20/02/2011 by D.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 lamb shanks
4 carrots
4 potatoes
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tin chickpeas
1 tin tomatoes
500g couscous

Preheat oven to 150c.  Peel and chop the carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic.  Heat the oil in a heavy pan (or hob and oven proof dish) and brown the shanks on all sides.  Remove the shanks, and add the veg to the pan and brown a little for a few minutes.  Add the ground spices.  Give it a good stir, then add the chickpeas, salt and tomatoes.  Deglaze the bottom of the pan with some water or wine.

Tip the veg mixture into a casserole dish and nestle in the shanks.  Top up with water so that liquid comes within a centimeter of the top.  Put the lid on and cook it for 3 hours, until the meat is very tender.

With about 30 mins to go, rinse the couscous, and place in a fine metal sieve over a pan of gently boiling water, with a lid on top (or in a steamer, should you have such a thing).

Test the shanks for softness and seasoning.  Fluff through the couscous and add a little butter or olive oil.

Serve with some Harissa and a fresh green salad.

Posted in Cumin, Coriander, Chickpeas, Couscous, Supper, Lamb, Potato, Carrot, Onion, Garlic, Recipe | Print | No Comments »

25/01/2011 by D.

8 large cabbage leaves
4 oz minced chicken, pork or beef (or cooked puy lentils)
2 finely chopped spring onions
1 chilli (optional)
3 tbsp cooked rice
1 minced clove garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp soy sauce (dark)
4 cocktail sticks

Veg or chicken stock to simmer

Bring a pan of salted water to boil and cook the cabbage leaves for 3 minutes.  Drain and flatten on a board and cut out the stem in a triangle shape.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together.  You can now either make eight small rolls, or 4 big ones.  For the big ones, simply overlap two leaves, place a quarter of the filling in the centre, then rollup and fasten with a stick.

Simmer the parcels in chicken or veg stock for 40 minutes until cooked through.  To serve, remove the sticks and  place the parcels in a bowl with a ladle of the cooking stock.

Posted in Cabbage, Puy lentils, Chicken, Pork, Ginger, Soy sauce, Chilli, Beef, Garlic, Rice, Recipe | Print | No Comments »

23/12/2010 by D.

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups lentils (I use a mixture of white urid dal, orange dal and puy lentils)
1 tin chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 litre chicken (or veg) stock
15 dried apricots (chopped)
juice 1/2 lemon
1 tsp honey
2 tsp Ras El Hanout (Morrocan spice mix)
1 tsp salt

Chop onion and crush garlic.  Fry them in a big pot with a the olive oil for a minute or two.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil.

Boil for around an hour until everything is tender, adding more stock or water as necessary.  It should be a fairly thick soup.  Check the seasoning before serving with hunks of buttered, crusty bread.

Posted in Urid dal, Soup, Dried Apricot, Chickpeas, Ras El Hanout, Garlic, Lemon, Recipe, Onion, Lentil, Vegetarian, Organic Box | Print | No Comments »

22/12/2010 by D.

Now the kids have broken up from school and nursery, it’s handy to have some easy suppers to keep them (and you) happy!  This one from Nigella Express is definitely a winner.

12 pork spare ribs
12 chicken thighs
250ml apple juice
1/2 lemon, juiced
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, halved
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 sweet potatoes

Mix all the ingredients apart from the potatoes in a large dish or freezer bag.  Mix really well. Leave to marinate in fridge overnight or up to two days.

To cook, preheat the oven to 200c.  Spread the ingredients over two trays, making sure the chicken is skin side up and cook for an hour and a quarter (or until everything is sticky and browned).   Cut the sweet potatoes longwise into quarters and add to the roasting tins half an hour before the end.

Posted in Supper, Maple Syrup, Chicken, Ribs, Star anise, Soy sauce, Garlic, Cinnamon, Sweet potato, Lemon | Print | No Comments »