Nothing But Onions

Rice Krispie Marshmallow Squares were one of the very first things I learned to cook when I was a kid and they always bring back fond memories.

Here's how you make them.

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Sometimes, you just need something quick, easy and tasty for lunch. Noodle soup fits the bill on all three counts. It just takes a couple of minutes to chop up a few ingredients and stir fry them, and around three minutes to cook the noodles. If you don't have any stock hanging around, you can use a good quality instant stock—I often use Marigold.

Once you've mastered the basic recipe, you can easily modify to suit whatever you happen to have lurking around at the time. In the version shown below, spinach is used. Feel free to try anything else though—a few mushrooms, perhaps, or some pak choi. Equally, a little thinly sliced chicken breast, or a few prawns, wouldn't go amiss.

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Whenever I think of comfort food, the first thing that pops into my mind is rice pudding. Soft, creamy and very, very comforting. Must be baked, not cooked on the stove top, and served hot, not cold.

This particular one is flavoured with cinnamon and star anise, with a little orange zest.

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I was looking for something to do with a couple of chicken breasts tonight, so I came up with this. It wasn't half bad.

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Roast Pumpkin, Garlic and Chilli Soup garnished with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Here's how to make it:

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Easy to make and very, very tasty - crispy fried chicken in a salt and pepper batter, together with a great way of using up whatever vegetable you happen to have lying about.

Here are the recipes:

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This one is especially for Kathya. An Indonesian dish, beef long-cooked in coconut milk with spices, shown above, hot out of the pan and still steaming - hence the slight fuzziness.

This one takes a long time to cook - you have to wait for the coconut milk to reduce. Sue was starting to get impatient, but she once she tasted it she agreed it was worth the wait.

Recipe based on one from "Indonesian Regional Food and Cookery" by Sri Owen.

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The burger is a much under-rated foodstuff. When it is mentioned, people's thoughts turn immediately to those corporate giants, the fast-food chains churning out countless thousands of burgers every hour of every day. But it doesn't have to be like that—a well-made burger is a fabulous thing.

So, here's how to make a great burger:

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Another take on Bread and Butter Pudding - following on from the Banana Bread and Butter Pudding.

3 or 4 pain au chocolat sliced
Nutella (Chocolate hazelnut spread)
1/2 pint milk
1 egg
3/4 oz caster sugar [* See Note]

[*Note: I added the sugar when I made this, but the resulting pudding was quite sweet thanks to the Nutella. You could probably miss this extra sugar out]

Thickly spread the Nutella on both sides of each slice of pain au chocolat, and place them into a buttered baking dish (1 pint capacity). Sprinkle with the sugar (if using).

Beat the eggs and milk together.

Pout the milk and egg mixture into the dish. Put to one side for about half an hour to allow the pain au chocolat to soak up some of the liquid.

Bake in the oven (160C) for about 45 minutes. The top should be crispy and slightly golden - if it isn't, leave it a little bit longer. Don't overdo it though.

Serve, in generous portions. You don't really need anything with this, but you could pour over a little cream if you really wanted.

1 mackerel, cleaned
1/2 bulb fennel
1/2 red pepper
1/2 red onion
1/2 red chilli
2 cloves garlic
Dash of Pernod
Salt

Slice the fennel, red pepper, red onion and chilli and place on a sheet of foil big enough to wrap the mackerel in. Lay the mackerel on top, and place the garlic cloves inside the body of the fish. Pour over the Pernod and sprinkle with a little salt. Wrap up the foil tightly to seal everything in.

Bake in the oven (200C) for thirty minutes. Serve with plain boiled or steamed potatoes.

Warning: If made properly, this recipe is very hot. Don't let that put you off though - it is absolutely delicious. If you want to wimp out and cut down on the chillis, do so, but this is a real treat if you go for the full heat. The combination of the soft juiciness of the chicken, the crunchy peanuts and beans and the pervading heat of the chillis are just something to die for.

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts, skinned
2 cloves garlic
20 (or thereabouts) green beans, or mange tout
Chillis (see below for quantity)
4 tbsp roast salted peanuts
8 tbsp water (or stock)
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
Groundnut oil

Prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking.

Slice the chicken breasts thinly and across the grain. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them thinly.

If you're using green beans, top and tail them and then cut them into pieces about an inch in length. If you're using mange tout, leave them whole.

Now the chillis. The best chillis I've found for this are those dried red ones, very thin and about two inches in length. They are also quite hot. You can sometimes get them in shops that sell Thai ingredients, but I don't tend to see them often. If you can't find them (and I often can't), you'll have to use fresh. It's very hard to define the number of chillis in a recipe as they vary in heat enormously. If you're using the dried ones, you need about a dozen. For fresh, if you've got very hot birds eye chillis, six to ten will probably be sufficient. The long thin green ones often found in Indian grocers are good here too - use about a dozen of those. This might sound like an awful lot, but don't worry...

