Best ever Moussaka - with a little bit of help!

Now, before going any further, if you've come here looking for the original version of my recipe for Moussaka and are aghast to find it has been replaced by this one - do let me know and I will reinstate it.  You see, in my opinion, this new recipe is such a totally different kettle o' lamb deliciousness, it quite outstrips the old recipe.  Although, having said that, this recipe carries an awful lot of the previous incarnation along with it - just with a few tweaks and twists that have made such a difference.  So anyway - to horse!  Or kitchen.  lol

You'll be wondering what makes the big difference.  Well, firstly, I've got a new way of preparing the aubergines that works so beautifully well.  Instead of brushing the aubergine slices with olive oil and having them absorb half a bottleful, I am now taking advantage of that wonderful thing, the low calorie cooking spray.  In my case, a 1 calorie coconut oil version.  Spray the tray, lay the aubergine slices on, spray each slice, sprinkle with salt and pepper and into the oven they go.  They come out beautifully toasty, sweet and soft without being greasy in the slightest - which of course, then cuts the amount of oil your Moussaka is dealing with.  Perfect.

Secondly, I've included some garlic.  Now don't go looking all horrified, what I'm looking for here is flavour and it's only one clove.  Some traditional Moussaka recipes ask for it, some shun it completely.  Believe me, it makes a difference so go for it.

My third big improvement is that I have been using a pre-prepared bechamel sauce, to which I add two egg yolks and a good amount of nutmeg, plus as much seasoning as is required.  Yes, I have a taste just to test how much seasoning to use.  Now if you're hale and hearty and able to make your own bechamel by all means be my guest and do so.  If, however, you're like me and a short cut to deliciousness can only result in your not feeling so trashed later on in the day, then buy some.  I heartily recommend Lidl's Italiamo Besciamella as being one that is a gorgeous texture and delicious flavour.  A great starting point for any white sauce!

Now comes the big discussion point.  To potato or not potato.  For me and for all that I love potatoes, they are not welcome in my Moussaka.  I reckon that potato was only included because the price of a) lamb and b) aubergines became prohibitive and to make the dish more of a meal, potatoes were introduced.  I can respect that - I've done things like that myself, over the years.  However, I can't help but think that a true Moussaka should be just meat (and sauce), aubergines and bechamel sauce with nutmeg & cheese.  However, if you're trying to feed a big family and sliced potatoes will help make your Moussaka go further, then use them.  (It helps to add them to the aubergines being baked in the oven to par-cook.  Makes sure they cook through in the Moussaka).

There are two ingredients that it is important you don't skip.  One is the wine - absolutely essential.  Two is the teaspoonful of mint jelly.  The sweetness of the jelly helps to round out the acidity of the wine and as we all know, mint and lamb are a combination made in heaven.

Now I've used Grana Padano cheese for my Moussaka, but that is by no means set in stone.  I would have used Kefalotyri if I could have found any, or Parmesan if my son didn't hate the stuff.  To be honest, I dare say a good mature Cheddar would do the trick as you don't use very much.  So, I shall leave the cheese up to your own taste - but don't leave it out!  It is essential for getting that beautiful golden crust on the finished article.

Yes, this recipe takes time and yes, it makes a prodigious amount of washing up, however you can easily combat both of those points by making the dish up to the point of putting it in the oven and set it aside (even overnight, if needs be!) until required.  (I make mine in the morning, ready for eating that evening).  You just pre-heat the oven and in it goes.  As for the washing up, well hopefully you'll have had time to deal with that in the meantime, making clean up after dinner itself a relatively simple matter.

Choices of things to serve alongside your Moussaka include garlic bread, chips (a.k.a. fries) and of course, the ubiquitous side salad or even better a Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion and feta cheese sprinkled with dried oregano.  Delicious.

Oh and another plus point (as if you needed another one), is that it freezes really well.  So make an enormous dish and freeze half for another day.  Can't do better than that!

MOUSSAKA (serves 4)

Ingredients : 

2 large aubergines, sliced thinly

low calorie cooking spray

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 large onions, sliced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
500g minced lamb

1 tsp ground cinnamon

half a tsp dried thyme
2 vine ripened tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp of lamb stock powder (or 1 lamb stock cube)

200ml red wine

1 tsp mint jelly
500ml carton of Lidl Italiamo Besciamella (or other equivalent)

2 egg yolks
1 tsp grated nutmeg

grated Grana Padano cheese for sprinkling.

Method :

Preheat the oven to 180degC/350degF/gas mark 4.

Line two large baking trays with silver foil and spray with cooking spray.  Place the aubergine slices onto the baking tray and spray liberally with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with sea salt & black pepper then bake for 20 minutes or until they feel cooked through when a knife is inserted. They should hopefully have some browned areas, which adds to the flavour.  Set aside to cool.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a large frying pan and add the onions & garlic. Cook gently for around 15 minutes, stirring often, until golden and soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the minced lamb to the pan and fry on the highest heat, stirring often, until browned and slightly caramelised. Remove some of the fat that will have accumulated (if necessary) and return the onions & garlic to the pan.

