Northumberland Poultry duck breast with sweet and sour sauce, sweet potato mash

2 Northumberland Poultry duck breasts

A glass of Sloecrafts damson vodka (or a glass of wine)

2 tablespoons Sloecrafts sloe cheese (or any fruit jelly)

A little (30-100ml) white wine vinegar or cider vinegar

1 teaspoon tomato puree (not needed if your chutney contains tomatoes)

Salt and pepper

Slash the skin of the duck breasts. Place them skin side down in a hot griddle pan, and press them down. Let them cook for 5 minutes, and drain off the fat as it renders out. Keep the fat for roast potatoes. Get the skin crispy. Turn, and continue cooking for a further 3-8 minutes, depending on how well done you like them.

Remove the duck breasts, wrap them in foil and keep them warm.

Remove any fat from the griddle pan, but keep the sticky and crunchy bits. Add the alcohol, and boil until reduced by half (or flame off the vodka). Add half of the vinegar. Melt in the jelly/chutney, and add the tomato puree. Add a little water, if the sauce is too thick. Add a little more jelly, if the sauce is too sour. Add a little more vinegar, if the sauce is too sweet. Season to taste.

Slice the duck, and serve on a bed of sweet potato mash (just mashed up baked sweet potatoes, with a touch of cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg), or champ potato. Pour over a little of the sauce.

Greenbrae beefburgers with wild garlic pesto

500g Greenbrae minced beef (or get your butcher to mince frying steak)

1 tablespoon wild garlic pesto

1 onion, chopped

1 Greenbrae egg yolk

Salt and pepper

For the pesto

A blender bowl full of rinsed wild garlic leaves

A handful of lightly toasted pine nuts

A handful of grated parmesan

A squeeze of lemon juice

Lots (maybe 1/3 of a litre?) of extra virgin olive oil

To make the pesto, blend everything. Keep adding olive oil until it becomes creamy. Put in jars, and top with a little olive oil. Use within a week or so. Once opened, keep in the fridge and make sure it always has a skin of olive oil over it, to stop it drying out.

To make the burgers, just mix everything together in a bowl, shape into burgers, and fry or barbecue until they are how you like them. Use good beef, and you can serve them medium-rare.

Seared Ridleys roe venison striploin with Bluebell beetroot rosti and hawthorn jus

6 roe venison striploins (from Ridley’s Fish and Game)

6 tablespoons sloe gin

2 sprigs sage, bruised

2 tablespoons Yellowfields rapeseed oil

50g butter, in small pieces

1 heaped teaspoon Vallum Cooking hawthorn jelly

Salt and pepper

2 large potatoes, whole, unpeeled (from Bluebell Organics)

2 beetroots, whole, in their skin (from Bluebell Organics)

100g plain flour (you may not need it all)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon dried or fresh sage, chopped

2 tablespoons Yellowfields rapeseed oil

50g butter

Marinade the venison in the sloe gin and sage for 20 minutes.

To make the rosti, boil the potato and beetroot for 8 minutes. Peel and grate, and squeeze out any excess moisture by wrapping in a cloth and twisting.

Place the potato and beetroot in a bowl, mix in the sage, salt and pepper, and enough flour just to bind it all together. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the oil and butter. Press six ½ cm thick rounds of rosti mixture into the frying pan, and fry on each side for 5 minutes until golden.

While the rosti are cooking, preheat a griddle pan until very hot. Remove the venison from the marinade, and pat dry. Brush with oil, and place in the griddle pan. Fry for only 1-2 minutes each side, depending on thickness. The venison should be crispy on the outside, and cool in the middle. Just as the venison is cooked, strain over the marinade and set it alight. As soon as the flames go out, remove the venison to a warm plate. Add the hawthorn jelly and butter to the pan juices, and melt. Stir once, season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

Slice the venison into 1cm slices, place each sliced striploin on a rosti, and pour over some of the sauce. Serve immediately.

Sticky Chinese-style Kielder Organics pork (serves 2-3)

400g Kielder Organics diced pork, sliced thinly

½ jar (125g) Northumbrian Soup Co plum sauce

¼ jar (55g) Northumbrian Soup Co chilli jam

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2cm cube fresh ginger, grated

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder

1 tablespoon Yellowfields rapeseed oil, for frying

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

In a large bowl, marinade the pork with the plum sauce, chilli jam, garlic, ginger, soy, oil and five spice powder, for 10 minutes to 1 hour.

Place a large wok over a high heat, and add the rapeseed oil. Remove the pork from the marinade, drain, and fry until almost cooked. Add the marinade, and reduce until really sticky. Throw in the sesame seeds, stir and serve with plain boiled rice (see recipe).

