Sweetcorn Relish

We had an American themed tea tonight, in honour of that election! Made fantastic apple pie, home made burgers (see Pete’s burger) wedge chips, and worked on a new recipe for a sweetcorn relish… thankfully it was delicious, strong tasting, but complemented the robust flavour of the burger. Very well priced this, for 4 good sized jars, I used about three quarters of a bag of frozen sweetcorn, and some bits and bobs from the bottom of the fridge...

Ingredients

500g sweetcorn (I used frozen, or you could use 10 cobs)
16floz vinegar (I used a mix of red wine vinegar and a drop or two of malt.. what's in your cupboard?)
2 sticks of celery, very finely chopped
half a cabbage, very finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
three quarters of a cup of sugar
1 and half tbs mustard (I used a ready made, with chilli)
1 chilli (optional)
1 tbs salt
2 tsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with water.

Method

Mix vegetables together, add remaining ingredients (except the cornflour) and cook until corn is tender, 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cornflour, stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Pack into hot sterilized jars and seal. Makes about 2 and half pints..

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Haricot bean and mutton stew

Our butcher is supplying mutton again. They explained there hasn’t been a call for it in the last few years.…that’s until recent credit crunch times. This is recipe is delicious, Tunisian in flavour and slow cooked so the meat is really tender. Lovely served with rice, and lemon wedges.

Ingredients (serves 6)

2 onions, chopped
3 tbs olive oil or veg oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
750g (1 and half lb) mutton
500g (1lb) haricot beans, soaked over night
500g (1lb) tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or tinned)
1-2 tsp sugar or to taste
juice of one lemon
half tsp harissa
2 tsp of cinnamon or cumin or mix of both
salt and pepper

Method

Fry the onions in oil until golden, add the garlic and when it begins to colour add the meat and brown it all over, stirring. Then add the drained beans and tomatoes, add the sugar and cover with water. Simmer for 2-3 hours, until the meat and beans are very tender, adding salt and pepper and lemon juice just before serving.


Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Kofta Curry

More delicious ‘ways with mince’... this is a lovely alternative to a Friday night take away curry. Spicy as you want it, depending on the strength of your chilli. We served it with rice, which worked well. You could equally have it with nan or chapatti, and left overs in a sandwich!

Ingredients

3 onions, sliced
2 gloves garlic
2 green chillies (more or less depending on your taste)
3.5 cm (1 and half inch) piece root ginger
25g (1oz) each coriander and mint leaves
2 tsp salt
500g (1lb) minced beef
4 tbs oil
1 tsp each of chilli powder and ground cumin
1 tbs ground coriander
1 tbs water
25g (1oz) tomato puree, diluted in 300ml (half pint) water
mint leaves to garnish

method

put 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 2 chillies, 1 cm piece ginger, herbs and half the salt into a food processor and work into a paste.

Mix with the minced beef, roll into walnut size balls and fry lightly in 3 tbs oil. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan, add the remaining onions and fry until golden. Crush the remaining garlic and chop the remaining ginger.. Add to the pan with the chilli powder, cumin, ground coriander and the water. Fry stirring for 2 minutes, for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and remaining salt. Simmer for 10 mins. Gently add the meat balls in to the pan and simmer for 30 mins. Garnish with mint to serve.

Illustration © Lois Blackburn 2008 www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Crab-apple Jelly

Next to the Quince Tree (see Quince Chutney) was a small bag full of crab-apple windfalls, fantastic free food! I brought a jelly strainer last week, what a difference it makes, just load it up, then let it drip through over night- simple!
This Jelly is from Jimmy Doherty’s book ‘A Taste of the Country’ It’s the first time I’ve made it, very sharp and sweet at the same time… should go well on toast or with pork…

Ingredients

About 2kg/4 and half lb crab apples
granulated or preserving sugar

method

Wash and chop the crab apples. Put them into a preserving pan with just enough water to cover (about 1 litre/1 and three quarter pints) Bring to the boil slowly, then reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally, breaking up the fruit to release the pectin.

After an hour, pour or ladle the fruit and juice into a scalded jelly-bag and allow the juice to drip through for several hours. Measure the strained juice and our it back into a clean preserving pan. For each 565ml or 1 pint of juice add 450g or 1lb of sugar. Stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil. Boil until setting point is reached – about 10 to 15 mins. When the jelly is ready, take the pan off the heat, remove the scum from the surface, and quickly pour into sterilized jars –this jelly sets very fast.

