Lamb biryani, sag paneer, raita and carrot salad
I used a mutton spice mix (which you can buy from indian shops) for the biryani, which made a much milder biryani than usual, but worked well. It is essential to serve this with raita, which is simply thick yogurt (I use greek yogurt) with grated cucumber and some salt.
The sag paneer had fresh chilli and hence was really quite spicy, but it's so simple and you can change the spices depending on your taste. We eat it regularly as a quick midweek meal.
The carrot salad is my grandmother's recipe: grated carrot with a dressing of oil and mustard seeds. I use sesame oil and put a little lemon juice, salt and pepper also.
Middle Eastern (ish) feast
Another fabulous meal in Malta, we cooked this up in 30 minutes. Whoever said too many cooks was simply wrong...
Smoky aubergine yogurt dip
Chargrill whole aubergine over a flame or under a very hot grill until the skin goes black all over. Then scrape out the juicy smoky insides which should be soft and steaming. Mix this into a large bowl of greek (or thick plain) yogurt, with 3-4 finely chopped garlic cloves and plenty of salt and pepper. I like to add a little ground cumin and a drizzle of olive oil with some chopped parsely to finish.
Tomato meatballs
We actually cheated on this and used ready made meatballs, but they are very easy to make also! Just mix mince meat with some chopped garlic, fresh or dried herbs and seasoning to taste and roll into small balls. Then fry some chopped onion, garlic and fresh red chilli until softened. Add the meatballs and brown slightly. Then add half a bottle of wine (depending on how many are eating - half a glass each) and some fresh vine tomatoes. Season generously and allow to the alcohol to evaporate and a thick rich sauce to form.
We accompanied these delightful dishes with some chunky bread (flat bread) and bumpercut mojitos (I still don't know how to spell that).
Moussaka
This is a great dish, with a slighty sweet hint in the spiced meat, but the warming baked feel that is similar to lasagne. Can't get enough! Although this has meat, the mince can be replaced with lentils and cooked for a while longer for a vegetarian version.
Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
500 g mince meat
1 tin tomatoes
Vegetable or beef stock cube
1 tablespoon of mixed spice (cinammon, nutmeg and cloves will do)
2 teaspoons of cumin powder
2 large aubergines (eggplant) sliced to 1 cm width
Salt and pepper
750 mls milk
4 tablespoons white flour
1 cube of butter
Cheese for topping (grated mozarella or parmesan)
Method:
1. Fry the onions and garlic until softened
2. Add the mince meat and stir in spices and seasoning until the meat has turned a brown colour
3. Add the tinned tomotoes, stock cube and 250ml of water. Allow to simmer and let the flavours dissapate through the meat mixture.
4. In the meanwhile make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy based pan, and heat the milk with it. Do not let the milk boil. Then add the flour teaspoon by teaspoon, whisking thouroughly so there are no lumps. Add seasoning as required. After about 5 minutes this should become a thick sauce. Dont let it become too thick so that it cannot fall of the spoon easily!
5. In a deep baking dish layer the meat, aubergines and white sauce until full. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Place the dish in a preheated oven for 45 minutes to one hour. The mixture should be bubbling slightly and crispy on top but do not let it burn!
This ia great dish to serve at a dinner party, a large family gathering or to keep and eat for left-overs the next day!
CHRISTMAS MEAL
Apetizers
Posh pigs in blankets
Place a small sausage on a cocktail stick with a prune and wrap some streaky bacon around. Place in a hot oven for 15 minutes until the bacon goes crispy for a melt in the mouth canape or starter!
Parsnip chips and mustard dip
Cut 1 parsnip per person into chip shapes and toss in some olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a hot oven for 20-30 minutes and serve with a dip of grainy mustard and creme freche.
Mains
I really don't like Turkey (no offence meant to those that do). Also, always having a very small family it has seemed excessive. This year I made 2 chickens for my friends' christmas dinner and a duck for actual christmas day.
Lemon and Rosemary Roast Chicken
2 lemons
4 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of rosemary
Goose fat / olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Chicken (depending on number of people, I used one very large one for 6)
Roughly cut the lemons, garlic and rosemary and stuff into the chicken until full. Season the skin of the chicken and spread with a thin layer of oil or goose fat. The goose fat will make the chicken shiny and pink and the skin that bit crispier. Roast in a preheated oven until cooked through (depending on the size of the bird), basting from time to time in the run off juices.
Sausage, chestnut and cranberry stuffing
6 pork sausages
200g chesnuts (freshly roast and peeled)
Handful of fresh sage
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Salt and pepper
Streak bacon (optional)
1. Remove skins of sausages and mix with all other ingredients finely chopped.
2. Mix together and make into bite size balls.
3. Wrap in streaky bacon (optional step)
4. Heat in oven at 200 degrees C for 15 minutes and serve with chicken or goose.
Garlic roast potatoes
Finely chopped garlic
Dried mixed herbs
Potatoes cut into chunks
Salt and Pepper
Mix the herbs, seasoning and garlic into the goose fat. Spread over the potatoes and roast in an oven at 200 degrees for 60-70 minutes.
