Author: Sophie

Katsu curry sauce

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

More Wagamama or Yo Sushi than authentic Japanese, but savoury and delicious nonetheless. For a quick dinner, use pre-made breaded chicken escalopes or goujons. Serve over rice, garnished with sesame seeds and sushi ginger, with a zingy salad on the side. Or just dunk chips in it. Makes enough for 4

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 5 whole garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp medium curry powder
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  1. Heat the oil in a small pan
  2. Add the onion and whole garlic cloves and saute for 2 mins
  3. Add the carrots and sweat slowly for 10 mins with the lid on over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to caramelise
  4. Stir in the flour and curry powder and cook for a minute
  5. Slowly pour in the stock until combined (gradually to avoid getting lumps)
  6. Add the honey, soy sauce and bay leaf and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 mins, so the sauce thickens but is still pouring consistency
  7. Add the garam masala, then either strain or whizz up the lumps using a hand blender to create a smooth sauce

Make veggie katsu by par-cooking cauliflower florets, thick slices of sweet potato and baby corn. Dredge them in flour, then dunk into an egg whisked with a tsp of sesame oil, then dried breadcrumbs. Bake at 200C fan for 20 mins or fry until golden.

Spicy sausage stew and dumplings

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A dish as happy outdoors as indoors, cook it over a campfire or on the stove. Either way, people will be happy to dig their spoons into this russet red bowl of warm loveliness. Feeds 4

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 pork sausages
  • 1 piece of chorizo about sausage-sized, cut into pieces
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 red pepper, cut into 2cm pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 2cm pieces
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • ½ pint veg stock
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • 1 heaped tbsp paprika
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp thyme
  1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole or saucepan over a medium heat
  2. Briefly cook the chorizo until some of the oil starts to come out, then remove from the pan
  3. Pop the sausages in and brown them, then remove (they don’t have to be cooked through)
  4. Tip in all the veg
  5. Cook over a medium heat until the onions are softened
  6. Sprinkle over the flour, stir in and cook for a minute
  7. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, stock, herbs and sugar, season and stir everything together
  8. Cut the sausages into pieces. Weirdly this is easier with kitchen scissors than a knife
  9. Add the sausages pieces and chorizo
  10. Cook over a low heat with the lid on (or in the oven at 140C fan) for 45 mins, stirring occasionally. Add more water if it thickens too much.
  11. Check the seasoning, maybe add a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of chopped parsley, maybe a dollop of plain yogurt on top, and serve.

I love this stew with dumplings, cooked in the stew. There’s a couple of types you could do. One is a flour dumpling, the other made with bread. I don’t know which I like best. Both result in dumplings that are light, tender and deeply satisfying. Pop them into this stew, add them to soup, casserole, stew. Lucky for you, both recipes are below. I love this combination of textures and tastes (especially with this stew), but feel free to vary the flavourings.

REGULAR DUMPLINGS

  • 100g flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 50g shredded vegetable suet (like Atora)
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • 4 tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 4-5 tbsp cold water
  1. Mix dry ingredients (that’s everything except the water)
  2. Add the water gradually as you mix
  3. Knead dough briefly to bring it together
  4. Form into small dumplings about 1 inch diameter
  5. Drop into the stew and gently press beneath the surface
  6. Cook (without stirring or poking) for 30 mins. Test and then give them longer if needed

BREAD DUMPLINGS

  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 70g plain yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 40g butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • 4 tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 150g fresh white breadcrumbs
  1. Whisk together all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs
  2. Add the breadcrumbs and mix gently until just combined
  3. Shape the mixture into 12 dumplings
  4. Drop into the stew and gently press beneath the surface
  5. Cook (without stirring or poking) for 15-20 mins

Shepherds pie

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Shepherds pie = lamb. Cottage pie = beef. Come at me.

Absolutely typical of the food I make, in that it defies beautiful presentation (being mostly shades of brown with the occasional flash of pea green), but tastes mouthwateringly good and will cause people to swoon with contented delight when they put it in their mouths. Comfortably feeds 6

  • 500g minced lamb
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • ½ leek, washed and chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped into small cubes
  • 40g salted butter
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and pepper
  • A couple of handfuls of frozen peas
  • 1 kg floury potatoes
  • 50g butter
  • 50ml milk

If you don’t want to eat it straight away – maybe you’re just being super-organised and snatching an hour at lunchtime to prep for dinner, or you are making it as a present for someone who deserves a bit of delicousness in their lives – you can construct it all the way through from step 2 to 15, then either chill or freeze it til you’re ready to finish it off in the oven.

