Final roast of the season? A herb and garlic paste for roast lamb.

Is there a finer feast than the 'Great British Roast', I wonder? I enjoy so many different styles of food but a traditional Sunday roast delivers comfort like no other. I would be hard pushed to choose a favourite meat to roast. Would it be beef, served pink with billowing yorkshire puddings and creamy horseradish sauce? Or lamb which reminds me of my childhood (it was the family favourite) and of Spring? Perhaps chicken with bread sauce and a sage-scented stuffing - the ultimate comfort food, surely? Pork with crunchy crackling and apple sauce takes some beating too. Game, when in season, is frequently on the menu is our household too.

At this time of year though, I'm always drawn to lamb. I love to roast it with strong, woody herbs like rosemary and thyme and love it too, slightly charred, on the barbecue once the weather allows. Recently, rather than stuffing slivers of garlic and sprigs of rosemary into slits in the meat, I have been making a delicious herby paste to smear all over the lamb before roasting. I push it deep into slits in the meat to ensure the flavours really penetrate the meat. A little goes a long way and the recipe below was plenty for a sizeable half-leg of lamb. I know many who claim not to like anchovies, but I defy anyone to recognise the flavour here. They simply add a lovely salty, savoury tang which goes brilliantly with the distinctive sweet meat.

Throughout the Winter and early Spring we have a 'roast' most Sundays. Usually in the evening once Master LBG is tucked up in bed, it is our way of enjoying the very last bit of the weekend and banishing the Sunday night blues. Accompanied by a decent bottle of red, it is a tradition that we love and always insist on a 'proper' pudding afterwards. Sometimes, the feast will move to lunchtime so that our son can join in or friends can join us too. A lunchtime feast is always jolly and tends to be followed by a dog walk and an evening film with cheese on toast if we have space.

This weekend we enjoyed what I suspect may be the last 'proper' roast for a while. Mr LBG would probably like us to have a roast with all the trimmings every Sunday throughout the year but I'm afraid I simply can't bring myself to sit down to gravy and roast potatoes once the warmer weather arrives (ever hopeful). Instead we'll enjoy roast chicken with roasted vegetable couscous, butterflied leg of lamb barbecued with an array of salads or rare roast beef with a Thai-inspired salad. Mr LBG may be disappointed but I look forward to the fresher and lighter flavours of late Spring and Summer. Do you sit down to a traditional roast or special meal on Sundays? Do you adapt your Sunday feast according to the seasons or stick with the traditional accompaniments year round?

Herb and garlic paste for roast lamb

Enough for half a leg of lamb (approx 1.5kg)

4-5 decent sprigs of fresh rosemary

Small handful fresh thyme

2 medium cloves garlic

2 anchovy fillets

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1. Strip the leaves from the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Roughly chop the rosemary.

2. Roughly chop the anchovy fillets and garlic.

3. Using a pestle and mortar, grind everything together until you have a smooth-ish paste.

To prepare lamb:

Using a sharp knife, make deep slits through the fat and into the meat of the lamb. Rub the paste all over the lamb, pushing it down into the slits where possible. Roast as usual.

I am entering this herby paste into this month's Cooking with Herbs blogging challenge hosted by Karen over at the fabulous Lavender and Lovage. This month she has asked that we try to use fresh herbs in our recipes so I hope that she will approve as these herbs came straight from the pot outside my kitchen door - from pot to paste in all of five minutes. I love to grow fresh herbs but am hopeless at remembering to water them. Rosemary and thyme always seem to survive my very erratic watering habits and I therefore use them both a great deal in my cooking!

New take on an old favourite: mini pesto fish pies

Fish pie is one of my ultimate comfort foods. I very rarely deviate from my favourite combination of cod, smoked haddock and salmon with plenty of parsley sauce and a fluffy mashed potato topping. Occasionally a few leeks will make it into the pie and, rarer still, a layer of spinach. 

My son is similarly fond of this thoroughly British classic and I usually make and freeze mini portions in large ramekins for him. As Winter eases into Spring, I can't help but feel that making fish pie is a bit labour intensive and perhaps more suited to the cooler months. This speedy version is much more in keeping with the season and a doddle to make. You don't need to pre-cook the fish or make a white sauce - you simply assemble a few ingredients, make a bit of mashed potato and pop the pie/s in the oven. The 'sauce' is simply a mixture of crème fraîche and pesto and gives a distinctly Spring-like feel to comforting dish. I have yet to discover a toddler who doesn't like pesto so wasn't surprised that it went down well with mine. I loved this too and would certainly make it for the whole family if it weren't for Mr LBG's strange aversion to pesto.

