Recipes

Moroccan lamb/chicken

This is a great way to cook chicken thighs or cheap cuts of lamb. (It's an amazing way to cook lamb hearts) and the spice mix is lovely as a dry rub for barbecue lamb and chicken.

Ingredients

- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1½ tbsp paprika
- 1½ tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 x shoulder of lamb, trimmed and cut into 5cm/2in chunks (about 1.1kg/2½lb meat in total)
- 2 large onions, grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 570ml/1 pint tomato juice
- 2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 115g/4oz dried apricots, cut in half
- 55g/2oz dates, cut in half
- 55g/2oz sultanas or raisins
- 85g/3oz flaked almonds
- 1 tsp saffron stamens, soaked in cold water
- 600ml/1 pint lamb stock
- 1 tbsp clear honey
- 2 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

 Method

Mix up half the spices, then coat your chosen meat and stick in the fridge overnight.

Next day, fry up the meat to brown it in a nice, big casserole dish. Reserve the browned meat while you fry the onion, garlic and the other half of the spice mix in the same pan.

Deglaze with a bit of tomato juice, then add everything else back into the dish. bring to a simmer, cover and put in a low oven (about 140C) for three hours ish.

Dish up and enjoy. (I don't bother, but some folks steam and grate a cauliflower as an alternative to couscous).

Carrot banana muffins

These are great and very versatile. Substitute the bananas for apples and crystallized ginger, add some allspice and you have a great Christmassy treat.
1 cup almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 cup dates, pitted
3 ripe bananas
3 eggs
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 ½ cups carrots, shredded
¾ cup walnuts, finely chopped
Muffin paper liners
Preheat oven to 350℉.
In a small bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a food processor, combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and oil
Transfer mixture to a large bowl and blend until completely combined.
Fold in carrots and walnuts.
Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin tins.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.


Petit sal sans lentilles.


Ingredients.

1 and 1/2 lbs of belly pork.
5 carrots (diced).
A large onion (diced)
3 sticks of celery (diced)
4 cloves of garlic.
Salt
Pepper
Bouquet garni
A smoked sausage. (A paleo one).

Method.

Slash the skin on the belly pork and salt both sides heavily, rubbing it in well.
Refrigerate over night.
Wash the salt off with water, quickly, so as not to let the meat absorb too much water. Then place in a pot, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for an hour.
Skim off any fatty stuff from the surface of the water and drop in the bouquet garni, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and a good pinch of pepper.
Simmer, covered for another hour or so until the meat is tender.
Slice the sausage and add to the pot for the last 20 minutes.
Remove the meat and slice into thick steaks, place 1 or 2 on each plate and serve with a generous helping of the stock.
Serves 4 or 5 very cold and hungry people.
Until next time.
Spence.




Moules Marinieres

 Ingredients

A pound of fresh mussels per person.
4 ounces or so of butter.
A couple of glasses of muscadet wine. 4 large cloves of garlic.
6 shallots.
A small pot of double cream.
Plenty of parsley.
Salt and pepper.
Method

Fill the sink with water, tip the mussels in and scrape away the beards and any limpets etc that cling to the shells.
Discard any that are cracked or do not close.
Finely chop the garlic, shallots and parsley.
Melt half the butter and gently fry the garlic and shallots for 5 minutes. Do not let them brown. Tip in the wine, jack up the heat and throw in all the mussels, giving them a good stir.
Bring to the boil and cover, lower the heat and let them simmer for 5 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the mussels to a serving dish, raise the heat again and reduce the liquor a little. Add the rest of the butter and stir it in then lower the heat, add the cream and stir it for a minute or so before pouring it over the mussels and serving.


Curried Turkey and Bacon Salad

 

Ingredients

• A slice of raw turkey breast per person.
• 2 slices of bacon per person.
• A tomato per person.
• A handful of your fave salad leaves per person.
• A handful of sliced cucumber per person.
• A curry powder that has no soy or wheat or starch in it.
• Lemon juice
• Olive or coconut oil

Method

Chop the cucumber and tomato as small as you like.
Throw into a bowl with the leaves and toss in some oil and lemon juice.

Next, thinly slice the bacon and turkey (So it cooks quicker). and throw into a very hot pan. (I prefer coconut oil for this as veg oil has a tendency to go trans-fatty at high temps).
Sprinkle a good amount of the curry powder over the meat and stir fry until it's all cooked. (If a wooden spoon will cut the turkey slices cleanly, then it's a safe bet they are cooked through).

Tip over the salad, stir in and enjoy!
If it's a cold day, top off with a poached egg and you'll be ready to take on the world!

Seriously, try eating properly first thing in the morning and see how you feel by 10 or 11 O'clock. I guarantee that while your mates are flagging and waiting for the sandwich van to call round, you'll be fine!

Paleo Shepherd's Pie

  Ingredients

• 600g (ish) of cooked, cold lamb (left over from the Sunday leg roast perhaps)?
• A knob of butter or three.
• Salt and pepper.
• A large onion.
• 4 cloves of garlic.
• 2 bay leaves.
• A sprig of thyme.
• A large sprig of rosemary.
• 3 carrots.
• A large swede.
• 4 large parsnips.
• 700ml (ish) lamb stock.

