Tamarind King Prawns on Roast Pineapple

Tamarind Prawns On Roast Pineapple

Tamarind prawn recipes seem to me to vary so wildly that up until now I’ve been put off from making them. The recipes seem to be divided into those with an ingredient list as long as your arm to those which more or less tell you to pour some tamarind over some king prawns. As an ingredient fresh tamarind adds a unique flavour to dishes but it has to be balanced out; the fruity sourness has to be taken on by sweetness and saltiness in equal measure or the result is not nice. It’s well worth investing in a block of fresh tamarind (which will cost you all of 58p), it will keep in the fridge door for an age if well wrapped and certain Indian and Asian dishes will be so much the better for it’s inclusion.

Ingredients

10 king prawns

2 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 small fresh pineapple, cored and cut into 6 large batons

1 tbsp wet tamarind paste covered with 3 tbsp boiling water

4 tbsp sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis)

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp black chinese vinegar

Tsp finely chopped red chilli

Oil for frying

Method

Prepare the pineapple by splitting it down the middle, removing the core and cutting half of it into 6 long pieces. Put the pieces in a zip lock bag with 1 tbsp of the sweet soy and the black chinese vinegar and give it a shake. When they are all covered put the pieces on a roasting tray and cook at gas mark 4 for forty mins, turning once half way through.

For the prawns: once the tamarind has been sitting in the boiling water long enough for it to cool, put your hand in and squeeze all the pulp off the seeds. Strain, discard the seeds and then add the remaining juice to a pan with the rest of the sweet soy sauce, the cider vinegar and the fish sauce. Bring it to the boil and reduce until you have a thick, sticky reduction that will coat the back of a spoon easily. Set aside. Put a good slug of neutral flavoured oil in a heavy based pan and sizzle the garlic but don’t let it brown. Then add the prawns and stir vigorously until they start to turn pink. Quickly put in the reduced sauce and keep stirring over a high heat until the prawns become just cooked through  – this should not take more than two mins from start to finish.

Share the roast pineappple batons between 2 starter plates, divide the prawns and sauce and finally, scatter over some finely chopped red chilli.

Serves two.

10 Hour Pot Roast Beef with Red Wine, Coffee & Cinnamon

Pot roast beef has long been a traditional favourite but I love to play around with the flavours. Adding red wine to a pot roast recipe is quite common but coffee and cinnamon less so. It may seem a slightly incongruent combination but I assure you the long, slow cooking marries them together in a sensational way. I first encountered the beef and cinnamon combination at the Boisdale in Belgravia. It was a family celebration meal and, true to form, I had ordered a steak so rare a good vet could have bought it back to life, but two of my sister-in-laws had ordered the cottage pie. They insisted it was so delicious that I must taste it, so I did, and instantly recognised cinnamon in with the beef. It worked beautifully and I have been experimenting with the combination ever since but this is the most spectacular dish so far; the slow cooking is the key.  I cannot enthuse enough about the way the cooking liquor for this dish tastes and the resulting gravy it makes.

Ingredients

1 1/2 – 2lb piece of braising beef

2 carrots

2 onions

4 cloves garlic

300ml/1/2 pint each of  coffee & red wine

I cinnamon stick (or 1 tbsp cinnamon bark pieces)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp good salt

2 tbsp molasses sugar

Couple of bay leaves

Method

Sear the beef on all sides in a heavy based frying pan in a little oil. In the same pan brown the stock vegetables. Place the meat and the vegetables in a slow cooker or in an oven proof dish. Heat the wine, coffee, brown sugar, salt, ground cinnamon and cinnamon bark until it comes to the boil. Pour it over the beef and stock vegetables and add boiling water until the meat is covered. Slow cook the dish for 10 hours either in a slow cooker or the lowest heat in the oven until the meat is butter soft. Gently lift the meat out with a slotted spoon and strain the stock vegetables out of the cooking liquor. Reduce the liquor until there is enough to serve four people and thicken with arrowroot. Do not use Bisto, it will make it too salty. Serve with enormous Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and lots of lovely vegetables.

