Birthday pork

The birthday season is upon us, although this year I only have two birthdays to cater and someone has to do one for me. It's an opportunity to do something special and with usually only Peter and me at home an opportunity to cook something we can't easily do for two. Isabel chose pulled pork - good choice. 
This is pretty simple.  Combine a tsp each of smoked paprika, English mustard powder and 1/2 tsp ground cloves with salt and pepper and rub into the flesh side of a piece of skin-on pork shoulder. We added a bit of Culley's hickory sauce for extra flavour. Our piece was around 2 kg. Rub olive oil and salt into the skin.  Pour 1/2 cm water into a roasting tin and add the pork skin side up.  Roast at 140 for about 6 hours or until the meat is perfectly tender.  Add a little more water if necessary.  When it is done turn the grill to it's highest setting and grill the pork until the skin is crackled and golden - it doesn't take long so don't let it catch.
I made an apple and broad bean salsa to serve.  Our broad beans are a few weeks away so I had to resort to frozen.  Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2 tbsp each orange and lemon juice, 1/2 tsp each dried oregano and cumin, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a jar and give it a good shake. Pour into a serving dish.  Add 2 cups blanched and peeled broad beans, 1 julienned Granny Smith apple, 1 tbsp chopped capers, 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Gently combine.
We also had crispy roasted potatoes.  I sprinkled the par-boiled potatoes with a little polenta before roasting which crisped up the skin.
We also had leeks and cavalo nero because all meals right now MUST include chard or cavalo nero before these go completely to seed. Slice a couple of leeks and cook in olive oil and a little butter with salt until soft and sweet.  Take the tough stalks out of the cavalo nero and roughly chop then add to the pan, cover and cook a few minutes until the greens are wilted.  Season and add another small knob of butter.  Lost of recipes tell you to cook the greens in water then press out all the water with a tea towel and then chop the greens before adding to the pan.  I don't usually bother - it seems like far too much work and stains the tea towels green. My way seems to work fine.
We had the summer Pimms cake for pudding and once again this cake was the star of the show.  This cake is super easy and a bit of a show stopper. These were our first strawberries of the season - not home grown I'm afraid although ours will be ready shortly if we ever get any sun. The borage isn't flowering either so I used cornflowers for the blue.
What better way to use up pulled pork than Monday night tortillas?  To make flour tortillas gently mix 1 1/2 cups plain flour in a bowl with 1 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt.  Warm 1/2 cup milk in a small saucepan and pour into the dry ingredients.  Mix with your hands into a soft dough and rest in cling film 15 mins.   Then divide into 6 balls, roll out on a floured surface as thinly as you can and layer them between sheets of greaseproof paper with a light dusting of flour as you go. Cook them on a hot grill or cast iron pan - 40 seconds on the first side and 10 on the second.  Heat the pork in a pan with a little water and some smoky tomato sauce you have in the fridge.  Pile the pork on the tortillas and top with left over apple salsa.

Give peas a chance.