Reduce the heat to moderate and add the cinnamon, thyme, tomatoes and tomato puree.  Stir to combine and cook on for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the lamb stock powder or cube and the red wine.  Bring everything to the boil and cook briskly, stirring often, until the red wine is reduced by half. Season with the mint jelly, salt and pepper to taste.

Using a lasagne dish, layer the aubergine and mince, starting with mince.  You should have sufficient for three layers of mince and three of aubergine, finishing with an aubergine layer.

Tip the bechamel sauce into a bowl and stir in the egg yolks, nutmeg and some black pepper.  Pour the sauce evenly over the top of the aubergine & lamb mixture and level the top surface.  Sprinkle liberally with the grated Grana Padano cheese.

Now, at this stage, you can leave the Moussaka to one side until you are ready to bake it.  It will cope with being refrigerated until the next day, if you so wish.

Making sure the oven is pre-heated to 180degC/350degF/gas mark 4 and the Moussaka is at room temperature, bake the Moussaka for around 45-50 minutes, until the top surface is golden and the edges are bubbling.  Remove from the oven and allow to settle for some 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

Serve with chips (fries) or garlic bread and a side salad with olives and feta cheese.

Printable version

Today's dinner : Medicinal Shepherd's Pie

I've said before - many times, I suspect - that Shepherd's Pie is, to me, more of a medicinal thing than simply a comfort food thing.

I've been hankering after a Shepherd's Pie for a little while but the weather has just been wrong for the making, not to mention the eating, of one.  So when things cooled down a few degrees and I found myself with a pack of lamb mince (because the Pilaff should have been lamb instead of chicken - I took the wrong thing out of the freezer!) and both hubby and I had tender tummies, it was an easy choice.

Not just any old Shepherd's Pie, though.  If I was going to go to all the time and effort of making one, I was going to make my Really Lamby Shepherd's Pie.  Click on the name there and it'll take you to the recipe - for me, it's the ultimate in Shepherd's Pie recipes.

Just look at that beautifully baked top. Mmmmn.

Now I will admit that the whole recipe lives or dies on what stock you use.  Because the big gravy granule producers (Knorr, Bisto etc.) haven't seen fit to produce a lamb version, (or if they have, I haven't found it) the gravy for this production has to be based on a lamb stock.  Now Knorr do make a lamb stock cube, but it is frightfully salty.  A far better idea is to use Essential Cuisine's utterly fabulous Lamb Stock powder.  Nowhere near as salty as standard stock cubes, it has a rich deep lamb flavour and leaves you to add how much or how little salt you want/need.

I served mine with Vegibox's gorgeous carrots, along with some broccoli and peas.  Don't forget to use the broccoli stem - it's just as nice as the fluffy bit!

You know, there's no hope for me.  Because, as I have been tidying up the photographs for this blog post, my mouth has been watering.  I only stopped eating dinner about an hour ago!  I'm not hungry (not at all), it's just that it looks so good!  Mind you, I wasn't feeling so chipper by the time the veggies were in the steamer and I'd spent the previous two hours cooking the Shepherd's Pie.  I looked rather like this .... worn out and ready for a nap!

It's never a meal plan? Yes - it is!

There you are, you see .....

We have been planning our meals all through the Christmas and New Year period - it's just that the meal plans have very regularly gone to pot as we've been either too poorly to make the things we've planned for, or just didn't fancy what we'd planned to have.

As a result, I've not been posting up the meal plans as it would be too confusing to try and follow what happened to various dishes that never saw light of day.

I have got to admit, though, that this situation hasn't improved much.  I reckon that for the seven meals that we plan, probably between 4-5 have been made just recently.  Last week was one of the better ones, but even then we've only managed five out of the seven!

... we have been eating - and rather well, too!

We're setting off on this week's meal plan with determination to see it through.  Whether this determination lasts, depends on whether either of us parents go down with the sore throat that is currently keeping son & heir from his studies at school.  We whisked him down to the doctor this morning, just to make sure that it wasn't tonsillitis he'd got - which it wasn't, thank goodness.  He's now all sorted out with antiseptic gargle and penicillin, so fingers crossed it won't last long.

Hence, of necessity, the meals for the beginning of the week are non-confrontational and designed to be easily swallowed.  So what's on the agenda?

Tues : Bacon & leek pasta

Weds : 2 sausage paella

Thurs : Lamb & mozzarella stuffed aubergines with a side salad

Fri : Gammon steak, cheesey champ, courgettes, mushrooms & peas

Sat : Pork, aubergine & porcini ragu with pasta

Sun : Beef & beetroot curry with rice

Mon : Chicken pie and vegetables.

The bacon & leek pasta is there because it is one of son & heir's favourite dinners - and just in case he might need some tempting.  It is very easy to eat and just slips down with the minimum of bother, so shouldn't be too challenging for a boy with a sore throat.  Fingers crossed!  Of course the fact that it is one of our favourite "go to" quick dinners doesn't hurt either.

