Herb and Barley Broth to restore you to health

There is a snow storm heading our way from the Urals, apparently, and I am feeling a bit wibbly and hormonal - a good day for Nigel's restorative Barley Broth, which is more like a stew really. Made with masses of onions, leeks, carrots, potatoes and celery, and with sage, thyme, bay, parsley and chives, it is a healthy and much needed meat-free dish. Served with crusty bread, with cheese and apple to follow, we feel very virtuous and so full we could pop! Leftovers, too, for lunch on Monday. It is quite similar to the big vegetable broths my Scottish parents made for me, so I am also feeling nostagic - funny how food can whizz you right back to another time and place sometimes. A great credit-crunch dish - why isn't everyone making stuff like this at the moment?

Clear Hot Mussel Soup

After yesterday's less-than-impressive re-working of Onion Soup, Nigel redeemed himself with this lovely dish of mussels in an aromatic, spicy, slightly Thai-inspired broth. We reduced the quantities of stock to just about a cupful to mingle with the juices from the mussels, chilli, lime juice and coriander leaf. We kept them in the shell and demolished them in minutes, accompanied by bowls of home-made oven chips and slurping down the delicious broth. Washed down with some great Belgian lager, it was an Asian-ish version of moules and frites, perfect for Friday nights. Thanks Nigel! And thanks also to Hayman's Fishmonger in Oxford Covered Market for some spankingly fresh and tender mussels.

Onion Soup Without Tears.......

......and without too much flavour, too, I have to say! This recipe is not one of Nigel's best, and I shall stick to the tried and tested version of sweating masses of onions carefully and slowly in a pot in future. Sorry Nige. It was a sound idea in principle - bake peeled onions in the oven to avoid the smell and faff, then add to wine and vegetable stock (as specified in the book) and simmer for 20 minutes. As always with me, I went off on another track. Firstly, I felt the onions needed to be sliced rather than halved for baking, otherwise they would never be tender enough. Also, 40g of butter is just too much - this was halved. Then, I really had an aversion to veg stock and substituted it for beef (though the BBC recipe here says to use beef - strange that the book didn't). We used white vermouth and some cognac in place of the wine. I also added some onion marmalade as I thought the flavours needed balancing. The result? OK, but where were the melting strands of sweet luscious onions? The sweating produces almost a stock of its own, a sweet onioniness that should permeate the finished dish. This was a bit one dimensional. So, won't make it again! I noticed that many other bloggers who have tried this felt the same way. In future, I will stick with the tears, which are worth it for the end results. PS: this was definitely better for lunch the next day, when the the onions had a chance to soften and become more integrated into the soup.

Chicken Patties with Pancetta and Rosemary

This is a marvellous recipe. Nigel is certainly king of the meatball, burger and patty! Sticky, savoury little discs of organic chicken thighs, minced in the processor and mixed with sauteed onion, garlic, rosemary and pancetta, fried off then braised in chicken stock. Leftovers for hubby tomorrow at work with some bubble and squeak I knocked up with leftover roasted carrots, shallots, garlic and parsnip, roughly chopped and mixed with some fresh mash and plenty of seasoning - really good accompaniment to the chicken, with bright, green, sprouting broccoli.

Smoked Mackerel on Toast

Phew! The cooking marathon over the weekend which saw me prepare no less than four Nigel recipes has ended with these rich little numbers. I splashed out on exemplary ingredients for this tasty little supper - Gail's rosemary and potato sourdough bread, toasted, (from Ocado) and smoked mackerel from the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse. The recipe called for about 200g of flaked, skinned smoked mackerel, mixed with three tablespoons each of cream and grated Parmesan. Stir through some chopped chives, and spread on the toast with a little more cheese on top. Grill till bubbling and golden. I told you it was rich! Stop licking the screen.

Lime Tart

A nice variation on tarte au citron, using limes instead. Very good pastry. I halved the filling quantities as it just seemed way too much to fit in my tart case. I ended up with a slim filling but it was lovely and zesty and refreshing after the splendid roast pork loin we had round at our friends'.

Double Ginger Cake

Now my new oven has been fitted (hooray!) I have embarked on somewhat of a baking frenzy - just because I can! I am letting this ginger cake mature for a couple of days, when my colleagues will benefit from most of it, and we'll stash a small slab of it at home for snacking on. Really easy to make, and if the spoonful of the cake mix was anything to go by (go on, admit it - we all lick the spoon) the finished cake will be lovely. I am also halfway through making the Lime Tart for lunch with friends tomorrow - will let you know what they are like in a few days! Tasting Note: really nice ginger cake, although the fruit and ginger chunks all sank to the bottom, which I guessed would happen with such a floppy batter. It didn't affect the eating qualities, though. I used light Muscovado sugar instead of the dark variety specified in the recipe, mainly because this was all I had - I will make this again, I am sure, and it will be interesting to compare the different results.

