Velvety Squid and Chorizo Stew

I am totally, utterly sick of this weather. On one hand, it gives me a really good excuse to not do any grueling yard-work but on the other, the house is all stuffy because I can't leave the windows open for two minutes without hearing "You're letting all the heat out!!!" This has been going on for too long now and I'm going a little stir-crazy but I do rather like curling up on the sofa for an afternoon doing something useless and crafty while dinner cooks slooooowly over a low heat, warming the house with tasty smells.

This dish actually isn't as time consuming as some winter stews, but it is absolutely packed with vibrant flavour from the chorizo and slow cooked squid. Squid has to be cooked either super quick or low and slow, anything in between leaves you with chewy rubbery yuck. Slow cooking breaks down the collagen that makes up the squid meat and releases it into the sauce of this stew, giving it a wonderfully luxurious texture.
Following the theme of the week, this dish is stupid-cheap, serving 4+ at less than £4.50. It's probably the best tasting £4.50 you can spend and is so incredibly good for you, not to mention a good way to introduce kids to squid because if the soft texture.

Squid, Chorizo and White Bean Stew
1 tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin, its smoke point is too low)
250g/4oz Spanish or portuguese style chorizo, casing removed, cut in half then sliced.
1 stalk celery, finely chopped.
12 oz squid tubes and tentacles, (cleaned) cut into 1" rings, beak removed from tentacles
1 large yellow onion, sliced 1/4 thick
4-5 large cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 1/2 cups of dried cannelini beans (Soak over night, simmer in unsalted water for 2 hours) OR
1 1/2 cans of same, already soaked)
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp tomato paste/puree
4 large, salted anchovy fillets, chopped*
1 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
grated zest of one lemon (keep the flesh for later)
small handful fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 quart good (home made pref) **chicken stock

In a med- high sautee pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion slices and fry until golden/translucent.
Add the pieces of chorizo and stir in, cook for a couple of minutes until the sausage gives up some of its oil and colour. Then add the celery, chilli, smoked paprika and squid.
Sautee for 4-5 mins until the celery softens and the whole mixture is well coloured by the sausage and spices. Add the cooked or canned beans, stir.
Pour over the chicken stock, (and pulled chicken meat) Add the garlic, tomato paste, salt and lemon zest.
Bring to a bare simmer, lower the heat and cover for approx. 1 hour, checking once for moisture levels and to stir.
After an hour, uncover and turn the heat up slightly to reduce the liquid. Allow to cook for about another half hour at a loooow simmer. The starch form the beans will thicken the sauce some.

Best served in a bowl, scattered with the fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice with very crusty bread.

*Note: For all you anchovy haters, I PROMISE, you wont be able to tell they're in here. They just bring a gorgeous round richness to the sauce. It will do the same in tomato-y pasta sauces and braised meat dishes, but that's another blog post. If you don't believe me leave the anchovies out and it will still be a tasty, tasty dish.
**If you make your own stock and take the time to pull any remaining meat from the bones of the chicken, add this to the stew, it's a lovely additional texture.

Will warm your frostiest cockles.

Lamb Samosa Love

I love making party foods. Not that I ever really throw parties anymore, as most of our friends live thousands of miles away, (pause to feel sorry for me) but I still really enjoy making the finger foods I used to make to soak up the booze. Samosas were one of my favourite things to make because they're spicy, which is just what you want when you're a three (or seven) sheets to the wind. They're a little different from your normal chips and dips party fare, and you can vary the filling to suit the guests' or your tastes. They're deceptively easy to make, and once you get the first couple out of the way, you'll be done in no time.
These are a meat version, but they can easily be made vegetarian by substituting potato for the minced lamb.
As with a lot of production line type stuff, like making dim sum or frosting cupcakes, I like to take everything to the dining table and do it there, but I'm probably a lot lazier than you...

Lamb Samosas With Fresh Chutney
Makes 24, takes 90 mins including dough resting time.

