Lentil and Winter Vegetable Soup [#235]

Well, British Summer Time allegedly started on Sunday - outside, it is cold, dark, wet and with sleet forecast for later in the week! So, what better than a pot of lentilly, vegetably goodness, with tomato and spices? This has the added advantage of being low fat, and is from Judith Wills. Cheap too! Let's hope this will be our last Winter soup of the season though. This time last year, we were about to start the English asparagus season - it has been such a harsh winter this year, that I doubt we'll be eating it until nearer the end of April.

Chorizo, Butternut and Feta Frittata [#234]

So, we were meant to be eating the leftover Asian Ribs tonight. Who was I kidding? So, a lovely baked frittata from Rachel Allan instead, with some crusty bread. I slightly over-baked it, as I was distracted whilst reading about.....food! Delicious though, with a lovely blend of salty, spicy and sweet.

Asian-style Ribs [#233]

A delicious marinade from Donna Hay of Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, masses of grated ginger and a little sugar and five spice powder. However, as with Nigel last year, she suggests marinading raw pork ribs and then roasting them. This would be anathema to most Aisan cooks - I know - my great friend Gi makes a mean pork rib, and she ALWAYS cooks them before hand, in water, for about an hour. The meat is then already tender and much more receptive to the sticky marinade - a final blast in the oven for 20 minutes is enough to have them emerge glistening with the meat dropping off the bone - just delicious, and it is impossible to stop eating them! Do make these, but also, do follow my advice if you want tender succulent meat and a glaze that hasn't burnt.

Chicken Biryani [#232]

Phew! I'm stuffed, if you'll pardon the expression. This Chicken Biryani was an altogether more delicate and elegant version of the dish than you'll ever get at the local take-away - chicken thigh pieces marinated in lemon juice, garam masala and yoghurt, then cooked with masses of pureed onion, garlic and ginger, ground almonds and water until tender, with a thick fragrant 'gravy'. This is then layered with partially cooked rice flavoured with cinnamon and cloves and drizzled with saffron-infused water, covered tightly with foil, and baked for half-an-hour or so. We served this with a spicy vegetable 'sabji' - rich with coriander and chilli - which was a great contrast. The trouble is, we kept going back for just one more spoonful........as I say, stuffed, and a happy Hubby is now slumped, replete, in front of the rugby.

Roast Lamb with Cumin, Mint and Lemon, with Roast Carrots [#231]

Another class recipe from Nigel Slater - although I am enjoying a wide range of recipes from across 12 books this year, I am missing the total immersion in all things Nigel, so it is a treat to cook with him again, using some of his favourite flavours. A lovely half leg of lamb is doused in a slushy rub of grated garlic (lots), finely chopped mint, a little cumin, lots of lemon juice and olive oil, then roasted for 50 minutes or so until juicily pink. Nigel adds carrots to the tin too, to roast in the fragrant juices, and with a pan gravy made with a large glass of white wine, the whole thing sang with flavour. We drank a very fine bottle of New Zealand Marlborough Pinot Noir with this, to celebrate a day when Spring well and truly felt like it was on the way.

Steamed Pak Choi with Sesame and Soy [#230]

Scarcely a recipe, yet I wouldn't have tried it this way if I hadn't come across it in Ching-He Huang's book. You simply steam pak choi, halved if large, for a couple of minutes, remove to a warm plate and drizzle the hot, vividly green veg with toasted sesame oil and light soy. Please be very delicate with both these, you need just a few drops of each sprinkled over the steaming hot vegetables, as too much overwhelms. But, with the right amount of judicious seasoning, this is a delicacy, and flatters the flavour and texture of this vegetable much better than stir-frying, in my opinion.

Stir-fried Chicken with Peppers, Basil and Rosemary [#229]

Or, to give it its Japanese name, Tori to piman no itame ni. This recipe, from Harumi, is a perfect example of why I do the challenge - I would NEVER have chosen it, as the combination of chicken marinated in onion, soy, basil, rosemary and red wine sounded, frankly, a bizarre mix of Asian and Western. But, let me tell you, it was exceedingly delicious. The flavours worked like a dream, and the tender chicken with the crunchy peppers was yummy. We served this with steamed rice, and Ching-Hue's steam pak choi. (Recipe to follow). If this recipe sounds like your cup of tea, send me your email and I'll post it to you - it is so very good, I want you all to try it.

Potted Prawn and Crab Pate[#228]

Yum. I could eat this recipe, from Jo Pratt, every day until I die - which would probably be very soon, with all the butter it contains. Still, as a topping for hot toast to start our dinner, it was a real treat. It stands or falls on the quality of its ingredients - really fresh white crab meat from the Seafood and Eat It company in Cornwall, succulent prawns from Waitrose, mixed with melted butter, lemon zest, chopped dill and cayenne pepper for a bit of zip. Just lovely.

Retro Chilli con Carne [#227]

Alastair Hendy's Chilli is fairly similar to my own 'house' chilli, but he intrigued me by mixing the paprika powder with a tablespoon of vinegar. He also used LOTS of tomato puree as well as tinned tomatoes, which I decided not to do! The end result was a good, trad chilli con carne with an intriguing back note from the vinegar. I also added the grated mozzarella touch that he suggested, which made a nice change. Not sure whether I would forego my own recipe in the future, though. I used kosher minced beef steak, which I mistakenly ordered from Ocado, and the taste was similar to lamb - I wonder why?

Pasta with Mushroom and Prosciutto Sauce [#226]

An ideal mid-week quick, easy and tasty pasta sauce from Bill Granger - brown or chestnut mushrooms, sliced and sauteed with a little garlic and chopped Parma Ham. Add some chicken stock and double cream - about 2 floz of both, so hardly wicked - and reduce a little. Stir through some parsley and then add your drained pasta, toss and serve with Parmesan. The sauce was made in the time the pasta took to cook, so dead simple and deliciously tasty. Thanks Bill!

