Last night the oven caught fire. I'd only popped out for a while and left Bee a lasagne to heat for supper. We've had it for about 13 years, and it has seen two replacement heating elements and a couple of glass doors which shattered for no obvious reason. It also has always sounded like a derailing freight-train since we bought it, so perhaps it's time for a new one.The central heating part of the boiler, which now is being called into service after it's summer holiday has decided it also has had enough. Even that has had so many parts replaced I'm not sure if it's the same boiler we started with.And finally, to complete the trinity, the brakes on Bee's car failed as well. It's been a good week for the repair industry.Back in the kitchen, all is not lost without an oven. I'm baking bread in my neighbour, Russel's one, which has its own peculiarities. It's rather like the peasant taking his loaf to the village bakery to be cooked. I can't, however, impose full roasting usage upon him every evening. So it's pots and pan cookery for the immediate future.Fortunately, the season is perfect for slow cooking. A strong, heavy deep pot, preferably cast iron and with a lid is a kitchen essential. You can make meals with just one burner and fill up on hearty and healthy food.I'm buy our meat from Heal Farm in Devon and the quality is amazing. Knowing where it comes from and being able to speak directly to the farmers is a privilege. It's not much more expensive than the supermarkets and the little extra it costs is, in my opinion a price worth paying for the quality and care.These lamb shanks were so rich and flavoursome. A proper autumn meal, and very easy to cook using one pan. Fortunately, I roast the squash earlier in the day so it only required a quick warming through. You, with your fancy, functioning oven should be fine to cook it as normal. If you can't find spaghetti squash, swap it for pumpkin or sweet potato mash with thyme and almonds.This is a rich and meaty meal. A proper dish if you've just been out hewing logs or something. And one that, after a few minutes preparation, pretty much cooks itself. It's also perfect for the slow cooker if you have one. Eight hours on low should do it.Ingredients for two2 lamb shanksOlive oil1 tin of chopped tomatoes1 bulb of garlic, halved equatorially1 large red chilliA pinch of cumin seedsOne spaghetti squashA pinch of fresh thymeA small handful of toasted almond flakesSalt and pepper to seasonMethodSeason the lamb shanks with salt and pepper then brown them all over in a little oil in a very hot pan.Deglaze the pan with about a mug-full of water and add the lamb and liquid to a heavy, lidded casserole dish.Add all the remaining ingredients and cook for about two and a half hours on a low flame. It's even better if you cook this the day before you need it. It tastes just a little more rounded after a good rest.For the spaghetti squash, roast it for one hour in the oven at about 180c. Leave it to cool a little, so it doesn't steam your face off when you cut into it. Scoop out all the flesh. Sprinkle over some thyme and almond flakes and a little seasoning and serve with the lamb and sauce.
Lamb Shanks with Spaghetti Squash
in Meat, Recipes, vegetables
I prefer Autumn lamb, more flavoursome than spring and in my mind, less mean-spirited to eat. It's had a chance to gambol about and is saved from the misery of the long dark days of winter. It will never know what it's like to leave the shed first thing in the morning in the dark and come home after a hard day still in the dark. It's had one glorious summer.Harissa, garlic and rosemary were born to go with lamb. Spread all over a leg and studded through is a heavenly mix. Here though, I've stuffed the breast with a few other bits and pieces then rolled it tightly, slowly roasting it, at first on high to crisp the skin, then slowly for a few more hours so all the flavours melt into each other. Once you've done the chopping, which is a pretty quick job, you can just put it in the oven and you're free to do some gambolling of your own.We ate this with a butter bean mash laced with lemon juice to cut through the richness. All you need for this is a tin of butter beans, the juice of half a lemon, some salt and thyme sprigs. Heat them all together in a pan and crush until mashed.Ingredients1kg lamb breastA few thyme sprigs, leaves only1tbsp cumin seedsSalt and pepper3tbsp harissa1/2 red onion, sliced1 red chilli, finely sliced1 fat garlic cloveFor the stuffing6 dried apricots, preferably the natural black ones, choppedA handful of pistachios, crushed1tsp capers1tbsp ground cinnamon1/2 block of fetaMethodHeat the oven to 220cRoll back the layers of meat and sprinkle the thyme and cumin seeds under the first layer of skin.Lay the next layer back down and spread all over with the harissa then sprinkle over the pistachio. Spread over the onion, garlic and chilli then the apricot and capers.Crumble over the feta and sprinkle on the cinnamon.Tightly roll the lamb and tie it well all round with string.Cook for half an hour then turn the oven down to 150c and cook for another two and a half hours. Leave to rest and carve into slices.
