The wood pigeon was based on Nigel Slater’s recipe. I cooked it flesh side down for 15 mins with the dial at 175C, then turned it over and grilled the breast to give it some colour. Then I rested it for 5 mins.

Salad dressing for leaves was based on Perfect vinaigrette but we had no red wine vinegar so used balsamic. It was quite sweet but perfect to go with gamey meat.

Lamb tagine based on Jamie Oliver’s lamb shank and tomato tagine but didn’t add potatoes. Other adjustments I made were that I didn’t make the onion into a paste, just finely chopped them and the the apricots were chopped into sultana sized pieces and at the end I sprinkled with toasted almonds on top of the lamb. We thought the dish needed more chilli so we sprinkled a few chilli flakes on top at the table. The tagine turned out well, except I only had two lamb shanks so the liquid didn’t cover the two shanks in my casserole dish. So I had to add lots of water so that that the meat was covered while cooking (otherwise it will dry out – I have had this happen before) then I took the shanks out after two hours and left the sauce to reduce down while I removed the meat from the bones. Next time I will definitely make it or anything similar with at least 4 lamb shanks or 3 huge ones.

I made the couscous with chicken stock (Kallo) instead of water and added peppers which had been grilled until skin turned black, then the skin was removed and the peppers were cut up into strips and blanched baby courgette pieces. I also added lemon juice to the dry couscous and veg before adding the stock and it ended up slightly too acidic (I added 2 tsp lemon juice to 250g dry couscous) but it didn’t spoil the meal thankfully. The thick yoghurt with mint (I had no coriander) complimented the ‘sauce’ perfectly.

This is Nigel Slater’s recipe. It turned out really well: beautifully moist and balanced.

Last time I cooked snapper I tried to pan-fry it. It was a disaster. The fillets weren’t cooked inside but the outside was overcooked. Since I’m in a bit of a ‘slow & low’ phase, I thought I would give this good looking fish a second chance.

I’m adapting this Ainsley Harriott recipe: jamaican curried snapper. I will modify the ingredients slightly but the main difference will be that I’m going to make the sauce first, then gently poach the fish in it until the fish gets to 45 degrees.

Sauce ingredients:

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
groundnut oil
40g/1½oz butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 – 8 garlic cloves, crushed
Root ginger, about 1.5 times the volume of garlic, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp light brown soft sugar
200ml coconut milk
2 bay leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice to taste, added just before serving

The sauce is for 500g red snapper fillet, skinned and cut into pieces.

I’m serving with jerk roasted cocquina squash based on Jamie Oliver’s roasted squash, except I’m using 1.5 tsp jerk seasoning instead of his flavourings and serving with chapattis, plain rice and salad leaves.

What I did: The snapper was at room temperature before cooking. I made the sauce then poured it over the fish pieces in a baking dish. The dish went into the oven which was at 50. After about 20 mins I turned the oven up to about 75 degrees because the temperature of the fish wasn’t changing at all. After 10 mins at 75 degrees the temperature hadn’t changed much either. In the meantime the squash had finished ages ago so I transferred the curry to the hob instead. The temperature went up a lot quicker and I took the fish off the heat at about 50 degrees.

Result: The snapper turned out ok but still a bit chompy. I was aiming for very soft, melt-in-the-mouth fish like you get at Asha’s. I think perhaps very gently poaching the fish in the sauce on the hob is the best way to go, for control and because the temperature needs to be checked frequently. Also next time I might add the lime juice and season the sauce properly before I poach the fish in it, as it lacked salt and tang. I thought the squash turned out fantastic but it was too hot for Mark, so perhaps just 1 tsp of jerk seasoning next time!

We were given a goat shoulder bought from am organic goat farm in Dorset. I marinaded it in a decent jerk seasoning mix for 1.5 hours at room temperature, then baked in the small oven with the dial at 100 degrees for 3 hours. I had to scrape the seasoning off for serving as it was too hot to eat but the meat was absolutely perfect: soft and succulent. I’ve had goat in the past and it has been chewy but I think this was a very good piece of meat to start with.

I adapt Atul Kochar’s black lentil sauce recipe. He calls it a sauce but you can eat it as a curry. It’s worth making twice as much and freezing it. The herb pulao is good too.

Ingredients:

200g red or yellow lentils
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds OR mustard seeds for tempering
3 tbsp fresh ginger and garlic paste
1 whole green chilli, finely chopped without seeds
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp each ground coriander, ground turmeric, garam masala and fenugreek leaf powder
2 tbsp tomato paste
30g/1oz butter
2 tbsp single cream, optional
½ green chilli, chopped for garnish
chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp salt

Notes:.

1 small fresh, deseeded chilli provides enough heat. I always add turmeric to make it look appetising.

I have used the following variations:
– start with 1 medium chopped onion, fried until translucent
– add 2 tbsp pulverised Indian pickle for an extra kick. No more than this as it becomes overpowering.
– use smoked chipotle instead of dried or fresh, but a little goes a long way; 1/4 is ok for 400g dry lentils
– add acid (little by little, tasting as you go) such as tamarind or 1/2 of the juice from a lemon and possibly sugar/1.5 tsp finely chopped jaggery
– add a little butter instead of single cream
– add some jaggery shavings dissolved in water

I’m trying to perfect the recipe for tomato sauce for pasta. I’ve started by adapting one I found online.

Ingredients:

2 onions or 8 shallots (sweeter), finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
4 fat cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 400g tins peeled cherry tomatoes
200ml red wine
1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
50g finely grated parmesan (as recommended by Jamie Oliver: http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com/recipe.php?title=bolognese-sauce-with-pasta)

Method notes:

Fry the onions (sprinkled with 1 tsp salt) on their own before adding the carrots, celery and garlic. Then add the other chopped veg and garlic and fry until everything is soft. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for an hour. Taste for seasoning then liquidize. Best way to make ‘ready meals’ to store in the freezer is to add the finished sauce to freshly cooked pasta. It’s best to add a bit more than just to coat it because pasta is bland and needs a lot of flavouring. This amount of sauce is enough for about 600g dry pasta, cooked.

I think this makes a tasty tomato sauce but it is definitely basic. Further experimentation would be a good idea e.g. the addition of sausage meat like the Jamie Oliver sausage fusilli recipe, or a Spanish style sauce with chorizo in it.

About a month ago I made a tomato sauce for meatballs and spaghetti based on Heston’s tomato fondue recipe. It needed more star anise flavour, more tabasco and maybe more Worcs. sauce too. I cut down the amount of oil, which was fine but I suppose it would have tasted better with more oil. Anyway, that’s another direction I could go in.

Certainly there is more work to be done here.