Beef Goulash

Our vegetable box is delivered on Friday, so my current Saturday morning routine consists of getting up in time for Saturday Kitchen, sitting amidst my various cookbooks and looking for new recipes to try with my muddy bounty. One eye on James Martin, one on the books.

My routine was somewhat upset this week as I awoke not only nursing a hangover, but to the chaos left behind by several of us drinking too much fizzy wine and eating lots of good food (fajitas with bean chilli, cheese and lashings of gaucamole and soured cream; followed by key lime pie).

The upshot of this is that I was somewhat randomnly inspired by a sad looking bowl of leftover soured cream. I decided to try goulash, remembering a delicious looking version Jamie Oliver cooked on Jamie at Home (part of our Sunday night aspirational viewing on More 4 along with River Cottage). A rich stew of slow cooked pork and peppers served with creme fraiche.

In the end, my version was completely different, I looked around for inspiration and came up with a really simple version that doesn't use chopped tomatoes but is flavoured with paprika and smoky roasted peppers. This is best with cheaper cuts of braising beef and left to cook long and slow, the peppers almost melt into the sauce to give a rich stew . Given the opportunity, I would cook this day before and let the flavours develop. Even so, cooked on the night this absolutely delivious, full of flavour and meltingly tender. We eat ours with thick ribbons of pasta, a dollop of sour cream and lots of parsley, but mash would be divine too.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1kg braising beef, cut into chunks
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp sunflower oil
25g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 jar roasted red peppers (approx 300g), or 4 peppers roasted and skinned
200ml beef or vegetable stock
1 small (140ml) tub soured cream
Chopped flat leaf parsley to serve

• Season the meat and sprinkle over the flour to coat well.
• Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan. When hot, fry the beef in batches until sealed and beginning to brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add the butter to the pan. Once melted, add the onion and fry for a few mins until softened.
• Add the beef back to the pan and sprinkle over the paprika, stir well so that the beef is well coated.
• Slice the roasted peppers into long thin strips and add to the pan as well.
• Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for at least an hour until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened.
• Before serving, stir in half the soured cream, reserving the rest to dollop on top with a liberal sprinkling of parsley.
  

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Vegetable Laksa

In my university days of cooking for 5 people in a 'kitchen' that consisted of a Baby Belling, a sink and fridge to do all my prep on; this was always a special treat. We got it from our culinary bible of the time - Cranks, a revelation of vegetarian cooking and not a bean chilli in sight.

I've since tweaked it a little and cut down the long of ingredients to make it something I might be able to rustle up from ingredients at home. Of course, the authenticity leaves a lot to be desired. But, what you do get is noodles cooked in an aromatic coconut milk broth, spicy with chilli and sour from lime, topped with chickpeas, stir fried vegetables and lots of coriander. A comforting and soothing bowl.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 tin coconut milk
3 cloves, garlic
1 red chilli
3cm piece of ginger
1 small bunch coriander
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 litre vegetable stock
400g egg noodles
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 tbsp sunflower oil
spalsh soy sauce
200g carrots, peeled, halved and sliced
250g mushrooms (shitake work best)
2 heads pak choi, sliced
1-2 limes

• Either blitz in a blender or finely chop the garlic, chilli, ginger and stalks of the coriander. Add to a large saucepan with the coconut milk, stock and fish sauce. Bring to the boil and take off the heat.
• Add the noodles, stir to untangle and leave to soften in the heat with the chickpeas. Add some lime juice to taste, until you have a nice sour contrast.
• In the meantime, heat a large wok and the sunflower oil, stir fry the mushrooms, carrots and pak choi for 5 or so mins until cooked through, finish with a splash of soy sauce.
• To serve, heat the noodles and broth until piping hot. Spoon a nest of noodles into a shallow soup bowl and top with some of the vegetables, ladle over a generous amount of the aromatic, coconut broth and top with a lime wedge and lots of coriander.

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Spaghetti with Tomato and Sausage

We got some tomatoes in the veg box this week, which was a welcome change, although we of course got the ubiquitous swede of course too (which I made into tasty rostis). I'm always a bit stumped as to what to do with tomatoes, cooking them seems to be a waste as I really want to make the most of their fresh, sweet flavour.

After a bit of time with my recipe books and Google, my favourite Saturday morning past time, I decided on a fresh pasta tomato sauce. I diced the tomatoes, added a little, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil and left them to marinade before stirring them through hot pasta with a little creme fraiche.