I visited a friend in Napier on my way to Auckland for Christmas and a conversation we had then is the inspiration for this post.  Last December this friend -  you know who you are - stayed for two nights.  It was a work related visit and both evenings were weeknights so we were eating weeknight suppers rather than meals for entertaining.
The first night was Monday so I made soup and it was early December so we had peas in the garden.  I made the obvious choice - pea soup.  Soften a finely sliced onion and 2 stalks finely chopped celery in a little butter, with a bay leaf. Add 3 cups chicken stock & bring to boil then add 1 kg peas - freshly picked or frozen - and boil 3 mins.  Remove from the heat & stir through 1 cup chopped parsley & 3/4 cup cream with a little ground white pepper to taste.  Blend until smooth.  Add 2 tsp red wine vinegar and salt to taste.  Keep warm while you pan fry 3 scallops per diner.  Cook them in a little butter with a little salt & some tarragon leaves.  Pour the soup into serving bowls and top each bowl with scallops and tarragon leaves. A delicious seasonal soup.
We also had a good crop of broad beans and the asparagus season was drawing to a close so I returned to another seasonal favourite. A dish of seasonal greens.  Soften a finely chopped onion, a bunch of finely sliced spring onions and a couple of cloves of finely chopped garlic.  While your alliums are softening steam a couple of bunches of asparagus and chop each stalk into three, and blanch and skin 500g of broad beans.  When the onions are done add 250g of peas to the pan and cook five minutes then add the broad beans and asparagus and cook a further five.  Add finely chopped parsley, basil and chives and a large dollop of butter. I sometimes add chunks of feta.  A delicious spring supper.
I did notice after the second evening that I had served two plates of green food.  I did not however twig that I had basically served two meals which primarily consisted of peas.  That suits me fine, however my guest hates peas.  She did not reveal this at the time but shared over a glass of wine a year later.  The most interesting thing was that in these meals she actually liked them.  So all you pea haters out there give peas another chance.
I have mentioned another great pea favourite of mine - peas with lettuce. Halve a small lettuce - a baby cos or little gem and lay in the bottom of a pan.  Add six chopped spring onions, 1 tbsp parsley, a knob of butter, 4 tbsp water or chicken stock and lots of peas.  Add a pinch of sugar.  You can add 2 baby chopped carrots if you have them.  Cover tightly and simmer about 15 minutes, less if you are using frozen peas.  This is the French classic dish  Julia Child  refers to as the glory of pea cookery.  She suggests it should be served as a separate course and eaten with a spoon. Julia also suggests serving the peas with a chilled white wine that's not too dry, or a chilled rose and I suspect that would work with any of these pea dishes.
I have however a new favourite pea recipe which I urge you to try.  Peas with sorrel and mustard is pea cookery at its absolute finest. Blanch 300g peas, refresh under cold water and set aside.  Toast a tbsp black mustard seeds and set aside. Make a paste with 2 tsp Dijon mustard and 1 1/2 tsp English mustard powder, 1/2 tsp caster sugar and a splash of water.  Sauté two or three bunches of finely sliced spring onions with 2 finely sliced garlic cloves.  When they are slightly coloured add the mustard paste, the peas, half the mustard seeds and a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt.  When everything is warmed through take off the heat and stir through 100g roughly shredded sorrel.  It is the sorrel that makes this dish and you may struggle to find it.  You can substitute rocket but if you do you will need to add lemon juice.   I may have some sorrel to hand out when I separate my plants in the autumn so get in touch.

