the stock really. We both think onion soup is enhanced by plenty of black pepper.

Serve with toasted rustic bread that has been rubbed with a clove of garlic and drizzled with olive oil.  

Casseroled Rabbit with White Wine & Mushrooms

This is one of the boy’s favourites and it’s a rare treat as (depending on where you live, Wild Rabbit can be hard to find. Then when you do find it, it’s often hanging from a butcher’s hook, with head and feet still on, in all its furry glory. I can’t cope with that and the boy certainly can’t. 

This is based on a Sophie Grigson recipe from the mid 1990s. She says she finds wild rabbit tough and much prefers domesticated (farmed) rabbit as it is much more tender. There is a reason for that. The muscles never get any work as they are raised in the exact same conditions that battery hens used to be. A typical cage is the size of a piece of A4 paper. There are no laws to deal with this yet, so please check with your butcher that it is wild rabbit and put up with it being slightly chewy.

We have found a wild rabbit, skinned and jointed – the 4 legs in 2 pieces each and the saddle in 2.

1 wild rabbit, jointed

225g shitake mushrooms (or a mixture)

16 pearl onions

Seasoned flour

2tbsp oil

25g butter

120ml dry white wine

600ml chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2tbsp chopped parsley

40g buerre manié (half flour and half butter mashed together)

150ml crème fraiche

A good squeeze of lemon juice

Salt & pepper

The boy has been instructed to steal me a bay leaf from the potted trees outside the pub.

Halve the mushrooms and peel the onions. Sophie Grigson has a cool tip, which is to top and tail them and cover them with boiling water for 30 seconds, which makes it easier. The boy is doing this, which, frankly, makes it even easier.

Heat half the oil and half the butter in a pan. Dredge the bunny bits in the seasoned flour and brown them, in batches. I like a little paprika in the seasoned flour. Transfer to a casserole. Add a little more butter and oil and do the same with the onions and mushrooms. You just want a little colour. Add to the rabbit.

The bottom of the pan will now be full of crispy delicious bits, so the wine goes in and it gets a good scrape with a wooden spatula. We’re using a 2012 French Muscadet, for its slightly rich flavour. Let it bubble up until it reduces by half and the bottom of the pan is clean. Pour into the casserole with the rabbit, mushrooms and onions. Add the stock, bay leaf, half the parsley and salt & pepper.

I don’t think one of thyme, sage or rosemary would go amiss, but not all of them!

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 45 minutes with the lid half off so it thickens up a little bit. Check that the rabbit is tender – it might not be, so decide whether to compromise or keep cooking. I think the chewy texture of the shitakes is in keeping with this. To keep us entertained the boy has decided to read us Beatrix Potter’s, Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. Ha ha!

One alternative would be to put everything in a slow cooker, after browning, instead of the casserole, cook for 6 hours and then finish off in a large pan.

So when you’re ready, scoop out the rabbit pieces – count them – there should be 10, and as many onions and mushrooms as you can find with a slotted spoon. Put into a serving dish and keep it warm.

Make the buerre manie. It helps if you took the butter out of the fridge. As I forgot to do this, the boy is showing off his biceps by doing it – it’s revenge for the Flopsy Bunnies!

Pour all the juices into a wide frying pan and let it reduce by about half. Lower the heat and add the buerre manie in little cubes and stir constantly, so it thickens rather than separates. Once it’s all in give it another 3 minutes so the flour cooks through. Stir in the crème fraiche and a squeeze of lemon juice. Sophie says double cream would be fine, but I’d use a really good squeeze of lemon in this case. Last chance to check for seasoning, though this will taste tarter than it will once it’s on the rabbit.

Pour over the rabbit and sprinkle the rest of the parsley over.

We had it with boiled and buttered potatoes. The boy would have preferred it with mash, but as he wasn’t going to make any, boiled and buttered potatoes it is.