The idea for this dish came from the latest issue of 'Feel Good Food' magazine - one of my favourites. Their recipe is for a full-sized pie and contains hard boiled eggs and peas but I decided to make mini pies for my son and adapted the recipe slightly (no eggs, extra 'hidden' vegetables, a different mix of fish and full fat dairy). The recipe is very flexible - you could use any mix of fish (though I'd probably leave out smoked fish as I'm not sure it would go well with the pesto), add prawns, add softened leeks or blanched florets of broccoli according to taste.

My son has a fairly hearty appetite and my Le Creuset mini cocotte dishes are bigger than most ramekins and so I made four pies but you could easily make 5 pies using slightly smaller ramekins. Apologies for the rather rushed photos - my son has little appreciation for the art of food photography and was distinctly unimpressed by having to wait for his lunch. He was most vocal about the situation so I had to dish up in haste!

Mini pesto fish pies

Adapted from 'Feel Good Food' Spring 2014

Makes 4-5 mini pies (dependent on size of ramekins/containers)

For the mash:

500g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

4 tbsp milk

Knob of butter

200ml crème fraîche

4 tsp fresh pesto

400g mixed fish, cut into small chunks (I used salmon, cod and haddock)

4 tbsp frozen peas

small handful spinach, very finely chopped

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Make the mash; peel and chop the potatoes and boil or steam until soft. Mash with milk and butter and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix 4 tbsp of the crème fraîche with the pesto. Add the chunks of fish, frozen peas and spinach. Stir gently to combine.

3. Divide the fish mixture between four or five large ramekins or mini pie dishes. Ensure you scrape out all the sauce! Add the remaining crème fraîche to the mashed potatoes and use to top each of the pies.

4. At this point, you could freeze the pies to cook another day. Alternatively, bake for approx 25 minutes.

Crazy about the chipotle: sweet potato and chipotle mash with lime and coriander chicken

Occasionally Mr LBG has to stay away from home for work during the week. Whilst I would much rather have him here, there is a teeny tiny part of me that enjoys the fact that I don't need to think about what to cook for supper and that I can have ownership of the remote control. Whilst Mr LBG needs a 'proper' meal in the evening, some days I am happy just to look in the fridge and have a snacky type supper or keep it simple with scrambled eggs on toast or a filled jacket potato.

Earlier this week, on one such occasion, I decided to re-stock the freezer with handy meals for my son and spent the evening in the kitchen making a beef casserole, chicken and potato pies and cauliflower cheese. I hadn't given any thought to what I might eat other than throw a large sweet potato in the oven to bake. Halfway through baking and realising that I was rather peckish, I opened the fridge to see what I might put with the sweet potato. Staring at me from the top shelf was a half-used jar of chipotle paste. I LOVE chipotle paste. The smoky heat is so delicious and it adds fantastic depth to my usual chilli con carne. I am always looking for new ways to use it and once spied, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Sweet potato and chipotle mash - why hadn't I thought of this before (a quick google search confirmed my suspicion that plenty of other people had).

To accompany my gloriously smoky, sweet mash, I made a speedy marinade of yoghurt, coriander and lime into which I immersed a flattened chicken breast. A quick bit of cooking on a griddle pan and a delicious Mexican-inspired supper was mine in (almost) an instant.

This recipe serves just one but is easily increased to feed more. I was all rather last-minute so only had half an hour to marinate my chicken but next time, longer would be better!

Coriander and lime chicken with sweet potato and chipotle mash

Serves 1

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

1 chicken breast, flattened between cling film sheets

3 tbsp natural yoghurt (low-fat is fine)

1tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

zest half lime

freshly ground pepper

For the mash:

1 large sweet potato

1-2 tbsp natural yoghurt

1 tbsp chipotle paste

1. Make the marinade; simply mix all ingredients together. With a sharp knife, slash the chicken breasts in several places. Take a ziploc-type food bag and place chicken inside with marinade. Ensure chicken is coated in marinade. Leave for up to four hours or at least half an hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C. Prick the sweet potato and bake for approx 1 hour. 

3. Preheat a griddle pan. Once hot, griddle the chicken for 5 minutes each side, depending on thickness.  Ensure the juices run clear and the chicken is fully cooked.