Spring into summer

This week's tagine seemed more suited to a festive occasion but I needed to try it out before presenting it to guests.  This is described as a traditional Moorish duck tagine.  You will need one duck breast on the bone per person.  Using a mortar & pestle pound a knob of fresh ginger and 2 chopped garlic cloves to a paste.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil with a knob of butter in your tagine.  Stir in the garlic paste & 2 cinnamon sticks.  When the mixture starts to colour add the duck breasts & brown the skin.  Stir in 2 tbsp honey and tuck a handful of stoned dates around the duck.  Add just enough water to cover the base of the tagine & come about 1/3 up the duck breasts.  Bring to the boil, cover, then transfer to the oven and cook at 180 for about 25 minutes.  Add 1 tbsp orange flower water, season & continue cooking until the duck is tender - 5 minutes or so.  Saute a handful of whole blanched almonds in a little butter & scatter over the duck to serve.  Serve with couscous flavoured with fresh herbs & lemon zest.  This will help to counter the richness of the duck.
Try a pinto bean chilli using early summer veg.  For 4, heat 1 tbsp oil & soften 3 finely chopped onions.  Add 2-3 fiery green chillies deseeded & finely chopped, 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp allspice.  Cook for about a minute.  Add 2 diced courgettes & one diced red capsicum.  Coat in the spices then add 2 tbsp tomato puree, a tin of tomatoes, a tin of pinto beans, 100ml red wine & a handful each of fresh parsley & oregano, finely chopped.  Pour over 200ml water & simmer gently for half an hour until all the vegetables are tender & the dish is thick & saucy. We served ours with homemade guacamole, shredded cos lettuce, grated cheese, sour cream and some grilled flat breads. 
I had been given some walnuts so we tried a quinoa & walnut salad.  Make extra because the leftovers are good in lunches.  For 4, toast 2 tsp cumin seeds & 1 tsp fennel seeds, then crush in a mortar & pestle until you have a fine powder.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan & saute 1 finely chopped onion, 1 finely chopped fennel bulb,  2 finely chopped garlic cloves.  Add the ground spices & the zest of a lemon.  Cook the quinoa according to the instructions.  If you don't have quinoa you could substitute brown rice, bulgar wheat or that large Israeli couscous.  Drain & mix with the onion mixture then stir in the juice of a lemon & chopped herbs - parsley, chives, tarragon, toasted & chopped walnuts - about 75g.  Taste & add more oil & lemon juice if you think it needs it.
Still on the summer veg theme, we stir fried a bunch of greens and served with egg fried rice.  For two, cook 1/2 cup rice - we used brown jasmine - then set aside.  Prepare the vegetables before you start.  A courgette, halved lengthways & sliced thinly lengthwise,  spring onions sliced on the diagonal, a handful of greens such as spinach, rocket mizuna, a handful each snow peas, fresh podded  peas & broadbeans.  I blanched the podded beans & slipped them out of their skins.  Heat a wok or frying pan over a medium high heat & add 1 tbsp sunflower oil.  Add the snowpeas, then the courgettes, peas, onions & greens - one at a time cooking each one a minutes or so before adding the next.  When the greens have wilted down add a finely chopped piece of ginger, a crushed garlic clove & finely chopped green chilli.  Transfer to a hot serving dish & scatter with soy sauce & sesame oil plus a sprinkling of toasted sesame & shredded mint. 
Wipe out the wok & bring back to a medium heat.  Add 1 tbsp sunflower oil and when the oil is hot add the reserved rice & stir until all the grains are coated in the oil.  Make a bit of space in the pan & tip in a beaten egg mixed with a tsp soy sauce.  As the egg starts to cook move it around through the rice until it is cooked & distributed through the rice.  Serve the veg atop the rice & sprinkle with more soy sauce if you like.
This week I had my first go at cheese.  I started with cream cheese which was very simple & also turned out to be delicious.  I started with 2 litres of whole milk and let it sit 24 hours with the cheese culture & rennet.  I then drained it through muslin for a day, and stirred through dried herbs & cheese salt.  It was great on grilled sourdough, with boiled potatoes or on crackers.   Unfortunately I didn't have any smoked salmon.
We also made a batch of marmalade from the windfall grapefruit & lemons we had collected while in Auckland the previous week.  It came up such a beautiful golden colour. 

Spring Vegetables

This week we had a rather unusual tagine - chicken with grapes and artichokes.  For four, marinade 4 chicken breasts, cut into strips, in a mix of 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp turmeric, juice of a lemon, 1 tbsp olive oil.  Leave 1-2 hours.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in the tagine, and stir in 2 onions halved length ways & sliced with the grain.  This is what I did with the onions last week as well and I did it in the rice later in the week because I like the way it turns out.  Add 1/2 a thinly sliced preserved lemon with 1 tsp sugar.  Saute until slightly caramelised.  Toss in the marinated chicken slices, then add 1-2 tsp harissa paste, depending on how hot you want it, and 2 tsp tomato paste.  Pour over 300ml chicken stock & bring to the boil.  Cover & simmer 15 minutes.  Toss in a jar of artichoke hearts, cover & cook a further 5 minutes.  Add about a dozen green grapes halved length ways and flat leaf parsley, season & serve with couscous & a salad.  This was nice but not my favourite.  Worth a try.
We bought some beautiful snapper at the market on Sunday and served it with a fresh salsa verde type sauce.  For two, finely chop 1 clove garlic then add a small bunch parsley, a dozen or so basil leaves, 2 tsp capers & zest of a lemon.  Chop them all together as finely as you can, tip into a bowl, add the lemon juice & season well.  Add enough olive oil to make a thick puree.  Set aside.
Pan fry the fish using your usual method & when it is nearly done, add a knob of butter & the herb mix.  As the butter melts, stir it with the herbs & spoon them over the fish.  This should take about 1/2 a minute.  Pour the herby sauce over the fish on the plates.  I served it with baby carrots, asparagus & crushed baby potatoes.
This week I made a spring risotto with our own peas & broad beans.  They were a bit weeny - but still delicious, and a plate full of bright green with creamy rice is a beautiful thing to look upon.
For two, blanch 1/2 cup each of peas and broad beans with a bunch of thin asparagus sliced into about 3 pieces, in 1 1/2 cups chicken stock.  In a risotto pan soften 3 baby leeks & 3 spring onions finely sliced.  Add 1/2 cup of rice & prepare your risotto in the usual way.  At the end add the blanched vegetables with a tbsp each of finely chopped mint & flat leaf parsley.  At this stage I usually stir through a knob of butter, cover & let stand a couple of minutes then stir through Parmesan, season & serve.
On the same theme later in the week I did a saffron rice with peas.  In a large saucepan heat a tbsp sunflower oil & soften 1/2 an onion with 1/2 tsp garam masala.  I sliced the onion lengthways as noted above.  Try this - it's quite good.  Soak a few threads of saffron in a tbsp hot water & add to the onions along with 3-4 pitted prunes, sliced lengthways, 1/2 cup brown basmati rice and 1 cup chicken stock.  Bring to the boil, cover & cook until the water has evaporated & the rice is fluffy.  Add 1/2 cup blanched peas at the end.  If you are using frozen just pour boiling water through them in a sieve.  Stir in the parsley. 
While the rice is cooking combine 2-3 lamb fillets with 1 tbsp lime juice, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cumin & 2 tsp sunflower oil.  Just before the rice is ready pan fry the lamb about 4- 5 minutes, then cover &  rest 5 minutes.  Slice & serve with the rice.

