Lamb, coconut and lentil curry

I hadn't taken anything out of the freezer to cook for dinner, so before getting the kids from school the other day, I popped into Sainsbury's to find something cheap and easy to cook. I decided to go for the ever economical stewing lamb, but knew that I’d be up against it time-wise to get it cooking so that it could be on the table at a reasonable hour. On the drive home I was trying to think of what to do with it, and came up with this curry. It is not the usual way that I would make a curry when time is on my side (slowly browning the onions and spices to make the base), but it was so delicious I don’t think it matters at all.  Sorry, no picture - with a new baby in the house, it's enough to even write this down, never mind faffing about with a camera, lighting and angles!
Ingredients:

Stewing lamb (I had about 400g) cut into bite sized chunks

2 large onions

5 cloves of garlic

1 inch fresh ginger

Tin of tomatoes

1/3 of a block of creamed coconut

Curry powder (I used a kashmiri blend that is extra hot, so only used a little to keep it kid friendly)

Garam masala

Tsp black mustard seeds

Tsp cumin seeds

Small cup of red lentils, rinsed

Salt and pepper


Method:

1. Season lamb with salt and pepper and lemon juice and set aside to marinate for ½ hour (If I wasn’t in a rush, I would have added some garam masala and left for at least 2 hrs, but the flavour was great nonetheless)

2. Heat vegetable or sunflower oil in a heavy pan and add the cumin and mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add the lamb and brown

3. Meanwhile, roughly chop 1 of the onions and add to the browned lamb

4. Next, finely chop (I used a mini chopper thing I have) 1 onion, the garlic and the ginger and add to the pot, mixing it all about

5. Add the ground spices and stir

6. Put the tinned tomatoes into a blender and blend til smooth, then add to the lamb

7. Add the block of creamed coconut and stir until it has melted in

8. Add the rinsed lentils and season with some salt and pepper, then cover and cook on a medium high heat for 30 mins (stirring occasionally as the lentils will thicken the sauce) add water as necessary

9. Turn to a lower heat and continue cooking for another hour/hour and a half, or until the lamb is tender, again adding water as/if necessary.  Check seasoning

10. Serve. We had it with basmati rice cooked with cardamom pods, cinnamon and butter, and a salad


Ps. This curry tasted even better a couple of days later. I know because I had it for lunch!

Stuffed roast chicken

....and if I do say so myself, possibly one of the best roast chickens ;-)

This was the star of the birthday feast requested by Ben.  This served all hungry four of us (and as it's one of Ben's favourite meals, he actually managed to eat quite a bit.)

Ingredients

• good quality chicken (I chose a corn fed one) approx 1.4kg
• sitck or two of celery chopped into large chunks
• a carrot or two chopped into large chunks
• 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
• 1 large onion chopped, quartered
• salt, pepper and paprika to taste
• olive oil for drizzling
• 1 pint vegetable stock for basting

for the stuffing:

• a few slices of day old bread (or, if like me you don't have any, then just partially toast some normal sliced bread)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 stick celery
• few sprigs of fresh herbs (sage is traditional, I only had rosemary)
• drizzle of olive oil
• couple tsps water to help it bind
• pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. blitz the bread in a processor until you have fine crumbs
2. blitz the onion, celery, garlic and herbs in the processor until they are finely chopped, then sweat them off in a little olive oil until softened, seasoning with a little salt and pepper
3. add the onion mix to the breadcrumbs, drizzle with a little olive oil and the water and mix together until the mixture is starting to bind a little.  Set aside
4. throw the chopped vegetables into a large casserole dish and drizzle with a little olive oil (make sure the garlic is cut face down

5. clean out the cavity of the chicken and rinse, then sprinkle the inside with a little salt, and pepper
6. lay the chicken onto the vegetables and season all over with salt, pepper and paprika

7. stuff the chicken loosely with the stuffing mixture (do not pack it too tightly as you want the heat to be able to circulate properly)
 