If you want to cut down on the heat (shame on you), try using milder chillis rather than just cutting down the quantity - chillis provide a lovely flavour as well as just raw heat. You could also try removing some of the seeds and surrounding flesh to reduce the heat a little. Don't get rid of all the heat though - the whole point of this recipe is that it has a bit of bite.

Anyway, once you've counted out your chillis, cut them into one inch lengths.

Now, heat a wok or a large frying pan over a high flame and put in a couple of tablespoons of groundnut oil. When hot, put in the garlic and toss it around a little. It should start to turn colour slightly, but don't let it burn. If your pan is really hot, this part should only take a few seconds. Next throw in the chillis and stir them around for another few seconds.

Now add the chicken. Stir fry this for a minute or two until the chicken is turning opaque.

Throw in the beans and stir well. Then the nuts and give another good stir.

Now add all the other ingredients and keep cooking for another minute or two, stirring all the time, until the chicken is properly cooked.

Serve with plain, boiled white rice.

Note: If you find the chillies in this (or indeed in any other dish) were hotter than you expected whilst eating it, drink a glass of cold milk alongside it. There's nothing like milk for soothing away the heat of chillies.

I've been a bit pushed for time this week and didn't manage to find any interesting mushrooms, so these are plain old chestnut mushrooms. Other varieties would work well too.

Based on Nigel Slater's risotto. Serves 2.

1 small onion, finely chopped
125g mushrooms, chopped into chunks
1 glass Marsala
140g arborio or carnaroli rice
500ml hot vegetable or chicken stock
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
50g butter

Gently fry the onions in half the butter until soft. Add the mushrooms and stir fry gently until they are soft. Add the rice, and fry for a minure or so. Add the marsala and cook, stirring all the time until it;s mostly absorbed.

Add the stock, a wineglass full at a time, and keep stirring. Wait until the stock is absorbed before the next one is added. This should take between 20 and 30 minutes for all the stock to be used. The rice should be cooked,but not soggy - it should retain some bite. The whole thing should have a creamy texture and taste.

Add the remaining butter and cheese and stir until thoroughly mixed in. Serve at once.

Here's the evening meal from a few days ago. Not a traditional cottage pie, but a variant based on what was in the fridge and pantry. Vary the ingredients as you see fit.

Gently fry chopped onions and leeks in a little olive oil until soft. Add some diced carrot and fry a few more minutes. Add some diced beef and continue to stir fry until slightly browned. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a dash of worcestershire sauce. Simmer until cooked and the sauce reduced. Taste and season as needed.

Whilst cooking, peel and dice some potatoes, and steam until just cooked.

Pour meat mixture into bottom of casserole dish. Top with the potatoes. Sprinkle with a little Maldon sea salt. Bake in oven (180C) for half an hour or so - the potatoes should start to go golden and crisp.

Here, it is served with steamed green beans, fresh from the garden.

This kind of sandwich is very quick and easy to prepare, and is very satisfying. There are many variations - here's just one:

Serves 2

• 1 ciabatta (or any nice crusty bread)
• 2 chicken breast
• juice of half a lime
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 finely chopped spring onion
• watercress (or some other salad leaf)
• 1 tbsp mild olive oil
• salt and pepper

If the ciabatta needs to go in the oven, pop it in.

Cut the chicken breasts into small pieces. Cook them in a frying pan with the olive oil until cooked through - don't stir them about too much, if you keep them still, they'll develop delicious crispy bits on the outside.

Add the spring onion and lime juice and cook and stir gently for another minute or so.

Transfer the chicken to a small bowl, mix thoroughly with the mayonnaise.

Cut the ciabatta in half (horizontally). Cover one half with the chicken, add a layer of watercress (rocket would go nicely here too), and place the other half on top. Eat.

• 4 lb Shoulder of lamb, boned (but not rolled)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp yoghurt
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 oz basmati rice
• 1 oz butter
• 1 oz pine kernels
• 2 oz chopped, dried fruit (e.g. sultanas, dates, peach, apricot)
• Juice and zest of 1 large orange
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• Salt and pepper
• More butter

Get your butcher to bone the shoulder of lamb for you, or if you're like me, do it yourself and make stock out of the bones. If your piece of lamb is rolled, cut the strings and unroll it.

Beat the olive oil and yoghurt together, and stir in crushed garlic clove. Lay the lamb, skin side down and rub the yoghurt mixture into all the nooks and crannies. When done, loosely roll the lamb up, pop it in a bag (or cling-film) and pop it in the fridge to marinade for a while - preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

If the lamb has been in the fridge marinading, take it out now to give it a chance to come back up to room temperature.