Indian Mackerel Pate with Kaloonji Seed & Chilli Flatbreads

This Indian Mackerel Pate recipe came about because, as is my wont, I was watching Saturday Kitchen this weekend and saw Rick Stein do a wonderfully simple mackerel dish with an Indian spice rub. One of the guests in the studio this week was Atul Kochhar so I decided to buy some mackerel but rather than follow Rick Stein’s recipe I asked myself what Atul might do with them. He is renowned for his delicate spicing and for adding a surprising twist to his dishes. Hence I thought it might be interesting to have go at being inventive with this most under valued fish, (hopefully) taking his approach as inspiration. This Indian Mackerel Pate was the result. It is incredibly light; the lime juice brings a wonderful freshness, the turmeric a subtle earthiness and the aromatics (ginger, chilli, garlic, cumin and coriander) do not overpower but instead work together with the mackerel to lift it from its usual humble status as an everyday fish to make it something I would be happy to serve at a dinner party.

I served them as a starter with some home made flatbreads infused with kaloonji seeds (also known as black onion seeds or nigella seeds) and dried chilli flakes (recipe below) and a chilli jam reduction, but a little good quality mango chutney and/or lime pickle would also work.

Ingredients

Mackerel Pate

2 mackerel

2-3 cloves garlic

1 thumb sized piece of ginger

 3 green chillis

1 small onion

1/4 tsp each of cumin seeds and coriander seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

Handful coriander stalks 

Juice of 1 large or 2 small limes

1 oz butter

Salt

Oil

Flatbreads

180 ml warm water

250g wholemeal flour

Tsp each of black onion seeds and dried chilli flakes (or to taste)

Good pinch of salt 

Method

For the mackerel: first make deep slashes in the skin of the fish and grill on both sides for around four minutes until cooked through but still tender. Allow to cool for five minutes, fillet them and put aside the flesh. Don’t let the fish cool for too long or the skin adheres to the flesh and becomes difficult to remove.

Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan for a few moments until they begin to give off their wonderful aroma and then grind them either in a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. Next, de-seed your chillis. If you like heat leave some of the seeds in as this is where the fire lies. Roughly chop the ginger, garlic, onion and coriander stalks and saute them all gently in a pan with the chilli and a little oil. When they are soft but not browned add the cumin, coriander and turmeric and cook through over a low heat for a few mins, turning all the time. Finally, put the fish, the aromatics and the lime juice in a blender and blend until smooth stopping every now and then to scrape the sides down. When it is smooth add the butter cut into small cubes and blend one last time until the butter is completely incorporated. Now, and only now, taste the pate and add salt to season.

At this stage you have to decide how you want to present the pate on the plate. If you wish to present the pate in a quenelle style as above simply chill all the pate in a bowl in the fridge. If however you prefer a moulded presentation style take 4 dariole moulds and line them with cling film leaving plenty hanging over the edge. Divide the pate mixture between them and cover with the excess cling film. Chill them in the fridge for at least two hours.

For the flatbreads: in large bowl add the water to the dry ingredients and gently combine with a palette knife and then knead into a soft dough. Or, do what I do and cheat by throwing the ingredients into a bread machine and let it do the work for you. Rest the dough in the fridge for 30 mins. When you’re ready to make the flatbreads divide the dough into six equal pieces and roll out on a floured surface. Don’t worry about making them perfectly round. Next, place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and cook the flatbreads without oil. They will take about a minute each side and when they are ready to turn small air bubbles will appear. The breads will puff up very slightly. As each one becomes cooked transfer it to a cooling rack and add another to the pan. When you are ready to serve the breads brush them with a little oil and again, if you like heat (and most definitely do), sprinkle a few more dried chilli flakes on top and place under a hot grill for a few moments. You could also use fresh chill turned in a little oil and salt.

