On this page so far:-
1. Pork Casserole with Cannellini beans
2. Cornish Pasties
3. Spiced Lamb with Pasta Wheat
4. Gaucho Salad
5. Butternut Squash and Chickpea curry
1. Pork Casserole with Cannellini beans
2. Cornish Pasties
3. Spiced Lamb with Pasta Wheat
4. Gaucho Salad
5. Butternut Squash and Chickpea curry
1. PORK CASSEROLE WITH CANNELLINI BEANS (serves 3 - 4)
This is the recipe for my "Signature dish". (Picture to follow, next time I make the dish)
Ingredients
Approx 500g boneless diced pork
2 medium-sized onions
1 tin chopped tomatoes (plus a squeeze of tomato puree if liked)
1 tin Cannellini beans
1 litre stock (I use bottled concentrated chicken stock)
3 - 4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon seasoned plain flour
2 fresh bay leaves
Dried herbs to taste (I normally use approx 1 teaspoon dried Oregano or Herbes de Provence)
Fresh parsley to garnish
To serve
Tagliatelli pasta - approx 100g per person
Method
- Coat the diced pork in the seasoned flour, then brown it in a non-stick, ovenproof, casserole dish with the oil
- When meat is browned, remove from dish and set aside. Retain cooking juices and oil in dish
- Peel and slice the onions. Place them in the dish in which meat was browned, and cook over low heat until softened (but not brown) - approx 5 mins
- Return meat to dish, with onions
- Add the tinned tomatoes (+ tomato puree?)
- Add garlic (sliced or crushed, as desired), bay leaves, dried herbs, salt and pepper
- Add approx half the stock
- Bring the dish to the boil on the hob or cooker top, stirring occasionally
- Cover the dish and transfer it to a low oven (approx 140 C), and cook for about two hours, checking once or twice to ensure that it has not dried out. Add more stock as required in order to maintain a moist but not too sloppy consistency
- Once the pork is tender, add the Cannellini beans and cook for a further 30 mins.
- Chop the parsley finely
- Cook the Tagliatelli, drain it, and stir in a knob of butter and a few grinds of black pepper
- Serve the dish. Garnish with the chopped parsley at the time of serving, not before, in order to retain its vibrant colour
- Best served with a green salad -- and a bottle of nice Rosé wine.
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2. CORNISH PASTIES
Pasties vary a lot. Everyone has their own version, so you can adjust this recipe to suit your own taste. Some people would use commercial Puff Pastry, or make their own version of normal Shortcrust pastry. In relation to the filling the same applies. Purists would probably not use carrots, for instance. A good pasty is moist inside, not dry.
Ingredients (Makes approx 4 small or 2 large pasties)
For the pastry
8 ounces plain flour
3 ounces hard vegetable fat (such as Trex) [You could use beef dripping...]
Approx 2.5 fluid ounces cold water
A pinch of salt
For the filling
8 ounces good stewing beef (or even Rump steak)
1 large onion
1 large potato
1 carrot
A piece of swede turnip (about the same volume as the carrot)
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 200C, gas Mark 6
- Sift the flour with the salt, rub in the vegetable fat and as much water as is necessary to form into a firm dough
- Cut the meat into small cubes (approx 1cm) Big pieces will cook too slowly
- Peel and dice the vegetable finely
- Combine meat and vegetables in a large bowl and mix thoroughly
- Add plenty of salt and pepper
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| The filling - raw ingredients |
- Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 3 - 4 mm, and cut to the desired size, depending on how many pasties you plan to make
- Place a generous portion of the filling mixture in the middle of each piece of pastry
- Brush the edges of the pastry with water
- Fold the pastry over and seal the edges by crimping. [This is again a very personal thing, and everyone has their own way of doing it! Some people have the "seam" at the top, some at the side.]
- The finished item should be oblong in shape, possibly slightly crescent-shaped...