Vegetarian wellington

100g basmati rice

½ teaspoon turmeric

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons light olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

500g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped (or a mix of chestnut, shi-take and oyster)

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped sage

1 tablespoon dried cranberries

2 eggs, hard boiled and chopped

Salt and pepper

500g puff pastry (choose ‘all butter’ pastry)

Egg to glaze

Cook the rice with the turmeric and lemon zest (see recipe) and allow to cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

In a large frying pan, gently fry the onion and mushrooms in the oil until soft (about 10 minutes). Stir in the cooked rice, herbs, cranberries and eggs. Season well.

Roll the pastry into a large rectangle, about 3-5mm thick. Put the filling mixture down one long side of the rectangle, in a big sausage. Moisten the edges of the pastry with a little water. Fold over the ‘flap’ of the rectangle, into a big parcel, trim, and crimp the edges with your thumb. Brush with beaten egg, and place uncovered on an oven sheet in the oven for 30 minutes until golden. Serve in thick slices.

Cider gammon

1.5kg unsmoked gammon joint (tied, but with rind still on)

2 onions, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

10 black peppercorns

3 bay leaves

1L good cider*

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon English mustard powder (or 1 tablespoon ready-made mustard)

Place the gammon joint in a very large pan. Add the onions, carrots, peppercorns, bay leaves, and cider. Add cold water until the gammon is covered by 2cm. Bring to the boil, then put on the lid and let it simmer gently for 2 hours.

Stand the pan off the heat for 30 minutes (or an hour, if you can wait) for it to cool. Leaving the gammon in the liquid, as it cools, keeps it moist.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Remove the gammon from the liquid**, and trim off the rind, leaving ½-1 cm of fat. Score the fat, lightly, into diamonds. Mix the sugar and mustard in a bowl, and pat it onto the fat of the gammon (or spread it on, and press it in, if you used made mustard).

Place the gammon in a baking tray, fat upwards. Protect the bare meat sides with a double layer of foil. Wedge the gammon with skewers or forks, if it might fall over. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the skin starts to colour but not burn (check after 20).

Serve immediately, or when cold.

* You can use 3 cans of coke, instead. Yes, really. The meat will be dark, but taste amazing.

**Don’t try using the stock for soup – it will be really salty.

Stuffed hearts

Cooked by Maxine, during coaching (see The Cookery Coach)

6 lamb hearts

1 mix of stuffing (see recipe)

2 carrots, chopped

2 onions, chopped

2 sticks celery, chopped

500ml beef stock (see recipe)

1 tablespoon beurre manié (see recipe)

Soak the hearts in a large bowl of salted water for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 140C.

Remove the hearts from the salt water. Trim off any tubes with scissors, and snip the inside of each heart so it becomes one cavity. Rinse the hearts, and place on a large plate. Fill each heart to the top with stuffing mix.

Place the chopped carrots, onion and celery in the bottom of a large casserole dish. Nest the hearts down into the veg, so the hearts stand up with the stuffing upwards. Pour the stock into the casserole dish, around the hearts. Bring to the boil on the hob. Seal the casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid (use foil under the lid, to get a good seal) and place it in the oven for 3 hours.

Transfer the casserole dish to the hob, over a low heat. Remove the hearts to a warmed serving dish. Crush up the veg a bit, with a fork. Add half of the beurre manié and stir. Let the sauce thicken. Add more beurre manié if necessary. Check for seasoning, and add salt and pepper if necessary. Strain the sauce over the hearts, and serve.

Lasagne

3 tablespoons oil (light olive, or vegetable)

2 large onions

4 cloves garlic

1kg lean beef mince

200ml red wine

3 tins chopped plum tomatoes

1 tablespoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons tomato puree

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

900ml white sauce (see recipe)

Salt and pepper

300g grated hard pale cheese (cheddar is fine)

2 boxes dried lasagne sheets

200g grated parmesan

Place a very large pan on the hob, over a low heat. Finely chop the onion and garlic, and fry gently in the oil until glossy but not brown. Add the mince, and continue to fry gently until all the meat is grey (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Turn up the heat to high, and add the red wine. Boil rapidly for 2 minutes, to reduce the liquid in the bottom of the pan by about half. Add the tinned tomatoes, oregano, tomato puree and ketchup. Stir, bring to the boil, and add a good twist of salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 160C.

Make a ‘triple mix’ of white sauce (see recipe) and add the grated cheddar to it. Stir, and allow the cheese to melt.

