Rabbit stew

A fairly basic but very very tasty recipe.

1 rabbit, with giblets
Unsmoked bacon (from a piece) cut into small bitesize chunks
1 white onion
1/2 a red onion
2 sticks celery
1 carrot
2 bay leaves
Rosemary
1 large glass white wine
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp tomato puree
flour, pepper, olive oil

Remove the giblets from the rabbit. Roughly chop the heart and kidneys
and reserve the liver.
Joint the rabbit.
In the cooking pot, fry rabbit giblets (except the liver), with the bacon.
Add onion, fry a little while.
Add the tomato puree, allow to darken for about a minute. Add the
other veg, herbs, and mustard.
Lightly dust the rabbit pieces with flour and pepper liberally. Fry
until well browned in a frying pan then add to the pot. Deglaze the
pan with white wine. Add enough water to cover the meat, stir, and
turn the heat down to slowly simmer for 2 hours.

While the stew is cooking, chop and fry the liver. Serve it to
yourself on a piece of toast.

Serve the stew with potatoes and veg.

'Singapore style' stir fry

This probably has nothing to do with Singapore style. But it is yellow.

Dried chillies
4* Star anise
Ground Turmeric (~1 tsp)
Ginger (finely chopped)
Honey
Dark soy sauce
Mixed veg (brocolli, bean sprouts, baby corn, carrot, red onion, sugar
snap peas etc)
King Prawns (frozen already cooked one)
Garlic (finely chopped)
Spring onion, sliced

Heat oil in a wok. Add the star anise and chilli and let it infuse in
the hot oil for a while. Remove the star anise, and the chilli too if
you're a wuss.

Add turmeric and ginger. Fry for a while. Add the honey, veg, and some
soy sauce, and a little water. Stir and fry. When almost done, add
garlic, prawns, spring onion.

Toss with noodles which you cooked in turmeric and soy sauce laden water.

Chinese pork and vegetable stir fry

serves 2

the pork
about 300g diced pork (big pieces)
ground cinnamon (about 1/2 tsp)
5-spice powder (about 1/2 tsp)
black pepper
shaosing wine
dark soy sauce
sesame oil
1/2 a red onion roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 spring onions, sliced
Fresh coriander

Marinate meat with all the ingredients but two of the spring onions
for 2 hours. Then brown the meat cubes very quickly (but well browned)
in the wok. Add the onion pieces and brown them too. Put the lot in a
saucepan and add the rest of the marinade. Cook gently for about
10-15mins until pork is done. Add fresh coriander and spring onions
just before you serve

Veg stir fry
1 knob ginger finely chopped
Soy sauce
Water
Mixed Vegetables (carrot, brocolli, baby corn, bean sprouts, etc)
Garlic (lots) finely chopped
Sugar

Fry the ginger. Add soy and a little water. Put the veg in in order of
how much cooking they need. Add garlic and sugar towards the end.

Serve both together with some nice noodles.

Delicious spaghetti meatballs

Serves 2.

Meatballs:

about 250g minced beef
about 100g cold cooked (roast) pork
1/2 onion, very finely chopped
1 egg yolk
Salt and Pepper.
Olive oil, grapeseed oil.

Whizz the ingredients in a blender until it all sticks together. Form
into meat balls and fry in the oil until very well browned.

Sauce:

Olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1 tin tomatoes
basil leaves

Grate or mash the garlic, fry briefly in some olive oil, add tomatoes,
cook slowly until reduced and pulpy. Add torn basil leaves at the last
minute before serving.

To serve:

Combine some cooked spaghetti with sauce, arrange meatballs on top.

Breakfast Carbonara

To do this recipe correctly you need to be a little bit hung over, and
not have any bread with which to make a 'normal' toasty breakfast.

Wholewheat Penne pasta
1 leek (finely sliced)
1 large clove garlic (grated/mashed/crushed etc.)
1 rasher smoked dry-cure bacon (chopped into small dice)
1 egg (organic)
1 generous slice cornish blue cheese
E-V Olive Oil
Butter

First fill the kettle, and boil it. Then fill a pot with the boiling
water, some salt, and a couple of handfuls of Penne.

Very very gently fry the leek in a little oil, in a large pot. If it
burns, you'll be really pissed off, so go slow, and turn the heat down
and cover the pan when it's about halfway there.

Now heat some more olive oil (only a little) in a frying pan. Add the
garlic, frying gently -- the last thing you want in this recipe is a
burnt garlic flavour. Now add the bacon and allow it to colour a
little. Add bacon and garlic to the leek, and add a good knob of
butter and the cheese to that. Check the pasta.

