Serves two
Prep time 5 mins
Cooking time 10 mins

250gms lambs sweetbreads (prepared* see below)
2 tbl spoons seasoned flour (salt & pepper)
Knob of butter
Clove of garlic chopped
Fresh chilli chopped
Paprika piccante
Spinach rinsed
Parsley chopped (optional)

Cut sweetbreads to bite size chunks and dust in the flour.
Chop chili & garlic
Heat a pan
add butter
Add garlic & chilli
Cook for 30 seconds
Add sweetbreads & paprika
Cook for 6-8 minutes or until they have a good colour
Add spinach and cook until wilted
Serve and enjoy!

*Prepare Sweetbreads

1. Soak the sweetbreads in cold water for 1-2 hours to remove all the blood.

2. Drain, and put them in a pan with cold water to cover.

3. Heat to boiling point and pour off the liquid.

4. Rinse the sweetbreads under cold water.

5. Remove the black veins and as much as possible of the membranes which cover them.

6. Heat the butter or margarine in a saucepan and toss the sweetbreads in it.

7. Then barely cover them with the stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

8. Heat to simmering point, cover the pan, and cook gently for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until tender.

9. Transfer to a warmed dish and keep hot.

Recipe by one of my Twitter chums Whimsical Wife

Quick Keema

This recipe is inspired by Twitter… when I asked the question.. hmm what can I do with mince? Not only did I receive the idea for keema but I actually will never need to ask the question again as it would appear Twitter knows 8 billion things to do with mince!So, if you’d like to make speedy keema, the way that I make it, using only things I had in at the time, then this is the recipe. I must say this dish was hugely popular with the children who loved it, cheap to make and easy and can easily be padded out to feed more and can be dressed up so it’s more of a special meal.

Ingredients

1. 500g beef mince (or lamb)
2. 1 onion (red or white) finely diced
3. 500g new potatoes peeled and cubed
4. 2 handfuls of frozen peas
5. 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
6. 3 tsp Garam Masala
7. 2 tsp Cumin
8. 2 tsp Turmeric
9. 1 clove garlic
10. 2 dried chillies crumbled
11. thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated

Directions

1. What you do:
2. Add a splash of oil to a large pan, gently soften the onions, ginger and garlic
3. Add the mince and brown
4. Add the spices, chillies and a good pinch of salt
5. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and half a tin of water
6. Add the cubed potatoes and stir well to combine everything
7. Simmer with the lid on for half an hour
8. Add the frozen peas and cook with the lid off for 10 minutes

To Serve

Serve with Indian breads, plain boiled basmati rice, accompanied with large dollop of natural yogurt, Indian chutneys and a large serving of hot Indian salad.

Hot Indian Salad

finely chop iceberg lettuce, cucumber, deseeded tomatoes, red onion, red chilli, large handful of flat leaf parsley (leaves only) , large bunch of coriander. Mix together and drizzle with juice of a lemon and a sprinkle of salt.  Mix well.

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Well it’s been a time of domestic chores and family stuff. I happened to find myself in Ascot this week waiting for family members to have various bits prodded & examined at the local hospital. Ascot is home to one of the best buthchers in the UK if not the world.

Allow me to introduce CE Lewis of Ascot .

UKTV.co.uk says -

“This traditional butcher’s shop was established almost 30 years ago and offers it customers a range of local, regional and national produce. The beef is sourced from Scotland, pork from surrey, lamb from Devon and the turkeys are local. Also on offer is a range of home made sausages including the pork and herb variety, pork and leek, duck, orange and turkey and a gluten free option. C E Lewis also produces its own burgers and kebabs and is known to go the extra mile in order to satisfy a customers needs.”

And go the extra mile they do. I was after some of their excellent calves liver and in addition to this was offered both veal chops and escalopes.

