Smoked Salmon Carbonara

Cook spaghetti for 2 people.
In a bowl, combine around 120g smoked salmon bits, 150ml double cream, 2 beaten eggs, 1.5 tbsp parmesan cheese and add some black pepper.
Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and add the creamy mixture.
Snip some chives into the food and allow the sauce to thicken slightly.
Serve sprikled with another 1.5 tbsp parmesan cheese.

Chicken Biryani

(serves 2)

• Approx 175g basmati rice
• 15g butter
• 1 smallish onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cardamon pods, seeds removed
• small cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 skinless chicken breasts cut into large chunks
• 2 tbsp curry paste
• 40g raisins or sultanas
• 450ml chicken stock
• handful of spinach
• 4-5 mushrooms
• chopped coriander and toasted flaked almonds to serve

Soak the rice in warm water and then rinse in cold water until it runs clear.

Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the onions, bay, cinnamon and cardamon for 10 mins. Add the turneric, chicken, mushrooms and curry paste and cook for 1 minute or so.

Stir in the rice and raisins and pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it without lifting the lid for 10-15 mins.

When the rice is soft, stir in the spinach and half of the coriander. You may to give it a quick reheat to ensure it's hot and then serve, scattered with the remaining coriander and almonds.

Lamb Shanks in Red Wine

• 4 lamb shanks
• plain flour
• butter
• olive oil
• 2 red onions, sliced
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• 100ml balsamic vinegar
• 500ml red wine
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• sprig of rosemary
• 1 kg potatoes (new or old)
• 2 large sprigs thyme
• 4 large sprigs mint

Preheat to gas 2.

Dust the lamb with flour and season. Heat a casserole dish and add some butter and olive oil. Add onions and cook until soft then remove them.

Add the lamb and brown all over. Return onions to dish along with the garlic, balsamic, wine, tomato puree, rosemary and season.

Cover and cook for 2.5 hours.

Boil down juices if they are too thin.

Boil potatoes until soft. If old potatoes mash them and add the thyme and mint and seasoning. If they are new potatoes, add the herbs then crush the potatoes.

Goan Chicken Curry

(serves 4)

• 4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 3 tbsp veg oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 large onion
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 400ml coconut milk
• salt

For marinade:

• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 75ml water

Mix the marinade ingredients and marinade the chicken pieces for 30-60 mins.

Heat oil in deep frying pan/wok and add mustard seeds. When they start to pop add onions and garlic and fry until golden brown. Add chicken and marinade. Fry over gentle heat for around 8 mins and then add the coconut milk. Increase heat slightly, bring to simmer and keep it there for 10-12 mins until sauce has thickened slightly. Season. Serve with naan bread and rice.

Beef Balti

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
  
• 450g steak, sliced
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 4cm root ginger, grated
  
• 1 chilli, chopped
  
• 1 green pepper, sliced
  
• 1 red pepper, sliced
  
• 3 tomatoes
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp dessicated coconut, flaked or shredded

Heat oil in wok and fry onion until lightly browned.
Add chilli, ginger and garlic along with the beef. Fry until beef is coloured.
Remove from wok and keep warm.
Fry the peppers, then stir in the garam masala and cumin. Cook for 1 min.
Add chopped tomatoes and lemon juice and some salt. Simmer, stirring for 3-4 mins.
If it becomes dry add a little water.
Sprinkle with coconut and serve with nan bread and rice.

Paprika Rice with Prawns

• Pinch saffron
• 500-600ml chicken stock
• 50g sliced chorizo
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 spanish onion finely chopped
• risotto rice for 2
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 small glass white wine
  
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 50g french beans, trimmed and halved
• prawns
• chopped parsley
• lemon wedges

Drop the saffron into the hot stock.
Fry the chorizo in oil until crisp and then lift out.
Tip away all but 1 tbsp of the oil.
Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft. Add rice, paprika and garlic.
Pour in wine and let it bubble away.
Tip in three quarters of the stock, stir, cover and cook for 10 mins.
Add pepper and the beans.
Add remaining stock if needed.
Cover and cook for 8 more mins.
Stir in the prawns and chorizo and cook until the prawns are pink.
Scatter with parsley and serve with lemon wedges and bread.