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan (200C) – maybe halfway through the making process
  2. To make the pie filling, put half the butter into a large, heavy-bottomed pan over a medium-high heat. Add the lamb and brown it quickly, breaking up the pieces with a spoon
  3. Once browned, remove the lamb from the pan, leaving as much of the fat as possible
  4. Add the rest of the butter, turn the heat down to low and add the onion, leek and carrot. Cook gently for 10-15 mins until completely soft and golden
  5. Sprinkle over the flour, crumble in the stock cube and add the tomato puree. Stir everything in and cook, stirring, for a couple of mins
  6. Pour over 250ml boiling water, add the worcestershire sauce, season generously and throw in the bay leaf. Stir the browned lamb and any meat juices back into the pot, scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan with your spoon
  7. Bring to the bubble and then turn down to the lowest possible simmer for 30 mins, stirring occasionally to make sure it’s not catching on the bottom
  8. Once it’s finished, turn off the heat and stir through the peas
  9. Whilst the filling cooks, you can crack on with the potatoes! First, peel and roughly cut up the potatoes into 2 cm chunks
  10. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, salt it and then add your potatoes
  11. Cook for 15-20 mins – test with a knife to see how done they are
  12. Once they are cooked through, drain them and return them to the pan with the butter and milk
  13. Mash with a masher (or you can use a ricer if you like it super-smooth – I quite like a few lumps personally), making sure you incorporate the butter and milk mixture throughout
  14. Season well, taste and then decide if it needs more butter/salt/pepper. It might do
  15. Tip the shepherds pie filling into a large ovenproof baking dish, remove the bay leaf and smooth the surface with a spoon. Dollop the mashed potato gently over the top and work it across the whole dish to cover the filling. Run a fork across the top to spike the potato up into little peaks and swirls. I guarantee you this will be the most fought-over part of the whole dish
  16. Pop the it into the oven with a smile of anticipatory delight on your face and bake for 20-30 mins until the top is golden brown and there are little pools of delicious lamby goo forming at the edges. I really hate cleaning the oven, so I tend to put a baking sheet on the shelf below just in case there’s an eruption
  17. Take it out and, if you can bear to, let it stand for 10 mins before serving, as it’ll be absolutely molten inside

Serve with some lovely steamed greens. My mum eats her shepherds pie with baked beans on the side. She’s normally such a sensible person so this is a wild aberration. She’s always really defensive though, she must realise it’s wrong.

Chocolate sauce

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A favourite with all children ever. And quite a lot of grown-ups. The perfect topping for an ice cream sundae, banana pancakes or – the ultimate retro pudding – a banana split.

  • 150g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces 
  • 50ml single cream 
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup  
  1. Put all the ingredients into a small, heavy-based saucepan and heat it gently – if this goes over it’s impossible to rescue, so keep stirring and whip it off the heat as soon as everything is melted into a beautiful, glossy, pourable sauce.
  2. Pour it over everything straight away

Scones

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Whether you put on the jam first or the cream, or you neither know nor care what I’m talking about, this is the base that you want to do it with. Perfectly plain, more-ish and best straight out of the oven

  • 225g plain flour 
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt 
  • 40g butter, softened
  • 150ml milk 
  • 1 egg, beaten – to glaze (although you can just as easily not. They won’t be shiny on top, but you won’t have used an egg for something purely aesthetic. Your call)
  1. Pre-heat oven to 210C fan (230C)
  2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt
  3. Rub the butter in with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs 
  4. Make well in the centre and stir in enough milk to make a soft dough. Don’t overwork it. The secret to tender scones is to mix it only just until it comes together.
  5. Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly
  6. Roll or pat out to about 2 cm thick 
  7. Cut into rounds and place on baking sheet 
  8. Brush with egg if you’re doing that
  9. Bake for 8-10 mins until brown and well risen Cool on a rack before tumbling into a basket and serving

Satay sauce

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Peanutty, aromatic, warm and delicious. Usually a closely guarded family secret, so my dad is going to be unimpressed I’m posting it here – but I made a judgment call that the world needs it. The perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken but, trust me, you’ll want to pour it straight from the jug into your mouth. (Note: this is frowned upon in a public setting)

  • 1 small onion, grated
  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, grated
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp soft light brown sugar
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • Squeeze of lime
  1. Cook the onion in veg oil over a low heat until completely soft but not brown
  2. Add the lemongrass and stir in for a minute
  3. Then add all the rest of the ingredients
  4. Stir together thoroughly until completely combined and cook over a low heat for about 10 mins (adding a little bit of water if it gets too thick)