500g minced lamb
large handful frozen peas
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 cm ginger root, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp salt

For the pastry:
250g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp plus 1 2 tsp veg oil
100ml warm water
1/2 tsp ajwan or onion seeds

1 egg, beaten

500ml veg oil for frying

For the chutney:
2 tsp caster sugar dissolved in
2 tbsp hot water
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch salt
large handful each fresh coriander (cilantro) and mint leaves, very finely chopped
1 large fresh green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

First, make the dough. In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and spices then make a well in the centre of this mixture and pour in the warm water and oil. Use a knife to blend well together, then knead for a few minutes on a clean work surface until the dough is smooth and elastic. Wrap in cling film and rest at room temp while you make the filling.

Heat a frying pan over a high heat, and add the lamb and spices. You wont need oil, as most minced lamb has enough fat to fry without it. Fry the minced lamb for several minutes until dry and well browned, then add the onions, ginger and garlic. Lower the heat and cook for 5-7 minutes longer, until the onions are soft and translucent. Stir through the frozen peas, remove from the heat and set the pan aside for a few minutes to cool a little while you sort out the pastry

Weigh the ball of pastry and divide into 12 equal balls (approx 35 grams) and keep them in an air tight container to prevent them drying out. Roll out a ball of dough without flour (the oil in the dough will prevent it from sticking too much.) to a circle about 12 cm/5" about 2mm thick.
Cut the circle in half and carefully lift one half into the palm of your hand and brush a thin line of egg halfway along the straight edge. Fold into a cone shape and press the two straight edges together firmly to seal well. Use a tablespoon to fill the pocket most of the way with the lamb mixture. Brush more egg along one half of the inside of the top edge and carefully press together to form a seal. Take care to try to press any air out so that it doesn't expand and burst during frying. Repeat 23 times until you have 24 pretty little triangles, then go back through and double check the seals along the edges.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet until 190C or hot enough to quickly sizzle a small piece of left over dough when dropped in. Cook 3-4 in batches, depending on the size of your pan by carefully lowering each samosa into the hot oil. When golden brown and blistered on one side, turn and repeat on the other, then remove to drain on paper towels.

You can prepare the samosas ahead of time and reheat in a hot oven for a few minutes before serving. They even freeze well if in an air tight container.

For the fresh chutney, make sure all the sugar and salt have properly dissolved and mix together well. This is actually a fabulous sauce for all manner of tasty nibbles, so feel free to make lots, as it stores well for a few days in the fridge.

Ground Lamb

Indian Samosas

Curry Night On A Budget

Last week, I blew my grocery budget. Like blew it BIG. So big, Hubby got all high pitched when he saw the receipt. The truth was, the store cupboard was running low, so there was a lot of basics stocking up to do and we also ate a lot of meat last week, which adds up quickly.
So I knew that this week I would have to be good and try to be super budget girl. I spent less than half of what I spent last week, so I can stop having to listen to Mr. Naggy-Pants and bathe in the glow of my own smugness.
Tonight I made a Goa-style chicken curry made with dark meat chicken and I served it over a mushroom pilao rice. For the three of us it cost approximately £6.00 total but my two guys eat STUPID-big portions, so this really would serve 4. It's nice and spicy, slightly sour and quite quick to make, so a good one for an evening when your time is limited.
Goan-Stylie Chicken And Cashew Curry With Mushroom Pilao Rice
Serves 4, Takes 45 mins
2 free range chicken thighs, drumsticks and wings.
Large handful raw whole cashew nuts
2 large yellow onions, sliced
100ml white malt vinegar
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground fenugreek
2cm piece ginger root, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp gram flour (chick pea/garbanzo bean flour)

For the rice:
300ml (by volume) basmati rice
1 large red onion, chopped
6-7 large white mushrooms, unwashed chopped
1 tsp garam masala
4 whole green cardamom
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp veg oil
450 ml water

To serve:
coriander leaves
small salad of sliced tomatoes and cucumber, dressed in lemon juice, salt and a pinch of sugar.