If the tomatoes were firm, red and tasted of summer as I'd hoped, I'd definitely have skipped the creme fraiche and just added some basil. Unfortunately, they were a little insipid and overripe, so needed a boost, but at least I have a recipe for tomatoes past their best.

This spaghetti and almond pasta is another favourite way to eat tomatoes.


Ingredients

Serves 4

350g spaghetti
4 sausages
2 tbsp olive oil
300 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
handful chopped thyme or oregano
6-8 tbsp creme fraiche

• Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water.
• Add the garlic, 1tbsp olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper to the tomatoes, stir well and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat a frying pan. Cut a slit into the sausages, remove the skin and break up the filling into small pieces.
• Add these to the pan with 1tbsp olive oil and thyme.
• Fry until the sausage is golden, add the tomatoes, cooked pasta and creme fraiche and stir well before serving.

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Cauliflower Cheese

Most things are improved by the addition of cheese sauce. I remember eating a sunday dinner at a friend's house once; the usual roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips and greens. The meat of choice was a large ham, with a sticky sweet glaze. All in all a good spread I thought, then out came the piece de resistance, a jug of cheese sauce! Can you think of anything better than being allowed to douse all of your food in a cheesy blanket?

Alas, I like to think to think that my tastes have moved on a little and these days, I sometimes even eat meals that don't don't contain any cheese. But cauliflower and any other slightly bitter counterparts such as green cabbage and kale really do benefit from a bit of cheese sauce. I'll often eat it as a meal in itself with some salad or a few roasted vegetables. Roast potatoes, super crispy with a fluffy centre are particularly divine dipped into the sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 medium cauliflower
40g butter
40g flour
500ml milk
125g strong cheddar, grated
1/2tsp english mustard
2tbsp breadcrumbs

• Remove the outer leaves from the cauliflower and break into small florets. Place in a large saucepan, cover with water, add 1/2 tsp salt and bring to the boil.
• Once the water comes to the boil, drain and tip into a large baking dish.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large saucepan, once melted add the flour and whisk thorughly, continue cooking until the mixture (a 'roux') turns a nutty brown colour.
• Now add the milk slowly, whisk it completely into the mixture as you go to avoid lumps.
• One all the milk is added, cook over a low heat, stirring all the time until the sauce thickens, it should coat the back of a spoon.
• Now take off the heat, season well and add the cheese and mustard, allow it melt for a minute or so and stir well.
• Pour over the cauliflower and top with the breadcrumbs.
• Cook at 200C for 20-30mins until bubbling and golden.

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Lovely Roast Chicken

The simplest things in life are often the best. A classic roast chicken, one of the easiest things to make, yet so tasty and comforting. Of course, I always buy the best quality I can and eek out the whole chicken to get as many meals as possible. See these tips from Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and River Cottage.

I roasted it up on Sunday in plenty of herby, garlicky butter and we feasted on it with some roast butternut squash and cauliflower cheese (see below). Then came the messy part, I pulled off every last shred of meat for use in a vietnamese(ish) chicken salad, and the scraps will go into a soup with various odds and ends from the veg box. The carcass and giblets can then go into a pot for several hours with a carrot, onion and some bay to become a thick and wobbly stock. Of course, more often than not, I don't exactly feel like making stock late on a Sunday night, so I chuck the bones in the freezer, ready to make a big batch at a later date.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 free-range or organic chicken at room temperature
50g soft butter
2 fat cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 handful herbs such as sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram
1 lemon

• Remove any trussing and giblets from the bird, give it a quick rinse inside and out, pat dry and place in a large roasting tin.
• Make two slices in the thighs all the way to the bone, this will allow the bird to cook more evenly so you end up with succulent breast meat and tender thighs.
• Put the butter in a bowl with the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and the zest of the lemon. squish th emixture together with your fingers.
• Gently prize the skin away from the breast so you're left with a gap, squeeze half you butter in between and rub it all over the breast. Smear the remainder over the thighs. Cut the lemon in half, squeeze a little over the bird and put the rest in the cavity.
• Place in the middle of a hot oven for 30 mins until the skin begins to crispen, now turn it down to 180C and cook for a further 40mins.
• You can tell the chicken is done by poking a knife into the chicken where the thigh joins the breast; the juices released should run clear.
• Take the bird out and allow to rest for 20-30mins before carving.

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