peas Archives - Page 4 of 4

balti beef

A dreadfully-named dish this one; but it inverts a standard cooking cornerstone in a way that really baffled me. It came from a Weight Watchers book of all places, though it has dubious dietary heritage.

Rather than the time-honoured tradition of: sweat onions in oil, then add meat, the method for this is to dry-fry mince until it starts to leak oil and then chuck the onions in. I suppose this is marginally healthier. I add grated garlic to this, then some patented Gary Masala and turmeric, with seasoning. Allowing these flavours to develop for a few minutes I then add a good puddle of beef stock, frozen peas and a tablespoon of mango chutney. It sounds utterly perverse, but after just a couple of minutes simmering you get a spicy, fruity, meaty bowl of food that is immensely satisfying.

pea & leek tart with asparagus

Some friends were coming over, and I wanted something a little elegant and classy as a starter. I was cooking for a vegetarian friend, so there are considerations there. This was a recipe from Jason Gillies, actually from a magazine she had bought me, so it had a serendipity to it.

It was a bloody long process – definitely worth it, but a long process. It started with fried leeks and peas simmered with cream until tender, egg yolks added for richness, then blitzed. This was then piled into a pastry case and topped with wilted asparagus, and a little parmesan. A short burst in the oven browns it off and just sets it. Creamy, rich, yet very elegant.

I don’t have a picture but I made Pizzoccheri for main, a thoroughly filling dish apparently for skiers. It’s named after the pasta that it’s supposed to be made with, but as it’s so impossible to find I used trimmed lasagne sheets instead. Made with fried onions, blanched cabbage, par-boiled potatoes, Emmental and a bechamel sauce, it’s then baked together in an enormous dish and fills you up like nobody’s business.