Beef, Prune and Vegetable Stew

Slow cooked meat and root vegetables with gentle warm spices, just a touch of sweetness from the fruit and honey to take the edge off any potential heat and it can only be the unmistakable Moroccan style stews that satisfy me every time.

The North Africans knew what they were doing when they took a clay pot with raised sides and called it a tagine, enabling them to create moist and tender stews from basic ingredients. I use a domestic casserole pot for my slow braising, and the addition of a few familiar spices and a little honey and fruit are all that are needed to transform an equally beautiful British stew into one that smells and tastes all mysterious and exotic.

Lots of people I speak to received an electric slow cooker off Santa Claus, meaning that they can easily achieve this most delectable of stews to serve with a little cous cous to soak up the juices. And it is a winner for the children too; even the fussiest of children can't help but have their taste buds given a wake up call when sampling something so delicious. Even my current favourite vegetable, the much misunderstood swede, turns into a 'melt in your mouth' treat. Any doubters out there, all I ask of you is to give it a go.

Beef, Prune and Vegetable Stew
Feeds 4

2 onions, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
500g topside beef, cut into large chunks
1 swede, peeled and cut into cubes
Half red cabbage, sliced thinly
2 handfuls dried prunes
2 pears, peeled and sliced thinly
1 tsp each of cumin, coriander and ground ginger
Half tsp each of cinnamon and cayenne
Beef stock
3 tbsp honey
2 handfuls of fresh coriander, including the root
Salt and pepper
Lemon rind, thinly peeled from 1 lemon

1 - Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C/GM4.
2 - In a large casserole pot, heat the olive oil and add the onions and garlic. Slowly cook for 10 minutes until beginning to colour.
3 - Add the spices, remaining vegetables and beef.Cook through for 5 minutes, stirring until the beef is browned, and then pour over enough beef stock to just about cover it. Stir through the coriander, honey and lemon rind. Bring to the boil then cover and place in the oven for 2 hours.
4 - Taste for seasoning. Serve with cous cous and fresh coriander.

Turkey, Ham and Vegetable Pie

The week of traditional excess is almost over and if you are anything like me, it is almost a relief once 2nd January arrives in order to give your body a break from it all.

Our Christmas leftovers have been gradually reduced and keeping in line with my early resolution of being even more frugal, not a scrap was wasted. It wasn’t all about endless turkey sandwiches and omelettes; we gave the huge bird a full range of delicacies to be the main star in, from Thai curries and stir fries to rich broths with herb dumplings. Probably the favourite of the family is this delicious pie that takes no time to prepare and is pretty much guaranteed to please even the most turkey sickened family member.

There is never a better time than the present to start thinking about the way that you eat and utilise your ingredients; we all need to watch the pennies and waste is simply not an option. Therefore, the turkey leftovers become the perfect base to practice a few techniques and recipes that can be put to use throughout the year with other roasts. Start with this one and look forward to a more frugal and sensible 2009. Happy New Year readers.


Turkey, Ham and Vegetable Pie
Feeds 4

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large leeks, sliced
1 stick of celery, sliced
100g mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 tbsp crème fraiche
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
100ml chicken or turkey stock
Several handfuls of leftover cooked turkey and ham cut into chunks
An optional handful of chopped fresh parsley
Puff pastry
Salt and pepper

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/GM4.
2 - Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the leek, celery, mushrooms and carrots and cook for 10 minutes,
3 - Add the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until slightly reduced and thickened. Stir in the crème fraiche and mustard and taste for seasoning.
4 - Stir in the meat and parsley then pour into a baking dish. Roll out the puff pastry, dampen the edges of the baking dish and cover, trimming off any excess and sealing with your thumb or a fork. Brush with a beaten egg and push a small hole into the centre.
5 – Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed up.

Yuletide Log

Christmas is almost upon us, and no matter how cynical you are about the modern Christmas and all of its clinical marketing and sales techniques, there is still something magical about this time of the year. The excitement in our house is crackling in the air, especially with a mischievous 3 year old desperate to open some presents that Santa has somehow already managed to place underneath our tree.

I can still remember feeling the presents when nobody was around in a nervous effort to work out what they were. And on more than one occasion, the Sellotape was peeled carefully aside in order to have a peek. I can only apologise to my family right now as I admit this unscrupulous crime after all of these years. But I reckon everybody has tried this once or twice.

I also can't recall an event in which all forms of nature are painted and decorated with such lavish attention. From a tinsel necked dog to a town street tree, few escape the Western gaudiness of our Christmas decorations. And in my opinion, the world is a much better place when we can forget about our earthly troubles and don the tack to such effect. My house is covered in the stuff - taste has no place at Christmas time.

