BBQ rack of venison (lamb) with saffron and roasted peppers cous cous

From Waitrose recipes
Serves 3 or 4
Ingredients:

2 New Zealand Racks of Venison, each with 3 or 4 ribs
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
200g essential Waitrose Couscous,
Large pinch saffron
1 chicken stock cube
280g jar Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Chargrilled Peppers in Olive Oil, drained and cut into thin strips
25g pack fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 Place the venison in a large dish, add the rosemary, olive oil and lemon zest and juice and rub in well. Leave to marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, place the couscous, saffron and stock cube in a heatproof bowl and add 350ml boiling water. Stir well and set aside for 5 minutes until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender.

3 Remove the venison racks from the marinade then barbecue them over hot coals or under a preheated grill for 10–12 minutes on each side until crusty and well browned but still pink in the centre. Leave
to rest for 5 minutes before carving into cutlets.

4 Stir the peppers and parsley into the couscous. Serve with the venison.

Winter soup with bacon, lentils and pasta

Waitrose recipes
Serves 4
Ingredients
200g Waitrose Free Range Smoked Dry Cured Lardons
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, diced
2 tomatoes, chopped
200g Waitrose Love Life Green Lentils
1.5 litres hot chicken stock
100g Waitrose Orzo
25g pack flatleaf parsley, chopped

1. Cook the lardons, chopped onion, garlic, celery and diced carrot in a large saucepan for 5 minutes until the bacon lardons begin to crisp – there should be enough oil in the lardons so you won’t need to add more.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes, cook for 1-2 minutes or until pulpy then stir in the lentils and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Add the orzo pasta and cook for a further 8-10 minutes until both the lentils and pasta are tender. Stir in the parsley then ladle into bowls and serve with plenty of black pepper.

Italian roast chicken with peppers and olives

From Nigella Lawson’s Nigellissima
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 x 1.5kg/3lb 5oz chicken (preferably organic)
1 unwaxed lemon, cut in half
4 sprigs rosemary
3 leeks, washed and trimmed
2 red peppers
1 orange pepper
1 yellow pepper
100g/3½oz pitted dry-packed black olives
4 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Untruss the chicken, sit it in a roasting tin and put the lemon halves and two of the rosemary sprigs into the chicken’s cavity.
Wash and trim the leeks, cut each into three logs, then slice lengthways and add to the tin. Now remove the core and seeds of the peppers and slice them into strips, following their natural curves and ridges, and add these to the tin.

Tumble in the olives, and now pour the olive oil, mostly over the vegetables but a little over the chicken, too. Add the remaining rosemary sprigs to the vegetables, along with some sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Using a couple of spoons or spatulas, gently toss the vegetables about to help coat them with the oil and make sure everything’s well mixed up.

Sprinkle some sea salt flakes over the chicken and put it in the oven for about 1-1¼ hours, by which time the chicken should be cooked through, and its juices running clear when you cut into the flesh with a small sharp knife at the thickest part of the thigh joint. The vegetables should be tender by now, too, and some of the leeks will be a scorched light-brown in parts.

Remove the chicken to a carving board and, while it rests (for about 10 minutes) pop the pan of veg back in the oven, switching the oven off as you do so.

Cut the chicken up chunkily, transferring the pieces to a large warmed platter. Now take the pan back out of the oven and, with a slotted spoon or spatula, remove the vegetables to the large platter and when all is arranged to your aesthetic delight, pour over it all the bronze, highly-flavoured juices that have collected in the pan.

Chinese BBQ Pork

Ingredients

1 lb boned loin pork
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sherry
pinch of MSG

Cut the pork into strips about 2 inches in length and 1 inch in width (cut with the grain of the meat and not across as normal). Mix the seasonings and sugar, rub into the meat. Then rub the sherry and soy sauce into the meat and allow the meat to absorb the flavour for at least 2 hours.

Roast in a moderate oven 350F or gas mark 4 for 10-15 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to high 425F or gas mark 7, turn and baste the pork well for another 10-15 minutes.

The gf has gotten her hands on her great grandmother’s handwritten recipe book, and we are now happily going through them to cook and experiment. The pork from this recipe is very tender and flavoursome, and it reminds me of Chinese home cooking…

Just to point out that I didn’t use msg…and I think it’s already very good without it!

Beef Semore (Thick Beef Stew)

From Robin’s Eurasian Recipes
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 tbsp oil
1 large onion, sliced
3 cm piece of ginger thinly sliced
1 stick cinnamon (5cm)
10 cloves
2 star anise
3 cardamon pods
10 peppercorns
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 kg chuck tender beef, cut into 3cm cubes and marinated with 5 tbsp light soya sauce and 2 tbsp pepper for 20 mins
2 tbsp light soya sauce
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
50ml water
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 cm pieces
2 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tbsp vinegar

grind together
3 big onions
3 cm piece of ginger

Heat the oil in a pot, add the sliced onions, ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, cardamon pods, peppercorns and nutmeg. When the onions start to brown, add the ground ingredients.

When the oil rises, add the marinated beef and soya sauces. Fry the beef for about 5 minutes, then add the water and boil for another 5 minutes. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook till soft.Add the vinegar.

Remove from heat and serve hot.

My first attempt at cooking a Eurasian dish for the Eurasian gf. I think I passed…

Anyway, it’s a nice contrast to the usual western beef stews I have cooked, the taste is a lot more complex because of the combination of spices.