Lamb, Prune and Almond Tagine

A Tagine is a shallow, glazed earthenware pot with a tall conical lid. But you can use any tight-fitting casserole dish.

900 ml stock

300 g prunes

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp ground turmeric  

2 tbsp cumin seeds 

2 tbsp chili powder

4 cinnamon sticks  

4 bay leaves

2 tsp coriander seeds

5 large cloves garlic

50 g ground almonds

6 tbsp olive oil

1.4 kg lamb leg steaks

12 shallots

75 g clarified butter

1 tbsp honey

2 large onions, chopped finely

toasted almonds

1 carrot, chopped roughly

chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Blend together the coriander, cumin, chilli powder, paprika, turmeric, garlic and 4 tbsp oil. Coat the steaks with the paste and cover and chill for at least 5 hours or overnight.

 

In a large casserole, melt the butter, add the onions and carrot and cook till soft, then remove and fry the lamb on each side.

 

Add a little stock and bring to the boil, scraping up the sediment from the bottom. Return the onion and carrot and add 100 g of prunes. Add remaining stock with the cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds; season. Cover and cook at 170º C for 2 hours until the meat is really tender. 

 

Meanwhile fry the shallots in the rest of the oil and honey until a deep golden brown. Add to the casserole 30 – 40 mins before the end of the cooking time. Take the lamb out of the sauce and put to one side. Bring the sauce to the boil, bubble and reduce to a thick consistency. Return the lamb to the casserole, add the remaining prunes and bubble for 3 – 4 mins. Garnish with almonds and parsley.

 

Clarified butter, otherwise known as ghee, can be cooked at a higher heat than fresh butter as it has no milk solids and won’t burn as easily. 

 

To make: Melt butter in a small pan and heat gently without allowing it to colour. Skim off the foam as it rises to the top, leaving the milk solids to sink to the bottom. Pour the clear butter into a bowl through a sieve lined with kitchen paper. Allow to settle for 10 mins then pour into another bowl, leaving any sediment behind. Cool, then store in a jar in the fridge for up to six months.

 

Delicious. 

Kumquat Marmalade

You will find that the Kumquat fruit is perfect for making marmalade, compote or preserve.

For Kumquat marmalade you put 1 kg of the clean fruit, sliced and pips removed, and add 1 kg of sugar, plus one package of setting agent. Maybe you want to add the juice of 3 fresh lime fruits. Lime, not lemon. Cook until tender.

Fill into jam jars or old household jars of the right size. It is better to use jars of a smaller size.

Enjoy.

Mrs Pettigrew’s Famous Lemon Cake

When we lived in England, we lived in Clapham, in South London. On the edge of Clapham Common, there was our favourite tea place, called Tea Time. It was owned by Mrs Pettigrew who did marvelous cakes and tarts. My favourite cake was her lemon cake, the recipe of which she published in a book, called Jane Pettigrew’s Tea Time.

I must have baked the Tea Time lemon cake at least a hundred times, and it gets better all the time.

This cake should be really lemony and moist, so if the lemons you buy are not very juicy use an extra one.

3 untreated lemons

45 ml caster sugar for the topping

100 g margarine or butter, softened

175 g caster sugar2 large eggs, beaten

175 g self raising flour

90 ml milk

Heat the oven to 170º C and grease and line an 18 cm round tin or a 900 g loaf tin.Grate 2 of the lemons and juice all 3. Put the lemon juice in a bowl with the 45 ml sugar for the topping and stand in a warm place until needed. The top of the oven is ideal. The sugar should dissolve and form a syrup with the juice.Cream the fat and sugar together until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition. Add the grated lemon rind and the flour and beat hard. Finally, add the milk and beat again.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour until golden and well risen. Remove from the oven and immediately prick the top in 3 to 4 places. Pour the lemon juice and sugar syrup at once all over the hot cake so that the entire top is covered.Leave the cake in the tin until quite cold, so that all the juice will be absorbed by the sponge. Then, turn out and wrap the cake in foil until needed, to keep it fresh.

Enjoy.

