Category: Food

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What’s in a Fig?

Figs are a relatively new fruit to me.  Yes, I know, I’ve lived a sheltered life, but until quite recently, one had never reached as far as my shopping trolley.  I blame my mum…..  We tend to buy what our parents bought, and until a couple of years ago, I tended to buy all the same sorts of ingredients.

Figs

Figs are tasty whether they’re fresh or dried, but personally, I prefer mine fresh.  I like to use them in soups or smoothies.

Where did figs come from?

Originally, it’s likely they came from somewhere in the Middle East, and then exported around the world.  There are many different varieties, but the ones I come across most often are the ones with black skins and richly coloured flesh.

The seeds and skins are perfectly edible, which makes them ideal for smoothies, with their sweet flavour, which adds depth to any mixture of healthy ingredients.  They’re often used in cooking, and can taste amazing in a jam.

Why choose a fig?

Quite simply, they’re pretty good for us.  When I first thought about buying, I was put off by the calorie count, which was slightly higher than my usual berry purchases, but with great fibre included, as well as helping reduce the size of our appetites, it was a no brainer to try them.

As a good source of calcium, I checked on a nutrition website to see what benefits there were.  In just one large fig, there is around 148mg of potassium, which is one thing I always seem to be missing in my diet. Just for that alone, it was worth including.  As with many fruits, the carb content is around 10-12g per large fig, but I can forgive that for the other benefits of eating them.

The drawbacks.

Yep, the L effect, or in other words, the potential for being a slightly laxative effect if consumed in high proportions, so don’t decide that they’re so delicious that you’re going to eat many of them in one sitting.

People with kidney or gallbladder problems might also want to take advice from their doctor before tucking in, as they may cause problems with the balance of body fluids.

How to eat them?

Your choice is dried or fresh.  I prefer to use fresh, but if there were no fresh around, I might be tempted to add a few grams to a smoothie to sweeten it.

Fresh figs also make a great colourful addition to any salad.  Why not try them for yourself?

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Soupmaker Recipe & Pot: Vegetarian Haggis Soup

I do like the taste of vegetarian haggis and my mother has managed to decide she’s now off meat for life (apart from bacon sarnies).  I didn’t want to make different soups for us all, so this is just a lovely little mish mash that came out tasting great.

Give it a go, and add your own flavour and spices to make it your own, but do remember that vegetarian haggis will be fairly spicy as it is.  For my mother to enjoy it, I have to add some cream at the serving stage.  The chunky version is a little like a meal in a bowl for those of you who love great soup, with good taste, and still be able to have what feels like real food rather than just soup.

This is a firm favourite of mine, so I wish I could tolerate oats better.  I can still get away with one small bowlful though.  You can make this in a pot too, it just takes a lot of watching over, so that the haggis doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Vegetarian Haggis Soup 1

 

Vegetarian Haggis Soup in a Soupmaker

Lesley Smith
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Course Soupmaker Soup
Cuisine Scottish

Ingredients
  

  • 180 g Chopped Onion
  • 150 g Sliced Carrot
  • 150 g Potatoes Peeled and Cut Into Thin Strips
  • 320 g Sliced Vegetarian Haggis I used MacSween
  • 1 Garlic Clove Sliced or Crushed
  • Vegetable Stock
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • Teaspoon Olive Oil

Instructions
 

  • Saute your onions in the oil, then add a little of your stock and let it simmer for five minutes, adding in your garlic, with a touch of salt and pepper. Not too much, as your haggis will be full of spices.

  • Add all the other ingredients and fill with stock, to above the minimum level and below the maximum level of your soupmaker. I added approximately 700ml to my maximum level.

  • Select the chunky setting.

 

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Apple & Blueberry Pie + Cherry Shots: Review: Frozen Fruit and The Taste Buds

As someone whose house goes through a mini mountain of fruit a week, I’m always on the lookout for good and tasty fruit.  I often freeze my own strawberries as I tend to dislike the shop bought frozen ones as they somehow change the texture for me.  When I freeze strawberries myself, they seem to stay the same once they’re defrosted.  That’s if they get to the point of being defrosted, as they tend to end up on desserts or smoothies these days.

