Rachel Allen & Rick Stein

 

 

Been cooking for the freezer today. Above is Rachel Allen's Beef Provencal, slowly cooked beef  with potatoes, onions, tomatoes, capers and black olives. Also made Rick Stein's Lamb and Potato Curry with Coconut Milk - here's the links for some really tasty recipes:

Beef Provencal http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/648096

Lamb Curry - can't find the link for this so here's the recipe which serves 16-20 so remember to adjust as required!

225g unsalted butter
1kg onions, chopped
100g fresh ginger, finely chopped
100g garlic cloves, chopped
4 medium-hot chillies, finely chopped
1 tbs crushed pasilla chillies* or dried chilli flakes
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
2 tbs ground turmeric
2 tbs ground cumin
2 tbs ground coriander
4 tbs sweet paprika
2 kg lean lamb (such as leg), skin and excess fat removed, cut into 4cm piece
400ml can coconut milk
300ml water
4 tspn salt
1kg small waxy potatoes (such as charlotte), peeled, cut into 2-3 cm pieces
2 tbs sunflower oil
2 tbs black mustard seeds
1 bunch (about 80g) coriander, roughly chopped, plus a few extra leaves to garnish

-Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, red chilli and crushed pasilla chillies or dried chilli flakes, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes until the onion mixture is soft and lightly browned.
-Spoon the onion mixture into a blender or food processor and bend to a smooth paste. Return to the pan and add the tomatoes, spices, lamb, coconut milk, water and salt, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1¼ hours. Stir in the potatoes, cover and continue to cook for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are tender. (If you’re making this curry the day before, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed.)
-Shortly before serving, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and leave them to sizzle vigorously for a few seconds. Add them to the piping-hot curry and stir in with the coriander and more seasoning, if necessary. Sprinkle with extra coriander leave to garnish.
*Available from specialty spice shops.