Wednesday's 2 sausage paella is an idea borne of having the remaining half of a very nice chorizo sitting in the fridge looking for a home.  Hubby is planning on putting it together with some good pork sausages, red pepper, mushrooms etc. into a paella type rice dish.  Sounds like it will be lovely - and again, easy to eat for son & heir.

The Lamb & Mozzarella Stuffed Aubergines is a Peter Gordon recipe from the Good Food channel.  We're going through a bit of an aubergine (hubby's favourite) patch at the moment and as soon as hubby clapped eyes on this recipe, he was as keen as mustard to try it.  It uses Sumac, which is a new spice for us - but we have liked the little we've tried of it so far.  The recipe also makes use of all our favourite spices along with lamb mince (my favourite) and mozzarella cheese (son & heir's favourite), so as you can see, it just had to be done.

Friday's gammon steaks with cheesy champ (mashed potato with spring onion) is entirely down to a certain Mr Rod Tucker of the Good Food Good People Facebook page.  He recently posted a couple of photographs of his gammon steak dinners that made my mouth water so much, I just had to include gammon in this week's list.  We've a few spring onions that needed using up, so mashed potato became Champ, then migrated into Cheesey Champ - the idea of which is making me very hungry.  I'll make my creamy courgette & mushrooms which will provide some lovely moisture to the combination, along with some peas for colour.

Saturday is another of hubby's recipes, where he's planning a rich minced pork ragu using smoky griddled aubergine and soaked porcini mushrooms.  The combinations sound delicious and this should be really good.

Sunday is a curry recipe that I found in the BBC Good Food Magazine.  The sheer idea of marrying up beef with beetroot and curry spices is intriguing me and I can't wait to find out how it will be.  I can imagine it will prove to be sweet, earthy and rather gorgeous.  I may very well do a small vegetable curry to go with it, along with the rice.

Monday's chicken pie and vegetables is a meal that has (so far) been moved along from the Monday spot for three weeks in a row.  You never know, we might even get to eat it this week!

I daren't even make the tiniest suggestion of other makes or bakes - probably best not to tempt fate, don't you think?

 

Chilli Marrakech with Lime & Chilli Yoghurt

Well, this recipe couldn't have arrived on a better day for it.

At around 3 a.m. the night before, it started snowing - and continued throughout the day.  Eventually, we had around 4-6 inches of snow on the garden - which is really quite deep for Dorset!

Now ordinarily, I'd have been having successive batches of kittens over this happening.  However, I'd seen the weather forecast and we'd been out and done our weekend's shopping the day before, so it was just a matter of having to drive son & heir to school.  I used to not really bother about driving in the snow, but since moving to Dorset where no road exists that doesn't involve either climbing up or going down a hill, it's a different matter.  One experience of sliding down a hill whilst slowly spinning until hitting the car at the bottom of the hill (and missing all the parked cars - which was a singular miracle) is quite enough and I don't mind admitting I've lost my snow nerve where driving is concerned.  Especially now I own a nice car.  The thought of stoving in one of Alfie's sides (Alfie the Amalfi Lemon coloured Skoda, that is) by crashing in snow is just terrifying.

However, all was peace and tranquillity when at 7 a.m. we had a message from school to say that the school was closed for the day.  And breathe!

That's a lot of snow, for us!

So we spent the day sitting in the warm, watching the snowflakes fall - and trash our baby Olive tree.  Yeah, thanks snow.  Poor little chap, we should have brought him in under cover, but forgot.  I don't think he's ever going to achieve "tree" status, he'll for ever be a bush instead, because of several mishaps involving dogs paws and now the snow.

What a perfect day, therefore, to have a warming Chilli on the menu.  So often, I find myself booked to make a stew when suddenly it's like the Sahara outside, or alternatively, we're booked for a salad on a day like yesterday.  For once, however, I got it right.

The Chilli Marrakech is a recipe taken from the BBC Good Food Magazine.  You can find it here.  (Thanks for pointing me to it, Angela!).  The recipe I detail below contains all the original recipe's ingredients, it has just been a bit re-organised to suit my cooking methods better.  For instance, I make sure to drain all the fat from the meat and so as to not lose too much flavour, I brown the meat before cooking the onions.  It's a small point, but it makes a lot of difference in the eating.  The lamb fat is brilliant mixed with some bird seed and left to solidify.  If you line the container with cling film before filling, it make it easier to get out.  Put it on your bird table and watch the birdies tuck in!

We all really enjoyed this dish.  It is very aromatic and a lot lighter than your usual Mexican style Chilli Con Carne.  In fact, I think to compare it to Chilli Con Carne is a bit daft as they are, really, completely different in just about all ways other than the fact that it's minced meat with spices and a bean.  In this case, it uses lamb, Harissa and chick peas to great effect.  I'm not sure how authentically Moroccan this recipe is - but it uses flavours that originate from Morocco, so if nothing else, it is Moroccan style!

