Category: Recipes

Recipes feature heavily on the ‘Ome Made Blog. There are lots of different ones to choose from.

Curries are covered in depth with the different methods of cooking them from traditional dishes to B.I.R style using curry base sauce or gravy.

Some of the recipes feature ‘Ome Made Curry Masalas, rubs and seasonings, with ideas on how to use them.

BBQ recipes are included including Pulled Pork and even what to do with the leftovers such as Pulled Pork Chilli.

Many of the dishes featured on the ‘Ome Made Blog are centred around spices. Not all hot and spicy though! There are some subtly spiced and warming dishes such as Slow Roasted Moroccan Lamb.

There is even the odd dessert and sweet thing including the school dinner classic Crispy Cornflake Tart!

Slow Roasted Lamb Moroccan Style

One of our favourite meals in the ‘Ome Made household is slow roasted lamb Moroccan style. Lamb shoulder coated with a warming, earthy Moroccan rub.

Keep It Local!

We are lucky in Sheffield that we have so many places to buy superb locally reared lamb. Two of our favourites are Firs Farm and Whirlow Hall Farm.

Why Lamb Shoulder?

Lamb shoulder is superb for slow roasting on a low heat. Because the shoulder joint is fattier than the leg, it stays lovely and moist. The fat renders down to nothing and helps flavour the meat. After a 6 – 8 hour cook you are left with a piece of meat that is literally falling from the bone!

Add a marinade or rub to the cooking process and you end up with a incredibly tasty meal!

Variations

Don’t feel that you have to follow this recipe to the letter.

At the most basic all you need is some ‘Ome Made Moroccan Rub-a-Dub-Rub, or your own mix of spices, rubbed on to a piece of lamb which you put in a roasting pan, cover with foil and roast on a low heat for 6 hours.

However the more you put in to it the more layers of flavour you will get.

Also if you are using ‘Ome Made Moroccan rub it uses very little salt so you may want to season to your own taste. There is also very little chilli heat in the rub so if you don’t like things to hot don’t worry you will be fine. And if you do like heat? well pile in some extra chilli!

How to serve

Our favourite way of serving slow roasted Moroccan lamb is with Mediterranean flatbreads, Turkish Salad, yoghurt & mint or Tzatziki and a generous splash of ‘Ome Made Chilli Sauce!

However it could be served with cous cous, savoury rice, tabbouleh or even part of a more Traditional Sunday Roast.

For The Recipe Of Slow Roasted Lamb Moroccan Style Click Here

Roasted Lamb Moroccan Style

Slow Roasted Lamb Moroccan Style

Slow roasted lamb Moroccan style is such an easy recipe. You can even prepare it the day before so that you can just put it in the oven the following day. Cooked Low & Slow it means you can get on with other things during the day.

For more details on this recipe click here.

For an easy to follow Mediterranean Flatbread recipe see the ‘Ome Made Group. This bread is ideal for serving with Moroccan flavoured lamb.

Roasted Lamb Moroccan Style

Slow Roasted Moroccan Lamb is such a tasty dish and it is really easy. Not only that, but while it's in the oven working it's magic you can get on with other things. Ideal if you're wanting some quality time with the family.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 6

Total Time 6 30

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

1 whole lamb shoulder Or 1/2 shoulder (just halve ingredients)
2 tablespoons 'Ome Made Moroccan Rub-a-Dub-Rub Or your own spices or other shop bought
2 whole garlic cloves crushed or grated
2 teaspoons salt

Curry Base Sauce

I have done a post before on British Indian Restaurant Curry but thought with the amount of people wanting a recipe for a base sauce I’d do a separate recipe.

Make It Your Own Curry Base Sauce!

Remember, you can add what you like, leave out what you don’t have or add more or less of an ingredient to suit your own taste. I see people ask “What’s the best base sauce” well my answer to that is, your own!

So see this as a guide or a starting point and then make it your own.

Don’t Believe The Hype

B.I.R curry has a lot of followers. Some of these people will tell you that so and so’s curry base is the best. Some will tell you that certain ingredients shouldn’t go in a base sauce. If you add something to a recipe and the result is not very nice, then, yes, you probably shouldn’t of added that. On the other hand you might think “that recipe needs this” and you may just happen to create the perfect base sauce.

My advice is start off simple and start building the flavour layers from there.

