I love this pie. The contents would be great inside pasties as well, or just over a baked potato. The pie itself is also nice cold the next day.
350g minced lamb.
Short crust pastry for one 9 inch pie dish.
1 onion, diced.
1 tin of chopped tomatoes.
2 cloves of garlic.
1/2 tsp cinnamon.
1/2 tsp ground cumin.
1 good pinch of ground cloves.
1/2 tsp salt.
Plenty of pepper.
Coriander.
Fry the onion in olive oil until soft and golden, about ten minutes then add the chopped garlic. Fry for a further three minutes. add the lamb and fry until the meat looses its raw look. Add the cinnamon, cumin, cloves, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir. Allow to cook gently on a low heat for 30 minutes. A lot of the liquid should evaporate leaving a thick meaty filling. Add the coriander. Roll out the pastry and line the pie dish. Pour in the meat filling. Brush the edge of the pastry the beaten egg the add the top. Pinch the edges of the pastry to seal and then brush the top with egg. Place in a preheated oven 220c for 35 minutes.
Tuesday 24 March 2009
A few cans and et voilà! Dinner!
1. A can of corn: Corn Fritters: Your starter
Make a pancake batter (English or American? I imagine that bother would work!). Drain the corn of all the liquid, keeping some to mix into the batter. Add the corn and some chopped coriander (not absolutely necessary). Mix. You could also add chopped spring onion and green chillis. Fry in vegetable oil (each should be about 5 cm in diameter...quite small actually). Serve 3 person. Top with yogurt or sour cream. I wonder what they would really be like. Definitely a starter.
2. A can of Smoked Oysters and a can of tomatoes: Conchiglie with smoked oyster sauce: The main course
Sauté some plain white onion in a little olive oil. Chop in a c an of good, plain Italian peeled plum tomatoes and add to the pan. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and chopped parsley and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes on a low simmer. At the end, add a tin or two of smoked oysters. Mix into the tomato sauce together with the oil they were marinated in. Add more chopped herbs for colour. Serve on shell-shaped paste. No cheese.
3. A can of pineapple: Griddled pineapple: Dessert
Heat griddle for 5 minutes. Lay out the pineapple on a tea towel or paper towel and lightly sprinkle with muscovado sugar. Cook on he griddle until the sugar is caramelised. Put pineapple on a plate, top with sour cream/yogurt/cream. You could top with chopped nuts of your choice.
Make a pancake batter (English or American? I imagine that bother would work!). Drain the corn of all the liquid, keeping some to mix into the batter. Add the corn and some chopped coriander (not absolutely necessary). Mix. You could also add chopped spring onion and green chillis. Fry in vegetable oil (each should be about 5 cm in diameter...quite small actually). Serve 3 person. Top with yogurt or sour cream. I wonder what they would really be like. Definitely a starter.
2. A can of Smoked Oysters and a can of tomatoes: Conchiglie with smoked oyster sauce: The main course
Sauté some plain white onion in a little olive oil. Chop in a c an of good, plain Italian peeled plum tomatoes and add to the pan. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and chopped parsley and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes on a low simmer. At the end, add a tin or two of smoked oysters. Mix into the tomato sauce together with the oil they were marinated in. Add more chopped herbs for colour. Serve on shell-shaped paste. No cheese.
3. A can of pineapple: Griddled pineapple: Dessert
Heat griddle for 5 minutes. Lay out the pineapple on a tea towel or paper towel and lightly sprinkle with muscovado sugar. Cook on he griddle until the sugar is caramelised. Put pineapple on a plate, top with sour cream/yogurt/cream. You could top with chopped nuts of your choice.
Monday 23 March 2009
Sticky Lemon chicken
I had two chicken breasts on the bone and thought that I would make a casserole of some sort. However, when I got home I realized that I had forgotten an essential ingredient. So what to do now! I decided to do something with chicken and lemons since I had two bags of lemons (on special at the supermarket). I couldn't be bothered searching through my cookbooks and tried the internet instead where I discovered this recipe and a short video to show you how to do it. Mine didn't turn out all that sticky but the gravy was wonderful.
