I used this Courgette and lemon risotto but used petit pois (cut weight by a third) instead of courgette. It turned out pretty well, but the courgettes and petit pois need throwing in close to the end, the amount of parmesan needed cutting by about a third as it was quite salty and it was better for an extra dollop of creme fraiche.

25 April 2012
Made again using 2 courgettes and petit pois to make the weight up to 400g again (not 600) and grana padano instead of parmesan. You do need the full amount of cheese but serve a third of it separately (Mark added more after I only used 2/3 of the cheese in the risotto). I really like this recipe but Mark is not keen on the creme fraiche, so I may substitute double cream for that next time.

In future I think I will try Jamie Oliver’s risotto recipe as I was inspired by the ones he made on Jamie Does Venice. I’ve only been able to find this Jamie Oliver risotto recipe online though.

Ken Hom’s pad thai recipe

I’ve used this recipe a couple of times now. Last time I used Amoy chilli noodles, the type that are supposed to be ‘straight to wok’ but it is better to put that type of noodle in a bowl and cover with boiling water to let them untangle without and get a bit softer. I also added some cooked beaten egg and tiger prawns when I had them to hand. I find it easier to cook the egg at least a little before adding, otherwise it gets lost in the mix during the stir-frying. The beansprouts can be (partly) replaced with other stirfry veg, although then the dish becomes more of a general stir-fry than a pad thai. I find that beansprouts do start smelling a bit unappetising after even a short time in the fridge so they are best used on the day of purchase.

The dish doesn’t need any salt; the fish, oyster and soy sauces are enough. For expedience it is useful to measure out all the ingredients before starting to cook and grouping all the ones that go in together into the same container to throw in all at once at the appropriate time. Also, it is important to check the best before dates on these packs of ‘ready to wok’ noodles as the oil coating them goes rancid eventually. It smells plastic-y and is very unpleasant.

I’ve used this recipe: Delia’s gnocci a few times now. It’s ok, but you only need half the egg specified. If you use all the eggs you have to add loads of flour, which dilutes the potato taste. Also, the gnocci have very little taste anyway and they are quite fat so taste a bit boring, even in a sauce. They need plenty of seasoning before rolling out and cutting, and possibly some internal flavouring. Paprika perhaps. Or cheese. Or both…

I used a pack of ‘stewing lamb’ I bought from Makro. They looked like four sections of neck fillet from the outside but when I opened it I discovered it wasn’t boned. So it was a bit of a pain pulling the meat off the bones and cutting it into chunks after it had been cooked.

Anyway, Moroccan lamb with apricots, almonds & mint is really good. Growing up, I never liked savoury food with sweet flavours. I suppose this was because I’d not had that flavour combo it at home. Having said that my mum does make dahl soup with a small amount jaggery in it

Used a tip from How To Cook Without Recipes: laid kitchen roll over the surface after cooking to soak up the fat floating on the top. Worked a treat.

Made couscous according to directions on the packet (from Waitrose) and it was perfect:
Allow approximately 45g of couscous per 80g serving. Place 250g of couscous in a large bowl with 400ml boiling water and 1tbsp oil. Stir, cover and stand for 5 minutes. Stir to separate before serving.

25 Feb 2013

Made this today using lamb neck fillet, with the oven at 150C. I cooked it for an hour with the lid on then half an hour with the lid off. The taste was fine but not all of the lamb pieces were meltingly soft; some were slightly chewy. I’m not sure whether this was down to the cooking time (Nigel Slater cooks neck fillet at 180C for only an hour) or that I put the lamb in with the orange juice before adding the stock or whether it’s just the meat. I have to admit that the meat wasn’t all defrosted to the same extent before cooking. Still, next time I will add the orange juice after the stock so the lamb doesn’t come into contact with it undiluted.

I also did some couscous from Sainsburys. The packet said to use less water than the Waitrose method but since the Waitrose method hasn’t ever let me down I followed that. But the couscous turned out soggy. Perhaps all couscous isn’t created equal and the packet instructions should be adhered to? Anyway, the lesson I learned there was to alway err on the side of less water since you can always add more.