4. Meanwhile - make the mash. Scoop the flesh from the skin of the sweet potato and mash with yoghurt and chipotle, adding seasoning to taste. You make like a little more or less chipotle and yoghurt - just do to taste.

5. Serve the chicken on top of the mash with a crisp green salad and a wedge of lime.

(Not quite) time to bring out the barbecue: Thai green pork burgers with coriander mayonnaise

Thai pork burgers with coriander mayonnaise

A rare spot of sunshine has got me all excited about the (hopefully) imminent arrival of Spring. It is possible that Spring (and should it be 'Spring' or 'spring' - I have never been sure) is my favourite season. A glimmer of light at the end of the gloom. A season full of promise. Full of new life. Full of asparagus.

LBG's resident dog enjoying the sunshine at the weekend

I actually say this at the start of every new season - each has its merits. I love the cosy log fires of Winter (or winter?!). The long, lazy evenings al fresco of Summer. The crisp air and amber leaves of Autumn. But at the moment, I am excited about the possibility of Spring. So much so that I actually cleared out my pasta/rice/lentil cupboard earlier this week and decanted everything into Kilner jars. I even ventured out into the garden for the first time in months and hacked at a few things with a pair of secateurs (yes, I am aware that this should have been done months ago but gardening in the rain does nothing for me).

I think that the thing I love about Spring is that it is a little like Summer but without the disappointment. You spend more time outdoors, evenings are lighter, colourful flowers start to bloom. If lucky, you might venture out without a coat or think about buying a pair of capri trousers in a lurid shade of pink (or is that just me?!). Summer is all too often a letdown - cancelled barbecues, rained-off picnics and goose pimples on the beach. Last summer was a good one but a rarity in recent years. But a warm, sunny day in Spring is a bonus and definitely cause for celebration. That is why I love Spring.

An early (albeit a tad morbid) glimmer of hope; snowdrops in the village churchyard

All this has virtually nothing to do with the deliciously spicy Thai pork burgers that I made last week. It had been a sunny day and I found myself looking wistfully at the barbecue sitting under its cover and thinking how much I longed for warmer days and the smell of smoky, charring meat. Even by Mr LBG's standards, it was a little early in the year for a barbecue (my money is on him holding out until the first weekend of April) but I couldn't get the idea of homemade burgers out of my mind. Eschewing traditional beef in favour of a porky number, I decided to make spicy Thai burgers to a recipe I've used for years. The recipe in question was given to me by my sister and I think that the found in on a supermarket recipe card back in the days when supermarket recipe cards were still something of a novelty.

These burgers are simplicity itself to whip up and thankfully taste equally good cooked indoors on a griddle pan as they do in the garden over hot coals. Just three ingredients are required for the burgers. The coriander mayonnaise is the perfect compliment, a juicy slice of tomato and a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce are optional but worthy extras. I served these burgers with a side order of sweet potato wedges and a nice crisp salad. A Thai-inspired cucumber and carrot ribbon salad would be good to try next time though.

Thai Green Pork Burgers

Makes 4 burgers

Terrible photos; dark/in a rush/hungry husband etc...

Ingredients:

450g good quality pork mince

1 medium red onion

1 heaped tbsp Thai green curry paste

4 burger buns

6tbsp mayonnaise (shop bought is fine)

Large bunch fresh coriander

Squeeze lime juice

Optional: Large tomatoes, sweet chilli sauce

1. Finely chop the red onion. In a large bowl, mix together the pork mince, curry paste and red onions. Season.

2. Heat a griddle pan and mist with a little cooking oil. Fry the burgers for approx 8 mins each side until cooked through. Whilst they are cooking, make the coriander mayo by finely chopping the coriander and mixing with the mayo and a squeeze of lime juice.

3. Warm the burger buns and serve with a blob of mayo on each burger and tomato and sweet chilli sauce if desired.

Veggies in disguise: a useful sauce and speedy pizza muffins

I am in the lucky position that my son is a 'good eater'. He will try anything and everything and generally approaches most foods with great gusto. I am regularly astonished by how much he eats! He is, however, also a toddler. This means that he is prone to moments of inexplicable rage if the proposed meal isn't quite to his liking. A couple of days ago I dared to serve him yoghurt rather than fruit after his beef casserole. Big mistake (cue sudden screaming, leg kicking and general melodrama). In the end, he ate both fruit and yoghurt. Yesterday he was horrified when I suggested he might like a banana (after I had peeled it, of course) but was happy to wolf it down once I had mashed it up. One day, scrambled egg is the best food in the world; another day it is greeted with disdain. 

