Pitta wraps

When we want a change from regular wraps (tacos, fajitas etc.) pitta makes a nice change with a Greek twist rather than Mexican.

Warm some pittas in the oven to make them more flexible. Spread a spoonful of tzatziki, then salad and meat, and roll it up. Eat with care  :)

For salads, you we use thinly sliced cucumber, pepper, tomato, onion, olives, and shredded lettuce.

For meat, a favourite is lamb sausages, fried then thinly sliced.

Braised lamb in red wine

A really tasty and heartwarming dish.

Sear a leg of lamb or lamb shanks until browned. Place in a casserole dish.

Saute a chopped onion in butter until golden. Add chopped carrots and garlic. Add tomato paste and stir until the vegetables are coated. Pour in 2 cups of stock, a can of tomatoes, and a cup of red wine. Bring to the boil, then add everything to the casserole dish.

Place in the oven and cook for at least 2 hours. Longer if it's a big piece of meat. This dish can go long and slow for ages until the lamb falls off the bone.

Good with mashed potatoes.

Lamb in redcurrant sauce

This used to be a regular favorite, until we found we could no longer find anywhere nearby that stocks jars of redcurrant sauce (the sauce, not the jelly). Oh well, trying this evening with red pepper sauce instead, and cherry sauce also works quite well.

Fry a sliced onion, then brown your lamb - chops, steaks, shanks, whatever takes your fancy. Add a measure of stock and a jar of sauce and simmer long and slow until the meat is tender.

Finish off by thickening the remaining sauce (it will probably have reduced during cooking) with a spoonful of corn starch.

Serve with potatoes and veggies of choice.

Tikka / tikka masala

Chicken tikka masala is reputed to be Britain's most popular dish, ousting such favorites as roast beef & Yorkshire pudding. I can't vouch for the authenticity of this particular recipe but the result is a rich and creamy dish well worth the effort.

The tikka part of the recipe is simple (and authentic). Blend together the following: a generous spoonful each of pulped ginger and pulped garlic, 1 or 2 teaspoons each of ground coriander, cumin, and chili powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt, 2 of lemon juice, and 1 of tomato puree. Add the meat - diced chicken or lamb - and leave to marinate for a few hours at least.

Place the mixture on a bed of sliced onion, drizzle with oil, and grill until cooked and browned.

This alone is great as a starter or side dish.

To "masala" the tikka, make up a separate sauce of fried onions, spices (a good spoon each of ground cumin, coriander, curry powder, turmeric, and a dash of curry paste). Cook the spices then stir in a cup of cream. Leave to stand (or on a very low heat) to let the flavors mingle.

When the meat and the sauce is ready, drain any excess liquid from the meat and decant into the sauce. Stir and heat through.

Balti

This recipe follows the general guidelines in my general curry recipe, which you can find here.

In this case, I use onion, garlic, and a generous spoonful of chopped ginger, then my usual range of spices (a small amount of curry paste, dried coriander, curry powder, turmeric, and a generous amount of cumin. Add the meat, either chicken or lamb, then a couple of chopped tomatoes.

The special ingredient is a portion of Balti paste. You can get Balti sauce in jars, but I find it worth looking for the more concentrated paste, which gives a much better flavor. Follow the directions on the jar for quantity.

Stir in the paste, then add a drained can of chick peas, and simmer for about an hour.

Towards the end of cooking, stir in a dash of cream.

Serve with rice and Naan.

Moroccan lamb

This lamb curry follows the general instructions for Whatever You Want Curry

The specifics for this variety are as follows:

Use lamb pieces for the meat. When adding spices, be especially generous with the cumin - a couple of table spoons. I find that lamb tends to tone down the spices so you can afford to be generous to avoid the dish ending up bland. Once the onions are soft, the spices are in and the lamb pieces are nicely browned, add a couple of large chopped tomatoes. These should provide plenty of liquid to cook the dish.

Cover and simmer on a very low heat for at least an hour.

Add a generous handful of green beans, and stir in a cup or so of cream. Continue cooking for another half an hour. Long and slow is the trick with this dish.

A few minutes before serving, thicken the sauce with ground almonds.

Serve with couscous.

Roast

Nothing quite beats a traditional Sunday roast. You need time for cooking, but it is a very easy meal to prepare.

Meat of choice - beef, lamb, pork, chicken, or on special occasions - turkey. The basic approach is the same. Place the meat in a roasting dish in about 1/2 inch of water. We use water rather than fat because it's healthier, preserves the flavor of the meat, and keeps it moist. Cover and cook in the oven for roughly 2 hours.

Timing depends on size. If cooking a turkey we use the "1/4 hour per pound plus 1/4 hour" rule of thumb as a rough guide, but nothing beats experience and occasional checks on the roast.

Potatoes: Boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. The outsides should be going soft but nowhere near ready to mash. Drain and place in a baking dish and drizzle a small amount of oil over the top. They should need no more than a spoonful per piece. Cook in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours, until the outsides are crisp and golden.

When the meat is ready to carve, lift from the roasting dish. Keep the liquid for gravy. If your dish can go on the hob you can make gravy right there, otherwise decant into a saucepan. Mix a spoonful each of cornstarch and gravy browning (we use Bisto) with cold water to make a thin paste. Pour slowly into the stock whisking to ensure it doesn't go lumpy. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you need more liquid, drain some off from whatever veggies you're cooking alongside.

Vegetables: Whatever you want. For simple meals we boil carrots, beans, peas, corn. They should only cook for a few minutes - nothing ruins a roast more easily than soggy veg!

Cottage pie

One of our regular favorites:

Boil some potatoes until soft enough to mash. Mash them with a knob of butter, an egg, and add enough cream to produce a soft consistency.

Meanwhile, fry a chopped onion and ground meat - either beef, turkey, or lamb. Once the meat is cooked, add a can of baked beans, a couple of finely-diced carrots, and optionally a spoonful of beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, and either brown sauce or tomato ketchup for flavor and body.

Decant the meat sauce into a casserole dish, spread the mashed potatoes over the top, sprinkle with grated cheese and pop under the grill until the cheese is melted and browned.

Lamb hotpot

A good heartwarming dish for a chilly evening.

Fry a chopped onion. When it starts to soften, add some lamb pieces and fry until browned. Place the lamb and onions into a casserole dish, add some chopped carrots and optionally a drained can of white kidney beans or Romano beans. Add enough gravy to cover the mixture - I use a packet of mushroom gravy mix for flavor. Top with sliced potatoes, cover and bake for an hour or so, until the potatoes are cooked through. Sprinkle with grated cheese and continue cooking with the lid off until the cheese has browned.

With only about 20 minutes preparation time, this dish can also be done in a slow cooker, so you come home to a complete ready-made meal.

Curry

My wife and I are both curry fanatics. Here is a versatile curry recipe posted on my main blog a while ago. With variations in meat, spices, and liquids it yields a multitude of flavors.

Whatever you want curry