Turkey Lasagne

• 500g turkey mince
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 100g mushrooms
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 10 pre cooked lasagne sheets
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 500ml milk
• 150g grated cheese

Preheat oven to gas 6.
Fry onion then add the mince.
Add the mushrooms, tomato puree, herbs and seasoning.
Cook for 20 mins.
For the cheese sauce, melt the butter, add the flour and then gradually add the milk, whisking all the time. Add half the cheese at the end when off the heat.
Layer the lasagne, sauce and mince, finish by sprinkling over the remaining cheese and bake for around 30 mins.

Peppered Mackerel Fish Cakes

(Serves 4)

• 300g cold mashed potato
• 6 spring onions thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp horseradish sauce
• 250g peppered mackerel fillets, skinned and flaked
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 egg beaten
• 85g breadcrumbs
• sunflower oil
• salad and lemon wedges

Mix together the potato, onions, horseradish and mackerel in a bowl and shape into 8 cakes.
Roll the fish cakes in the flour, then dip in the egg before rolling in the breadcrumbs.
Cover and chill.
When ready, fry for 5-6 mins on each side. Serve with the lemon and salad.

Chicken with Chorizo

• 1/2 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 chicken breasts cut into halves
• small bunch of chopped coriander
• soured cream
• As many slices of chrizo as you like
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Fry onion and garlic in the oil. Add tomatoes and cider vinegar.
Bring to simmer and cook for 10 mins.
Add chicken and chorizo and paprika for 10 mins until chicken cooked through.
Serve with coriander, cream and rice.

Lamb with Iman Bayildi

• 2 aubergines
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 spanish onion or red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled
• chopped parsley
• paprika
• 1 lemon, halved
• 150g greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cucumber, seeds scopped out, grated
  
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
  
• lamb chops/cutlets

Preheat oven to gas 5.
Halve aubergines lengthways, score flesh deeply and brush with the olive oil.
roast on baking sheet for 20 mins, or until flesh is soft enough to scoop out.

Fry onion until soft, add garlic and cinnamon and fry for 1 min.
Scoop out flesh from aubergines.
Roughly chop the flesh and add it to the onions.
Halve the tomatoes, scoop seeds and juice into a sieve set over a bowl then chop the flesh.
Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook everything for 10 mins.
Stir in the parsley, leaving a little left to scatter over at the end.

Lay aubergines in a baking dish and divide the tomato mixture between them.
Pour the juice from the tomatoes over them, drizzle more olive oil and bake for 30 mins until aubergines have collapsed.

Mix the yoghurt, mint and cucumber together in a bowl to make a tzatziki.

Season lamb and sprinkle with paprika.
Griddle or grill the lamb before squeezing over the lemon halves. Scatter parsley over. Serve.

Peppercorn sauce for steak

Once the steaks have been cooked, pour any excess oil from pan and add 1 tbsp red wine vinegar.
Bubble then add 125ml beef stock and boil until reduced by half.
Stir in 2 heaped tbsp double cream.
Bubble a little and then add lots of pepper.

Rice noodle salad with pork

• 250g rice noodles
• 2 carrots cut into matchsticks
  
• red onion, thinly sliced
  
• handful of mint and coriander leaves
• juice of 3 limes
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 red chilli cut into thin strips
• 300g pork mince

Pour boiling water over the noodles and let it sit for 5 mins.
Rinse under cold water and thoroughly drain. Place in serving bowl and add carrots, onion and half the herbs.
Mix the lime juice, sugar and fish sauce along with half the chillis.
Heat wok, add a drop of veg oil and cook mince until it browns. Once cooked through, tip it over the noodle mixture then toss over the dressing, giving it all a good mix.
Scatter with the remaining herbs and chilli slices.

Lamb and Apricot meatballs

(Serves 4)

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 red onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp each ground cumin and coriander
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 10g mint chopped
• 500g minced lamb
• 8 dried apricots
• 50g fresh breadcrumbs
• pitta bread

Soften the onions in the oil for 5 mins before adding the garlic and spices. Continue to cook for a few mins.
Spoon half of this mixture in a bowl and allow to cool.
Add tomatoes, sugar and seasoning to remaining onions and simmer for 10 mins until reduced.
Add lamb, mint, apricots and breadcrumbs to cooled onions. Season and mix well. Shape into little meatballs.
Fry the meatballs until golden. Stir in the sauce with a splash of water and cook for a few mins. Serve with the pitta and salad.

