Month: November 2008

Categories
chorizo food peppers pork

spanish goulash

I was extremely pleased with this. I knew a cold evening was coming up and that we had guests round, so I wanted something big, hearty and packed with warming flavours. I knew I had to look to tomatoey-based stews to heat the cockles. I also really wanted something paprika-y. Here’s what I came up with.

I griddled some thickly-sliced chorizo first, to get those attractive black bar-marks, as well as to get an interesting charred flavour on them. Then in a big-ass Creuset pan I fried a red and white onion, and a fair whack of garlic. Then some diced pork chop went in, and when browned some lovely sweet paprika. It never fails to amaze me how it’s flavour permeates the whole dish and resonates for such a long time. Then a tin of tomatoes, and my chorizo chums join the party. To this I add a jar of drained peppers and leave to simmer for about two hours. I served it with sour cream and homebaked bread for a true winter warmer.
Categories
food pork

roast pork belly

Pork belly, how I love thee so. Economical, tasty, and so absorbent for flavour. In this case it’s salt and fennel, roasted with onions and celery until juicy and crisp. Served with roast potatoes and broccoli it’s meal for a king.

Categories
beef food

chilli

Chilli (chilli con carne) is a sentimental dish for me; it’s the first thing I properly made. Now it’s Liam’s favourite, so it’s often on the menu. I also love the ways you can serve it: flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or with plain rice. In this case we served it with tacos and fried onions & peppers.

It’s very simple, and a great dish for learning a lot of fundamentals that you can then transplant into other dishes. It’s also adaptable, you can turn it into bolognese, shepherd’s pie and a dozen other meals with a twist on the herbs and spices.
This one is made by frying an onion with garlic, then browning mince. At this point I’ve two directions to go in, if I’m rushed for time and can’t let the dish bubble for a couple of hours I add an Oxo cube for seasoning. Then I add a tin of tomatoes, then powdered chilli and cumin. After half an hour of simmering it needs seasoning and then we’re good to go. Personally I don’t like it too spicy, more savoury, so often a splash of soy ends up in there for depth of flavour.
Another thing I like about this is the sharing aspect. You’re all sat round a table, grabbing a taco shell, spooning in some chilli, dollop of creme fraiche, sprinkle of cheese, hands bumping over the food… great communal stuff. I love it.
Categories
broccoli chicken food pasta

broccoli, chicken and pasta bake

Using the chicken in white sauce from Sunday makes this dead easy. Get some pasta on the boil along with some broc, meanwhile heating up some frozen chicken sauce and adding a little cream to loosen it up. When all is ready tumble into the same dish and bake. DONE.

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