Vegetables are hit and miss, as with many youngsters. Carrots, peas, red cabbage and broad beans are currently in favour. Broccoli, mushrooms and parsnips are not (strange as these were all favourites when weaning). I always try to include extra vegetables in any dish that I cook for him in order to get as much goodness into him as possible. You could call it deception. I call it 'what normal mothers do'. One of the most useful things I have in my freezer at any time is a box of frozen cubes of homemade tomato and basil sauce. This sauce is packed full of 'hidden' vegetables and is handy for creating all kinds of delicious dishes. My boy will eat almost anything if accompanied by/covered in/spread with this sauce. I vary the hidden vegetables according to what I find in the veg drawer but it usually includes a carrot, celery and onion base. I usually add courgette and red, orange or yellow pepper. Sometimes a mushroom or two. After slow simmering and the addition of something creamy (mascarpone, cream cheese or crème fraîche) to temper the acidity of the tomatoes, I blitz the sauce with a hand blender and all suspicious-looking lumps disappear into a delicious and smooth sauce. 

I freeze the sauce in an ice cube tray or two before popping the cubes out into a re-sealable freezer bag. I them simply defrost the number of cubes required. Ideas for using the sauce are as follows:

- a simple pasta sauce topped with a sprinkling of grated cheese

- a healthier ketchup substitute - great for dipping strips of chicken, fish fingers etc...

- stirred into roasted vegetables with chicken and couscous

- add tinned tuna for a tuna pasta sauce

- spoon over cod and bake in the oven

- the base for hidden vegetable pizzas (as below)

Pizza with 'hidden' courgettes, red peppers, celery and carrots

Here is my recipe for this indispensable sauce, along with a simple serving idea. Mini muffin pizzas are a great speedy teatime dish for babies and children of all ages. Cut into tiny wedges, this could be a good idea for baby-led-weaners as well as a great finger food for traditionally-weaned babies. The idea came from Annabel Karmel. She goes further and decorates the pizzas with smiley faces - this would be fun for older children to try themselves. I first gave these to my son when he was approximately 9 months old. If you wanted to be super-healthy, you should choose wholemeal muffins. 

Very useful tomato and basil sauce

Makes 4 adult portions

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, diced

1 stick celery, thinly sliced

1/2 red, orange or yellow pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 small courgette, grated

400g tin tomatoes (keep the tin)

1/2 low salt vegetable or chicken stock cube (optional)

handful basil, roughly torn

2 tbsp mascarpone, cream cheese or crème fraîche

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Sweat the onion, carrot, celery and pepper until starting to soften.

2. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add the grated courgette and stir together. Add the tomatoes and fill the tin halfway with water (or stock, if you prefer). Add half the basil and season with a little pepper. Simmer gently for 20 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining basil and mascarpone/cream cheese. Leave to cool for a little while before blending to a smooth sauce using a hand-held blender or liquidiser.

Pizza muffins

Adapted from Annabel Karmel

Makes 2 mini pizzas

Ingredients:

1 split English muffin

4 tbsp useful tomato and basil sauce (see above)

Grated cheese of choice, or torn mozzarella

1. Toast the muffins.

2. Spread with a layer of the sauce and top with cheese.

3. Grill until golden and bubbling.

4. Cut into small wedges and serve.

I had been planning to enter this to this month's Family Foodies blogging challenge at Bangers and Mash. The theme was 'Hidden Goodies' but unfortunately I have been a little disorganised and missed the deadline. If you are interested in cunning ways to sneak fruit and vegetables into your little foodies, then do take a look at the brilliant collection of recipes that were submitted on time!

A lighter route to en croûte: salmon filo parcels

There are many items I like to have in my storecupboards, fridge and freezer 'just in case'. It is always satisfying to know that in the event of a sudden blizzard/earthquake/other apocalyptic event, I will be able to rustle up a quick pasta puttanesca. Must-have items for me include tinned tomatoes, pasta, an onion, a lemon, frozen peas, cheese and eggs. Wine and chocolate too, if I'm honest. I am also rarely to be found without readymade pastry in the freezer. Say what you like about homemade being better but, for me, ready-made and even (dare I say it?) ready rolled pastry is up there as one of man's greatest inventions. Actually, it was probably invented by a busy woman but that is beside the point.