Pork Burgers with Lime Leaves and Coriander

These little Thai flavoured burgers were gorgeous, sticky and deeply flavoured with kaffir lime leaves (frozen and finely chopped in a packet from Waitrose - brilliant time-saver), ginger, chilli, coriander and garlic. Served with egg-fried rice with peas, sweetcorn and edamame beans stirred through, and little dipping dishes of soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce mixed together. Spritzed with lime before serving, the whole plate sang with Asian flavours. We even have half the mixture to stash away in the freezer - yippee! This is definitely one to eat again.

Sausage and Salami Stew with Lentils

This was a hearty and quick-to-make stew, made even easier by the use of a tin of Epicure Lentilles Verts. I substituted chorizo for the salami as I prefer the flavour, and I also added a good handful of chopped parsley at the end. Nice served with crusty bread, and loads left over for our lunches tomorrow. Nigel says this recipe serves two, but I think you'd have to be very greedy (even greedier than us!) to put half a pot of this away each!

A Velvety Soup for Clear, Cold Day........

....or, in other words, Leek and Potato Soup with Parmesan. Leek and potato soup is probably one of my most fave things to eat - it must be the Celt in me. So, this is really just a basic recipe - sweat some good organic leeks, chopped, in butter (I like to include some of the green) then add an equal quantity of floury potato, and cover with stock. Where Nigel's variation comes in is the addition of Parmesan rinds - cos we all have them knocking around, don't we?! I put a couple in and, well, to be honest, they didn't make much difference to the overall soup. I blended it, added cream and loads of chives, and didn't bother with any more Parmesan. So, in the end, a good old Leek and Potato soup for our lunches, and none the worse for that either! Do try to get good vigorous organic leeks - they make such a difference.

Chicken Stew with mash

A simple hob-top stew (oven comes on Wednesday, yay!) of chicken legs marinated overnight in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, herbes de Provence, garlic, bay leaves and strips of orange peel. Today, it is simmering in stock and leeks after the chicken was well-browned in the pan. Just before serving, I'll tip in a drained can of cannellini beans to warm through and soak up some of the juicy sauce. Will eat with mash and sprouts. To be followed by a fresh orange and Campari jelly with 'fillets' of fresh orange (not a Nigel recipe - culled from one of Aussie Donna Hay's great books) for a light and healthy Sunday evening dinner. PS: really interesting flavours, with the balsamic balanced nicely by the orange peel and herbs. We have left-overs for tomorrow night too. picture credit: with thanks to http://www.spittoonextra.biz/chicken_stew.html

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry

Another nice dish for a blustery night. I ignored Nigel's frankly pretentious admonishment to soak dried chickpeas in mineral water overnight - really! - and opened a can of organic ones instead, as I was halving the recipe. I also added a handful of spinach at the end with the coriander leaf which added a much-needed boost of green to the proceedings. I was surprised that Nigel hadn't included cumin in the spices (which otherwise included turmeric, ground coriander, mustard seeds, red chilli and cardamom) so I bunged a teaspoonful in as I think its flavour complements the earthiness of chickpeas and sweet potato.

Can't find the recipe online, but essentially, you saute an onion and a couple of crushed cloves of garlic. Add the spices listed above by the teaspoon, with 4 cardamom pods, crushed open. Add 350ml of veg stock and half a tin of chopped tomatoes, and 400g in total of diced sweet potato and butternut squash, and a drained tin of chickpeas. Simmer for 20-25 mins until veg tender but not mushy, stir in chopped coriander. Add yoghurt if liked - we left it as it was.

A Really Good Bolognese Sauce

I agree! It was a really good Bolognese sauce. Having made my own Bolognese, or ragu, for many years, I wondered if Nigel could really inject anything different into it, so I followed his recipe to the letter. It was very good, although not hugely authentic - no veal or pork mince with the beef, no chicken livers, perhaps too much tomato and the idea of adding two big chopped flat mushrooms would probably be anathema to the average bod from Bologna. However, it was deeply flavoured and rich and just the thing served with potato gnocchi. I particularly liked the bay leaves and nutmeg which I'd use again. Is it better than my own recipe? Different, perhaps!

Spiced Pumpkin Soup with Bacon

Whilst I was cooking the potato pie tonight, I whipped up a batch of Spiced Pumpkin Soup with Bacon for our work lunches over the next couple of days. Aren't I the Domestic Goddess?! It smells very enticing, redolent with ground coriander and cumin. I added some carrot and celery, and a potato, as I didn't have quite enough Butternut Squash, but it is still essentially a lovely golden squash soup. It will be served with shards of crisply grilled pancetta sprinkled over and some nice crusty bread.