To serve the starters dariole style, turn each pate out onto a plate and provide each guest with a small serving each of mango chutney and lime pickle and one flat bread per person. To serve quenelle style give each person two decent sized quenelles using tablespoons to make them and let down some mango chutney or chilli jam (mine is home made but it is available to buy) with a 1:1 ratio of cider vinegar and pinch of salt. Drizzle your sauce around the quenelles and add a little shredded fresh coriander leaf for garnish. Put the extra flatbreads cut into wedges on the table in case anyone has any pate left when their breads are finished.

Serves four.

Coffee And Walnut Muffins

Most google searches for a coffee muffin recipe are frustrating because the results thrown up usually refer to some sort muffin-with-a-cup-of-coffee combination rather than an actual coffee muffin recipe. I love anything coffee related – coffee ice cream, coffee cake, coffee – you get the picture. I also have a burgeoning love affair with muffins so I have created this recipe to satisfy myself on both fronts.

They have quite a low fat content (I use oil in cakes in place of butter wherever possible) and for that reason they do not keep particularly well so you have to eat them on the day of baking. I know, life’s tough. They really do taste of coffee, too. Many alledgedly coffee flavoured baked items are too timid for my liking. These muffins are a serious espresso hit. Have one with a coffee and you’ll be raring to go! I made them using my new floppy silicone muffin trays which are a marvel. No muffin cases required which saves money and time. When anyone first sees these relatively new bakeware their first reaction is “but they’ll melt in the oven”. They won’t, I promise.  

Ingredients

200 g each of wholemeal self-raising flour and white self-raising flour

4 eggs

4 fl oz light oil

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

4 tbsp dark molasses sugar

6 tsp instant espresso combined with 2 tbsp warm water

4 fl oz strong coffee

100g walnuts, bashed

For the coffee icing:-

3 tsp instant espresso

4 tbsp golden icing sugar

1 tbsp warm water

Method

Put the eggs, oil and sugar in a blender and whizz until smooth. Put the mixture in a large bowl and add the espresso mixed with water and the walnuts, reserving a few for decoration. Sift in the flours, the baking powder and the bicarbonate of soda (there will be some bran left in your sieve – tip it back into the bowl) and gently combine. Then add the coffee until you have a nice dropping consistency.

Using a 12 hole muffin tray divide the mixture equally and bake at gas mark 5 for 20 – 25 minutes. As always with muffins, lift them out of the muffin tray asap to prevent soggy bottoms.

When they are cool enough to decorate combine all the icing ingredients and wait until it comes back to room temperature before spooning it onto the muffins. To finish off, sprinkle a few of the reserved walnuts on each.

Gammon supper for 75p.

Smoky, spicy, sweet, savoury and SEVENTY FIVE PENCE a portion. During a recent conversation prompted by the Jamie Oliver advert expounding his ‘feed a family of four for a fiver’ slogan I was asked if I could beat that. I said anyone could beat that if they were prepared to eat value beans on toast or similar crap but that, of course, is not the name of the game. The name of the game is to come up with something containing meat or fish, fresh vegetables, some decent fibre and which tastes good as well as being nutritious; there’s no point in coming up with a cheap meal if no-one wants to eat it. So, the gauntlet was thrown down. Jamie’s meals come in at £1.25 per head if he’s feeding a family of four for £5. My meal comes in at 75p per head, beating Jamie by a clear 50p per head. Admittedly, there is some work involved. Also, the recipe makes the assumption that certain store cupboard ingredients are in stock in your kitchen (I’m thinking specifically of the lentils here) but even if they’re not, if you’re interested in balancing your recipes between budget meals and blow-outs they are worth investing in. With regards to the gammon knuckle, most butchers sell them, either smoked or ‘green’ (unsmoked) for £1.80. Cooking this and other cheap cuts is where a slow cooker comes into its own. They use minimal electricity and sit there quietly doing their job whilst you’re out at work or overnight whilst you’re asleep. I love mine and wish I’d bought one years ago. If you don’t have one, now is a good time to invest as they seem to be on sale in lots of outlets, Robert Dyas being just one of them. 

