Vietnamese Lemon Grass and Chilli Chicken (Serves 4)

Although the April weather has been rather wet, I figured that is was the right time to re-share this recipe as its flavours are perfect for the sunnier days which we must be expecting soon…!

Vietmanese Lemon Grass and Chilli Chickent is one of those recipes which is instantly comforting, it has the most wonderful combination of hot, sour, salty and sweet flavours. The fact that it is particularly quick and easy to cook makes it even more comforting – just remember to marinate it for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before cooking. Simply serve with rice. This is another fantastic recipe from Diana Henry’s cookbook, ‘A Bird in Hand’.

800g skinless boneless chicken thighs

2 lemon grass stalks

4 tablespoons fish sauce

2½ tablespoons caster sugar, to taste

2 red chillies, halved, deseeded and sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons groundnut or sunflower oil

1 onion, halved and sliced thinly into half-moon shaped slices

125ml chicken stock

Juice of ½-1 lime, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

½ tablespoon sesame seeds to serve (optional)

1. Trim any fat from the chicken thighs and cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces.
2. Remove the coarse outer layers from the lemon grass, trim the top and base, and chop the rest as finely as you can. Put half of this into a bowl with the fish sauce, caster sugar, the garlic, half the chillies and the chopped chicken. Mix together and cover with cling film and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours – overnight is best. Bring to room temperature before cooking.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok set over a medium heat. Add the chicken and cook it on all sides, browning it well. Add the onion, give it a good stir before adding the remaining chillies and lemongrass, stir fry until the onion starts to soften, being careful not to burn the chillies and lemongrass. Pour in the stock then reduce the heat, cover and allow the chicken to cook for about five minutes.
4. Remove the lid, increase the heat and continue to cook until the liquid is reduced. You want the mixture to be wetter than a stir-fry but not too saucy. Add the lime juice, then check the seasoning for the sweet-sour balance – adding more sugar or lime to taste.
5. Sprinkle with the chopped coriander leaves and sesame seeds, serve with rice.

Pear Almondine (Serves 6)

I have my sister to thank for finding this recipe, it’s from Raymond Blanc’s cookbook ‘Simply Raymond’. Although I had this cookbook I hadn’t noticed this particular recipe – I think I’d overlooked it as I presumed it would be laden with gluten, but it’s totally gluten-free! When my sister served it I was smitten. It has a lovely chewy crust, it’s wonderful warm or cold – for dessert or breakfast! It’s very straightforward to make, however, as Blanc suggests, it’s worth using a tart ring rather than a tin; if you haven’t got one it will be a good investment as I assure you – you will want to make this again and again (you can buy them on Amazon). The reason for a this ring, is that by having no base it ensures that the bottom of the Almondine is cooked to perfection. It will seem a bit precarious to slide the uncooked tart onto the heated baking tray but in fact, it’s rather easy, and worth it to get the heat directly underneath for a crisp bottom.

4-6 pear halves, tinned or jarred, drained

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature plus extra for brushing the ring

100g caster sugar

100g ground almonds

1 teaspoon cornflour

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 egg

A handful of flaked almonds (lightly toasted in a dry pan)

Icing sugar for dusting

*A 18cm x 2cm tart ring and two baking trays

1. First butter the tart ring, then cut a strip of greaseproof paper to line the inside of the buttered tart ring (the butter will allow it to stick). Place the ring on a flat baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Place the second tray on the middle shelf of a preheated oven, 180’c fan,  ready to slide the pear tart onto.
2. In a large bowl, mix the softened butter and sugar. Then add the ground almonds, cornflour, vanilla bean paste and egg, and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the tart ring, spreading it evenly.
3. Slice the pears in half and arrange them evenly around the outside of the tart, resting them on top of the almond sponge mixture, with the tip of each half meeting in the middle. Scatter over the almonds.
4. Slide the pear tart on the greaseproof paper onto the preheated tray in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
5. Leave to cool for a few minutes before removing it from the ring.
6. Before serving, dust with icing sugar.