Firstly, I don't accept that homemade is always better when it comes to pastry. I have politely eaten some absolutely dreadful pastry in my time. Some of it made by myself, some of it by others. Secondly, whilst I concur that there are occasions where homemade pastry is desirable (my mother's fabulous orange-scented mince pies, for example, where to replace the gorgeous citrussy pastry would defeat the entire object), most of the time a good quality ready-made version will do very nicely indeed. Particularly when lacking time. Or butter. Or flour. On more than one occasion, I have been complimented on my excellent pastry - I smile serenely as I push the packed of Jus-Rol further into the bin. Actually, I don't do this. I am far too honest and more likely to apologise in advance for my use of shortcuts before the tart or pie has even made it to the table.

A delicious mix of peas, broad beans, crème fraîche, dill, basil and lemon zest: this would make a great dip too!

Anyway, with a pack of puff in the freezer, I am happy in the knowledge that I am moments away from pie or tart glory. One of my current favourite recipes for when we have guests is a delicious salmon en croûte recipe from Tana Ramsay's 'I love to bake' book. The salmon is covered in a purée of frozen peas and broad beans with mint and then baked in a puff pastry case. Mint is the only herb that I really cannot bear and so I usually substitute for dill which I feel works really well. It is a great entertaining recipe as it can be made up in advance and there is no last minute fiddling.

After the excess of Christmas, Mr Greedy and I are (predictably) back on a bit of a health drive. Being greedy has its downsides and we both struggle with our weight. We have both had great success with Weight Watchers and are back to counting those points! It isn't for everyone but it works for us - allowing us to eat whatever we want within our daily allowance along with scope for the odd blowout or weekend treat. We try to stick to it 80% of the time. Thinking creatively comes with the territory and there are lots of things we do to ensure we can still enjoy our favourite foods by making small, 'healthier' tweaks. Enter stage left: filo pastry. We use it as a scrunched up topping for pies, a base for quiches and tarts and for wrapping parcels of fish! Don't get me wrong - I would choose puff over filo every single time. But it is a decent alternative if you are watching the weight. 

Here, I smothered individual salmon fillets in a purée of peas, broad beans slipped from their skins, lemon zest dill and basil. I then wrapped them up in filo pastry, brushed with a scant bit of melted butter and baked in the oven. Not very seasonal but absolutely delicious!

Herbs, glorious herbs: dill and basil

I am entering this recipe to this month's cooking with herbs blogging challenge over at Lavender and Lovage. This month, Karen has asked that we try to include citrus alongside our herbs. This recipe contains two fabulous herbs: basil and dill. Dill has a faint aniseed flavour which marries brilliantly with many kinds of fish. I also think it goes rather well with broad beans, hence I use it in this recipe. I am not really keen on aniseed but somehow I find dill rather delicious as long as it doesn't dominate a dish. Basil is a real favourite of mine - I love to crush the leaves lightly in my hand and breathe in that lovely, summery scent. A little lemon zest is a must with this fishy dish - I could never be without a lemon in the fruit bowl! What could you never be without?

On a final note, I should add that we particularly enjoyed our wine match with this dish. The Society's Exhibition Albariño, 2012 was just the ticket - peachy with a lovely limey freshness that matched well with the herby purée as well as the fish

Filo Salmon Parcels

Serves 2

Ingredients:

50g frozen peas

50g frozen broad beans

1 tbsp low fat creme fraîche

1 tbsp (small handful) chopped dill

1 tbsp chopped basil

zest of half a lemon

2 salmon fillets, skinned

2 rectangular sheets filo pastry

20g melted butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Make the purée: boil peas and broad beans for a couple of minutes, drain and cool under cold running water. Slip the beans from their skins. Ideally using a small food processor, blitz together the peas, beans, herbs, crème fraîche and lemon zest until you have a smoothish purée. Season generously with salt and pepper.

2. Lay out the sheets of filo and place one salmon fillet at one end, leaving an inch of pastry as a border. Smother salmon with half the purée and then tuck in the edge and sides of the pastry before rolling down the rectangle to form a parcel. Repeat with second fillet. Transfer both to a non-stick baking sheet and brush with melted butter.

3. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Serve with boiled potatoes and lots of greens.

For those following weight watchers, I calculate this recipe as 11 Propoints.