No surprises, but it is the food that gets me excited. At no other time of the year can you indulge yourself so heavily and not have to be made to feel guilty in some way. The smells of Christmas food are unique and just the waft of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves brings back a thousand memories in one swift sniff. So enjoy this mainstay of the Yuletide season - it is a lot easier to make than you might first think - and don't forget to get the kids involved when making it. After all, Christmas should always be about our little ones. Happy Christmas readers x

Yuletide Log

3 eggs
Plain flour
Butter
Caster sugar
25g cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
250ml double cream
A splash of rum
1 tsp coffee granules dissolved in a little hot water
150g butter
200g 70% cocoa chocolate
Icing sugar to dust

1 – Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/GM4. Grease and line a small baking tray with baking paper.
2 – Weight the eggs in their shells. Then weight out the same quantity butter, sugar and flour. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs one by one then gently fold in the flour, cocoa powder and vanilla extract.
3 – Pour the sponge mixture into the baking tray and bake on the middle shelf for 10-15 mins until cooked. Allow to cool slightly.
4 – Place a piece of greaseproof paper onto your bench and tip the sponge out onto it. Peel off the baking paper then roll the sponge with the greaseproof inside. Leave to cool and shape.
5 – Melt the butter and chocolate in a pan then allow to cool and thicken. Whip the cream into soft peaks and fold in the coffee and rum. Unroll the sponge and spread with the cream. Roll back up without the greaseproof paper.
6 – Place onto a plate then spread on the chocolate butter with a palette knife, lifting off here and there to try to form a bark effect. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with holy.

Warming Three Root and Coriander Soup

'Tis the season to be jolly, but I’m sad to report that it has been far from it in our family household. With December being a fine combination of illness, injury, damaged cars and various other misdemeanours, I could be forgiven for being the ultimate Scrooge coming into the week before Christmas.

Thankfully we are all bringing ourselves around. My daughter, the cause of the various ills due to her new favourite pastime since starting nursery, Pass the Germ Parcel, appears to have the cheeky glint back in her eye and the bounce back in her step. My wife ploughs on into the storm with the strength that the female of the species only possess. And I still moan on a daily basis, but I can see the Christmas light at the end of the December tunnel. Man flu - need I say more?

Soups play a big part of any revival in our kitchen, and with cheap roots everywhere at this time of the year it is amazing what kind of super soups you can achieve with a bit of experimentation. Some old carrots, half a squash, a parsnip and a potato were the main ingredients for this winter warmer.

Blended with warming chilli and ginger and flecked with coriander, it makes for a nice alternative to the popular carrot and coriander. A squeeze of lime and a swirl of yoghurt adds sharpness to the heat and completes an otherwise impressive but simple soup, one that just about bent the corners of my mouth into some form of smile. Here's to the build up to Christmas, I can’t wait.

Warming Three Root and Coriander Soup
Feeds 4

1 onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, sliced
1 fresh of dried chilli, chopped or crumbled
1 thumb size of ginger, peeled and sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 parsnip, peeled and sliced
Half a large or 1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and sliced
1 large potato, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 litre hot vegetable stock
1 large handful of fresh coriander, roots and leaves
100ml natural yoghurt
Juice of 1 lime (optional)
Dried chilli for garnish

1 - Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the vegetables including the chilli, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 5-10 minutes until they start to soften.
2 - Pour in the hot stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
3 - Pour into a blender and blend until smooth. Put in the fresh coriander and yoghurt and blend until the coriander has broken up into small pieces rather than completely broken up.
4 - Taste for seasoning then stir in the lime juice. Pour into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of dried chilli and a spoonful of yoghurt.

Jerusalem Artichoke and Cheese Scones

Up on the chilly coastline of Newbiggin by the sea here in the North East, a cafe owner has decided to claim a unique record of having the most varieties of homebaked scones for sale. Jackie Nevin and her husband Colin have invented everything from a mince and onion variety to a black cherry and white chocolate. And why not? Call it bizarre, but it is these little quirky finds in the world of food that makes it such an interesting subject.

I love a scone; it is about as English as a foodstuff can be and a visit to Cornwall is not complete without a feast on one of their famous scones with strawberries and clotted cream and a nice cup of tea. Being a bit of a traditionalist, I'm torn between a plain old fruit scone or a warm cheese scone, fresh from the oven with a slab of salted butter dripping from it. Last year I remember catering for a large birthday party and as they wanted an English tea party, I created my own little record of baking what seemed like a thousand scones in my own tiny kitchen. I believe some of them are still residing in their freezer.

This week it was my turn to go all bizarre with the scone. I've made a potato scone several times and that works a treat. With a handful of Jerusalem artichokes, I thought a smooth puree folded into a strong cheese scone mixture would work just perfectly. And it did; strong Cheddar and the nutty artichoke are such a lovely combination. I might send this recipe to that scone shop in Newbiggin to see if I can help towards getting them into that famous book.

Jerusalem Artichoke and Cheese Scones
Makes 12

100g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and sliced
200ml milk
300g plain flour
200g wholemeal flour
4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g salted butter
50g Cheddar cheese, grated
100ml milk
1 egg

1 – Put the Jerusalem artichoke into a pan with the milk. Bring to the boil then simmer until the Jerusalem artichoke is tender, approximately 10 minutes. Put the artichoke and milk into a blender and blend to a loose puree. Keep aside.
2 – Preheat the oven to 200C, GM6. Grease and flour a baking tray.
3 – Sift the flour into a food processor along with the bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar. Add the butter and blend until combined.
4 – Add the cheese and Jerusalem artichoke puree and blend. Begin to pour the milk gradually through the blender funnel until the dough comes together into a soft dough.
5 – Tip out onto a floured surface and roll to approximately 4 cm depth. Using a scone cutter, cut out the dough and place the scones snugly onto the baking tray. Beat the egg and brush the tops of the scones. Cook on the middle shelf for 10-15 minutes until risen and golden brown. Cool slightly on a wire rack and eat warm with lots of butter. The scones are also a great accompaniment to a rich beef stew.

