My most flavourful recipes
2 bottles redwine
4 organic oranges in slices
2 organic lemons in slices
2 satchels bourbon vanilla sugar
2 cinnamon (not cassia) sticks
8 cloves
2 star anise
Optional: I added a glug of leftover amaretto.
Heat till almost boiling point and let infuse, overnight if possible.
Reheat till almost boiling point, and serve.
8 lamb shanks
14 garlic cloves, chopped
2 large knobs of fresh ginger, chopped
4 tsp mild paprika
2 tsp coriander powder
Grind garlic and ginger to a paste and add the paprika and coriander powder. Smear all over the lamb shanks, put in a tightfitting plastic bag and marinade, turning from time to time, overnight.
8 tblsp olive oil (that is what I always use but others prefer a lighter vegetable oil
10 cloves
2 cassia bark (genuine cinnamon) sticks, broken in half
12 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
26 black peppercorns
4 onions, peeled and chopped
4 green chilies, coarsely sliced
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp turmeric powder
4 tsp coriander powder
3 tblsp tomato puree
8 tblsp full-fat yoghurt
Up to a half liter water
Juice of 2-3 limes
Heat the oil and sizzle the cloves, cassia bark sticks, black peppercorns and cardamom pods for a minute or two.
Add the onions and cook on medium heat for up to 15 minutes until the onions start to caramellise.
Add the chillies, coriander and turmeric. Add a little bit of water if the mixture gets too dry.
Mix in the tomato puree.
At this point, the mixture can be frozen till the day you are going to serve the lamb shanks.
Or you can proceed to add the lamb shanks, turning them over so they seal evenly. Add yoghurt and water and cook for a couple of hours, turning the shanks occasionally, till the meat is very tender.
Add lemon juice, test for salt, garnish with chopped fresh coriander and/or thin onion slices.
1,2 kg chicken pieces, skin removed
250 g cashew nuts
15 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
4 cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 large onions
2 tblsp coriander seeds
1 tblsp cumin seeds
5 whole red chillies
10 cloves
2 cassia bark (genuine cinnamon) sticks
100 g grated coconut
1 dl olive oil (or a lighter vegetable oil if you prefer)
Blitz 100 g of the cashew nuts with a bit of water to a thick, smooth paste. Set aside.
In a large frying pan, dry-roast the garlic, ginger, onion, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, cloves, cinnamon, and 75 g of the cashew nuts over a low heat for five minutes.
Add the coconut and roast, stirring, till the coconut starts to brown. Leave to cool.
Blend this mixture with 2-3 dl water to a very smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a wide cooking pot, add the blended spice mixture and fry for ten minutes over a low heat.
Add the ground cashew nut paste with some salt and fry for another two to three minutes.
At this point, the mixture can be frozen till the day you are serving the chicken.
Or you can proceed to increase the heat, add water to the desired thickness, bring to the boil, add the chicken, turn to medium heat, add the rest of the cashew nuts, and simmer till the chicken meat is done.
250 g black-eyed peas
A good knob of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
8 garlic cloves, chopped
2 fresh chilies, e.g. jalapeño, deseeded and chopped
6 cl oil (I always use a good olive oil, but others prefer lighter vegetable oils)
3 onions, chopped
2 tblsp ground cumin
1 tblsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 dl chopped tomato
Salt
Black pepper
Juice of 1 lime (or 2, if you bought it in Denmark where the quality is most often abysmal and getting juice from a lime is much like drawing water from a stone …..).
2 tblsp chopped fresh coriander leaves and 1 small thinly sliced red onion for garnish
Rinse the black-eyed peas and soak them in plenty of water for about 8 hours or overnight. Discard the soaking water. Cook the peas in plenty of water for 45-50 minutes.
Grind the ginger, chili pepper and garlic to a paste.
Heat the oil and sizzle the onions at medium heat for at least ten minutes, till they start to caramellise.
Add the garlic paste and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.
Add the cumin, coriander and cayenne, stir and cook for another minute.
Add the tomato and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
This sauce can now be frozen until the day you need to serve it.
Or you can add the black-eyed beans straightaway and cook for another 15 minutes.
Season with salt and black pepper, add the lime juice, and garnish.
Serves four
60ml olive oil
2-3 banana shallots, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
4 whole cardamom pods, crushed to release the seeds, pods discarded
Salt and black pepper
2½ tbsp harissa paste
½ tsp rose water
500ml vegetable stock
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 4cm dice (800g)
400g tinned cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
7 dried apricots, thinly sliced
20g preserved lemon skin, roughly chopped
10g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
150g Greek yoghurt
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. In a large saute pan for which you have a lid, heat two tablespoons of oil on a medium-high flame. Add the shallots and fry for seven to eight minutes, stirring every so often, until soft and caramelised, then stir in the garlic, spices, half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, and fry for two minutes longer. Add the harissa, rose water, stock and 200ml water, bring to a boil, then lay in the squash pieces in a single flat layer. Turn down the heat to medium, cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes, until almost cooked through.
