Sozzled Slow Roast Lamb

There really are lots and lots of sheep in Wales , so you have to have lamb really just to eat your way through them

Always tempted to add tomatoes to my slow roast lamb but in Wales we had an excess of red wine so this is a kind of lamb au vin . It produces the sweetest stickiness sauce and the onions caramalise beatifully . This stew would be fantastic with mashed potatoes but during the holiday I rediscovered oven baked potatoes , curse anyone who
doesn’t eat the skin and potato as big as my fist cooked at 150deg in just 40 minutes with a skewer through the centre.

All of this cooked during a viscious rain storm when the only option was to sit in front of the fire reading , I was in heaven heaven heaven

Sozzled Slow Roast Lamb

One shoulder of lamb
One bottle of wine
1 pint of water
A few sprigs of rosemary
Fresh or dried thyme
Plenty of onions – sliced
2 bulbs of garlic – cloves peeled and crushed
Salt and Pepper
1 box of mushrooms whole

1. Place everything in a large cast iron pot
2. Cook in the oven on a low heat approx 150deg for 2 and a half hours
3. Last 20 minutes add the mushrooms

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Christmas Leftovers

Very happy walking on Boxing Day with Turkey and Ham Sandwiches (using up the Spiced Ham ) just us and the sheep again ……

But lots of Turkey also means plenty of Turkey Soup , either Laksa which is zingy and spicey or a more Traditional Turkey and Vegetable soup , which make me feel all wholesome

Turkey Laksa

For 200g of leftover turkey

3 nests of Dried Egg Noodles
3 Fresh Red Chilli
3 cloves of garlic
1 thumb of fresh Ginger
Bunch of Fresh Coriander
Bunch of Fresh Mint
3 cups of coconut milk
Fresh Lime

1. Pour boiling water to cover the dried egg noodles
2. Finely chop or food process the red chilli , ginger , the roots of the fresh coriander ( leaving the leaves aside) , mint leaves
3. Add the turkey to the chilli ginger and herb paste, fry off in a little sunflower oil.
4. Pour over the noodles and simmer for a few minutes
5. Add the coconut milk , serve the soup into bowl scatter with coriander leaves and a squirt of lime juice.

Leftover Turkey Soup

Very similar to the Soup for the Wettest Walk in the World but when you have a good thing why mess with it

1. Add to leoftover turkey roughly chopuped vegetables onions , carrots , leeks , potatoes , garlic , place in pan with your choice of herbs , or you could throw in the stuffing . You could also you the leftover vegetables from Christmas Day
2. Season with plenty of salt and pepper
3. Pour over boiling water and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. The soup will be ready but could be even better if you leave it with the lid on for a while to steep.

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Christmas Dinner well maybe not

I think Christmas dinner might be the most boring meal all year for some reason though it was my first year cooking it and nothing burnt but I did not find it very satisfying , perhaps its because I am not a huge fan of roast dinners. however Christmas Breakfast and Evening Meal and lots of fantastic leftovers to be posted later.

Christmas Breakfast

Toasted Bagels with cream cheese smoked salmon with plenty of black pepper and a squeeze of lemon with , cava ( well breakfast was about 11am so not too decadent ) and some orange juice for the vitamins.

Our evening meal on Christmas Day was lovely too a spiced ham with the leftover turkey tonnes of chutneys and some spiced red cabbage.

Spiced Ham

1Kg of Ham
A handful of cloves
1 garlic cloves
6 dried red chillis
1 litre of apple juice

1. Spike the surface of the ham with cloves .
2. Place the ham into a oven proof pot, pour over the apple juice and add the other ingredients.
3. Place in the oven while the turkey cooks so for about 2 hours or so on approx 190degC

Spiced Red Cabbage

200g of Red Cabbage
1 small Red Onion
1 small apple
1 red chilli chopped
Honey

1. Shred red cabbage , red onion , apple
2. Slowly warm in a pan, with a drizzle of honey and a little water
3. Cook for approx 30 minutes on a very low heat, they should .

This goes fantastically with cheese and cold lamb too

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Wettest Walk in the World Soup

Back from some very wet but lovely walking in Wales over Christmas the rain comes from all directions , getting soaked to the skin requires some very warming soup on return .

Some quick preperation before heading out means and warming and nourishing soup is ready in seconds of your reutrn
roughly chop a selection of vegetables in this case onions , carrots , leeks potatoes , garlic ( I also added some bacon ) , place in pan with your choice of herbs , here thyme but parsley , sage or rosemary would work well too. Season with plenty of salt and pepper

Add boiling water to cover the vegetables, bring to the boil , Turn of the heat and leave with the lid on for long or short walk.