Coconut rice

~ Sophie ~ 4 Comments

One of the very nicest rices you can eat. Especially good as a soothing counterpoint to something challengingly spicy

  • 225g basmati rice
  • 150ml coconut milk
  • 300ml water
  • ½ tsp salt
  1. Place the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water and soak for 10 mins
  2. Drain and rinse through with fresh water
  3. Dump into a saucepan with a lid and stir in the coconut milk, water and salt
  4. Stick the lid on, bring to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 mins, then turn the heat off and leave with the lid on for a further 5 mins
  5. Fluff up and serve sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and finely chopped spring onion

Curd thumbprint cookies

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Like little jewels. Enormously satisfying to make (because they’re easy) and to offer to guests (because they are both beautiful and tasty). And they are a perfect way to use up a jar of lemon curd. Or some other curd like passionfruit or Seville orange if you’re a fancypants.

  • 170g butter, softened
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 220g plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Lemon (or other) curd
  1. Pre-heat oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks until fluffy and pale
  3. Mix in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt until a soft dough forms
  4. Roll into balls around 3cm diameter – about the size of a 50p
  5. Place on a baking tray, evenly spaced. They won’t spread much, but you want to give them a bit of room
  6. Press your thumb gently into the middle of each one, flattening it out a bit and making a dent in the middle
  7. Fill each hole with a little bit of curd, no more than a ½ tsp. A bit goes quite a long way, so don’t overdo it or they’ll turn into sticky mini-volcanoes.
  8. Bake for 10-12 mins until the biscuit is golden brown. Cool on a rack.

Word to the wise, don’t put them anywhere near your mouth until they’ve cooled. Trying to eat one straight from the oven will most likely end with screaming and running of tongues under the tap.

If you want to make jam thumbprint cookies, I’d recommend adding the jam after they’re baked rather than before, just because it has more of a tendency to turn to liquid when it’s hot and run off to seek its fortune elsewhere. Possibly the underneath of the cookies, perhaps all over the baking tray, maybe the floor of the oven. There’s no good outcome.

Teriyaki sauce

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Glossy, savoury, sweet. Makes everything it touches better

  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce/tamari
  • 4 tbsp mirin
  • 2 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
  • 3cm ginger, sliced thickly
  • 2 cloves garlic, smacked with the back of a knife to squash them without disintegrating
  • 1 level tsp cornflour, mixed with 1 tsp water
  1. Put all the ingredients except the cornflour in a small pan and heat until bubbling
  2. Cook for 2 mins then fish out the ginger and garlic
  3. Add the cornflour and whisk in
  4. Turn the heat right down and cook until glossy and thickened

To make teriyaki chicken, marinade small pieces of skinless, boneless chicken thighs in all the ingredients except the cornflour for 20 mins. Remove the chicken from marinade (don’t throw it away though!) and fry over medium/high heat in 1 tbsp of oil. When cooked, turn the heat right down, pour the marinade/sauce into the pan (removing the garlic and ginger en route), add the cornflour/water mix and cook for a further 5 mins until bubbling and glossy. Serve over rice, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and some delicious stir-fried broccoli or green beans on the side.

Coconut and tamarind dal

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Also known as Sri Lankan masur dal. This recipe needs some slightly more obscure ingredients, but it’s so worth it if you can find them. You’ll end up with a bowl of fragrant, creamy, spiced, lentilly goodness. A veritable hug in a bowl. And quick enough from raw ingredients to eating that it makes a great weeknight dinner.

  • 200g red lentils, washed in cold water and drained
  • 1 heaped tbsp tamarind paste
  • 500ml water
  • 250ml coconut milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 2 small shallots, finely sliced
  • 8 fresh curry leaves
  • 2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • Put the wet lentils, tamarind and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil
  • Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until the lentils are soft, stirring occasionally. This can take anything from 20 mins to 45, as it depends on the age (and dryness) of the lentils. You may need to add more water if they are drying out but not yet soft
  • Add the coconut milk, salt, chilli flakes and turmeric and stir through
  • Simmer for 10 mins and then cover and turn the heat off
  • Heat a wok or small heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat and add the oil
  • When hot, add the shallots and garlic, stirring for 2 mins until lightly browned
  • Add the curry leaves, red chilli and ground coriander
  • Mix well and cook for another minute until everything is fragrant and sizzling
  • Tip this hot mixture straight into the dal and stir through

You can serve this as part of a larger array of dishes and it will not only hold its own, but impress on its own merit. But I like to eat this with some steaming basmati rice, in a bowl, with a spoon. Add in a G&T and The Great Pottery Throwdown on TV and this is the ultimate comfort food!