Chocolate Mint Vodka

All you need is a bottle of vodka, a box of chocolate mint thins (yup, After Eights!) and a bit of time.

Break up the mints in a bowl or container and cover with the vodka – mix well.  Leave for about a week.

After a week all, or most, of the chocolate will be dissolved – sieve any lumps out and then filter the liquid back in to bottles through a coffee filter paper or muslin cloth (this helps to make the liquid clearer and prevent sediment settling in the bottle).

Drink!

Easy Pasta – Gammon and Leek Fusilli

Carbonara with a twist… and a bit of veg!

200g fusilli
gammon steak, chopped into small cubes
leek, cut into short strips
30g butter
1tbsp plain flour
300ml milk

In a saucepan cook the fusilli following the instructions on the packet.

In another saucepan gently fry the gammon and leeks.  Melt in the butter, then mix in the flour.  Add the milk and keep stirring until the mixture thickens.

Once the mixture is sauce thickness (!), drain the pasta and mix everything together.

Serve with parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.

Honey & Almond Cheesecake

Another recipe that’s not my own! This one was from a Tesco magazine from a while back – I got into bit of a mess because the mixture leaked out the bottom, but the end result was tasty – make sure your cake tin is non-leaky!

125g digestive biscuits
25g butter
500g soft cheese (eg. Philadelphia)
100g honey (choose a good one, the flavour is important)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C / 160C fan / Gas Mark 4.

Crush the biscuits – the recipe suggests a plastic bag and a rolling pin, but I prefer baking foil and the end of a rolling pin!

In a pan melt the butter, take off the heat and mix in the biscuit crumbs. Press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the base of a 20cm (8″) non-stick, loose-bottomed cake tin. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling…

Beat the soft cheese, honey and eggs together until smooth.  Pour into the tin, placed on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with almonds.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden.  Allow to cool, then chill before serving. To help prevent cracking, once baked just turn off the oven and open the door while it cools.

Good served with fresh raspberries and dusted with icing sugar.

Lamb Dhansak

A recipe slightly adapted from an Olive Magazine supplement which was very tasty.  It takes a while to cook, but is certainly worth it – a good one to make to freeze and reheat.

100g red lentils
approx 500g butternut squash (peeled and chopped)
2 onions (chopped)
tin of chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons cumin seeds
1.5 teaspoons coriander seeds
4 cardomom pods (split)
vegetable or olive oil
400g cubed lamb
root ginger (about an inch – grated)
4 cloves garlic (crushed)
2-3 green chillies (sliced, deseed for a milder curry)
1 teaspoon garam masala
small bunch of fresh coriander

In a pan mix the lentils, squash, onion and tomatoes with the salt and cover with water – simmer for approx 20 minutes until the lentils soften.

In a small dry pan toast the cumin, coriander and cardamom, then grind and set aside.

In a large pan heat about a tablespoon of oil and brown the lamb.  Remove the lamb from the the pan, then put the toasted spices into the pan with the chillies, ginger and garlic.  Cook gently then put the lamb back in, add the lentil mixture and another 200ml water.  Stir well and leave to simmer for one hour with a lid on the pan, then a further 30 minutes without a lid.

Once ready to serve, stir in the garam masala and the coriander.

Serve with rice, chapatis or naan bread.

Lamb & Chickpea Stew

Cobbled this one together last night…

For two:
Enough cubed lamb for two – we had a tray of the pre-packed stuff.
Can of chopped tomatoes
Can of chickpeas (drained)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 red chilli (finely chopped)
1 lamb stock cube
half a teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
teaspoon of Coriander Seeds

In a saucepan, heat a little oil and gently fry the onion and chilli until the onion is soft.  Add the lamb and stir until all pieces have browned, then add the chickpeas, stock cube (crumble it it), cayenne pepper and coriander seeds.  Add the tomatoes, stir again, bring to the boil, adding extra water if you think it needs it, and then let it simmer for at least 30 minutes, or longer if you wish…

Serve with a hunk of granary bread.

If you’re not big on fiery chillis, leave it out.

Sausage & Bean Casserole

Nice easy one this… from Observer Food Monthly from 2007 (yes, it’s taken me this long to try it!).

1 tbsp olive oil

12 chipolata sausages (or bigguns if you prefer)

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stick, diced

400g can of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp smoked paprika (I couldn’t find smoked so used ordinary paprika)

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

400g cannellini beans

500ml water

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry off the sausages until cooked and browned evenly all over (watch out for burning!).  Once cooked remove from the pan and set to one side.

Add the garlic, leek, carrot and celery to the pan and cook for 5 minutes – stir often to avoid sticking it to the pan.

Then add the tomatoes, paprika, maple syrup, thyme, beans and water, stir well then add the sausages.

Bring to the boil then simmer for 40-45 minutes – the sauce should thicken a bit, but if it needs help a teaspoon of plain flour should do it.

And serve

Great with mashed potato or big crusty cobs.

Oh, and I think it’s more of a stew than a casserole… call it what you like!