Blog for August 2003

31/08/2003: Chocolate Cheesecake

I found this recipe somewhere on the Internet, but I can’t remember where. All I can remember is that it’s by a guy called Glenn. I’ve changed it slightly (metricised the units, added a little more in-depth explanation).

31/08/2003: Roast Leg of Lamb with all the Trimmings

This should serve 4 or even 5! You may want to also serve it with some autumnal vegetables (such as swede, parsnip, carrot, cauliflower, brocolli or spinach) although I haven’t included details of how to cook them here.

Ingredients

Lamb

• half a leg of lamb
• 1 large glass red wine
• loads of rosemary, preferably fresh
• 3–4 cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper
• vegetable oil

Roast Potato

• 4–6 large potatos
• chopped rosemary, preferably fresh (optional)
• flour
• salt and pepper
• goose fat or another fat or oil

Sausages

• 12 chipolatas or thin sausages
• 12 rashers streaky bacon

Yorkshire Puddings

• 2 eggs
• 100g flour
• 50g butter/margerine, melted
• 100mL water
• 50mL milk
• a pinch of salt
• goose fat or another fat or oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the lamb leg onto a baking tray. Poke about 12 holes into the lamb with a sharp knife. Insert garlic and rosemary (a sliver — about ¼ — of a clove of garlic and 3–4 leaves of rosemary) into…

31/08/2003: Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole is a classic British meal which thankfully contains neither frogs nor potholes.

Ingredients

• 6 pork sausages
• 2 eggs
• 100g flour
• 50g butter/margerine, melted
• 100 mL water
• 50 mL milk
• a pinch of salt
• 1 onion
• ¾ teaspoon of sage
• a little oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

There are too many complicated recipes for batter out there. Try mine – it’s easy! Pop the eggs, flour, butter, water, milk and salt into a blender. Blend. Set aside. You now have batter.

Fry the onion in the oil until transparent. Add sage and fry for a couple more minutes.

Arrange the sausages in a casserole dish and pour the batter over them. Pour the onion mixture on top.

Bake until the mixture has set (usually at least 40 minutes!). Serve plain, or with a rich gravy.

Variation

Wrap each sausage in a rasher of smoked bacon first!

31/08/2003: Shepherd’s Pie

For some reason, there seem to be a bunch of recipes out there for Shepherd’s pie that use beef. Obviously, a real shepherd’s pie must use lamb or, at a push, mutton! Recipes involving beef, while delicious, are properly called “Cottage Pie”.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 650g minced lamb (fresh or forzen — doesn’t matter!)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 handful of peas
• 1 carrot, chopped
• mixed herbs (see below)
• 2 tablespoons of Vegemite/Marmite or 1 tablespoon of Worchestershire Sauce
• 2 tablespoons of tomato pureé (optional)
• 2–3 servings mashed potato, made a little runnier than normal with milk and butter
• gravy powder or cornflour
• 1 stick of celery, chopped (optional)
• 100g grated cheddar (optional)

Which Herbs?

I tend to use either a lot rosemary, balenced out with a little parsley, sage and thyme; or plenty of mint with a bit of parsley. I’ve heard good things about lavender though!

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Fry the onion, celery and carrot until…

31/08/2003: Spaghetti Bolognese

Yes, I know Spag Bol isn’t actually Italian, but it is Italian-style. The sauce doesn’t just have to be served with spaghetti - any other pasta will do, as would chips, baguettes, garlic bread or jacket potato.

Ingredients

• 450g tin of chopped tomatos
• 500g of lean minced beef, frozen
• 4 rashers of pancetta or smoked bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 to 4 mushrooms, chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of dried chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon of dried chopped oregano
• a little beef gravy powder or cornflour
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• 150g dried spaghetti
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of mushroom ketchup (optional)
• 10 black olives, sliced (optional)

Method

Grill the pancetta or bacon until it starts to crisp. Then leave to cool. Once cool, chop as finely as possible.

Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they start to become transparent. Then add the minced beef. Cook the beef, stirring occasionally, until it has browned. Now…

31/08/2003: Penne Gorgonzola

Simple but tasty pasta dish.

31/08/2003: Neopolitan Sauce

A very simple Italian tomato sauce, suitable for pasta.

31/08/2003: Dahl

A classic Indian lentil-based mild curry.

31/08/2003: Chicken Curry

This is a korma-like chicken curry.

31/08/2003: Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Traditionally, Carbonara sauce includes raw egg, but that of course carries with it a risk of salmonela infection. My recipe instead uses white sauce as a substitute…

31/08/2003: Thai Pork Curry

Spicy Thai-style pork curry with a creamy coconut sauce.

31/08/2003: Nachos

Ingredients

• Chilli con Carne or vegitarian chilli
• 300g tortilla chips
• 150–200g grated medium chedder
• 2 chopped green chilli peppers
• 6 chopped spring onions
• 6 chopped cherry tomatos
• 3 tablespoons soured cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• Fresh corriander, torn roughly

Guacamole

• 1 large avocado
• 2 tablespoons of soured cream
• juice of half a lime (equivalent amount of lemon juice will do)
• one small tomato, chopped finely
• half a green chilli, deseeded and chopped finely
• quarter of a red onion, chopped finely
• salt

Method

Preheat an oven to 180°C.

Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish with tortilla chips (about 120g worth). Sprinkle about 80g of grated cheese over the top. Now pour on the prepared chilli, while still hot. Layer the remaining tortilla chips and cheese over the top and place in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Mash the flesh of the avocado in a bowl using a fork. Stirin soured cream, lime juice, tomato, chilli,…

31/08/2003: Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles is a sloppy tortilla casserole.

31/08/2003: Empanadas

Empanadas are the Mexican equivalent of the Cornish Pasty. Fill with any flavoursome tex-mex-style filling, such as Chilli con Carne, Refried Beans, Corned Beef Hash or the potato filling below…

31/08/2003: Chilli con Carne

Ingredients

• 2, 3 or 4 (depending on how hot you like it!) chilli peppers, deseeded and chopped
• 500g minced beef
• 450g tin of chopped tomatos
• 450g tin of red kidney beans or mixed beans, drained
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 or 2 sticks of celery, chopped (optional)
• small handful of coursely chopped corriander
• Mexican spices
• gravy powder or cornflour
• oil

Spice Blend

OK — I have decided to reveal my tried-and-tested cajan/mexican spice blend exclusively on my website. You might want to make a big batch of this blend in advance. The quantities shown below will make too much spice blend for a normal sized batch of chilli!

Level one spices — use about three teaspoons of each:

• cumin (seeds, toasted and roughly crushed; or powder)
• chilli (dried flakes, or powder)
• oregano (dried)

Level two spices — include about two teaspoons of each of these if you have them:

• corriander (crushed seeds and/or dried leaves)
• garlic (dried powder, or crushed)
  *…