There's no place like a Great British Home (even though this recipe is a little bit French) Spring Lamb Stew

 

 

In preparation for this blogging challenge, hosted by Britmums about my #GreatBritishhome, I took the Victoria Plumb quiz which ascertained what my style was. Apparently I am elegant, which for the people who know me well at least will be a source of great amusement. I am only presuming that 'a bit rough with the odd delusion of grandeur' wasn't an option. However, on closer reading what 'elegant' encompassed was not necessarily so incongruous as it did mention some of the things I love, dark wood, period pieces, traditional food...

"Elegant and classy, you just adore period décor and style. You love the classics; subtle wallpaper, dark wood and rich colours. 
You have a penchant for opulent fabrics and secretly covet a Steinway 
piano for your living room. You search antiques fairs until you get the 
perfect piece. At home, your tastes are high-class classics; game pie, roast beef and all the trimmings or a fillet of plaice." 

 

 

 

 

So my take on a Great British Home would be comfortable surroundings for sure, the dark wood, the gilt edged mirror, the leather couch, the vibrant coloured curtains encasing doors opening out onto the garden, mixed in with just a little touch of shabby chic. Having moved home just lately, one of my favourite acquisitions was a bargain cabinet to put my posh cups and saucers in. Phill hates it, but adorned with fairy lights, it says all you need to know about me and my style.  Elegant can be quirky and shabby.

Quirky and shabby...

Family...

Food and Drink (Courtesy of Grandma's Willow Pattern crockery).

But actually there is something much more fundamental which creates my Great British Home, and that is the food on the table, the company, the sound of chatter as we all tuck in and talk about anything and everything. It may not happen like this all the time but when it does, all of us sat about, the clatter of forks and spoons, sharing whatever is on the table, then it is the epitome of 'home' for me.

So, Sunday, we had friends around and as it was a bit unexpected the easiest, and most homeliest thing to have was a stew. I decided on a spring lamb stew seeing as it the time of year was fitting, served with some crusty French bread and butter. It was a lovely light stew with plenty of vegetables in relation to meat and importantly, every mouthful felt good for you. Just like home should feel...

Spring Lamb Stew, adapted from The French Bistro Cookbook by Richard Bertinet

Ingredients:

40g butter

2 tbsp. olive oil and more if necessary

900g boned shoulder of lamb, trimmed and cut into chunks. (I used diced lamb leg)

2 shallots, finely chopped (I used two sliced onions)

1 tbsp. sugar

1 litre of strong lamb stock

2 tbsp. tomato puree

1 bouquet garni, (I used some chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 a tsp of dried thyme and a little less of dried rosemary)

16 new potatoes, peeled and halved if large

2 turnips, peeled, cut into halves and then into eighths

12 Chantenay carrots, peeled, topped and cut in half

5oz frozen peas

chopped parsley to garnish

Serve with crusty baguette and butter.

Method:

 

 

 

Melt half of the butter with the oil in a suitable casserole and begin to brown off the lamb, Do this in batches so as to allow the lamb to colour well. When browned, remove to a plate.

 

 

 

Melt the rest of the butter with the fat left in the casserole. Add the onions and stir them into the butter ans the oil. Cook out a little and then sprinkle them with sugar. Increase the heat and allow the onions to caramelise but keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly.

 

 

 

Add the stock to the onions, and then pour the meat and the juices into the casserole too. Stir in the tomato puree and herbs. Stir and season and bring to the boil. Put the lid on the casserole and reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

 

 

 

Add the vegetables to the casserole and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. Then add the peas and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes. You could cook a little further to thicken the sauce if you wish. Once you are happy with the consistency taste for seasoning and then garnish with chopped parsley.

 

 

 

Serve with baguette, for soaking up the juices.

This post is an entry for the #GreatBritishHome Challenge  sponsored by Victoria Plumb, a source of quality bathrooms for every type of home. Take its “What’s Your Celebrity Home Style?” quiz to discover what your home says about you.

The need for speed: Curry in a hurry, or Nigella's Thai Green Curry

 

 

Yes, I could make my own curry paste. I have made my own curry paste in the past and it was pretty good, but, fundamentally I am a) lazy and b) busy, and if you are either or both of those and you like Thai curry then here is the answer to what you can cook of an evening when you crash through the door with a selection of children/marking/ a loathing of the fact it's raining again, yadda yadda yadda.