Method

Throw the cold lamb into a food processor or mincer and blitz it up until its mostly crumble. (If you pulse it, you'll have a few larger pieces which add so much to the overall taste and texture).

On a low heat in a medium pan, melt a knob of butter and gently sweat off the onion and garlic.
While that's going on, dice the carrots and throw them in the pan once the onion is soft.
Next, dice the parsnips and swede and boil for 10 to 20 minutes in a big pan of lightly salted water. (They are ready when you can cut them with the back of a knife).
Drain the water from the swede/parsnip mix and set them aside.
Add the lamb to the onions and carrots, stir in, then add the stock, rosemary, bay, thyme and season with a little salt and lots of pepper.
Bring to the boil, then simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes while you mash the swede and parsnip.

In a big bowl, drop in 2 knobs of butter, lots of black pepper and all the swede and parsnip. Now mash it, properly, just keep going until it's creamy and fluffy. Then do it a bit more.

Once that's done, get your favorite oven dish (a shallow one is best). Pour in the lamb mixture, remove the rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, then top with the mash.

I find it best to splodge lumps of mash equally over the meat and then smooth it gently with the back of a spoon until everything's pretty much covered.

Use a fork to scribe wavy lines all over the mash and pop into the oven at 200C for about 20 minutes (Or until the topping is nicely browned and crunchy).

Serve with steamed cabbage, kale and broccoli for a great winter meal!


Duck Confit

Ingredients

• One duck leg per person.
• Sea salt.
• Tarragon
• Garlic
• Black pepper
• Enough duck fat to completely cover the legs in an oven dish.

Method

Combine the garlic, tarragon, pepper and a handful of salt in a grinder (or mortar and pestle).
Rub the mixture all over the duck, working it in well and leave overnight.
Next day, drain off the liquid, quickly rinse off the duck. (Being careful not to take too long as we don't want the meat to absorb much water).
Pat dry and place in an oven proof dish, cover with duck fat. Cook at 140C for 2 hours.
This is an old Gascon method of preserving meat and the duck will keep quite well in the oven dish for days as long as it's covered by the fat. (Once you have used the duck, strain the fat into jars and you can use it for cooking with).
Eat cold, with salad, warm with a ragout of veg or use it in cassoulet.

Cassoulet sans Haricots.

  Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 3 or 4 diced carrots.
• 3 sticks of celery, also diced.
• 1 large diced onion.
• 6 Toulouse sausages.
• 4 legs of Duck Confit. (See above).
• 1 pound of belly pork, cut into 1 inch cubes.
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped.
• 1 bouquet garni
• Enough water to cover.

Method

Throw the pork cubes into a pan, cover completely with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes.
Add the vegetables, garlic and bouquet garni to the pot and top up with more water if it's looking a bit low, then bring back to the boil.
Place the casserole in the oven at 160C for an hour.
Fry the sausages in some of the duck fat you have left over from the confit. When they are nice and brown, add them to the pot for another half hour.
Drop in the 4 confit duck legs. (Don't be too concerned about getting all the fat off them). Let it cook for another 20 minutes and serve.

This is a paleo version of the old Toulouse cassoulet which contains a lot of beans. It's exactly the thing you want when you get home cold and wet after a winter's ride. Legend has it that the French pack live on the stuff in the lead up to the Six nations. (Rugby, for those of you who don't know) and this could explain why they are usually such monsters!

Trust me, try it!

Beef shin in chilli and ginger with stir fried veg.

Beef Shin with Chilli and Ginger

Ingredients

• 2 Lbs of Beef shin.
• 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and very thinly sliced into rounds.
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly.
• 2 medium chillies, de-seeded and sliced thin.
• 500ml of apple juice.
• 3 tablespoons of honey.
• Salt and pepper.
• 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar.
• 5 tablespoons of fish sauce.
• Coconut oil for frying. (Use duck fat or similar if you haven't any)

Method

Cube and season the beef well, and fry in small batches until well browned, with lots of lovely caramelised bits all over. Then remove from the pan and turn the heat right down.

In the same pot, gently fry the ginger, garlic and chilli for a minute or so, then de-glase the pan by pouring in half the apple juice. Give it a really good scrub with a wooden spoon to get all those lovely beefy bits off the bottom.
Add the rest of the juice, the honey, the fish sauce, the vinegar and a good twist of salt and pepper, then throw the beef back in and make sure it's only just covered (add a little water if necessary).
Put a lid on and stick it in the oven at 120C for 3 hours. Don't stir it or you'll have shredded beef, just leave it cooking gently until the magic is complete.

For the veg, it's all your choice, I find carrot, courgette, shredded cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli, onion, kale and spinach work well. I leave the kale and spinach until everything else is just about cooked as they only take seconds to turn a beautiful, verdant green. Any more cooking just spoils them.

As you can see, it's a big old recipe, but most of the cooking is done while you're out living your life, so it's not that hard...And it tastes far better than the amount of effort you put in actually deserves.