Now some people , my father-in-law who was with me when I bought it, dislikes veal and is of the opinion that it is a cruel meat forced fed oil by our continental cousins. This is not the case. The Independent on-line says -

“Veal shouldn’t be a dirty word,” said Rowen West-Henzell, food business manager for CIWF. “There is a process of re-education that needs to occur. British rose veal is something we are happy to endorse.”

High-welfare veal is known as rose veal, as calves are not fed the restricted, low-iron diet that is needed to produce the traditional white veal meat.

Veal – which comes from the meat of calves between six and eight months old – is widely eaten in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy, but currently has a limited market in the UK.

I bought the veal along with calves liver , sweetbreads, pork & herb sausage, tripe and lambs kidneys. All of the meat was prepared beautifully and even the kidneys were cored and frozen in lovely neat rows.

Having had two of the excellent sausages for supper last night to I wanted to try the veal chop for my lunch. I had discussed with owner about how to cook the chop and I was to treat it just like like a steak, hot pan, some butter and, as I have a glut of sage, an handful of sage leaves.

veal chop cooking

I heated pan until hot and added a knob of butter and half the sage leaves. Added the chop and cooked for 3-4 minutes and turned it over (see right). Cooked the other side for the same amount and remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes.

During the resting period I made up a simple salad of fresh spinach, beansprouts, tomato and onion and served.

The meat was fantastic. Slightly pink in the middle. Almost a cross between pork & beef.

I can’t wait to try the rest of the meat that I bought and a big part of me wishes that more shop owners, not just food,  could be as helpful and knowledgable about what they sell.

We must support our local traders and encourage quality where and when ever we can.

Veal chop and salad

So you know how one random act quite often leads onto another? Well today I went to chant with one of my buddshist leaders that I am supporting for her lecture next month. Normal journey time to Reading 30 minutes. My journey time 2 hours and 10 minutes! I’d heard on the radio that there was a lorry fire on the motorway but thought it was M1 … VERY WRONG! The M4 was down to one lane due to a lorry fire. The lorry was transporting charcoal and therefore took hours to put out. (In addition to the usual ‘rubber neckers’ many cars were pausing to cook the various BBQ meats that they had with them …. )

I finally arrive and we complete an hours Daimoku and enjoy lunch before I suggest an easier ‘non-motorway’ route and maybe try to find an oriental supermarket or new foodie emporium that’s not on my radar yet. “you ought to try that new Japanese place at the Bishops centre” says Jess …

So with that pre-amble in mind I set off to find this mini Japan and find I did! Situated just off the A4 at the Bishop Centre is ONG Bites is a delightful little shop with friendly knowledgable staff (Andrew was very good and helpful).

As well as noodles/stocks, drinks & snacks they are offering a sushi delivery service (24-48 hour notice) to the area as well as fresh sushi in-store on Friday & Saturday.

Nice to see a few stock favorites like Tonkatsu sauce, fresh udon noodles and Kewpie mayonnaise as well as dried squid, fresh tofu and fresh miso paste.

I wish them great success with the venture and you can call them on +44(0)7920 888082 or via the web site

www.o-n-g.net

This really works best if you have a gas BBQ. I have use a kettle and a brick built BBQ with charcoal but it requires much more planning and attention. With the cooking time in excess of 3 hours you’ll need lots of charcoal.

It works via the ‘in-direct heat’ method so you only light one side of the bbq. I’ve cooked Beer can chicken a few times now and with my daughters 19th Birthday BBQ coming up I wanted to try something new. Slow roast belly pork is one of  my all time favourites and so I thought I’d give it a go.

early stages

The herbs in my garden are in abundance at the moment and so fresh sage & bay leaves were not a problem.

Cooking Time 3 hours +

Yield 4

Ingredients :-

1kg belly pork

bunch of sage leaves

2 bay leaves

small bunch of fresh thyme

5-6 cloves of garlic

salt & pepper

Method

Light  one side of BBQ to a medium high heat.

As BBQ is warming prepare the pork.

Score skin , unless butcher has done this for you, and rub salt & pepper into the skin.

