Sometimes I want to spend hours and hours making a meal, but mostly I’d rather get something together quickly, but without compromising on taste.

That’s particularly true on a Friday evening after a long week.  So a quick curry was just what the doctor ordered.

Ingredients

• Lamb steaks, cubed
• Onion, finely chopped
• Chilli, finely chopped
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• Fresh coriander

Method

Fry the meat in a little oil until the cubes are browned.  Add the onion and chilli to the pan and continue to cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the spices and stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with freshly chopped coriander, either over rice or couscous.

quick-lamb-curry [pdf]

Ingredients

• 1 aubergine
  
• 1 green pepper
  
• Chilli power
  
• ½ onion
  
• ½ tsp black mustard seeds
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 75g red lentils
• 225 ml vegetable stock
• Olive oil
• Fresh coriander

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 190C. Cube the aubergine, slice the pepper and place on a shallow roasting tin, then drizzle with olive oil and cover with chilli powder. Mix thoroughly and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile fry the onion for 5 minutes. Then add the mustard seeds and cook for a further minute. Add the curry powder, lentils and stock and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the aubergine and pepper and stir in a handful of chopped coriander.

Serve.

Aubergine and Red Lentil Curry (PDF)

My partner is away on business at the moment so I’m looking for things I can cook quickly without compromising on taste, and this fits the bill.

Ingedients

• 3 pork sausages
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• fresh sage
• penne pasta
• Parmesan & black pepper

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 200C.  Take the skin off the sausages and break the meat into rough balls.  Put them, the cherry tomatoes and fresh sage in a roasting tray along with a drizzle of olive oil, and cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the pasta.

Once cooked mix together and serve.

sausage-and-sage-pasta [pdf]

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Top family meal from the Casa Moro cookbook.

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As I’m having a month without drinking alcohol I’m not sure if I’m cheating by using it in cooking.

Anyway this was a simple dish to prepare after an exhausting week.

You start by searing the pork in a little olive oil for a couple of minutes each side, then remove the steaks. Then fry an apple (cored and sliced into thin wedges) and half an onion (thinly sliced) for 4 – 6 minutes; when they are golden brown take them out and keep with the pork.

Now pour in 200ml of cider and boil until reduced by half. Add about the same amount of double cream and return everything else you’ve cooked to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes turning the steaks half way through.

Remove the pork again and then add as much spinach as you feel like eating to the sauce and allow it to wilt.

As you can see I served with mash potatoes, which allowed me to add the remaining cream to the mash, which was another small indulgence.

This was very easy to prepare and cook; you just have to remember to start early enough!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Leg of lamb
• 250 ml red wine
• 4 shallots, halved
• 1 jar of red currant jelly

Method

Pre-heat the oven at 110C.

Heat the oil in a large oven-proof pan and brown the lamb on each side. This should take about 10 minutes.

Pour in the wine and add the shallots.

Spoon the jelly over the lamb and then cover and put in the oven for 5-6 hours.

Serve with mash and steamed green vegetables.

This really isn’t difficult to make once you’ve got the ingredients and it’s just delicious.

Some of the individual ingredients – the shrimp paste and fish sauce – smell truly dreadful before they’re combined with the others. Don’t be put off they do add to the flavour and not in a bad way!

Paste Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 2 red chili, deseeded
• 2 green chili, deseeded
• 2 lemon grass stalks, chopped
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp Shrimp Paste
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander stalks
• zest and juice of 2 limes

Blitz this in a food processor, looks like a lot but you can freeze half if you want.

Other ingredients:

• 220 ml coconut cream
• 400ml coconut milk
• 100g green beans
• 400g cooked chicken, cubed
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tomatoes quartered
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

Heat the coconut cream in a large saucepan over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and green beans. Cook for 3 minutes. Add everything else (except the coriander leaves) and warm through.

Serve over rice.

The Daily Mail tells me that as part of the new compulsory cooking classes that the government are looking to introduce, shepherd’s pie is likely to be one of the things that young people are going to be asked to make.By happy coincidence that’s what I made for dinner last night.

Ingredients:

• 400g of mince
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tin haricot beans
• 1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• Tabasco sauce
• 2 tablespoons thick tomato soup
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

Method:

Set a large pan of water to boil. Once boiling put the potatoes in to cook.

Heat a large dry frying pan and add the mince and onion. Break up the mince and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes until meat is browned. Add a dash of water, the beans, garlic, tamarind, Tabasco and soup and heat through.

Mash the potatoes once they are soft.

Transfer the mince to an oven-proof dish cover with the mash and put under the grill until the potato is golden brown.

Serve with peas.

Adapted from a new Moro cookbook that was previewed in The Metro.

Method

Cut up the squash into cubes.  Drizzle with oil and salt and then put on a baking tray and put into the oven (220C) for 30 to 40 minutes.

Fry a sliced onion, add 3 sliced garlic cloves, 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of chili flakes.  After a minute or two put in a cubed potato and fry for 5 minutes.

Pour in 1 litre of chicken stock and add the now roasted squash and cook for 20 minutes.

In the meantime fry 30g of pine nuts in 50g of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

When the soup is ready blend it and add a large handful or two of chopped coriander.