Swede, lamb, aubergine and feta bake

• This is the perfect alternative to lasagna who can't eat pasta. If the bechamel sauce is a no no, just crumble on the feta cheese on top of the bake and that will be equally delicious
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• Ingredients
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• pinch of chilli flakes
• 500g lamb mince
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 600g swede, peeled and sliced as thinly as possible
• 1 aubergine, sliced thinly

For the topping

• 25g butter
• 25g plain flour
• 300ml milk
• 1 large egg
• 100g feta, crumbled

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further few mins. Stir in the cinnamon, oregano and chilli flakes. Add the lamb and brown all over for a few mins, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Drain the fat from the mince and return the pan to the heat. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 min, then tip in the tomatoes. Half-fill the can with water and add to the pan. Stir well, season and simmer for 15 mins.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly oil the bottom of a 1.5-litre ovenproof dish and arrange a lay swede on the bottom, then add a layer of aubergine. Ladle over half the mince mixture, top with another layer of swede and aubergine, followed by another layer of lamb. Finish with a layer of swede.
3. For the topping, heat the butter in a small saucepan and add the flour. Stir briskly until you have a smooth paste. Remove from the heat and slowly add the milk until you have a smooth sauce. Return to the heat and cook for 4-5 mins until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg and half the feta.
4. Pour the sauce over the top of the swede and sprinkle the surface with the remaining feta. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 35-45 mins. Remove the foil and cook for a further 25-30 mins or until the top is golden and the swede is tender - be sure to test that the swede is fully cooked before serving. Leave to sit for a few mins before serving.
5. Serve with cooked spinach and sprinkled with parsley. Delicious.

Celeriac Soup

• Ever wondered what to do with the celeriac in your organic veggie box? Me too. This may not be the tastiest ever soup but it's hearty, filling and uses up the winter root veg as good as any other recipe!

Ingredients

• 50g Butter
• 1 Celeriac, peeled and cubed
• 1 Potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 Leek, trimmed, washed and roughly sliced
• 1 Onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 Garlic clove, sliced
• 1 litre Stock, chicken, vegetable

Method

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pot over a medium-low heat. Add the celeriac, leek, potato, garlic and onion, season generously, and gently sweat the vegetables until they're all starting to soften (this will take about 10 minutes).

Add the stock, bring the soup up to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the celeriac is completely tender.

Liquidise until smooth, return to the pan and reheat over a medium flame. Just before serving, check the soup for seasoning and serve

Carne Guisada

After el desayuno chapín, stews are one of the most popular dishes served in comedores y cocinas throughout the country. ‘Caldos’ ‘recaldos’ and ‘guisados’, which are all types of stews, tend to be overshadowed by their more infamous cousins ‘pepian’, ‘jocon’ and ‘kaq ik’. Despite their fame, visitors are missing a trick overlooking these tasty, lesser known dishes.

 This recipe is originally from el Departemento de Escuintla on the Pacific Coast. Although stews like this are typically cooked on the stovetop, I’ve altered this recipe to cook it in the oven - a estilo inglesa - which cooks the meat to be bien tierna. If you don’t have an oven, cook on the stove over a low heat, covered for an hour and a half until the veg is cooked and the beef is tender.

 Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients

·       2 tbs of oil

·       1 pound of carne de res (ask the butcher for ‘carne para guisar’ but if they look confused then ask for “lomo”)

·       1 heaped tbs of flour

·       2 cups of water

·       1 pound of tomatoes, halved

·       3 ounces of miltomate, halved

·       1 onion, quartered

·       2 garlic cloves

·       1 pound of small potatoes, peeled

·       2 large carrots, peeled

·       1 bay leaf (laurel)

·       A few sprigs of thyme (tomillo)

·       Two cloves (clavos)

·       One stick of cinnamon (canela).

1. Preheat the oven to 140c

2. Start by making a salsa by placing the tomatoes, onion, miltomate and garlic in a medium pan, add the water to cover the vegetables and bring to a boil; then simmer for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Blend the mixture to make a smooth, chapin-style tomato sauce

1.While the salsa is cooking, cut the meat up into small, bite-sized pieces.  Coat the meat evenly in the flour in a bowl. Heat the oil in a casserole dish or large pan that can go in the oven and brown the meat evenly over a fairly high flame.

3. When the meat is browned, add the blended sauce to the pan, stir well, cover and bring to the boil.

4, Add the salt, thyme, bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon. Put in the oven, covered.

5. Meanwhile, halve the potatoes and chop the carrots into big chunks. After the meat has been in the oven for about 45 minutes, add the vegetables, stir before putting back in the oven for another hour and 15 minutes until the meat is tender and the vegetables are soft

5.Pick out the bay leaves, cinnamon and cloves (if you can find them) before serving with hot tortillas.