Courgette Dolmas

I learnt this recipe from my mother, who learnt it from her mother…

My grandmother was Armenian, but spent a large part of her life in the Middle East, as did my mother.

Dolmas, of various kinds, are made all over the Middle East, Turkey and Greece.

I have no measurements for this recipe. I just learnt it by watching.

Choose some fresh young courgettes (zucchinis), not too big, nor too small, and cut off the ends. Cut them in half and with a small spoon or vegetable peeler scoop out the flesh and put it into a large pot. Take about 2 large spoons of Basmati rice and wash it well and then mix it with about 500 g of minced lean lamb. Add salt and pepper and then stuff as much of this mixture as you can into the hollowed out courgettes and place these in the pot.

Any remaining mixture can be made into small round meat balls and added to the pot, along with a large peeled onion, cut in quarters. Add 2 tomatoes cut in half and some mint leaves and parsley. Pour some water into the pot and a knob of butter or margerine, cover with a lid and cook for about 40 minutes. Check every so often to make sure it isn’t drying out. You can add more seasoning if needed and once cooked, serve it topped with plain yoghurt.

Delicious!

Melon, Cucumber and Almond Soup

The hot temperatures of summer are perfect for a cold soup, something that the Spanish would call a Gazpacho. The good thing about Gazpachos and other cold soups is that they are very convenient in their preparation. There is no cooking involved. Here is a recipe for one of my cold vegetable soups.

The following would serve 4 – 6 people as a first course:

1 large cucumber, peeled and de-seeded

1/4 honey melon, cut into cubes

1/8 red watermelon, cut into cubes

1 medium onion, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp ground almonds (peeled, not toasted)

1/4 cup of yogurt6 – 8 mint leaves

1/4 cup of virgin olive oil

15 ml dry sherry

salt and pepper to suit

to garnish: a few toasted almonds, crushed

some more mint leaves

Chop cucumber and the melons into small cubes. Chop the onion and crush the garlic roughly. Add salt, pepper and the finely chopped mint leaves. Let it all sit for 20 minutes. Put everything into a blender along with yogurt and mint, plus the olive oil, and blend until smooth. Add some bottled still water until it all feels creamy and soupy. Pour into a bowl and chill for 2 hours.

Before serving adjust consistency, i. e. add some more water or yogurt, if needed. Add seasoning, if necessary. Stir in the dry sherry, and garnish with the toasted almonds and some bits of fresh mint.

Enjoy.

Wild Mushroom and Walnut Soup

 

The following is a recipe for one of my favourite soups. I came across the recipe in a cookery book by Delia Smith. I have tried it on numerous occasions. The whole family loves this soup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following would serve 8 people as a first course:

 

 

125 g wild mushrooms

25 g dried mushrooms

275 ml boiling water

50 g butter

2 medium carrots, chopped finely

2 celery stalks, chopped1 medium onion, chopped

125 g walnuts, ground

1 leek, washed and chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tspn chopped fresh or 1/4 tspn dried thyme

1/4 tspn dried sage

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 litres hot water

2 tspn lemon juice

75 ml dry sherry

75 ml single cream

225 g wild mushrooms, keep 4 whole and chop the rest

salt and pepper to suit

 

 

Place the dried mushrooms in a jug with 275 ml boiling water and leave to soak for 30 mins. In a very large saucepan melt 50 g of butter, then add all the prepared vegetables and herbs, stir well over gentle heat until everything is coated with butter, then pour in the dried mushrooms and their soaking water, followed by 2 litres of hot water. Add some salt, bring to gentle simmer and keeping the heat low, let the soup barely simmer for 1 hour.

 

 

Place a colander over a large bowl and strain the soup into it. Remove the bayleaves and puree the veg with a little bit of the stock, then return this to the rest of the stock. Wipe out the soup saucepan and return it to the heat with 25 g of butter. Lightly sauté the chopped mushrooms for about 5 mins. Pour in the soup mixture, stir in the walnuts, season and cook gently for 10 mins. Slice wafer thin the remaining 4 mushrooms and stir in the cream, sherry and lemon juice and garnish with the raw mushrooms.

 

 

Enjoy.