- Bake on a non-stick baking tray in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes
- Cover the part-cooked pasties with wet greaseproof paper, and tuck the paper in around the pasties. This stage is important when using this type of pastry, to stop the pasties drying out and burning before the filling is fully cooked.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 160C, gas Mark 3, and cook for a further 25 - 30 minutes.
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| The finished article |
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3. SPICED LAMB WITH PASTA WHEAT (serves 4 -6)
Ingredients
600g boneless diced lamb
4 small onions or shallots, cut into wedges (keep root intact to hold wedges together)
200g semi-dried prunes (the ones sold as “soft and ready to eat”), stoned and halved
170g Green beans cut into 5cm pieces
6 - 8 semi-dried tomatoes, cut into manageable pieces if necessary
2 tablespoons chilli-infused Extra Virgin olive oil (or plain olive oil if you prefer!)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Half teaspoon ground Allspice
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 pint water
Salt and pepper
200g Pasta Wheat, or equivalent quantity of your chosen “starch”
4 small onions or shallots, cut into wedges (keep root intact to hold wedges together)
200g semi-dried prunes (the ones sold as “soft and ready to eat”), stoned and halved
170g Green beans cut into 5cm pieces
6 - 8 semi-dried tomatoes, cut into manageable pieces if necessary
2 tablespoons chilli-infused Extra Virgin olive oil (or plain olive oil if you prefer!)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Half teaspoon ground Allspice
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 pint water
Salt and pepper
200g Pasta Wheat, or equivalent quantity of your chosen “starch”
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 160C / 325F / Gas Mark 3
- Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish and lightly brown the onions. You want them to be slightly coloured at the edges but not so well done that they lose their shape. Remove from dish when done.
- Add lamb to the casserole dish and brown it.
- Add the garlic and spices. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes
- Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, lemon zest and juice
- Add the browned onions, the prunes, beans and water
- Add salt and pepper to taste (you could even add some chilli flakes if you like them)
- Stir well
- Bring to the boil
- Cover the casserole dish and transfer to the oven
- Cook for approximately 90 minutes, until the lamb is tender, topping up with water if necessary to keep the dish from going dry
- Cook the Pasta Wheat or other starch according to your normal method, such that it will be ready at about the same time the main dish will be ready
- Serve the lamb dish on top of or alongside the starch, according to your preference
- Garnish with parsley or coriander leaf (cilantro) if desired
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4. GAUCHO SALAD (serves 2)
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5. BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CHICKPEA CURRY (serves 2 - 3 as a Main, or 4 -6 as a Side)
This vegetarian dish can be served either as a main course, or as an accompaniment to a non-vegetarian meal. The dish also works really well with Black-Eyed Beans in place of the Chickpeas.
Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Half a medium Butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes of approx 1.5cm
1 tin Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1.5cm piece of root ginger, peeled and grated
1 fresh green chilli, de-seeded and chopped
Quarter jar Madras curry paste (or equivalent) [e.g. in the UK, Patak's]
Half teaspoon cumin seeds
Half teaspoon black mustard seeds
Quarter teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 Tablespoon sunflower oil
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pan, and toss in the cumin, fenugreek and mustard seeds. Sizzle for a few seconds then stir in the onion.
- Reduce the heat and fry gently for approx 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the Butternut squash, chilli, garlic and ginger and mix together.
- Stir in the curry paste and mix well so that all the veg are coated with it.
- Blend in enough water to cover, then add the chickpeas.
- Simmer gently until the squash is very soft - about 20 min - stirring occasionally
- Keep an eye on the water level. You may need to add more water, or to boil the dish hard to reduce the water. It depends on the water content of your squash! You don't want this dish to be "soupy", but then nor do you want it to be too dry.
Serving suggestion
Service with Basmati rice and a selection of Indian condiments, like mango chutney, lime pickle etc. Maybe also some raisins, some sliced boiled eggs, some relish made of finely chopped tomatoes, cucumber and red onion... whatever you like!