I had the pleasure of receiving a box of frozen gourmet fruit and some mushrooms, sent by the PR of a butcher, Donald Russell, to try.  In the box, there were 300g packs of plums, dark sweet cherries, blueberries, apples and plums.

They’re called orchard fruits and wild berries.  The fruit has quickly been turned into smoothies and desserts.  The taste of good fruit is exquisite, and these fruits didn’t disappoint.

The cherries were my personal favourites, and I was glad to see they were already destoned, so they made perfect sweeties while they were still frozen for me.  The restaurant quality fruit has gorgeous colours and beat anything I’ve bought from shops, hands down.  There’s no need for peeling, stoning, washing or chopping to enjoy them.  Perfect for baking and alone as treats, as they don’t need to be defrosted first.

I’ve added two recipes that I made very quickly, which included a Blueberry and Apple Pie, and Cherry Shots for the kids and I.

Apple and Blueberry Pie

Apple & Blueberry Pie

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Dessert

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g Blueberries
  • 300 g Apples
  • 3 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
  • 1 Roll of Light Puff Pastry
  • 1 Egg

Instructions
 

  • Spread the apples and blueberries into an oven dish and mix with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar.

  • Roll the pastry over the top and cut around the edges. Use your thumb or a fork to press it down around the edges.

  • Beat an egg with 1 Tablespoon of caster sugar and brush it over the top of the pastry.

  • Put your pie into a pre-heated oven at around 180 Degrees for a fan oven and 200 for a conventional. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is an even gold colour on top.

 

Donald Russell Cherry Shots 2

Cherry Shots

Lesley Smith
A very simple recipe, with nothing but fruit and milk.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dessert / Smoothie
Cuisine Dessert

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Dark Sweet Cherries destoned.
  • 150 ml Skimmed Milk.
  • 200 ml Water.

Instructions
 

  • Cut the cherries into quarters and add to your blender.

  • Top up with milk and water.

  • Blend until smooth.

  • Put into small glasses, or dessert bowls.

  • Pop into the freezer for ten minutes until serving.

In my box, there were also some lovely mushrooms, Ceps, Chanterelles and Morels.  I’ve saved the gorgeous looking mushrooms for another day, as they’ll go well with a sunday roast I suspect.   Mushrooms are perfectly suited to a little butter, lightly sautéed and added to onion and garlic.

The Ceps will be perfect for slicing and a cheeky sauté, while the Chanterelles, I plan on adding to a stir fry, with their floral and acidic taste adding to the mix of beansprouts, onion, red and green peppers, and a touch of soy sauce.

I’ve had Morels before.  They’re a speciality, with a unique aroma and flavour that took a bit of getting used to.   I’d be temped to add them to a creamy sauce with herbs, and possibly some red chillies alongside.

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Party Snacks for the Festive Season

We nearly all come to it every year.  Among many of the people I know, there seems to be a bit of a competition to see who puts out the most extravagant spread.  It even got to the point at one time, that if I went anywhere there were only a couple of limp sandwiches and a cheese puff or two, that I felt cheated.

For this year, I’ve got to take lots of things into account.  Both my mother and I are diabetic, and have underactive thyroids.  Food has to count, or it needs to find someone else’s house to live in.  I’ve lost a fair bit of weight this year, and I want that to keep going.  Health depends on what we put in our mouths and carbohydrates aren’t my friend any more, but I still want to have some tasty treats.

This is my wish list, and if I visit your house, I’d be happy with any of these.  I might even put some of them out for my own visitors, although you’re unlikely to find terribly much in the way of chocolate here.  I have three boys who just hoover it up, leaving nothing for anyone else.

Crisps

These are my all time favourite snacking option.  I have a little penchant for Barbeque Popchips, but you won’t find them on my xmas guest list.

