Place the onion and garlic in a small food processor and whizz until smooth, adding a little water to help it along if necessary. Place the coconut milk in a pan with a heavy base and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk has reduced by half. […]
Month: December 2011
Preheat the oven to 190C. Arrange the halved tomatoes cut side up in a roasting tin, drizzle 2 tablspoons of the oil over them and sprinkle with the garlic and salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 mins turning once. Cook the pasta until al dente. Put remaining oil in a large bowl […]
First make the walnut sauce: The walnuts need to be shelled which is quite painstaking but necessary to remove the bitter flavour. There are two ways to shell them: 1. Cover them with boiling water, leave to stand for 3 minutes and drain. Rub in a clean tea towel which will remove some of the […]
Greek meatballs
Put the onion and garlic in a food processor and whizz to a fine paste. Add this to a bowl along with the mince, herbs and spices and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands (you can fry off a little bit to check the seasonings and flavours are to […]
Beef and coconut stir fry
Heat a wok until smoking. Add the oil and then add the lemongrass, ginger, garlic and chilli. Stir fry for a minute or so and then add the spices. Add the beef and stir fry to coat in all the flavours- keep the heat high, don’t let the beef ‘stew’. Next add the mushrooms and […]
Italian beef stew
Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a casserole pan and brown the beef in batches until well coloured. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add the onion and fry gently for a few minutes until soft. Next add the carrot and fry for a few minutes before adding the celery and […]
Beef carbonnade with carrot stoemp
Preheat oven to 150C. Put the flour in a large bowl and season. Coat the beef in the flour. Heat half the butter and half the oil in a large casserole pan over a high heat. Brown the beef in batches then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium-low […]
Toss the beef in the flour. Fry the onions in the oil for 10 mins. Add the beef in batches until evenly browned. Add carrots, celery, herbs, stock and stout. Bring to the boil, stirring. Add sugar, Worcestershire and season. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Make the dumplings – mix flour, breadcrumbs, suet, mustard […]
Chilli con queso
Heat the oil in a casserole pan and gently fry onions, garlic and spices until spices have cooked out and the onions are soft and slightly caramelised- approx 20 mins. Add meat, allow to brown then add the beer and tomato puree. Bring to the boil, stirring. Add salt and pepper. Cover then leave to […]
Beef madras
This is a classic Indian recipe using beef but you could also make it with lamb. In a small bowl put the coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, pepperorns, chilli powder, turmeric, salt, garlic and ginger. add the vinegar and mix to a smooth paste. Heat a couple of tbsp of oil in a casserole pan, add […]
Linguine with crab and chilli
Cook pasta in plenty salted water until al dente. Meanwhile gently fry the chilli and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes. Turn up the heat and add the wine. Allow to bubble and reduce by half. Add the crab meat and season. Reduce the heat and allow to warm through before checking […]
Butter and cheese spaghetti
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Grate the cheeses while the pasta is boiling. Drain the pasta, reserve 4 tbsp of the cooking water. Put the reserved water and the butter back into the hot pan and simmer gently over a low heat. Stir until the butter melts. Remove from the […]
Cook the spaghetti in plenty salted water until al dente. Once it is cooked, drain it leaving behind a little of the cooking water. Return to the pan and add the cheese, pepper and salt to taste. Toss well to mix then moisten with olive oil if you like. Serve straight away with a glass […]
Fresh pasta
Place the flour and eggs in a food processor and whizz until the mixture just starts to come together. Tip out onto a clean worktop and using your hands, bring together into a dough. Knead for 5 minutes until it feels quite firm and is glossy, it will stick to your hands but just keep […]
Place the squash in a roasting tray, skin side down. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle on the fennel, chilli, oregano, salt and pepper. Rub this mixture into the squash. Roast in a hot oven (abot 200C) for 20-30 minutes or until the squash is cooked (see Cook’s tip). Once cooked, scrape the flesh […]