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn 2008 www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Quince chutney

Last week on a walk I found a quince tree, with loads of windfalls, so with a rucksack full I ambled home. I first cooked with quinces a couple of years ago, and didn’t have much luck with them, they where just to hard. So this time, I placed them on the window sill for a week to turn from light green to the riper yellow colour. Then cut them into smaller chunks, time-consuming but worth it, as the resulting chutney is delicious, and no problems this time with hard quince.

I used the following recipe, from www.hungrybrowser.com

8 cups peeled, cored diced quinces
3 oranges thinly sliced
3 cups of brown sugar
1 and half cups honeymead or white wine vinegar (I used a combination of white wine vinegar and malt, and its worked very well)
1 cup sultanas
quarter cup finely chopped preserved ginger (I only had fresh in, which worked very well)
1 cup of raisins
1 medium onion finely chopped
quarter cup yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
half tsp ground cloves
half tsp ground cinnamon
2 cloves garlic crushed
juice and zest of 1 lemon

method

combine all ingredients, except ginger with 1 and half cups of water in a large non-reactive saucepan. Simmer for 45 mins. Add ginger, cool five mins, spoon into hot sterilised jars and seal while hot. Keeps 12 months in a cool dark place (the last lot of Quince chutney I made, I kept for 2 years… and was fine when I opened it!) Refrigerate after opening.

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn 2008 www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Leek and Potato soup

A delicious soup, rich and creamy, a real comforter. This one is a ‘Tom Norrington-Davies, from his great book ‘cupboard love’. I swapped all the dairy ingredients for soya equivalents, which worked very well, the milk curdles a bit (but it is prone to in the dairy version to) but mix it all in and problem resolved.

Ingredients (for 4-6 people you need)

3-4 leeks (about 400g untrimmed weight)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
200ml milk
2 large, floury potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp salk
300ml water
2 springs of tarragon, stripped from the stalk and chopped, or half tsp of dried version

method

use as much of the leeks as you can. Trim away only the very roughest part of the green top and the little beard of the root and outermost layer if necessary. Leeks can be muddy, and the easiest way to wash them is after you have sliced them up. Just put the slices in a colander and run them under a tap. It doesn’t matter if they break up a bit.

The soup is very straightforward. Braise the leeks and garlic in the milk over a gentle heat until soft, then add the potatoes. Don’t worry if the leeks appear to curdle the milk, the soup will come back together. Add the salt and about half the water. Simmer gently until the potatoes are about to fall apart, then add the remaining water. Bring to the simmering point and mash gently. If you want to use the tarragon, add it just before serving. If the soup seems thick, loosen it with more milk or water, then check the seasoning.

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn 2008 www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Rice pudding

A taste of childhood… but actually better than I remember! It’s so easy to make, lovely with cows milk or soya milk. Try different flavourings and extra’s such as adding raisons, or almonds, or using it as a bed for poached fruit. There are many variations on the rice pudding recipes, but this is a great one to start with…

Ingredients

200g (7oz) Italian risotto or pudding rice or sticky rice
350ml (12oz) water
up to 1 litre (1 three quarter pints) milk (or soya)
175g (6oz) sugar or to taste
zest of half a lemon (optional)
vanilla essence (optional)

method

put the rice in a large pot with the water. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered for about 5-6mins, or until the water is absorbed. Keep an eye on it, and stir so that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add half to three quarters of the milk, bring to the boil and simmer on a very low heat for 30-40 mins, or until the rice is very soft and the milk almost absorbed (if this happens to quickly add the rest of the milk) stirring occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick. Stir in the sugar and the lemon zest and a vanilla essence to taste. Cook for a few mins longer. Serve hot or cold.

Illustration © Lois Blackburn please visit www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more.

Pork sausage with lentils

My other half made this variation of an Italian recipe tonight and I have to add it here, its delicious and cheap and cheerful! Its inspired by Gennaro Contaldo’s recipe Zampone con lenticchie, but replaced Italian sausage with locally produced pork sausages..

