Middle eastern spiced lamb shanks

This has a middle eastern flavour but is not genuine middle east, however, the ingredients are from Iran, Morocco and a little bit of Spanish thrown in for good measure!  It's a beautiful dish and makes a beautifully rich sauce that is just divine :)  As it's so rich, be careful what you serve it with.  I made a bulgar wheat salad with a mix of roasted and raw vegetables and this worked really well, all the family came back for more.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 lamb shanks
1 large knob of butter
2 large onions, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
A good pinch of saffron strands (optional)
1½ heaped tbsp tomato purée
1 dessert spoon clear honey
400ml lamb stock
2 teaspoons quince jelly

Method
Heat oven to 160C. Heat the oil and butter in a large casserole. Season the shanks, then brown in the oil for 10 mins until golden all over. While the shanks are browning add the onions and garlic to the casserole and cook with the lamb - once the lamb's done, they'll be turning golden too.

Add the lemon zest and all the spices to the casserole and cook for 1 min, then add the tomato purée, honey, stock, the lemon juice and quince jelly and stir to combine.  Bring the casserole to a simmer, then cover with a tight fitting lid and braise in the oven for 2½-3 hrs.

Once the meat's done, spoon away any excess fat, then check the consistency and if it looks a little thin, remove the lid and reduce the whole lot until it's a good, thick, rich gravy.  Season to taste and serve with rice, salad or my bulgar wheat salad recipe.

Vietnamese style crispy pork

This is originally a recipe from Ainsley Harriott but I've modified the ingredients to suit our own taste.  We love eastern dishes as you can no doubt see, and I also love pepping up dishes with a little extra heat and some lime juice, so be warned, hopefully it isn't too hot for you.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon groundnut oil
1 dessertspoon garlic/ginger paste (you can make your own, but I buy it bottled online)
450g extra lean pork mince
1 red chilli, topped and tailed and finely chopped1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and chopped into rounds
1 large bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped finely
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 limes, 1 zested and juiced, the other cut into quarters
75g dry roasted peanuts
3-4 little gem lettuces

Method
Heat the oil in a frying pan or wok, then add the garlic/ginger paste and cook for 30 seconds, then add the pork mince, mix well and fry over a high heat, moving continually until it's crisp.  Take if off the heat and drain quickly to stop the cooking process.

Add all the other ingredients except half the coriander leaves, the lime quarters and the lettuce and mix it together well.

Arrange the lettuce leaves in a serving dish so they cover the bottom, then spoon the meat mixture to cover the leaves.  Finish with the remaining coriander on top and add the lime quarters around the side.

Serve with rice or bread.

Thai style fried rice

I'm really pleased with this one, it works brilliantly with Thai food, but can be used as a salad too as it's just as good cold.  The original recipe was made with pineapple and I'll definitely do it with that as I love the combinaiton of acid and sweet that comes with fresh pineapple, but cashews work really well too.  You judge and let me know with a comment what's your favourite.

Ingredients
5 dessert spoons Jasmine rice
5 baby sweetcorn cut into 1cm lengths
70g fine beans, top and tailed and cut into 2cm lengths
1 tablespoon groundnut oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped root ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
75g roasted, salted cashew nuts
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground white pepper

A small handful of fresh, chopped coriander to serve

Method
First cook the rice - I find it takes 10 minutes to cook in boiling, salted water.  1 minute before the rice is cooked, add the sweetcorn, beans and garlic into the pan to blanch for the final minute.  Drain and leave to cool slightly.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar and pepper together and set to one side.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan and when smoking add the rice and all the other ingredients except the chopped coriander and stir fry them for 2 minutes until everything is nice and hot.  To server, put the rice on a warmed plate if serving immediately and scatter the chopped coriander over the top.

Chicken and Coriander burgers

I made these as I wanted a good, fresh taste. I ended up frying them and the family loved them that way, but I'll probably grill them next time, or even better cook them on the barbecue. I served them with a black cherry jam, but that wasn't too good so I'll not put that recipe up, but I think a sour cherry jam would work really well with these. Fresh coriander oil would also work well, or to make it a little more eastern, why not try a Thai dipping sauce?

 

Ingredients

1 chicken breast and 2 chicken thighs
1 small onion
3 garlic cloves
A large handful of coriander, stalks included
1 green chilli, chopped
50g white breadcrumbs
Salt & Pepper
Juice of ½ a lime
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method
Peel the onion and garlic. Roughly chop the chicken, onion, garlic, coriander and chilli and add them to the blender with the salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and lime juice, then blend for a short time so they're well chopped but still have a little "chunky" consistency.

