Coconut & Coriander Salmon

I’m loving my Olive magazine subscription: lots of recipes every week that range from super easy to pretty advanced. Everything I’ve tried so far has turned out well and is always tasty which is after all the most important thing.

This recipe is on the easy end of the scale. Very easy and very quick so an excellent choice for a mid-week dinner when you’ve either little time on your hands or just can’t be bothered with anything more complicated. It’s pretty cheap as well so what’s not to like.

I amended this slightly: the original just called for 2 tbsp of thai curry paste but I chucked in a tablespoon of Panang curry paste too, because it was there and I think I always know best. This is of course completely optional. Do taste as you add the Thai curry paste though and add more or less depending on your preference. 

If you can’t get skinless salmon fillets (I couldn’t), simply peel the skin off after cooking and discard.

Coconut & Coriander Salmon
serves 2

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp Panang curry paste
400ml can half-fat coconut milk
2 skinless salmon fillets 
100g green beans, blanched
1 tsp fish sauce
1 lime, juiced
½ small bunch coriander, chopped

Cook the curry paste in a splash of coconut milk in a wide shallow pan for a couple of minutes. Tip in the rest of the coconut milk and simmer for a minute or two more.

Add the salmon and cook for about 7 minutes, turning once very carefully, until just cooked through. 

Add the beans in the last minute or so.

Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice and coriander and serve with plain basmati rice.

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Hot & Tangy Lamb

I actually tried this recipe ages ago, probably not that long after these noodles and it was my second attempt at a Ken Hom recipe. Another extremely simple one at that. It was another that infinitely attracted me though: spicy lamb mince - what can possibly go wrong?

Ken Hom is of course a legend in his own lifetime: a Chinese American chef, regarded by many regarded as the world’s leading authority in Chinese cookery, with an OBE no less and possibly the best smile in the business.

Unfortunately however this recipe, taken from Ken Hom: 100 Easy Chinese Suppers, part of the My Kitchen Table series, also just didn’t do it for me. It’s not that it’s actually bad or anything. It was just not that great.

So that’s two recipes now that have not, in my opinion, quite cut the mustard. But I have the book now so I will persevere for a little while longer at least: another two or three tries I think but then Ken & I may have to part ways....


Hot & Tangy Minced Lamb

serves 2-3

 

1½ tsp groundnut oil

225g minced lamb

1½ tsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp chopped ginger

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp sesame paste (not tahini which is different)

2½ tsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp chilli bean paste

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine

½ green chilli, finely sliced and a little chopped coriander to serve

Heat a wok until almost smoking and add the oil, closely followed by the lamb.

Stirfry for 2 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break up the lumps and then add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.

Stir in the tomato purée, sesame paste, soy sauce, lemon juice, chilli bean paste, sugar and rice wine.

 

Cook for 4 minutes then divide between 2 bowls and serve garnished with the chopped chilli and coriander.

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Pasta with Pancetta, Olives & Mushrooms

This is my ultimate “go-to” pasta - I can pretty much always be sure to have everything needed in the fridge and cupboard, and if I can’t think of anything to cook, or more likely want something quick and easy and don’t want to even have to engage brain while cooking, then this is it.

The amounts of the individual bits can vary according to what I do actually have in and I never really measure or weigh when I’m making it but for the purposes of this post I scribbled down a few notes to try and make it a little more recipe, a little less “chuck in the pan”.

As well as being a standby, I really do love it, its flavours are pretty punchy and it just works - to the extent that I probably make it at least once every couple of weeks. This is for two people but if I’ve an evening at home alone I’ll happily have this amount of sauce myself and just reduce the amount of pasta (maybe).

If you can’t get pancetta lardons, feel free to use bacon lardons. Or even just chopped up bacon.