Check the mince filling for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

To assemble the lasagne – take a very large, rectangular, ovenproof dish. Mine is as large as I can get in my oven – 35x25x5cm. You may need two or even three smaller dishes, if you don’t have a huge one. Put a third of the mince filling in the bottom of the dish(es). Add a single layer of lasagne. Repeat another twice, finishing with pasta on the top. Pour over the cheese sauce, easing it down through the gaps in the pasta with a knife. Try to get it all in. ‘Plump up’ the lasagne, to expel air, and add some more sauce. Lift the corners, and sneak in a little more.

Cover the dish(es) with foil, and place in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven.

*Sprinkle the grated parmesan over the lasagne, and return it to the oven (uncovered) at 200C for 15 minutes (or 180C for 30 minutes, if it’s cold when it goes back in for its second cooking time).

*Note: Lasagne needs to be cooked twice, to be perfect, so it’s better if you can allow it to cool completely (or even put it aside overnight) before its second cooking. If you put it straight back in the oven, it will end up a little runny. If you let it cool then re-bake it, it will be drier and the flavours will have matured. Italians always bake their lasagne twice, the second time is often in the pizza oven, in single portions. An Italian friend (and great cook) told me that good lasagne should be “like blankets on a bed, not newspapers in a puddle”.

Fish pie

1 fillet of smoked haddock (un-dyed)

1 medium fillet of salmon

1 large fillet of white fish (cod, haddock, coley, whiting...)

300ml milk

Salt and pepper

Bay leaf

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon plain flour

500g floury potatoes

50g butter

50ml double cream

Milk, as required

Salt and pepper

12 king prawns (fresh or coooked)

100g frozen peas

Place a very large frying pan (with a lid), or a large saucepan, on the hob over a high heat. Add the 3 fillets of fish, milk, a good twist of salt and pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, put on the lid, turn off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes.

Put the potatoes on to boil. When boiled, mash them with the butter and cream. Add milk until the mash is quite soft and smooth. Season with a good twist of salt and pepper.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Remove the fish from the milk, to a plate. Make a white sauce with the flour, butter and strained milk (see recipe). While the sauce is cooking, remove the skin and any bones from the fish, and break it gently into flakes and chunks.

In a large oven dish, place the prawns, peas, sauce and flaked fish. Mix around, to distribute evenly. Pipe* or spoon the mash over the mixture, in a layer. Fork the top into peaks (for that lovely crunchy topping).

Place the dish, uncovered, in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and sizzling.

*For a DIY piping bag, take a large plastic sandwich bag. Fill it half full of mash, twist the top closed. Holding the top closed in one hand, cut a corner off the bag with your other hand (using scissors!). Gently squeeze the bag, with the hand holding the top, guiding the pointy end of the bag with your other hand.

Kedgeree

300ml milk

100ml water

10g butter

A bay leaf

5 peppercorns

500g smoked haddock (natural, not dyed) in whole fillets

2 tablespoons light olive (or vegetable) oil

1 onion, chopped finely

2 tablespoons curry powder (just use your favourite)

500g basmati (or any white, long-grain) rice

1.2L water

3 cardamom pods

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

Salt and pepper

200g mushrooms, sliced

200g frozen peas

Three hard boiled eggs, sliced

Place a large frying pan (with a lid) on the hob, over a high heat. Add the milk, water, butter, bay leaf, peppercorns and haddock. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat, put on the lid, and let it stand while you do the rice.

 Place a large pan (with a lid) on the hob, over a medium heat. Add the oil and onion, and gently fry until the onion is glossy but not brown. Add the curry powder, and fry for 1 more minute. Add the rice, water and cardamom pods. Bring to the boil, stir once, put on the lid, then turn the heat as low as it will go and leave the pan without stirring for 12 minutes. If your hob won’t go really low, put the pan in an oven at 50C. Set your timer.

Remove the haddock from its liquid to a plate, remove and discard the skin, then flake the fish into a bowl. Strain the cooking liquid into a jug or bowl, and put aside.

When the timer reminds you, check the rice (by parting it with a spoon) to see if almost all of the water has been absorbed by the rice. If not, leave it another 5 minutes. Add the fish, and the peas. Replace the lid, and let it stand on the heat (or back in the oven) while you make the sauce. If all the water has been absorbed, just turn off the hob/oven.

In a small saucepan, over a medium heat, make a white sauce (see recipe) with the butter, flour, and the liquid you cooked the fish in. As soon as the sauce thickens, add the sliced mushrooms and stir. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Find a really big plate, or an oven dish. Fork the kedgeree once, to mix, and arrange over all the plate/dish. Pour the sauce down the middle of the kedgeree, from end to end, and arrange the sliced egg in a line on top of the sauce. Serve straight away. Get someone else to do the washing up.