 

One of the things I really like about this curry is its greenness. Despite dumping a tin of coconut milk into the mix you can't help but think that with such verdancy will be doing you the absolute power of good. The original recipe calls for soya beans which when I first started making this curry years ago, my supermarket didn't stock, so I subbed broad beans for the only reason that they look a bit like soya beans and because I absolutely adore them. I don't really care if soya beans are the greatest things in the world, I will not be changing.

 

So this is from Nigella Lawson's 'Nigella Express'. Not my first foray into this particular book it has to be said, for I am definitely not averse to employing the odd short cut to create something that tastes really quite good. And this tastes really quite good.

 

Not unsurprisingly Lola and Finn are really not keen. When I make this, it is because Lola and Finn have already eaten, or I will have given in to a clamouring for pasta. I aim to please.

 

Curry in a Hurry (Thai Green Curry), adapted from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson

 

My adaptions in red

 

Ingredients:

 

                       2 tablespoons wok oil (I use sesame oil)                      

3 tablespoons spring onions (finely chopped)

3 - 4 tablespoons green Thai curry paste

1 kilogramme chicken thigh fillets (cut into strips about 4 x 2cm)

1 x 400 ml can coconut milk

250 ml boiling boiling water

chicken stock concentrate or cube

1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

185 g Frozen peas

200 g Frozen soya beans (I use broad beans)

150 g Frozen fine beans

3 tablespoons fresh coriander (chopped)

 

Method:

 

 

 

Heat the wok oil in a large saucepan that owns a lid, drop in the spring onions and cook, stirring for a minute or two, then add the curry paste.

 

 

 

 

 

Add the chicken pieces and keep turning over heat for 2 minutes, before adding the coconut milk, stock (i.e. the water plus stock concentrate or cube) and fish sauce, then the frozen peas and soya beans.

 

Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the frozen fine beans to the mix and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

 

 

Serve with rice or noodles, sprinkling the coriander over as you do so. Put out a plate of lime wedges for people to squeeze over as they eat.

Kiddie friendly! Kheema with peas

 

 

Well, friendly if your kids like peas. Lola does, Finn doesn't. Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised by this information as he seems to have an aversion to anything 'green'. But, he persevered with this meal, skillfully eating around the peas and therefore giving this simple dish a thumbs up. And rightly so, for it is an easy and tasty dish and a good way of introducing your children to some restrained Indian spicing. And if you are one of those who prefers something a little more punchy, then you could always up the chilli...

 

It's funny; I have many cookery books, some of which were 'must haves' or so I thought when I bought/was given them but somehow you find yourself actually not cooking much from them, and then there are those cookbooks that you pick up on a whim, or that you unearth in a second hand bookshop (if you're me) or buy because it's a bargain and you're a bit compulsive about cookery books in general (this might be just me again)  but I am so glad that I happened upon Jill Dupleix's books in one of the haphazard ways I have just described. Initially a whimsical buy, but now I am a convert. Her meals are fresh, simple and delicious and it's telling that the books that she has written are some of the more well thumbed ones on my shelves. This is her recipe from her book, 'Lighten Up'.

 

Kheema with Peas taken from 'Lighten Up' by Jill Dupleix

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum, Dad and one other

 

Ingredients:

 

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

750g lean minced lamb or beef (I used lamb)

2 tbsp tomato puree

250ml water or stock (I used lamb stock)

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried red chilli flakes*

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

200g podded peas, fresh or frozen

1-2 tsp garam masala

3 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

* adjust the chilli according to family taste

 

Method:

 

Heat the oil in a frying pan.

 

 

Add the onion and fry gently for 5 minutes until light golden. Add the ginger and garlic, stirring well, than add meat and fry for 5 mins until browned.

 

 

Add the tomato puree, water (stock), coriander, chilli, turmeric, salt and pepper, stirring well. Cover and cook gently for 20 mins.

 

 

Uncover, add the peas and garam masala and simmer until the peas are cooked and the kheema is thick and saucy.

 

 

 

Scatter with coriander and serve.

 

A meal in quick time without horse meat! Quick Chicken Casserole

 

 

No horse meat here. Whilst horse meat is perfectly edible it might be nice if you had a choice as to whether you want to eat it or not. However, I can't say I am surprised that ready meals aren't all what they seem. Last time where I was in the position where I had to have one, it tasted cack. Frankly. I'd rather have a sandwich.

