Broccoli with anchovies

Don’t worry, the anchovies don’t make things too fishy! They just taste umami-licious.

Ingredients:
- 1 pound broccoli
- big glug olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- dried chilli flakes
- 2 anchovy fillets
- dash of lemon juice
- salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

To cook:
- Heat olive oil. Add crushed garlic and chili flakes and cook for a couple minutes until fragrant; do not let the garlic brown. Add the anchovy and stir until dissolved.
- Cut broccoli into florets and steam until it turns bright green and gets a bit tender. (I like mine with a bite.)
- Add the broccoli to the anchovy sauce, and mix well.
- Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle some lemon juice on, and nom it up.

Lettuce Risotto

Lettuce has a lovely delicate flavour when cooked. And surprisingly, it doesn’t turn into a slimy mush like you think it would, but retains a crunch.

Francis made this the other night to use up some allotment lettuce, using a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe.

Ingredients:
- 2 to 4 mixed lettuces, depending on size
- 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
- 350g (12oz) arborio rice
- big glug (2 or 3 tablespoons) olive oil
- 1 to 3 cloves of garlic (Francis used one, but we agreed it could support more)
- 1 onion
- 100g (3oz) fresh peas
- 12 green onions
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- knob of butter
- Parmesan cheese

To cook:
- Pick over, wash and roughly shred the lettuce.
- Bring the stock to the boil, then turn down the heat to a very gentle simmer.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the chopped onion, and cook until softened. Crush the garlic, toss it in, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the arborio rice to the pan and stir well until each grain of rice is coated with oil. Put in a ladleful of hot stock, and stir until the stock has been absorbed.
- Add the stock at intervals in this way. Keep stirring.
- About 15 minutes into the cooking time, when the rice is almost done but still just a little bit chalky in the middle, add the shredded lettuce, peas and sliced green onions. Stir gently to mix the vegetables through the rice. (At first it will seem like you have added too much lettuce, but don’t worry.)
- Cook about another three minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed, the peas are just tender and the rice is cooked. It should be creamy, not dry. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir in the butter, and sprinkle with Parmesan.

I tagged this as vegan since you can simply leave out the butter and cheese.

Pasta stuffed with squash and sage, mmmmm.

I threw this together last night on a whim and it turned out so. freaking. delicious!

Measurements are approximate, but don’t worry, you need not be exact.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound large pasta shells (you could also use cannelloni)
- 1/2 of a small butternut squash, about a pound
- 1 cup grated mozzarella
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 1/2 cups white sauce
- small handful fresh sage leaves
- fresh black pepper and salt to taste
- red pepper chili flakes to taste
- tiny pinch of cinnamon and some nutmeg, if you like

To cook:
- Cut the squash into 1″ slices and put on an oiled baking tray. Brush with olive oil, season, and bake at 325° until tender and a little brown on the edges. Cool, strip off any rind if it’s tough, and break into chunks.
- Mix together the squash, mozzarella, minced sage, and ricotta. (Save out a handful of the mozzarella to put on top later). Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. You can add a little cinnamon and the nutmeg if you like, but I found that the roasted squash was sweet and warm-tasting enough without it.
- Cook the pasta until al dente, drain, and rinse with cool water. (Don’t let them sit around too long before filling them or they’ll all stick together.) Fill each shell with the squash mixture and put in a shallow baking dish.
- Pour on the white sauce and cover with the Parmesan, mozzarella, and more fresh black pepper.
- Bake uncovered at 325° until cheese is well melted.

Try not to eat the whole pan.

Basic white sauce

Useful for all KINDS of things. Can go in chicken pot pie, on pasta, as a base for cheesy sauce to put on cauliflower, etc.

Measurements are approximate, just alter the amount of liquid to make it the consistency you want.

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup chicken stock (if for a savoury dish)
- 1/2 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste, or fresh herby goodness

To cook:
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat.
- Add the flour and cook for a good 3 minutes, stirring continuously. It should smell like toasted flour.
- Add a little stock and whisk until smooth. Add a little more, whisk, more, whisk etc until you’ve added stock and milk and it’s to the desired consistency.
- Season to taste.

Chilli dipping sauce

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Ingredients:
- two red chillies
- 4 cloves of garlic
- white vinegar
- sugar and salt to taste

To cook:
- Purée the chillies (seeds and all) and garlic, adding enough white vinegar to make a slurry.
- In a tiny sauce pan, heat the mixture to a gentle simmer. Add a pinch of sugar and a big pinch of salt, stir until both are dissolved.

