Beef Stroganoff

This is just my version of the recipe but I like it, so you might too. Apart from having to be a little more careful about cooking the meat, this works exactly the same with pork. I like stroganoff with a mixture of wild and long grain rice, but you can also serve it with pasta or potatoes. If you've got a bottle of brandy or whisky then chuck a shot in, then either cook off the alcohol, or burn it off if you're badass and want to feel like a brilliant chef. Seves 4

Ingredients

500g thin frying steak, cut into strips
1 knob butter
2 medium onions, sliced
pack chestnut mushrooms, quartered
1 shot whisky or brandy (optional)
2 cloves crushed garlic
2tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
3-4tbsp sour cream

Fry the steak on a high heat till browned, then wrap in foil and set aside

Add the butter to the pan, turn down the heat and cook the mushrooms and onions for 15 mins

Add your whisky or brandy if you're using it. Burn or boil off the alcohol before adding the steak along with the garlic herbs and spices

Heat through or 1 or 2 mins, stir in the mustard and sour cream, adjust seasoning to taste and serve

Bolognese Sauce

This is probably something everyone can cook, but I thought I'd share the version I just made because I think it was pretty damn good. This is a fairly extravagant version, so feel free to chop and change. Also, some people will probably prefer more tomato in a bolognese, as there's not much in this version. I don't care if you use this recipe or not, but don't buy bolognese sauce in a jar, you're paying through the nose for a tin of tomatoes and a teaspoon of mixed herbs.

Ingredients
100g cubed pancetta
3 small diced onions (I did them in a food processor)
2 large grated carrots
500g lean beef mince
3 bay leaves
3tsp dried oregano
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbsp sundried tomato puree
2tbsp regular tomato puree
1 can tomatoes, blended
1 can full red wine
1 can full beef stock
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 pack mushrooms, thinly sliced

Fry off the pancetta in a large dry pan.

Once it starts to brown, add the onions and carrots and soften over a low heat for 10 mins

Add your mince and brown off with the veg

Chuck in the garlic and herbs when the meat's brown and cook for a further 2 mins or so.

Add your liquids and mushrooms and simmer for as long as you can bear. Top up the liquid if it starts drying out.

Once the mince is tender and the carrots are starting to disintegrate, remove the bay leaves, season well, and serve with pasta and a little parmesan if you have some knocking around.

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

This is one of my favourite soups, and I think I do an OK version of it. My version is thickened with potato rather than cream, which I prefer. I don’t really ‘do’ cream in soup. The amount of cheese you put in is kind of down to personal taste. Best served with crusty bread.

Ingredients

1 sliced onion
1 sliced leek
2 sliced carrots
1 diced baking potato
1 bay leaf
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets (cut the tough outer part of the stalk off and dice the rest)
2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes
100-150g Stilton

Soften the carrots, onion and leek in a little oil on a low heat for 15 mins.

Add the potato, bay leaf and stock cubes and cover with boiling water.

Simmer for 10-15mins, then add the broccoli (top up the water if needs be.

Cook fur a further 10 or so mins until the broccoli’s cooked, and then crumble in the Stilton

Retrieve the bay leaf, blend with a hand blender and adjust thickness and seasoning to taste (easy on the salt, it’ll already be quite salty from the cheese and stock cubes).

Roasted Cauliflower and Mature Cheddar Soup

I made this the other day, and I was really pleasantly surprised with the results. I'm always suspicious of cheese in soups bar broccoli and stilton (recipe forthcoming). You may have noticed I've started using Henderson's relish in soups. This is basically because it's less pungent than Worcestershire sauce, and it's suitable for vegetarians, so works better in vegetable soups. As you're blending the soup, there's no need to grate the cheese.

Ingredients

2 small heads of cauliflower or one v. large one, cut into florets
2 onions, sliced
2 or 3 veg stock cubes (to taste)
2 crushed cloves garlic
2 tsp dried parsley
2 bay leaves
1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
2tbsp Henderson's relish
100-150g mature cheddar cheese, sliced
200ml whole milk.

Roast the cauliflower in a medium oven with some oil, salt and pepper for about 20 minutes until it's golden

Meanwhile, soften the onions in your soup pot. Once the cauliflower's done, add the herbs and garlic to your onions, cook for a futher 1 or 2 minutes before adding the cauliflower and just covering in water.

Chuck in the stock cubes, Henderson's relish, and mustard and simmer until everything's tender.

Remove the bay leaves, add the milk and cheese, and blend.

Season to taste (you won't need much if any salt, but lots of black pepper is advised) and serve.

Pulled Pork Cheek in a Cider Cream Sauce

This was a triumph for the slow cooker. Pork cheeks are incredibly tender when cooked in this way, and the result is a pulled pork-style sauce that's fantastic served over pasta, on a jacket potato, or with rice. Please don't be perturbed by the cut of meat. If you eat meat, you should eat every part of the animal, and pork cheeks are one of the most flavourful parts of the animal.

Ingredients

8 pork cheeks
2 red onions, thinly sliced
2tsp sugar
1 pack chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp whole grain mustard
Half a can/bottle dry cider
1 vegetable stock cube
Splash double cream

Caramelise the onions with the sugar in a little oil over a low heat for 15-20 mins. Add the herbs and garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes.

Add the onions to a slow cooker and fry off the mushrooms. Transfer to the slow cooker.

Brown the cheeks on a high heat and transfer to the slow cooker.

Add the cider, mustard and stock cube and top up with boiling water. Cook on LOW for 12-16 hours.
The cheeks will have mostly disintegrated, but you can help this along a little with a fork.

Finish the sauce with cream, and season to taste.

Veggie Burgers

Last night I had an urge to make burgers, and because I live with a vegetarian, I made veggie burgers too. As is often the case, I read a few recipes for veggie burgers, failed to memorise them and then made my own version. They worked pretty well, so I thought I'd put my recipe up here. This makes about 4 burgers. I served them with some rocket, a slice of mild cheese, a seeded bun and ketchup mixed with chipotle paste.

Ingredients

2 tins red kidney beans
2 small red onions
2 slices stale bread
1tsp cumin
1tsp coriander
1tsp smoked paprika
splash Henderson's Relish
splash Tabasco or other hot sauce

Place the bread in a blender and blend into crumbs

Add the onions, spices and sauces, and a little salt and pepper and blend again

Add the beans and give it a couple of bursts till they're broken up but not completely blended

Form into patties and fry in a little oil on a medium to low heat until golden brown and cooked through