For the curry, skin and bone the chicken thighs and drumsticks, cut the meat into 3cm chunks. Cut the tips off the wings, separate into two halves each and remove the skin. You don't need to bother with removing the meat from the wings.*
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry all of the spices for a minute until fragrant and starting to brown a little. Add the onions and stir-fry through the spices for 5-7 minutes until beginning to go golden.
Bring the chicken to the pan and stir through the onion/spice mix for a few minutes until browning nicely all over. Pour the vinegar and 200ml water over, add the cashews, ginger and garlic, bring to a low simmer, cover and cook for approx 20 minutes until onion is very soft and the chicken is well-cooked through.
Stir through the gram flour and leave to cook uncovered for a further ten minutes so that the sauce can reduce and thicken while you make the rice.

For the rice, heat the oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan and fry the onion with the cardamom pods and garam masala for several minutes until the onions are a nice, golden brown.
Stir through the chopped mushrooms and cook for a further few minutes, stirring often until the mushrooms are soft and browning.
Add the rice and salt to the pan and fry for a minute or so until the rice is mixed well in and starting to go fragrant. Add the water to the pan, bring it to the boil, lower the heat to low, cover and cook for 7-10 minutes until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
Try not to stir it, as you don't want to break up the starch on the surface of the rice and make it sticky.

Serve the curry with the rice and the cucumber salad. Scatter with coriander leaves.
Bathe in your own smug satisfaction!

*Don't throw away the chicken bones, wing tips and skin, use them when you make stock. Mmmmm. Alternatively, you can leave the chicken on the bone if you don't have a family who whines about having to do the work themselves with a knife and fork. (Boo hoo hooo!) This is a more authentic way of doing it, but you should still remove the skin because the texture will not be nice.

Chicken Curry

KIDS! Eat Your Damn Vegetables!

A couple of weeks ago, I went with my cousin Maya to a taping of one of the UK's best cooking shows, Market Kitchen. I'm a total groupie for the chefs they feature and have huge foodie crushes on Matthew Fort and Matt Tebbutt, so I took my MK cookbook along for some signatures. If you've ever seen MK, you know that the 'diners' are part of the show, and participate to a small degree in the taping of the show. I have been three times now and it's bee a lot of fun seeing the behind the scenes, sucking my gut in when I'm in the shot and getting to try the food being cooked.
This most recent time, we got to meet Rosemary Shrager, an icon of traditional British cooking and Paul Merritt, a Michelin starred chef and gastro-pub owner.

One of the things I love about Paul Merritt is that he's all about inexpensive, seasonal cooking for people with families. On more than occasion on various shows, he's complained about how much his kids hate their veggies and how he tries to get around this (Chocolate covered brussels sprouts anyone?)
On this occasion, Paul's recipe was a chicken and winter vegetable stir-fry with coconut broth and I admit that I was a little skeptical about a few of the ingredients. It turned out to be really tasty and I put it on the menu for this week. I made it a little differently from Paul's because I try to keep the number of dishes I have to wash to a minimum and worked with the ingredients I had handy. My version is about 90% true to Mr. Merritt's and was really REALLY enjoyed by Hubby, who rarely gets excited about any food, especially when it has broccoli and KALE in it.
Give this a try, but if you have young kids you might want to ease up on the chilli and you can substitute the kale or broccoli with cavolo nero or spinach. Paul will be making his version tomorrow night on Market Kitchen on the Good Food Channel at 7:00pm
Chicken and Winter Veg Stir-Fry with Coconut Broth
Serves 4, takes about 30 minutes
2 free range chicken breasts, cut into 3cm chunks
250g curly kale, washed, chopped
200g tenderstem broccoli
1 400g tin coconut milk
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cm ginger, grated
1 red chilli, finely sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
3 tbsp syrup from a jar of stem ginger
3 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp veg oil

