Lancashire Hot Pot

The lack of warm weather (is it June already?), is really starting to get to me. When the sun does come out, it's generally accompanied by a bitter wind and my summer clothes are still safely packed up in the top of my wardrobe. Although Lancashire Hot Pot is the perfect meal for cold, winter nights, I think this year's "summer" allows us to extend the cosy menu for a little bit longer.

Lancashire Hot Pot is both one of mine and Rob's favourite dishes. It is the easiest dinner to cook and tastes fantastic. We've both explored different recipes for this classic and between us have come up with our ideal version. With about 10 minutes of prep, plus an hour and a half in the oven. You can put your feet up and turn the TV on whilst you wait for the oven to work its magic.

Lancashire Hot Pot

Serves 2

Ingredients

400g Lamb Neck Fillet

1 Large White Onion

2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

1 Large Baking Potato

250ml Lamb Stock (preferably homemade)

Salt and Pepper

20g Butter

Method

Preheat your oven (non fan) to 180C.

Chop your lamb neck into generous chunks and season with salt and pepper. 

Finely slice your white onion.

Mix the lamb and the onion together and put into a deep casserole dish.

Place your fresh thyme on the top of the mixture.

Using a mandoline (or your awesome knife skills), slice your potato width ways as thinly as possible.

Make up your stock and pour over the filling until it just reaches the top of the lamb. It's best to err on the side of caution with the stock as you don't want your pot to be too watery. Don't worry if you have some left over. We used a homemade lamb stock (made up from lamb carcass, carrots, onions, butter and herbs), but a stock cube or stock pot would also be fine.

Lay your potatoes on the top. Slightly overlap them so you're covering the entire dish.

Sprinkle some black pepper over the top and dot bits of butter onto the potatoes.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. If the top is becoming too crispy, cover it with a lid or tin foil.

Posh Fish and Chips

So it's that time of year again - Masterchef time! Is it just me or does it seem to be showing a lot more than last year? Not that I'm complaining... Around this time of year I get it into my head that I need to make my dishes look arty and cook fondant potatoes and make foams from everything. Alongside my healthy diet, I decided to "masterchef-ify" classic fish and chips.

Posh Fish and Chips

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 fillets of Plaice

400g potatoes

A handful of frozen peas

A Squeeze of Lemon Juice

1 clove of Roasted Garlic

1 tsp Tarragon
1tsp Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
20g butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Fish
Start by creating a foil package for your plaice fillets. Then carefully lay the fillets down and cover with lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper. Seal the parcel.
Place in a preheated oven at 200C for 25 minutes.

Potatoes
Cut your potatoes into chunks and place into cold, salted water.
Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
Drain the potatoes and return to the saucepan.
Add 20g butter, rosemary and salt/pepper to taste.
Mash the potatoes rustically so they are not smooth but more "crushed".

Pea Puree
Heat the peas in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes until tender.
Place in a food processor with a squeeze of lemon juice, your roasted garlic, salt and pepper.
Puree the ingredients while the peas are still hot.

Venison with Fondant Potatoes, Chard and a Red Wine and Blackberry Jus.

This is a great, easy weekend dinner. Venison is a pricey meat but it's worth it for a once in a while treat. Perfect with a tangy, berry sauce, some fresh spring greens and potatoes. This sauce was created using freshly foraged blackberries from Richmond Park.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 Venison steaks
• 2 Large Desiree or King Edward Potatoes
• 250g Butter
• 1 Fresh Sprig of Thyme 
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 Shallot
• 400ml beef stock
• 200ml red wine
• 1 tsp redcurrant jelly 
• 50g blackberries
• 4 Stalks of Chard

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Add the red wine, half the beef stock, shallot, redcurrant jelly and blackberries into a pan. Reduce slowly until it's a luscious, thick sauce. Put to one side.

Peel your potatoes and cut the ends off. Cut in half width ways so they are flat ended tubes. 

Melt 150g butter with a splash of oil in a pan. When the pan is very hot, add your potatoes and brown the ends. This should take about 5-6 minutes. Add the thyme, garlic and the other half of the beef stock. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

Melt the rest of the butter into a new pan. Make sure it's not too hot. Add your venison steaks and sear on either side. Cook the steaks on a low-medium heat for 12 minutes to achieve an medium/rare consistency. Keep coating the steaks in the melted butter to keep them moist. 

About 2 minutes before your steaks are cooked, cook your chard in boiling water for a few minutes. 

Plate the greens and potatoes, add the steak on top of your greens. Pour over your jus and enjoy.

Beer Braised Pork Knuckles with Garlic and Caraway

What is a pork knuckle? I know what you're thinking... it's not that. It's a genuine cut of meat.

Voila

Pork knuckles can also be called Ham Hocks, which more people may be familiar with. It's a cut of meat that I found notoriously hard to track down. Of course, my local supermarket doesn't stock it... that would actually be useful. Then after several butcher trips, I struck gold. This beauty fed three of us (with healthy appetites) easily with enough left overs for tomorrows packed lunch. Getting hold of one of these was inspired by a recipe in 'Kitchen' by Nigella Lawson - Beer Braised Pork Knuckles with Garlic, Caraway, Apples and Potatoes.

This is a cheap cut of meat and would make a great family Sunday lunch or any day you fancy something a little bit indulgent and comforting. 

So here is the recipe:

Ingredients

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tsps caraway seeds

- 2 garlic cloves

- 1 large or 2 small pork knuckles

- 2 onions

- 2 eating apples, cored and quartered - I used Granny Smiths

- Enough potatoes to feed your crowd, cut into wedges

- 1 500ml bottle of good amber or dark ale - I used Fullers Honeydew Ale for a touch of sweetness

- 2 cupes of boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the salt and caraway seeds into a bowl with the garlic (minced or grated) and combine. Add the pork knuckles and rub them well with the caraway mixture. Spend time giving it a good massage and make sure the mixture gets into the scores in your rind.
2. Peel the onions and slice them into rounds, then add them to the roasting tin so that they make a layer for the pork knuckle. Put the pork knuckle onto the onions and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Get your tin out of the oven and arrange the apples and potatoes around the knuckle. Now here, I realised that I was using the wrong kind of tin so please make sure you are using a deep roasting dish (something missing from my culinary equipment). I had to make do with a casserole dish and the crackling did suffer.
4. Pour half of the beer over the knuckle so that it is absorbed as it pours into the tin. Put it back into the oven at 325 degrees F and roast for 2 hours.
5. Turn up the oven to 425 degrees F, and baste the hocks with the remaining beer. Roast for 30 more minutes.
6. Once the outside is crispy and the potatoes and apples are nicely cooked, remove your tin and transfer the apples and potatoes to a warmed serving dish. Lift the knuckle onto a carving board and leave the onion and juices in the tin.
7. Put the tin on the stove over a medium heat and add 2 cups of boiling water, stirring to deglaze the pan and to make a gravy. I chose to add a 25ml shot of whisky to our gravy for a boozy compliment to the apples. Transfer the gravy to a gravy boat or jug.
8. Take off the crackling and break it into pieces (or just eat them...) and serve with your other parts.
9. Pull or carve the meat and serve it with the crackling, apples, potatoes and gravy. Can be served with a strong, German mustard.