Category: Food

Potatoes

1lb lamb mince

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, sliced and quartered

Cup of peas

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp Brown sauce

1tbsp soy sauce

1 pint lamb stock

2 tsp cornflour

 

I  can’t really remember where this recipe came from, some cookbook or another, and I don’t follow it exactly, but for the purposes of writing it here I’ve noted the measurements. I tend to just splash it in as I like!

Start by gently frying the onions in a little oil. When they start to cook but not turn brown, add the mince. Stir fry until the mince browns. Then chuck in the carrot and wait for it to soften slightly. Now add the Worcestershire sauce, brown sauce and soy sauce and stir thoroughly. I have substituted brown sauce for tomato ketchup in the past when I’ve realised I’ve run out of brown sauce and it’s still nice, just not quite as rich.

Next I add in the lamb stock, stir thoroughly and throw in the peas. When it starts to bubble make a slurry of cornflour in cold water and add to the pan. It should start to thicken into a lovely rich looking gravy as soon as the cornflour slurry is stirred in. If you’d like it a little thicker, make up some more cornflour and water and add more until the desired consistency is reached.

When this mixture has bubbled away for a few minutes, add to a dish and top with mashed potatoes. I sometimes top mine with very thinly sliced potatoes, more like a hot pot topping but it depends how I feel.

Hope you enjoy

Jo x

For the pastry:

200g gluten free flour

100g very cold butter

1 large or 2 small eggs

Cold water, to bind,

 

For the filling:

2tbsp vegetable oil

4 or 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

Half a small tin of sweetcorn

Handful of frozen baby broad beans

2 or 3 tbsp gluten free flour

1 pint chicken stock

Salt and Pepper

 

I always make my pastry in a food processor because, honestly, I’m lazy! Just chuck the flour and butter into the food processor and pulse until you can see little lumps of butter the size of peas blended through the flour. Now add the egg and a couple of tablespoons of cold water until it starts to bind. Remove the flour mixture from the processor, either into a bowl or a clean surface and work the pastry, gradually adding more water until it binds and holds together. Wrap in discs in cling film and put in the fridge to set.

Now for the filling….

Start by sautéing the onion in the oil. While the onion softens add salt and pepper to the flour in a ziplock bag and chuck in the chicken pieces. Zip up the bag and give it a good shake, so every piece of chicken is coated. When the onions are translucent, put the chicken into the pan and brown.

Once the chicken has turned white under the flour coating, throw in the chopped carrot, sweetcorn and broad beans and stir well so the vegetables are coated in the residual flour in the pan. Add some chicken stock and stir well. Add it slowly, so you can judge how thick you want the gravy.

Check for seasoning, and adjust to taste.

Now for the pastry. I have made my own pastry for years but only recently started making gluten free pastry for my grandmother and find it a lot harder to work with. It seems to absorb a lot more water so you may need to add some more once it has chilled in the fridge.

Make sure the surface you’re rolling onto is very well floured because this pastry sticks a bit. I find it cracks quite easily so roll out small portions at a time. Line the pie tin, or individual pie tins with pastry, fill with filling and top the pies with a pastry top. Cut a couple of vent holes for steam to escape and bake in a 180-200 degrees oven for 20-30 minutes.

They should look nicely browned and flaky.

Enjoy

Jo x

Whole Cod Loin, smoked or unsmoked to taste

100g or so of flour (I used gluten free this time)

1 large egg or 2 small eggs

Milk

Vegetable Oil

Salt and Pepper

Pinch of English Mustard Powder

 

Slice the cod loin into thick strips, roughly the same thickness.

Put the flour, eggs and seasoning into a bowl and add a little milk at a time, whisking so there are no lumps. Add the milk gradually because you want the batter to be thick enough to stick to the fish. When the batter is quite thick, start heating about 2 inches of oil in a large pan. Once it is very hot, dunk the strips of fish into the batter and straight into the oil, always placing into the oil away from you.

Once the fish starts to brown, turn it over and brown on the other side. Drain on kitchen paper.

So simple, so tasty. Either eat straight away or freeze and reheat as needed.

Enjoy

Jo x