Place whole cloves of garlic on base of dish and arrange herbs.

Place prepared pork on top of herbs and garlic.

When BBQ is ready then place meat in tray on the un-heated side. Close lid and leave for an hour.

Check after one hour and see how the crackling is doing (for it is the best part!!!) If it is getting nice and crisp then feel happy to turn BBQ down. If not leave at higher temperature for another 30-40 minutes.

Check again at the 2 hour stage and turn down again.

Cook for another hour or until the meat comes away from the bone easily.

Take out of fat and cover in foil to let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

Great crackling and smokey flavour

Serves 4

Cooking time 1 hour +

Ingredients

1. 1 kg. octopus, cooked
2. 1 medium cucumber
3. 2 red bell peppers
4. lettuce
5. radicchio
6. 2 small or 1 medium red onion
7. a couple of bay leaves
8. Olive Oil
9. Few lemons
10. Dry oregano
11. Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse the octopus thoroughly in warm water. Place in a pot with a lot of water (to cover octopus completely). Add salt, whole peppercorns, lemon, garlic, and bay leaves. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and keep cooking for one hour or until the octopus is tender. Add water during the cooking so that octopus stays covered with water all the time. When it’s done, take the octopus out and run under cold running water and run with your hands to remove slippery tissues. Cut the octopus into smaller, size-bite pieces.
2. In the meantime, cut the red onions, garlic, and red bell peppers. Combine everything in the bowl, add pieces of octopus, and add oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice, freshly squeezed. Mix everything well, and set aside for some time so that all flavors can mix. When ready to serve the salad, use a big plate and arrange a bed of lettuce and radicchio, cut in bigger chunks. Then place a scoop of octopus mixture at it and adjust seasoning. You can always add more olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice, and some oregano, of course.
3. You can eat it as a salad, or serve with rice, for example, as a complete meal.

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Ingredients

Time

prep 15 – 20 minutes

Cooking 25 – 30 minutes

yield – serves two

For me risotto is a labour of desire & passion. The effort put in is by far equalled by the creamy delight that results. It shouldn’t be undertaken as a quick meal (although at under 30 minutes it’s not slow either!)

I have been making risotto for over ten years now and it is one of my favourite meals of all time. The discovery of Elizabeth David’s Italian cooking gave me a renewed impetus to rediscover and re-love this simple rice dish. Each part of Italy (and I suspect each village) has it’s own slightly unique slant. Butter, olive oil, stock, wine, vermouth, herbs all subtley change the sub-text of its demeanor and I envisage that it will take me the rest of my life to fully explore its possibilities.

Keep the themes simple. Pea risotto, mushroom risotto, asparagus risotto. Use what you like and what is in season.

What you must do is enjoy making it. It’s not a chore. This is love food.

Golden rule #Keep it moving!!!!

Get everything set up and ready to go. Pour a glass of wine if you like. Put on your favourite music or radio show and relax. This is love food, a real opportunity for you to have some you time. For twenty minutes you have to be with yourself and your pan.

Don’t make it for any more than four people, you won’t enjoy yourself.

Where possible try to get the best ingredients you can.

200g risotto rice

1 small onion – fine diced

2 cloves garlic – crushed or finely sliced

3 g butter + 1 g to finish (mounter au beurre)

2/3 of a glass of white wine

1.5 litres of fish stock (I used a reduction of some octopus liqour which I then diluted 3 times)

Monk Fish in cubes – 300-500g (i.e. 150 – 250 g per person)

a pinch of saffron – if it is the real McCoy you don’t need much and try to remember that it is one of the dearest foodstuffs on the planet!

Method

Put your stock pan on, add stock and heat to a very gentle simmer.

–

Gently heat a good sized heavy bottomed pan.

Add the 3g of butter and when melted add the onion.