Yesterday was a low-calorie day for me as I endeavour to return to the svelte, Adonis-like figure I had when young. Perhaps aiming for the slim figure I had when at art college where I survived on roll-ups and the occasional halloumi kebab is misguided.One thing that doesn't help on those days is when you have to spend the afternoon with apple crumbles surrounding you like the Devil on your shoulder. Taunting you, mocking your metabolism and lack of exercise. I held fairly firm, I mean you have to check your recipe tastes good before you let other people eat it don't you? But I decided I would make another one today and have a bloody great big bowl of it.This is one of the classic British puddings. Really simple, and with only a few steps, almost fool-proof. That doesn't mean there won't be complaints though. It's one of those dishes that is so full of childhood nostalgia that you can come a cropper if you leave the apple chunks too large, put blackberries in it, dust it with maple sugar, add orange zest or who knows what else. If it's not like the one your mother or grandmother used to make, it's not good enough. (That is assuming they could cook. They may have been complete disasters in the kitchen).Risking the wrath of my wife, I added thyme and blackcurrants to this one, as well as yeast to boost the appleyness of the Bramleys. Her portion disappeared in a flash.Ingredients1.6kg peeled, cored and chopped Bramley applesA punnet of blackberries (rhubarb or gooseberries are also great)Juice and zest of a lemon4tbsp caster sugar7g yeast, dissolved in 80ml warm water100g butterA handful of thyme leavesFor the crumble topping130g chilled butter130g golden, unrefined caster sugar260g plain flourMethodHeat the oven to 180cCoat the apple in the lemon juice, tossing well. Cook the chunks in the sugar, butter and yeast water until softened. Mash half of the apples, leaving the rest nice and chunky. Stir in the thyme and blackcurrants then transfer to a large baking dish.Grate the butter into the sugar and flour to make the topping. Rub it all together between your fingertips until it's sandy. A few lumps left here and there will give nice texture when it's cooked.Spread the crumble over the cooked apple and cook in the oven for about 45 minutes. The top should be golden and crumbly. Leave to cool a little and serve with ice cream. Or cream if you like that kind of thing. Which I don't, so it's wrong.
It's a short-lived season, much like the elderflowers that grow at the bottom of the garden, but it's one, rather like the flowering of the magnolia tree, that brings me great happiness. In the past, I have tended to use wild garlic only for a risotto. Failing that, I just lie face down among the leaves and breathe deeply, occasionally chomping on a flower like a demented Eeyore.Summer is here more or less and the cupboards and fridge groans with colour and often fruit flies if I'm forgetful. It's the season that makes cooking easy. When you've got such fresh and vibrant ingredients readily available, if not in your garden then on your greengrocers shelves and market stalls, meals can be put together in hardly any time and with the minimum of fuss.This morning, I popped into my in-laws for a cup of coffee after taking the children to school and returned home with a bag full of snails, ladybirds, a bit of a slug and some other unidentified black dots with legs. Among the wildlife, I managed to fit in a few bunches of wild garlic leaves and the seed pods, I've missed the flowers this year.After a good wash of both the leaves and me (I feel I still have an insect or two lurking somewhere about my person), I quickly pulsed them in the processor and set about this dish with the enthusiastic thought of lunch. Feel free to replace the haddock with clams or perhaps monkfish.. It's just what I had in the fridge. And if you don't have any lapsang, just a little vegetable stock will work just as well.Ingredients20 wild garlic leaves50-75ml olive oil1tsp fennel seedsA small handful of pistachios2tbsp lemon juiceOne and a half small red onions, finely slicedOne celery stick, finely dicedSome thymeA spoonful of butterA handful of pearl barleyA mug of lightly brewed and strained lapsang suchong tea200g haddock, in chunksSalt to tasteA pinch of chilli flakesSome lemon zestA few fennel fronds if you have themMethodPulse the leaves, oil, fennel seeds, pistachios, oil and lemon juice together until you have a coarse paste. Taste and season if needed.Melt the butter in a saucepan and add 3/4 of the onion, thyme and the celery. Cook until softened, season and add the pearl barley. Cook for a minute or two before adding the lapsang then simmer for about 10-15 minutes until cooked, but with bite.Add the fish and cook gently for about three to four minutes.Remove the fish from the pan and stir through a little of the pesto and the remaining red onion. Serve the barley with the fish, a drizzle more of the pesto, the chilli flakes, lemon zest and fennel.