Now I really like Harissa - and most especially the Sainsbury's Speciality Ingredients Harissa paste.  The ingredients are very similar to Ras al hanout spice mix, in that they include rose petals, paprika and cumin.  Obviously it differs in that it is a paste as opposed to a dry spice mix and it also contains rather more chilli - but if you know Ras al hanout, then you will know Harissa.

The recipe also includes additional cumin, paprika and cinnamon, along with fresh ginger, garlic and coriander - so you'll begin to see the kind of level of spicing we're talking about here.  Very aromatic, very flavoursome.

However, none of the spices overtook the lamb - you could very definitely tell it was lamb and not beef involved there.  The addition of chunks of sweet red pepper was great, too - as it gave interest, colour and the occasional burst of lovely sweetness - which always helps when you're eating an intensely spicy (but not hot) combination.

In fact, speaking of spicy heat, I added a pinch of red chilli flakes to my version as I felt that the Harissa just didn't have the punch that the family would be looking for from the dish.  It was a long way from the nose-running kind of hot and spicy that a good Chilli Con Carne should be, but that additional pinch just bolstered the chilli in the Harissa.

Now, the thing that absolutely made the dish - from my perspective - was the Lime & Chilli Yoghurt.  This wasn't included in the original recipe but I would very definitely recommend you make it to accompany this dish.  It only takes a moment or two to make and is just so good along with the chilli.

I didn't serve the chilli with any rice or couscous, but with some sundried tomato & onion flatbreads that came from Asda.  Yes, I know I could have made them - but I could also have wound up incapable of movement by the end of the cooking process - and I'd really like to be able to get from kitchen to chair to eat my meal!  The Asda flatbreads are very nice indeed.  I put them onto a baking tray and give them a little sprinkling of water, followed by 4-6 minutes in a hot oven - and they're perfectly soft but with a crunchy edge.  Just right for dipping and eating alongside.  Yum.

So the next time we've got snow on the horizon, off you go to Sainsbury's for lamb mince and Harissa paste!  You can't go wrong.

CHILLI MARRAKECH with LIME & CHILLI YOGHURT   (serves 4)

Ingredients :

600g minced lamb
1 onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped finely
1-2 tbsp Harissa paste (use less if you like less spicy heat)
1 heaped tsp ground cumin
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
1 heaped tsp paprika
1 pinch chilli flakes (omit if you like less spicy heat)
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 long sweet red pepper, de-seeded and cut into chunks
400g tin chick peas, drained (and washed, if in brine)
150ml lamb stock made using 1 stock cube or 1 tsp powder (I used Essential Cuisine lamb stock powder) 
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
15g fresh coriander, chopped.

For the yoghurt :

1 lime, zest and a little juice
a pinch of chopped fresh coriander
finely chopped red chilli, to taste
4-5 tbsp greek yoghurt
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  In a large saucepan, dry fry the lamb mince until the majority of the liquid has burned off and all the meat is brown.  Spoon the meat out into a bowl using a slotted spoon, so that the fat drains out of the meat and back into the pan.  Drain off all but 2 tbsp of the fat.

2.  Add the onions and cook on a moderate heat until softened.  Add the garlic and ginger, then cook for another minute or so.

3.  Return the meat to the pan and stir through.

4.  Add the Harissa paste and all the spices and stir thoroughly as it cooks, to make sure the paste is distributed evenly throughout the mixture.

5.  Add the chopped tomatoes, red pepper, chick peas and stock.  Again, stir through well to combine.

6.  If you have used a low salt stock, taste to check for seasoning and add as necessary.  Otherwise, add a pinch of sea salt and a good quantity of freshly ground black pepper to taste.

7.  Add three quarters of the chopped coriander and bring to a simmer.  Cook for around 30 minutes, or until the chilli reaches your preferred consistency.

8.  While the chilli is cooking, make the Lime & chilli yoghurt by grating the zest of a lime into a bowl.  Add a pinch of the remaining chopped coriander, the finely chopped red chilli (quantity depends on how spicy you like it - so be cautious when adding and taste before adding a little more), the juice of one third of the lime, the yoghurt and a tiny amount of sea salt & black pepper.  Stir to combine and taste.  Add more lime juice or more chilli, as you prefer. 

9.  Serve the chilli in warmed bowls with the remaining coriander sprinkled over, the Lime & Chilli yoghurt and warmed flatbreads.

Printable version

Bobotie - the more simple version, but just as good!

It just goes to show how behind I am with keeping the blog up to date, that this blog post is about last Thursday's Bobotie!  I blame the advent of Christmas (literally!) with all its shopping and organising - not to mention racing Son & heir all over the neighbourhood, to keep up with his social engagements!

This Bobotie, however, just had to be blogged.  I've made Bobotie once before from a Rachel Allen recipe and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.  That recipe, however, was a touch more complicated than this Kevin Dundon version.  I would liken the difference between the two to being a situation where you'd use the Rachel Allen one for a dinner party, whereas the Kevin Dundon version is far more suitable for a mid-week dinner for the family.

