Vegetable tagine

Ingredients

600 g (1 lb 5 oz) waxy potatoes (such as Maris Piper), diced
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced thickly
1 red pepper, sliced thickly
2 tsp tagine paste
1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
1 x 410 g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Boil potatoes for 5 minutes then drain. Heat a little oil in a large pan and fry onion, carrots and potatoes for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through. Sprinkle on a little parsley and top with a dollop of yoghurt.

Indian spiced lamb 

Ingredients

675 g (1 lb 8 oz) lean boneless lamb or mutton shoulder or leg, cubed
1 tbsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander and garam masala
1 onion, sliced
1 x 400 g tin cherry or chopped tomatoes
150 ml (5 fl oz) hot lamb stock
½ x 400 g tin haricot beans, drained
100 g (4 oz) curly kale orcabbage, shredded

Place lamb in a bowl with spices and season with salt and black pepper. Mix gently. Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Fry lamb in batches to brown. Transfer to a casserole pan. Fry onion for 2 minutes and add to lamb. Pour tomatoes and stock over meat and onion and bring to boil. Simmer for 1½ to 2 hours. 10 minutes before end of cooking time, add beans and kale or cabbage.

Slow braised beef in red wine 

Ingredients

175 g (6 oz) streaky bacon, chopped
900 g (2 lb) braising steak, cubed
12 small shallots
12 small carrots
1 tbsp flour
300 ml (11 fl oz) each of red wine and beef stock
2 tbsp Kikkoman Soy Sauce
100 g (4 oz) button mushrooms
1 tsp dried Herbes de Provence
4 tbsp chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 160 C, 325 F or gas mark 3.

Fry bacon in a frying pan until lightly browned. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole. Heat a little oil in the frying pan and fry steak in batches to brown then add to casserole. Lower heat and tip shallots into frying pan and cook until golden. Add carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Tip vegetables into casserole.

Mix flour with a little wine. Pour wine, stock and soy sauce into frying pan, then add flour mix and bring to boil, stirring until thickened. Add mushrooms and herbs. Tip into casserole and mix through meat. Cover tightly and cook in oven for 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Sprinkle with parsley.

Sausage and carrot casserole 

Ingredients

12 Lincolnshire sausages
1 onion, chopped finely
2 carrots, diced
4 rashers streaky bacon, diced
1 leek, sliced finely
1 tbsp plain flour
200 ml (7 fl oz) cloudy or pressed apple juice
100 ml (4 fl oz) chicken stock
2 Cox’s apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 tbsp each of wholegrain mustard and chopped sage

Heat a little oil in a large casserole pan, add sausages and brown well. Remove and set aside. Add onion, carrots, bacon and leek and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until softened and starting to brown. Stir in flour and cook for a further minute, then blend in apple juice and stock. Bring to boil, return sausages to pan, season with salt and black pepper and simmer gently for 25 minutes. Add apple and cook for a further 10 minutes. Stir in mustard and sage.

Pot roast pork

Ingredients

1.5 kg (3 lb 6 oz) loin of pork, off the bone and skin removed
6 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
4 sprigs rosemary
3 bay leaves
5 stalks celery, sliced thickly
3 Pink Lady apples, cored and cut into wedges
400 ml (14 fl oz) white wine
2 x 400 g tins cannellini beans, drained

Preheat oven to 200 C, 350 F or gas mark 6.

Trim any excess fat from pork, roll into a log shape and tie with string. Season with salt and black pepper. Heat a little oil and a knob of butter in an ovenproof casserole pan and fry pork until golden. Add garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, celery, apples and wine. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Add beans and return to oven for 30 minutes, or until pork is cooked through.

Leek, mussel and prawn hot pot 

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp lemongrass paste
700 g (1 lb 9 oz) leeks, sliced
1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) live mussels, scrubbed
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) shell-on prawns
150 g (5 oz) low fat soft cream cheese
4 tbsp chopped parsley

Heat a little oil in a large pan and fry leeks, garlic and lemongrass gently until softened. Add mussels and prawns and cook, turning gently, for 2 minutes. Add 575 ml (1 pt) hot water (or fish stock), cover and simmer for 3 minutes, or until mussels have opened and prawns are cooked. Stir in cream cheese and parsley and season with black pepper.