Fragrant lamb with prunes and almonds
Although lamb shanks have become chic and expensive, you could easily make this tagine with boneless lamb shoulder cut into chunks to keep the cost low. It's just as delicious.
Serves 6
2.5kg of lamb shanks, or 1.8kg of boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of fat
2 tbsp butter
2 medium onions, thickly sliced
Pinch of saffron threads
6 garlic cloves, chopped
A thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and slivered
1 small cinnamon stick
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ground ginger
1-2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
150g golden raisins
300g pitted prunes
750ml chicken broth or water
300g chopped tomatoes
Salt and black pepper
For the garnish
1 tbsp butter
200g blanched whole almonds
Large pinch of salt
Small pinch of sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper, then set aside.
2 Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onions, sprinkle with a little salt and crumble the saffron on top. Sweat the onions gently for about 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Remove from the heat and stir in the garlic, fresh ginger, cinnamon stick, coriander and cumin seeds, powdered ginger and cayenne pepper. Add the raisins and half the prunes.
3 Put the lamb in a deep casserole and spread the onion mixture over the meat. Add the broth or water and tomatoes, and cover the pot with foil and a tight-fitting lid. Bake for about 2 hours or until the meat is tender.
4 Take the dish from the oven and remove the foil and lid. Add the rest of the prunes and submerge them in the liquid. Raise the heat to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and return the lamb to the oven, uncovered, for about 15 minutes to let the meat brown a bit. Remove the pot from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes or so.
5 Skim off any fat from the surface of the tagine. Reduce the sauce if it seems thin. The tagine is ready to serve but will reheat perfectly, so you can make it today to serve the next day: the sauce will mature beautifully in the refrigerator overnight.
6 Just before you serve the tagine, heat the butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat and gently fry the almonds, stirring occasionally. When they turn golden, dry them on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and sugar.
7 To serve, transfer the stew to a large platter and scatter the fried almonds over the lamb.
From Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis (ArtisanBooks).
Daube de boeuf provencale
There must be scores of recipes similar to this one in Provence alone, not to mention all of those that have been borrowed by other regions, for a daube of beef is essentially a country housewife's dish. In some daubes the meat is cut up, in others it is cooked in one piece; what goes in and the way it is served is largely a question of local taste.
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
170g unsmoked streaky bacon or salt pork, cubed
2 carrots, scraped and sliced
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 tomatoes, skinned and sliced
90g fresh pork rinds, cut into small squares
900g top rump beef, cut into 9cm squares, 1cm thick
2 garlic cloves
Bouquet of thyme
A strip of orange peel
1 bay leaf
1 glass of red wine
Salt and black pepper
For the garnish
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Fresh parsley, chopped
1 anchovy (optional)
A few capers (optional)
1 Add the olive oil, bacon, vegetables and half the pork rinds to a large casserole. Arrange the beef carefully on top, so the slices are overlapping eachother.
2 Flatten the garlic cloves and bury them beneath the meat. Insert the orange peel and bay leaf into the centre of the thyme bouquet and place beneath the meat. Seasonand arrange the rest of the pork rindsoverthetop.
3 With the pan uncovered on top ofthestove, start cooking on a moderate heat.
4 Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/gas mark 1.
5 After about 10 minutes, put the wine into another saucepan, bring it to a fast boil, set light to the vapours and rotate the pan so that the flames spread. When they have died down, pour the bubbling wine over the meat.
6 Cover the pot with greaseproof paper or foil and a well-fitting lid. Transfer to the oven and leave for2½ hours.
7 Arrange the meat on a hot dish, pour off some of the fat from the sauce, extract the bouquet and pour the sauce around the meat.
8 A garnish of finely chopped garlic and parsley, with perhaps an anchovy and a few capers, can be sprinkled over the top.
Recipe adapted from French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David (Penguin Books). Order a copy for £11.99 with free UK p&p (save £3) from guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846.
Swiss chard, chickpea and tamarind stew
If you have always wanted to add some sharpness to those slow-cooked, stewy dishes, something to break down their heavy seriousness and introduce a little refreshing edge – a bit of humour even – then this recipe will be right up your street. It packs in heapsof sharpness, right from the start, in theform of tamarind and chard. That's followed up with the juice of a whole lemon at the end. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, some chilliflakes will also giveita lovely kick.