As such, it was perfect.  Satisfyingly simple to prepare, it even gave me time to cook some lovely carrot & parsnip mash (which I'd make again - simply boil some cut carrots, then add the parsnip when the carrots are nearly done.  Drain, add plenty of butter and black pepper and blitz until smooth.  Got the thumbs up from the whole family) and shredded cabbage, all of which went perfectly with the Bobotie.  I have since made the Bobotie again, this time pairing it up with BBC Good Food's yellow rice recipe, which was also great.

Bobotie consists of a fairly dry mildly curry spiced, lamb mince mixture.  However, there are a couple of interesting turns that the meat mixture makes, not least the inclusion of a couple of slices of bread which have been soaked in milk.  On first reading, you need to suspend disbelief for a while and really concentrate on how you feel the flavours will meld together.  

Hand me a spoon, I could dive right in!

Owing to my having drained the fat from the meat, I found that I needed to add around 200ml of water to the meat mixture prior to putting it in the oven to bake, which next time I would make into lamb stock rather than just water - and have included in the recipe below.  However, the flavours were gorgeous.  Slightly sweet, slightly spicy, very lamby and with a tangy edge, the egg mixture that is poured on top adds a mildly foamy, interesting layer once it has been baked.  It didn't resemble scrambled egg, or an omelette, or baked eggs - it has a texture and a flavour all of its own.

January 2019 version!

BOBOTIE (the easier version)  Serves 3-4

Ingredients :

1 slice of bread
160ml milk
1 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped fine
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp grated ginger root
1 flat tsp mild curry powder
½ tsp turmeric
500g minced lamb
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp tomato chutney
¼ of a lemon, juiced
30g raisins
100-200ml lamb stock
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs.

Method :

Pre-heat the oven to 170deg C/325deg F/Gas 3.

Soak the bread in the milk for around 10 minutes, then strain (I helped it along with a little squeeze), reserving the milk and fluff the bread up with a fork.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat and add the minced lamb to the pan and increase the heat to maximum.  Break up the pieces of mince with a wooden spoon as it fries.  Season with a little sea salt and ground black pepper and fry until well browned to the point of caramelising.  Chase all the meat over to one side of the pan and drain off the worst of the fat (if necessary), removing the meat to a bowl.  (I use the onion/garlic bowl and tip them in beside the meat, then remove the meat into the empty bowl).  

Anyway, however you do it, add the onions and garlic and fry until softened over a reduced, moderate, heat.  Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and turmeric and mix quickly to coat the onions in the spices.  Cook on for around 2-3 minutes.

Add the lamb back to the pan and stir well to combine.  Add the sugar, mashed bread, chutney, lemon juice and raisins to the mixture and mix well again.  Add enough stock until you have the mixture moistened sufficiently, without becoming "saucy".  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Decant the mixture into a casserole dish, level the top and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

For the topping, whisk the milk and eggs together with a little sea salt & black pepper, then remove the casserole from the oven and pour the egg mixture on top of the meat.  Bake for a further 20 minutes or so, or until the egg mixture is browned on top and the edges are starting to sizzle.

Printable version

Ras-al-hanout Minced Lamb with Ottolenghi's Green Couscous

This recipe was originally one from that old favourite, BBC Good Food.  However, I can't justify paying for stewing lamb, or for a lamb shoulder for everyday meals so it required some adjustment and tinkering about, in order to make it suitable for using lamb mince.

I was conscious that the texture would appear very different from how it should do, as mince has a very different "look" to cubed lamb.  Hence, to provide the "cubes" that would be lacking otherwise, I added some small cubes of sweet potato.  The sweet potato added to the sweetness of the dish and also worked perfectly where giving the whole mixture some additional texture.  It didn't look like a panful of slop - which I was a tad nervous about!  One thing to note, though, is the degree of fattiness that appears if you don't drain the fat from the mince to begin with (which is difficult, considering the order of cooking).  I was left with pools of oil on the surface of the mince - which were very quickly and successfully dealt with by laying a piece of kitchen paper on top.  The oil was absorbed into the kitchen paper and the gravy was left behind.  Perfect!

The recipe said to serve with cooked couscous, mint or coriander leaves and lemon wedges - all of which immediately brought Ottolenghi's Green Couscous to mind.  We absolutely love this couscous - which is saying something, as couscous has often been something of a *heavy sigh* where carbohydrates are concerned.

Bearing in mind the anti-inflammatory thing, the lamb dish was spot on (especially with the addition of sweet potato), but the addition of a carb. wasn't in keeping with the spirit of the thing at all.  However, if you consider that in total you're using just 150g of couscous, divide that by three diners and at 50g, you're not doing as much damage as you first thought.  Add to that the ingredients of olive oil, onion, cumin, spring onion, chilli, parsley, coriander, tarragon, dill and mint - and you're immediately into plus points.