For me peaches are the fruit that means summer. There's nothing quite like the taste and soft texture, and the juice which invariably runs down your chin is sticky, sweet and delicious.You may ask why, in that case, is there any need to do anything to this fruit other than eat it as it comes? And while I'd be inclined to agree, sometimes pairing ingredients makes them more than the sum of their parts and can elevate them to something sublime.This recipe is a delicious way to end those long lunches outside in the sun. The syrup is sweet and slightly exotic tasting and the vanilla and cloves in it are a classic match with the peach. A quick poaching of the fruit somehow mellows and intensifies the flavour at the same time and using jasmine tea gives a delicate floral taste. This is best served cool, so make it early and leave it to rest while you tuck in to lunch.Ingredients100g coconut sugar (or unrefined brown sugar)150ml brewed jasmine green tea1 vanilla pod, split open3 cloves2 black cardamom pods, seeds only4 flat peachesA few sprigs of thymeMethodPut everything except the peaches and thyme in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring every now and then. Boil for about two minutes, then turn off and leave to infuse for about half an hour.After it's been cooling for about ten minutes, stab the bottom of the peaches a few times then sit them in the syrup for twenty minutes.Bring back to the boil and simmer the peaches for about three minutes each side. Serve the peaches with some thyme leaves and plenty of the syrup.It's too late now, but Bee has suggested sprinkling crumble topping all over these. That sounds amazing. It would also probably be nice to have a glass of iced tea with it. Maybe I'll try that next time.
I love a French tart. As Barry Cryer once said, "if you want an innuendo, I'll give you one", but that is beside the point. I prefer them sweet, but I'm not averse to the occasional savoury one such as tomato and herbs or roast vegetable. The best by far though, is the pisaladière. Sadly, I'm the only anchovy fan in this house which means we never have it. It's not the kind of thing you make in single portions. I have, therefore, made this alternative which uses strong olives and mushroom powder. I find the olives a pretty good substitute and often use them in salsa verde too.The key to this is long and slow. You must take the onions out for a romantic meal, a walk along the Seine, across the Pont Neuf with the lights of Notre Dame twinkling behind you. You must slowly kiss along their arm, whispering sweet nothings by the light of the moon.Then, and only then can you think about the next stage. What's good about this dish is that it is fairly effortless, unless you make your own puff pastry- which I would recommend every once in a while, and yields results that are far greater than the sum of its parts.That is to say, that like the French, you do a little work, then have a long break and sit down to lunch. Whether you have an affair in between is up to you. But the melting, sweet onions and the slightly sharp saltiness of the olives combined with the crisp flakiness of the pastry make this an affair to remember.Ingredients500g white onions, finely slicedSalt to seasonOlive oil320g puff pastryA few sprigs of thymeA pinch of rosemary leaves1tbsp dried 
There is no competition for me when it comes to tarts. If I had to choose one, even over tart au citron, tart tatin, tarte aux poires and chocolate tart, it would be the little glazed strawberry tarts with creme patissiere you get in Parisian bakeries. Unbeatable. However, I'm not in Paris as often as I'd like so they remain an occasional piece of heaven.Most tarts take a little effort though, and that's fine. But not this one. Today's recipe is a really quick shortbread tart with a simple chocolate ganache topped with fruit, herbs, chia seeds, honey and 
I have no idea why it's so hard to buy a single pepper in the supermarket sometimes. I wanted a red one but they only had multicoloured multipacks. Maybe it's the only way to get rid of the orange and yellow ones. No one gets left behind.I only really use red and green ones (a chilli is not a chilli without green pepper), so I thought I'd push the boat out, go crazy and wild and use orange ones with this recipe. And they worked nicely. I didn't have to hold my nose as I ate. They added just a little sweetness against the herbs and cut through with the onion.We had these with as a quick supper with tomato and cucumber salad, some asparagus and a couple of pitta breads.Ingredients for four skewers2 chicken breasts, cubed1 orange pepper, cut into chunks1 large red onion, cut into chunks1 large sprig of rosemary, leaves only, chopped1 large sprig of young thymeSalt and PepperA pinch of chilli flakesOlive oilMethodMix all the ingredients in a large bowl and leave to marinate for about an hour if you can.Thread alternate chicken, pepper and onion on the skewers and then pour over any remaining oil from the bowl.Grill for about five minutes each side until nicely charred. Be careful to not overcook them.Serve with flatbreads and salads