Corkers Crisps recently sent me some of their samples of crisps, and I’ve found some new favourites, although I do need to ration them calorie and carbohydrate wise.  Made in the Fenlands, in Cambridgeshire, they are hand cooked for perfect crunch.

Not only are the potatoes grown on the family farm but the factory is also located there and all the crisps are hand-cooked on site.

Flavours are: Sea Salt, Pork Sausage and English Mustard, Red Leicester and Caramelised Onion, Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar, Sweet Thai Chilli, Sea Salt and Black Pepper, Gressingham Duck and Soy Sauce, and last but not least, Vegetable.

The packs I tried were 40g a pack, and enough for two to share if you’re not too crispy greedy.  My own favourites were the Red Leicester and Caramelised Onion, and the Vegetable flavours.  Two boys liked the Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar and my mum was tickled pink with the Sea Salt and Black Pepper.  They’re crispy and very importantly for crisps, they are nice a crispy with a good texture.  I could eat a box of the Vegetable to be honest…..  They’re luxurious and well worth a place on any table.  They’d go down well with hummus and sour cream.

I can’t find them in any of my local shops, so I might have to give them a miss, but I’ll keep a look out for them arriving.  I really do appreciate my crisps.  If you have a Waitrose or National Trust close by, you’re likely to be able to get your hands on them.

Sweet Nibbles

My one concession to chocolate, that the boys won’t finish before I can put it out, is likely to be Tesco Snacking Fruit, Nut and Chocolate Mix.  The pots are only 45g, but they pack a good punch.    With fruit juice infused dried cranberries, almonds, cashew nuts, milk chocolate coated almonds and white chocolate coated sultanas.

Dried Fruit

Dried mango and cranberries go down well here, in whatever form them come in, so they are always on my snacking list.  I couldn’t do without them.

Fruit Selection

Strawberries

As a diabetic, berries are my friend.  I’m getting used to blueberries and am finally beginning to enjoy eating them.  I don’t know why I used to dislike them, but perhaps my taste buds are just changing and I don’t need as much sweetness in my fruit as I used to.

I usually have strawberries, and if I can get them, mango and persimmons are firm favourites, as are figs, but it’s unlikely I’d have them all out on the table.

Party Susan Staples

I struggle to believe there would be someone who wouldn’t know what a party susan is, but it is possible.  For those, it’s a round style dish with different compartments for different foods.

In mine, there could be:

  • Chopped Baxters Beetroot, or Baby Beetroot if I can find it.  It’s like hens teeth.
  • Chopped Pineapple.
  • Galloway Cheddar GratingGalloway Cheddar.   We had samples of these a while ago, and when I buy it now, I have to hide it under the veg in the fridge or number 1 son devours it as snacks.
  • Hummus.
  • Guacamole.
  • Sour Cream.
  • Cherry Tomatoes.
  • Sliced Carrot.
  • Sliced Romaine Lettuce.
  • Cashew Nuts, Almonds or Pecans.

No Pizza or Sausage Rolls or Sandwiches

Not any, at all.  My boys might not like it, but the list of foods above are more than enough to fill any belly. These are also ideal for pyjama parties for mums, or any excuse to have a home gathering in a comfy setting.

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Nutribullet Recipe: Raw Cacao, Strawberry, Blueberry & Fig Recipe

Cacao Berry Blast

I’ve always wanted to get some blueberries into me, but I have never been able to stomach the taste.  To me, they taste like plastic.

They’re low in fat, but have plenty fibre, to help stop us being hungry all morning.  This is a great morning recipe for me.  It also helps with consuming natural vitamin C, which I’m not that great at doing.  I like oranges, but due to the carb count and high sugar, as a diabetic, I tend to shy away from them a lot.  Berries are my friends, so I really wanted to add blueberries to my diet somehow.  Diabetics need to watch their eyes, and given that Vitamin C is said to help prevent glaucoma, it’s not one that I want to do without on a regular basis.