The two dishes - the lamb mince and the couscous - went together perfectly.  I was so pleased, although following a spoonful of the couscous I could easily have forgotten about the lamb and just eaten couscous until I couldn't have stuffed another morsel in - but that's probably just me.

I am always vaguely disappointed by Ras-al-hanout.  I think it is a combination of two factors.  Firstly, Ras-al-hanout spice mix has, as one of its ingredients, rose petals.  I have an issue with the smell of rose petals when they aren't attached to a rose bush.  Make no mistake, I have no issue whatsoever with the flavour - love Turkish Delight!  However, I blame the entire thing on a work colleague from when I was a Legal Secretary back in Epsom.  I shared an office with a wonderfully intelligent and mischievously quirky girl called Liz, who had adopted an intensely rose fragranced perfume.  Sitting in a centrally heated office with her, was like being in the middle of Hampton Court Palace's Rose Garden on an 80 degree summer's day.  Now where the Rose Garden is concerned, it's wonderful because you walk into it - breathe deeply - and walk back out again.  Having to live with it for 8 hours a day, was hard, hard work.  When it reached the stage that I was leaving work with a migraine each day, I had to stop her from practising her breast-stroke on her typing chair (yes, she used to!) and ask if she would mind toning down the perfume.  I'm pleased to say that because she was so lovely, she did.


However, since then I've had issues with any kind of rose perfume - which obviously includes Ras-al-hanout.


The second element to this disappointment, is I think because the spice mix doesn't contain any chilli heat at all.  Now the whole reason I was attracted to it in the first place, was because it was novel to find a spice mix that didn't contain chilli.  Having used it a few times, though, I made the enlightening discovery that the spice just isn't exciting without a little heat.  I still have some left in the packet, so the next time I use it, I'll include some chilli and see how the disappointment factor goes!  Yes, I know it won't - strictly speaking - be Ras-al-hanout then, but isn't that how recipes develop?


RAS-AL-HANOUT MINCED LAMB  (feeds 3)


Ingredients :


1 tbsp olive oil
500g minced lamb
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
3 tsp Ras-al-hanout spice mix
1 tbsp tomato puree
3 or 4 dried apricots, chopped
a sweet potato, peeled and diced
300ml vegetable stock.


Method :


1.  In a deep frying pan, heat the oil and add the onion.  Fry until softened and beginning to caramelise, then add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for another minute or so.


2.  At this stage, you could remove the contents of the pan (set aside somewhere to keep warm) and brown the mince.  This enables you to drain the fat once browned.  Otherwise, you'll need to skim the surface at the end, to remove the excess fat.  Either way, brown the mince until beginning to caramelise.


3.  If appropriate, return the onion mixture to the pan and add the spice mix, tomato puree, apricots, stock and sweet potato and bring to a simmer.


4.  Cover and simmer for around 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is virtually cooked.


5.  Remove the lid and continue to simmer until the sweet potato is tender and the sauce has reduced from a gravy-like consistency, to a dense sauce-like consistency.


6.  Serve.


.

A little bit of a lamby week, this week! Meal plan w/b 4.10.11

As ever, before I get onto this week (which has turned out to be a little bit lamby), let me just tell you about last Sunday's dinner.  Well, it was very exciting, you see!

I had bought a piece of roasting bacon (as opposed to a rasher of bacon, which wouldn't roast at all well) which I put into the slow cooker with some lovely stock vegetables and a covering of water.  Some 4-5 hours later, it was beautifully tender, sweet and juicy.  Now you may remember that I was hedging my bets where the accompanying vegetables were concerned, owing to the weather.  Ultimately, we went with a seasonal compromise.  We had some new potatoes in the cupboard and so had these steamed with ... drum roll ... green beans and brussels sprouts ... from the garden!  Ta daaaa!  (Oh, and some carrots and swede from the supermarket).  Match that lot up with a lovely parsley sauce made with fresh parsley and you've got a very successful Sunday dinner.

I was so excited to be eating our first brussels sprouts!  They were gorgeous, because they're so new - just babies really - they hadn't grown into those big old hoary sprouts that you sometimes find in the supermarket.  They were crisp from being just picked, mild and crunchy.  Now that sort of excitement is why so many people grow their own veg., I'm sure of it.

We're hoping that the Romanescu cauliflowers come to something too - but they're looking a bit random at the moment.  Not sure what they're supposed to look like at this stage - does anybody know?

I won't worry if all we get are these little fellows - I'm sure they still taste nice, even if they're not quite what they're supposed to be!


So, that excitement over, let's turn our attention to what you might find appearing in Rhubarb & Ginger this week.

Tues : Pizza all round

Weds : Keema Mutter, Vegetable Curry & white rice

Thurs : Shop-bought steak & kidney pie with home grown veg.

Fri : Bacon & Leek Pasta

Sat : Nasi Goreng

Sun : Lamb & boulangere potatoes, home grown veg.

Mon : Tortellini in sauce, with garlic bread.

