Boiling Potatoes

In case I doubt myself or forget.

Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes in salted water.

This is the method to use for plain boiled potatoes or to make mashed potatoes.

It seems silly, but I don't often just boil potatoes. I forget or I'm not sure and I end up Googling it. Now I have my own reference!

Lentil Soup with Winter Vegetables

Soups and winter just go so well together. And cool weather crops make for great soup ingredients. Matched with the savory crunch of rendered crispy bacon, the flavor is nicely rounded and hearty.

1 cup lentils du Puy 

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme 

6 oz bacon or just 1⁄4 cup (2oz/58gr) lard 

2 carrots (6oz/170gr), finely diced

1 small celeriac or parsnip (8oz/250gr) or both, finely diced

1 leek or onion (6oz/170gr), finely chopped 

4 cloves garlic, minced  

4 to 5 cups beef stock (30gr of paste concentrate)

1⁄4 tsp pepper

1 1⁄4 tsp salt 

A handful green leaves - spinach or chard or arugula or radish tops, chopped (about 2 to 3oz/75gr)

1. Boil lentils for 30 minutes with bay leaf and thyme in enough water to cover, plus an inch, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into match-stick sized lardons and, in your soup pot, render the fat from it. Once the bacon is brown and crispy, remove it and set it aside to sprinkle the crispy savory morsels on top when serving. 
3. To the fat add the carrots, celeriac and onion. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables have softened.
4. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Dump the whole lentil pot into your soup pot, lentils and cooking liquid and all. Add the beef stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper and continue cooking until the lentils are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
6. With an immersion blender or by transferring 1⁄3 of the soup to a blender, mash part of the soup to create a different texture in the broth. Add more stock if you find it too thick OR blend more of the lentils if you find it to be too thin.
7. Add greens, and keep warm long enough to let the leaves wilt before serving.

Beef Brisket

For flavorful, fall-apart protein-rich goodness, this inexpensive cut brings much richness. And it makes for the best beef sandwiches with the leftovers... if there are any. It may be more than 1hr per lb, but this is a good starting place. The thing to look for really is how tender it is or how tender you want it to be.

Spice Mix

2 Tbsps. chili powder

2 Tbsps. salt

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. onion powder

1 Tbsp. ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsps. dry mustard

1 bay leaf, crushed

Roast

Beef brisket (4lbs. recommended, but any weight is fine)

1½ cups beef stock

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Make a dry rub by combining chili powder, salt, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, sugar, dry mustard, and bay leaf.
3. Generally season the raw brisket on both sides with the rub.
4. Place in a roasting pan and roast, uncovered, for 1 hour.
5. Add beef stock and enough water to yield about ½ inch of liquid in the roasting pan.
6. Lower oven to 300F, cover pan tightly and continue cooking for the equivalent of an additional 1 hour per lb, or until fork-tender, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 180 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. 
7. Allow to rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
8. Trim the fat and slice meat thinly across the grain. Top with juice from the pan.

Slow-cooked Leg of Pork with Beans

While this can be made with pretty much any bean, cannellini is the top contender. It is a bit sweet with the pork and the cannellini beans are wonderfully creamy, almost like a sauce. But the real trick for this is the bread and vinegar: the crunch of the buttered toast is a necessary companion, as is the strong, sharp taste of the vinegar. Be a little conservative when sprinkling the vinegar on top to assess how much you actually want. Note that the leftover beans make an excellent base for eggs and toast for lunch.

1lb 8 oz dried beans (cannellini, Red Mexican, pinto all worked)

5 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

2½ to 3 lbs. pork shoulder (Boston butt) roast or Leg roast

4 large leaves fresh sage, finely minced

1½ tsp salt

1 tsp whole fennel seeds, ground

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely minced

5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced or pressed

1 Tbsp olive oil

Black pepper

Fruit or white wine vinegar for serving

Crusty toasted and buttered bread for eating

1. Boil the beans for 10 minutes.
2. Place the beans, broth, and bay leaves in a large slow cooker (as the beans cook, they push the roast up and can lift the lid of a small slow cooker). Place the pork on top of the beans.
3. Mix together the prepared sage, rosemary, garlic, fennel, salt and olive oil to form a paste. Smear the paste all over the top of the pork.
4. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours, or until pork is tender and beans are cooked through. Gently shred the pork into chunks.
5. Serve topped with freshly cracked black pepper and butter-toasted crusty bread. Drizzle on a splash of white wine vinegar if desired. Or Optionally, BALSAMIC for a bigger taste.