Ingredients

350g puy lentils
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 courgette, finely chopped
1 large potato, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 tbs finely chopped parsley
3 whole garlic gloves, crushed
4 tbs olive oil
about 1.5 litres veg stock
pork sausages (we used 6 from our fantastic local butcher)

method

wash the lentils. Drain and place in large pan with carrots, courgette, potato, celery, parsley, garlic and olive oil. Pour in enough stock to cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 mins, or until the lentils are soft and the dish has a stew like consistency.

Meanwhile, fry the sausage until coloured, chop it up, and add to the stew for the last 10mins or so of cooking. This way the sausage gives even more flavour to the stew.

Remove from the heat, and serve with seasonal green veg. (we used steamed cabbage which was lovely)

Illustration © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Blackberry jam

Everyone seems to have enjoyed the sunshine at the weekend, and been out picking blackberries, so I’ve been frustrated by significantly fewer around… still have one or two more secret spots to try.. got to get a stock in the freezer for winter crumbles…

Here’s a recipe I followed earlier this week for the cost of the sugar and lemon, a significant amount of delicious jam….

2 lb blackberries
2 lb sugar
juice of 1 lemon

method

warm the sugar for 1-2 mins, add the blackberries. Once liquid is forming, turn the heat up, and bring to the boil. Gently stir in the lemon juice. Skim the froth off. Boil until setting point is reached 105oC /220oF (about 6- 7 mins)
Pour into clean sterilised pots.

Today's illustration © Lois Blackburn, please visit www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more

Moussaka

Tried this recipe out this evening, and can highly recommend it. Its another from Claudia Roden’s ‘The Book of Jewish Food’, and makes a pleasant change from the usual recipe. Without any dairy products, it is a lighter and fresher tasting moussaka.

Ingredients (serves 8)

1kg (2lb) aubergines, cut into thin slices
salt
oil for frying
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1kg (2lb) minced lamb or beef
1 and half tsp cinnamon
half tsp allspice
pepper
2 tbs tomato puree
a bunch of flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped
750g (1 and half lb) tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 tsp sugar or more (optional)

method

sprinkle the aubergine slices with salt and leave them for about an hour, then rinse and dry them on a tea towel or kitchen paper. Fry in very hot oil very briefly, turning them over once, so that they are only lightly browned all over and don’t have to much time to absorb too much oil, drain on layers of kitchen paper, and cover with more to get rid of any excess oil.

Fry the onions in 2 tbs of oil until soft and golden. Add the garlic and fry till aroma rises. Add the minced meat, cinnamon, allspice, salt and plenty of pepper. Crush the meat and mix well until it changes colour. Add the tomato puree and cook for about 10 mins, then stir in the parsley.

Assemble the moussaka in a baking dish. Arrange a layer of fried aubergine slices at the bottom. Cover with a layer of tomato slices. Sprinkle lightly with salt and spread the minced meat filling on top. Cover with a second layer of aubergin and tomato slices. Bake uncovered for 30-40 mins at 350oF/180oC/gas mark 4.

Variations
- courgettes maybe used instead of aubergines.
- Another favourite is potato moussaka, use layers of thinly sliced new potatoes about 1kg (2lb) instead of the aubergines. It will need longer cooking.

Today’s illustration, © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more

Rich tomato sauce

Pete’s favourite tomato sauce, you can use it with pasta, or meatballs, lasagne, etc etc. its simplicity itself, but rich and tasty. Keep an eye out at your food suppliers for offers on tins of tomatoes, if your anything like me you’ll never have enough in your larder.

3 tins chopped tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
4 good slugs of olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan on a medium heat, throw the garlic in, let it sizzle for a minute, (be careful not to brown/burn it) throw in your tins of tomatoes, and stir until it comes to the boil. Turn it down to a simmer, and allow to reduce slowly. (about 45 mins) the sauce will be really thick and rich. Add plenty of seasoning to taste.

Today’s illustration ‘tomato’ © Lois Blackburn. Please go to www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more examples.

Spiced lentil soup with coconut

Red lentils are fantastic, very economical to buy, full of iron (great for adolescents, menstruating or pregnant women) provide slow-burning complex carbs, high levels of proteins, vit B1 and minerals.. This recipe is an unusual twist on a lentil soup, having a mix of the sweet pepper flavour & ginger, spicy chilli and creamy coconut. Great for a autumn day. This is inspired by a recipe in Sarah Brown’s Vegetarian Cookbook.