Serves 4
4 tbsp seedless tamarind pulp
400g swiss chard, cut into 1cmslices
1½ tsp coriander seeds
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp caraway seeds
1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
1 tbsp tomato puree
400g can plum tomatoes, cut up with their juices
350ml water
1½ tbsp caster sugar
Salt and black pepper
400g chickpeas
For the rice
350g short-grain rice
20g butter
700ml water
To finish
Juice of 1 lemon
200g Greek yoghurt (optional)
Coriander leaves
1 Whisk the tamarind with about 3 tbsp of warm water until it dissolves into a paste. Set aside. Bring a medium pot of salted water to the boil and blanch the chard for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander.
2 Dry-roast the coriander seeds in a small pan then transfer to a mortar and pestle to grind them into a powder.
3 Put the onion, caraway seeds and olive oil in a large heavy-based pan and saute on a medium heat for about 1 minute until the onion is soft and golden. Add the tomato puree and stir for another minute or so. Add the tomatoes, water, sugar, chickpeas, ground coriander, chard and some salt and pepper.
4 Strain the tamarind water through a smallsieve into the stew. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and leave to simmer for about 30 minutes. When ready, the dish should have the consistency of a thick soup. You can adjust this either by adding more water or simmering uncovered, so the excess liquid can evaporate. Taste and add more seasoning if you think it's needed.
5 While the stew is cooking, put the rice, butter and a bit of salt in a medium pan and set on a medium heat. Stir to coat the rice with butter. Add the water and bring to the boil, then cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and leave to simmer on a low flame for 15‑20minutes. Remove from the heat and leaveuncovered for 5 minutes.
6 When it's ready to serve, spoon the rice intoshallow soup bowls, creating a large craterin the centre. Add the lemon juice to the stew and stir, then spoon one or two ladlesinto the middle of the rice for each bowl. Put a dollop of yoghurt on top if you like. Drizzle with oil and finish with a generous helping of coriander leaves.
From Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press). Order a copy for £20 with free UK p&p (save £5) from guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846
Stewed rabbit inwhitewine
The method here is very straightforward. The rabbit is stewed in practically nothing but its own juices and then simmered in white wine with a little rosemary and a touch of tomato. It's a familiarnorthern Italian approach which draws out the delicate flavour of the rabbit while also maintaining its fine texture. It's best to use farmed rabbit as it's a softer meat than wild rabbit, which is more gamey.
Serves 6
8 tbsp olive oil
1 small celery stick, finely diced
1 garlic clove, peeled
1.3-1.6kg farmed rabbit, sliced
150ml white wine
A sprig of fresh rosemary
1 stock cube
2 tbsp tomato puree
¼ tsp sugar
150ml warm water
Salt and black pepper
1 If you're using fresh rabbit rather than frozen, soak it in cold water for 12 hours or more and then rinse several times and pat dry. It can be refrigerated while it's soaking.
2 Choose a deep, covered frying pan large enough to contain all the meat in a single layer. Add the oil, celery, garlic and rabbit. Cover and cook over a low heat for 2hours. Turn the meat a few times, but do not leaveuncovered.
3 After 2 hours, you will find that the rabbit has shed a great deal of liquid. Uncover the pan, turn up the heat to medium and cook until all the liquid has evaporated, turning the meat from time to time.
4 Add the wine, rosemary, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, until the wine has completely evaporated.
5 Dissolve the stock cube, tomato puree and sugar in 150ml of warm water, pour it over the rabbit and cook gently for another 12-15 minutes, turning and basting the rabbit two or three times. Serve immediately.
From The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan (Macmillan)
Quick bean and lettuce stew with bacon
When you have little time but want something nourishing, this is a quick and easy recipe that won't disappoint. It works with all sorts of beans and can be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock and replacing the bacon with black olives.
Serves 4
4 tbsp olive oil
6 bacon rashers, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ tsp fennel seeds
400g can chopped tomatoes
200ml chicken stock
400g can cannellini beans
150g cos lettuce, chopped
Salt and black pepper
1 Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the bacon. Cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic and fennel seeds.