Baked Salmon with a Spiced Lime Crust [#225]

I had a good big piece of organic farmed salmon delivered by Ocado yesterday, so baked the whole thing with a lovely crust of a few breadcrumbs, mixed with lime zest and juice, ground cumin, 5-spice powder, grated ginger and garlic, and lots of chopped fresh coriander. This was adapted from Judith Wills and certainly didn't feel like it was a worthy low-fat dish! The fish emerged after 20 minutes in a hot oven, sumptuously moist, with a lovely topping. Loads of leftovers, which I'll turn into a luxury kedgeree tomorrow. The pleasure was extended by a bottle of NZ Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2007 - sauvignon nirvana

Gyoza [#224]

These are so addictive, aren't they? Little dumplings of minced pork and prawns, flavoured with garlic, spring onion, ginger, chives, sesame oil and sake, wrapped in wanton pastry skins, which are then fried in a little oil and, finally, steamed. Dipped in a mixture of soy, chilli and sake (or rice vinegar if you have it), they are irresistible, and we polished off 16 of them between the two of us! Another successful dish from Harumi Kurihara, the Japanese Delia. We balanced it out with a super-healthy stir-fry of sprouted mung and edamame beans, pak choi and red pepper. As for the question of what to drink with them, Hubby couldn't get any Japanese beer, but we had some excellent St. Peter's Organic Ale from Suffolk, which he said was very similar to the beers he had in Japan.

Honey and Mustard Baked Pork Fillet with Parsnips [#223]

I love Donna Hay. I could so easily have made her the subject of the Challenge for the entire year, and might well do in 2011! Her recipes are elegant, simple, healthy and always work. This could scarcely have been simpler - pork fillet spread with grain mustard, honey and oregano, and roasted over chunky parsnips, which in turn absorb the fragrant juices from the pork, emerging tender and soft, not tough and charred, like roast parsnips often do. Loads of leftovers for tomorrow, too. We drank an Alsace Pinot Gris with this - crisper and less sweet than a Riesling, but still with enough fruit and honeyed sweetness to match the pork.

Chicken Yakitori [#222]

Little skewers of marinated chicken breast, chargrilled until stickily caramelised. Soooooo much better than anything Wagamama throws at you! Put on the chargrill to heat, open the back door, put on the extractor fan, and griddle away! You must marinade the strips of chicken for a good 24 hours so they become tender and totally inbued with the soy sauce, sake, mirin and caster sugar. You then thread the chicken onto wooden skewers, and reduce the remaining marinade in a pot until sticky. This is then brushed over the chicken as it cooks on the grill to help caramelise the surface. We served these with Saketinis (Sake, vodka and triple sec) to start our Sunday dinner tonight - we do spoil ourselves. These little treats came courtesy of Ching-He Huang.

Roasted Mackerel with North African Spices [#221]

Hayman's fishmonger in Oxford's Covered Market had beautiful, ultra-fresh mackerel, so rare to find away from the coast. So, we had to do this superb recipe from Mitch Tonks. The North African Spices are actually something called Chermoula, a vivid green, slushy rub made up from masses of fresh coriander, parsley and mint, blitzed in a processor with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, chilli, ground coriander and cumin. This is spooned over, and rubbed into, whole mackerel, that has been slashed a couple of times, and left to marinate for an hour or so. Then, roast the fish on a foil-covered baking sheet in a really hot oven (220C) for 12 minutes or so and serve with more lemon for squeezing over. I accompanied it with saffron rice mixed with roasted peppers, onions and aubergines. Really great dish, and fantastic, I imagine, for the barbie in the summer.

Stir-fry Duck with Orange, Honey and Lots of Greens [#220]

Jo Pratt's recipe uses raw duck for the stir-fry but we had so much left over from the roast last night, that we used this instead. I started off by cooking some egg noodles and tossing them in sesame oil. Then, the duck shreds were stir-fried in a little oil in a stonkingly hot wok, until crisp and set aside. Then into the pan went a little more oil, spring onions, tiny florets of broccoli and shredded baby spring greens. All is then united in the wok and tossed with a sauce of orange juice and zest, honey, soy, grated garlic and ginger, and served with noodles. Duck noodles, at their very best!

Roast Duck with Orange Gravy [#219]

Is there anything better to eat than a deeply burnished, crisply roasted duck? Our version tonight was courtesy of Alastair Hendy, and used Seville oranges to create an intensely-flavoured rich gravy. The rendered duck fat also produced probably the best roast spuds in the world. Bliss. We drank a bottle of Riesling that luxuriates in the marvellous name of Domdechant Werner' sches Weingut Rheingau Hochheimer Domdechaney Riesling Spatlese Pradikatswein Erzeugerabfullung 2004. Whatever, it was like angels dancing on my tongue.......

Tharri Wale Anday (Egg Curry) [#218]

I have long been a fan of Delia's Lentil and Egg Curry, so it is very good to have another version of egg curry to fall back on, and this is great. A tomato 'gravy' with finely chopped onion, garlic and ginger, spiced with a little red chilli, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin and garam masala, with fresh coriander added at the end. The hard-boiled eggs go in at the end too to warm through. I served this with a lovely vegetable pilaff - more onion and garam masala, with frozen organic peas, carrot and sweetcorn, all slowly braised with basmati rice and water until fluffy and tender. A very satisfactory Saturay night curry, better than any takeaway could ever be - naturally, this is from Anjum Anand