Paella

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1cm cubes

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, skinned, de-seeded and chopped (or half a can of chopped tomatoes)

300g paella rice

1L chicken stock

A pinch of saffron

Salt and pepper

100g frozen peas

12 mussels, in their shells, cleaned and rinsed

6 smallish langoustines, or 12 king prawns (unpeeled, either of them)

In a saucepan, warm the stock. Add the saffron to the stock, and remove from the heat to stand.

Put a large frying pan on the hob, over a medium heat. Add the olive oil, and gently fry the onion and pepper for 5 minutes until glossy but not brown. Add the chicken and garlic, and brown the chicken very lightly.

Add the tomatoes, rice and ¾ of the stock. Add a good twist of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer very gently (uncovered) for 20 minutes. Don’t stir it! Add a little more stock, if necessary, to prevent the paella sticking.

Add the peas and both shellfish, and gently cover with the paella. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if required, then serve. Share out the goodies carefully, or there’ll be a fight.

Goulash

2 tablespoons lard or light oil

2 onions, chopped

1 red pepper, sliced

1kg stewing beef, cut into 2cm chunks (or 6 lamb neck chops, left whole)

3 tablespoons plain flour

Salt and pepper

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tin chopped tomatoes

250ml stock (see recipe)

200 ml bitter or lager

Bouquet garni (some parsley stalks, thyme, bay leaf, tied to a celery stick with string)

100ml double cream

Pre-heat the oven to 140C.

Place a large casserole dish on the hob, over a medium heat. Melt the lard. When it sizzles, add the onion and pepper. Fry gently until glossy but not brown.

Put the plain flour, salt and pepper into a plastic bag. Add the chunks of meat to the bag, and shake the bag to coat the meat in flour. Remove the meat from the bag, and pat off any excess flour. Keep the flour in the bag for later.

Remove the veg from the casserole dish, leaving the oil behind, and put the veg in a bowl. Add the floured meat to the casserole dish, and fry until browned. Tip in the seasoned flour from the bag, and fry for 2 minutes more. Add the paprika, tomatoes, stock, beer and bouquet garni. Return the veg you put aside, bring to the boil, and cover the casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid. If your lid’s a bit loose, put a sheet of foil under it and crimp the edges to form a seal. Put the goulash in the oven for 2-3 hours.

Remove the goulash from the oven, remove the bouquet garni, stir in the cream, check the seasoning and adjust by adding salt and pepper.

This is great with some dumplings (see recipe) added 20 minutes before the end. Flavour the dumplings with a teaspoon of caraway seeds, or a small chopped chilli.

Tortilla (Spanish omelette)

3 tablespoons olive oil

50g smoked bacon, chopped into bits, or lardons (optional)

500g new potatoes, cut into 1cm cubes

2 medium onions, chopped

6 eggs

Pepper

Salt (one twist if you used the bacon, 2 or 3 if you didn’t)

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the bacon, if you’re using it. It makes a big difference to the flavour, but you might be vegetarian). Add the chopped potatoes and onion, and fry gently for 15 minutes until the potatoes are golden and tender.

Add the eggs and pepper, and stir once to combine all the ingredients. Keep cooking gently until the omelette is firm. Sprinkle the salt on top (NEVER add salt to eggs before cooking, as they’ll go rubbery). You can brown the omelette under the grill, if you like.

Flip the omelette out onto a plate, and serve warm with a bit of rocket and fresh mayonnaise (see recipe). It’s also nice cold, but doesn’t re-heat.

Coq au vin

75g chopped bacon or lardons

175g sliced mushrooms

16 peeled button onions/shallots

10g butter

2 tablespoons vegetable (or light olive) oil

1 jointed roasting chicken (or 12 thighs)

4 tablespoons brandy

3 tablespoons plain flour

450ml red wine

150ml chicken stock (see recipe)

Bouquet garni (some parsley stalks, thyme, bay leaf, tied to a celery stick with string)

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Put a large casserole dish on the hob over a medium heat. Fry the bacon, onions and mushrooms in the oil and butter until lightly browned. Remove them from the casserole dish, to a bowl, leaving behind the oil and butter.

Fry the chicken until browned. Pour over the brandy and set light to it. When it goes out, remove the chicken to the bowl, again leaving the oil.

Add the flour to the casserole dish, and stir. If there’s not enough oil to moisten the flour, add a little more. Cook for 2minutes, stirring all the time. Add the wine and stock gradually, stirring while the gravy thickens. Add the herbs, and a good twist of salt and pepper. Return the veg and chicken to the casserole dish and stir. Cover tightly and cook in the oven for 1 hour.

Before serving, remove the bouquet garni. Great with mashed potato (the coq, not the bouquet garni).