Hubby and I didn't get to have anything special on Tuesday, because I had an appointment right at the time I should have been cooking.  Hence we opted for the easy avenue and hubby took care of dinner, which was pizza-shaped.  Mind you, I was pleased to find a "sensibly sized" (i.e. smaller than an entire dinner plate) pizza in the supermarket.  I find these gigantic pizzas that overflow your plate just too much food.  Hubby always took care of the leftovers for breakfast the following day, but that's not recommended practice on a regular basis.

Now, Wednesday's dinner I was really looking forward to making.  I'd found a recipe for Keema Mutter (which translates as lamb mince with peas) which looked not only easy to make, but really tasty.  I intended to serve it just with white rice, but then had a bright idea.  Looking at the recipe, I thought that it sounded like it could be a bit lively in the chilli department - in which case, we'd probably (well, those of us who don't go by the nickname of ChilliBob, that is) be requiring something to balance that with.  So I decided to make a plain old vegetable curry, which I hoped would do that job, along with the white rice.

I won't witter on about it now, as I've promised it its own blog posting - it was that good.  If you like curries, make sure to come back and take a look!

Hubby's in charge of dinner on Thursday evening, when we're indulging in a shop-bought Steak & Kidney pie, for ease.  Fingers crossed, we'll be able to have some more of those home-grown veggies with the pie!

We had an unexpected visitor today (Thursday), in that my lovely friend and ex-colleague Jenny (yes, another Jenny!) was in the area and popped in for a cuppa and to say hello.  Well, I couldn't let her go away without a bite of something - so made Jack Knight's Mum's Library Book Marmalade Cake.

Again, this was such an unbridled success that I shall be blogging the results.  However, if you're curious about the recipe, why not go along to Jack's Blog and see!

We've an extra mouth to feed on Friday, as one of son & heir's friends from school will be in for dinner that day.  They are working on a homework project to build a mini moonbuggy (in my day, it was a papier mache volcano - how times have changed!) so will be consulting with hubby over the electronics for same.

It's just as well, therefore, that I was already planning a simple dish like Bacon & Leek Pasta.  The friend is notoriously difficult to feed (his Mum sent a message that "he only likes sausages"), but I'm hoping that the extreme yumminess of this pasta dish will win him over.  It's bacon - what could go wrong?  Everyone likes bacon!

I've had a sudden fancy for Nasi Goreng.  It's funny how it happens like that.  The last sudden fancy I had, was for "something in a cheese sauce" - and so the Cauliflower Cheese happened.

I've loved Nasi Goreng for as long as I've known about it, I think.  I suspect that my earliest memories of it are when my parents would buy it in huge tins from the NAAFI shop in Germany (when my Dad was stationed there with the Army).  We'd have it for tea - I suspect it was just a simple heating up job, probably in a frying pan, and I absolutely loved it.  I wonder if you can get it nowadays?  Considering that was around forty-mumble years ago, I doubt it!

Sunday's Lamb & boulangere potatoes is another new dish.  I love lamb, but it's just that bit too pricey to buy anything other than mince at the moment.  However, lamb mince is better than no lamb at all, so it's just a matter of working out different ways of cooking it.

I made a very successful dish of Boulangere potatoes in the recent past and considering that the potatoes that go on the top of a hot pot are along those lines, I figured that if I made some lovely savoury lamb mince and topped it with boulangere-style potatoes, it might work.  I'll let you know - but I can tell you that just the idea of it is making my tummy rumble, right now!

So that brings us to Monday, when hubby is back in charge in the kitchen and has decided to be brave and definitely try the ole filled pasta.  He's not had a very good time with filled pasta in the past, but on my recommendation (I sometimes have some for lunch) on the basis that as time has gone by the quality has improved, said he would give it a go.

This was on a menu plan previously, but he swerved it by enticing me with a Chinese Takeaway - always a good avoidance technique - so we'll see whether we make it this time!  I'm quite looking forward to it, even if it is shop bought.  Hey - it'll give me a night off - and after three nights of cooking, that will be very welcome.

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So simple! Spicy minced lamb

Although the recipe for this Spicy minced lamb is incredibly easy, it is definitely worth blogging about.  Any recipe that takes as little as this one does - yet turns out an appetising and delicious result, is always worth passing on.

The "recipe" is one which has evolved over the years and is a great stand-by for those moments when you want something homey and warming, but don't want to spend ages creating it and equally don't want anything too challenging on the tastebuds.

I served it with Ottolenghi's Green Couscous, which was a stroke of brilliance on my part and provided us with a welcome injection of green food, but without having to think about it being palatable or what sauce to go with it!  The mince contains all the right kinds of flavours to go with the Green Couscous and the two of them were very comfortable bedfellows (or should it be "platefellows"?).

SPICY MINCED LAMB  (feeds 3-4)

Ingredients :

500g minced lamb
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 garlic clove, grated
a pinch of chilli flakes
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
400g tin of chick peas
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped.

Method :

1.  In a dry frying pan, brown the minced lamb until all the water has been burned off and the mince is beginning to caramelise on the pan.

