These recipes are taken from my (Mikes) home cooking repertoire, none of which have ever been written down before so results may need tweaking for the individual! I will slowly add more as I cook and remember and write down what quantities I put in things, rather than my usual "freestyle" approach to measuring! I will include some bits to go with it where I do it myself too!

Jess never complains when I cook at home so these recipes are either tasty or she is a good liar! Only time will tell........

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Well, less chit chat and more chop chop........

My mums chilli (that has now become my own much better version.....sorry mum!)

What you need to serve 4 (or 3 hungry fellas)

450g or 1lb of beef mince

1 large onion - diced (doesn't matter what colour as long as its an onion)

3 garlic cloves - diced finely

1 good Tblsp Tomato purée

3 - 4 rashers of bacon (smoked is nicest but I use what's in the fridge at the butchers) 

1 beef stock cube

1 1/2 tsp chilli powder OR 1 - 2 fresh chilli's

1 tin of Kidney beans (I like the chilli beans ones from the supermarket)

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tin of good old baked beans

A splash of lea and perrins

This recipe is fool proof. First stick the oven on at 110 -120 deg C (yes that low). Get a good size flame proof casserole (I use a le creuset 20cm one), sweat down your onion for a few mins, add garlic and sweat some more. Then add your bacon and cook it for a couple of mins. Then add the tomato purée, I saw them cook their purée on Saturday kitchen once, its meant to improve the flavour, so I do it religiously now, I also add the stock cube at this point too. after a bit of stirring it should all come together in the casserole and the stock cube should be melted in. Then turn up the heat and add all your mince. Cook it till its all brown. Then add the chilli OR chilli powder, Tomatoes, Baked beans and Kidney beans and stir it together. Bring back to the boil and put it in the oven and forget about it for however long you want. I once cooked it for 6 hours and it was amazing. I usually do it for 2-4 though. if you haven't got much time you can cook it out on the hob for 45 mins to an hour on a slow simmer but the flavour just isnt as good! if you want it quick and don't want to stir then whack it in the oven for and hour and a bit at 180 deg C.

I serve it with some rice, whatever you fancy. I use Basmati as its what's in the cupboard! and some pittas, the recipe for which is below.

Pitta breads (makes 8 big pittas or 10 usual size ones) freeze what you don't eat for next time to save a job!

650g of strong white flour (wholemeal works just as well but add a couple of tsp more water)

10g salt

7g yeast - packet stuff

15fl oz water (warm - you should your take flour temperature and subtract from 54 to give you your required water temp)

a glug of olive oil - 2 tblsp ish

Knead together all of your ingredients (for at least 10 mins - or do a dough cycle on your bread machine) and let your dough rise for 1 hour in a warmish place.

After it has doubled in size, knock it back with a 5 min Knead, then roll out into very thin (like 2 mm thin!) pitta shaped errrr pittas! Put them in a hot oven (put the chilli on the bottom shelf while you do this) and bake for 6 - 8 mins. Word of warning - they puff up about 2-3 inches so dont put them too high in your oven or you will be scraping the burnt bits off of the grill element....yes I did that first time!!

Enjoy with a cold beer!

 

Red pesto and goats cheese lasagne

 

Ingredients

1 Large red onion

3 Garlic Cloves

Tin of chopped tomatoes

450g / 1lb of beef mince

1 beef stock cube

2 tblsp Tomato puree

Splash of Lee and Perrins

150g Red pesto (aka sundried tomato pesto)

300g Buche de Chevre goat's cheese (sliced about 2-3mm per slice)

200g Derby cheese, grated (save some for the top at the end!)

1 tblsp plain flour

Good knob of butter

½ pint Whole milk

Lasagne sheets

Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

Method

 

This is an easy dish to do. Perfect for inviting friends over for!

OK, start by chopping up your onion, slices or chopped doesn't matter, as long as it's not whole! Same goes for the garlic. I prefer thin slices but that's just because I like slicing garlic cloves. Add the onion to the frying pan and fry off for a few mins until it looks like its cooking. Don't burn it, it's not nice when it's burnt.

 

When you're ready, or bored of stirring the onion, add the chopped garlic cloves and stir in. It's important not to burn the garlic as it makes your finished dish taste a bit bitter - but if you add it to the onions you'll be hard pressed to burn it! After a minute or two make space in the pan and throw in the mince. Colour it till you can't see red bits anymore.

 

Now the easy bits.

 

Add the tomato puree to the frying pan and stir it in. Then crumble in the stock cube and stir it in so there are no big lumpy bits of stock. Then add you tinned toms and red pesto. Stir it till it starts to simmer then splash in some Lee and P, don't measure, just splash it in! Leave to simmer while you do this next bit. Also turn the oven on to about 190 degrees C to be heating up.

 

Now it's time to make your cheese sauce. This is easy to get a good result if you know the technique. If you don't have the knack you'll get lumps but a sieve will help while you learn!

 

First off get everything you need out.

 

Small sauce pan, butter, flour, milk, cheese and most importantly a spatula – a flexible one is best but one that wont melt with heat!

 

OK, add a good knob of butter to a small sauce pan. Let it melt. You don't need too much heat for this but not too little either. The more you do it the bigger flame you can master. Then when it's melted get ready because this is where the knack is essential to a smooth sauce.

 

Add the flour and a tiny bit of milk and start stirring. This will give you a ball of floury paste (called a roux) almost immediately. Add a bit more milk and stir and squish until it returns to a thick paste and add more milk and stir and stir and add more milk and stir and…….you get the picture. Every time you add a bit of milk you have to stir it to a smooth texture before adding more. Too much milk and you get lumps not enough you get wrist ache – that's the basis of having the knack.

 

This will eventually produce a glossy, thick sauce to which you add your derby cheese and salt and pepper. Stir it in till the cheese has melted. If it's a bit runny then keep it on the heat and keep stirring until it thickens up. As a famous craggy faced chef says….cheese sauce….DONE!

 

By this point everything should be ready to start the build. Layer up however you like. I like about 5 levels of 2 sheets of pasta in mine.

 

I usually start with a rectangular earthenware dish that's a bit bigger than my lasagne sheets by about an inch each side. First spoon on some of the beef from the frying pan and add some pasta on top, then more beef, then more pasta.

 

In this layer add beef then top with the rounds of goats cheese then top with pasta. Do however many more layers you have beef and pasta for until you have a bare pasta top. To finish, spoon over your cheese sauce so there is no visible pasta showing. Let it run over the sides. Sprinkle on your derby cheese that you saved (you did remember didn't you?) and a round or two of goats cheese and bake for 30 mins in your pre heated oven.

 

I let it stand for 5 – 10 mins before serving this helps in two ways. It holds together a bit better so you can have nice squares on your plates and most importantly it stops you burning the top of your mouth when you try to eat it!!!

 

Enjoy.