8. drizzle the chicken with a little olive oil and cover loosely with foil
9. put into a pre-heated oven and cook for about 50 mins at approx 175 degrees, basting with the veg stock every 20 mins or so
10. uncover the chicken, turn it onto its breast and cook for a further 50 mins this side down, again basting it every 20 mins or so
11. turn the chicken back the right way up and pour the remainder of the veg stock over it.  Cook now until the juices run clear when you stick a skewer into the thigh - depending on weight of the chicken and how efficient your oven is, probably another 20-30 mins (mine's a very hot oven)

12. Put the chicken on a serving plate and place some of the garlic cloves (which should be all soft and buttery) around it, along with the roasted carrots and cover with foil to rest
13. meanwhile, pour all the lovely stock and juices, with the rest of the roasted vegetables into a pan and bring to the boil.  Thicken with a cornflour mixture, or gravy granules (yes, I confess, I use these sometimes!)
14. serve!  I piled on lots of Ben's favourite crispy roast potatoes with rosemary and served it all with a large yorkshire pudding, a big bowl of vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, spring cabbage), the chicken juices and, because we are caribbean, the ever present bowl of rice.  Yes, rice.  We eat it with almost everything.  oh, and don't forget the hot sauce!
15. Enjoy!

Rhubarb, apple and ginger crumble

And this was the pudding Ben wanted for his birthday feast.  I love a good crumble.  They are really simple to make , in fact so simple, it was the first dessert I ever learned to make. What's more, they are so easily customised with things like oats, dessicated coconut, nuts....and that's just the topping.  I've made everything from a peach crumble, to spiced apple and blackberry, to a tropical fruit one.  The basic rule is this; half fat to flour.  And if, like me, you usually end up making too much topping, you can just bag it and freeze it for a quick dessert another time.  My mother in Law had given me a whole load of rhubarb from her garden which I had stewed with some apple and ginger then froze.  Easy, delicious ending to a good meal.

we had this with custard (Ambrosia - after all the cooking I did that night, no way was I going to make custard from scratch too!), but it would be just as good with vanilla ice cream.

Pork loin chops in a cider and cream sauce

The advantage to being pregnant is that I have the perfect excuse for indulging myself in whatever taste takes my fancy.  Today I was supposed to (according to my week's menu) cook pork souvlaki with tzatziki, lemon rice and salad.  My tastes, however, leaned more towards pork with a cider and cream sauce.  I think the inspiration came from a recipe title I read which is chicken in a cider and cream sauce.  I think pork lends itself more naturally to cider, and I already had the pork.  So, I sent Nick out to catch Sainsbury's before it closed to buyu the additional ingredients of some dry cider and some single cream.  Ben was a little sceptical of the sauce, but cleared his plate nonetheless.  Jasmine - well, she takes after her mother and lapped every last bit up.

Here is what I came up with....

Ingredients:

• 4 x pork loin chops (or the regular ones with the bone in)
• pint of dry cider (we used a south african brand, but any would do)
• some single cream (went by sight)
• fresh rosemary (a small sprig)
• 1 large onion (sliced thinly)
• a handful of mushrooms (cleaned and sliced - these are optional.  Leave them out if, like everyone else in my house, you do not like mushrooms.  I used just enough for myself and kept them whole for easy removal to my plate)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• salt and pepper to taste
• a little flour to dust the pork chops
• some olive oil and a knob of butter
• fresh chopped parsley to garnish

Method:

1. Season the pork chops liberally with salt and pepper, then dust with flour
2. Pour a glug of olive oil into a hot pan and add the knob of butter - then add the pork chops and brown on each side
3. Remove the chops from the pan and set aside, then add the garlic, onions and mushrooms to the same pan
4. Cook on a gently heat until softened, then turn up the heat to high and pour in a lot of the cider (or all - I wanted to keep a mothful back for a cheeky sip!)
5. Bring the cider up to the boil and reduce slightly, then pour in as much cream as you fancy (I used about 100ml) and season to taste
6. Add the rosemary and return the chops to the pan.  Cook until the pork is just cooked (don't over cook it!)
7. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley and serve immediately
8. Eat and enjoy :-)

I chose to serve this dish with rice and lots of veggies (shredded spring cabbage, broccoli, green beans and carrots), but, if you don't fancy the rice, I think it would be equally delicious with potatoes of some sort (mashed or boiled new potatoes). If you want even less kitchen time some fresh crusty bread to mop up the sauce would also be very nice.....