Melt the butter in a small pan (one with a lid), and gently cook the onion until soft and translucent. Stir in the rice and pine kernels and cook gently for another couple of minutes.

Put the orange juice into a measuring jug and make up to 1/4 pint with water. Pour into pan, sir, cover and let simmer very gently for about 10 minutes. By this time, the rice should just about be cooked and all the liquid gone. The rice should still have a little bite to it - the lamb juices will help soften it further later.

Grind the coriander seed in a mortar and pestle. Chop the dried fruit. Use whatever mixture you like here - I don't really like raisins and sultanas, so I tend to use things like dates and dried peaches.

Add the coriander, orange zest and dried fruit and stir well. Put to one side to cool. (If you're running behind schedule, you don't really need to leave it to cool, but be prepared to burn your fingers in the next step.)

Roll out the lamb, skin side down, and lay the rice mixture evenly over it. Make sure you push bits into any of the nooks and crannies created by the boning.

Roll the lamb up as tight as you can without squeezing the stuffing out and tie up with string. If you're good at this, you will get a nicely formed cylinder of meat, perhaps tapering slightly to one end. If, like me, you're not, you'll get something that looks like a very lumpy old cushion with its stuffing hanging out. Never mind, it will taste the same whichever...

Put the lamb in a roasting tray and dot a few pieces of butter over it. Season with salt and pepper.

Place in the oven for 1 1/2 -2 hours until cooked, remembering to baste occasionally.

Serve hot, sliced thickly, perhaps with a green salad.

I've been trawling through the archives, and found some old recipes which I'll post up here over the coming days. Here goes with the first: Advocaat.

More of a pudding than a drink...

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Cauliflower Cheese for dinner last night.

You can't see it in the photo, but there's a layer of vegetables in the base, stir fried until soft. I used onion, garlic, courgette, red pepper and chilli this time. Often I add some stir fried chicken breast to the base too.

The cauliflower is steamed and then put on top of the bed of vegetables.

I then made a cheese sauce, adding some mustard and cayenne, which is poured over the cauliflower.

Finally top with grated parmesan and another sprinkling of cayenne for good measure. Bake in the oven until golden brown on top.

Looking for something to make for dinner tonight, I had a rummage through the freezer. There were some lamb ribs I bought from the butchers sometime in the summer with the vague intention of barbecuing them. I never got around to that, so they were still languishing in the freezer. So what could I do with them? I found a Floyd recipe in one of my books for roast breast of lamb, so I thought I'd adapt that a bit and see where we ended up.

Line the bottom of a baking dish with potatoes (I used King Edwards). I was originally going to slice them thinly (rather as you would for a hotpot, but in the end I cut them into chunky chip shapes (that's 'chips' as in 'fries' for the Americans amongst you). I then sliced a large onion into chunky rings and scattered that over the top. Salt and pepper and a couple of crushed juniper berries added and then I microplaned three garlic cloves over the whole lot. Then I got some chicken stock that was made earlier in the week and added that - just under half a pint, and drizzled some olive oil over everything.

Now for the ribs. They were all separated into individual ribs, so I just arranged them over the potatoes and onions, and they just about covered the whole dish. I then sprinkled a few rosemary leaves over the whole thing. Cover with tin foil and then put in the oven (190C). And that's where it is now. I'll give it about an hour and then take the tin foil off to brown the ribs.

More later...

Before Christmas, I bought a Lancashire Hotpot dish from Lakeland.It's a round ceramic casserole dish with steep sloping sides. It's about eight inches tall and ten inches in diameter. I wasn't really sure why you need a special pot for hotpot, but we're a bit short on decent sized casserole dishes and I liked the fact that this one was quite deep.

Whilst it seemed like a good idea at the time, this pot has been sat in the back of the cupboard ever since I bought it, and so I thought today was finally the day to try it out.

Lancashire hotpot is a traditional northern dish, consisting of what is basically a layered casserole. It's traditionally made with mutton chops, but I used neck of lamb cut up into large chunks. At the base of the dish goes a layer of thinly sliced potatoes, followed by alternating layers of carrot and leek and the pieces of lamb, together with thyme and seasoning. The whole thing is then topped with another layer of thinly sliced potato, topped up with stock and dotted with butter. A couple of hours in the oven, covered with foil to stop it drying out, and then a final twenty minutes without the foil to crisp the potatoes. Lancashire hotpot is one of those great dishes of my childhood and the crisp sliced potato that covered the top was the best part.

It's in the oven now, and the smells are already wafting up the stairs. Only another hour to go...