Marinated lamb chops with  bulgar

Local Somerset lamb. The blog spurred me to do something more interesting than just plain grilling, although the lamb is so good that plain is delicious. However, tonight I marinaded it with dried thyme, lemon juice, ground black pepper and olive oil. Then under the grill. I served it with the Bulgar, tonight with carrot caramelised in olive oil, and chopped artichoke  bottoms.

Indulgance in a recipe I haven't cooked for years;

  Corned beef hash

Potatoes

corned beef

onion

Worcestershire sauce

First boil the potatoes in their skins. Let cool, remove the skin and chop. Soften a large onion in oil. Add the chopped potato to the onions and fry until potatoes start to brown. Add chopped corned beef and generous shakes of the Worcestershire sauce and continue to fry. Finish off by browning under the grill.

Leftover pork

This a nice easy way to use leftover roast pork or roast beef, and leftover potatoes. Make a vinaigrette dressing with olive oil and wine vinegar. Cut the pork into small cubes and add to dressing. Tonight we had leftover boiled potatoes and leftover roasties. We cut these into small cubes and mixed with the pork. We served the mixture on plain lettuce leaves. You can dress this up more if you like, maybe add mustard or chopped herbs or chopped onion. It's also good mixed with mayonnaise and yoghurt instead of the vinaigrette.

Vaguely mediterranean tonight

I need to use some long red peppers and asparagus. My favourite way with the peppers is an italian recipe by way of Elizabeth David. Usually we would eat the peppers just with crusty white bread. Tonight I wanted them as part of supper, and, to bulk it out, I did scrambled eggs. 

Not bad; but the peppers are still probably better on their own with bread. The asparagus was roasted as before.

Roasted red peppers

4 long red peppers

6 cherry tomatoes halved, or 2 larger tomatoes cut into small wedges

3 fillets anchovies in olive oil

2 cloves garlic sliced thinly

Halve the peppers length ways and scrape out the seeds. Put them into a baking dish. Distribute the garlic slices, 3 or  small  pieces of anchovy and 3 segments of tomato on each pepper piece. Pour olive oil over and cook at 180C for 30 minutes.

Scrambled eggs with potatoes and olives

small new potatoes, enough for 2

1 onion sliced

12 black olives, deseeded and sliced

4 eggs

Cut the potatoes in half. Put in a pan with some butter, the onion and enough hot water to cover. Bring to the boil, then simmer 15-20 minutes. Remove the lid towards the end of cooking to evaporate most of the liquid. Meanwhile beat the eggs, adding ground black pepper. Once the potatoes are cooked remove from the pan. Tip the egg into the same pan and scramble. When the egg is nearly cooked add back the potatoes and olives.

My first time tonight for roast asparagus. Very simple and utterly delicious, the tips of the spears just crisp. 6 spears for me and 7 spears for G as a starter. Then simply cooked roast shoulder of pork with crisp crackling, roast potatoes and a simple coleslaw. The coleslaw was a good fresh tasting contrast to the fatty pork and potatoes.

Roast asparagus

Trim off the toughest end of the spears.Put in one layer in a roasting pan. Roll spears in olive oil. Cook at 180C 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. I only wish I'd cooked more so I could have some to eat cold.

Coleslaw

Finely sliced spring cabbage mixed with half a sliced apple. Mix in cider vinegar, lesser amount of olive oil and a little sugar.

Pork chops with mustard and brown sugar, Bulgar with mushrooms

An easy way to flavour pork chops. For 2 chops mix 2tbsp mustard, plain or with grains, and 1 tbsp dark brown sugar. Spread onto one side of the chops and place chops on a grill pan. I find it best to place the pan a distance away from the grill so that the coating doesn't burn before the meat is cooked. When one side is browned turn over, coat with the remaining mixture and put back under the grill.

Bulgar with mushrooms

Cover bulgar with boiling water and let soak for 15-20 minutes. Soften dried mushrooms in hot water to cover. Meanwhile soften a chopped onion in a little olive oil. Add sliced button mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are done. Add a good squeeze of tomato puree, the dried mushrooms (these have been rinsed and chopped, the soaking liquid filtered through a sheet from a roll of kitchen towel), several shakes of soy sauce, ground pepper and the mushroom liquid. Add the soaked bulgar, put a lid on pan, and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.  

This had a good depth of flavour, mainly because of the small amount of dried mushrooms.

Afternoon tea      

 

Hot cross buns, or I could call them raisin buns, since Easter has passed. Anyway, they are delicious. I've never made bread until a few weeks ago, but I'm gradually gaining confidence. This recipe is based on one from the Waitrose site. The weirdly shaped bun in the picture is because I tried cutting a cross in the top just before baking. However, the knife wasn't sharp enough, and it just deflated the poor thing.

Hot Cross buns

450g strong bread flour

1 tsp salt
3 tsp  spices e.g. a mixture of cinnamon, grated nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves, ground allspice
30g caster sugar 
9g Allisons dried yeast 
250g Dried Mixed Fruit
50g butter
250ml milk
1 medium egg, beaten

Glaze
2tbsp milk

2tbsp water

2tbsp sugar

Heat the milk until tepid, sprinkle in 5mls sugar and the yeast. Leave 10-15 minutes until the yeast froths, then add the melted butter.
Sift the strong flour, salt and 3 tsp mixed spice into a large bowl to lightly combine the ingredients. Add 50g sugar, the yeast mixture, and the beaten egg to the flour mixture. Stir thoroughly to form a soft dough.Turn out onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. (I do the mixing in a Kenwood, then use the dough hook to knead for 7-8 minutes.)Turn the dough out onto lightly floured work top. Gently knead in the dried fruit. Weigh out 95g dough for each bun and shape each piece into a ball.
 Then place onto the lightly greased, large baking sheets, making sure that there is space between each of the buns. Cover with clean, damp tea towel or lightly-oiled clingfilm. Leave to prove in a warm place for about 1-1½ hours, until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 190°C, gas mark 5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown in colour.
Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. Place the milk, cold water, and sugar in a small pan and heat gently for 2-3 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. When the buns are cooked, transfer them onto a cooling rack and brush the glaze over each one twice. Allow to cool.

Vegetarian tonight

Croustade which is breadcrumbs and nuts with flavourings made into a base and baked. The topping was cauliflower in a nutmeg flavoured white sauce. The topping was quite delicate in flavour. When I've made croustade before, the topping has been a robust flavoured ratatouille, or courgette bake.

Croustade

from Vegetarian Kitchen by Sarah Brown

110g flaked almonds

110g grated cheddar

175g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs

1tbsp chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, crushed

2tbsp olive oil

Mix all the ingredients and press into a lightly oiled baking tin 28x13cm. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degC.

For the cauliflower topping I made a basic bechemel sauce flavoured with nutmeg, a spoonful of mustard and grated parmesan. Like a lot of my cooking, I don't measure the quantities. So, I put about 30g butter into a pottery bowl. I put the bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes to melt the butter, I then mixed in enough flour to make a stiff paste and dried this for 1 minute in the microwave. I then whisked in some milk, heated for 2 minutes and whisked again. I continue this process adding enough milk to make a thickish sauce. all this is done in the microwave. Towards the end I add the mustard and cheese. The cauliflower had been separated into florets meanwhile and cooked in boiling water. The cooked cauliflower was mixed with the sauce and put on top of the croustade.