Grim up North Heath

Tag: dinner

Slow beef stew

A favourite most of the year, more so when it’s chilly. This version takes two hours or more to cook. There’s a fast recipe that takes less time and uses a pressure cooker.

Timings: prep – 10 min Cook – 2 hours (or more)

Feeds four. Total cost (Nov 2025): £6.00 (stew) 60 p (dumplings)

Timings: Prep: 30 min. Cooking: 40 min Eat: 10 min

Ingredients

Stew

400 – 500 g cubed beef

Half a diced onion

two cloves garlic

two carrots, diced

400 g potatoes, cut into 2 cm pieces

one turnip, dice to the same size as the potatoes

Dried herbs – oregano, thyme and a bay leaf

Fresh rosemary (from the garden)

chilli flakes

beef stock pot

Veggie gravy granules

can of cannellini beans

Dumplings

100g self raising flour

50g suet (beef or vegetable)

Salt and dried herbs (a teaspoon or so of oregano, some black pepper and anything else you fancy)

water

The beef is the main cost of this dish, you can economise a bit but with cheaper beef you get more hard fat, which is unpleasant.

You’ll need a frying pan and a casserole dish.

Your choice of veg to add to the stew is personal, of course. I add turnips because they add an earthy taste to the stew, which not everyone likes.

1923 Bamforth postcard celebrating the turnip. James Bamforth & Co were probably best known for their saucy seaside postcards

Turnip! Baldrick’s favourite vegetable, they add an earthy flavour to the stew. Swedes can also be used.

Preheat the oven to 160 C/ gas 5.

Brown the beef in a little oil and add to the casserole dish when done. Fry the onions, garlic, herbs and spices before adding them to the pan. Dice the potatoes and turnip and add these to the rest of the ingredients. Add the stock pot or stock cube.

Beef, potatoes and turnip in the pot. Onions, garlic and herbs are hidden. Need to add cannellini beans and stock.

Drain a can of cannellini beans, add these and enough water to cover the ingredients. Give the while thing a good stir and put in the oven for at least 2 hours.

Beans and stock added. Now to cook for at least two hours.

Make the dumplings: Add the flour, suet, herbs and salt to a bowl. Gradually add water and stir well to get a dough that you can form into balls. These don’t need to be perfect. If the dough is too wet, add flour to the mix until you’re happy with how the dough behaves.

Uncooked dumplings. You don’t need to be very rigorous getting spherical dumplings, rougher dumplings will fluff up just the same.

About 20 minutes before serving, add the dumplings to the stew and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Dumplings done, stew ready to serve.

I did this using the slow method because we had to split out mealtime. Younger daughter has tap lessons that run until nearly 9 o’clock, so I served the rest of us at seven, then reheated the stew and added fresh dumplings to cook while I went to get her.

02/12/2025
Chicken and chorizo meatballs
Oven cooked meatballs! Remember to use a big pan for the tomato sauce or the meatballs won’t fit in.

Feeds four.

Timings: Prep: 20 min. Cooking: 40 min Eat: 10 min

Ingredients

500 g chicken mince

100 g breadcrumbs

A good pinch of salt

One egg

100g chorizo

A can of tomatoes

Onion and garlic

Vegetable stock cube/ stock pot

About a teaspoon each of dried oregano, thyme and chilli flakes. Add other herbs to your liking, and black pepper.

2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

Pasta – about 75 g dry weight per person.

You’ll need two big saucepans and a baking tray. Oven to 180 C (fan), gas mark 6.

If you can’t get chicken mince, use a blender to mash up the required amount of chicken thighs¹. Use the same blender to shred the chorizo (and make the breadcrumbs, unless you want to buy them).

Breadcrumbs and shredded chorizo in a Minimixer.

Combine the mince, chorizo, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, herbs and spices in a bowl and mix well. You can do away with the egg if you add more salt or leave the mix for longer – overnight is best². Form into 12 or so meatballs. Smaller ones will cook quicker, you might make 20.

Meatball mix. The salt and egg help to bind the meatballs.

Distribute the raw meatballs onto a baking tray with an oiled baking sheet. Brush with a little oil and bake for 20 minutes until browned – check they are done with a meat thermometer if you have one.

Ready to cook, raw meatballs on an oiled, foiled baking tray. The oil helps brown the meatballs and lessen sticking to the foil.

While the meatballs are in the oven, make the tomato sauce. It would be an option to make this earlier – a couple of hours earlier – since the flavour improves with time. Depends on how busy you are.

Fry chopped onion at a low heat for at least 5 minutes until they are translucent. If you have time, fry at a very low heat for even longer until they caramelise. Add garlic, spices and dried herbs, fry for another minute.