PS: this was a very nice soup, and not as spicy to eat as the recipe suggests. It is made milder by the addition of a little cream, and this combined with the pancetta made for a much more 'Western' eating experience than all the cumin, coriander and chilli would have suggested. Lovely and soothing for lunch. We have it again today, so cheap too!

Stilton, Onion and Potato pie

OK, so if you have high cholesterol, I recommend you look away now, or eat a rice cake or a bowl of porridge or something. This was rich, AND we used way less cheese and butter than in the recipe. Good though! Nigel's recipe ,halved, used 112g of Stilton and 40g of butter. We used about 70g of Cheddar and about 20g of the remaining Stilton butter from the weekend. This was plenty of cheese! If you try it, do follow Nige's advice to slowly cook and caramelise the onion. You will be rewarded with an unctuous layer of sweet onion and cheese to contrast with the potato. Really good with sharp, minerally Savoy cabbage, au naturel apart from lots of black pepper, as a good foil for the rich cheesey oniony stodge. Perfect for a foggy, chilly night. Would do this again, deffo.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Mint, Coriander and Lemon

What's not to like? Good chicken stock, strips of roast chicken, noodles and masses of coriander and mint. However, we added carrot and celery julienne, a handful of baby spinach and chives to give it even more colour and our veg for the day.

Herb and Stilton Butter for a Pork Chop

I hate Stilton. This is one of the risks of slavishly following a book. Sooner or later, you'll have to eat something like tripe....or raw oysters...or STILTON. Have I mentioned I hate Stilton? Well, I decided to bite the bullet (and the stinky cheese). You mix equal quantities of butter and Stilton (100g of each) with a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, some finely chopped thyme and lots of black pepper. The idea is to melt big globs of it over pork chops, but frankly, I'd rather chew my own toes off, which probably wouldn't taste dissimilar to Stilton. Instead, we chargrilled the chops and added some of the Stilton butter into crisply baked potatoes. You know what? It was really rather nice. The other flavours softened and mitigated the overtly blue cheesiness. Of course, we used considerably less of the butter than Nigel recommended (50g of butter and cheese per person seemed artery-cloggingly excessive). Will use the rest in his Stilton, Potato and Onion pie later in the week

Taleggio and Parsley Risotto Cakes

Made Roast Butternut Squash Risotto last night (not Nigel's), and deliberately made extra in order to tackle these little delights from the November section of Diaries. You can find the full recipe here from Nigel's Grauniad column. As usual, I varied it a little - I added a couple of slices of parma ham, whizzed in the food processor. I fried the cakes for just a minute or so on each side and then finished them off on a parchment-lined tray in the mini-oven, and seved with a garlic and oregano-laced tomato sauce and rocket salad. Be warned, the cheese oozes out and the cakes collapse a little, but who cares? They went down very nicely with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

Dal and Pumpkin Soup and Mackerel with a Paprika crust

A lovely, mildly spicy supper tonight. Kicked off with Dal and Pumpkin Soup and chunks of naan bread to accompany. Didn't bother with the fried onion topping as it seemed too much of a faff. Scrummy, even without the onions!

Followed with Spiced Crumbed Mackerel with Smoked Paprika. Baked for 20 minutes (on a parchment-lined baking sheet) and served with a sharp, lemony-dressed, rocket salad. Healthy and no dairy in the whole meal. Our little table-topped oven that we bought to tide us over till we get our new oven (come ON, John Lewis!) coped brilliantly with this, and the crust was deliciously crisp. Don't think it will do much more than this though!

We feel quite virtuous and healthy. I might have to have some chocolate to compensate ;o)

Cheese-smothered potatoes - reworked!

Okay, so I wasn't too keen on the sound of Nigel's Cheese-smothered potatoes, which seemed rather too much like the 'cheesy chips' dished up at our local pub. So, I followed the recipe but turned it into a fritatta by adding eggs for our tea tonight.

You start off by gently sauteeing thinly sliced potatoes and onion in some olive oil and a small knob of butter - not too much, as we don't want it too greasy. Add a couple of cloves of garlic, crushed and some thyme and salt and pepper. When all is soft and tinged here and there with bits of gold, pour over 3 eggs (this is for 2 people) and stud the top with about 75g of Taleggio or Fontina cheese. Cook over a gentle heat until the egg is more or less set and then finish off under a hot grill. The cheese turns into molten pools of fondue buried in the egg. Delicious. A bit like a Spanish tortilla but more Italian because of the cheese, hence I've called it a fritatta.

