A rare evening alone; everyone had disappeared to bed. So I did what every self-respecting man does: catch up on recorded TV, eat crisps and er, flick through the latest cookbook. I’d been sent a copy of Hungry?, the third recipe book from the cheeky chaps at Innocent. It’s a family-friendly cookbook, with loads of great reliable recipes made from decent ingredients. I’ll certainly be featuring a few in the coming weeks. The layout reminds me a bit of Leon’s which is no bad thing (it was my favourite cookbook of last year after all); a scrapbook of memories, stories and kooky odds and ends that give the book real character.
One particular recipe struck me in this witching hour of being exactly what I wanted right at that minute, and I don’t think there can be any greater validation for a recipe book. Essentially, naughty late-night milkshake.
To celebrate the release of their new book, Innocent are sending a van around London all this weekend, selling food from recipes straight from the book. Check out where it is on their Facebook page. If you’re in the area, why not check them out?
Boozy milk (serves 1):
250ml milk
2 capfuls rum
1 teaspoon honey
Cinnamon to taste
Heat up the milk, rum and honey in a saucepan until warm. Whisk briskly, pour into a mug and dust with cinnamon.
I’d made some cholent (a stew of brisket, pearl barley, beans, onions and paprika) recently and had about half left over. I put my super thrifty hat on and decided to split the meat away from the pulses and freeze them separately, giving me two goes at the leftovers. With some uncooked pearl barley knocking about as well I thought I would try a pearl barley risotto, a first for me.
I asked for some advice too late – the ever helpful Fuss Free Flavours recommended I soak the grains beforehand. Unfortunately I was making it that night! Luckily I had time to spare.
And what a treat it was. Really hearty, which is fortunate in these gloomy September evenings, and full of flavour. The pearl barley was plump with still a bit of bite, the beef still rich and tasty. Well worth the effort.
Beef and mushroom pearl barley risotto (serves 4):
6 rashers streaky bacon
2 onions, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves finely chopped
250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
180g pearl barley
4 tablespoons Marsala
300g cooked brisket, shredded
1 litre beef stock
Heat a little oil in a deep casserole with a lid. Fry the bacon until browned and then add the onions, celery and carrot. Cook slowly for 5 or so minutes until the veg starts to soften.
Add the rosemary, garlic and mushrooms and fry for another few minutes until the mushrooms start to get tender. Turn the heat up high and add the Marsala. Once it has all but evaporated, stir in the pearl barley and cook for a minute to coat in all the lovely flavours.
Add the beef and the stock, simmer and cover for 45 minutes until the barley is tender. If the barley’s cooked but it’s still very liquidy in there, crank the heat up and boil away unlidded until it’s a little less juicey. Check for seasoning. If you have some parsley it would be really nice stirred through as you serve.
Flushed with the success of Simon Hopkinson’s stunning lamb breast dish, I felt the only way it could be improved is with the addition of curry spices. The Indian flavours I felt would surely go well with rich lamb. At the same time I stumbled upon other people doing the same dish, such as Girl Interrupted Eating. She’d chosen to do this in the slow cooker so I thought I’d do the same. I asked if she’d fried the onions off beforehand, as in my experience onions aren’t good at breaking down in a slow cooker. However in my haste I got on and cooked them off anyway, before Becky could reply that she didn’t!
Mine turned out very nice – warming and spiced and just breaking through the fatty lamb. It kinda tasted like it had been baked in mango chutney. Juicy and filling, not what you’d call a light dinner! Good fun though.
Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and sear the lamb on each side. Put to one side while you fry the onions gently.
Remove the leaves from the coriander bunch and reserve for later. Put the stalks on a chopping board with the garlic and ginger and chop together to a chunky paste. When the onions have softened add the coriander / garlic / ginger mix. Fry for a minute and then add all the spices, frying for another minute.
Add half the onion mix to the slow cooker, pop the lamb on top then add the remaining onions. Add a splash of water and pop the lid on for about 6 hours, or until the lamb can be pushed apart with a spoon.
Remove the lamb to the side for one minute so you can remove any bones or gummy bits of skin 'n' stuff that lamb breast can have. Pop a sieve on a saucepan and put the onions into the sieve. Put the lamb and drained onions with a sprinkle of salt back into the slow cooker while you work on the reserved liquid.
Simmer the liquid until reduced by half, add a dash of white wine vinegar and the coriander leaves. Dish up the lamb and onions, spoon over the sauce and serve with crispy cauliflower.