Add the tin of tomatoes, rinse out with half a can of water and add this to the sauce. Add the stock cube/ stock pot and simmer.

Boil the pasta as directed on the packet. It’s a good idea to time it so that the pasta is done about five minutes after the meatballs are come out of the oven.

Meatballs after 20 minutes in the oven. A bit of browning adds flavour. An yes, OK, they did stick to the foil a bit.

Once the meatballs are cooked, transfer them into the pan with the sauce. This is why you need a big saucepan and I never made the mistake of using a small saucepan. Oh no, siree, matey Bob!

Meatballs in tomato sauce, ready to dish up.

Garlic bread goes well with this.
1. Chicken thigh are tastier than breast, but not as aesthetically pleasing. ↩︎
2. I think I got this tip from Gordon Ramsey. The salt breaks down some of the protein in the meat and helps the mixture bind by creating a natural glue. ↩︎
04/06/2025
Thai Green Curry

An easy favourite. Feeds 3.

Timings: Prep: 10 min. Cooking: 10 min Eat: 10 min

Ingredients

Two large chicken breasts (or three small ones)

Mangetout – about 100 g

Green curry paste, 40 or 50 g (I used Mea Ploy brand for this one)

A can of coconut milk (400 ml)

Jasmine rice (200 g uncooked rice is enough for three)

2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

You’ll need a big saucepan and a large frying pan.

Slice the chicken breasts. I prefer slices to chunks for this recipe, but you do whatever you like best.

Rinse the rice. Boil about 600 ml water in a large saucepan (more water is fine), add salt and boil the rice while you cook the chicken. The rice will take about 10 minutes to cook.

Fry the green curry paste in the oil. If you’ve bought a one-meal batch of paste, use it all. The paste I’ve been using (see picture below) says to use 50 g. This was at the top end of our tolerance for spicy heat, so I’ve used 40 g since the first time. This makes a curry that’s hot enough to enjoy without feeling challenged.

This is the green curry paste I’ve been using. It’s spicy enough for us without added chilis, as the serving suggestion shows. This pot cost about £3, it’s good for eight to ten meals. Bargain!

Fry for a minute, then add some of the cream from the coconut milk. To make this easier I store the can of milk upside down so that there is a plug of cream when you open the can.

Once the paste and cream are combined and smelling good, add the sliced chicken. Fry until the chicken has gone white on the outside, then add the rest of the can. If you don’t want too much sauce, don’t add all the coconut water from the can.

Stir while cooking and remember to keep an eye on the rice.

About two minutes before the rice is done, add the mangetout. It’ll want a couple of minutes cooking to get warm, but don’t leave it too long or it’ll go soft.

Chicken curry nearly ready for dishing up. Just give the mangetout a minute or two in the sauce. That’s enough to warm it through without losing the crunch.

I crushed a few almonds to add on top – peanuts or any other nut will do, but we had almonds in the pantry.

Once the rice is done, strain in a sieve. If it’s a bit claggy for your liking, rinse with boiling hot water before serving.

Dinner’s ready! Thai green curry with jasmine rice. Some crushed almonds add a crunch.

There’s usually quite a lot of sauce. Make sure there’s enough rice to soak it all up.

We usually have ‘Thai inspired crackers’ with this. Last time, it was a Tesco own brand bag, I don’t think we’ve ever stretched to Sharwood’s own brand. Same with the coconut milk – it’s usually supermarket own brand.

I keep meaning to look into how to make my own green curry paste. I don’t know what the minimum amount is that can be made or how well it keeps. I don’t want to make a kilo of paste and it all go to waste.

06/05/2025
Cottage pie

Haven’t made this for a long time.

Timings: Prep: 50 min. Cooking: 30 min Eat: 15 min (finished just in time for Doctor Who)

Ingredients

500 g beef mince (5% fat)

One onion, diced

4 gloves garlic, chopped

Tin chopped tomatoes

Tomato puree

2 carrots

Herbs – using dried herbs, basil, oregano, thyme. A teaspoon of each.

Chili flakes because we like them

veg stock and beef stock (can overpower the flavour of everything else)

2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

700 g potatoes (I used baking potatoes)

100 ml full fat milk

50g butter

Oven to 180 C (fan). You’ll need two big saucepans and a frying pan as well as an ovenproof casserole dish for the pie,

Meat sauce

Brown the mince until it goes uniform brown and no red bits.

Meanwhile, fry the chopped onions in the oil until they go translucent, then add chopped garlic and fry for another minute. Add the dried herbs and chilli flakes, and stir these in to release the aroma.