The raw cacao in this, for me, was an acquired taste.  Don’t get me wrong, I love milk chocolate, but adding chocolate powder to fruit was a new experience for me.  I was on my fourth or fifth smoothie before I managed to get a taste for this.  I wouldn’t put it in every smoothie, but the mood enhancing properties certainly draw me to it.

Cacao Berry Blast Smoothie, Raw Cacao, Strawberry, Blueberry & Fig Recipe

Lesley Smith
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Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 4 minutes
Course Smoothie
Cuisine Smoothie
Servings 1
Calories 201 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Strawberries
  • 100 g Blueberries
  • 10 g Raw Cacao Powder
  • 1 Fig
  • 200 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk

Instructions
 

  • Toss all the ingredients into your blender or Nutribullet. It uses a 24oz container with my machine.

  • Blend until smooth.

  • Enjoy. If you leave this standing, it may become very thick and require eating with a spoon. It is, however, very tasty.

 

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Cheesy Meatball Muffins Recipe

This was much more successful than I ever could have imagined as far as the kids were concerned.  All you need is some mince and cheese, then pop them in the oven for a luxurious treat.  If you add in some more veg, I suspect these might be a good way to hide some nutritious veg if kids are happy meatball eaters.

This is very much suitable as a leftovers dish too.  Mushing up whatever you have would go well with this type of thing.  Just make sure it is thoroughly cooked before serving.

Meatball Muffins Sliced

Cheesy Meatball Muffins

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine British
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Mince
  • 100 g Onions Finely Chopped
  • Grated Cheese - Use whatever you have. I had about 300g Mozarella in the fridge so just divided it between the 12 muffin slots I had in my trays.

Instructions
 

  • I used some cake release spray to line my muffin trays, but I suspect I didn't need to do that at all. Set your oven to around 160-180 Degrees, depending on which type of oven you have.

  • Simply put some mince on the bottom of each muffin well, and then pop in the cheese, and cover up with another layer of mince, pressing down slightly.

  • Bake in the oven until thoroughly cooked. Approximately around 20 minutes, but you all know your own ovens. I covered mine up with a layer of tin foil to prevent the tops from burning.

Meatball Muffins

 

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Nutribullet Recipe: Carrot and Blackberry Smoothie

Nutribullet Blackberry and Carrot 8002

Wickedly sumptuous, I added a little xylitol to combat the bitter taste of the blackberries we picked from the plot.  I did wonder if the carrots were over the top, but they mixed well.

Nutribullet Recipe: Carrot and Blackberry Smoothie

Lesley Smith
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Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 3 minutes
Course Smoothie
Cuisine Nutribullet
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Blackberries
  • 50 g Shredded Carrot
  • 50 g Strawberries tops still on
  • 1 Teaspoon Xylitol or sweetener
  • 400 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk - I think you know by now this is my favourite smoothie milk.

Instructions
 

  • Pop the ingredients into the cup.

  • Add the milk and blast for a minute, let the machine rest for a minute, then blast again for another minute.

  • Serve and enjoy.

 

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Imperfect, but tasty and quick scones.

I’ve never been one for great and fancy dishes, unless there’s a good reason, so most of what I make, is quickly thrown together, and my scones are no different.

My mother has taken a liking to scones this week, and she fancied one today.  The local cafe was shut, so it was out with the KMix and on with the flour and butter.  These literally take five minutes or so, to get from the ingredients to the baking stage, so they’re also perfect for if you get visitors, and you’re caught on the hop.

I get nine imperfect but tasty scones from this mix.  How many can you get?  I think I’ll be making this recipe more and more as time goes on.  It’s actually much tastier than bread and can be used instead of bread, almost everywhere.

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I do sometimes wonder what a scone would taste like in the place of a dumpling when I make a stew.  One day, I must find out.  I don’t think scones should be reserved for jam and cream.  Serving one with soup would be fabulous too.

