Tas Kebab

I found this in an old book of Greek recipes, but when I researched it online, I found many variants. It is one of many Greek recipes that originated further east, and there are dishes by the same name in Iran and Turkey.

All of the recipes have in common a stew that is served with rice. I made it the way suggested in my book, with a bit more detail about how to add the rice. The quantities are quite large: once the rice is added this will serve around 10 people.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 kg stewing steak, cut into small pieces, around the size of the last joint of your thumb
  • 50g butter
  • 2 finely sliced onions
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 wine-glass of vermouth (I used Noilly Prat)
  • 500ml hot water
  • 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
  • A pinch of cinnamon
  • salt and pepper.
  • 500g basmati rice
  • Sliced carrots, optional extra.

METHOD:

  • In a heavy pan, melt the butter and add the sliced onions. Cook the onions slowly so they soften and begin to colour.
  • Add the tomatoes, cinnamon, sugar and season with salt and pepper.
  • Add the pieces of meat and add to the pan with the water, bring to a simmer and cook very slowly for a couple of hours.
  • Add the vermouth and set to one side.
  • Wash the rice in cold water then boil it in salted water for six minutes. Drain the rice and rinse through with cold water. If you are adding carrots, they can be chopped and cooked with the rice.
  • Put half the rice in the bottom of a casserole dish. Then add the stew, then the rest of the rice (you can do multiple layers like this, ending with a rice layer).
  • Put the casserole pan into the oven at around 130C and bake for an hour.

If you don’t want to cook it straight away, you can freeze the stew in portions. I allowed 100g of stew to 50g of rice to good effect.

Vegetables with spices and coconut

I went to the co-op on the way home from work, with the express intent to see what I could buy in the reduced section before it was discarded. I bought a pack of mixed prepared vegetables, which included a cooked potato, some carrots and some broccoli. This recipe could use peas, carrots, kohl rabi, cauliflower, all sorts of lovely things. I added some more potato.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 carrot, chopped (or peas)
  • 1 small cauliflower, chopped (or broccoli or kohl rabi)
  • 3 small potatoes, chopped into quarters
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 2 green chillies, or green tabasco sauce
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp grated creamed coconut
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves, if available.

METHOD:

  • Chop the potatoes into quarters. Chop the vegetables into florets, 2cm dice, all a similar size.
  • In a large pan, wok or karhai, heat the oil, and when it is hot, add the asafoetida and mustard seeds.
  • As the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the curry leaves, and then the potatoes, along with the chillies, turmeric, salt and sugar, and stir for a couple of minutes
  • Add 50ml water, cover, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Check regularly and add more water if the mixture looks too dry.
  • Add the rest of the vegetables, stir into the mixture along with a little more water, and cook for a further five minutes.
  • Sprinkle over the grated coconut and coriander, before serving.

Roast shoulder of lamb version 2

This is a fancier version of the simple recipe from Shetland. Same principles but more ingredients. Slow cooking is essential with local lamb.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 sprigs of rosemary
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp capers, chopped
  • 3 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and chopped (or use Worcestershire sauce)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 lemons
  • 1.5 kg shoulder of lamb
  • 2 red onions
  • 1 glass of white wine

METHOD:

  • Heat the oven to 140C.
  • Chop the rosemary, capers, garlic and anchovies, and mix with the olive oil and the zest and juice of one of the lemons.
  • Slash at the joint of lamb and rub the rosemary mixture all over.
  • Chop the onion into wedges and scatter into the base of a roasting dish. Cut the remaining lemon in half, squeeze into the tin, and then put all the used lemon halves into the tin with the onions.
  • Put the lamb on top of the onions and lemons, and roast for an hour
  • Add the glass of wine and roast for a further three hours until the meat is really tender. Cover the lamb with foil if it is looking at risk of getting too crispy.
  • Leave the lamb to rest for fifteen minutes before serving. Pull the meat into portions rather than carving – it should just fall from the bone.

Lamb and brown rice in one pot

We always have some lamb left after we have roast lamb, but it is never as good the next day. This was very good, I found it on the internet when I was looking for something else, never found it again.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 large sticks of celery, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Chopped left-over lamb – enough to fill a 1 pint jug.
  • 200g brown rice
  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • black pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • finely diced streaky bacon, or salt pork, or pancetta, or lardons or similar

METHOD:

  • Boil the rice in a big pan of water for 15 minutes, drain and set aside. It should be slightly underdone.
  • In a large pan, fry the bacon, onions, celery and carrots for at least five minutes
  • Add the lamb and rice, stir together and then add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, paprika, and worcestershire sauce.
  • Bake in a low oven for 45 minutes.
  • Serve with a green vegetable, such as broccoli.

Bramble cocktail

I keep thinking it would be nice to have a cocktail each weekend, try out a new recipe. It has taken me quite a long time to get round to it. I had some blackberries in the freezer, picked last autumn, so I made this.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 blackberries
  • 1 level teaspoon of caster sugar
  • juice of half a lime
  • 1 1/2 floz gin
  • 1/2 floz creme de mure (blackberry liqueur)
  • Soda water (or any carbonated water e.g. from the sodastream, to avoid plastic)

METHOD:

  • In the bottom of a tall glass, mix the sugar and lime juice and add the blackberries
  • Fill the glass with ice, and add the gin and creme de mure.
  • Top up with soda water, and stir. Garnish with a slice of lime.