Unfortunately I have no picture to share as I was too hungry by this point to faff about with lighting and angles etc.....when I next make it, I'll be sure to upload one.

Pak Choi with garlic and oyster sauce

This is one of our favourite accompaniments when we cook chinese, or even Thai, food. When I made it most recently for Valentines day, I had no more oyster sauce left, so used dark soy instead. It still tastes delicious, but I must admit, I prefer the depth that the oyster suace brings. THis dish is really simple and takes just minutes to cook.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large pak choi, leaves separated and washed, then cut into strips horizontal across the base (this sounds particular, but the base is thicker and takes longer to cook than the leaves - which I leave in bigger strips)
• soy sauce or oyster sauce - good glug
• black pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

METHOD

• heat some oil in a pan (not olive!)
• when hot add the garlic and, almost straight away to prevent it burning, the pak choi
• stir fry for a minute or so and add the black pepper and the oyster/soy sauce, stirring to coat evenly
• SERVE!

And that really is it. Yummy! I don't have a picture, but you can see it in the picture I posted for Steamed fish with ginger and spring onions.

Steamed fish with Ginger and Spring onions

Our Main course for Valentines Day this year. As we were having a meat dish for a starter, I fancied something quite light and 'clean' tasting for the main. I am a stickler for balance in a menu!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 filltes of a firm white fish such as Basa, Cod, Haddock or Sea Bass - I used Basa
• 1 inch of ginger finely chopped
• a couple of spring onions, sliced into fine strips
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• pinch of sugar
• good pinch of salt

METHOD

• Put fillets into a steamer and season with the salt and sugar.
• Sprinkle the fillets with the ginger and steam for 2 mins or until just cooked (Depends on thickness of your fillets - mine only needed 3 mins total)
• just before the fillets are just cooked, top with the spring onion and let steam for a futher min - you don't want the spring onion to wilt too much.

*I served this with some Jasmine rice and Pak choi with garlic and soy sauce

Asian style seared fillet of beef salad with chilli and crushed peanuts

This is the starter I made for Valentine's day this year. I had an idea of what I wanted to achieve based on various recipes....one from the Martha Stewart website, another from a Ken Hom cookery book and another from Rick Steins South East Asian Odyssey cookbook, but I didn't have all the ingredients to hand for any one recipe. So this is what I came up with...sorry, no exact measurments! You can find the Main course I served here.

INGREDIENTS for Beef

• piece of beef fillet (about the size of your palm), sliced very thinly
• good glug of sesame oil
• couple good pinches of five spice powder
• 3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• good glug of dark soy sauce
• Inch of ginger, not peeled, finely chopped
• tsp of sugar
• tsp of fresh coarsly ground pepper
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• pinch of salt

FOR THE SALAD and dressing

• Mixed salad leaves - I used a mixture of Watercress, rocket, spinach and basil
• dessert spoon of red wine vinegar
• couple tsps of sesame oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper

FOR THE TOPPING

• Handful of crushed peanuts
• a couple of spring onions, sliced into thin strips

METHOD

• mix all the ingredients in a bowl and leave to marinate for around 20 mins
• heat a wok until almost smoking, then add some vegetable oil to the wok and flash fry the beef - seriously, no more than 20 secs. If you have bought good quality beef this is the perfect amount of time
• remove beef from the pan and set aside
• mix ingredients for dressing, taste as you go and adjust amounts until you get the right balance of flavours
• put salad leaves in a bowl and drizzle in dressing, mixing to coat well
• Put salad on a plate, top with the beef, then dress with the spring onion slices and the crushed peanuts

Enjoy!