1 large chicken jointed into 8-10 pieces (I used two chicken breasts, you could probably use legs and thighs as well)
sea salt and black pepper
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 head of garlic halved horizontally (you could use less!!!!)
few thyme sprigs
splash of sherry vinegar (I didn't have any but that was fine)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
1 lemon, finely sliced
bunch of parsley, chopped (I also didn't have any)
Here is the video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mARkUax2jg0
1 large chicken jointed into 8-10 pieces (I used two chicken breasts, you could probably use legs and thighs as well)
sea salt and black pepper
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 head of garlic halved horizontally (you could use less!!!!)
few thyme sprigs
splash of sherry vinegar (I didn't have any but that was fine)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
1 lemon, finely sliced
bunch of parsley, chopped (I also didn't have any)
Here is the video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mARkUax2jg0
Friday 13 March 2009
Seasonal shopping
I decided last week to buy a supermarket produced magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine, to see whether I could find any new recipes to liven up our meal times. It was an interesting experience! There were some wonderful recipes but for the most part, they used vegetables that are not in season in the UK. They were encouraging me to use courgettes (zucchinis), green beans, asparagus (which is almost in season but not quite), peppers, cucumbers, broccoli (I could use frozen), cherry tomatoes and the list goes on. Not a root vegetable in sight on the whole, though potatoes did play a role. I know that our eating habits have changed dramatically since I was raising my children but considering the environmental consequences and the economic conditions, you would think that supermarkets would begin to reflect that in their magazine recipes at least.
On the same topic of vegetables, carrots were in the news on Farming Today this morning. Apparently, we are about to run out of carrots and some supermarkets have already started to import from as far away as Australia. Why is there a shortage? We did have a poor growing season last year but it seems that supermarkets are pushing farmers more and more to reduce their prices so that a number of farmers are moving out of carrots and into more profitable crops. Carrots can be a bit tricky to grow at home and so I have never bothered before but since they are also a root vegetable that can winter through quite well, it might be an idea to consider them this year.
This situation with the carrots makes me wonder if, perhaps, the supermarkets are being as irresponsible as the banks have been. They have our food supply in their hands and in the UK seem to be responsible for farmers in this country going out of business or changing to more profitable crops. I don't think that government policy helps either. Farming Today reported (I can't remember when it was) that it was policy to move to importing all milk with none being produced here. All this makes me want to find a plot of land and start a large vegetable garden.
I did find one recipe that I thought sounded good and here it is. It is a simple beef stew or soup and you could add other root vegetables to it, such as sweet potatoes, though I wouldn't add them till near the end. I do like the idea of the paprika.
Chunky beef, carrot and smoked paprika soup (serves 4 to 6)
1 KG diced braising steak (I imagine you could use stewing beef or is it the same thing?)
1 onion peeled and diced
a little light olive oil
1 lt beef stock (water and oxo cubes?)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes (I don't think you need to peel potatoes if they are washed. You keep more of the goodness of them that way)
3 carrots, peeled (again a good washing should be alright), and cut into 1 cm pieces
3T sherry, port or Madeira (optional)
2 t of sweet or hot smoked paprika
2 X 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
2 shakes of Tabasco sauce, or more, to taste
a handful of parsley, chopped (if you have some growing in a pot in the house!)
In a large pan, over a medium heat, soften the onion by itself in a little olive oil and then add the meat in batches. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the stock, potatoes, carrots, sherry and paprika. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low heat and simmer covered for around 2 hours. You may need to add some liquid during the cooking process.
Add tomatoes and Tabasco sauce and continue to cook for another half hour.
Top with parsley.