 The stew is even tastier reheated so no need to eat it all at once!

Spicey Parsnip Soup

Ingredients

2 tbs of olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon garam masala

6 parsnips, peeled and chopped into chunks

300 ml semi-skimmed milk or coconut milk for a tastier alternative (higher fat)

800ml organic vegetable stock

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

1 handful fresh coriander leaves, optional

crusty bread, to serve

Method
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, fry over a low heat for 7-8 minutes, add the garlic, ginger and garam masala and fry for another 2-3 minutes.

Drop in the chopped parsnip and stir together so that everything gets coated in the oil and flavours. Pour in the milk and stock, season well and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes with a lid on. 

After half an hour, check that the parsnips are cooked by sticking a knife in. If you're happy, remove them from the heat and carefully whiz up using a hand blender or liquidizer. Taste the soup to see if it needs a little more salt or pepper.

Serve with a sprinkling of sliced red chilli (optional), a few coriander leaves if you like, and a good chunk of crusty bread.

Sweet and Spicy Beer Can Chicken

This is the Jamie Oliver version of Beer Butt chicken. I think it's one of my favourite recent recipes and it's so easy. I made the rub in a coffee grinder which sped the process up but you can also use a pestel and mortar. I didn't have dried chillis so just added chilli flakes instead. I was also out of coriander and spring onions but the rub was enough flavour in itself so dont be afraid to make this with some or any of the ingredients you have in the cupboard. You can bake the chicken without any spice at all depending on the dish you want, the chicken steamed in beer is special enough.I added small potatoes with their skins to the baking tray and they baked alongside the chicken in the juice, ummmmmmm. A perfect and simple accompaniment.

Ingredients

1 x 1.8 kg whole free-range chicken (or change the size of chicken depending on how many people you are serving, make sure you adjust the cooking time accordingly

olive oil

1 x 330 ml can of beer

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded

1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed

½ a bunch of fresh coriander

For the rub:

1 heaped tablespoon smoked paprika

1 heaped teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 heaped tablespoon fennel seeds

1 heaped tablespoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1-2 dried red chillies

1 heaped teaspoon sea salt

1 heaped tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 heaped tablespoon soft dark brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Remove the chicken from the fridge and leave aside to come up to room temperature. Bash the rub ingredients to a fine powder in a large pestle and mortar, then drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle over the rub and use your hands to massage all those lovely flavours into all the nooks and crannies of the bird. Leave to sit for a few minutes.

Crack open the beer and pour out around two-thirds of it (or drink it!), then carefully lower the chicken cavity onto the can so it looks like it's sitting up. Position the chicken so it's upright on a roasting tray, then place in the oven and cook for around 1 hour 10 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. To check it's done, insert a knife into the thickest part of the thigh – the juices should run clear.

Brush the chicken all over with the barbecue sauce, then return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until dark and sticky. Meanwhile, finely slice the chilli and spring onions and pick the coriander leaves. Once ready, carefully remove and discard the can, then carve up the bird, scatter over the chilli, spring onions and coriander leaves, then serve.

Christmas Tree Appetizers

This is an easy Christmas themed appetizer but the pea dip could be made anytime of year for an easy and healthy starter to go with pita breads.

Recipe: White bean and pea dip

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen peas (thawed, I poured boiling water over them to speed the process up!)
1/2 cup of canellini beans
1 garlic clove- crushed
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 shallot (or 1/4 white onion)
1 tbs of fresh parsley or mint
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Whizz everything up together until smooth!

Spread onto the flatbread or pita bread triangles and decorate with corn, pepper pieces and chia seeds (or sesame seeds) and some carrot wedges for the trunks.

Store any remaining dip in the fridge and use within 2 days.

Notes: I only used half the amount of dip to cover the trees, you can use the rest as a dip for veg sticks served hot or cold. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the tree to keep it bright green.

Aubergine Bruschetta

This is a fantastic appetizer for parties which can be made in advance earlier in the day.

2 aubergines, sliced lengthways about 3mm thick - the thinner the better

extra virgin olive oil

white wine or herb vinegar

2 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely sliced

1 small handful fresh mint, leaves picked and finely sliced

1 clove garlic, peeled and very finely sliced

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

heat a griddle pan or baking tray over a lowish flame until nice and hot. Lay your aubergine slices on it side by side and when they are nicely charred on both sides, put them into a bowl. You will probably need to do this in several batches and does take a bit of time and patience.

While the aubergines are grilling, put 8 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of vinegar, with the parsley, mint and garlic, into another bowl and season with salt and pepper. 

When the aubergines are all done, add them to the dressing and mix around, then check the seasoning again and divide on to the bruschetta (toasted bread cooked in garlic and olive oil). Press the topping into the toast so all the lovely flavour gets sucked in!