Chicken Caesar Salad

• 2 chicken breasts with skin
• 4 rashers streaky bacon
• 1 garlic clove
• juice 1/4 lemon
• 1.5 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 25g parmesan plus extra to serve
• worcestershire sauce
• 1 romaine lettuce

Season chicken, drape the bacon around it and roast for 15-20 mins until cooked through.
In a bowl mix the garlic, lemon juice, yoghurt, oil and parmesan and a dash of the worcestershire sauce.
Mix the sauce with the lettuce and serve with the chicken, adding some extra parmesan if you wish.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup

Grill 2 red peppers until completely blackened.
Seal in a plastic bag before peeling. Roughly chop.
Peel and deseed approximately 5 tomatoes.
Chop half a red onion and half a red chilli, and crush a clove of garlic.
Slowly cook the onion in olive oil until softened. Add the chilli and garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the peppers and tomatoes and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add a teaspoon of tomato puree, cook for a further minute before adding about 600ml vegetable stock. Add some chopped basil.
Liquidise thoroughly.
Continue to cook for 20 mins or so. Add a bit of sugar to sweeten during the cooking and then bring it to correct level of tartness using red wine vinegar.

Cherry Drive Chicken Curry

• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 3 cardamon pods
• 2 cloves garlic
• fresh ginger - 1 inch square
• small red onion
• 2 chicken breasts cubed
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp greek/natural yoghurt
• tomato ketchup
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 handful coriander

Pound garlic and ginger in pestle and mortar until paste-like.
Add lime juice and all spices except cardamon.
Spoon this over the chicken to coate .
Leave in fridge for 10 mins.

Put on rice, quarter tomatoes and get rid of seeds.
Pound a small amount of the spinach and coriander in the pestle and mortar.
Finely chop the onion and fry in some rapeseed oil. When softened add the chicken.
Continue cooking for a few mins.

Add cardamon pods, yoghurt, tomatoes, chopped coriander, spinach and coriander paste and few dollaps of ketchup. Continue cooking. Finally add spinach and let it wilt.
Take largest piece of chicken and check cooked through. Add salt and pepper.

Serve with rice.

Sirloin Steak with New Potatoes

This was with your average 1 inch thick piece of sirloin steak.
Part boil the new potatoes.
Using an oven-proof fying pan, start to fry the potatoes in some olive oil. As they start to colour add some unpeeled garlic cloves, chopped spring onions, thyme and green beans. Season and put into the oven for about 20 mins to come together.
Just before it's done fry well-seasoned steak for about 1min 30seconds on each side before resting for 4 mins. This should leave it medium rare. 1min 40 seconds should serve it medium.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

• Pasta
• 1 aubergine
• 1 courgette
• 1 red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• basil - chopped roughly
• 1 tin tomatoes
• tomato and chill paste
• pecorinon toscano cheese - grated
  

Roast the vegetables for about 20 mins drizzled with olive oil.
Cook the pasta at the same time.
When they're done, drain the pasta, add the vegetables to the pasta and the tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to the boil and serve, sprinked with the cheese and the basil.

Lamb Shank Madras

As many as you have of the following for the curry powder:

• coriander seeds
• cumin seeds
• fennel seeds
• cumin seeds
• mustard seeds
• black peppercorns
• 3 cloves
• 1/2 cinnamon stick

Make sure you're fairly heavy on the coriander. Fry them dry before crushing.

Make the curry paste.

• garlic
• 2 green chillis, deseeded
• ginger

Put the paste ingredients into a food processor and blend.

In thick pan (Le Creuset is perfect), season then fry the 2 lamb shanks for 3-4 mins in a little vegetable oil until starting to colour. Remove the lamb, and then fry 1 onion for a few mins until softened.
Add the curry powder and paste and stir.
Return the lamb, together with a tin of chopped tomatoes and 200ml beef stock.
Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
At the end, remove the lamb and fiercely boil the sauce uncovered for 5 mins to let it thicken into a great sauce.