Add the tin of tomatoes and a squeeze of tomato puree. Add the browned mince, veg stock (and beef stock) and stir well. Turn off the heat.

Mash

Peel and dice the potatoes. Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes until soft. This is where the type of potato is important; waxy potatoes don’t make good mash. You can keep a portion of the water used to boil the potatoes to add to the mash.

Add a splash of milk and the butter, mash the spuds until they’re a smooth consistency. Add more milk if needed, this will depend on the starch content of the potatoes. Some of the starch-rich boiling water can also be added.

Mash ready for use. Either with sausages and beans or gravy or as a topping for cottage pie, shepherd’s pie or farmhouse pie.

Assemble the pie

Pour the meat sauce into an ovenproof dish.

First part of the mash is on. It’s best to add a ring around the edge and move inwards, it stops the filling sinking too much.

Add the mash to the top. I was told (can’t remember who by) to add the mash around the edge to begin with and work to the middle. This stops the meat bulging at the edges. To even out the mash, use a fork to flatten the topping and add a bit of texture to the top.

Ready for the oven! Adding a few fork strokes evens out the topping and gives ridges that catch a bit more heat and caramelise.

If you’re able, you could pipe the mash over the filling. They do this is some places, but I didn’t have the equipment, inclination or runny enough mash.

Shove it in the oven for 25minutes. Turn on the grill and brown off for 5 minutes or so.

Dinner’s ready! After 25 min in the oven and 5 minutes under the grill, the mash is browned and there is some leakage of filling.

This is enough for four people. Since there’s only three of us at home at the moment, I’ll get to have this for my lunch tomorrow! That’s a win!

The first serving was taken from the cottage pie. The beef stock overpowered the other flavours, but it was still a delicious meal.

On reflection, the beef stock could have been left out. There are enough herbs and a veggie stock cube added the base flavours.

19/04/2025
Lasagne
Mrs S asked for this for Mother’s Day. How could I refuse? (I could have said ‘no’, I suppose)

Timings: Prep: 50 min. Cooking: 35 min Rest: 15 min Eat: 10 min

Ingredients

500 g beef mince (5% fat)

One onion, diced

4 gloves garlic, chopped

Tin chopped tomatoes

Herbs – using dried herbs, basil, oregano, thyme and parsley. A teaspoon of each.

Chili flakes because we like them

veg stock and tomato puree

2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

500 ml full fat milk

75g cheese (mix of cheddar and parmesan because that was what was in the fridge), grated.

2 tablespoons sauce flour

Lasagne sheets – at least 6, maybe 9, but buy a box of them.

Sorry, no photos because I was listening to Iron Maiden while I was cooking and forgot.

Oven to 180 C (fan).

Meat sauce

Brown the mince until it goes uniform brown and no red bits.

Meanwhile, fry the chopped onions in the oil until they go translucent, then add chopped garlic and fry for another minute¹. Add the dried herbs and stir these in to release the aroma.

Add the tin of tomatoes and a squeeze of tomato puree. Add the browned mince, veg stock and stir well. Turn off the heat.

Cheese sauce

Pour the milk into a pan and add the sauce flour². Heat the milk and stir constantly, chanting the mantra “this won’t work. It never does” until all the flour disappears and the sauce is thick. Add most of the cheese and stir to melt in.

Assemble the lasagne

Pour a thin layer of the cheese sauce into a suitable ovenproof dish. Smear the dish with butter if you like, it may reduce sticking.

Add lasagne sheets over the cheese sauce and then one third of the meat sauce and a bit of the cheese sauce – don’t use too much for the layers. Continue to layer up until you run out of meat sauce.

Add a final layer of lasagne, pour over the rest of the cheese sauce (about half should be left) and completely cover the top layer of pasta. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Shove it in the oven for 35 minutes. Check that the pasta is cooked by prodding it with a fork.

Take out and leave to rest for 15 minutes while the garlic bread is cooking.

OK, I lied, there is a picture. This is what was left when we’d had enough. Normally the whole thing goes, but oldest is at Uni so they weren’t around to eat it. More fool them.
1. We got this tip about adding garlic well after the onion from the TV show ‘Pie in the Sky’ about a food-obsessed police detective (Richard Griffiths) and his crisp-mad wife (Maggie Steed (who also played Dr Hildegard Lanstrom in Red Dwarf)) ↩︎
2. We have used sauce flour for many years and it is the best thing for thickening sauces. You can make a roux, by all means, but it’s a pain in the arse and risks burning. ↩︎
30/03/2025
Leek and potato soup

Frost in March? Time for shoop!