The sag paneer had fresh chilli and hence was really quite spicy, but it's so simple and you can change the spices depending on your taste. We eat it regularly as a quick midweek meal.
The carrot salad is my grandmother's recipe: grated carrot with a dressing of oil and mustard seeds. I use sesame oil and put a little lemon juice, salt and pepper also.
Middle Eastern (ish) feast
Another fabulous meal in Malta, we cooked this up in 30 minutes. Whoever said too many cooks was simply wrong...
Smoky aubergine yogurt dip
Chargrill whole aubergine over a flame or under a very hot grill until the skin goes black all over. Then scrape out the juicy smoky insides which should be soft and steaming. Mix this into a large bowl of greek (or thick plain) yogurt, with 3-4 finely chopped garlic cloves and plenty of salt and pepper. I like to add a little ground cumin and a drizzle of olive oil with some chopped parsely to finish.
We actually cheated on this and used ready made meatballs, but they are very easy to make also! Just mix mince meat with some chopped garlic, fresh or dried herbs and seasoning to taste and roll into small balls. Then fry some chopped onion, garlic and fresh red chilli until softened. Add the meatballs and brown slightly. Then add half a bottle of wine (depending on how many are eating - half a glass each) and some fresh vine tomatoes. Season generously and allow to the alcohol to evaporate and a thick rich sauce to form.
We accompanied these delightful dishes with some chunky bread (flat bread) and bumpercut mojitos (I still don't know how to spell that).
Moussaka
This is a great dish, with a slighty sweet hint in the spiced meat, but the warming baked feel that is similar to lasagne. Can't get enough! Although this has meat, the mince can be replaced with lentils and cooked for a while longer for a vegetarian version.
Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
500 g mince meat
1 tin tomatoes
Vegetable or beef stock cube
1 tablespoon of mixed spice (cinammon, nutmeg and cloves will do)
2 teaspoons of cumin powder
2 large aubergines (eggplant) sliced to 1 cm width
Salt and pepper
750 mls milk
4 tablespoons white flour
1 cube of butter
Cheese for topping (grated mozarella or parmesan)
Method:
1. Fry the onions and garlic until softened
2. Add the mince meat and stir in spices and seasoning until the meat has turned a brown colour
3. Add the tinned tomotoes, stock cube and 250ml of water. Allow to simmer and let the flavours dissapate through the meat mixture.
4. In the meanwhile make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy based pan, and heat the milk with it. Do not let the milk boil. Then add the flour teaspoon by teaspoon, whisking thouroughly so there are no lumps. Add seasoning as required. After about 5 minutes this should become a thick sauce. Dont let it become too thick so that it cannot fall of the spoon easily!
5. In a deep baking dish layer the meat, aubergines and white sauce until full. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Place the dish in a preheated oven for 45 minutes to one hour. The mixture should be bubbling slightly and crispy on top but do not let it burn!
This ia great dish to serve at a dinner party, a large family gathering or to keep and eat for left-overs the next day!
CHRISTMAS MEAL
Apetizers
Posh pigs in blankets
Place a small sausage on a cocktail stick with a prune and wrap some streaky bacon around. Place in a hot oven for 15 minutes until the bacon goes crispy for a melt in the mouth canape or starter!
Parsnip chips and mustard dip
Cut 1 parsnip per person into chip shapes and toss in some olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a hot oven for 20-30 minutes and serve with a dip of grainy mustard and creme freche.
Mains
I really don't like Turkey (no offence meant to those that do). Also, always having a very small family it has seemed excessive. This year I made 2 chickens for my friends' christmas dinner and a duck for actual christmas day.
Lemon and Rosemary Roast Chicken
2 lemons
4 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of rosemary
Goose fat / olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Chicken (depending on number of people, I used one very large one for 6)
Roughly cut the lemons, garlic and rosemary and stuff into the chicken until full. Season the skin of the chicken and spread with a thin layer of oil or goose fat. The goose fat will make the chicken shiny and pink and the skin that bit crispier. Roast in a preheated oven until cooked through (depending on the size of the bird), basting from time to time in the run off juices.
Sausage, chestnut and cranberry stuffing
6 pork sausages
200g chesnuts (freshly roast and peeled)
Handful of fresh sage
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Salt and pepper
Streak bacon (optional)
1. Remove skins of sausages and mix with all other ingredients finely chopped.
2. Mix together and make into bite size balls.
3. Wrap in streaky bacon (optional step)
4. Heat in oven at 200 degrees C for 15 minutes and serve with chicken or goose.
Garlic roast potatoes
Finely chopped garlic
Dried mixed herbs
Potatoes cut into chunks
Salt and Pepper
Mix the herbs, seasoning and garlic into the goose fat. Spread over the potatoes and roast in an oven at 200 degrees for 60-70 minutes.