On your return simply heat the soup through toast some bread if you fancy , all the flavour will have intensified and it can warm the wettest of souls

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Christmas Holidays

So Christmas is being spent in an isolated cottage in Wales which means I am trying to make sure we have enough food and drink for a fantastic Christmas and work out if I can live without internet access for over a week. Still plenty of books access to beautiful walking ….. See you in the New Year

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Lentil Leek and Potato Warm Salad

I haven’t really been food shopping this week , was away last weekend and waiting for the festive food delivery at the end of the week to cart it all off to rural Wales. Still there were some vegetables left not quite up to a trip through the Brecon Beacons so I give you a winter salad eaten while I watch Heston Blumenthals Perfect Christmas and wondering if I can fit some kind of liquid nitrogen cannister in the car.

Lentil, Leek and Potato Warm Salad

100g of Green Lentils
2 small leeks
4 small potatoes
1 tbsp of chopped pancetta
1 tbsp of crumbly goats cheese

1. Gently simmer the lentils and potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes
2. Roughly chop the leeks and fry with the pancetta
3. Mix together the lentils, potatoes , pancetta , leeks and goats cheese
4. Season with salt and pepper

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Banana and Rum Cake

Up visiting the boyfreind and while he is at work for the day decided to use up some decidedly brown bananas in some Banana Bread , if nothing else it promotes the domestic goddess look to have the smell of baking wafting through the house when he gets home .

There is also a bottle of rum left over from summer festival drinking so its Banana and Rum Cake , he is a bit short on cake tins so I used a small roasting tin lined with greaseproof paper which worked really well making 8 big chunky slabs of moist cake . The bananas on top go nice and chewy .

Banana and Rum Cake

300g overipe bananas, thats 3 big ones
200g self raising flour
75g butter
175g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
20ml of rum

1. Preheat the oven to 180degC and line the tin ( 30cmx20cm) with greaseproof paper
2. Peel and mash 2 of the bananas, thickly slicing one other
3. Cream the butter & sugar together then beat in the eggs.
4. Mix in the 2 mashed bananas and rum.
5. Fold in the flour.
6. Turn into the tin , covering the top with the remaining sliced banana and bake for about an hour.

This could probably be served with custard as a pudding acutually , and I would have added walnuts if these were any around but should keep us going .

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Spinach and Lentil Curry

Continuing to feel a bit ill , recommended that I consume plenty of spicy food and sweat it out , so a very quick curry eaten in front of the tv under a blanket. But served in the lovely bowl my brother sent back from his travels the blue version having made its appearance previously with the Oyster Mushroom and Pak Choi Soup

This is all kind of store cupboard ingredients , with the addition some fresh spinach from the vegebox its a good way to use it up if it is getting a little wilted

If you have some fresh coriander or methi leaves this would also be good , for a milder creamy taste you could aslo add a little coconut milk approx 100ml per person)

The recipe below is for one very hungry person , two if you make some rice or serve with pitta bread.

Lentil and Spinach Curry

100g of red lentils
4 large handfuls of spinach
2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
1small onion finely chopped
250g of tinned plum tomatoes
1/2 tsp of cumin seed
1/2 tsp coriander seed
1/2 tsp minced red chilli
1tsp of paprika
1tsp of tumeric
2 cardamon pods , crushed
1/2 pint of boiling water
Sunflower Oil

1. Crush all the spices in a mortar and pestle then fry in a little oil,
2. Add the garlic and onion and cook till soft
3. Add the lentils and pour over the boiling water , simmer for apporoxiamtely 25 minutes adding the tomatoes after 5 minutes and the spinach for the last 5 minutes
4. You can add more water if it starts to look a little dry

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Lentil and Parsley Soup with Crispy Pancetta

What I thought was an allergic reaction this morning , has developed into a full blown cold so I have called and moaned at everyone I know , made honey and lemon and now I thought I would share it with the world wide web

For that I need a recipe this is conforting and nutritious consisting of lentils and chopped fresh parsley this soup also has crispy pancetta which distributes itself through the soup for crispy yet chewy saltiness. You might want to reduce the garlic content but I find garlic a a good cure all . Whinge over.

Lentil and Parsley Soup

100g of red lentils
1/2 small onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic , finely chopped
1 pint of boiling vegetable stock
2 tbsp of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
10g of pancetta , roughly chopped

1. Place all the lentils , onion and garlic in a pan pour over the vegetable stock and bring to the boil
2. Simmer for 15 minutes, meanwhile gently fry the pancetta til crispy
3. Add the parsley to the soup and puree
4. Serve by sprinkling the pancetta on the top

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Mashed Butter Beans with Lamb Stew

While I love mashed potatoes its actually quite tricky to do enough for one ,but for something delicious and creamy absorbing of the most tasty stew might I reccomended mashed butter beans .

Mashed Butter Beans

• A can 400g of butter bean, draimed of half the liquid keep half for simmering
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• Few sprigs of chopped parsley

1. Simmer the butter bean with the garlic in the remaining liquid from the can for 10 minites
2. Mash the beans some chopped parsley.
3. Don’t even need butter they are so creamy .

The lamb is some more slow roast lamb from the freezer The portions come from the freezer perfectly , this stew by adding some sliced onions and a slosh more of red wine to the forzen lamb portion in a plan simmered on a medium heat for approx 30 minutes

Sure tastes good

Mmmm now what should I read from my library selection today…

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