Take the pan off the heat and transfer the squash to a medium bowl, using a slotted spoon. Add two tablespoons of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and some pepper to the bowl, mix to coat, then spread out the squash on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 20 minutes, until golden-brown and cooked through, then leave to cool.
While the squash is roasting, tip the chickpeas, apricots and preserved lemon into the stock left in the pan, bring to a boil on a medium-high heat and cook for about 12 minutes, until the sauce reduces a little and becomes thick and rich. While they’re cooking, crush a few chickpeas with the back of a spoon, to thicken the mix further.
To serve, divide three-quarters of the squash between individual bowls and spoon over the chickpea sauce. Top with the rest of the squash, sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve at once with some yoghurt alongside.
Sizzle the onions, garlic and ginger in the ghee or oil till the onions turn translucent and start to brown only slightly. Add the chilies and the spices and cook for another five minutes. Add the tomato puree, stir. Then add the cooked lentils, mix well, and add the tinned tomatoes. Simmer for a while to let the flavours blend.
3 glasses of passata (yes, that is cheating, but unless you are at the height of home-grown tomato season, it will give a better flavour).
9 slices white bread (toast bread) soaked in water
3 medium cucumbers, half peeled, and diced
9 red peppers trimmed and diced
9 garlic cloves
3 large or 6 small red onions
3 dl olive oil
3-6 tblsp sherry vinegar
Chop, blend, and mix it all together. Easily stacked in the fridge, transported and poured from in empty plastic bottles for example from distilled water.
NOTE: you need to start the day before you want to serve it.
The meat becomes very tender when marinaded and cooked this way.
If there are leftovers, blend the marinade and juices assembled in the pan, dice the meat and add , to make a lamb curry. When reheated the meat becomes even more tender.
A 3-3.5 kg leg of lamb (in Berlin easiest found in Turkish supermarkets or butchers).
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 heaped tblsp coriander seeds
1 heaped tsp black pepper corns
Seeds from 6 cardamom pods
3 cinnamon sticks (Ceylon or Sri Lanka – NOT cassia)
3 dl yoghurt
8-10 garlic cloves
8-10 cm fresh ginger
150 g ground almonds
Juice of 1 lemon
Chili – any way, shape or form, whatever you have in the house, and to taste
2 tsp salt
The day before you want to serve the dish, cut deep slashes in the meat on all sides.
Grind the spices. Blitz the ginger and garlic in a small food processor with a bit of water.
Mix all ingredients together and rub all over the meat and into every cut and cranny. Put in a solid plastic bag suitable for storing food, or a snugly fitting bowl and cover. Refrigerate over night.
Preheat oven to 180 Celcius. Place lamb in a deep baking tray. Add about 1.5 dl water to the bottom of the pan. Bake for 2.5 to 3 hours.
1 kg pumpkin or butternut sqash, cut into large chunks
Olive oil to drizzle
1 tblsp garam masala
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 green chilis, slit lengthways
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500 g (after soaking and cooking) black-eyed beans
150 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 x 400 ml tin coconut milk
Place pumpkin pieces in a bowl, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with garam masala, salt and pepper. Mix to coat evenly and arrange in an oven-proof plate in a single layer. Roast at 180 degrees until the pumpkin is soft and tender.
Heat olive oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add the chilies and the onion and cook till the onion is soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the beans, mix well, and add the tomatoes. Cook for another couple of minutes.
Now add the turmeric, a good pinch of black pepper, 1 tsp salt and the coconut milk. Heat gently and add the pumpkin. Cover and heat through, checing for salt and chili.
For one kilo of chicken thigh meat (without skin and bones – METRO has it)
3 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 (real) cinnamon sticks
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
6 cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
6 cloves garlic, crushed
Chili to taste, for example 1 tsp chili powder, or 2 fresh chilies
1 tsp salt
200 g tinned tomatoes or tomato passata
2 tblsp tomato concentrate
1,5 tsp ground cumin
A half tsp ground turmeric
3 tblsp full-fat yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
Heat the oil and fry cumin seeds and cinnamon sticks shortly. Then add the onions and cook on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
Blend the ginger, garlic, chilies and salt with just enough water to make a coarse paste.
Add the paste to the onions and simmer for a couple of minutes. Then add the tomato and cook for a few minutes to a thick paste, stirring occasionally.
Then add the tomato concentrate and the rest of the spices. Simmer.
Whisk the yoghurt and incorporate it, once tblsp at a time. Cook through and let all the flavours meld.
Add the chicken and simmer for arund 30 minutes. Before serving, add the garam masala and heat through.