A treat for tiny tastebuds: Moroccan lamb

Moroccan lamb tagine - a treat for tiny tastebuds

I have never really understood the notion that young children prefer bland food. It is often assumed that when cooking for babies or toddlers, you hold back on the garlic, spices and herbs. I know that I am lucky that my boy is a 'good eater' (so far) but I think that it is important to introduce children to as wide a variety of flavours as possible in their first few years of life. How dull to have the same things over and over again! There are plenty of the usual staples on my toddler's menu (cottage pie, pasta with tomato sauce, fish pie, chicken casserole) but I do try to inject as much variety as possible and make a habit of regularly trying new recipes for him. From mild fruity curries to fish chowders via barbecue pulled pork and basil-heavy pesto: I love watching him discover new flavours for the first time. For the record, so far grapefruit and spinach are the only two flavours that have had a resolute thumbs down.

Where practical, he eats the same things as us but, as we generally eat at different times (not ideal, but hey ho), this is not always do-able. I also like to have good stash of homemade 'ready meals' stashed away in the freezer for him so tend to do a lot of batch cooking.  At the weekend, we indulged in a fantastic lamb curry and there we had some lamb left over. Rather than cook up the usual casserole (Master Greedy is a huge fan of all slow cooked meat and vegetable combinations), I decided to inject a little Moroccan flavour into his diet. I slightly toned down the spices of my favourite lamb tagine and simmered the meat with tomatoes, carrots and dried fruit. The combination of sweet spices and a touch of honey was a winning one which he wolfed down.

I made the classic error of starting the cooking without actually checking to see that I had the relevant ingredients. I do this fairly often - you'd think that I would have learnt by now. Normally I use tinned tomatoes for a tagine and these would be fine if you can't be bothered with all the peeling and chopping. I also had to use sultanas rather than dried apricots as I didn't appear to have any. Master Greedy didn't mind but I think I would prefer apricots myself. Dates would be an alternative too.

He tried that tagine alongside plain couscous and yes, I did sprinkle a little fresh coriander on top. You may laugh (I almost laughed at myself) but I do think that we all eat with our eyes as much as our tummies. If the flash of green made the dish look more appealing to me, then perhaps it would to him too. Besides, fresh coriander is so delicious. 

This is a great dish for toddlers but also for babies once protein is well established. The sweet flavour will appeal to their palates and you can simply purée to the desired consistency. Honey should be avoided for the first 12 months so just leave this out or perhaps use a little maple syrup instead. You could also add extra sweet vegetables such as sweet potato or butternut squash.

(Incidentally, I find couscous to be a great standby for a hungry toddler when waiting for rice to cook simply isn't going to happen.)

Moroccan Lamb

Makes 4 toddler portions

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

250g leg or shoulder of lamb, diced into small pieces

4-5 large tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and chopped* (mine were small - I used 8) or 200g tinned tomtsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp ginger

small pinch saffron, soaked in 1tbsp warm water

1 tsp runny honey (omit for under-1s)

1 tbsp tomato purée

6 dried apricots, quartered (or use dates or sultanas)

4-5 large tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and chopped* (mine were small - I used 8) or 200g tinned tomatoes

500 ml low-salt lamb stock or water 

Couscous and fresh coriander to serve

*To peel tomatoes, score a cross on bottom of each tomato with sharp knife, pour over boiling water and leave for 5 minutes. The skins will peel off easily.

1. Pre-heat oven to 170C.

2. Heat oil in a small casserole and brown the lamb. Set to one side.

3. Add a touch more oil if necessary and sweat the onion and carrot together until starting to soften at the edges. Add the crushed garlic and cook gently for a minute.

4. Add the dry spices and stir to coat onion mixture. Next add the saffron along with the soaking liquid, tomato purée, honey and apricots. Return lamb to the pan. Cook for a minute or so, stirring to coat.

5. Finally add the tomatoes and stock. Bring to a gently simmer and transfer to oven. Cook for 1.5-2 hours or until the meat is very tender. Check after an hour and add a little more water if it is drying out.

6. Serve with couscous and a sprinkling of fresh coriander!

An indulgent farewell to 2013: smoked salmon towers

Happy New Year! The festive fortnight has (so far) left me almost unable to move due to the sheer volume of deliciousness that I have consumed. Having been away for Christmas itself (deliciousness prepared by my brother), we felt slightly worried by the fact that upon returning home, we would have none of the usual leftovers to pick at over the days to come.

Rather than allowing normal service to resume (an option the more sensible and health-conscious might have chosen), we headed to the supermarket in search of bargains and snapped up a fridge worth of tasty canapes, cocktail sausages, a whole ham, various cheeses, festive biscuits and chocolates. None of which were required but all of which have been consumed with dedication and appreciation. 