Mix the stem ginger syrup and soy sauce together in a bowl and mix in the chicken, set aside to marinade while you do the rest of the prep.
In a small saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of the oil over a medium heat and sautee the shallots, ginger and garlic together until fragrant, then stir in the spices, fry for another minute before adding the coconut milk. Bring this to a low simmer and start the chicken.
Heat a wok over a high flame, add the oil and use a slotted spoon to carefully bring the chicken pieces to the hot oil. The sugar will make the chicken brown quite quickly, which is desirable, but be careful not to let it burn. Pour any remaining marinade into the coconut broth and stir fry the chicken for a few more minutes before adding the broccoli. The broccoli will need to cook for a few minutes, then add the kale and chilli and cook for a couple more. Once the kale is tender pour the broth over the contents of the wok and simmer together for one more minute before serving in wide bowls.
In hindsight, we thought it would have been lovely to try some rice noodles in the bottom of the bowl for hungry dudes.

Chicken Curry

No! Money

This morning I was sitting with Hubby in a VAT (Sales Tax) For Small Business Owners workshop. I know, you're thinking "My God, so that's how the other half live!" What can I say, mine is a glamourous life. As lunch time and the end of the class approached, I slipped a note to my husband asking him out for lunch. Here's how it went:

Me: "How about we go out for a cheap lunch after this?"
Him: "For us, there's no such thing as a cheap lunch."
Me:" Yo! Sushi" (a chain of conveyor belt sushi places)
Him: "No! Money"

As funny as I thought that was, I also knew that it was true. We came home and I cooked (a tasty) lunch on the cheap and started thinking again about our food budget.
Like millions of other women around the globe, I am responsible for keeping the family fed well, and the grocery bill as low as possible. The cost of most foods have gone up over the past couple of years, while incomes have tended to go down and packages have got smaller (sneaky f@&*ers)
I thought it might be fun to have an exchange of money-saving ideas here. I have listed a few of the things I do regularly that really help me and I'd really welcome your comments and ideas so that I can try those too.

Here are my top tips for trimming the food bill:

1) PLAN AHEAD.
Make a menu every week and then use this to make you shopping list. It sounds more tedious than it is I promise. The time you take to sit down and think the week through will more than make up for several visits to the store and trying to think "what shall I cook tonight??" Also, think about all those separate trips to the store. How often do you only get what you went in for? How much money do you spend on impulse buys? If you make a list and stick to it you'll save money and reduce waste, because you wont be buying things that sit in the fridge unused until they go bad. BEST of all, you'll be beating the grocery stores out of the money they try to make off you with their clever marketing and store layouts.
2) BE PREPARED TO RE-PLAN.
Don't be afraid to go off-plan though. If you get to the grocery store or farmers' market and discover that they have a special on lamb chops when you have pork chops on the menu, if it will save you money, swap! Sometimes Buy-One-Get One offers can be useful if they're on products you regularly use. If you see something on sale that you can't work into this week's menu, maybe get it anyway and work it in next week. You'll spend a bit more this week but that much less the following.

