organic kitchen garden
What says home cooked comfort food quite like a freshly baked cheesy lasagne straight from the oven? This recipe is like a hug on a plate, with rich hearty ragù sauce layered with creamy, indulgent béchamel sauce and soft pasta sheets, all topped off with a generous covering of gooey melted cheese. If your mouth… Continue reading Comforting homemade lasagne recipe
This recipe was actually created as a result of putting together 2 others that I love, and in all honesty, was a bit of an experiment. The starting point was a pack of organic stewing steak destined for a tagine served with couscous and pomegranate seeds. Sounds good, right? The only problem was that when… Continue reading Spiced slow-cooked beef with a saffron rice crust recipe
The ultimate savoury taste of a steak and ale pie I difficult to beat, I love it best when freshly baked: puff pastry layers crackle under the knife, and dark, sticky gravy oozes out onto the edges of the pastry. I love chunky steak, sweet carrots and earthy mushrooms. I love rich saucy gravy edging slowly across my plate, muddling with muddling with creamy, buttery mashed potato. Drooling yet? I am.
Now that Halloween is over, the anticipation of Christmas festivities has moved to centre stage, with shops already sparkling with decorations and gifts. It’s clichéd, I know, but I really do love autumn and winter, especially now, in this little post-Halloween, pre-Christmas limbo. Crunchy leaves in vibrant red, copper and bright gold litter the ground outside, waiting to be walked in, kicked about, enjoyed, and jumpers and boots have made a convincing comeback in my wardrobe. There aren’t daily frosts just yet, but I can’t wait to see the beautiful silver spray of delicate, glittering lace over leaves and spiders’ webs in the morning sun. I don’t think I have long to wait. This morning I had to de-mist the car windows with the heating on max for a good 5 minutes before I left for work.
With leaves changing from lush green to burnished gold and silky conkers litter the ground, I can’t help but look forward to cosy nights in with hearty, comforting recipes to fill my belly as I countdown to Christmas. When the weather turns cold, my birthday month (September) is over and the mornings and evenings get darker, all I want to eat in the evening is a bowl or plate of something comforting.
This rich sauce is a perfectly indulgent combination of cream and sweet wine, threaded with earthy mushrooms and fresh thyme. Delicious! – if I may say so myself. I try to stick to healthy food during the week, and save treats for the weekend, but sometimes, only luxury will do: a simple but delicious combination of steak with chips. All it needs is the perfect sauce to finish it off – and perhaps a few greens to add some vitamins…
This food hero just keeps on giving: when you heat it up the next day, it somehow tastes even better than the night before! Perfect for planning ahead, for when you don’t have time to cook, and for preparing lunches too!