This recipe originally comes from Lulu’s notes. If you want to make it extra special then you could also make your own bread too!

Ingredients (serves 2)

Unsalted butter 50g
Olive oil
Fresh white breadcrumbs 100g
A lemon, zested and grated
Fresh thyme leaves chopped to make 2 tsp
Cayenne or peri peri seasoning ½ tsp
Flat-leaf parsley finely chopped to make 2 tbsp (we left this out!)
Sustainable cod, haddock or coley 300g, skinless fillet
3-4 tbsp plain flour
An egg, beaten
Good white bread 4 thick slices
Soft butter
Tartare sauce to serve, if you wish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas6. Melt the butter with 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, thyme and cayenne or peri peri seasoning, and cook over a medium heat for about 4-5 minutes until golden, stirring constantly. Tip the breadcrumbs into a bowl, add the parsley and season.

2. Cut the fish into fat fingers. Tip the flour onto a large plate and the beaten egg onto another. Coat the fish pieces first in the flour and shake off any excess, then dip the fish into the egg to coat completely. Finally press into the seasoned breadcrumbs to thoroughly coat on all sides.

3. Arrange the fish fingers on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for about 10 minutes until crisp and golden, turning once halfway through the cooking time.

3. Spread the bread with butter and a generous dollop of tartare sauce, pack the fish fingers on two slices and sandwich them together. Enjoy! :-)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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It’s a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK this weekend – hooray! No Sunday night feeling this weekend  If you’re planning to cook something a little special, then look no further – we made this amazing lamb dish at Easter and it is my new favourite. It serves 4 people but we served 2 people with this meal and then used the other 2 portions for a fab leftover recipe – look out for that soon…

The recipe for the roast shoulder of lamb with herbs and honey is by Valentine Warner and comes from the BBC website. The recipe for roast red onions with basil comes from Nigella Lawson’s ‘Nigellissima’. I’ve written the method here combining the two recipes, so that you can just follow one thing if you want to make them both!

Ingredients

For the lamb:

1.4kg/3lb shoulder of lamb, trimmed
A handful of dried camomile (or the contents of 4 camomile teabags)
½ bunch fresh thyme, leaves only
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves only
12 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, juice only
1 tbsp good Greek or wild flower clear honey
2 tbsp olive oil
125ml/4fl oz water

For the roast red onions with basil (for 4 people)

500-600g small red onions, quartered then peeled
70ml olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds (we actually used cumin seeds because Tom hates fennel!)
1 tsp sea salt flakes (or to taste)
1 tsp best-quality balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
Large bunch fresh basil (approx. 50g)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2. With the tip of a sharp knife, make shallow scores through the outer layer of skin and fat of the lamb shoulder, but not into the meat, cross-hatching the entire surface.

3. Mix the dried camomile, the thyme, rosemary, sage and oregano together in a bowl. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4. Press a handful of the herb mixture into the skin of the lamb, massaging it in well all over the flesh of the lamb. Sprinkle some of the herb mixture across the bottom of a casserole dish with a lid, and then place the lamb into the dish.

5. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top, before sprinkling with any remaining herb mix. Then drizzle the honey over the top of the lamb and pour over a little olive oil.

6. Pour the water into the casserole, then put the lid on. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2½ hours. Check the dish after one hour – the lamb should be taking on a little colour. If the water has evaporated, add a little more to maintain the dish’s moisture.

7. When you check the lamb after 1 hour, tip the quartered onions into a roasting tin. Pour the olive oil over them and then scatter over the fennel (or cumin) seeds, and then shake the tin to ensure that all the onions are coated. Put the tin in the oven and cook for 1 hour.

8. After 1 hour, remove the onions from the oven and sprinkle with the salt and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top. Leave (for up to 1 hour) to come to room temperature, or keep warm if you prefer.

9. After the 2½ hours cooking the lamb meat should pull away easily from the bone. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 4-5 minutes. We made some gravy with the meat juices by adding a few gravy granules.

10. To serve, using a knife and fork, pull large pieces of meat away from the bone and arrange on plates. Add the basil leaves to the onions and mix everything together before plating up. We also had Yorkshire puddings (not homemade – sorry!) and the gravy too. We’ll be making this again very soon!

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This gorgeous recipe takes quite a long time to cook, but it is honestly worth every minute! It comes from the March 2014 issue of BBC Good Food magazine, and the quantities here will serve 6 people (you could always freeze the rest for another day). Why not make it this weekend?

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
4 duck legs
2 onions, finely chopped
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp plain flour
250ml/9fl oz red wine
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 chicken stock cube, made up to 250ml/9fl oz stock
3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp milk
600g/1lb 5oz paccheri or pappardelle
Parmesan, grated to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the duck legs and brown on all sides for about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside, before adding the onions to the pan and cooking for 5 mins until softened.

2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, then stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook for a further minute. Return the duck to the pan, and add the wine, tomatoes, stock, herbs, sugar and seasoning.

3. Bring to a simmer and then lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 2 hours. Stir every now and again.

4. Carefully lift the duck legs out of the sauce and place on a plate (trying not to lose any meat as they are very tender). Pull off and discard the fat, then shred the meat with two forks and discard the bones. Add the meat back to the pan, along with the milk, and simmer (uncovered) for 10-15 minutes while you cook the pasta.

5. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, adding a little oil to the water so it doesn’t stick. Drain when cooked, reserving a little of the water, and add the pasta to the ragu. Stir to coat all of the pasta and cook for another minute, adding a splash of the water if it looks a little dry.

6. Enjoy with a dash of grated parmesan and the left over red wine

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Venison is such a lovely meat, and I recently discovered that they sell it in our local supermarket. It’s a lean and tasty meat, and as I’d found some diced venison I decided to try out making a pie with it. I found the original recipe for this on allrecipes.co.uk but that one serves 10 people, which is a bit much for just me and Tom! So I’ve adapted it here, adding a few of my own ingredients too.

Ingredients

300g diced venison
2 rashers unsmoked bacon (you could use streaky bacon if you wish)
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
about 500ml beef stock (you need enough to cover the meat in the pan)
1 medium potato, diced
2 small carrots, diced
3 mushrooms, chopped
220ml (1/2 can) Guinness
1 sheet puff pastry
Flour to dust the pastry and venison

Method

1.Heat the bacon in a dry frying pan to render the fat. Remove and set aside.

2. Cook garlic and onions in the bacon fat until caramelised. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. Dredge venison with flour and brown in a hot pan. Return onion, garlic and bacon to the pan. Pour in stock, stir and bring to a very slow simmer. Let simmer for 1 hour.

4. Add vegetables and simmer until tender. Remove from heat and pour in Guinness, stirring well. If the gravy is too thin, thicken it with a little cornflour mixed with water.

5. Transfer contents into a baking dish and cover with puff pastry. Pierce a few steam holes in the pastry (there were holes in the side of mine so I didn’t bother – but I did put a pastry deer on the top!).

6. Bake at 180 C / Gas 4 for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and puffy. Serve with some green vegetables and enjoy!

I like this picture – he looks like he’s coming out of a forest!

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