When the pasta is suitably al dente, drain, rinse and add to the
sauce. Now add that egg and with the heat turned way down or off, mix
well so the egg forms a sort of sauce.

Devour, then cycle to work. (This is a very good cold weather breakfast!)

Pickled onion mackerel

1 large mackerel
1 onion
~1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt

Slice the onion and soak for about 30 minutes in the vinegar.
Cut the mackerel in half lengthways (turn on its back and cut to one
side of the spine).

Arrange the mackerel skin-side up, on top of the onion, in an
ovenproof dish. Pour the vinegar into the dish. Sprinkle a little salt
over the fish and a little olive oil on the skin.

Cook under a medium grill until the skin is nicely browned and the
flesh is cooked throughout.

Lentil moussaka

One onion, chopped finely
1/2 a bulb fennel, and some of the fronds, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, mashed
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon Tomato puree
1 tsp Cumin seeds
a few shakes Worcestershire sauce (optional)
about 2 cups Puy lentils
One medium aubergine
One large (baking) potato
One tin tomatoes
Chilli oil (optional)
Parmesan Cheese
Butter or Oil
Olive oil
Salt, Black Pepper

Fry the onion in some olive oil, then add fennel and garlic and fry
until softened. Add the paprika and fry for 30 seconds or so. Add the
tomato puree and stir and fry until it dries out slightly. Now add
cumin, lentils, Worcestershire sauce, and enough water to cover the
lentils. Cook slowly until the lentils are done.

Meanwhile, score the aubergine skins and slice into ~0.5cm slices.
Salt, and leave in a colander or sieve for about 30minutes, then rinse
and pat dry.
Slice the potato into rounds as thinly as possible.

When the lentils are done, put about half in an ovenproof dish. Lay
the aubergine slices on top in a layer. Roughly break up the tinned
tomatoes and layer them over the aubergines. Pour the tomato juice
evenly over the aubergines. Drizzle with chilli oil, and thoroughly
sprinkle with Black Pepper.
Now top with the remaining lentils.
Layer the potato slices over the top. Add grated parmesan liberally,
and dot with very small knobs of butter or drizzle a little oil over.

Bake for 30-40m in a medium oven until all bubbly and golden brown on top

Pineapple pork noodle stew

Rolled pork loin joint
1 large leek
1 large carrot
~4 star anise
~1 teaspoon paprika
1 cinnamon stick
some dry chillies (whole, not crushed!)
dark soy sauce
rice wine
rice vinegar
chicken stock
water
1 large piece (eg a slice about 1-2inch thick) pineapple

Arrowroot or cornflour

Udon or other noodles.
Green veg (eg. Spinach or similar asian veg)

Brown the joint well in a frying pan or on a griddle.
Pour over some soy sauce halfway through the browning process.

Chop the leek and place in a chicken brick. Add roughly sliced carrot,
spices and liquids.
Place the browned joint on top. Expect the water to come maybe halfway
up the meat.

Cook in a very low oven (100-120C) for about 3-4 hours. The pork
should be well done but still very tender and moist.
Then, or on the next day, remove the meat and slice into bitesized
pieces. Also remove any hard spices. The chillies will probably have
rehydrated by this point and may be edible if you like that sort of
thing, but remove them if not serving to the cognoscenti!

Thicken the sauce with a little arrowroot or cornflour. Add the
noodles and cook until al dente. Then add the meat back to the
pan. Chop the pineapple into bitesized chunks and stir that in too.
Most of the sauce should have been absorbed by the noodles.

Serve in bowls with dark green vegetables stirfried with garlic, eat
with chopsticks.

Pork and Cider hotpot

Get a pork leg joint, rolled and tied.
Brown well on all sides in a frying pan with Olive Oil, and place in a
casserole dish.
Add a very roughly chopped (big pieces) onion to the pan with a squirt
of tomato puree, and fry with a little more oil.
Add a roughly chopped leek.
When the veg looks a little softer, add to the casserole with the pork.
Add about 2/3pt medium-dry cider to the frying pan and deglaze
(bringing to the boil).
Pour the cider over the meat and veg.
Add some game stock (or chicken or pork stock) to just cover the ingredients.
Add a large sprig of sage, and three cloves garlic (peeled and bruised).
Season with salt and pepper, cook in a low oven for 1 hour or so.

(meanwhile cook 1 pumpkin, chopped, with some water and milk and
cinnamon stick until soft. Mash.)