Life is ‘all go’ at the moment… I’ve just said ‘arrivederci’ to Italy (Padova was great!) and now I’m welcoming in April, which means not only Easter but also my birthday (and a cheeky escape to sunnier climes!). So I would be lying if I told you my kitchen is a hub of activity right now – there haven’t been many recipes being tried and tested, instead, I’ve been cooking some old easy and reliable favourites such as Chicken Tarragon pie, Vietnamese Lemon Grass & Chilli Chicken and ‘Everday Bolognese Sauce’ (click and scroll for recipes). Despite this relaxed mood, I have been thinking of what to share this April and as it’s both spring and Easter, I thought that lamb really should be on the menu. There are actually two lamb recipes which I’m keen to share with you. I’m sure like me you’re not wanting to spend your Easter bank holiday weekend slaving away in the kitchen, fortunately, both of these dishes are effortless and good enough to put on your celebratory dinner table. I’m also sharing an easy vegetarian option for a casual supper or a side for that Easter celebration!…

So, drum roll please for this month’s recipes…!

Menu One, ‘Fillet of Lamb with Cream & Spinach Sauce’, is made with the premium cut of lamb, the cannon (or loin fillet) which is cut from the rack. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe, it’s served on a bed of flageolet and fine green beans with cherry tomatoes; it has bright flavours, perfect for a spring feast! Menu Two, ‘Roast Rack of Lamb with Fresh Apple & Mint Chutney’, is a simple but very tasty recipe from Rachel Allen’s cookbook ‘Coast’. With its fresh flavours, the apple & mint chutney is particularly good with the sweetness of spring lamb. Simply serve with ‘New Potatoes & Minty Herb Butter’ and green beans. Finally, Menu Three is ‘Roasted Squash, Crispy Lentils, Pomegranate & Dukkah’, it’s a fantastic vegetarian recipe from Rukmini Iyer’s cookbook ‘A Roasting Tin Around The World’. Not only does it taste wonderful, but it looks beautiful with its jewel-like colours!

(I’m taking a break next week … Menu Mistress will return Tuesday 18th April with a Tuesday Treat!)

Menu One

Fillet of Lamb with Cream & Spinach Sauce (Serves 4)

Made with the premium cut of lamb, the cannon (or loin fillet) which is cut from the rack, you really can’t go wrong with this recipe. It’s served on a bed of flageolet and fine green beans with cherry tomatoes and has bright flavours, perfect for a spring feast!

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons of dry vermouth

200ml chicken stock

250ml double cream

80g baby spinach

Juice of half a lemon

Sea salt and black pepper

For the lamb:

2 x 300g lamb loin fillets (cannon of lamb), trimmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

150g fine green beans, topped

30g butter

400g tinned flageolet beans, rinsed and drained

500g cherry tomatoes, quartered

Sea salt and black pepper

1. First of all make the sauce. Put the vermouth in a small pan and boil until reduced to half a tablespoon. Add the stock, bring to the boil and reduce to about 4 tablespoons. Pour in the cream and reduce again until slightly thickened and the liquid coats the back of the spoon. Shred the spinach leaves and add to the sauce and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice and seasoning to taste and set aside.
2. Sprinkle the lamb with pepper and heat the oil in a frying pan. On a high heat, brown the fillets all over, then transfer to a roasting tin. Season with salt and cook in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 10 minutes. Remove, cover and keep warm for 10 minutes before serving.
3. Meanwhile, cook the fine beans until they are ‘al dente’, about 4 minutes, then rinse in cold water.
4. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the flageolet beans and the tomatoes, cook until the tomatoes are slightly softened and the beans are heated through. Add the fine green beans and reheat.
5. Quickly reheat the sauce and cut the lamb into thick slices. Serve on a bed of the vegetables with the sauce spooned over.

Menu Two

Roast Rack of Lamb, Fresh Apple & Mint Chutney and Minty Herb New Potatoes (Serves 4-6)

A simple but very tasty recipe from Rachel Allen’s cookbook ‘Coast’. With its fresh flavours, the apple & mint chutney is particularly good with the sweetness of spring lamb. Simply serve with ‘New Potatoes & Minty Herb Butter’ (recipe below) and green beans.

2 racks of lamb

1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and quartered

A large handful of fresh mint, leaves picked

50g onions, peeled and roughly chopped

20-50g caster sugar (depending on tartness of apples)

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Score the fat of the racks into roughly 2-3cm squares of diamonds, making sure that you only cut through the fat, not the meat (you can ask your butcher to do this!). Sprinkle the fat with salt and pepper and place the racks on a roasting tray, fat side up.
2. Roast the racks for 20 minutes in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, (if you have a meat thermometer it should register 65-70’c). Rest for 5 minutes before carving.
3. Meanwhile, put the apple, mint, onions and sugar (to taste) in a food processor and whiz to combine – you want it to retain some ‘chunkiness’. Season with salt and cayenne pepper (and more sugar if needed)
4. Carve the lamb and serve 2-3 cutlets per person. Serve the chutney on the side.

