One for These Winter Days

This pie is perfect for those cold, rainy winter days. All it needs on the side is some steamed broccoli or carrots. Curl up in front of the fire and tuck in.

Beef and Chorizo Pie
adapted from 'Favourite Recipes from Books for Cooks 4, 5 & 6'
serves 6-8
This recipe makes either six 350ml (or eight 250ml) individual pies or else one large one.

filling
1 tbsp olive oil
200g chorizo, sliced
1kg stewing beef
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried thyme
250ml red wine
250ml chicken stock
S+P

pastry
175g unsalted butter, cubed
milk, approx 100ml
350g flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
salt
1 egg, to glaze

• put flour, salt, baking powder and butter in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs
  
• add milk and process until pastry comes together
• knead pastry for a few mins
• wrap in cling film and refridgerate for at least 30 mins

• in a heavy pot warm the olive oil and add the chorizo
• cook until the orange paprika oil runs out, about 5 mins
• remove chorizo and set aside
• increase heat and add the beef until browned
• remove beef from the pot
• add the onion and cook until soft and golden
• add the garlic and cook for a minute
• add the four and cook for a further minute
• return the meats to the pot and add the tomato puree, paprika and thyme
• pour in the wine, bring to a simmer and add the stock
• cook over a gentle heat (or in the oven at 160C) for about an hour until the beef is tender
• transfer to a bowl and leave to cool

• preheat the oven to 190C
• roll out the pastry until it is 0.25cm thick
  
• fill you pie dishes with the beef filling and top with pastry
• crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork, brush with egg glaze and pierce a hole in the centre to allow the steam to escape
• small pies will take 20-25 mins to cook while the large one will take about 40 mins
  

Texas Chilli

What have I been doing? I hear you say. The last six months have been pretty hectic, we've relocated 4500 miles away to Houston, Texas. Now that we're all settled it (and all my kitchen gadgets have arrived) it's time to start cooking again.

Where better to start our Texas adventure than with a Texas Chilli

I used a pre-blended chilli mix "Chilli 3000" available from Penzeys in the US. I'm not usually a fan of pre-blended mixes and would always make my own for Indian etc. I figured I couldn't go wrong in the home of chilli though.

Texas Chilli

Serves 4
olive oil
1 kg beef, I used chuck steak
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt + Pepper
1.5 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp cumin, ground down in a mortar and pestle
400g can tomatoes
2 tbsp flour

• in a heavy pan brown the beef in olive oil, you probably need to do this in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan
• remove beef and set aside
• add onion and garlic to the pan and saute until soft
• add chilli powder and cumin and cook for 1-2 mins
• return the beef to the pan and the tomatoes and season
• simmer over a low heat for 40 mins
• if sauce is too thin add a little flour (mixed to a paste with water) to thicken

serve with Basmati (or Texmati) rice

Lasagne

The thing about lasagne is that it is on every pub and cafe menu up and down the country but it is so rarely well-executed. It's not difficult to make a good lasagne but it does require some time - not necessarily chained to the stove - but just keeping an eye on things. I like to make this recipe over three days, ragu sauce on day one, make bechamel sauce and assemble on day two and then leave overnight for the flavours to meld together before baking.

Ragu Sauce:
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
150g panchetta, diced
1 glass wine
1 kg mined beef
2 x 400g good quality tinned tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
pinch dried oregano

• Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan and add carrots, celery, garlic, onion and pancetta
• Cook over a moderately low heat for 20 mins - you want all the veg to soften but not colour (this is known as a soffritto in Italian)
  
• Turn heat up slightly and add the minced beef, stir until all meat has browned
• Add the glass of wine and leave to bubble off
• Add tomatoes, puree, oregano and season
• Cook over a low heat for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until nice and thick
  

Bechamel Sauce:
1200 ml milk
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
10 peppercorns
65g butter
65g plain flour

• Place milk, onion, bay leaf and peppercorns in a saucepan
• Bring up to the boil, swith off heat and leave to cool and infuse
• Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour
• Cook over a low heat for 1-2 mins (essential to cook the flour)
  
• Add the milk one ladle at a time and whisk in thoroughly
• Cook slowly over low heat until thick, stirring all the time

I like to blanch my lasagne's sheets for about 10 mins before assembly as it cuts down the cooking time later and allows the flavours to come together better before cooking. When ready to bake top with grated parmesan and bake @ 180° for 30-40 minutes.