By New Year's Eve, I must confess that, greedy as we are, we had pretty much reached our limit. Rather than leaping with joy at the prospect of another gourmet meal, we groaned slightly and checked the supplies of Zantac. We had planned a spoiling meal for two, taking it in turns to cook the courses. No expense spared (within reason) due to the fact that 'staying in' saved the cost of a babysitter. At 5pm, neither of us looked particularly thrilled by the idea of yet more food but miraculously (and thankfully), one glass of Champagne in and we rallied! I call it the power of Perrier Jouët.

I was in charge of the starter and pudding with Mr Greedy taking responsibility for the main course and side dishes. I was quite pleased with my pretty starter which I made up as I went along - a stack of smoked salmon, avocado and cucumber with a layer of smoked salmon pâté, topped off with lumpfish caviar. They were rather large and I would scale them down next time (I need smaller rings) but I will definitely do them again - they can be prepared well in advance and are easy to do. If you have individual ring moulds (timbales), then so much the better. If not, you can make your own with old, clean yoghurt pots or similar.

An empty pot of cream makes a handy make-shift mould!

Roast duck was the main event, accompanied by a rather tasty red wine blackberry sauce from a Gary Rhodes recipe. Gratin dauphinoise, braised red cabbage and glazed carrots were welcome additions alongside. Pudding was chocolate fondants. Not particularly adventurous, you might think, but actually something I have never attempted to make. I have always assumed they would be tricky to get just right but this recipe from Gordon Ramsay is absolutely foolproof. The best part is that you can make them in advance and even cook the straight from frozen. I halved the recipe to make four fondants and have two in the freezer to whip out when we have an urge for a treat further down the line. I will definitely make these again for a dinner party for this reason - I had always assumed that they would have to be made last minute which always puts me off! As suggested, I served with a caramel sauce and good vanilla ice-cream. A dusting of chocolate honeycomb topped it off nicely and gave it a little New Year glitz.

Fondant au chocolat - before

Fondant au chocolat - after

 

All in all, our New Year dinner-à-deux was a great success and a good excuse to test-drive some new recipes for entertaining. It was also a great excuse to enjoy some fabulous wines - the starter was served with a lovely St Veran from Château de Beauregard but we felt a crisp Alsace riesling might have been a better match. A reserva Rioja from Muga was beautiful with the duck and The Wine Society's Tawny Port a reasonable match with the chocolate pudding. A touch of Trivial Pursuit kept us going until midnight and we toasted the 2014 amidst resolutions to focus on quality not quantity on all things food and drink related going forward!

Trivial Pursuit - A festive essential!

Here is the recipe for the salmon starter. Quantities are very approximate - it will depend on the size of your moulds. Also, feel free to layer it up however you choose - I liked to alternate green and pink and the crunch of the cucumber made a nice contrasting texture. A layer of prawns might be good if you are that way inclined. Perhaps a layer of quail's egg mayonnaise? 

Smoked salmon towers

Serves 4 (based on small 2.5 inch ring moulds, or individual yoghurt pots with the bottom cut out!)

*Note: I topped my towers with a layer of lumpfish 'caviar'. I found this too overpowering and next time would just use a small blog with the crème fraîche as a garnish. My husband thought it worked well though, so each to their own!

For the smoked salmon pâté:

100g hot smoked salmon, flaked

50g cream cheese

1 tsp horseradish sauce

1 tsp freshly chopped chives

good squeeze lemon juice (to taste)

1 large, ripe avocado pear

good squeeze lemon juice

100g cold smoked salmon

4 inch piece cucumber

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill, plus extra to garnish

Small jar lumpfish roe/caviar*

Crème fraîche to garnish

1. To make the pâté, place all ingredients in a food processor (I use a mini one). Add lemon juice and pepper to taste. Set to one side whilst you prepare the other layers.

2. Chop the avocado up into chunks and squeeze over lemon juice to prevent discolouration. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and mash slightly.

3. Peel the cucumber, scoop out the majority of the seedy middle with a teaspoon and chop into tiny dice. Stir through the dill and set aside.

4. Chop the smoked salmon into small pieces - I used a pair of scissors for this.

5. Assemble your towers: take the plates upon which you plan to serve the starter and place the moulds/rings in the centre of each plate. Start with a layer of avocado mix - spoon evenly between the moulds and gently push to the edges of the ring so that you have an even-ish layer. Repeat this process with a layer of pâté, then cucumber and finally the smoked salmon. I then topped mine with a layer of caviar but please see note*.