Pork & Fennel Sausages

If you are fortunate enough to live near the Island Bay Butchery you will know you have access to some of the most delicious sausages. If you haven't tried the pork & fennel I urge you to do so. If you live further afield search out a quality version near you. These ones are long & thin & that is definitely part of their charm.

Try them grilled with a salad of spring greens & roasted mustard haloumi. Separately blanch about 200g fresh peas, 300g broad beans, 150g sugar snap peas, 6-8 asparagus spears cut into three. Pop the broad beans out of their outer coats if you need to & toss all the vegetables in a dressing of juice of 1 lemon and 3 tbsp olive oil. Zest the lemon first because you want this later. Set aside.
Combine 1 tsp Dijon & 1/2 tsp grainy mustard (I always use Maille French mustard), with 2 tsp olive oil and the lemon zest. Break 200g or so haloumi into small pieces & put in a small roasting pan. Pour over the mustard mix & a good grind of black pepper. Toss well & roast 8-10 minutes at 200 until haloumi is golden. Turn once or twice. Toss with the greens and some basil or chervil leaves. Serve with a few radicchio leaves & those grilled sausages.

You might have bought too many vegetables at the market. I often do this and we have to eat them all at once. Most summer vegetables are delicious grilled either on the barbecue or on a grill plate on the stove top. Thinly slice aubergine & courgettes, keep asparagus whole. Brush them with olive oil & grill on a medium heat until golden. Aubergines take a bit longer so put them on first. Serve them on a platter drizzled with olive oil & topped with paper thin slices of Parmesan. I use the vegetable peeler. Pod & blanch peas and/or broad beans and toss with some crumbled feta. Serve with grilled pork & fennel sausages.

Some of you who are not white wine drinkers have asked me about risotto with red wine. Try this. Make a basic risotto using red onion instead of leeks & add 1 tsp fennel seeds. Before adding the rice add the chopped meat from 3-4 skinned pork & fennel sausages with a squirt of tomato paste. Stir around until the sausages are browned. Add red wine instead of white at the wine stage and cook as usual. Top with shaved Parmesan and some rocket leaves.

If you have any more ideas for using these delicious sausages let me know.

Along with birthdays we have recently had exams and we repeated the exam cupcakes. This is the third and final year of this event. Each year for Phoebe's end of year exams I have made cup cakes for her morning tea. This started because she does baking for her school lunches every Sunday & when she's studying she doesn't have time so I stepped in. I decided to make cup cakes & ice them with the theme of each exam. This year we decorated nine cupcakes. I hope you can tell which exam this one is for!