We started with Tuscan bean soup - basically a sofrito of celery, onion and carrot with some chopped pancetta, garlic, and rosemary (pinched from a neighbour's bush on the way home - sorry Julia!). Add a tin of drained, rinsed borlotti beans and a carton of passatta. Pour over a pint of Marigold stock, season well and cook for 20 minutes or so. Ladle out half the soup and blend until smooth, then return to the rest of the soup. Finish with lots of parsley.

We're quite full now!

Lamb and Barley Stew

Nigel's Lamb and Barley stew for supper tonight. As I was at home today, it was a simple and pleasurable half-an-hour of work to chop onions, leeks, celery, parsnips, carrots and potatoes to mix with pre-cooked barley and chunks of lean lamb leg steaks (I know, the recipe specifies neck chops but they are a bit fatty for me). All mixed together in a pot with a pint of good chicken stock, lots of black pepper and some fresh bay leaf and thyme. It all simmered gently on the hob for a good three hours. Just before serving, masses of chopped flat-leaf parsley was added which freshened the flavour.

The verdict? Well, it was fine, but not as good as my father's Scotch Broth. However, there is half left for lunch at work tomorrow, and it is cheap, filling, sustaining and warms the cockles on a day which struggled to rise above -3 degrees C outside. So, a success - and, an hour after eating, and the temperature outside registering -10 degrees C, I can still feel the warming benefit of it. Hubby loved it and declared it superior to the Irish Stews of his youth (he's from Belfast, so he should know!). I think this may be down to a leaner cut of lamb which avoids the carapace of hard lamb fat which we would normally have when it cools down - nice!

off challenge - Chicken soup Tom Yam style

OK so this isn’t a ‘Nigel’ recipe. My trusty old Bosch oven has given up the ghost so I am having to use the hob until a replacement arrives. Turned for inspiration to Lindsey Bareham’s excellent ‘Just One Pot’. Cooked her ‘Chicken, sweetcorn and red pepper chowder’ tonight, which turned out more like a Tom Yam soup. Delicious though.

Basically, you sweat an onion in oil and butter, add frozen sweetcorn (about a cup) and a diced red pepper and a finely chopped clove of garlic. I added a wee bit of grated ginger too. Now add a couple of diced chicken breasts and most of a big bunch of finely chopped coriander, stalks and all. Add a pint of stock – Marigold did fine – and two tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce or more if you like it eye-stingingly hot – I don’t (wuss). Simmer for 15 mins and serve in deep bowls with the rest of the coriander. Spritz in some lime at the end to lift and balance the flavours. Not authentic but bloomin' good on a frosty night. Enough for two with a portion leftover for hubby’s lunch tomorrow.

Will probably do Nigel’s ‘stew’ tomorrow, which seems to be a Lancashire hotpot with barley added. I’ll do it on the hob!

roast goose and red cabbage

Our friends' gorgeous little boys gazing at each other
through the goose!

So, back from New Year in freezing Lancaster to even more freezing Oxford and a bust oven! I shall be scouring the January section of The Diaries for suitable candidates for hob cooking, but many items are cooked in the oven, so this will be a challenge in more ways than one until my new oven arrives. In the meantime, I wanted to report on the Roast Goose with Juniper Gravy and apple and lemon puree that I cooked with my friends at New Year which we had with Nigel's Red Cabbage with Juniper. Scrummy meal.

Our lovely friends had splashed out on the most beautiful goose from Ellel Poulterers near Lancaster, one of Rick Stein's food heroes. We followed Nigel's recipe to the letter, and the goose was succulent and delicious, although I'd have preferred it to have been cooked a bit longer to get a more crispy skin. We didn't have Marsala for the gravy, so added red wine and a touch more redcurrant jelly, and were rewarded with a sweet rich and savoury sauce that really brought the meat to life. The lemon and apple puree was a delicious sharp counterpoint to the rich meat. Of course, we had goose-fat roast potatoes, and our friends have been left with a big jar of fantastic goose fat to squirrel away in the fridge. All washed down with a rather splendid Chasses-Spleen '02 claret.

The red cabbage was gorgeous - I can't find an online version, but it is basically shredded red cabbage with a sliced onion, three chopped Bramley apples, 2 sticks of celery, thinly sliced, all sweated in a tablespoon of oil. Then add the juice of an orange and a lemon, 10 crushed juniper berries and a splash of cider vinegar. I also added a tablespoon of sugar to balance the flavours. Cover and braise for about half-an-hour.

So, all-in-all, a lovely start to the New Year and two recipes down! Only about another 190 to go!