Autumn Lamb Stew

This is a recipe found online from the Timesonline website. I think Autumn is the time of year for stews and soups. I like making stews as once the cooking is done, you just leave it to simmer and you can get on with other tasks at home. It makes time for being productive, and at the end of it, you still get a lovely tasting meal!

Ingredients:
• 1.5kg lamb shoulder or leg, boned, and cut into 3cm cubes
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, halved and finely sliced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 celery stalks, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 200ml red wine
• 500g celeriac, peeled and diced into 3cm cubes
• 2tbsp tomato purée
• 400g canned chopped tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 500ml water or stock
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Method:
• Heat oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Toss diced up meat in the flour.
• Heat butter and 2 tbsp oil in a heatproof casserole dish or deep pan and brown the meat in batches.
• Remove the meat, add the remaining oil and cook the onion, carrots, celery and garlic for 5 minutes.
• Add the red wine and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Return the lamb to the pan.
• Add the celeriac, tomato purée, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper, and the water or stock, and bring to the boil, stirring.
• If using caserole dish with lid, cover tightly. If using deep pan, transfer contents into an oven proof dish with a lid or alternatively using aluminium foil to cover tightly. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Scatter with parsley and serve.

Leon Gobi

One of my favourite curry found at a health food chain in London is the Leon Gobi. This simple vegetarian curry is full of flavour, and the texture is nevertheless not lacking interesting crunch in between the soft cauliflower and sweet potato mouthfuls. It's just heart warming on a chilly winter's day...

Full recipe can be found on the Guardian website.

Apple and Pork Stew

Autumn arrives and the apple tree in the garden bears beautiful fruits. It's so pleasant to be able to pick apples from the tree to make food of them!

The neighbour's children actually had a nice afternoon gathering sacks full of apples for the autumn. Just love it!

We started with the usual favourite apple cake recipe, then experimented with some apple crumble, and couldn't think of what next... and a neighbour suggested cooking in stews!

At first it sounded a little bit of a strange mix, but having Googled up recipes, 'Apple & Pork Stew' seems quite a popular. Here's an adapted recipe after trying two rounds of stews. It's heart warming especially as the chill sets in and the days grow shorter.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 apples, skinned, cored and quartered
• 500g pork shoulder, diced into bite sized chunks
• 1.5 tbsp oil
• 1 red onion, skinned and chopped
• 2-3 carrots, diced into squares
• 3-4 potatoes, skinned and chopped into squares (if using baby potatoes, just rinse and cut into halves or quarter)
• 1-2 stalks celery (optional if short of other vegetables)
• ½ tsp allspice
• 1 leaf fresh or dried sage
• 1 tsp mustard (optional
• season with salt and pepper

Method:

• Heat oil in stock pot over medium to high heat.
• Add pork shoulders and brown on all sides, turning as needed, for approximately 5 minutes.
• Transfer pork to a dish, season with salt and pepper.
• Add onions, carrots, potatoes, celery and apples to pot and cook. Stirring constantly until onions begin to brown, for approximately 5-6 minutes. (optional: mustard can be added in before the next step)
• Return pork shoulders into the pot, add allspice and sage to pot, then pour water enough to cover the contents in pot and bring to a quick boil.
• Turn heat low to simmering speed, scraping up brown bits on bottom and sides of pot.
• Cover and simmer until pork is tender, couple of hours or longer. (optional: if a slow-cooker is at hand, you can use a slow-cooker instead.)

The measurements above will cook enough for 4 portions. The stew is great to serve with fresh crisps bread or rice.

Apple Crumble

This is quite easy to make. If you don't try it, you'll never know... honestly, try it, it's lovely!

Ingredients:
Apple mix

• 6-7 apples
• 6tbsp brown sugar
• 75g raisins
• 1½ tsp cinnamon

Crumble
• 150g butter at room temperature
• 260g flour
• 150g brown sugar
• 1cup of rolled oats (optional) OR
• 150g of roughly chopped walnuts (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200° celsius
• Butter the sides of 1-2inch deep oven proof dish
Apple mix

• Rinse raisins in hot water and let soak for a while before draining and set aside.
• Peel, core and quarter apples into bite size chunks.
• Mix well with sugar, cinnamon and raisins.
• Pour into buttered oven proof dish.

Crumble

• Put flour in a deep mixing bowl
• Dice butter and start rubbing together with flour until the mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Mix in rolled oats and mix roughly.
• Sprinkle crumble mix over the top of the apple and spread evenly.
• Lastly sprinkle over chopped nuts if using them.



• Bake in the middle shelf for approximately 30minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve warm with custard or vanilla ice cream.