Very Pretendy Chooky Curry

NAME: _Very Pretendy Chooky Curry

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
200g butter
1 tsp each of the following whole dried seeds:
coriander, fennel, black pepper, mustard, pimento (allspice), 
6 whole cloves
6 - 12 cardamom pods

2 tsp each of the following ground spices:
cumin, turmeric, red paprika, rock salt
1 tsp each
ground cayenne pepper
crushed chilli
ground cinnamon
1/2tsp coarse ground nutmeg

1 clove garlic
1 medium brown onion
1 - 2 fresh limes

500g chicken
1 tbsp plain flour 
1 cup chicken stock

1 sweet potato
1 cup cooked lentils
1/2 cup raisins
2 - 3 tomatoes

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METHOD:
Start the butter melting in a saucepan big enough to comfortably hold all the ingredients. Split cardamom pods lengthways, add them, the cloves, rock salt, and all the dried seeds to the butter, cut a thin (1/2cm) wedge of lime and add that, and increase the heat until the spices start to pop.

Chop the onion into strips lengthways and then cut the strips in half, add to the pan, reduce heat a little. Rough chop the garlic, add that as well.

While the onions and garlic brown slightly, cut the chicken into 2cm cubes, add the chicken and the remaining ground spices and stir occasionally, allowing the chicken to brown slightly.

Now add the plain flour, stir well, and add the chicken stock and two cups of water. Add the juice of the remaining limes (more or less according to taste) bring to a fast simmer and keep simmering for around 20 - 30 minutes.

Peel and cut the sweet potato into 2cm thick slices and quarter them, keep under water. Dice up the tomatoes, discard the seeds and liquid if desired.  At around 20 minutes, drain and add the sweet potato, lentils, tomatoes, and raisins, bring back to a simmer until the sweet potato is cooked through. You may want to add a bit of water so as to barely cover the ingredients, and season with salt to taste, at this stage.

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SERVING:
Serve with pilaf rice or plain basmati, and side dishes as desired.

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NOTES:
None, really - it's not all that pretendy, it's actually just a fairly standard Indian spice mix and as such, will only taste good if your spices are fresh - you can vary things a fair bit to suit your tastes. But damn, it tastes good!

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ENJOY!

Red Red Wine Sauce

NAME: _Red Red Wine Sauce

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
1 - 2 cups red wine
1 cup tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp pomegranate syrup
1 cup water
1 chicken stock cube (or replace the cup of water with chicken stock)
2 tsp raw sugar
3 tbsp basil
1 clove garlic

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METHOD:
Heat the oil in a saucepan, finely chop the basil and add it. Crush the garlic clove and add it (with skin) to the oil. Heat gently for five to ten minutes, then add the balsamic vinegar, raw sugar, pomegranate syrup, and tomato paste, stir together and allow to warm together for another five to ten minutes. Add the red wine and chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer, let simmer for as long you like. (I leave mine until 30 minutes total time has elapsed.)

Pass through a strainer and use as required.

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SERVING:
I've served poultry, pasta, and rabbit with this sauce. Use your imagination!

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NOTES:
The sauce should be a bit sweet and the red wine should come through strongly - the pomegranate syrup picks up and strengthens the wine flavour beautifully. Good basil (fresh, or that you've dried for yourself) is another important component.

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ENJOY!

Secret Corned Beef

NAME: _Secret Corned Beef

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
Hunk of beef brisket or similar
1litre water (maybe up to two if needed)
1/2 cup rock salt
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tbsp green peppercorns
5 - 10 pimento seeds
2 - 5 whole cloves
1 cup red wine vinegar with a dash of Balsamic

(I used a pressure cooker, you can just cook it on the stove but your cooking times etc will vary.)

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METHOD:
Put about a third of the water in a small saucepan, add all the seasonings and bring to a boil, allow to simmer for 15 minutes, topping up water if needed to maintain level. After the ingredients have perfused the water and the salt and sugar have dissolved, strain the water into the pressure cooker vessel through a sieve, throw away all the solids.

Allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes and add the beef, rolling it around to baste all over with the strong brine. Keep turning the beef every 10 - 15 minutes for about an hour, then add the rest of the water (making sure it just submerges the beef, hence the need for possibly a bit of extra water) and bring the cooker up to pressure, then cook for 30 - 35 minutes. (Don't release the pressure all at once, as the reduced pressure will lower the boiling temperature of the water, which will then boil faster, leading to a steam runaway.)

Lift the beef out and let it rest in a bowl under a teatowel for an hour or so - it's easy enough to reheat when you need it.

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SERVING:
Traditionally served with boiled/steamed cabbage, mashed potato, and a white sauce. I serve it with quartered butter-fried brussels sprouts, mash, and a cheesy bechamel style sauce.