2 Pour in the tinned tomatoes and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes.
3 Add the stock and the drained beans, then cook for a further 5 minutes.
4 Season well, add the chopped lettuce, and allow it to wilt before serving.
5 Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with lots of black pepper.
Adapted from Leon: Naturally Fast Food by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent (ConranOctopus). Order a copy for £13 with free UK p&p (save £7) from guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846.
Lamb, squash and orzo stewwith minted yoghurt
This delicious Greek-inspired lamb, squash and orzo stew is tender, rich and sweet – and very hard to stop scooping up by the spoonful. You may sniff at using dried mint in the yoghurt, but it works far better than fresh in delivering a cooling punch to counterbalance the richness of the stew.
Serves 4
For the stock
Bones removed from lamb shoulder
1 litre cold water
10 peppercorns
Salt
2-3 leek ends
Handful of thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 carrots, halved
1 courgette, halved
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 stick celery, halved
Handful of parsley stalks
For the lamb stew
A glug of olive oil
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
A pinch dried oregano
Leaves from 2 thyme sprigs
1kg lamb shoulder, cut into roughly 4cm cubes and trimmed of excess fat
400g can plum tomatoes
400g squash, peeled and cut into large cubes
200g orzo
Handful of grated parmesan
Salt and black pepper
For the minted yoghurt
Greek or natural yoghurt
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 First make the lamb stock. If you're asking your butcher to dice and trim the lamb for you, ask to keep the bones for the stock pot. Put the bones in a saucepan with the cold water, peppercorns and 2 large pinches of salt and bring slowly to the boil. Then add the rest of the stock ingredients. Simmer for 2 hours, skimming off any froth every now and then. Strain through a sieve and set to one side.
2 Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Warm a glug of olive oil in a large flameproof casserole and add the onions, cinnamon sticks, oregano and thyme. Once the onions start to soften, add the lamb and stir. Once lightly browned, add a big pinch of salt and some black pepper.
3 Add the tomatoes and top the pan up with stock until the meat is just submerged. Cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 hours.
4 Forty minutes before the end of cooking time, stir in the squash, re-cover and return to the oven. Twenty minutes before the end of cooking time, do the same with the orzo. Once 2 hours is up, remove from the oven, top with parmesan and leave to cool for 5–10 minutes.
5 Mix the yoghurt, mint and vinegar in a bowl and serve with the pot of stew.
Adapted from Kitchen & Co by French & Grace (Kyle Books). Order a copy for £13.59 with free UK p&p (save £3.40) from guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846.
Salted pork belly stew with black pudding, chorizo and butter beans
This is an exceptionally rich dish that provides plenty of belly warmth. Smoky and intense, it's perfect for ladling into big bowls alongside big hunks of sourdough and big glasses of red wine. You can also tweak the recipe by adding kale, spinach or cabbage in the last 5 minutes to bring the richness down a notch or two. Quality meat makes all the difference, and the salt and spices in the chorizo and morcelo will bring the stew alive. There's no need for salt and pepper or any extra oil – it all comes from the pork. If the fat worries you, make the stew a day in advance, refrigerate overnight and skim it from the surface before reheating. Definitely not something to be eaten every day – once a year, when the tips of your fingers can bear the cold no more, should be about right.
Serves 4–6
200g salted pork belly
A splash of extra virgin olive oil
2 small white onions, finely sliced
2 fresh bay leaves
4 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
220g chorizo picante, sliced into 1cm diagonals
100g morcelo black pudding, skinned and sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g can plum tomatoes
750ml boiling water
2 x 400g can butter beans, drained
Handful of fresh parsley
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Rinse and skin the pork belly, remove the top layer of fat and cut into rough cubes. Add to a flameproof casserole with a splash of olive oil and set over a medium-low heat. Addthe onions, bay and sage leaves and let everything sweat for about 10 minutes, untilthe onions have gone soft and are starting tocolour.
2 In a small saucepan, heat the chorizo on a low heat until it releases its oils. When it is rust coloured, remove with a slotted spoon and add to the pork belly, onions and herbs. Keep everything moving for a few minutes.
