What’s good for you

Here is the recipe more or less

1. Bring lamb casserole chops to room temperature
2. Oven on 160
3. Chop 1/2 Red Onion  and 1/2 brown onion and brown (can just be brown)
4. Add spices: Curry powder( small tsp), bit off cinnamon and turmeric (can also add cumin and coriander)
5. Remove from casserole
6. Sprinkle lamb with onion salt, garlic powder, turmeric and Ina Paarman Garlic & Herb (optional)
7. Dust with flower
8. Brown
9. Add onions back
10. Add Spanish fortified wine (sherry or red wine) – evaporate
11. Tomato paste, half or pot
12. Chicken stock, 250ml
13. Oxtail Soup Powder , 1/4 sachet mix with a bit of hot water
14. Add big chunks of carrots and potato (this can be added half way through )
15. Oven for 2-3 hours on 160
16. Add 1/4 cabbage chopped 30 min before finish

Serve with greens and a bit of rice to suck the sauce up.

Recipe form Jamie Oliver’s 30 minute meals TV series. I used Chicken but it is supposed to be prawns.

Curry Paste

• Lemon Grass
• Tomato Paste, heaped tsp
• Char-grilled Peppers, 4 small ones in jar
• Coriander, bunch
• Chilli, 1
• Garlic, 2 cloves
• Ginger, 2cm cube
• Kaffir Lime Leaves, 4
• Olive Oil, 2 tbsp
• Soy Sauce, 2 tbsp
• Fish Sauce, 1 tsp
• Sesame Oil, 1tsp

Add above in blender and mix well.

Brown chicken and then add paste.

• Sugar Snap Peas
• Coconut Milk

Add something green like frozen greens. Add coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes (not boiling)

Serve with cooked rice (Jamie did an awesome Jasmine rice with a Jasmine flower in) and cucumber salad.

Cucumber Salad

• Ginger, 1-2cm chunk finely grated
• Sesame Oil, 1 tsp
• Olive Oil, 2 tsp
• Lime Juice, 1
• Lime Zest
• Soy Sauce, 1-2 tsp

Mix above and taste – change till just right

• Chilli, how brave are you?
• Coriander
• Cucumber – Sliced lengthways with potato peeler (excludes middle seeded area)

Add dressing to salad just before serving.

A short while ago, I realised I’d never cooked a Stroganoff before. I guess I’m not really that into mushrooms. (Isn’t that a recent romatic comedy or something?) I had a look at what the interweb masses seem to agree on for ingredients and gave the following a whurl as an experimental treat for my Mum. I have to say it was a pretty damned nice,  I even think she had two helpings.

When cooking like this I also tend to taste the sauce as I’m making it and only using small approximate amounts for the mustard and tomato paste, then tasting and adding more if needed. I think the cut of meat is important too – I usually choose to use scotch fillet which always seems to give a very tender result.

What you’ll need (although these values are approximations):

• 500 – 700gms of thinly sliced beef (I used a thick cut Scotch Fillet and sliced it very thinly, but you could use Eye Fillet or Rump too)
• 1 small Onion (sliced)
• 1 clove of Garlic
• a bunch of Mushrooms (sliced, about the same mass as the beef)
• 1 tbsp Paprika (Smoked if you have it, but normal will do nicely – Use more to taste)
• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tbsp of Tomato Paste
• a knob of Butter
• Oil for frying
  
• about 2 shots of Brandy (no, not one for you, one for the recipe – they both go in)
• a cup of beef stock (real stock if you can)
• 2-3 tbsp of Sour Cream
• Flour (for dusting)
• Salt and Pepper

How to do it:

1. Heat a large frying pan, and fry onion in butter until softened a little, add mushrooms and garlic, and brown. Remove from pan.
2. Season flour with salt, pepper (I prefer white pepper here) and a dash of paprika. Dust the thin beef strips in flour, and fry in batches over a medium high heat, adding a little oil as needed. The thin meat cooks quick, so be attentive and if you don’t crowd the pan, it’ll brown much easier. Remove to a warmed plate as the pieces of beef are browned.
3. Deglaze the pan with brandy, add mustard, tomato paste, paprika and beef stock, stir until combined and simmering, then add the browned beef, onions and mushrooms back to the pan. Coat the meat with the sauce, and simmer gently for a few minutes. You may need to add more stock or hot water, if it doesn’t look saucy enough.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning. You want just a hint of paprika to come through, so you might want add a little more to taste.
5. Before serving, stir in the sour cream to make the colour a pale brown.
6. Traditionally pasta was served with this yummy dish. I’d recommend cutting some nice thick ribbons from a fresh lasagna sheet of pasta (Parpadelle). We serve ours with boiled rice which I think is more commonly accepted

Enjoy!