Beef, Ale and Chestnut Stew

'Waste not, want not,' my mam always used to say to me, and despite screwing my face up each time she said it, it has been a lifelong lesson in frugality that has never been more relevant than it is now. The one positive thing to take from the current economic downturn is that it is making us all - hopefully - think a little more creatively in the home. So everything from using every scrap of food to budgeting your shopping is the hot topic in this crazy world we live in.

Making food for the whole family using cheaper cuts of meat is also a current much discussed topic, and in my opinion, the country is all the better for it. In days not so long ago when the country did not have the option of takeaways, ready meals and endless processed snacks, the nation cooked creatively using whatever they could get their hands on. How times have changed. But if there was ever a time to start being inspired to use a cheaper cut of meat, it is now.

The dinner plate isn't all about fillet steaks and racks of lamb; take a scrag end of lamb or perhaps a shin of beef and you can make all kinds of wonderful, tasty, filling and economic casseroles and soups to keep you all warm this winter without breaking the bank. Slow cooking is perhaps my favourite way of treating a piece of meat and the fattier, cheaper cuts of meat lend themselves to slow braising perfectly. What that process does is give you the tastiest, most sumptuous and tender meat you can wish for. So get the slow cookers out, spend a fiver on a cheap cut of meat and treat the family to a meal that laughs in the face of the credit crunch.

Beef, Ale and Chestnut Stew
Feeds 4

1kg skirt of beef, cut into large chunks
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped roughly
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp dried oregano
200ml dark beer
250ml beef stock
2 handfuls of cooked chestnuts
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper

1 - Preheat the oven to 150C/Fan 130C/GM2.
2 - In a large casserole dish, heat up the oil. Add the beef in batches and quickly cook until golden brown all over. Remove and set aside.
3 - Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 5-10 minutes until beginning to colour. Remove and set aside.

4 - Sprinkle in the flour. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until combined. Then pour in the beer, bring to the boil and cook off for 2 minutes until reduced and thickened.

5 - Return the vegetables, beef and any juices to the pot then add the tomato puree and herbs and stir in. Pour in the stock stock, bring to the boil, cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours, stirring on the hour.

5 - Add the chestnuts and mustard and cook for a further 20 minutes.
6 - Taste for seasoning. Serve with mashed potato and cabbage.

The Best Christmas Cake

With 5 weeks to go before that most indulgent of days, Christmas Day, it is now time to start getting that cake done. It isn’t too early to make a Christmas cake. Thanks to the huge amount of preserved fruit and booze, it can keep for a long time if wrapped and kept in a cool, dark place.

We made ours this week. It is a tried, tested, tweaked, tested then tweaked again recipe. A lot of people I know don’t like a traditional Christmas cake, saying that it is too rich/dry/boozy. So my recipe is one that tries to appease all taste buds. Not too boozy, certainly not dry and with added ingredients that will please rather than offend.

If you can handle the alcohol, ‘feed’ your cake every 2 weeks with a shot glass of brandy or whisky. A few knitting needle holes will help the booze soak into the rich concoction of fruit, sugar, cocoa, orange and coffee – a combination from heaven in anybody’s world. Wrap it tightly in greaseproof paper and foil and keep in an airtight cake tin. Come Christmas Day, you will be knocked over by the sensational aromas as you remove the lid for the first slice.

Like all of the best things in life, it is the simple things that work. And like any child that grew up with people cooking in their family, my daughter Cerys threw herself into the ubiquitous spoon licking like a seasoned professional. So get mucking about in the kitchen with the kids this weekend and knock up a Christmas cake to beat all Christmas cakes.

The Best Christmas Cake

200g dark muscovado sugar
100g honey
250g butter
100g each of raisins, currants, sultanas, dried figs and dried prunes, roughly chopped
1 espresso cup of coffee
A large splash of brandy or whisky
Tablespoon of mixed spice
Zest and juice of an orange or 2 satsuma, tangerines or clementine
1 tbsp of cocoa powder
3 large eggs
100g plain flour, sifted
150g ground almonds
Teaspoon of Bicarbonate of Soda
Salt

1 - Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C, GM3. Grease and line a 22cm spring form cake tin.
2 - Melt the butter and sugars in a large pan then add the fruit, coffee, brandy or whisky, spice and honey. Zest and juice the oranges and add along with the cocoa powder. Stir until dark, caramelised and fragrant.
3 - Beat the eggs and add to the mixture along with the flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt. Fold in thoroughly until not a trace of flour is left.
4 - Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake on the middle shelf for 2 hours. If the top looks like it is catching, cover with baking paper.