6. Place plates in the fridge for at least half an hour but longer is fine too (you could make late morning for that evening). When ready to serve, carefully lift the moulds up and garnish the towers with a blob of crème fraîche and a sprig of dill. A little melba toast on the side might be a nice addition too!

A taste of Summer on a cold evening: tapenade crusted salmon

I love living in a village. 

I loved living in the city too but I can't imagine going back. There are things that happen in rural England that simply can't be matched by the bright lights and sophistication of urban life. Much as a small dose of glitz and glamour is good for the soul, I adore the simpler pleasures of village fetes and fairs. Today was a case in point. I was summoned invited to attend the Christmas meeting of the village 'Coffee and Chat' at the church. Being somewhat younger than those likely to attend, I can't say that I was filled with delight although the promise of a mid-morning sherry did gladden the heart somewhat.

Black olives, capers, anchovies and garlic: tapenade

Upon arrival (small son in tow), I was greeted with all that is best about English village life. The church was festooned in festive displays of greenery from villagers' gardens arranged artfully by a group of amateur flower-arrangers. There was a sales table groaning with homemade chutneys and jams plus various gifts no doubt found at the back of donators' present drawers. The raffle table was piled high with prizes including a tin of tomato soup and a bottle of Blue Nun (!). Ladies wearing flashing antler hairbands made tea and coffee and handed round mince pies. After half an hour or so of chattering, carol sheets were handed out and we romped our way through verses of Hark the Herald, Good King Wenceslas, The Holly and the Ivy, The First Noel and others. Unaccompanied but all in good voice thanks to the 11.30 am glass of sherry! My son was cooed over by everyone, much to his delight, and his Christmas jumper was admired by all. The raffle tickets were drawn and a buzz of excitement and anticipation filled the air; Doris* had lost her tickets, Frank* didn't want the beautifully-iced Christmas cake and asked for another ticket to be drawn and Edith* was thrilled to win twice-over. Simple pleasures, as I said. But ones that can't help but raise a smile and warm the heart.

(*Names have been changed to protect the lucky winners!!)

All this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with today's recipe. In fact, this recipe is about as far from seasonal as you can get. At this time of year, I tend towards the comfort of hearty casseroles and meaty pies but occasionally, I crave something suffused with the sunshine of warmer months. Last night was one such occasion. Salmon fillets feature regularly on our weeknight menus and I am always looking for new ways to serve them. This time, I created a delicious tangy tapenade to spread on top and then roasted the salmon to form a tasty crust. 

Tapenade is easy to prepare and relies mainly on storecupboard ingredients so it is a handy one for whipping up to serve alongside drinks when unexpected guests call at Christmas. Keep a couple of part-baked baguettes up your sleeve so that you can make some quick crostini and bingo; instant canapés to impress your visitors. There are lots of variations of this tasty snack but all include black olives, capers, garlic and anchovies. I like to add a few fresh herbs too - flat leaf parsley and a few fresh thyme leaves by preference. Obviously, the better the olives the better the tapenade but I just used a tin of regular supermarket pitted black olives here and it still tasted pretty good! Traditionally, this would be made with a pestle and mortar but I use a mini-processor on the pulse setting. You are not looking for something totally smooth here - a bit of texture is a good thing.

I served this with roasted courgettes and broccoli as that is what I had but in the past, I have made a sort of roasted vegetable ratatouille of courgette, red pepper and cherry tomatoes. The tapenade is also great with cod too!

The recipe here makes enough tapenade for 4 servings. If serving two, I would advise making the same quantity of tapenade (a smaller amount is tricky in a processor) and save the rest as a snack the next day.

Tapenade crusted salmon

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Tapenade:

150g black olives

1 tbsp capers, rinsed

1 large anchovy (or 2 small - mine were huge!)

1 small clove garlic

2tbsp lemon juice

2.5 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Salmon:

4 tbsp breadcrumbs

4 salmon fillets 

1. Place all the ingredients for the tapenade into the bowl of a small processor and pulse until blended but not smooth. Alternatively, pound with a pestle and mortar. If time, set aside for 30 mins or so for the flavours to mingle.

2. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Mix the breadcrumbs into the tapenade and spread the mixture onto each of the salmon fillets.

3. Roast for 20 minutes until salmon is cooked.