A Birthday Dinner

Harriet had her birthday dinner at our house on Friday night & I promised her a birthday blog. In typical Harriet fashion there was some initial vagueness around numbers. When she told me who was coming I expressed some surprise because I thought her initial request had suggested more than 2 friends. The next thing you know she had invited 12, but in the event there were 8 including Harriet plus Peter, Phoebe & I so that was fine. She had wanted a barbecue and you know what our weather has been so I was a bit worried. But that worked out as well.
So what did we eat?
Initially we put out hummus & that amazing Galilee cheese spread plus olives. And the famous cheesy feet & hands. Then we did a plate of Zany Zeus haloumi with lemon wedges and the broad bean fritters served with lemon yoghurt. If you've not cooked haloumi do try. It's simple and delicious. On the other hand, maybe not. It's not cheap & we have a bit of a reputation for it now.
By the time they'd finished with that lot it was getting a bit cooler so we came in and sat around the table. We barbecued vegetarian sausages that went down really well with my homemade tomato sauce. And we just did a selection of salads. Quite a selection actually because as usual I don't know when to stop. I did the Turkish vegetable fattoush and the carrot salad from the Moorish blog. Then I found an amazing beetroot pilaf I wanted to try. It's really 2 pilafs (is that a word?) combined but don't let that put you off. You just need 2 cooking receptacles. For 6, heat a little oil & butter in medium frying pan with a lid (or cover securely with tinfoil). Add half a finely chopped onion and partially soften. Stir in 3/4 cup brown basmati rice - I used a combination of brown basmati & wild rice - & fry 3-4 minutes, then add 1 medium beetroot peeled & finely chopped (yes you will have messy fingers) plus 400ml hot vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, reduce to the lowest possible simmer, cover & leave 25 minutes, resisting the temptation to peek. While that is doing, start the 2nd pilaf off in the same way adding a cinnamon stick & 1/2 tsp turmeric to the onion. Stir in white basmati rice, cook 3 minutes, add 375ml hot stock, bring to the boil, cover, reduce to lowest simmer and cook 15 minutes. At the end of the cooking time rest both pans covered 5 minutes then 15 minutes uncovered to cool slightly. Gently fold both together into a serving dish with some chopped flat leaf parsley and lots (about 200g) of crumbly feta.
That was my absolute favourite but the 'piece de resistance' was probably the quinoa & edamame salad. Again really easy. Quinoa is available in most supermarkets & I buy Ceres Organics. Rinse about a cup of quinoa & simmer in a little over twice the volume water or stock about 2o minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Spread 0ut on a tray & leave to cool.
Saute about a cup of frozen corn (or kernels scraped off 2-3 cobs) in a pan with crushed garlic & salt about 5 minutes on a high heat until lightly coloured. Blanch & pod a 400g bag of frozen edamame beans. We got these at Moore Wilson's. I don't know if you can buy them not frozen. In a large bowl mix the quinoa, corn mixture, a drained tin of chickpeas, 3 finely sliced spring onions and 3 finely sliced radishes. If you get them from your garden you may be lucky enough to find 3 in slightly different shades. Make the dressing in the processor:
1/3 cup olive oil
zest & juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp cumin
handful basil leaves
salt & pepper
Then toss with the quinoa mix. Colourful & delicious.
We finished the evening with Floriditas Vegan Raspberry Chocolate cake.

Is this summer at last?

Smoked fish with roasted potatoes & egg is one of my absolute favourite summer salads. This is from the January 2006 Cuisine which has one of the best ever selections of salads & is one we return to every summer. We just call it "the fish issue". This year we have been using our home grown Swift potatoes. I recommend Swift for an outstanding crop of waxy potatoes. Try them. We like to get our smoked fish from the Coromandel Smoking Co. We get it from Olive Guy at Harbourside Market. You can probably find an outlet near you.

We recently tried a duck risotto. This was beautiful and we have decided to experiment more with duck so keep an eye out for more. Make a glaze with:

2 tbsp honey

a splash of sherry

2 cardamom pods, bruised

1 tsp cracked pepper, slightly crushed

1 tsp orange blossom water.