Ingredients

 1.80  – 1 unsmoked gammon knuckle

0.62  – 2 tins tomatoes, whizzed until smooth in a blender

0.11  – 1/3 tube of tomato puree

0.10  – 1 tbsp dried chilli flakes (or to taste), 2tsp dried chilli flakes, salt

0.27  – 1 cup green lentils, simmered slowly until soft, about 20 mins

0.70  – ½ kilo sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed and steamed until tender

0.05 – Garlic*

0.05  – Oil*

0.05  – Parsley – a handful from a large bunch or better still, FREE, from the garden!

____

3.75

 

This amount makes 5 portions so £3.75 divided by 5 equals 75p. Voila! Supper for 75p!!

 

*based on buying as recommended here

Look out for these large 2 kilo bags of green lentils in your local supermarket or better still, your local Asian grocer. This bag cost me £2.70 and it weighs 2 kilos. One American cup measurement – sufficient for most recipes – constitutes a tenth of the bag and costs, therefore 27p. They can be used in all sorts of dishes where you might perhaps otherwise use minced beef or lamb. When combined with wholegrain like, say rice or bread or pasta, pulses give us the full complement of nine amino acids provided by meat. This is surely a bargain on levels. Health-wise, it’s good to have a break from meat and finance-wise they are pretty hard to beat. Plus, they sit in your cupboard and keep for months on end. I have a cupboard specifically dedicated to pulses but these little babies have to be top contender for most versatile and best value. 

 

Method

 Using a sharp knife skin the gammon knuckle. Cook it, immersed in water, overnight or all day while you’re out in a slow cooker set on low – say, 10 – 12 hours. Alternatively, cook it in a tightly covered pan on low heat for 4 – 5 hours. Allow the meat to cool, reserving the cooking liquor and cut into bite size pieces, discarding any fat. (And give the bone to the dog - this is a bargain that keeps on giving!). In a large pan place a tablespoon of home-made easy garlic or 4 fat cloves finely chopped. Add some extra oil and cook over a low heat until translucent and aromatic but not browned. Stir in the smoked paprika, the chilli and the tomato puree. Cook through for a few minutes and then add the tinned tomatoes. Add salt to taste and then add the cooked lentils, the gammon, the sweet potato and finally, the parsley if using.

Roast Garlic & Butternut Squash

 

Before I describe this recipe I’ll confess that it’s another one of Rox’s (my daughter). I did do some cooking this weekend, honest, it’s just that both of her dishes were so nice I thought I’d get them up first. This soup could not be easier and it’s perfect for this time of year; thick, spicy and really filling. 

Ingredients 

1 butternut squash – approx 1 1/2lb 

1 head of garlic 

1 tbsp dried chilli flakes – or to taste 

1 tbsp smoked paprika 

 1 – 2 tbsp oil 

For the liquid-ish part:- 

1 large onion 

1 large leek or a couple of carrots – any stock veg will do 

2 pints chicken stock 

 

Method 

Wash the squash and cut it into 1 cm wide chunks; no need to peel. If you super-efficient, keep the seeds for drying and roasting. Peel the whole head of garlic cloves and place them in a zip-lock bag with the squash, the oil, the chilli flakes and the paprika. Roast on gas mark 5 for 30 mins. 

Butternut and garlic cloves roasting in chilli and smoked paprika.

 Sweat off your stock veg over a low heat in a little oil until they are translucent but not browned. Add the stock, bring to the boil and check the seasoning. Add the roast squash and garlic and blitz in batches until smooth (or a little chunky if you prefer). Serve with a crusty bread, a swirl of cream and some toasted sunflower seeds.

The Art of the Perfect Cheese Scone by Rox

Rox's tea shop often sells most of the day's batch of these before they're out of the oven!

