Here’s another quick, easy and almost infinitely adaptable teatime recipe. This makes a dry-ish pasta dish as there is nothing except the reduced tomatoes to make any sauce.

I remember my mother doing this in a frying pan when I was a kid and the only pasta available was quick cook macaroni.

Use suitable quantities for the number of people being fed and how hungry they are.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

You will need …

• Pasta, preferably fresh
• Bacon, cut into 1cm wide strips
• Onion
• Garlic, more or less to taste
• Tomatoes, one or two per person, fresh but over-ripe is fine
• Olive Oil
• Fresh Herbs of your choice, if available
• Black Pepper
• Parmesan Cheese

This is what you do …

1. Put the pasta on to cook. When it’s done drain and put it aside to keep warm. (You can cook the pasta while the tomato/bacon cook if you like but that’s too much for my simple mind!)
2. While the pasta cooks chop the onion, garlic, bacon, herbs and tomatoes.
3. In one pan cook the tomato in a small amount of oil. You want it to start cooking down and beginning to fall apart; you don’t want it very wet. If it does too quickly then just take it off the heat.
4. In another pan sauté the onion and garlic in some oil until the onion is translucent.
5. Then add the bacon to the onion and continue frying.
6. When the bacon is cooked to your liking add the tomato, herbs, some pepper and the pasta.
7. Stir it all together and cook for another few minutes to allow the flavours to mingle and ensure everything is hot through.
8. Serve with the grated/flaked Parmesan Cheese and a robust red wine.

Notes …

1. Like most of my other recipes you can adapt this almost infinitely. For instance leave out the tomatoes and add mushrooms along with the bacon. Or you can use spinach instead of tomatoes.
2. Bacon offcuts work well for this.
3. You can substitute prawns, anchovies, smoked salmon, Parma ham or even kidney beans for the bacon. In fact I often do this without the tomato and with prawns and lemon instead of bacon.
4. If using fish then you might want to add some lemon juice and/or zest.
5. If you want this really dry then leave out the tomatoes.
6. Short pasta works better as I find spaghetti and linguine are difficult to stir well into the mixture. Fusilli or macaroni work well.

Yesterday I cooked curry. For my birthday. A hot curry. I like hot curry!

If you’ve been following along you’ll know I like my recipes easy, adaptable and forgiving. So here’s my special Steaming Beef Curry with Gin. The gin and the lime give it that extra zing.

[I’ve already posted the method for Noreen’s Very Lemony Rice separately. It makes a great accompaniment to almost any curry.]

I used:

• Steak; diced
• 1 large Onion; roughly chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic; roughly chopped
• 2 inch piece of fresh ginger; finely chopped
• 400gm tin Chopped Tomatoes
• half Cauliflower; in bite-size pieces
• half jar of Patak’s Vindaloo Paste
• tablespoon ground Turmeric
• juice & zest of 2 limes
• half large wineglass of Gin
• glass White Wine (or water)
• small pinch Salt
• Olive Oil

This what I did:

1. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in some olive oil until the onion is just going translucent.
2. Then add the diced steak and continue cooking to sear the meat all over.
3. Slacken the curry paste with the wine (or water) and add this to the pan, stirring to ensure everything is coated in the curry mix.
4. Add the turmeric and stir that in well.
5. Now stir in the tomatoes and the smallest pinch of salt.
6. Followed by the lime juice & zest and the gin; then the cauliflower.
7. Bring to the bubble and cook for 10-15 minutes.
8. [If you’re doing Noreen’s Very Lemony Rice to go with this, put the rice on when the curry has been bubbling away nicely for a couple of minutes. This should get the cauliflower just nicely cooked, but not mushy, in time with the rice.]
9. By the time the cauliflower is done the sauce should be reducing nicely; it should be tick not watery.
10. Serve with your choice of accompaniments.

Notes:

1. Despite the big dose of Vindaloo paste this isn’t outrageously hot. (Actually I think Patak’s Vindaloo is milder than their Madras paste.) The heat of curry does seem to me to be ameliorated by the addition of lemon or lime juice. But you could use any strength of curry paste to your liking — or make your own.
2. Use any (selection of) vegetable of your choice. I happened to have cauliflower to hand.
3. And of course you could use any meat — or none at all! Yes, I used some steak because I think it is worth using decent meat to make a good curry especially as this doesn’t get cooked to death.
4. You can use this method for any curry you like. For an “ordinary” version just leave out the gin and lime. The only real essentials are onion, protein, curry paste (or powder) and some liquid.