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NOTES:
As I said, the meat needs to rest anyway, so you have plenty of time to do other things. It's also good cold in sandwiches and cold cuts plates, and can be fork-shredded and added to a bubble and squeak or red flannel hash.

As I said, you'll take longer if you use a standard saucepan on the stove, also you can marinate the beef in the brine for up to four - six days in the fridge before going on to the cooking stage, if you put it in a plastic bag and seal the beef and brine in that - I'm just impatient and like my beef to still taste beefy. %) The longer you marinate it (within reason) the more the brine will penetrate the beef and the more like corned beef it will taste.

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ENJOY!

Pie'n'Poutine

NAME: _Pie'n'Poutine (Pie and chips, luv!)

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
A couple of meat pies (Sargents is good)
5 potatoes
2 tbsp of white plain flour
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
100g butter in two portions
about a cupful of olive oil

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METHOD:
Peel potatoes and cut into fries. Place on low heat in salted water for about 20 minutes, or until the water temperature reaches about 80C - 90C. Bring to a rapid boil, then drain, spread out, and allow to cool and dry, about an hour. (I do mine this way - you may have your own way, or even -erk! - buy chips from the local chippie... This IS a slap-up meal, after all.)

Put the pies in the oven according to manufacturer's directions. Generally 30 minutes at 180C.

While the pies are heating, make the poutine gravy - heat the butter in a saucepan until clarified, add the plain flour and make a light brown flour roux, add the chicken stock and allow to thicken, then add the vinegars for a bit of tanginess. Adjust the seasoning as required, and thicken with cornflour or dilute with water until you have a smooth velvety sauce that will coat the fries nicely without being gluggy.

While the pies are heating, put the olive oil and half the butter in a pan you're going to do the fries in (or do them your way...) and start doing those suckers. You should just about finish by the time the pies are warmed through.

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SERVING:
Serve fries in a bowl topped with crumbled cottage cheese and then the sauce. Serve the pie also covered in the poutine sauce. Real rebels might serve both on the same plate...

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NOTES:
This is a rough and ready dish. Proper poutine should be done with French fries that are double-fried with magic incantations and the breath of a goat, and cheese curds rather than cottage cheese. And the pie would no doubt be some craft creation, specifically made to complement the flavours of the double dipped cream sauce with left-handed swirls and ten secret herbs.

My dish is tasty and filling and doesn't take much actual preparation time or skill.

Your choice...

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ENJOY!

Caramelised Brussels

NAME: _Caramelised Brussels

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
12 brussels sprouts
100g butter
1 tbsp onion
1 tsp garlic
UTENSILS
heavy bottomed small saucepan that will the at least half filled by the brussels

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METHOD:
Begin by melting the butter in the saucepan, over low heat on a small burner. Finely chop half a brown onion and keep a tablespoonful. Roughly chop one clove of garlic and keep a teaspoonful. Trim stalks and hard/weathered leaves off the brussels, cut into quarters. Rinse under running water and drain but don't dry off.

Put the onion and garlic in the saucepan and keep warming until onion is beginning to go transparent, add the quartered brussels and increase the heat until moisture has boiled off, then reduce the heat to around 100C.

Brussels are done when they are all beginning to brown, and are soft to pierce with a wooden skewer.

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SERVING:
Serve as a side dish.

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NOTES:
The idea of this and the Honey Caramelised Carrots recipe are to use almost confit style cooking, but whereas confit requires the cooked food to be immersed in a fat, this is a compromise between shallow frying and confit.

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ENJOY!

Honey Caramelised Carrots

NAME: _Honey Caramelised Carrots

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INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
2 carrots
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
100g butter
UTENSILS
heavy bottomed small saucepan that will the at least half filled by the carrots

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METHOD:
Begin to heat the butter in the small saucepan on low heat on a small burner. Peel the carrots or brush well, slice into 3mm thick rounds. Wash under running water and drain but do not dry off. Place in the pot with the butter, drizzle honey over, sprinkle with salt. Increase heat temporarily until moisture has boiled off, stirring gently several times.

Reduce heat to the slow simmer, and check from time to time, stirring if necessary. Carrots are done once a few caramelised spots develop, or you can keep going until the slices are quite reduced. The important thing is to keep a low level of heat that's just around the boiling point of water so that the carrot slowly cooks and the sugars caramelise without burning.

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SERVING:
Serve as a side dish to many meals, where the sweet caramel taste would be suitable. I serve it with things as diverse as bangers and mash, roast and veges, and when cooked a bit longer to almost crisp point, as a garnish floated on top of chicken and noodle soup.

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NOTES:
The idea of this and the Caramelised Brussels recipe are to use almost confit style cooking, but whereas confit requires the cooked food to be immersed in a fat, this is a compromise between shallow frying and confit. 

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ENJOY!