My daughter was home at the weekend and made these wonderful scones for us.  She’s been perfecting them for a while in the tea shop she runs - Cream Tea - next to the Theatre Royal in Brighton (plug, plug) and the discoveries she’s made vis-a-vis the perfect scone recipe blew all my ideas about the process out of the window.  I watched her make them and ate the results so I can personally vouch for her method. They were utterly divine.

Ingredients

1lb self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 oz salted butter

4 oz grated strong hard cheese (parmesan is good)  plus extra for the tops

1 tsp each salt & black pepper

1 tbsp English mustard

1/2 pint milk

1 egg yolk combined with a little milk for brushing

Method

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Cut the butter into 1 cm cubes and rub it into the flour using only your fingertips, scooping up from the bottom of the bowl. On no account are you to squish it between your palms! Add the salt, pepper and cheese and stir to combine. Next whisk the mustard into the milk and then add to the flour and cheese mixture until it is all incorporated. Now, comes the smooshing part. “Smooshing” you ask? Yes, smooshing. You gather the dough all in at the sides and smoosh it up and together. Then you smoosh it down – see photos 2 and 3. (Rox has inherited my tendency to make up ‘technical’ terms). This kneading of the dough was one part I found surprising as I’d always been led to believe that the less you handled scone dough, the better. When the dough is smooth and ‘dry’, i.e it does not stick to your hands at all its ready to roll and cut out. You’re looking for a thickness of a good inch. Choose your own cutter size to suit your needs. This will dictate how many scones you get from your batch of dough. With any left over dough you can make yourself a little twist – see photo 5, above – a treat for the cook. Brush the tops with the egg yolk and milk mixture and then scatter on your extra cheese. Then, the second surprising part – to me at least – you leave them to rest for 15-20 mins. Contrary to this I’d always thought you had to get scones into the oven pronto but as I said, this  method definitely works so hats off to Rox.  

Bake at gas mark 5 for 15-20 mins. Check them at 15 mins and keep a close eye on them, they can go from golden and delicious to burnt in a very short space of time.  They are best eaten hot, but as the people in my office can confirm, they’re not bad cold either.

Thai Lobster with Suki

Giving the holy basil to my able assistant, Suki.

Last weekend I headed round to my friends Zoe & Martin’s house for the day. I have a habit of taking live lobsters round there to cook on occasion and seeing as it was Martin’s birthday the next day this was one of those occasions. Their daughter Suki always takes particular interest in the lobsters. She is not in the slightest bit squeamish and cheerfully points out that meat/game/fish on her plate is ‘dead’ before tucking in!

I think it’s a good thing to get children helping in the kitchen as young as possible and to also recognise that they are capable of a lot more than stirring cake mixture. I think we patronise them if we believe them incapable of more complex tasks and we end up with the type of phenomenon we’re seeing now – grown adults who are unable to cut a chicken up or fillet a piece of fish or even make themselves a basic dinner. Suki certainly won’t fall into that category! She is very astute about ingredients and actually, genuinely helpful in the kitchen. She competently picked me off a bowl of holy basil leaves and crushed the crackers I needed for the crab cakes (recipe for those to follow at some point). She cleaned and dried the lobster shells for presentation and took a close interest in the prepping of the lobster. We had great fun and enjoyed a delicious meal at the end of it. Take it from me; you can only gain by teaching your kids to cook as early as possible. I should know. My own daughter (aka The Munchkin) has been capable of making a full roast dinner since the age of 13 and by the time she went to university could cook virtually anything – unlike one girl in her halls of residence who was unaware that bacon had to be cooked. I kid you not.

 

First, meet your lobster.

Next, lay out your ingredients.

Do the Dali reference….

Then, get on with it!