When everything's tender, remove the meat and cover with foil on a
plate to rest.
Make a roux with butter, olive oil and a little plain flour. Add cold
cider to this, mixing, until it's a thick paste. Then add some of the
gravy from the meat and pour back into the pot.
Stir to thicken.
Carve the meat into bite sized pieces, pouring any juices into the
pot. Return the meat to the pot and reheat everything gently.

Very garlicky chicken pasta

you will need
lots of garlic
a tin of tomatoes
a little leftover roast chicken
pasta
oil, butter

gently heat olive oil and butter, very gently fry about 10 cloves of
garlic, crushed. Add a tin of tomatoes and cook very slowly until
almost all the liquid has evaporated. Add a handful of chopped cold
chicken. Serve with spaghetti.

Meaty balls

450g minced beef
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 a small onion very finely chopped
1 egg yolk
small sprigs of sage, rosemary, thyme very finely chopped
pepper
cayenne
salt

Mix these together and roll into balls

1 onion
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 red pepper diced
1/2 green pepper diced
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
Herbes de provence
dried chillies
2 cans tomatoes

Fry onion slowly, add garlic. Add chilli bay, herbs, pepper and
celery, cook a little while. Add tomatoes and cook for a while.

Meanwhile brown meatballs well in a frying pan. Add to the mixture and
turn the heat down. Serve with spaghetti.

Venison stew

Feeds 4 or so

1lb venison (stewing meat - cubes of neck etc)
celery
onion
turnip
garlic
carrot
red wine (Rioja?) - about 2 glasses
a slosh of worcester sauce
flour
olive oil
salt+pepper
good chicken stock
- - (homemade!... well roasted chicken carcasses, onion, garlic,
celery, carrot, fresh thyme, simmer gently for 4 hours then reduce)

Slowly fry onion in olive oil until translucent. Add diced celery,
sliced carrot, cubed turnip, crushed garlic and fry for a bit. Brown
the meat very well in a frying pan and add to the veg. Then deglaze
the pan with red wine, bringing to the boil and adding to the pan with
the stock, to cover. Cook slowly for 2 hours. Make a roux with a
little oil and some flour. Ladle off as much of the stock as possible,
blend with the roux and reduce very fast with some wine.

serve with boiled potatoes and red cabbage.

--

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not
giving the kiss the attention it deserves. ~Albert Einstein

Curry Roast Monkfish

This was very very good.

First take 6kg pale malted barley and 56g of Target hops, add 4l of
water at 50'C, stir and rest 20m. Now add 8l of boiling water, bring
to 60'C, stir well, and prepare your monkfish.

Take 1 clove of garlic, slice into slivers and stud into the monkfish
tail much as you would for a leg of lamb. Sprinkle lightly with olive
oil, salt, a little chilli powder. a little smoked paprika, and 1tsp
curry powder. Place in a roasting dish with some cold boiled potatoes
and sliced tomatoes. Roast for 30m in a 220'C oven.

When the fish is nearly ready, add 8l of 80'C water to the mash. Stir
well. Rest for about 25 minutes (this should bring it to about 70'C
but it didn't. Adjust as necessary with boiling water / direct heat).

Eat fish served with lovely steamed samphire.

Continue making beer.

lemon + basil chicken

1 lemon, zest removed and finely chopped
loads of fresh basil leaves, chopped
pepper
salt
olive oil
1 bottle brown brothers' dry muscat
1 chicken

Stuff most of the lemon zest and basil under the breast skin of the
bird. rub the rest over the chicken skin, season well, and place
breast down in a (fairly deep) roasting tin.

Roast 25 minutes at full blast, about 320'C. Then remove from oven,
turn breast side up, add more black pepper and baste with the lemon
juice and a very little bit of oil.

Cover the chicken with a layer of foil (edges tucked into the tin) and
a second layer (folded over the edges of the tin).

turn the oven down to 165 and roast for a further hour and a half or
so. The chicken should steam under the foil, rendering it utterly
moist and providing the basis for a lovely sauce.

Remove from the tin when done, sieve the juices which are left in the
tin, and add to a saucepan with a little slosh of wine. Boil very hard
and whisk until reduced to a nice emulsified sauce.

Serve the breast with skin on (cause it looks good with al lthe basil
under it), with boiled spuds and greens.

Then nyom to your heart's content while quaffing that lovely wine.