Using one duck breast per person, score the skin, season with salt & pepper and put skin down in a hot pan with a little olive oil. When the skin is golden (about 4 minutes), turn & cook a further 2 minutes. Tip away the excess fat - there may be quite a bit - and brush the skin with the glaze. Turn skin side down again & cook a final 2 minutes. Rest before serving. Here is quite a good description of the process for cooking duck. You could crisp up the skin under the grill if you like.

In the meantime make a basic risotto, including a cinnamon stick a a few strands of saffron with the rice. Add fresh peas (or frozen if you have none in the garden) & chopped parsley & celery leaves at the end. Top with the sliced duck.

I recently made broad bean fritters to eat with Turkish bread as an alternative to lamb meatballs. These were so divine. And perfect the next day as a spread on toasted Turkish bread. In the food processor, mix a big bunch of flat leaf parsley (you could use coriander) and a smaller bunch of mint. Add salt & pepper, 1/2 tsp cayenne. 1 tsp ground cumin, a sprinkling of chilli flakes, zest & juice of a lemon, and 500g defrosted broad beans skinned. I found they were easy to skin when they were part defrosted. (Use fresh in season.) Sprinkle in 1 tsp flour & pulse for a few seconds. Don't be tempted to add more flour - the mixture will be too dry. To make the fritters, use 2 spoons to make elegant quenelles. This is really easy, just roll a spoonful of mixture from one to the other about 3 times, try it. Then deep fry the fritters for about 2 minutes. When they rise to the top of the oil they are done. They will be brown on the outside and bright green within. These will be very popular so don't skimp. You could serve as a starter with a lemony yoghurt dip too.

Broadening our horizons

The broad bean season is short - even shorter than asparagus and you need to get the most out of it. This year I think I cracked it. I had been trying too hard. Broad beans are fiddly but worth it. First buy more than you think you'll need. You arrive home from the market with an enormous bag of beans and once you've podded them you have a disappointingly small pile in a bowl. Pod the beans and cook them in a pot of boiling water for 4-5 minutes - a bit less if they are very small. I put them into a pot of boiling water & boil hard with the lid off - I read that in Jane Grigson years ago & that's how I treat all greens I am boiling or blanching. Refresh them under cold water & then remove the skins. Some people don't bother but if they are a bit old the skins are really hard and may make turn you against broad beans for life. Even if they are young they are so much prettier sans skin. Just before you are ready to eat steam them for 2 minutes or put back in the original pot (you lifted them out with a slotted spoon & saved the water) & bring back to the boil. Then toss in a mustardy lemony vinaigrette - just lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper & grainy mustard. Turn into a serving dish & top with crumbled feta. I think you could substitute slices of mozzarella or bocconcini but I haven't tried it. This is the ultimate broad bean experience.

I bumped into Marie at the market last week & she mentioned that she had dined out on a broad bean past. It sounded something like this - and this was really nice. Prepare the beans to the skinned stage & boil the pasta water because none of this takes long. Mandy, you asked about an alternative to the salmon pasta & I think this is it. In a pan lightly saute a spring onion then add cream & heat - I just used the rest of a bottle I had in the fridge and added some mascarpone because it was there. Add lemon juice to give a tartness. Add half the beans & mash. You then have a slightly lumpy greenish creamy sauce. Add the remaining beans and stir through some crispy bacon - I added some prosciutto I had in the fridge. In the meantime, you have cooked your favourite ribbon egg pasta - remember it takes less than 5 minutes. Drain the pasta & mix with the sauce in the pan & turn onto a serving plate. I recommend adding the Parmesan at the table, only because it might make the sauce go gluggy. You could decorate with delicious pea tendrils if you have some.

Last week was the Thorndon Fair & I must mention Yummy Seeds - these are dry roasted seeds with soy sauce added, which you could do yourself but this seed guy does them so well. I have been buying them for years from fairs. They are fantastic sprinkled on a salad. Make your own or support the Yummy Seed guy - he's from Warkworth. He & his wife are delightful and they can really talk up seeds: tasty in salads - stir fry - sandwiches - steamed veges. I've been adding them to my salad lunches. Harriet can verify their Yumminess.