Pizza Dough

This is an easy dough recipe and, the philistine that I am, I use any flour I have, primarily all purpose. The thin crusts are my favorite, I like them with crunch!

Makes : 1 thick crust or 2 thin crusts

4 cups (520g) white flour + more as needed

2½ tsps. dry active yeast

1½ tsp salt

2 Tbsps. + more for brushing olive oil

1¼ cups warm water (105 to 110°F)

1/4 cup tomato sauce

Cheese of choice (80-100g)

Toppings of choice 

1. Use some of the water (the ¼ cup is fine) to dissolve the yeast.
2. If using a mixer, combine all the ingredients. With a dough attachment, turn on the machine to medium-low speed (Kitchen Aid = 2) 
3. Let rest 2 min then mix another 30 secs.
4. Remove and hand knead on a floured surface for at least 4 mins. NOTE also cover with flour before starting to knead. The dough is sticky! It will absorb the flour on the board, so add more flour to the board as it becomes too sticky.
5. If mixing by hand, on a board or the counter, make a mound of flour, sprinkle on the salt, create a bowl in the center of the flour mound, and start adding the oil, water and dissolved yeast, combining with your fingers. 
6. As when making pasta, the dough is sticky! It will absorb the flour on the board, so add more flour to the board as it continues to stick to your hands. Otherwise, it will be quite sticky to start but should become whole feel like slightly tacky ball of dough.
7. Oil a bowl and put the dough in to rise. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise for 1½ hours and a warm draft-free place.
8. Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F for 30 mins (if no stone use a cast iron frying pan as preheat-sink and place dough on top of heated cast iron pan).
9. While the oven and pizza stone are heating up, spread out dough by hand. Use a fork to pierce the dough all over, then brush with olive oil. 
10. Put the toppings on.
11. Turn down the temperature to 425°F and cook for 20 mins OR until the edges start to brown (note that the dough will cook another 5 on the counter as it cools).
12. Let cool on rack or perforated pizza pan.

Stovetop Scalloped Potatoes

A very quick hot dish, it's full of creamy starchiness. And you only need one stovetop element while making something else to go with. As a main dish, accompany with a pilaf.

3 Tbsps. butter (1½ oz/42gr)

1 small onion, chopped (4oz/115g)

4 medium potatoes, sliced thin (1lb 12oz or 800 grams)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 cup grated sharp cheddar (4 oz/115g) (Old English very good)

OPTIONAL - 1 - 2 tsps minced herbs (chives or thyme or rosemary)

1. Sauté onion in butter until they are lightly browned and soft. 
2. Add the potatoes, salt and milk. 
3. Cover and cook slowly, approximately 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. 
4. Remove cover and sprinkle with cheese. Stir in very gently. Serve at once. 

Creamy Curried Chickpeas

In brackets is the quantity when I'm only making this recipe to go with rice. The un-bracketed quantity is for a multiple dish meal.

Serves 4 as a main course

(OPTIONAL: Saute ½ onion chopped and 2 cloves chopped garlic for 4 to 5 mins then add ingredients)

1lb/453.6ml canned tomato puree or unseasoned tomato sauce

3 cups (1lb12oz/780g) milk

4 cups (1lb10oz/780g) cooked chickpeas (or 400 to 500g paneer) (OR BOTH, by halving the amount of each)

4 tsps. garam masala

1 tsp paprika or cayenne or Indian red chili powder or both

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1½ tsp garlic powder or 4 tsps. minced ginger and garlic or ginger-garlic paste

4 bay leaves, optional

4 Tbsps. yogurt 

+ 4 tsp yogurt for garnish drizzle

cilantro, sliced green chilies and lime for garnish

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add all the ingredients and mix really well. Bring to a boil. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. You can add more garam masala if you like or some ground cumin and ground coriander for additional flavor.
2. There will be a lot of liquid. Cook down at least 20 minutes, maybe longer. 
3. The sauce will thicken more as it cools so you don’t want it too thick while it’s hot.
4. Serve the butter chickpeas garnished with cilantro, lemon juice, and sliced green chillies or with rice or flatbread, or naan. You can also add a garnish of cream.