OssoBuco from Milan

750gr (24oz) braising steak cut into serving size pieces, not necessarily into bite size.
seasoned flour (flour with salt and pepper added, in a plastic bag is great)
1 tblspn of good olive oil
1 tblspn butter
3 large onions sliced 50mm thick in rings
1 - 2 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1 1/2 cups of good beef stock (if you are using a stock cube and nothing wrong with that, cut back on the salt in the flour)
1 bouquet garni

Preheat the oven to 160?c/310?f

Dredge the meat with the flour but shaking it in the plastic bag.

Melt the butter and oil in the bottom of a good solid cast iron casserole, brown the pieces of meat a few at a time in the hot oil/butter. Set aside.

Add the onions, you may have to add a drop more oil if it has all been absorbed by the meat brown them well, towards the end, add the garlic. When the onions are well browned, add the beef stock and the herbs, bring to the boil and add the meat. Stir the pot to mix everything together.

Cook in a medium oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Taste for seasoning before serving and adjust.

Serve with great garlic flavoured mashed potatoes and peas that have been cooked with some fresh mint.

Egg Curry With Lentils

6 large eggs or more if you have more to feed
for the sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 small green pepper, de-seeded and chopped fairly small
75gr (2 1/2oz) whole green-brown lentils washed and drained
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 rounded tablespoon flour
1 tblspn of hot Madras curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 level teaspoon ground turmeric
570mil (18floz) boiling water
2 tablespoons natural yoghurt
salt
garnish
chopped parsley and thin slices of raw onion

Heat the oil in a thick-based saucepan, fry the onion, browning it a little, then add the celery, carrot and pepper, and continue to fry till these have browned, (about 5 minutes), stir in the lentils and crushed garlic, and after that sprinkle in the flour and spices, gradually add the boiling water. Add some salt, then put a lid on and simmer gently for about 35 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

While the sauce is cooking put the eggs in cold water, bring them up to simmering point and then simmer for 7 minutes exactly, run some cold water over them until they're cool enough to handle, peel them and slice in half lengthways.

Taste the sauce and add more salt if necessary, stir in the yoghurt and add the halved eggs.

Serve the curry with boiled rice sprinkled with chopped parsley and raw onion slices and mango chutney to go with it.

Pumpkin And Goats Cheese Lasagne

1 kg (2lb) pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 large onion chopped
1 tblspn butter
2 tblspns chopped chives
2 tblspns chopped sage leaves
pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
300gr (9 1/2oz) goats cheese
100 gr (3 1/2oz) mozzarella grated
250 gr (8oz) lasagne sheets
grated cheddar cheese for top
béchamel sauce
50 gr (1 1/2oz) butter,
2 tblspns plain flour
700 mil (22 1/2 fl oz) milk
salt and pepper

Cook pumpkin till soft. Sauté onions in butter till soft, add to mashed pumpkin, with chives, sage salt and pepper.

Make the béchamel sauce in the usual manner.

Do layers of pumpkin, layers of cheese,(mixed goat cheese and mozzarella) layers of the lasagne sheets that have been pre cooked, layers of the béchamel, topped with grated sharp cheddar,

Bake in a preheated 220°c/430°f oven until the top is golden and the rest cooked through.

Serve drizzled with sage leaves that have been fried in butter.

Chicken With Cider, Apples And Cream

6 granny smith apples, peeled and cored
150g (5oz) butter
icing sugar
1 x 2.5kg (5lb) chicken, cleaned and cut into 12 pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper
flour for dusting
18 spring onions, peeled and green part trimmed
600mi (20floz) dry cider
250g (8oz) field mushrooms, stalks trimmed
300gr (9 1/2oz) creme fraiche

Place the apples in a baking dish. Dice 75g of the butter and scatter over the apples with a little sugar. Bake in a preheated 190°c (375°f) oven for 1 hour.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and dust with flour.

Melt 40g(1 1/4oz) of the butter in a frying pan and lightly brown the chicken pieces all over. Add the spring onions and cook for 10 minutes more. Pour in the cider and bring to the boil. Taste for salt and pepper, cover and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes.

Sauté the mushrooms in the remaining 35g (1oz) of butter and season with salt and pepper. When the chicken is tender, remove the pieces and arrange on a large platter. Cover with the mushrooms, surround with the baked apples and spring onions and set aside in a warm place.

Reduce the cider cooking liquid over high heat. Lower the heat, add the creme fraiche and cook until the sauce is smooth, creamy. Taste for salt and pepper, pour over the chicken, mushrooms and apples and serve at once.

Braised Steak And Onions

750gr (24oz) braising steak cut into serving size pieces, not necessarily into bite size.
seasoned flour (flour with salt and pepper added, in a plastic bag is great)
1 tblspn of good olive oil
1 tblspn butter
3 large onions sliced 50mm thick in rings
1 - 2 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1 1/2 cups of good beef stock (if you are using a stock cube and nothing wrong with that, cut back on the salt in the flour)
1 bouquet garni

Preheat the oven to 160?c/310?f

Dredge the meat with the flour but shaking it in the plastic bag.

Melt the butter and oil in the bottom of a good solid cast iron casserole, brown the pieces of meat a few at a time in the hot oil/butter. Set aside.

Add the onions, you may have to add a drop more oil if it has all been absorbed by the meat brown them well, towards the end, add the garlic. When the onions are well browned, add the beef stock and the herbs, bring to the boil and add the meat. Stir the pot to mix everything together.

Cook in a medium oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Taste for seasoning before serving and adjust.

Serve with great garlic flavoured mashed potatoes and peas that have been cooked with some fresh mint.

Tagine of Lamb Shanks

vegetable oil
16 lamb shanks, trimmed of excess fat
4 onions, peeled and sliced
2 bunches of fresh coriander, washed
1/2 cup ground coriander
1/2 cup ground cumin
2 red chillies
10cm ginger peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon turmeric
a pinch of saffron
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
30 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
250ml (1cup) white wine
30 pitted prunes, soaked in tea overnight
3 preserved limes, (or lemons) cut into small pieces

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the shanks until brown. Set aside in a baking tray. In a large pot, sauté the onions in the oil until they start to caramelise.

Place the fresh and ground coriander, cumin, chillies, ginger, turmeric, saffron, cinnamon sticks, oil and honey in a food processor and process to a puree. Add the puree to the cooked onions and continue to sauté. Add the garlic and cook until the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the wine, stir well, and pour the mixture over the shanks. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated 190?c/375?f oven for 1 hour. Test with a skewer after 40 minutes to see if the shanks are cooked. When they are cooked, remove the shanks from the sauce and cover with foil to keep them warm.

Skim the fat from the sauce and reduce the liquid until it has thickened. Add the prunes and a little of the soaking liquid and preserved limes.

Pour the sauce over the shanks, garnish with coriander and serve with couscous.