Picture credit: Fastplaeo

I’ve talked about Noreen’s Lemon Rice before. We find that plain rice gets, well, plain and boring, with curry. This special lemon rice makes any curry (or indeed almost any rice dish) both look and taste special: it is very lemony and a lovely golden yellow colour.

This is doubtless not the approved way to cook rice, but it is easy and it works.

You need:

• 50-60 gm Long-Grain Rice (Basmati for preference) per person
• 1 large, or 2 small, Lemons
• half teaspoon ground Turmeric
• small pinch Salt (optional)
• Boiling Water

This is what you do:

1. Grate the zest from the lemon and put it aside.
2. Now juice the lemon (not too hard, you want a bit of the flesh left) and put the juice aside as well. Keep the lemon half-shells.
3. Put the rice in a saucepan with the lemon half-shells. Add the turmeric and a tiny pinch of salt.
4. Add most of a kettle of boiling water, bring back to the boil, stirring a couple of times to make sure the rice isn’t adhering to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the rice is done.
5. Just as the rice is done remove the lemon pieces to a plate and scrape the flesh and juice from inside them. Discard the lemon peel.
6. Drain the rice in a sieve and rinse with some boiling water. Shake to dry and tip it into a warmed dish.
7. Add all the lemon (zest, juice and recovered flesh) and stir it in gently.
8. Serve with curry.

Notes:

1. This method produces a slightly wet, but not sticky, rice, which works fine with curry.
2. The turmeric gives the rice a lovely bright yellow colour — but it needs the acidity of the lemon to do this. If you leave out the lemon (or in fact anything acid) but not the turmeric the rice comes out a muddy beige colour. That’s all down to the chemistry of the pigments in the turmeric which are yellow in acid but red in alkaline (ie. most tap water). I think the acid also helps fix the colour to the rice grains.
3. You can do this with lime as well, though the flavour is more subtle.
4. Or you can cook plain rice this way — just leave out the lemon and turmeric.

Picture credit: Robyn Lee

This is the traditional Irish potato, cabbage and bacon dish and served with poached egg. My version isn’t authentic as all the recipes I see use creamed potato and much more potato than cabbage; I prefer roughly smashed potato and a high proportion of cabbage. But it’s still hearty, easy, very forgiving and cheap.

This is what I did for a single-course main meal for two, so adjust as necessary …

You will need:

• 2 jacket potato-sized potatoes
• a small green pointed cabbage; roughly chopped and cored
• a large onion; roughly chopped
• at least 4 decent rashers of bacon (I used two very thick rashers from a pack of offcuts); cut into 1-2cm lardons
• as many eggs as you want
• salt & fresh black pepper
• butter and/or olive oil
• half glass of white wine (or water)

This is how I did it:

1. Wash and chop the potatoes (no I don’t peel them!) and boil until well done, as you would for mash.
2. As the potatoes come up to being done put the cabbage in a large pot on the hob with the wine; put the lid on and allow it to steam gently for a few minutes.
3. Meanwhile drain and roughly smash the potato with a fork (don’t purée or cream it; it should be chunky) with some butter, salt and pepper. Keep it warm.
4. By now the cabbage is almost cooked and beginning to dry.
5. Sauté the onion in a frying pan with a little butter/oil; when it is translucent add the bacon and continue to fry until the bacon is starting to crisp.
6. While the onion/bacon cooks, take the lid off the cabbage and add a large knob of butter. Toss it well to coat the cabbage in butter and leave it on a low heat, without the lid, to dry off any remaining liquid.
7. When the onion & bacon is done, add it to the cabbage along with the potato. Mix well together on the hob, put on the lid and keep warm. (You can probably turn out the heat, especially if using a good cast-iron pan.)
8. Now poach your eggs by whatever method you favour. The white should be set but the yolk still runny.
9. Serve the colcannon topped with poached egg(s) and a beverage of your choice.

