Tandoori Lamb Joint

This is a perfect way to cooking up a small leg of lamb or shoulder. Don't worry about overcooking the lamb as the crispy edges are gorgeous.

Ingredients and method

Liberally rub in tandoori spices, garam masala and chili powder into the lamb and then drizzle over the juice of one lemon.

Leave for at least 12 hours before cooking for two hours at 200 degrees. Turn over the piece of meat half way through.

Use the resulting meat fresh out of the oven, or cold.

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Hot vindaloo-style lamb curry with cooling option

The curry recipe below is not in any way a replica of a vindaloo, famous in England for being one the spiciest curries, but it generates a similar level of intensity and fiery flavour. So, if you can handle the spice you might enjoy giving this a try, although using a cooler such as coconut yoghurt means you can lighten the heat if required.

Ingredients

400g small pieces lamb (ideally cut from a nice leg of lamb)
1 tbsp tandoori spice mix
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 onion
1 small garlic (puree together with the onion)
4 cardamon pods
3 cloves
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper corns
1 inch of chopped ginger
2 red and 2 green chilies
1 tbsp of tomato puree
1 tbsp of chili powder
400ml lamb stock (or water)
1 tsp salt

Method

The night before cooking this curry rub in to tandoori spice mix, chili powder and garam masala.
Using a pestle and mortar lightly grind the cardamon, cloves, coriander seeds and black peppercorns.
Heat some oil in a saucepan and when hot add the mixture that has been grinded.
After 30 seconds add the chillies and ginger.
Stir well and after a minute add the pureed onion and garlic.
After three minutes add the lamb and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add the tomato puree, table spoon of chili powder, salt and lamb stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

Mix in some coconut yoghurt to cool if necessary.

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Crisp choc and raisin biscuits

As biscuits go these ones are easy to make, so how about letting the kids give you a helping hand for a special treat. As with all biscuit/cookie recipes you can change a number of the ingredients depending on what flavours you fancy.

This makes roughly 14 biscuits:

Ingredients

120g soft butter

160g soft brown sugar

210g plain flour

1 egg

1 tbsp syrup 

1 tsp ginger powder

2 drips of vanilla essence

50g raisins

50g chocolate pieces 

Method

• Start by creaming the sugar together with the butter.
• Add the egg and whisk and then repeat with the syrup.
• Mix together the flour and ginger powder before folding it into the mixture.
• Mix in the remaining ingredients and then roll the dough into a rather thick sausage.
• Cool in the fridge until firm and then cut into slices.
• Put the slices on baking paper and cook in a pre-cooked oven at 170 degrees with 15 minutes.

Eat warm while the chocolate is soft, or wait for a very crispy biscuit. 

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Celeriac puree with honey

This side dish is often created on shows such as Masterchef and merely smeared over the plate as a smudge. However, do not dismiss it as a pointless bit of presentation or an attempt to make the dish sound classy. Celeriac puree is a very tasty side dish that would accompany roast lamb or beef superbly.

Ingredients

One large celeriac
25g butter
250ml milk
1 heaped teaspoon of thick honey
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Firstly trim the thick skin off the celeriac root and then cut it into cubes.
Place in a pan and cover in water and then bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Drain the water and leave the part boiled celeriac to one side while you melt the butter over a low heat.
Now add the celeriac and honey the pan and mix together.
Add the milk and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
Using a hand blender turn the mixture into a puree, or a very soft mash.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with roast meat and gray.

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Syrup carrots - A sweet and juicy side dish

I love serving a good number of interesting vegetable side dishes with a roast dinner and this way of cooking carrots livens up this particular vegetable in a way that does not distract you from preparing the roast.

Ingredients

(Serves four)

8 medium carrots (quartered)
25g butter
1 tbsp syrup
1/2 tsp salt
50ml water

Method

Peel and cut the carrots (into what ever size you wish to be fair) and place in a wide-bottomed sauce pan.
Add the water, which should cover the bottom of the pan without submerging the carrots.
Turn on the heat and once the water starts to boil, reduce to a simmer and add the salt, butter and syrup and stir well.
Depending on the heat of your hob the water will boil away before long, so over the next 20 minutes add a splash of water when necessary.
The idea is that the carrots retain much of the water and its flavour and goodness is not lost by the usual boiling. Any liquid that is left in the pan is perfect for drizzling over the carrots for serving.

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Whiskey inspired liver and bacon surprise

The surprise in this recipe is the whiskey, which you can add liberally to the dish as the taste compliments liver superbly. Liver and bacon is traditionally served with mash, but it also works well with plain rice, especially as this recipe has a great deal of sauce.

Ingredients

4 rashers of smokey bacon
250g of pigs liver
1 large onion
50g of frozen garden peas
1 tbsp of plain flour
1 tsp of white pepper
1 tsp of celery seeds
1 tsp of coriander seeds
2 tbsp of whiskey
500ml of beef stock

Method

Start by frying the bacon, which is best cut into thin strips, in a hot pan (no oil needed) for five minutes. Cook for a little longer if you like your bacon crispy.
Remove the bacon and fry the chopped onion in the same pan until soft. Remove the onion
In a bowl mix the liver (chopped into bite sized pieces) with the flour, white pepper, salt, celery seeds and coriander seeds.
Heat some oil in the same pan as you used to cook the bacon and onion and then add the liver.
fry for 7 or 8 minutes, moving the liver around the pan regularly as you don't want it to go tough in places.
Remove the liver and with the pan still on the heat add the whiskey, shortly followed by the stock and stir well to get all the flavour off the pan. You could make a little roux sauce before adding the stock to help thicken the stock.
Now add the frozen peas, liver, bacon and onion to the pan, or if your pan is shallow place all the ingredients in a saucepan.
Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Check for seasoning before serving.

Serve with plain rice and steamed spinach.

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Quick Banana Bread Pudding

This is quite possibly the quickest and easiest sponge pudding I have ever made. It doesn't look fantastic, but it tastes great, while it is almost impossible to ruin. Get the measurements wrong, or the cooking time wrong and it just creates something different, but still lovely to eat.

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas
100g butter
100g muscavado sugar
100g self-raising flour
2 tsp of cinnamon powder
25g sultanas.
2 eggs
a splash of milk


Method

Start be melting the butter and then mash in the bananas (ripe is best here).
In a bowl mix together all the other ingredients and then mix it in well with the banana mush.
Place the mixture, which if too dry can take extra milk, in a 6inch squared dish.
You can either cook this in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or in a microwave on full power for 10 minutes.

Cook it too much and it can turn crispy, which I love. Cook it too little and it can still be runny in places, which I also love. So all in all, you can not go wrong!

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