FOOD:A tasty lamb stew that can be cooked in advance and reheated, and a quick-to-make noodle dish
ON SUNNY SUNDAYS, you can usually expect someone to call in “sick”. Often, the patient’s dire state of health is caused by Saturday night over-consumption of Bacardi Breezers, coupled with vigorous lepping-about to ear-splitting popular music. For some, this can lead to a second illness, such as seasonal affective disorder or rickets. Naturally, the only cure for this is to laze around a park all day eating crisps and slurping soft drinks, until the symptoms miraculously disappear around 6pm.
Recently, we had one such glorious sunny day, and as a result, we were down two people in our cafe in Imma – one genuine and one who was definitely suffering from the above symptoms. I walked into the kitchen, saw the pile of washing up, and realised that plans for a Sunday stroll on my day off were going to be somewhat altered. In a busy restaurant or cafe, one of the most important people is the guy or gal who’s doing the wash-up. If they fail to show up or fall apart during the day, you’re in big trouble.
Unlucky for her, I had my daughter with me. She had accompanied me solely because of the lure of a hot chocolate and a brownie. After breaking the news to her there would be no leisurely walk around the grounds, but rather, fun and frolics with an industrial dishwashing machine, we struck a generous deal regarding chocolate subsidies.
To be fair to her, she was an absolute whiz, scraping plates, loading up the machines and bringing in the trolleys stacked high with dirty dishes. When wheeling the trolley around blind corners, she quickly understood the importance of shouting “watch your backs!” or “coming through!” so her co-workers wouldn’t come crashing into her clean piles of plates. I envisaged our accountant totting up the advantages of 11-year-old labour, while the child realised that employment meant she could get heavily discounted brownies for life. It seemed as though everyone was a winner, although we were clearly contravening every labour law under the sun.
We finished up our day and headed home, starving and satisfied. The best bit was knowing that there was a big pot of leftover stew from the photography shoot a few days earlier. I definitely didn’t feel like cooking, so reheating was the only option and this lamb and chickpea stew hit the spot.
I don’t bother making dishes like this as often as I should, because I reckon they’ll be a tad dull, but the combination of cloves and paprika works a treat.
Lamb shoulder is as cheap as chips, but can be quite fatty, so trim it up well or ask the butcher to give you something leaner for braising. I think pork or beef would also work really well in this stew, although the lamb is great with chickpeas. If you’re vegetarian, roast some sweet potatoes and chuck them into the pot instead.
Lamb and chickpea soupy stew (serves 4-6)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
600g diced lamb shoulder
Salt and pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves
really good squeeze of tomato puree
1 litre chicken stock
3 tins of chickpeas
2 tins of tomatoes
bunch of coriander
black olives to garnish
Heat the olive oil in a big saucepan, for which you have some sort of lid. Sweat the onions and garlic for five minutes until they are soft, then turn up the heat and chuck in the lamb. Brown it, but try not to let the mixture burn. Season well, then add the cumin, paprika, cloves and bay leaves. Mix well so the spices coat the lamb. Add the tomato puree, mix well, then add the stock, chickpeas and tomatoes. Put the lid on and cook for about three hours over a very gentle heat. Our lid was a bit dodgy, so we ended up topping up with another 500ml of water. But see how you go.
Taste, and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with coriander and olives, and serve with bread and salad.
Quick Asian noodle supper
This is a real store-cupboard dish. Very comforting and tasty. I chuck in frozen prawns, but chicken would do. You can use fresh prawns too but just be sensible about cooking times. If they’re raw, allow a little longer and if using cooked meat, just chuck it in at the end so that it heats through. Or else leave the meat out and ad more veg, such as bok choy.
2 tbsp olive oil
3 onions, peeled and chopped
Big knob of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of lemongrass, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp miso paste
8 portobello mushrooms, finely sliced
2 litres water
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
250g rice noodles
300g prawns
1 bok choy
2 bunches of spring onions
1 bunch of coriander
Heat the olive oil and sweat the onions with the ginger, lemongrass and garlic. Add the miso paste and stir well. If it starts to burn, chuck in a splash of water. Add the mushrooms and mix well before adding the water and the three sauces. Bring up to a gentle simmer and taste. You may want to cook it gently for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to develop, but feel free to add a bit more seasoning by way of fish, chilli or soy sauce.
Break the rice noodles in half and chuck them in. Check the cooking times for them, but they should cook in the soup. Add the prawns and bok choy and when these and the noodles are cooked, add the spring onions and coriander at the last minute. Serve in big bowls.
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