Category: Cooking

Lamb Shank Tagine

Cooked lamb shanks in the tagine today

  • 4 smoked ancho chillies
  • 5 dried apricots
  • 4 lamb shanks
  • olive oil
  • 1 red onions
  • 8 cloves of garlic
  • 5 fresh red chillies
  • 1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 3 fresh bay leaves
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 400 g tin of plum tomatoes
  • 1 liter chicken stock

Coat shanks with salt and pepper. Sear shanks in olive oil, then add onions and garlic 1for a few minutes until fragrant. Remove from pan.

Add stock, plum tomatoes, spices, and peppers. Add shanks back, cover, and simmer at low heat for about 3 hours.

Rose Hip Jelly

Anya and I picked more rose hips today — we’ve got a LOT of the little things. About half a pound.

We boiled them (plus an apple) in enough water to cover by 1″, added a little lemon juice, then drained the juice. Added a whole bunch of sugar to make jelly (14 oz for every pint of juice), and let it cool and congeal overnight.

Honey Comb Spice Storage

There are a few different places selling hexagonal bottom spice containers with magnetic lids … and maybe the really expensive (over a hundred bucks for like a dozen containers?!?) ones are more than just a magnet under the lid. But the rest? Are literally a hexagonal spice jar with a small disc neodymium magnet attached on the underside of the lid.

Voila — a lot of little spice jars that don’t cost a lot of money. But arranging them all in a solid honeycomb pattern doesn’t work so well. Invariably, you need the spice jar right in the middle of the mass. Instead, I am making a giant circle.

Recipe — Walnut Pastry Thing

Walnuts in hard shell — boil in water for for 5 minutes

Pastry:

2 eggs
100g sugar
1 pinch of salt
150g butter
100g sour cream (10%)
600g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, make into a ball. Split and roll — use additional flour for rolling.

Filling:
1 egg white
100g sugar
120g walnuts

Whip egg whites, fold in sugar and walnuts.

Cut rolled pastry dough into wedges, add dollop of walnut mixture to large end, roll toward pointed end.

Brush with 1 egg yolk

Bake at 180℃ for 40 minutes

Dust with powdered sugar

Making the Sausage

Anya and I ground a whole bunch of pork today to make sausage — as we ground the pork and fat, I added whole jalapeno peppers to the grinder. I formed sausage patties and made some breakfast sandwiches. Very tasty — although our peppers seem to lose their heat when cooked.

Creamy Tomato Sauce for Pasta

I needed a quick meal last night — so I made a carrot-y, creamy tomato sauce for pasta.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 carrots, diced into small pieces
  • 1/2 large onion, diced into small pieces
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 3 oz tomato paste
  • 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • salt, pepper, Italian herbs

Method

  • Heat olive oil in a pan. Add diced carrots and cook for a few minutes. Add garlic and onions and cook for a few more minutes until the onions become translucent.
  • Add salt, pepper, and herbs. Then add tomato paste and stir to incorporate oil. Cook for a few minutes.
  • Add pasta cooking water to thin to a reasonable consistency.
  • Remove from heat and stir in yogurt. Add salt/pepper/herbs to taste.

Harissa Paste Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 15-20 dried guajillo peppers
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

  • Cover dried peppers with boiling water and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes.
  • Heat a skillet and toast spice seeds for a few minutes. Then crush seeds with a mortar and pestle.
  • Drain the peppers.
  • Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend into a smooth paste.