Pancetta, Olive & Tomato Pasta

serves 2

70g pancetta lardons

olive oil

5-6 spring onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 medium heat green or red chilli, chopped

small handful black olives, pitted and chopped

very small handful capers, rinsed if salted

125g mushrooms, sliced

80ml (ish) white wine

1 tsp chopped basil

1tsp tomato purée

160g pasta, long pasta or shapes

Cook the pancetta in a little olive oil over a high heat for a few minutes until the bits start to crisp up.

Turn the heat down a little and add the spring onions, garlic and chilli. Stir around for a couple of minutes more.

Add the mushrooms, turning the heat back up a little and cook for a few minutes until starting to soften. Mix in the olives & capers.

Add the wine which will bubble up and reduce slightly almost immediately.

Add the tomatoes and purée, stir and leave to simmer for 10 mins while you cook the pasta cooks to just under al denté. Drain, reserving a ¼ cup or so of the water.

Stir the basil through the sauce and add the reserved pasta water. Tip the drained pasta into the pan with the sauce, mix thoroughly, cover and leave on the lowest heat for a couple mins more or until the pasta is al denté.

Serve sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan, or even better, pecorino and some freshly ground black pepper.

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Persian Inspired Braised Lamb with Apricots & Dried Lime

A few posts ago I mentioned that I had bought some dried limes (among other things) in an online food shop. I can’t remember exactly what had prompted me to do so at the time, but I do recall seeing a Nigel Slater recipe for braised neck of lamb (we had some in the freezer from the never-ending half-lamb) from which I think I took inspiration for this: essentially replacing Nigel’s thickly pared zest with the perfume-rich limes. 

I’m not even sure that this is really all that Persian: so apologies if not. The limes however most definitely are: strongly flavoured, sour and citrussy like a lime but with a smoky kind of fermented musk that is quite unique.

Persian dried limes (limu-omani) are brown, the size of a golfball more or less and very lightweight. When using whole ones, such as in this recipe, you want to pierce them with a fork or skewer all the way through so that the sauce while cooking takes up the pungent flavour. This can be easier said than done, so do be careful!


Persian Style Braised Lamb with Dried Limes
Serves 2 generously

500g lamb neck fillets, cut into 1.5” chunks
1½ tbsp plain flour seasoned with sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3cm lump of fresh ginger, shredded
2 dried Persian limes, pierced
1 cinnamon stick
250g dried apricots, roughly chopped
750ml stock
2 tbsp chopped mint
1 tsp lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Dust the lamb with the seasoned flour and over a medium heat warm the olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole.

Add the lamb pieces in batches (so as not to crowd the pan) and brown lightly all over. Set aside.

Lower the heat a little and add the onions to the pan. Cook gently for at least 10 minutes until softened.

Stir in the cumin, ground coriander, dried chilli, garlic, ginger, dried limes, cinnamon stick and apricots. Give a good stir to mix well and allow to cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the stock and return the lamb to the pan.

Bring to the boil and give a final stir before covering and popping in the oven.

Cook for 90 minutes, until the lamb is very tender.

Discard the cinnamon stick and dried limes and serve with steamed couscous - scatter over the fresh mint and lemon zest.

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Sausage, Olive & Mushroom Casserole

This is another BBC Good Food recipe with which, surprisingly, I’ve actually tinkered very little - save for using full fat (and therefore high % meat content) herby Lincolnshire sausages and mixed olives. Despite its simplicity it was actually quite delicious. Surprisingly tasty and excellent for a cold and damp winter’s evening.


Sausage, Mushroom & Olive Casserole
Serves 2

½ pack herby sausages, cut into meatball sized chunks
½ tsp groundnut oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
small (200g) tin chopped tomatoes
100ml beef stock
100g pitted mixed olives
250 chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced

Heat a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan and fry the pieces of sausage in the oil for about 5 mins until golden all over.

Add the oregano and garlic and fry for 1 minute more.

Tip in the tomatoes, stock, olives and mushrooms and simmer for about 15 mins until the sausages are cooked through and the sauce has reduced a little.