3) EAT SEASONALLY.
And buy locally. When you buy produce that is in season locally, you will almost always spend less on it because it's plentiful, hasn't had to travel far and hasn't had to be refrigerated or packaged to protect it on a long journey. Buying this way helps the environment, local farmers and your family's health, because you tend to eat a more varied diet.
Building relationships with local producers will usually ensure fresher foods at better prices than grocery stores offer for similar products. You can often get great deals on buying in quantity from small meat producers, so it's worth investing a little in a well-stocked freezer.
4) BUY WHOLE.
Every bit of processing a piece of food goes through before it gets to you costs money. Buying carrots that have already been peeled and cut, as opposed to whole and loose cost so much more than they should. Buying a chicken whole and jointing it yourself will save you so much money and once you have the knack will only take a few minutes. The left over bones can be used to make stock, which can be used to make soups, risottos and sauces. Buying larger joints of meat or whole fish can often save you a lot of money per kilo, as long as you're willing and able to take it home, portion it and store it appropriately.
5) LOVE YOUR STORE CUPBOARD.
This can be a treasure trove of healthy bulk and flavour. Dried beans and pulses are a brilliant, super inexpensive way to include huge amounts of protein and fibre to a meal. Keeping a well-stocked store cupboard means that you can turn a few fresh ingredients into a hearty, nourishing supper without spending more than a pound or two per head. I tend to keep a variety of dried beans, lentils, pastas, rices, vinegars, tinned tomatoes, chick peas, coconut milk, and dried mushrooms. It will largely depend on what you like to cook and what your family will eat. Things like chillies, ginger root and garlic store well in the fridge, so it's great to have those around, while tins of anchovies and jars of capers and olives do incredible things to stews and pasta sauces. Having these kinds of thing as permanent residents means you can whip up something incredible even with the most basic fresh ingredients.
6) COOK IN BULK.
Whenever I make Bolognese sauce, Chilli, Stews or anything else that I cook for hours, I will make at least three whole meals' worth, store two lots in air-tight containers and stick them in the freezer. Whenever you can say "It tastes even better the next day" you can usually make this work. It's a brilliant plan for days when you have very little time to cook. All you have to do is defrost a container, re-heat it and maybe boil some rice or pasta. It's wonderful to have slow-cooked comfort in such a hurry.
7) THROW AWAY AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.
This might seem extreme or miserly, but things like carrot peelings, celery tops and bottoms, mushroom stems etc are brilliant for stocks. Odd bits of veg can be used up in soups, risotto or fried rice dishes like this one. These are like free meals, if all you were going to do was throw them away once they get too gross to look at.


8) GROW YOUR OWN.
Seems impossible to think about at this time of the year, when the weather is so miserable, but even if you don't have much of a (or any) garden, you can grow tons of stuff in containers. Potatoes, carrots, salad leaves and herbs grow brilliantly in bags and pots, while tomatoes and chillies can be bought in their own pre-fertilized bags. If you DO have a garden and room for a compost bin, any scraps of veg and egg shells you have, along with fallen leaves and grass clippings make the most incredible free compost. In the peak of summer, with just a few square metres of dirt, you might find that you're hardly buying any veggies at all.
9) STAY AWAY FROM PROCESSED FOOD
A £1 family-sized lasagne is £1 for a reason and it's not because the manufacturer is feeling generous. In fact, 'manufacturer' isn't really a word we should want associated with our food.
If you make it from scratch, you can control what goes into your food (and what doesn't!) and again, not pay for processes you can easily do at home and additives you don't want.

Risotto Redemption!

I was having a bit of a crap day today really. Last week's chip-heavy diet was weighing on my conscience as much as my jeans buttons and I had SERIOUS PMS. I felt slightly comforted by the fact that I had this lovely prawn, pepper and pea risotto to look forward to tonight. My stepson had asked me to teach him to make this so that he can make it for his mother when he goes back to visit her this Spring. I'm pretty sure she'll be very proud of how far his culinary skills have come in the past few years. To be completely honest, teaching cookery to a teenager is often nail-on-a-blackboard painful, and I so often want to elbow him to the side and just do it myself (how long can it take a person to dice one onion/de-vein one prawn??!!) But we all started somewhere, and if he can feed himself properly (and take care of his skin) when he goes off to college, then I'll have done my job. I leave 'birds and the bees' conversations to his Dad....