3 Crumble the morcelo slices into another small saucepan and add the garlic. After 5 minutes, pour the plum tomatoes through your hands and into the saucepan, breaking them up as you go. Add the boiling water and 1 tin of butter beans. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
4 Wipe the chorizo saucepan clean with a paper towel then transfer 1tbsp of liquid from thestew pot to the pan, along with1tbsp of water. Set aside. Cover the stewwith a tight lid and place in the oven for 2hours, or until the pork belly is soft andrendered.
5 Ten minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the second tin of butter beans to the reserved liquid in the small saucepan. Heat through on low with a splash of olive oil. Crush the beans to a coarse paste with a fork, spoon straight into bowls and top with ladles of stew and chopped fresh parsley.
From Kitchen & Co by French and Grace (Kyle Books). Order a copy for £13.59 with free UK p&p (save £3.40) from guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846.
Borlotti bean, pandan and vanilla stew
This stew works brilliantly with grilled venison or roast duck. The vanilla and the pandan – often referred to as the vanilla of Asia – complement each other beautifully, creating an aromatic, slightly smoky flavour. Omit the pandan if you cannot find it, but it is worth seeking out. Fresh borlotti beans are used in this recipe, but you could also use flageolet or haricot beans.
Serves 4
50g unsalted butter
2 banana shallots, finely diced
1 small leek, finely diced
½ fennel bulb, finely diced
1 small carrot, peeled and halved lengthways
1 small celery stick, cut into thirds
½ pandan leaf
1kg fresh borlotti beans, removed from their pods
1 bay leaf
100ml white wine
1 vanilla pod
Salt and black pepper
1 Melt the butter in a pan over a moderate heat. Once it begins to bubble, add the shallots, leek, fennel, carrot and celery and saute until soft.
2 Scrunch up the pandan leaf with your hands and add this to the pan along with the borlotti beans, bay leaf, white wine and enough water to barely cover the beans. Cover with a lid and leave to simmer gently for 30 minutes or so, until the beans are tender.
3 Once the beans are all but cooked, slit the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add the pod and seeds to the stew and cook for a further 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
From The Modern Pantry by Anna Hansen (EburyPress). Order a copy for £20 with free UK p&p (save £5) from guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846.
Speedy fish stew withorange and fennel
Quick and easy, this flavour-packed dish makes the ideal midweek supper.
Serves 2
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp garlic, crushed
185ml dry white wine
400g can chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato puree
Grated zest of 1 orange
½ to 1 tbsp of fennel seeds
1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
350g fish fillets cut into 5cm cubes
Boiled potatoes to serve
Salt and black pepper
1 Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until it softens and begins to brown.
2 Add the wine, tomatoes, puree, orange zest, fennel seeds, thyme and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Cook covered for 10minutes.
3 Add the fish and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the fish is done. Serve over boiled potatoes.
Recipe from Marian Burros appearing in the Essential New York Times Cook Book by Amanda Hesser (WW Norton). Order a copy for £24 with free UK p&p (save £6) from guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846.
Coq au vin
This classic French recipe is packed full of flavour and will make the perfect dinner party dish or an alternative to the Sunday roast.
Serves 4
30g butter
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1.5kg chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
125g streaky bacon rashers, cut into strips
8 small shallots or pickling onions
250g button mushrooms
30g plain flour
300ml chicken stock
600ml red wine
1 bouquet garni
1 large garlic clove, crushed
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp chopped parsley to garnish
1 Melt the butter with the oil in a flameproof casserole. Add the chicken and cook for 10-12 minutes until browned. Lift out and drain on paper towels.
2 Add the bacon, shallots or onions and mushrooms. Cook over a high heat, stirring until golden brown. Lift the mixture out of the pan with a slotted spoon and leave to drain thoroughly on paper towels.
3 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.Add the flour to the pan and cook for 3-5minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly browned. In a separate pan, reduce the wine to half its original volume. Gradually add the stock to the flour, followed by the wine, stirring untilsmooth.
4 Return the chicken and bacon mixture to the casserole. Add the bouquet garni and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, then transfer to the oven for 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Sprinkle the chicken with the parsley.