Serve with buttery butternut squash and potato mash and sprinkle with chopped parsley if you have some.

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Sicilian (ish) Fish & Couscous Stew

This recipe is adapted from the BBC Good Food website (you can find the original here), I’ve just done a little tinkering. To be honest I was a little dubious prior to cooking it - I’m not sure why, I guess I didn’t think it would be particularly interesting. But it really was very good indeed and one that I will certainly make again at some point soon.

As ever, do make sure to use sustainably sourced fish and also try and use really good fresh olives (by which I mean not in a jar or tin).


Sicilian Inspired Fish & Couscous Stew
serves 2 for lunch or a light supper

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, sliced thinly
2 anchovies from a jar or tin, in oil, finely chopped
small handful of small Kalamata olives, pitted
a large pinch of chilli flakes
small (200g) tin of chopped tomatoes
small glass (125ml) white wine
400ml fish (or vegetable) stock
60g couscous
250g white fish (skinless fillet)
½ lemon, juice and zest
a handful chopped parsley

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion, garlic, anchovies and chilli. Season with a tiny pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook on a low heat for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion is softened and translucent and the anchovy bits have disintegrated.

Turn the heat up and pour in the white wine. Cook until the wine has reduced by half then add the chopped tomatoes and the lemon juice. Turn the heat back down to low, stir everything together and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Add the stock and bring back up to the boil for a few minutes. Turn down to a simmer, add the couscous, stir through then add the fish. Cover with a lid and cook until the fish is done, about 5-7 minutes.

Divide between 2 dishes, breaking the fish into large pieces as you do, then sprinkle over the lemon zest and some chopped parsley. A nice crisp green salad on the side would probably go down quite well.

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Shepherd's Pie

There are many different versions of shepherd’s pie, but essentially it is of course just a base of braised lamb mince, topped with mashed potatoes. Generally speaking, although there is a certain amount of debate, if beef mince is used it is called cottage pie. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top before popping in the oven and the result will be a Cumberland pie.

I like my shepherd’s pie to be quite rich, with a fairly generous amount of liquid used in the initial braising but then cooked for long enough that this reduces down to a rich, herby gravy. This is good for weekend cooking - I find it quite soothing to prepare and cook and even more so to eat. 

It's kind of weird, as the photo doesn't look that great but I think this was without doubt my best EVER shepherd's pie. Oh yes.

Shepherd’s Pie
serves 3-4

1 onion, chopped
2-3 carrots (depending on size), grated
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked, most finely chopped, some reserved
bay leaf
sprig of thyme, leaves picked
olive oil
500g minced lamb
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
large splash worcester sauce
½ tsp anchovy purée or essence
small glass of red wine
250ml lamb stock
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
50ml milk
75g butter
nutmeg, freshly grated

Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, chopped rosemary leaves, thyme and bay.

Cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened.

Turn the heat up, push the vegetable mixture to the edges of the pan and add the lamb mince. Brown well for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up any lumps of mince with the back of a wooden spoon.

Add the wine and simmer fiercely to reduce, scraping up any bits that may have stuck to the bottom.

Add the worcester sauce & anchovy purée, stir through and cook for a minute before tipping in the tinned tomatoes & purée.

Pour in the stock, season with a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir well, then bring to the boil.

Reduce back to a low heat, pop a lid on so it is slightly ajar and simmer for 1 hour.

Towards the end of cooking, preheat the oven to 190ºC and cook the potatoes in a large pan of salted, boiling water until tender. Drain and return to the pan, then mash. Add the milk, butter and a pinch of nutmeg and salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth and creamy.

Transfer the lamb mixture (discard the bay leaf) to a large ovenproof baking dish.

Spoon the mash evenly over the top, poking the remaining rosemary leaves into it, drizzle with a little olive oil. 

Then cook in the hot oven for 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

Serve & scoff with peas. Or maybe baked beans.

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