Prawn, Pea and Red Pepper Risotto
Serves 4, takes 30 minutes
200g large prawns (raw, shell-on)
300g arborio risotto rice
600ml homemade free-range chicken stock
1 large glass white wine (plus one to drink)
2 shallots, finely diced
1 small red pepper, finely diced
lg handful frozen peas (or fresh if it's summer)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
chunk of parmesan cheese
half a lemon
small bag wild rocket (arugula) leaves
2 tbsp olive oil

Shell and de-vein the prawns and cut them in half length-wise (basically, when you cut to de-vein, go all the way through.) Put the shells in a small saucepan with the stock and bring to a simmer for five minutes to allow the prawny flavour to infuse the stock. Strain the lot and return to the saucepan over a low heat to keep hot.
In a large saucepan, heat 2 of the tbsp of olive oil and sautee the shallots and garlic until soft-about 5 minutes. Do the same with the red pepper before adding the rice to the pan and stirring through thoroughly to coat in the oil cook for a further couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and stir though, keeping the rice moving until the alcohol has evapourated and the pan is really fragrant. One ladleful at a time, stir in the hot stock, stirring all the while moving to prevent sticking. As each ladleful of liquid is absorbed, add the next until the rice is cooked almost all the way through. Taste/bite test the rice. is it almost done? season and add the prawns and the peas, stir through and cook for a couple more minutes until the prawns are cooked and the peas are warm, but still lovely and bright green. The rice should be 99% cooked but still a tiny bit al dente and a loose consistency. Turn off the heat and cover for a few minutes.
To serve, spoon onto plates and either grate or use a peeler to slice the parmesan over the top. Dress the rocket leaves with the remaining tbsp of olive oil and a big squeeze of lemon juice and a little sea salt. Heap a handful of the rocket leaves on top of the risotto and dig in.

Risotto

Lamb Burgers and Spiced Chips

Today is the final day of National Chip Week, and so rather than the risotto I was supposed to teach my stepson, I did a menu shuffle and did this lamb burger with spiced chips. They're not a hot spice, just a lovely, fragrant combination of flavours which compliment the lamb nicely.
I doubt that next week is National Salad Week, but it might have to be in our house after all the jeans-stuffing food we've had these past few days....

Lamb burgers with Feta Salad and Eastern Spiced Chips.
Serves 4, takes approx 40 minutes
500g minced lamb
handful parsley, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
squeeze lemon juice

For the salad:
250g block good feta, crumbled roughly
1/3 red pepper, sliced waffer theen
1/3 red onion, also sliced waffer theen
2 large sprigs fresh mint, leaves picked and sliced
small handful pine nut kernels
squeeze lemon juice
hefty grind of black pepper
1 tbsp good quality olive oil

For the chips:
4 large, floury potatoes
3 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp sumac, ground
1 tsp paprika

To serve:
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 large handfuls rocket (arugula) leaves
sprinkle of salt
4 burger buns of your choice

Heat the oven o 180C/375F Start a large pan of salted water boiling.
Start the chips first. Leave the skins on and cut into 2cm chips. Blanch the chips in boiling water for five minutes, meanwhile, heat a baking tray with the veg oil, salt and spices. Drain the chips and allow to dry for a couple of minutes before adding to the roasting tin and tossing well through the spicy oil. Return the pan to the oven and roast the chips for about half an hour, turning once during cooking.
For the lamb, mix all of the ingredients well in a bowl and divide the mix evenly into four (I weigh mine) portions and shape into patties.
Mix all the salad ingredients together in a bowl and set aside until needed.
When the chips are done, put the buns in the oven and turn it off.
Heat a grill pan or a large frying pan over a high heat, and when searing hot, gently place the burgers and don't move them for 3-4 minutes. When nicely browned on the first side, turn them over and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and start to assemble.

Halve the burger buns and top the bottom half with the rocket and sliced tomato, sprinkle with a little salt. Lay the patty on top of the tomato and then top with a generous couple of spoonfuls of the feta salad. Top with the top half of the bun and serve with the gorgeous chips.

If you're feeling motivated, grind some roasted cumin seeds and mix with a few tablespoons of mayo and a teaspoon or two of lemon juice. FanTASTIC for dipping your chips into. Mmmm.


Lamb Burgers