Ingredients

Half cup of red split lentils (soaked for 10mins in hot water, then drained)
1 tbs oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
half tsp chilli powder
half tsp grated gingerroot
quarter tsp grated nutmeg
1 medium red pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 medium green pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 and a quarter cups of veg stock
2 and half cups of coconut milk (you can used creamed coconut to make it, blended with water)
salt and pepper

serves 4-6

method

1. heat the oil in large heavy bottomed saucepan and gently fry the onion and spices for 3-4mins
2. add the peppers and lentils and continue to fry for 4-5mins, stirring now and again
3. pour in the stock, bring to a boil the simmer gently covered for 10 mins
4. stir in the coconut milk and continue to simmer covered for 35-40 mins, let it cool for a few mins
5. puree the soup, season then re-heat if necessary

today’s illustration ‘peppers’ © Lois Blackburn, please visit www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more examples

Rabbit stew

I love rabbit, but sadly have only eaten it in Restaurants in Italy. I’ve tried lots of different ways of cooking it myself, some trying to recreate those meditation flavours, others (like the following recipe) following a more traditional English method… I’ve been told at my local butcher that rabbit is available in months with an R in! Rabbit is good value meat, and a source of high quality protein and its leaner than beef, pork and chicken meat.

Ingredients:

1 rabbit (ask your butcher to divide it up into small joints)
quarter of a pound of streaky bacon
1 pint of stock
1 glass of red wine
2 oz of butter
1 and half oz of flour
18 button onions or shallots, peeled
a bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme, bay-leaf)
2 cloves
6 peppercorns
salt and pepper to taste

method:

1. cut the bacon into small pieces, heat the oil in a pan and fry the bacon and onions until browned, remove to a plate.
2. Add the rabbit to the pan, and when its got a little colour sprinkle in the flour, continue to fry until the rabbit and flour have a good colour.
3. Put the onion and bacon back in the pan, add the hot stock, bouquet garni, cloves peppercorns and salt to taste, cover closely and cook gently for about an hour, or until the rabbit is tender (I like my rabbit after a few hours for a long, slow cook)
4. About 15 mins before serving add the wine.

Today’s illustration rabbits, © Lois Blackburn please visit www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more images

Blackberry and apple crumble

Last night I made another blackberry and apple crumble, a staple of this time of year. It seems impossible to go out for a walk right now, without coming home laden with blackberries. I’ve just had a neighbour offer me apples from their tree to, so I’m sorted! My crumbles are all different, depending on what ingredients I have at hand, I recommend you do the same… see whats in your store cupboard, what around for free, and then experiment. Here is a basic recipe for you to play with:

Ingredients (filling)
3 large Bramley apples (or whatever you can get hold of for free)
150g caster sugar
pinch of cinnamon
a good punnet of blackberries

topping
50g/2oz butter or marg (butter crumbles are lovely, but marg works just fine)
110g/4oz plain flour (or I like a mix of flour and oats)
55g/2oz caster sugar
seeds such as linseed or flaked almonds (optional)

method
1. preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6
2. peel, core and cut apples into slices of chunks
3. add a splash of water to a pan, the sugar and cinnamon and gently sauté the apples until slightly cooked
4. add the blackberries to the apples and stir gently
5. to make the topping, lightly rub butter or marg into the flour (or flour oat mix) add the sugar an rub into crumbs.
6. spoon the apples and blackberries into a shallow, ovenproof dish, sprinkle over crumb mixture
7. cover with seed or flaked almonds if desired
8. place in the oven for about 20-30 mins or until light golden brown.
9. serve with icecream, or cream or yogurt or custard!

It freezes well, allowing you to take advantage of the glut of fruit.

Today’s illustration ‘blackberries’ © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more

Pork sausages with lemon potatoes and bay leaves

We have a wonderful butcher in our local town, they must have at least 20 varieties of sausages there, from Blackpudding and pork to Cumberland, to spicy beef, to garlic and herb, delicious. If you haven’t checked your local butcher out recently, do try, hopefully they to will have a range of delicious sausages, along with regional specialities. Its worth spending a bit more on quality butchers sausages, our local ones, have less fat, no water (that supermarkets add to meat for extra weight) and taste fantastic. Your still looking at a very economical meal… this is a delicious way to add a bit of sophistication to your bangers!