Notes:

1. My preference is for more cabbage and bacon and slightly less potato.
2. Good smoked bacon works best. Bacon offcuts are fine.
3. Use any type or mixture of cabbage you like, from white cabbage, through kale to sprouts; though I doubt red cabbage would work very well.
4. You can under or over cook the cabbage to your personal taste.
5. Add some chopped garlic to the onion, if you wish.
6. Leftover potatoes and cabbage are fine as long as they are properly reheated.
7. If you wish you can substitute fried eggs for poached. And of course you could use duck or goose eggs if available.
8. Go easy on the salt as the bacon may be quite salt enough.

This makes a good alternative to that Boxing Day cold turkey or for a quick lunch on Christmas Eve. The quantities below make at least enough to fill a large loaf tin or medium sized casserole (see photo).

I used …

• Meat from 2 roast pheasants and a partridge after the breasts had been eaten hot.
• 5 rashers streaky bacon or equivalent in bacon offcuts
• About 350 gm belly pork
• About 350 gm pigs liver
• 4 plain pork sausages, skinned; or equivalent amount of sausage meat
• 100 gm bread without crusts
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• Handful of leftover garlic roast potatoes (optional)
• 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• End of a bottle of Calvados
• Half a glass of white wine
• 2 tablespoons garlic purée
• 1 large egg
• Pinch of salt and a generous grind of black pepper
• Two or three generous pinches of dried mixed herbs
• Olive oil

My finished product in our 40 year old Le Creuset terrine after having been attacked for Christmas Eve lunch.
This is what I did …

1. Bone the meat off the pheasants and partridge and chop up very finely. This is best done by hand as a food processor will just smash it to a pulp. Put this in a large mixing bowl.
2. Chop the bacon into small pieces, no more than 5mm square. Add to the pheasant mix.
3. Cut the belly pork into 1-2 cm cubes, removing the skin, bone and any excess fat.
4. Cut the liver into roughly 2cm cubes.
5. Put the bread, herbs, salt and pepper, garlic cloves in a food processor and whizz to a crumb.
6. Add the left-over potatoes, sausage meat, half a glass of calvados and the egg to the food processor and whizz again to a smooth paste. Add this to the meat mix.
7. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until translucent. Tip this out into the food processor and add the garlic purée.
8. With a little more oil if needed fry the belly pork until the outside is seared and browning. (Yes it will still be undercooked inside.) Add this to the food processor.
9. Now fry the liver for a few minutes again until the outside is beginning to brown. (Again it won’t be cooked through, so no tasting the cake mix!) Add this to the food processor.
10. Deglaze the pan with another half glass of calvados and the white wine. Add this to the food processor and whizz the whole lot to a rough paste. Add this to the meat mix.
11. Mix the meats together thoroughly; don’t be afraid to use your hands.
12. Butter the casserole generously or, if using a loaf tin, line it with baking parchment.
13. Pour the meat mix into the tin/casserole and firm it down well. Cover with foil or a tight fitting lid.
14. Cook in a Bain Marie in the oven at 170°C for about 1½-2 hours. It is done when a knife stuck in the terrine for a few seconds comes out very hot.
15. Remove from the oven and if possible weight the terrine to press it. (Use something flat with tins of beans or a brick on it.)
16. Allow to cool for a couple of hours and then put in the fridge for at least 2 hours more, but preferably overnight, still with the weight.
17. If you made the terrine in a tin you can now turn it out. If you used a casserole you’ll need to serve it from the dish.
18. Serve with crusty bread and/or salad.

Notes

1. This recipe is very forgiving. You can use any mix of game meats you like. And you can vary the proportions according to taste.
2. Some people like to line the tin/casserole with streaky bacon. This holds the terrine together better if it is turned out as a loaf. Personally I can’t be bothered.
3. You could use a handful of chopped fresh herbs if they’re available. Sage is especially good. You can even leave out the garlic!
4. You can also add a few juniper berries. Put them in with the bread when processing it.
5. You can use any odd ends of leftover veg (root veg, mushroom, tomato, potato; greens don’t work too well) but this is entirely optional.
6. You can get away without pressing the terrine (as I did) but the result will be more friable and crumbly, and won’t turn out of a tin so well.
7. Don’t throw out the bird carcases. Put them in a saucepan with some water, a bit of onion, ends of root veg etc., herbs, pepper and any other meat scraps. Simmer gently for a few hours to make stock. When done, strain off the liquid, allow to cool and freeze in useful-sized portions. It’s good for risotto!