 

But it's quick isn't it? Five minutes (if that) and ding, dinner's ready. Now, I know this doesn't taste five minutes - more like thirty - but once everything is in the pot you can spend a little time doing other stuff - kid stuff if you're me - and then, dinner's ready. And you know what's in it, because you cooked it. Who knew?

 

Also, I am not sure that ready meals are really that cheap. I've seen people paying a significant amount to buy enough of them to feed a family. Now, I haven't done the maths but I reckon if I did, then this would probably come in for less than what you would pay for something that requires you to pierce the film lid. Richer in pocket, richer in diet. Brilliant.

 

This is a BBC GoodFood recipe, slightly tweaked. The result was a meal that was satisfying and creamy and the addition of some crusty bread to mop up the creamy chickeny tarragony juices was a pretty great idea. If you are not in touch with your inner Francophile, or else your kids think it tastes weird and aniseedy, leave it out and check for seasoning.

 

Quick Chicken Casserole, adapted from BBC GoodFood

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad, generously

 

My adaptions in red

 

Ingredients:

 

4 large or 6 small skinless chicken thigh fillets (I bought chicken thighs and spent about five minutes skinning and de-boning them)

3 shallots, quartered (I used a large onion)

1 carrot, sliced

8 new potatoes or salad potatoes, skin left on and halved or quartered if large

500ml chicken stock , fresh, cube or concentrate

1 cupful peas

1 tin of cannellini beans, drained

a small bunch of tarragon, chopped (Shoot me down - I used Barts' chopped tarragon which is jarred in olive oil which was being sold off for 42p in the supermarket)

1 tbsp half-fat crème fraîche (optional) (I used a tbsp of cream)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Method:

 

 

 

Put the chicken thighs, shallots, carrot, potatoes, some seasoning and the stock in a wide casserole and bring to a simmer. (Actually, I browned the chicken in a little olive oil before I added the rest of the ingredients. I am not keen on anaemic looking meat).

 

 

 

Cover and cook for 15 minutes, then add the peas, cannellini beans and tarragon and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

 

Stir in the cream if you like and taste or seasoning.

 

 

 

Serve in massive bowls with some crusty bread.

 

Pea and Ham Soup. Not as simple as you might think...

 

 

So I had a plan to make pea and ham soup and it was inspired in part, by my grandma's amazing ability to take a ham bone and a handful of pulses and transform them from humble ingredients into something magnificent. Yes, there is a possibility that my memory of grandma's soup has been embellished in my own mind with a faint sprinkling of nostalgia, but what is certain is that it was the antidote to cold and dark winter nights and it was a meal in itself, transported from her home to ours in a Thermos flask, dished up, then consumed with gusto,  sat at the table at home, and it was the best soup I have ever had. But then, put me in a Michelin starred restaurant and serve me up a consomme made from the tears of mermaids (or something) and I know which soup I will be yearning for.

 

Anyway, you'd think such humble food would be easy to source wouldn't you? A ham shank and split peas? Not a bloody chance. I went to two supermarkets to buy green split peas (my split pea of choice) and you would think I had gone shopping for the aforementioned tears of mermaids. If I'd wanted adzuki beans or farro then I could have filled my trolley. Split green peas? Nope. And it wasn't that they'd sold out; no gaping chasm labelled green split peas could be found. Pffft. And you probably know already that if you want any meat other than skinless chicken breast, go to a proper butcher. The asking for an uncooked ham hock will often result in a disappointing answer. I abandoned all hope and came home to google.

 

Anyway, to cut an increasingly long rant story very, very short, a bit of googling came up with pea and ham soup made with frozen peas, Marco Pierre White stylee. And whilst it was nothing like what my grandma used to make, it was very green and very tasty. If I could say it was sweet and salty without that statement sounding revolting, that's exactly what it was. And whilst the colour 'green' is an anathema to Finn in particular when it comes to food, he entertained this a little when I told him it was liquidised monster. He didn't clear his plate; he rarely does. But he ate the ham and some of the soup before declaring that enough was enough.

 

Since then, I have found split peas. The challenge to recreate the best soup I ever had is back on.