Serve with rice and something else. Not sure what - a nice little accompaniment of some kind.

Pork Belly with Cabbage

• lemon juice
• 500g pork belly
• lardons
• chopped cabbage
• 50ml white wine
• 130ml double cream
• chopped parsley

Preheat oven to gas 7.
Rub some lemon juice and sea salt into the pork rind.
Roast for around 20 mins.
Reduce to gas 4 and continue to roast for another 50 mins.
Fry lardons until brown. Add cabbage and some butter and cook for 3-4 mins until cabbage begins to wilt.
Add wine and cream and bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins until reduced.
Carve the pork into thick slices and serve on top of the cabbage. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with new potatoes.

You can replace the cabbage with leeks.

Spanish chicken with chorizo

• 1 small tin of butter bean (can use other beans)
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 tbsp paprika - I use smoked
• chopped parsley, thyme and a few bay leaves
• 4-6 chicken thighs, preferably without skin
• new potatoes, cut into chunks
• chorizo (good amount) cut into chunks
• 75-100g baby spinach
• 500-600ml chicken stock
• 3-4 tsp cornflour mixed with cold water
  

In large, heavy saucepan (Le Creuset), put in the chicken, herbs, paprika, onion and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 mins.
Remove the chicken. Add the potatoes, beans and chorizo. Season to taste. Return to the boil and simmer for 30 mins more.
Return the chicken to the pan, with the spinach and simmer for 5 mins more.
Serve.

Simple steak sauce

Add around 5 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to frying pan and reduce to sticky substance.
Add wholegrain mustard.
To make it less thick add a few drops of water.

Sausage stew

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 sausages
• 1 onion
• 1 tin chickpeas
• 1 tin tomatoes
• approx 2 tsp sundried tomato paste
• 150ml chicken stock
• 1 garlic clove
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• new potatoes to serve

Cook sausages.
Fry onion in the oil until softened.
Add chickpeas, tomatoes and tomato paste, and stock. Bring to boil.
Return sausages to the pan and simmer for 5-6 mins.
Scatter on the chopped garlic, orange zest and parsley.
Serve.

Smoked fish and leek risotto

• small knob of butter
• 1-2 leeks depending on size, sliced thinly
• risotto rice for 2
• approx 550ml fish or veg stock
• approx 180ml milk
• smoked fish cut into chunks - I used river cobbler
• 2 tbsp creme fraiche
• 70g baby spinach

Heat oven to gas 6. Heat butter in oven proof dish and fry the leek until just tender. Add rice and stir for further 2 mins.
Add stock and milk, bring to the boil and bubble for 5mins before laying the fish on top.
Cover and put into oven for around 18 mins.
Fold in the creme fraiche and spinach and season with lots of pepper.
Re-cover and leave to rest for 3 mins before serving.

American-Style Blueberry Pancakes

• 105g/4oz self-raising gluten free flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 125ml/5fl oz milk
• pinch salt
• 400g/14oz fresh blueberries
• vegetable oil, for brushing

Method

1. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl and make a well in the middle.
2. Place the yolks and the milk into the well in the flour mixture, and whisk to create a smooth batter. The batter should be the consistency of double cream. Add a little extra milk if necessary, although you may not need it all.
3. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl with a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed.
4. Fold the egg whites into the batter.
5. Heat a heavy non-stick pan over a medium heat and brush it with some vegetable oil.
6. Pour two tablespoons of the batter into the pan, smoothing it out into a circle. Cook for one minute, or until bubbles start to form on the surface, then add a handful of blueberries, and cook for another minute. Turn the pancake and cook the other side for one minute, or until golden-brown. Remove from the pan and reserve in a warm place.
7. Repeat with the remaining batter and berries and serve immediately.

Barbeque Sauce

Put as many of these ingredients in as you have, in whatever proportions you fancy:

• worcester sauce
• tomato puree
• mustard powder
• garlic
• paprika
• chilli powder
• white wine vinegar / cider vinegar
• dark brown sugar
• tomato ketchup
• BBQ sauce (nasty bought stuff)

Put it all in pan and heat.