Week 51 entry for 52 weeks challenge.

Rainbow carrots for sale yesterday at Elveden Estate Shop, Suffolk (on the A11).

I love Elveden Estate Shop and we try to drop in every time we go to see my mother. The estate is certainly doing it’s best to diversify capitalise on it’s asses. When we were there yesterday morning it looked as if there was a shoot later in the day as all the beaters were gathering and being fed breakfast! And we dropped in again just before closing time yesterday evening when there was a bus-load of people descending on the place, I guess for carousel rides and a party.

The shop is actually a small complex of shops, but don’t expect the usual slightly scruffy farm shop. This is a high class estate shop and truly professional in everything they do. As one might expect they major on food, selling a wide variety of quality groceries (many produced by the Estate) and not always at high prices. There is also a small range of vegetables and some superb meat. Wherever possible the veg and meat is sourced from the Estate or the local area. Sadly on this visit, because we already have our Christmas meat arranged and weren’t certain to get to Elveden, we just picked up a couple of pheasants and some veg – so roast pheasant for dinner today followed by game terrine for Christmas! These rainbow carrots are really fresh, straight from the farm, and delightfully tasty.

As well as the “produce” shop there is a great coffee shop/restaurant (the best full English breakfast I think I’ve ever had), a small range of garden plants and a couple of gift shops. At this time of year there is always a stall or two of crafty things, plus Christmas trees from the Estate. And this year there was a carousel too!

If you’re in the area (and that isn’t so unlikely with a CentreParcs just down the road) Elveden Estate Shop should be on your “must visit” list, if only for coffee and cake. The shop is well back off the road in what was probably the old stable blocks; there are entrances from the A11 (almost opposite Elveden church) and the B1106. Don’t miss it!

More on the shop and the Estate.

Noreen also blogged last year about breakfast at Elveden.

We discovered on Friday that our local Waitrose were selling Pig Cheeks. Yes, that’s meat and it is from the head of a pig, just like it says. Now I’ve vaguely taken in that they were fashionable amongst chefs and never having tried them I decide we should. Noreen took a little, but not a lot, of persuading. And then I realised they were ridiculously cheap — like £2.99 a kilo! Even cheap sausages cost more than this! So we bought a complete vacuum pack, which weighed just under 400gm and turned out to contain 7 cheeks. We have just eaten them, thus …

Pig Cheeks Casseroled in Cider

You will need:
2 or 3 Pig Cheeks per person
500ml bottle of dry Cider (more if you’re cooking more than about 8 cheeks)
1 large or 2 medium Onions, roughly chopped
As much Garlic as you like, roughly chopped
A few ripe Tomatoes, quartered (optional)
A few Mushrooms (optional)
Worcester Sauce
Plain Flour seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs
Salt, Black Pepper and Dried Herbs
Olive Oil

And this is what you do:

1. Take a suitably sized casserole, cast iron is best as you can put it on the hob otherwise you’ll need a frying pan as well.
2. Pre-heat the oven to about 180°C.
3. Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil in the casserole (or frying pan).
4. When the onion is beginning to go translucent, toss the pig cheeks in the seasoned flour and add to the casserole. Sear the meat on both sides.
5. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms followed by about half the cider, pinch of salt, plenty of pepper, a big pinch or two of dried herbs and a good big dash of Worcester Sauce. Bring it all to boiling point.
6. If using a frying pan, transfer the meat etc. to the casserole at this stage.
7. Add the rest of the cider and (if on the hob) bring it to the simmer.
8. Put the casserole in the oven and cook for about 90 minutes.
9. Do not throw away any remaining seasoned flour, because …
10. Just before the end of the cooking time decant into a small saucepan some of the liquid from the casserole (it will probably be quite thin) to make a gravy/sauce. Thicken this sauce with some of the remaining seasoned flour (a tablespoon or so will be enough) and cook gently for 5 minutes or so to cook the flour.

By now word will have got round the house because it smells so good.

I served mine with roughly mashed potato and parsnip, steamed sprout tops, apple sauce, gravy and a bottle of robust red wine (although obviously cider would be good too). The meat is just so tender it really does melt in the mouth.

And, no, I didn’t photograph it — you all know what casserole looks like!