Done!

Good with chicken, cheese, pizza, eggs or anything you want to add a zip to.

Another Fron-Shu success!

At the last challenge, Francis drew:

- minced beef
- chard
- yogurt
- cilantro (I think we’ve drawn cilantro every time so far!)
- peas
- fresh chillies
- dried fruit

He made a highly spiced Indian version of meatballs served with a yogurt cilantro dip. There were spicy curried peas and chard with garlic. He discarded the dried fruit, but thought that a meatloaf with chillies and the fruit would work. (Thanks for the suggestion, Mr Schwanky!)

It was delicious. The meatballs sort of fell apart upon frying, and we agreed that baking them might be the way to go in the future. He also cheated and put some mint in the yogurt sauce, but I ain’t complaining.

The best part was: we were able to get the chard, cilantro and peas from the allotment!

Black currant jam!

Easy as pie. Actually, easier than pie!

Ingredients:
- 1 kilo black currants
- 1 1/2 kilo golden caster sugar
- 600 ml water

To cook:
- Remove twiggy bits from currants (the little dried flowers are okay to leave on) and any damaged fruit. Put in a large, wide-bottom pot with the water.
- Over a low heat, bring to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes. The fruit should be soft but not disintegrated.
- Add the sugar, stir until dissolved completely, then bring to a full rolling boil. Cook for 5 minutes without stirring.
- Remove from heat, stir for a few minutes while cooling. (Traditional jam-making techniques dictate that you do not change the direction whilst stirring; less air gets in the jam that way.) Allow to cool a bit more, but while still hot, pour into sterilised jam jars.

Makes 5 or 6 one-pound (16 oz) jars. Good on ice cream, yogurt, toast, scones, fingers…

Tips: after you add the sugar, the skins will not get any softer, no matter how much longer you cook it, so make sure the fruit is good and cooked, lest you end up with chewy skins.

Don’t wash the currants unless you have to; dry them well if you must.

The best way to sterilise the jars is to wash with hot, soapy water, then dry in a warm oven for 15 minutes. The lids you can simply wash with hot, soapy water. Do this just before filling, since the longer they hang around, the more germs get on ‘em.

Fron-Shu’s Cookery Challenge!

YOU MUST TAKE THE CHALLENGE!

THE CHALLENGE PROCEEDS!

Meatballs with Anchovies

Anchovies are underrated when it comes to adding umami-ness to red meat! These don’t taste fishy at all, just marvellously meaty and savoury.

Ingredients:
- 2 bread rolls, crusts removed
- 1 or 2 bread rolls’ worth of breadcrumbs (2 oz)
- 1/2 cup milk
- small handful chopped flat-leafed parsley
- 1 clove garlic, minimum
- 2 tinned anchovy fillets
- 14oz minced beef
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste

To cook:
- Tear the rolls into pieces and soak in the milk for ten minutes. Drain and squeeze.
- Mix together parsely, minced or crush garlic, anchovies and beef.
- Add soaked bread crumbs, egg yolk, Parmesan, and salt and pepper. Really get in there and use your hands!
- Shape into eight or ten balls and flatten slightly. Roll them in breadcrumbs.
- Brush a frying pan with oil, heat to medium-high, and add the meatballs. Cook on each side for one minute, then turn down heat, cover, and cook gently for about 10 minutes.

Really really yummy leftover.

We haven’t tried them yet with pasta, although I think that would be delicious. Try them with steamed potatoes and cabbage, or a sammich with a crusty baguette.

M-m-m-meatballs!

Improvisational and flexible meatball recipe.

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs ground beef (could be half minced pork or sausage)
- 2 eggs
- 2 big handfuls cracker crumbs (I smash water crackers with a stick.)
- handful grated Parmesan cheese
- 6 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 diced small yellow onion
- salt and pepper to taste

Mix and match some of these:
- sage
- parsley
- oregano
- salami
- ketchup
- worcestershire sauce
- red pepper flakes

To cook:
- Mix all well. C’mon, get your hands in there!
- Form into 2″ balls.
- Bake at 350°F for about 1/2 hour.

They freeze well, you can simmer them in nummy tomato sauce, and they’re good cold in a sammich.