New Potatoes with Minty Herb Butter (Serves 4)

500g new potatoes

25g butter, softened

½ tablespoon chopped mint, plus a few whole leaves

½ tablespoon chopped parsley

½ tablespoon chopped chives

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Halve any large potatoes and place in a large saucepan. Cover with boiling water, add a pinch of salt and a couple of mint leaves and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until tender.
2. Meanwhile, combine the butter and chopped herbs.
3. Drain the potatoes and return to the pan and add the herb butter, toss the potatoes so they are well coated. Season with salt and pepper.

Menu Three

Roasted Squash, Crispy Lentils, Pomegranate & Dukkah (Serves 4)

This is a fantastic vegetarian recipe from Rukmini Iyer’s cookbook ‘A Roasting Tin Around The World’. Not only does it taste wonderful, but it looks beautiful with its jewel-like colours!

600g butternut squash, cut into 1.5cm slices

1 red onion, cut into eighths

250g cherry tomatoes

1 x 400g tin brown lentils, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

½ – 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (to taste)

2 tablespoons dukkah

A handful of pomegranate seeds

A handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped

Dressing:

100ml plain yogurt

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1. Tip the squash, onion and tomatoes into a roasting tin large enough to hold everything in one layer, then mix through the lentils, salt, pomegranate molasses, oil, garlic and chilli flakes. Transfer to a preheated oven, 180’c fan, roast for 45-50 minutes, until the squash is cooked through.
2. Meanwhile, mix the yogurt and pomegranate molasses together, taste and season with a little salt as needed.
3. Drizzle the yogurt over the roasted veg, scatter over the dukkah, pomegranate seeds and mint and serve hot.

Italian Old Fashioned (Serves 1)

Seeing as I’m gearing up for a short break in Italy, I thought I should share this cocktail! When I mentioned this recipe to a friend recently, he asked what was Italian about it, he had a point as neither Cointreau or brandy are particularly ‘Italian’. However, I first tasted this cocktail at an Italian restaurant and they made it with Italian brandy, hence its name but you can of course make it with any brandy; the smoother the better. The classic ‘Old Fashioned’ (recipe here) is a favourite of mine but this version with brandy instead of bourbon and a good shot of Cointreau is hot on its heels…

40ml brandy

20ml Cointreau

A couple of dashes of Angostura bitters

Orange peel to garnish

Ice cubes

1. Place the brandy, Cointreau and angostura bitters in a glass.  Hold the orange peel over the glass and squeeze it ‘to express the oils’ and then drop it into the glass, give everything a stir.
2. Add a few ice cubes and stir again and serve.

(Due to my travels in Italy, Menu Mistress will be taking a break next week, we will be back Wednesday 5th April!…)

Pasta alla Puttanesca (Serves 4)

For this month’s ‘Blast From the Past’, I thought I’d revisit a classic Italian pasta recipe. Pasta alla Puttanesca is not only delicious but incredibly simple to make. There are various versions of this pasta sauce, but I particularly like this one from Gennaro Contaldo; it is a lovely thick sauce with just the right amount salt from the anchovies. It’s another recipe which I’ve taken from one of my favourite cookbooks, ‘Cook: A Year in the Kitchen with Britain’s Favourite Chefs’, which has numerous recipes from different chefs, including Gennaro Contaldo.

6 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled, left whole and crushed with the flat blade of a knife

1 small red chilli, finely chopped

6 anchovy fillets

35 black olives, stoned and sliced in half

2 tablespoon capers

300g tinned chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

A large handful parsley, chopped

400g linguine or spaghetti (gluten free if required)

Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic, chilli and anchovy fillets. Fry until the anchovies have melted and the garlic is golden brown.
2. Add the olives and capers, stir-fry for a minute. Then add the tomatoes, oregano and parsley.
3. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, until al dente.
5. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, stir well so that the pasta absorbs the flavours of the sauce – if you feel that the sauce is too dry add a tablespoon or two of hot pasta water.
6. Serve immediately.