 

Pea and Ham Soup adapted from Marco Pierre White's recipe

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad twice

 

Ingredients: 

 

1 x knuckle of smoked gammon (it will weigh approx 1.3kg) (I used a large ham hock)

2 sticks celery

2 large carrots, halved

4 onions, halved

1 sprig thyme

2 bay leaves

12 white peppercorns (I used black peppercorns)

Salt to taste

1.2kg Bird's Eye peas

40g unsalted butter (I didn't use this)

 

Method:

 

 

Make a stock by placing the gammon into a large saucepan, along with the celery, carrot, onion, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns and two large pinches of salt. Cover with cold water, put the lid on the pan and bring to the boil.

 

When boiling, immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.

 

After 20 minutes, use a slotted spoon to skim off the scum from the water's surface.

 

 

Continue to simmer for about 11/2 hours, topping up with warm water if necessary. After two hours, turn off the heat.

 

Carefully remove the hot ham from the saucepan and place it on a carving board. Carve the joint while it is still hot and cut the slices into bite-sized pieces. These will later be used in the soup.

 

Sieve the stock, discarding the vegetables, peppercorns, thyme and bay leaves. Allow the liquid to cool before chilling it in the fridge.

 

 

 

Thaw the peas until semi-defrosted, and then liquidise them with the chilled stock.

 

Pass the pea and stock purée through a sieve. (I just blitzed it - a bit of texture is just fine for me!)

 

In a saucepan, heat the sieved purée, but don't boil it or the liquid will lose its vibrant green colour. Season with salt to taste and stir in the butter for richness. (I didn't add the butter).

 

 

 

Place the pieces of ham into bowls and pour over the soup.

  

 

 

One pot cooking and making peas ap - pea - ling (groan!!) - Chicken and Peas

 

 

Here I am once again with a one pot wonder. I know that I should maybe blog about something that uses more pans, but chez Lola and Finn the emphasis at the moment is just having something good to eat without too much fuss. Finn starting school this week seems to have made life even more fraught between the hours of 4 and 7pm. I am not sure where the time goes at this point in the day. What I do know is that I blink and it is gone.

 

Finn, first day of school,  and with big sis Lola, who already seems to be monitoring his every move. Today he was sat next to Olivia, apparently. Not sure Lola rates Olivia very much...

 

So, it is for the reason of simplicity that I am blogging Tessa Kiros' recipe, chicken and peas, from her beautiful book 'Piri Piri Starfish'. If you own a Tessa Kiros book, you will know that they are works of art, with idiosyncratic messages, vibrant images of life and food and an all round sense of happiness. I would love to look at them even if I didn't like to cook. The fact that I do like to cook makes them all the better. 

 

Anyway, the matching of chicken and chorizo happens here again most pleasingly and the addition of peas gives a freshness and vibrancy in terms of taste and in colour. Lola and Finn ate most of this, though Finn being Finn skirted his way around most of the peas. He ate some peas though and this can only be seen as a rip roaring success, seeing as he seems averse to eating anything 'green'.

 

Chicken and Peas, adapted from 'Piri Piri Starfish' by Tessa Kiros

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad very well!

 

Ingredients:

 

5 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped (which I left out)

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

100g chorizo, chopped (I upped this from the 30g in the original recipe)

60g smoked bacon lardons

2 tbsp chopped parsley

4 chicken breasts (You could joint a chicken as suggested in the original recipe)

250ml white wine

3 tbsp chopped tomatoes

600g frozen peas

 

Method:

 

 

 

Heat the olive oil and add the onion, celery (if using), carrot and bay leaves, and saute until the onion is golden.

 

 

 

Add the chorizo and bacon and saute until the chorizo releases its oil and the bacon renders its fat.

 

 

 

Add the chicken and parsley and saute until the chicken is golden. Keep everything moving so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.

 

Season with salt and pepper at this point.

 

 

 

Add the wine and let it bubble up a little before adding the tomato.

 

Cover and simmer for about thirty minutes.

 

 

 

Take the lid off and add the peas, increase the heat and cook for another ten minutes or so until the peas are tender but still green.

 

There will be some residual liquid in the dish which is fine, as the peas will soak some of that up as you take it off the heat and leave it a little until you are ready to serve.

 

 

 

I served this with some orzo pasta, at the request of Lola and Finn who quite like the fact that it looks like 'big rice'. Personally, I'd be having this with potatoes, but that's because potatoes are possibly the greatest carb ever to grace the earth...