On the same topic of vegetables, carrots were in the news on Farming Today this morning. Apparently, we are about to run out of carrots and some supermarkets have already started to import from as far away as Australia. Why is there a shortage? We did have a poor growing season last year but it seems that supermarkets are pushing farmers more and more to reduce their prices so that a number of farmers are moving out of carrots and into more profitable crops. Carrots can be a bit tricky to grow at home and so I have never bothered before but since they are also a root vegetable that can winter through quite well, it might be an idea to consider them this year.
This situation with the carrots makes me wonder if, perhaps, the supermarkets are being as irresponsible as the banks have been. They have our food supply in their hands and in the UK seem to be responsible for farmers in this country going out of business or changing to more profitable crops. I don't think that government policy helps either. Farming Today reported (I can't remember when it was) that it was policy to move to importing all milk with none being produced here. All this makes me want to find a plot of land and start a large vegetable garden.
I did find one recipe that I thought sounded good and here it is. It is a simple beef stew or soup and you could add other root vegetables to it, such as sweet potatoes, though I wouldn't add them till near the end. I do like the idea of the paprika.
Chunky beef, carrot and smoked paprika soup (serves 4 to 6)
1 KG diced braising steak (I imagine you could use stewing beef or is it the same thing?)
1 onion peeled and diced
a little light olive oil
1 lt beef stock (water and oxo cubes?)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes (I don't think you need to peel potatoes if they are washed. You keep more of the goodness of them that way)
3 carrots, peeled (again a good washing should be alright), and cut into 1 cm pieces
3T sherry, port or Madeira (optional)
2 t of sweet or hot smoked paprika
2 X 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
2 shakes of Tabasco sauce, or more, to taste
a handful of parsley, chopped (if you have some growing in a pot in the house!)
In a large pan, over a medium heat, soften the onion by itself in a little olive oil and then add the meat in batches. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the stock, potatoes, carrots, sherry and paprika. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low heat and simmer covered for around 2 hours. You may need to add some liquid during the cooking process.
Add tomatoes and Tabasco sauce and continue to cook for another half hour.
Top with parsley.
Wednesday 11 March 2009
Butternut Squash Soup
I bought a butternut squash at the supermarket last week because it looked interesting and it's also in season here at the moment. I wasn't sure what to do with it. Then I had the most wonderful butternut squash soup at a friend's house at this prompted me to investigate recipes. This isn't her recipe but it looks easy and tasty, two qualities which are highly valued in my house at the minute!
I large butternut squash
500g potatoes
1 onion
coriander leaves (optional)
1 stock cube
butter and olive oil
cream
pepper.
Peel the squash with a potato peeler, cut in half, scoop out the seeds and cut into 1 inch cubes. Melt the butter in the olive oil and fry the onions until soft but not browned. Chop the potatoes (peeled or not) into 1 inch cubes and add to the onions. Add the squash, cover and cook for ten minutes, turning everything to make sure it get coated in the olive oil. Add the stock and 1litre of water or enough to just cover the veggies. Cook until everything is soft. Season and top with a little cream! I'm not sure when you're supposed to add the coriander but I suppose you could garnish it with some at the end.
I don't know why I'm so into soups at the minute! It could be a combination of the weather and thinking about recipes I can make for Noah in a few months time!
Sunday 8 March 2009
From frozen vegetables to frozen fish
Last weekend, I went off to the frozen food section of my supermarket in search of broccoli and instead ended up looking at fish. Fresh fish is wonderful but very expensive. Over a year ago I bought frozen fish to make a fish pie. Obviously for pies and chowders you don't need fresh fish so since frozen is less expensive, it is the way to go. To my delight (and that of my wallet) I found 500 gram packages of individually vacuum packed pieces of haddock from Iceland for £1. I was expecting a lot more and still have no idea why it should be so inexpensive. Could it be the devaluation of the Icelandic currency? I don't know but we have been feasting on fish. The first night we had it oven cooked in foil. I put pesto sauce on mine and also included tomatoes, red pepper and snap peas. Tomorrow night we're having breaded fish and later in the week, either fish pie or a chowder. YUM. It pays to have a look in the freezers at the supermarket.
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