Ingredients:

450g of pork chipolatas (or other good quality pork sausages)
4 tbs olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
750g small waxy potatoes, peeled and quartered
zest and juice of half a lemon
4 fresh bay leaves
2 tbs chopped parsley
salt and fresh black pepper

method:

Preheat the oven to 180oC /Gas Mark 4. Heat 1 tbs of the oil in a flameproof casserole dish. Add the sausages and fry until nicely browned all over. Lift onto a plate and set aside. Add the onion, garlic and another tbs of oil to the casserole and fry until soft and lightly golden. Stir in the potatoes, sausages, lemon zest and juice, bay leaves, half the chopped parsley, half tsp salt and black pepper. Pour over the rest of the oil along with 120ml water, cover tightly with lid and back for 30-40 mins until the potatoes are tender. Remove the lemon zest and sprinkle with the rest of the parsley before serving.

Todays illustration is pig © Lois Blackburn, please visit www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more

Liver and Bacon

You maybe put off this one by memories of thick, rubbery slabs of meat, force fed to you as a child. However, when fresh liver is sliced thinly and cooked quickly in butter, served with crispy bacon and its own tasty juices, its truly delicious. I urge you to try it. Plus of course it’s very economical! This version is based on my bible, Mrs Beaton’s Every-day Cooking.

Ingredients: 1lb of liver (I like lambs for this recipe) Half a lb of bacon cut into small pieces, flour, salt and pepper.

Method: put the liver into a basin and cover with boiling water, leave it there for 10 mins. Then drain, dry well and cut into thin slices. Season with 1tbs of flour and 1tsp of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Dip the liver into the mixture. Heat the frying pan, fry the bacon, then remove to a hot dish until required. Fry the liver in the fat of the bacon, but quickly so that its browned on both sides but not over cooked. Transfer to a hot dish. Sprinkle in about a tbs of flour, let it brown, then add about half a pint of water, stir until it boils, thickens and reduces, then strain over the liver. Arrange the bacon on the top and serve hot.

Oh and liver is a fantastic source of Iron, Vitamin A, (essential for healthy skin and eyes) Vitamin B2 (promotes good health and is necessary for maintaining good vision, nails, skin and hair) Vitamin B3 (improves cirulation and reduces high blood pressure) and B12 (prevents anaemia) and of Vitamin D…

Today’s illustration is a monoprint ‘sheep’ © Lois Blackburn. Please visit http://www.loisblackburn.co.uk/ for more images.

hummus or humus

What a necessity! It delicious, cheap and easy to make, it goes with so much (filling for jacket potato, pita bread, sandwhiches, dip for veg, or sauce for falafel… children love it and its very healthy!

Ready made hummus will cost you about £1.00 for 100grams in the shops. To make it yourself, will cost you a fraction of that, and you will feel you can be very generous with it, as you will make a big tub! : Your main ingredients are chickpea’s and tahinni, In Unicorn, http://www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk/ 1kg of organic dried chick peas costs £1.35, Tahini (useful in so many recipes) £2.02 in my local ‘The Organic Shop’. These quantities will make a very healthy amount of hummus) If you decide to buy your chickpeas in a tin, you can still make dramatic savings… plus making it yourself, you will make it to your taste.. a little more garlic? a little more lemon? you decide.

I like to add the ingredients as I blend, tasting as I go, and add more garlic or tahinni or lemon…I can’t say I measure ingredients, but do it by feel, however if your new to making it here is a guide:

250g (9oz) chickpeas, soaked overnight
juice of 2-3 lemons
2 or 3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 tablespoons Tahini
4 tbs olive oil
1 tsp paprika (optional) (some people use cumin)

Boil the chickpeas in fresh water until very soft (50mins upwards, depending on the age of them) add a little salt when they begin to soften. Reserve the cooking water and blend the chickpeas with a little of the cooking water. Make a smooth paste. Add two tbs olive oil and the other ingredients (except the paprika) and more cooking water if necessary, to make a soft creamy texture.

To serve, spread the hummus on a plate, sprinkle with remaining oil and the paprika.

And I hope you don’t mind smelling of garlic!

A note about the illustrations, 'chickpeas' mono print please go to http://www.loisblackburn.co.uk/ for more, and 'beer tea trifle bovril' an arthur+martha collaboration. http://www.arthur-and-martha.co.uk/ This is part of a collection called 'scotch terrier, bulldog and a moggy' investigating stereo types of the people British and Israel I hold © to both images.