I’ve often fancied trying ones with self raising flour, rather than the traditional plain flour I’ve been used to, and I used less flour than I would use normally, with the hope that the scones would turn out light and fluffy.

A basic reminder that scones need to be handled very little, as the more mixing and turning there is, the heavier they tend to turn out.

These were more popular than my usual plain flour scones, so I might just stick to this in future, and try some different variations around it.   Ok, the tops weren’t perfect, but the scones did look good in their own sweet way.

Imperfect, but tasty and quick scones.

Lesley Smith
2 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 9

Ingredients
  

  • 350 g Self Raising Flour
  • 60 g Caster Sugar
  • 85 g Butter Cubed
  • 180 g Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
  • 1 Egg
  • Cream and Jam to serve.
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder

Instructions
 

  • Put your oven on, at around 200 Degrees for a Fan Assisted oven, or 220 with no fan.

  • Throw your flour, caster sugar, baking powder & cubed butter into a mixer and set it on very low or fold, until it resembles breadcrumbs. If you don't have a mixer, just use your fingers to break the butter up and mix it with the dry ingredients.

  • Add the milk & vanilla essence, straight to the dry ingredients, then fold it in. The mix will seem sticky, but don't worry about it.

  • Put some self raising flour onto a board, chopping board, or table, and take the dough out of the mixer, form a loose ball, and gently roll it around on the flour, until the dough is no longer sticky.

  • All I did next, was to separate the mix into nine evenish pieces and form a ball shape, then slightly flatten it, before placing it onto a baking tray that I lined with baking paper and sprinkled with some more flour.

  • Use a fork to beat the egg, then use your fingers or a brush to coat the tops of the scones. Then, simply bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

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How to make unsweetened pecan milk.

Ok, I have to admit being a little ott about unsweetened almond milk.  I seem to use it for almost everything that needs milk, including smoothies, soups and much more.  The fact that it’s so low-calorie is what does it for me, but I wanted to try making some nut milks, to see how they do.

I’ve made soy milk in the past, and after finding almond milk, I’ve given up eating soy in any form at all.  I tend to make my smoothies with frozen fruit and veg, so mine are more like slushie consistency, but more creamy with milk.

Pecan Milk

I had a box of pecan nuts which needed eating, so I thought that would be as good a place to start as any.

I also didn’t have the patience to soak the nuts overnight on my first attempt, so I just went on whizzing mine up, although if you have a low watt blender, overnight soaking would be a better idea, as the nuts will leave far more gruel when it’s strained.  Milk from soaked pecans is definitely creamier.

I’ve taken an average of 1 litre of water to add to 2% pecan nut concentrate, as that’s what my favourite brand seems to say.

For this, I’m assuming 1ml = approx 1g, and 100g of my pecan halves being roughly 720 calories per 100g. That means, to keep the calorie content low, I need to use no more than 13 calories per 100g, which means I only have 130 calories to work with for a whole litre.

With 130 calories divided by 7.2 calories per gram, that leaves me with 18g of pecans that I can add to each litre of water.  That really does not sound like much, and I had little hope of the water turning white at first, but it does happen rather quickly.

Recipe: How to make unsweetened pecan milk.

Lesley Smith
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Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 4 minutes
Servings 500 ml

Ingredients
  

  • 9 g Pecan Nuts
  • 500 ml Water
  • 2 Teaspoons Xylitol or substitute other sweetener

Instructions
 

  • Soak the pecans overnight if you can, then discard the soaking water for a smoother milk. If you're in a hurry, just add the pecans and water to your blender (I use Nutribullet). I blend for one minute, then rest for a minute, then blend for another minute again.

  • Strain the milk through a muslin square or similar, to remove the very fine grains. You don't have to do this, but I prefer the smoother texture.

  • Chill and enjoy. This doesn't keep for too long, so use it within a day or two.

  • If you like your milk thicker, just add more pecans at the next try. I wanted to keep mine low in the calorie department, but most people seem to make one third pecans to two thirds water.