Ingredients

 2 live 1lb to 11/2 lb lobsters

2 long green chillies

2 long red chillies

2 inch piece of galangal (or ginger)

Large handful holy basil leaves (or coriander), shredded

2 stalks lemongrass

2 limes

4 fat cloves garlic

Oil for frying

2 tbsp brown sugar (preferably palm)

2 tbsp fish sauce (or light soy sauce)

½ lb salt

Method

 First of all, do the humane thing and put the lobsters in the freezer to go to sleep and in the meantime make your sauce. Finely chop the chillies (having first de-seeded them), the galangal or ginger, the garlic and the white inner part of the lemongrass. If you have a little helper, get them to pick you a large handful of holy basil or coriander leaves. If not, do it yourself! In a small pan heat a couple of tablespoons of oil and gently sauté the chilli, ginger, garlic and lemongrass. When they are softened but not browned add the fish sauce/soy sauce, the sugar and heat through very gently until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool completely and add the shredded holy basil/coriander and the juice of one of the limes. You should never add lime or lemon juice to sauces while they are still being heated as the juice becomes bitter.

To cook the lobsters you need a really large pan. Fill it three quarters full of water , add the salt and bring to the boil. You may feel that the amount of salt is excessive but what you’re trying to emulate is sea water. In fact, if you’re lucky enough to be cooking this dish any where near the sea then use sea water. Take the lobsters straight from the freezer to the pan and drop them in. They will only take 15 mins – but make sure you time that 15 mins from when the water comes back up to the boil. As soon as the time is up put the lobsters under running cold water to chill them down and stop the cooking process. If they overcook they will be tough and you’ll have wasted your money. Once you’re sure they have chilled completely you can extract the meat.

Lay them on their backs and take a heavy bladed knife (preferably a cleaver) down the centre line of the lobster (see photos). Put your other hand over the blade and apply pressure enough to take the knife right through the body and shell. You can then crack the whole thing in two. Remove the legs and claws and wrap them in a tea towel placed on a chopping board. Also, remove the dead man’s fingers – which are poisonous – and discard. They are grey, floppy and pointy and can be found in the body. Discard the contents of the head too unless you’re super efficient and are making stock for lobster bisque. The shells can also be employed for stock. 

To remove the tail meat get your thumb underneath the pointed tip and run it right up the tail. Now, using your heavy blade again – but this time the back of it – give the claws in the tea towel a good smack. Unwrap them and carefully remove the meat. For the smaller pieces you will need to employ a ‘pokey thing’ (technical term) which can be a chopstick, a BBQ skewer – anything you can coax the meat out with. When you have gotten all you can from the shells and claws hand them over to your trusty helper for cleaning and drying (or again, do it yourself).

Lobster is all about quality not quantity!

Child labour. You know it makes sense.

Cleaned and ready to be filled.

Cut the meat into bite size pieces and turn it through your sauce. Let it sit awhile and absorb the flavours. When you’re ready to serve, arrange the shells on a serving plate and spoon the meat into them (Suki’s big sister Lauren did this part – the more helpers the better!). Pour over any left over sauce and serve with lime wedges. You could enjoy this as part of a Thai meal or as a starter.

Chocolate, Beetroot & Blueberry Superfood Cake

A dark, moist open textured cake which is not too sweet.

Is there such a thing as a healthy cake? I believe so and this one is a good candidate for that slot in your recipe repertoire. I got the idea for this cake from a colleague whose wife makes a chocolate and beetroot cake. Adding the blueberries and swapping the butter for oil takes it a few steps further towards a healthy treat instead of a sinful one. Consider the ingredients; dark chocolate, we all know thats good for you in small amounts due to its antioxidant qualities. Eggs – good source of protein. Blueberries – antioxidants again. Beetroot – vitamins, folates, fibre. Wholemeal flour – good carbohydrates. Even the sugar in this cake is a) a very small amount and b) its molasses sugar so its raw, unprocessed and unlike white sugar, it retains the natural minerals from the unrefined sugar cane. Am I selling it to you? Finally, replacing the solid fat content with oil also adds health brownie points.