2.  Add the ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic and chilli and continue to cook for a minute or two, mixing to ensure all is well combined.  You may need to add a little olive oil at this stage, depending on how fatty the mince was.

3.  Add the tomatoes, tomato ketchup and chick peas and stir to combine.  Add a little water to let the mixture down, if it needs it.  Simmer for around 10 minutes (or as long as it takes to make the Green Couscous!).

4.  When the mixture has reduced and combined, stir through the fresh coriander and serve.

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The Recipe Queen's Tave Me Presh (a.k.a. Baked Mince with Leeks)

This may, quite conceivably, be the first Albanian recipe I've ever tried - and if it is representative of an Albanian's cuisine, count me in!

I found the original recipe on The Recipe Queen's blog, along with the Paprika Chicken from last week.  In fact, this is representative of the worth of having food blogs around in the first place, as had I have found the recipe without a photograph or explanatory piece of writing, I'd have probably passed it by.  As it was, the photograph caught my eye to begin with and upon reading the explanation, it intrigued me and got my saliva glands working.  Always a good sign!

I had a couple of reservations as regards the recipe.  Firstly, I had taken note of the "brothy" nature of the gravy/sauce and as I'm sure you all know by now, Hubby isn't all that keen on "brothy" recipes.  The second worry was that it might be too gentle a flavour.  The ingredients are all fairly flavoursome, but there was nothing there that could provide a "punch", so I was concerned that Hubby's jaded tastebuds (after a lifetime of smoking - but he's just celebrated his 2nd year of being smoke-free! Yay!) might not register such delicate flavouring.  All of which might have you thinking "that Hubby is a picky wotsit", but everyone has their likes and dislikes and it's pointless my putting together a recipe that I'm absolutely sure he won't like.  So, adaptations need to be made.

In fact, the adaptations I made were simple.  I added 3tbsp of flour to the sauce/gravy, which thickened it up a treat.  Where the flavours were concerned, the simple addition of a shake or two of Worcester Sauce and Tabasco provided the lift to the flavour range that made the difference between "meh!" and "ooooh, yum!".

The original recipe also asked for either carrot or red pepper to be used.  Because Hubby so enjoys his red pepper and I really like carrots, I used them both.  I also had some leftover asparagus (from the risotto which got bumped off of the menu list) which I cut into two and added.  I haven't included the asparagus on the ingredients list, because it was simply using up a leftover.  I suspect that the recipe for Tave Me Presh is probably another one like Cottage Pie, in that there are many different versions and you could pretty much include any vegetable you really liked.  I apologise to all the Albanians out there, if my version has strayed from the traditional - but we liked it a LOT.

In fact, I liked it so much that I had the last portion for lunch today - and I can confirm that it was just as buttery and delicious as it had been yesterday.

I give the recipe, as I made it, below.  My method differs a bit from The Recipe Queen's, as I don't have a pan which will transfer easily to the oven.  Hence all the cooking and decanting!  If you aren't so bothered at having a thick sauce, then either refer to The Recipe Queen's recipe on her blog, or just leave out the flour!

UPDATE : It is now May 2014 and I have cooked this several times since that first go.  I absolutely love this dish and every time it comes out as soothing and satisfying as the first time.  Whether you include asparagus or mushrooms, so long as you include the leeks, red pepper and carrots, you just can't go wrong.

TAVE ME PRESH (a.k.a. Baked Mince with Leeks)  Serves 4

Ingredients :

75ml olive oil
4 leeks, cut into 2.5cm logs, then cut into half
1 onion, roughly chopped
450g lamb mince
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 red pepper, de-seeded and cut into squares
1 carrot, peeled and chopped diagonally
500ml vegetable or lamb stock
a shake or two of Worcestershire Sauce
a shake or two of Tabasco. 

Method : 

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 190deg C (fan).

2.  Heat half the oil in a frying pan and fry the leeks over a low heat until soft, but not browned.  Decant into a casserole dish.

3.  Heat the remaining oil in the pan and cook the onion and red pepper until the onion is transparent, then decant that into the casserole dish. 

4.  Place the mince and carrots into the frying pan and fry on a high heat until the mince is browned and beginning to caramelise.  Tip the pan and drain off the larger part of the oil, leaving some behind.

5.  With a slotted spoon, decant the mince and carrots into the casserole dish.

6.  Add the flour and tomato puree to the pan, soaking up the remainder of the lamb fat.  Cook for 2 mins or so, or until you see the flour start to turn golden.

7.  Add the stock, little by little, stirring or whisking as you go until you have a lump-free sauce.  Bring to the boil, season to taste and add the Worcestershire Sauce and the Tabasco.

8.  Decant into the casserole dish and give everything a good stir.  If you are adding mushrooms, now is the time to mix them, quartered, into the casserole.  Cover, then place into the oven and bake for 1 hour.  If you are using asparagus, cut them into one inch pieces and stir them in with 30 minutes to go.

Serve with lovely buttery mashed potato.  Comfort food at its absolute best! 

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