The Med in Winter

Roast chicken on Sunday? We started the week with risotto to use up the leftover chicken. On Tuesday we did a delicious mushroom and tomato pasta. We added the rest of the left over chicken. That worked well. A colleague at work rears little piggies in the Wairarapa and I got 3 of her free range loin chops. We pan fried them and made a sauce with cider, wholegrain mustard & a little cream. We served them with potato & celeriac mash, flavoured with a hint of horseradish & steamed Brussels sprouts. That is a problem with all these one-pot meals. They are not really conducive to Brussels sprouts. And Brussels sprouts are one of my best winter friends. I just like them steamed and then dressed with a little olive oil and a grinding of black pepper and a grating of nutmeg.

I have still been thinking spicy after last week's middle eastern focus and on Thursday we went back to an old favourite, Harira. This is a middle eastern lamb & chickpea soup. There are many versions so experiment until you find something you like. I start with the usual suspects, onion, celery, garlic, carrot, softened with 1/2 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander, allspice & chilli flakes. Take out the sofrito and brown about 500g diced lamb. When done, squeeze on a generous splodge of tomato paste and return the sofrito to the pan. Add 2 cups beef stock and 2-3 cups water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat & simmer v gently for about an hour. You just need the lamb to be very tender. Add 1/2 cup couscous and a tin of chickpeas, cover simmer a further 5 mins, then turn off the heat & leave to sit for 10 mins for the couscous to finish. Stir in some flatleaf parsley & serve with homemade Turkish bread topped with nigella seeds. You will return to this again & again.

I bought a Gourmet Traveller Magazine (Best of Italy edition) and was inspired by the "Battle of the Bol" article to try to perfect the classic Italian ragu. My pasta mentor is Giuliano Hazan, son of the renowned Marcella. I learned from Giuliano about adding milk or cream and using a ribbon pasta such as pappardelle instead of the more familiar spaghetti. I followed Emma Knowles' recipe, substituting beef for veal. I asked our butcher to mince the beef coarsely & he put it through the mincer only once. I finely chopped the pork myself with the pancetta. I used white wine instead of red because I had a bottle open, and I used a bit less cream but otherwise this turns out to be the ultimate pasta Bolognese. I recommend using pappardelle which is much easier for people with braces to eat and altogether nicer. Make sure you buy good dried egg pasta, not "fresh", unless you've made it yourself.

Sunday we were back in the Middle East with home made Merguez sausages. I made the sausages with the harissa sauce & aromatic pumpkin along with steamed spinach & broad beans dressed with olive oil & feta cheese.

To prepare no-fail spinach, wash & dry thoroughly - I use the salad spinner. Add the spinach in handfuls to the pan, pushing to the back as it begins to wilt. When it is all wilted, add a knob of butter and grate on some nutmeg with a grind of pepper. Even Phoebe likes this.

The sausages were such a success and delicious the next day on toasted leftover Turkish bread with the harissa and some green tomato chutney. I thought that you could experiment with other spice and herb mixes, such as Italian. I thought these might be good for people with heart conditions as they used lean mince. I thought they might disintegrate without skins but they held their shape beautifully and didn't even stick to the pan.

Tonight's dinner was my signature fish stew. Again make this how you like it. Experimenting has got me to this place. Make the usual sofrito. I usually add onion, garlic, carrot, celery, capsicum, fennel if I have some (or a sprinkling of fennel seeds), chilli flakes and a few saffron strands. When softened add 1 or 2 finely chopped Agria potatoes -cook for a minutes or 2. Then add a tin of tomatoes & 2 cups fish or chicken stock. Bring to the boil & simmer until vegetables are cooked. Add a selection of frozen sweetcorn, frozen of fresh prawns and scallops, and about 100g white fish per person. I sometimes include steamed mussels, clams or pipis at the end. This is about whatever you have in the cupboard or happen to fancy on the day. This is best quite soupy and eaten with a soup spoon, mopping up the liquid with some home made ciabatta. (or buy some if you are busy). As usual sprinkle some parsley on at the end.

This afternoon I made a fruit loaf for those fruit toast emergencies and a Madeira cake for school lunches.