Winding Down

Happy New Year!  December was a busy month and there was quite a bit of eating out so I decided to take a break & return refreshed in the New Year.
During December when we did eat at home we were eating mostly vegetables, from the garden as much as possible.  I did do a summer lamb tagine I had been saving up.  Do try this, especially as the courgettes are plentiful right now.  For four, heat olive oil in the tagine & stir in 1 roughly chopped onion, 4 roughly chopped cloves of garlic, 1 tsp each cumin & coriander seeds, 1 tsp dried mint & a knob of grated ginger.  Do use dried mint here.  This gives an intense minty depth & you can add fresh at the end of cooking.  Once the onions have softened toss in 750g lean diced lamb & enough water to just cover.  Cook in the oven at 180 for about 1 1/2 hours.
Add a selection of summer vegetables.  The recipe suggests 2 small courgettes, sliced thickly on the diagonal, 1 red or green pepper, cut into thick strips, 4 tomatoes cut into chunks.  I added fresh peas & broadbeans because they were there.  I blanched the broadbeans & took off their outer jackets before adding.  Tuck them all around the meat & add a little more boiling water if necessary.  I never find it so.  Cover & cook another 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.  Serve with lemon wedges & a soft leafy green salad.
I saw this amazing tamarind chicken recipe on the television & was compelled to try it. Do get some palm sugar if you can as I think it makes a difference.  I have been using tamarind concentrate in a jar, rather than a block, which eliminates the need for fiddly soaking.  It keeps & you will find plenty of uses for it.  If you don't have tamarind you can substitute lime juice or, at a pinch, lemon.  The tamarind is the sour component of the meal.  I had the leftovers in a lunch salad.
I sometimes pick up recipes from Le Marche Francais at the market & I was tempted by Oeufs Cocotte a Cabecous.  Cabecous is a small round soft goat's cheese.  For 2, butter 2 ramekins.  Crack an egg into each ramekin.  Add half the cabecous to each with 2 tsp cream & some chopped chives.  Season & put the ramekins into a bain marie and bake in the oven at 180 for no more than 10 minutes.  Serve with french bread.  Try dipping asparagus spears into the soft eggy cheese.
Hugh F-W has a delicious Summer Vegetable Soup which is wonderful to showcase the pickings from your spring garden.  Just use what you have to hand but whatever you do do not omit the lettuces.  If you can't buy a Little Gem  - I grow them from seedlings - you could try a baby Cos.  The lettuce gives the soup depth.  We need to rediscover braised lettuce.  It is delicious.
There is such a lot to be done with those early vegetables of summer.  You can add a selection of blanched vegetables to a risotto or try a Pasta Primavera.  Saute a selection of diced vegetables in butter or olive oil.  Start with onion & saute to a rich golden colour, then add celery & carrot & cook 5 minutes.  Add courgette & red capsicum & cook a further 20 minutes.  Add 1 cm asparagus lengths which you have already blanched.  Once all the vegetables are tender, add 200ml cream & cook until the cream has reduced by half.  While the cream is reducing cook some ribbon pasta.  Toss the pasta with the sauce & sprinkle over grated Parmesan & parsley.
During the week leading up to the festivities we treated ourselves to Hugh's Tahini Dressed Courgette Salad.  We made the semi-dried tomatoes, just cooking the tomatoes for 4-5 hours.  You need to treat theses as fresh & use within a week but you will find endless uses for them, for example tucking them in a delicious home-made hamburger.  I am sure you could also find endless uses for the tahini dressing.
Stay tuned & I'll fill you in on the festive dining in the next few days.