I have some Tanqueray gin flavoured with lime, so I might try that next time.

Green beans in a tomato sauce

I have been thinking about how I buy vegetables. I prioritise local and homegrown, but at this time of year, I buy a lot from the local shops, trying to stick to Scottish produce wherever I can.

I also like to buy the reduced vegetables, to avoid the shops having to throw these away, reducing food waste. So, here comes the first of a series of recipes inspired by ingredients rescued from the reduced section.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 packs of fresh green beans
  • 1 red onion, halved and sliced thinly
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Trim the beans and chop into 2 cm lengths
  • Heat the oil in a saucepan, and when it is hot, fry the garlic for 30 seconds.
  • Add the thinly sliced onion, and lower the heat a bit, cooking the onion until it is wilting. Do not let the onion start to turn brown. This should take around three minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes, beans, salt and pepper, and a cup of boiling water.
  • Bring the mixture to the boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • At the end, take off the lid and boil off any liquid, so that a thick tomato sauce coats the beans. Check the seasoning.

I served this with couscous, but rice would also be a really good option.

Beef Burgers

I’d never made beef burgers before – so now that we have this huge supply of mince from a local herd that was down-sizing, I thought I’d give it a go. Who knew – these are like making meatballs that I’ve made many times in many versions. I suppose you could make meatballs with the mixture too.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g minced beef
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 egg
  • a handful of panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Add all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix them together well, using your hands to make a thick paste. If you don’t like the onion bits in your burgers, you can mix the mince and onion, and put it through a mincer, before adding the other ingredients.
  • Put the mixture in the fridge to chill until you need it.
  • Divide the mixture into rounds, about 15mm to 20mm thick. Any burgers that you don’t need can be frozen.
  • Fry the burgers in a little oil, around 5 to 6 minutes on each side.

Serve in a roll, with salad, cornichons, tomato ketchup, etcetera. Try lightly toasting the roll in the frying pan before putting the burger in.

Aberdeen Roll

I made this for this weekend, delicious. As well as the delicious mince from Dr L, I used some left-over bacon as well as some lardons that we had in the freezer.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 225g bacon
  • 225g beef mince
  • 1 onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 75 g rolled oats
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • up to 150mg stock.

METHOD:

  • Chop the bacon, onion and garlic and mix with the mince
  • Put the mixture through a mincer.
  • Mix in the oats, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper.
  • Add the egg, and up to 150ml of beef stock, to make a firm paste.
  • Leave to settle in the fridge until needed.
  • Heat the oven to 180C. Grease a loaf tin, and press the mixture in. Cover with foil.
  • Put the tin into a roasting dish, and fill with hot water.
  • Put the dish into the oven and bake for 2 hours.
  • Turn the roll out into a serving dish. Be careful: there will be some delicious liquor, so do not turn out onto a chopping board or there will be a mess.
  • Slice and serve with mashed potatoes, fried onions and vegetables.

This is also delicious cold.

Bolognese Meat Loaf

Also known as polpettone. The mixture can also be used to make meatballs. Part of the knack of making this is to keep the mixture quite dry, and to chill the mixture after preparation. The flavour develops well if you give it time.

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 500g minced beef
  • 3 tbsp grated parmesan
  • a pinch of cinnamon
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 tbsp white breadcrumbs (I used panko)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Grated rind of half a lemon
  • Around 5 tbsp milk
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 2 tbsp butter

METHOD:

  • In a large bowl, mid the meat with the parmesan, cinnamon, salt and pepper, breadcrumbs, eggs, lemon juice and lemon rind. Add enough milk to make the mixture moist but not sloppy or sticky.
  • Kneed it well, shape it into a fat sausage shape, coat with more breadcrumbs, cover and chill in the fridge.
  • Heat the oven to 200C
  • Fry the onion in the butter until caramelised, and put it into the base of a tin, or other oven-safe dish of a suitable shape.
  • Put the mince mixture on top of the onions, and bake for around 35 minutes in a hot oven.

Slice and serve hot, with a tomato sauce, or cold, with a salad.

Meatballs recipe 1 (Italian style)

I’ve a few meatball recipes to try, this one was delicious. It is adapted from another recipe that I have, but I needed to cut the quantities down, and make it simpler.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 450g minced beef
  • 50g breadcrumbs (I used panko) OR stick one slice of stale bread in a blender.
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 egg yolk
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tomato sauce recipe
  • Fresh basil, if available, or use good quality green pesto sauce
  • 1 pack of mozzarella cheese
  • 50g grated parmesan

METHOD:

  • In a large bowl, mix the mince, breadcrumbs, oregano, cumin, chilli, rosemary and egg yolk. Season with 1 level teaspoon of salt and a good grating of black pepper. Get your hands right into the mixture and really knead it together so that it is smooth and consistent.
  • Shape into meatballs. I divided the mixture into 16 meatballs, but you could make these into 24 smaller meatballs. Put on a tray, and chill in the fridge until needed.
  • Put the fresh tomato sauce into the bottom of a large shallow casserole dish or other oven-safe dish.
  • Preheat a large flat-bottomed pan, and put in a good quantity of olive oil. Fry the meatballs quickly until they are browned all over. When they are done, put them into the tomato sauce.
  • Cover the meatballs in sauce, top the dish with the cheeses and pesto or basil.
  • Bake in a hot oven 200C for 20 minutes and serve with pasta. We got some posh tagliatelle from the co-op which worked well.