Category: Recipe

• 1TSP olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 3 medium onions)
• 250g minced beef (optional)
• 5-7 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 TB brown sugar (the sweet secret!)
• 2 TB chopped fresh basil
• 1 small can tomato paste
• Lots of Turkish chilli flakes. Maybe 2 heaped TB
• 1/4 TSP ground black pepper
• 2 large cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 TB chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)

Method

1. Heat oil in large skillet. Saute onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the wine, sugar, basil, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, black pepper. Combine.
3. Mix in the crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes (uncovered).
4. Mix into UNRINSED penne (I like the penne rigate, the sauce just sticks better!) and top with the chopped parsley.

Source: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pot_roast/

In order for this recipe to work properly, let the roast sit (wrapped) for one to two hours outside of the refrigerator so that it comes to room temperature before cooking. Otherwise, it will take a lot longer to cook at the low heat called for in this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg of beef shoulder or boneless chuck roast (look for a piece that is well marbled with fat for best results)
• 2 Tbsp olive or grapeseed oil
• Salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste
• 2 large yellow onions, thickly sliced, lengthwise (root to tip), about 4 cups sliced onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/2 cup of red wine
• 1 bay leaf
• Several carrots, peeled and cut lengthwise

Method

1. Brown the roast on all sides: Use a thick-bottomed covered pot (oven-proof if you intend to cook in oven), such as a dutch oven, just large enough to hold roast and vegetables. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil on medium high heat (hot enough to sear the meat).

Pat the roast dry with paper towels. Sprinkle and rub salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning all over the meat.

2. Brown roast in pot, all over, several minutes on each side. Don’t move the roast while a side is browning, or it won’t brown well.

3. Brown the onions, add garlic, carrots: When roast is browned, remove from pan and set on a plate. Add the onions to the pan and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and carrots to sit on top of the onions.

4. Add roast, red wine, bay leaf, cover, simmer on lowest possible setting: Set the roast on top of the onions, garlic and carrots. Add 1/2 cup of red wine. Add the bay leaf.

5. Cover. Bring to simmer and then adjust the heat down to the lowest heat possible to maintain a low simmer when covered (we cook our roast on the warm setting of our electric range)*. (If cooking in the oven, bring to a simmer first on the stovetop, then put in the oven, start the temp at 180C for 15 minutes, then drop it to 120C for the next hour, and then to 110C after that.)

6. Cook several hours until fork tender: Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours, or longer, until meat is tender. (If you are using a pressure cooker, cut the time by half).

After cooking 3 1/2 hours. Note how much liquid has been released by the meat. This comes from slow cooking at a very low temperature. If your pot roast is too dry, make sure the pan you are using has a tight fitting lid and that you are cooking at the lowest possible heat to maintain the low simmering. Suggest serving with green beans and potatoes *If you use a gas range, you may find difficulty getting the flame low enough. A tip I recently read in Cook’s Illustrated suggests tightly rolling up some aluminum foil, shaping it into a skinny donut, and putting that on top of the burner to create a little more distance between the range and the pan. If you have one of those high BTU ranges, I recommend cooking the roast in the oven instead.

Read more: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pot_roast/#ixzz4m3QzzSS1

Gordon Ramsay challenged a number of celebrities to cook their favourite dishes in series 3 of the F Word. This recipe is Gordon’s chilli con carne in a cook-off with Sara Cox.

Step-by-step video here.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion or 2 banana shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli deseeded or keep half with seeds if you like it spicy
• 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• Olive oil, for frying
• 500g good quality beef mince
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 fresh tomatoes or 1 beef tomato, roughly chopped
• 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 100-200ml chicken or beef stock
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 400g kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt and pepper
• Handful of chives, chopped
• 200ml soured cream
• Boiled rice, to serve

Method

1. Sweat the onion, garlic, chilli and thyme in 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan
2. At the same time, brown the mince in a separate pan over moderate heat in a little oil.
3. Add the dried spices to the onion mixture and cook until they release their aroma. Then stir in the beef and mix well.
4. Add the fresh and tinned tomatoes and leave to cook down a little for about 5 minutes.
5. Pour in the chicken or beef stock and stir in tomato puree to taste. Drop the cinnamon and bay leaf in then bring to the boil and leave to simmer.
6. Once the sauce is beginning to thicken add the kidney beans and leave to cook for another 5-10 minutes to allow the beans to soak up the flavours. Check for seasoning.
7. Mix the chives and soured cream together. To serve, spoon the chilli into the centre of a mound of rice, with the soured cream and chives in a separate bowl on the side

Serves 2 reasonably generously as long as you have plenty of bread to go with it

Ingredients

• 360g carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 80g onions, finely chopped 
• 15g root ginger, peeled and chopped
• 280ml chicken stock
• 175ml water
• 150ml whipping cream
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• Salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Tip: Root ginger is freshest when its skin is smooth, silky and a light cream colour. To make it easier to peel, try and buy a piece that doesn’t have too many knobbly bits.

Method

1. Heat the pan and add a little vegetable oil. Add 260g of the carrots, the onions and ginger and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Pour on stock and water and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Puree soup with hand blender. Add remaining 100g carrots.
4. Stir in cream, lime juice and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

To make your soup extra special

Adding a dollop of creme fraiche or Greek yogurt makes this soup more indulgent, whilst adding a slight sharpness to the well rounded flavours. Always add the freshly cut chives at the last moment before serving so they retain their fresh flavour and texture.

This is an ultra-cheap, easy, yet surprisingly tasty recipe. We seem to have this at least once each week.

Ingredients

For four people you’ll need:

• Penne pasta (one very large handful per person -try pouring the pasta into your hand until it overflows … oh go on, add one more handful just for luck)
• 2-3 leeks, chopped into about 1cm thick slices.
• 200g salmon, thinly sliced tiny pieces (this can be ultra cheap, e.g. salmon trimmings
• half-fat creme fraiche/sour cream
• Lemon juice
• Pepper

Method

1. Boil your pasta. About 3-4 minutes before it is completed, drop your leeks into the pot as well. Everything should be ready at the same time if you get this right.
2. Drain your pasta/leek mix.
3. Drop your salmon and creme fraiche into the pasta pot.
4. Add plenty of lemon juice and pepper. Mix it all up.

Total time from start to finish: about 2 minutes more than the time it takes to cook the pasta as you can do most of the preparation while the pasta is cooking.