Makes enough for four people

Timings: Prep = 10 min. Cooking = 30 min. Eating = 5 min

Ingredients

500 – 600 g potatoes (Baking potatoes or big, floury ones)

500 -600 g leeks (about the same amount of leeks and potatoes)

Veggie stock (Knorr stock pot, if possible)

2 garlic cloves

I add chilli flakes and cumin (half a teaspoon) to pep it up a bit, oregano and thyme (teaspoon or more) to help make it interesting.

Additions

Bacon lardons

Parmesan

Method

You’ll need a big saucepan and a blender.

Chop the leeks, roughly – only use the white and pale green parts.

Peel then dice the potatoes and put into water.

Add a splash of oil to a large saucepan – the soup is made in this pan, so it needs to be big. I use peanut oil, because I’m like that, but vegetable or olive will be fine. Don’t use extra virgin olive oil. though. Fry the leeks over a medium heat until they start to soften and before they go brown. If they go a little brown, don’t worry.

Add crushed garlic, spices and herbs if using them – fry for about 30 seconds. Add water and stockpot to cover the ingredients. Add the potatoes and more water to cover the spuds.

Simmer for at least 20 minutes, until the potatoes are softened.

Use the blender (I bought a stick blender from Wilco years ago and use this. Well worth the £12 it cost.) to mash up the ingredients. You may need to add more water to get the viscosity right – this is a matter of preference.

Warm the soup through on a low heat. This helps thicken up the soup as starch is released from the potato particles. Meanwhile, fry the bacon lardons until they’re crispy. Grate a good pile of parmesan.

Serve soup with a sprinkle of bacon and cheese. Serve with bread; Mrs S makes excellent bread that is great with this. But we had none, so I had Warburton’s white instead.

14/03/2025
Chicken Basmati rice pilaf

Based on a recipe I can’t find for an Iranian dish. It falls under the general category of ‘pilaf’, where rice is cooked with other stuff. Chicken is spatchcocked to (a) reduce cooking time and (b) fit in the roasting tin.

Timings: Prep: 20 minutes. Cooking: 1 hr to 1 hr 15. Eating: about 10 minutes.

Ingredients

Medium roasting chicken (1.8 kg ish)

250 g basmati rice

500 ml chicken or veg stock (I used Knorr stock pots)

One onion

6 cherry tomatoes or a couple of normal tomatoes

One carrot (diced) and a handful of raisins

A teaspoon each of chilli flakes, cumin, oregano, and black pepper (to be more authentically Iranian, sumac should be used. But I didn’t have any. Sue me).

Method

Set oven to 180 C (fan). Will need at least one hour, up to 1 hr 15 min.

Chop the onion into thick slices and scatter on the bottom of a lined roasting dish. Cut the tomatoes and add to the onions.

Spatchcock the chicken (pictures below). I marinated the chicken overnight – rub the skin with olive oil and salt, put into a big plastic bag and put in the fridge. I try and do this when I do a roast, it tenderises the meat.

Add the chicken to the roasting tin.

Chicken ready for the rice and stock.

Add the rice, diced carrots and raisins. Pour over the stock.

Cover with baking parchment, then foil to seal in the steam as it cooks.

Bye, bye birdie.

I used a thermometer to check that the chicken was cooked. After an hour it was nearly done (not yet at 74 C) , but the rice looked a bit dry on top so I added 100 ml water. I gave it another 10 minutes and it was done.

Dinner’s ready!

There was a nice contrast in textures between the rice at the top and the rice at the bottom, so there was crunch and softness.

I’d go heavier on the spices next time. Maybe buy sumac, or look into the traditional Turkish method.

Also some recipes call for grilling the dish before serving to brown the chicken and give extra burned rice. Maybe next time.

Spatchcocking a chicken

This is removing the spine of the bird and pressing it flat so it cooks quicker.

Another Taskmaster reference. Hugh Dennis spatchcocked a camel, which I won’t be doing.

I bought bone scissors some time ago because doing this without the proper tools hurts and can ruin a normal pair of scissors.

“You Tansung?” “You asking?” “I’m asking.” “Then I’m Tansung”. A reference for the youth, there.

I use these to cut the legs off roasted chicken, so they are used at least once a month. And they come apart and are dishwasher safe.

I chopped off the parson’s nose then cut down one side of the spine. The skin is more difficult to cut properly with these scissors. I removed the spine fully.

The world’s most cowardly animal – a spineless chicken!

I wiped the inside with kitchen towel to get rid of rogue bits from inside. Turn it over and press down to flatten. The wishbone needs to be broken so the bird will lie flat.

Spatchcocking reduces cooking time by about half.

12/03/2025