 

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Expedia World on a plate – France

This was a very interesting challenge for me, given that until recently, we drove down to France on a yearly basis for our summer holidays.

Despite spending months in France, in total, I doubt that we’ve actually even tried anything that remotely resembles French cuisine.  In the past, I’ve always thought of frogs legs and yukky green things, and to be honest, never really gave it a chance.

DSC_0757

Expedia challenged me to come up with a dish that was inspired by France, and as part of their world on a plate challenge.

They sent me some lovely French ingredients to work with, including duck confit, black truffe paste (I had no idea what to do with this.  It took a bit of work to figure something out), fleur de sel sea salt, dried Morel mushrooms, red fruit coulis, a cheese wedge of Beaufort, goose fat, cooked chestnuts, chestnut puree and Perard fish soup.

As much as I tried, I couldn’t persuade anyone in my house to consider trying the fish soup, which is a shame, but it will go to a good home where it will be enjoyed.

DSC_0760

DSC_0618

The challenge for me, was what to do with those ingredients.  They’re not anywhere near my usual staples for cooking, so it did take some thinking.

A chestnut gravy seemed like a good place to start, and that’s where I did go, and used the truffle paste as part of that, to enable those who like the taste to try it, and those who don’t, to leave it off their plate.

As an underground fungi, they’re more like a type of below ground mushroom, and pigs seemingly like them.  Finding that out, means that I could add it to my chestnut gravy as a taste booster, or even to soups.

I do have to say though, that at nearly £50 a jar, it’s not something that would be on my shopping list.  For that reason, part of me is actually hoping truffles don’t become a taste or flavour that we enjoy too much as a family.

To make our meal, I took the advice on the tin of Duck Parfait, to remove the duck and put it into a roasting dish for cooking.  After 20 minutes, it was lovely and crispy on the outside.  I’d rubbed the skins with the salt, which added an unusual flavour.

With the addition of some lovely vegetables and a Chestnut Gravy Sauce that I made up on the spot with our ingredients, the meal was actually lovely, and well appreciated by all.  These aren’t ingredients I would have chosen originally, but even I was impressed with how good this looked at the dinner table.

Chestnut Gravy Sauce for Turkey

DSC_0726

Chestnut Sauce (Savoury) for Turkey

Lesley Smith
4 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Accompaniment
Cuisine French
Servings 6 -8

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Cooked Chestnuts.
  • 2 cms Chestnut Paste.
  • 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt.
  • 1 Clove Garlic chopped (optional).
  • 400 ml Unsweetened Almond Milk.
  • 1 Teaspoon Truffle Paste.

Instructions
 

  • I've made the garlic optional, as the truffle paste is very garlicky. It depends how strong you like your gravy sauces.

  • Combine all in a blender and whizz until as combined as it can get to. Mine ended up with some tiny black dots in the sauce, which gave it a little character.

  • Heat in a pan until thoroughly hot. If it's a little too strong, add a little cream to dilute it.

  • As truffles can be an acquired taste, serve in a dish on the side, so that diners can choose how much to use.

DSC_0736

Expedia provided or paid for all food in this post.  All views are my own.

 

 

 

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Pickled Beetroot Preserve & Foraging Fox Beetroot Ketchup

We have to admit to being beetroot fans around here, and I’m going to talk about two different beetrooty things today.

1 – The Beetroot Ketchup sample sent by the Foraging Fox.

2 – What I’ve done with the beetroot from our plot this year.

1 – Beetroot Ketchup

Foraging Fox sent us some beetroot ketchup to try, which was a no brainer as far as middler is concerned.  He’s not much into tomato ketchup, but he sure does love his beetroot.

The ketchup is made from naturally sweet beetroot, with apples and spices making up the distinctive taste.  I have to say, that I’d find this amazing in a home-made potato salad or coleslaw, for an extra taste kick, but our sample got used up so quickly, that I didn’t have time to make anything else with it.