Fwd: Breakfast

A delicious breakfast:

Cook some brown rice (takes about 25 minutes so start early).
Add to this 1 tin of sardines in tomato sauce, some chopped up
homemade pickled limes, some sliced tomato, some curry powder, mixed
indian pickle, black pepper.

Very good the next day, reheated with a trickle of hot water added to
rehydrate the rice.

Yeah, it's basically Kedgeree but without the smoked fish or peas or
egg. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm though.

--

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not
giving the kiss the attention it deserves. ~Albert Einstein

Lambs Fries

What should I find in the butchers this Saturday but a tray full of
lamb's fries... In other words, testicles. I had to try.

Following the procedure outlined in the Good Book
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Cottage-Meat-Book/dp/0340826355/ref=pd_ka_1/203-8083694-8800764?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173698467&sr=8-1),
I marinated the skinned fries in some olive oil, a sliced onion, thyme
and sage, and some tarragon vinegar. Then sliced into thick strips and
fried, with a dusting of flour.

They're very tasty! Rather like Kidney in flavour, but perhaps a
slightly softer texture. A curious milky liquid came out into the pan
while frying them (no joke!) but no more disquieting than what happens
when you fry cheap bacon.

Oxtail stew

It's not my recipe, basically another one by dear old HFW. But it's lovely.

Take one oxtail, chopped up by butchr. Rinse it. Place in a big pot
with one large onion (chopped), two sliced carrots, chopped celery,
bay leaves, thyme. Cover with water. Bring to boil, simmer slowly for
3-4 hours (skim off some of the crud which rises if you can be
bothered).

When the meat is tender, take it all out of the stock (veg too). Rip
the meat off the bones. Add 1/2 a bottle of red wine to the stock, and
boil it down to a nice thick consistency. Add meat and possibly the
veg if you like really well done carrots back to the stock.

Minty Trousers

You will need:
One pair of trousers
One washing machine
One small packet of Wrigleys Extra Peppermint Gum.

Open gum and chew a couple of pieces. Place in trouser pocket and forget.
Wash trousers in washing machine, as normal.

Pumpkin Soup

Here is my pumpkin soup recipe. It is very good

--------------------------------------------

Take one Graig Farm chicken (2kg).

Use the neck and heart to make a nice sauce for the bird:

Fry onion, carrot, neck and heart in a tiny amount of olive oil. Add
water to cover. Simmer for an hour or more.

Take the liver. Fry quickly with garlic, and spread on a piece of
toast. Chef's perk.

Grate the rind off a lemon. Stuff the two halves of the lemon up the
chicken's arse.

Mix some Malton salt, fennel seeds, black pepper, lemon rind, and
thyme leaves with a little olive oil. (This is vaguely inspired by a
Jamie Oliver recipe). Smear it all over the outside of the bird.

Roast the bird about 30 minutes, breast down, on a heat high enough to
make your kitchen/lounge all smoky and set off the smoke alarm. Then
turn the bird over and roast for another 45m or so at about 160dC.

When cooking is done, move it to somewhere else and rest the meat.

Deglaze the pan with red wine and water, thicken with some flour and
chicken fat made into a roux. Add the scrapings to the heart and neck
stock you made. Then season it with S+P, Worcester sauce, whatever...
P.S. Eat the lovely tender heart when nobody is looking!!

Serve the bird with the sauce and some broccoli and potatoes.

----

Have a meal or two of chicken on the bone, grilled until bubbling,
with leftover tatties and sauce. Yum.

---

Use the leftover bits of chicken (breast etc) for a nice pasta sauce:

Fry onions, leek, garlic, tinned tomatoes, add some worcestershire
sauce, cook hard. Fry chicken breast hard, seasoning very hard with
cayenne and black pepper, throw into the sauce, stir to mix. Should be
fucking spicy.

---

A week later, use the bones and skin of the chicken ... (you are
supposed to keep them aside in a tupperware in the fridge. didn't I
say that? you'd better go and root through the dustbin) ... to make a
nice stock:

Roast bones until they're brown. Add to a pot with 2 halved onions, 2
carrots, a stick of celery, some peppercorns, a bay leaf. Add water,
simmer slowly for about 3 hours. You should have plenty of time to,
say, clean your bike, while this is happening.

--

Then make your pumpkin soup:

Cut the skin off your pumpkin. Chop into big chunks. Roast until
tender, with olive oil, garam masala, cumin, cayenne, black pepper,
maldon salt. Liquidise with a ladle or two of stock. Reheat. Serve
with toast.

For the best organic chickens

I'd highly recommend these guys' organic chickens.

http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/

and their beef was very fine too.