If you’re having trouble getting your head round the idea of beetroot in a cake then consider carrot cake. Is it not the same concept? The beetroots in my veg box at this time of year, having had a frost on them, have a delightful sweetness to them as well as that distinctive earthy taste that characterizes this jewel amongst root veg. They lend themselves wonderfully to this most unusual of cakes.

 

 Ingredients

200g good dark chocolate

4oz dried blueberries

10 oz grated beetroot

3 fl oz light oil

7 oz self-raising wholemeal flour

4 tbsp dark  molasses sugar

1 1/2  tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

4 large eggs

Method

Peel and grate the beetroots. To do this, fill the sink or a big bowl with water and peel the beetroots under the water. This will help limit the spread of that vivid purple juice! To grate them use a plate and a box grater and wear rubber gloves. Next, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. When the chocolate is almost completely melted take it off the pan as the residual heat will finish off the job. Any over-heating of the chocolate will have disastrous results, namely, it will go grainy and be of no use. Put the sugar, oil and eggs into a blender and whizz until smooth; the reason for doing it this way is that whisking is unlikely to get rid of the clumps in this type of sugar. Tip the mixture into a large bowl and sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. There will be some bran left in your sieve – pop that into the bowl, too. Gently combine with a spatula and then add the grated beetroot and blueberries. The mixture should be quite tight and ‘dry’ but if its totally unmoveable, add  a few tbsp of milk or water to loosen slightly. Turn the the mixture into an 8 inch, greased and lined cake tin and bake on gas mark 4 for 30 mins but check it after 25. If the cake is risen but slightly gooey in the centre this is fine. Nothing wrong with gooey where chocolate is concerned. The top will crack slightly as this is a loose, open textured cake. When cooled, enjoy in the certain knowledge that you are eating health food!

Roast lamb with anchovy, garlic & rosemary rub.

Look at the window. Do you see something flying out of it? It’s my (self-imposed) January red meat ban. So far since the New Year has dawned I have had bacon, fillet steak and now lamb. Oh well. C’est la vie. This lamb was definitely worth breaking the resolution for and I’ll be good all week to make up for it. In fact, I already have some chick peas in soak and some chicken casserole in the pot.

The juxtaposition of lamb and anchovies may sound odd if you’ve never encountered it before but believe me, it works. The salty anchovies play beautifully against the sweet lamb – which must be pink – and classic rosemary/garlic rub. Buy the best piece of lamb you can afford. It’s far better to give people a few slices of top quality meat than a larger pile of a poorer substitute. It’s very simple to do and will add that WOW! factor to your Sunday roast or dinner party main course.

Ingredients

2lb piece of lamb (I used a half leg)

½ jar good quality anchovies

2 sprigs rosemary

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp oil

Method

To make the rub, first crush the garlic and finely chop the rosemary. I find using a mezzaluna is the by far the easiest method for this. Put them in a small heavy bottomed pan with the oil and the anchovies. Heat slowly, stirring all the while. The anchovies will gradually melt. Once this has happened allow the mixture to cool. Next make large, wide slits in the lamb. Use a knife with a long, thin blade like a filleting knife. Push the knife all the way through and once it’s in, twist it all the way round – you want to be able to get your anchovy/garlic/rosemary rub right into the centre of the joint. Space the holes evenly over the joint, about an inch apart. Then pick up chick pea sized pieces of the rub and push it right down into the slits. Don’t be afraid of it, show it whose boss! Save a little of the mixture to rub on the exterior of the meat but get the rest into the lamb. Wrap the joint in foil and allow to marinade for an hour or however long you have. Cook on gas mark 6 for 20 mins at the top of the oven and then remove the foil. Place it back in the oven on gas mark 8 for ten more minutes. Allow to rest for five mins before carving. This length of cooking time gives a a medium rare joint. If you wish to ruin the meat cook it well done, add another ten mins at the foil cooking stage.