2 – My Pickled Beetroot Recipe

We prefer it in sweet vinegar from the shops, and this was my first go at preserving some for using later, as we had so much from the plot.

I’m not 100% sure how long this will actually keep for, but at the rate my middle child goes with his beetroot, I can’t imagine it being around for too long.  There have been occasions where a jar has only lasted a day with him.

DSC_0669 DSC_0685

 

Pickled Beetroot Preserve

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Preserve
Cuisine Preserve

Ingredients
  

  • 3 kg Beetroot
  • 1 Litre White Vinegar
  • 400 g Caster Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • Sterilised Jars

Instructions
 

  • Put rinsed beetroot (with skin on) into a big preserve pan and simmer for between 30 - 40 minutes, or until the skins on the beetroot can shed by rubbing your fingers across them. To do this, I have to take a beetroot from the pot, and run it under the tap, cooking it enough to try taking the skin off.

  • While the beetroot is simmering, put your vinegar and sugar into a pan and bring to the boil. At the beginning, the vinegar solution will look cloudy. Add in a salt, and also ensure the jars are sterilised for use. When the vinegar mix clears, it's ready for use. Take it off the boil.

  • When the beetroot are ready, peel off the outer skins and slice the beetroot, then add it to the pan of white vinegar. Some people use the beetroot cooking water for jarring up, but I didn't like the look of it, and I wanted to allow the sweetened vinegar to work its magic.

  • Fill your jars and leave the vinegar solution to soak in with the beetroot overnight. Then, enjoy your pickled beetroot.

 

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Curried Welsh Lamb Stew, Served with Chips – For #NationalCurryWeek

The week beginning Monday 12th, until the 18th October is National Curry Week.

Even as far up North as we are, we do appreciate a good curry, but in our house, curries tend to be more flavoursome than spicy.  My personal favourite is a korma, which has possibly influenced the taste buds of the not so little people in our home.  They don’t mind flavour and taste, but blisteringly hot is off the menu.

I was a little surprised, if I’m being honest, as I had no idea that national curry week even existed.  When I did a little digging, I found that it started in 1998, to promote the food, and raise money for charities dealing with poverty and hunger.  Some of your local curry houses might even have special deals on to celebrate.  If you’re a curry fan, it might be worth checking out, or you could even make your own.

Not everyone who likes a curry dish, likes the traditional accompaniments, so I added a slightly different theme to mine, as a way to bring a new flavour for my kids.  My curry dish is a curried lamb stew, made with some of the finest Welsh Lamb available.  I intended to feed someone who dislikes coconut, so although I’d normally add it to a curry I cooked for myself, I’ve left it out of this recipe.

Lamb

 

Curried Lamb Stew, Served with Chips - For #NationalCurryWeek

Lesley Smith
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Course Mains
Cuisine Lamb

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Welsh Lamb
  • 2 Small Onions
  • 2 Teaspoons Ground Mild Curry Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
  • 1 Clove of Garlic
  • 1 Heaped Teaspoon Cornflour
  • 1 Knorr Stock Cube
  • 1 Teaspoon Butter
  • Water
  • 100 g Petit Pois Optional, but my kids love peas in things, so I added them to mine.

Instructions
 

  • Saute the onions and brown the lamb in a frying pan on a low heat, taking care not to burn the onions. Allow the mixture to sweat a little.

  • Break the stock cube over the simmering meat and onions.

  • Add the cumin and mild curry powder, and mix well in the pan, turning the meat and onions all the time, making sure they don't burn.
  • Add enough water to almost cover the meat and let the flavours mix together. I added my peas here.

  • Mix the cornflour into a past with a little water and add to the pan. When the stew begins to thicken, it's ready to transfer into an oven dish for the final step.

  • Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes on a moderate heat.

I was provided with a cut of Welsh Lamb to make this dish for National Curry Week.  #nationalcurryweek  #welshlamb

Lamb 4