Form the mixture into patties, then cook them under a high grill until nicely browned.  Serve with salads of your choice. 

Chicken with peppers and tomato

This is a popular dish all over Spain, but works equally well in the UK when the weather is a little colder or even on those rare days when it's warm and sunny!

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 skinless chicken legs
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 onions, chopped finely
50g parma ham, sliced
2 yellow peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into thin strips
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and cut into thin strips
3 400g cans chopped tomatoes
A sprig each of oregano and marjoram
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Heat the oil in a large casserole over a medium heat, add the chicken, garlic and onion and fry until the chicken is golden on each sid, this will take about 10 minutes.

Add the ham and peppers and cook for a further 5 minutes so the peppers are softened but not coloured.

Add the tomatoes, herbs and bay leaves and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to minimum, cover and simmer for 1-1.5 hours, by which time the chicken will be falling off the bone.

Skim off as much of the fat as you can from the top of the dish, season to taste with salt and pepper and server with boiled rice or a rice salad of peas, broad beans, chopped spring onion and cucumber.

Gazpacho

I've been making Delia's version of gazpacho for some time and it's pretty good, but I find it a little acidic for my taste, so I've used the recipe from my "Fresh Spanish" cookbook this time with a few variations.  So far, it's tasting very good, but I'll need to see what it's like when it's chilled.

In the meantime, here's the recipe...

Ingredients

For the soup

1.4 kg Vine ripened tomatoes, as ripe as you can get them

2 slices of white bread

1 red pepper, cored and de seeded

4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 level teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

To serve

⅓ cucumber

½ red onion

2 slices bread

1 tablespoon finely chopped red pepper

Method

Cut a cross in the bottom of the tomatoes, then put them in a bowl and pour over boiling water, soak for 1 minute and then drain and cover in cold water.  Peel the skin off the tomatoes, cut them in half and deseed them, putting the seeds into a sieve suspended over a bowl to catch the juice.

Put the tomatoes into the food processor or blender and add the rest of the ingredients except the bread.  Make sure you get as much juice from the tomato seeds as you can, then soak the bread slices in the juice and add this to the blender.  You may need to do this in to stages depending in the size of the blender or food processor.  Put the soup into a large bowl and chill for at least 4 hours.

Make the croutons by cutting the bread into 5mm cubes and fry in hot olive oil until golden.  Peel the red onion and chop finely.  Peel and chop the cucumber into fine dice.  Serve in bowls with the croutons, onion, cucumber and red pepper piled into the middle of each bowl.  It tastes even better with some freshly make ciabatta.

Armenian kebabs

If you want a quick and easy meal for after work and are prepared to plan ahead, this is the one for you!   Alternatively, prepare it in advance before you go out and leave it to marinade in the fridge to cook when you get back from the pub or club and save yourself the cost of a kebab :-) You can also cook these on the barbie and they'll taste even better, but make sure you leave the barbie to cool slightly before cooking them otherwise they'll burn on the outside.

You need to marinade the meat, ideally overnight, so be warned!  Rowena is especially keen on shish kebabs so she'll love this I'm sure.  It's not too expensive either, especially if you make it by buying lamb chops and cutting them up into pieces - this cost me a tenner for three people.

Ingredients
1 decent size lamb chop per person, fat and bone cut off and chopped into 2cm cubes
150ml red wine
50ml oil - olive oil by preference
1 small teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

To serve
Lettuce or Salad leaves - I prefer Little Gem lettuces
1 medium tomato
A few slices of cucumber
A few slices of raw onion
1 green chilli (optional)
Half a lemon or lemon juice
1 pitta bread, toasted
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
First, mix all the marinade ingredients together in a non-metallic bowl and add the diced lamb.  Cover and put in the fridge ideally overnight but for at least a few hours.

Next day, turn the grill on full then thread the meat cubes onto skewers (I use metal skewers but you can use wood if you prefer) then place them under the grill, adding a little of the marinade over the top to keep the meat moist.  If you're using the chilli, top, tail and deseed it and cut in n half lengthways and add it to the grill pan with a little of the marinade.  Cook the meat, turning regularly, until it is slightly browned on all sides - it takes bout 10-15 mins with my grill.

While the meat is cooking, prep all the salad. Shred the lettuce, quarter the lemon, slice the tomtato, cucumber and onion and slit the pitta bread across the long side to make a pocket.

Once the meat is cooked, put it on the plate and while it's resting for a couple of minutes lightly toast one side of the pitta.  I prefer serving it all separately so you can mix and match what you put in your kebab but if you prefer you can assemble them in advance, it's up to you.

Finally, serve with some chilli sauce - there's my recipe here if you want to make your own!