When almost translucent add the garlic & saffron

cook for two minutes and add the rice

coat the rice with the butter and make sure that it doesn’t stick and then burn. Keep it moving! From here on in you are committed.

when all the rice is coated add the white wine and let the rice absorb the wine and let the alcohol cook off.

when the wine is absorbed add the first ladle of stock

gentle keep this moving. One article I read suggests using a fork as it is less ‘brutal’ on the rice

when almost all of the added stock is absorbed add another and repeat.

you will need about 15-20 minutes to do this. your target is for the rice to become ‘al dente’ or ‘ to the tooth’ and it is a fine line between this and over done and essentially common sense must prevail.

when you have only 5 minutes to go then put you fish cubes into the remaining stock and gently cook

when you are happy that you are almost at your ‘perfect’ rice texture then take off the heat, season, add the cooked fish and remaining butter and put on the lid.

Prepare your serving plates and gather your diners ( now is also the time to have a well earned glass of wine!)

when all this is done, lift of the lid, stir and enjoy the fruits of your labours.

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

Time 40 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

For vegetable stock
2 leeks
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 medium sized onion
2 cloves of garlic
bay leaf
thyme
rosemary
olive oil
I litre of water
—-
For soup
2 heads of broccoli – chopped
100g mature stilton – crumbled
1 onion – diced
2 cloves of garlic – crushed
a good glug of olive oil

Method

1. Make stock
2. roughly chop all washed vegetables
3. put water in a pan large enough to accomodate water & vegatables
4. add herbs
5. Bring to boil and simmer for about 20-25 minutes
6. strain stock into a bowl or pan. really push all of the fluid out of the soft veg.
7. Part two – Make the soup
8. Fry onion in a large, heavy bottomed pan, over a medium heat  until soft
9. Add crushed garlic and cook for a further minute
10. Add broccoli, stir and cook for about 5 minutes
11. add veg stock and top up with water if required
12. Bring to a simmer
13. Cook broccoli to taste
14. add all to a blender and blend to taste
15. return to pan rinse out blender into pan with 1/2 cup of water or milk as desired
16. Heat soup until hot but not boiling
17. add stilton and stir well just before serving
18. Serve with crusty bread

Ingredients
1 oxtail
1 onion fine diced
2 cloves garlic peeled and halved.
500ml beef stock
a glass of red wine
seasoned flour for dusting
vegatables
500g potatoes peeled & cut to simmilar sized chunks
2 parsnips peeled & sliced
2 carrots peeled & sliced
2 celery sticks sliced

method
heat pan, warm oil
trim any fat off of oxtail and roll in seasoned flour.
brown oxtail in hot oil and remove
add diced onion and cook until translucent.
add garlic
add red wine and deglaze
return oxtail
add stock
bring to a simmer
season
put into an oven heated to gas mark 3 140 deg
cook for at least 2 hours.

for best results allow to cool and refridgerate overnight
next day remove fat from pan and reheat meat and sauce.
bring to a simmer and add vegatables.
cook gently for about 30 mins
check seasoning and if required season and serve with hunks of bread.

Serves two
Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredients
Two large waxy potatoes sliced fairly thin
Four small or two large courgettes sliced
Two garlic cloves peeled and bashed with blade of knife
Olive oil
Linguine for two people (200g)
Salt
Pepper

Method

Put a large pan of water on to boil.
Warm a dry pan and add potato and courgette.
Heat for a minute or two before adding a generous glug of olive oil.
Add salt to pasta water
Cook potato & courgette for about 5 minutes and add enough water to loosen vegatables
Add water as required to moisten the sauce.
Cook for about ten minutes more until potatos begin to break up. Take a masher and break up half of the potatoes.
Add more water if required and the two cloves of garlic. Allow to simmer gently. Check seasoning.
Add pasta to boiling salted water and stir.
When pasta is cooked add to sauce. Gently mix sauce and pasta and serve. Add parmesan cheese to taste.
For a variation add 100g of raw prawns or king prawns when you add the garlic.
If using fish it’s not normally acceptable to add Parmesan but if you like it do it!