I’ll let you in to a secret. No two base sauces I make are the same. I don’t follow a recipe and it all depends on what I have in the fridge.

Don’t let all the long winded methods some chef writers use put you off making a base sauce. It can be as simple or as complex as you want. And if all else fails reach for that tin of carrot and coriander soup, water it down and use that. Or alternatively purchase one of my Curry bouillon pouches!

Buy ‘Ome Made Masalas!

You can buy ‘Ome Made Curry Masalas at the ‘Ome Made Online Shop. You will even find a handy Curry Bouillon on there if you don’t have the patience to make a base sauce or if you want a standby for emergencies!

Social Media

There are a ton of curry related pages on Facebook. Search The Secret Curry Club or British Indian Restaurant Curry and it will come up with plenty of pages. And of course there is the ‘Ome Made Facebook page where I post curry dishes that I’ve made.

Curry Base Sauce

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 3 30

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 12 portions

Ingredients

3 Tbsp oil or ghee not olive oil
4 Medium sized Onions sliced
1 Tsp salt
8 Fat Cloves garlic chopped
1 inch cubed piece ginger chopped
1 red pepper (or half red, half green) diced
1 medium sized carrot peeled and chopped
2 heaped teaspoons mild curry masala/powder
1 Tbsp tomato puree
2 litre hot water
1 heaped teaspoon sugar, jaggery or palm sugar
1 Tbsp Coriander stalks Cut the stalks off fresh coriander leaving leaves to finish your curry off with.

Notes

Optional extras you can add to your base sauce include extra peppers, a small amount of white cabbage (roughly 30g), a small amount of fresh chillies, a few fresh tomatoes, coconut powder (1tbsp) or creamed coconut block (around 50g).

To use the base sauce you want around 200ml for 1 person. There are plenty of recipes for British Indian Restaurant classic dishes on the internet and you tube that you can use this base sauce in or you can look at my earlier post British Indian Restaurant Curry for a couple of pointers.

Keyword Base Curry Sauce

Pulled Pork. How To Do It & Make Chilli With The Leftovers!

Pulled Pork… I do like cooking meat the low and slow method. It allows you to play around with so many flavours and you also get the rest of the day free! You also get to make great food with the leftovers. Read on for a great Pulled Pork Chilli!

Pulled pork is no exception. It can be done on the BBQ, in the oven or in a slow cooker.

Although I would prefer to cook pork for pulling on the BBQ, the British weather isn’t always ideal and I’m not one for ducking in and out of the rain just for a piece of meat!

So what is the best cut of pork for Pulled Pork? Most people will be able to get a piece of shoulder from their local butcher or supermarket and this is fine for the job. Make sure you take the rind off and cook that separately for some crackling! However the best piece of pork, if you can get hold of it, is a cut referred to as Boston Butt! This is the American name for the cut, however in good old Blighty it is called pork crop. Ask your local butcher, they may just oblige!

Pork crop for pulled pork rubbed with 'Ome Made BBQ rub from www.omemade.co.uk — Pork crop or Boston Butt rubbed with ‘Ome Made BBQ Rub-a-Dub-Rub

We are lucky to have a pig farmer just around the corner from us. Their pork is sublime. If you are in the Sheffield area you really should try and get hold of some. They are Moss Valley Fine Meats if you want to look them up.

So now you have your meat you need to decide how to flavour it. Most people will opt for a traditional BBQ flavour. In this cook I used ‘Ome Made BBQ Rub-a-Dub-Rub to rub on to the pork before it was cooked. If you can do this the day before it will help the flavours penetrate the meat. You could opt for other flavours. In the past I’ve done it Chinese style and of course South American flavours work brilliantly.

Now you need to decide how to cook it. I’m not going to talk about cooking it on the BBQ in this post, I’ll save that for another time!

To cook in a slow cooker simply put in the slow cooker with a little liquid. Apple Juice works well. For a kilo piece of pork you will be looking at 4.5 to 5 hours. Personally I would finish it off in the oven with a glaze of BBQ sauce or some apple juice, maple syrup or honey and a splash of bourbon!

To cook pulled pork in the oven you want the oven temperature to be 120°C – 125°C. Place your pork in a roasting pan. Place a little baking sheet or greaseproof over the meat, if you have it, and then cover the roasting pan with tinfoil, crimping to the edges to create a seal. for 1kg meat you are probably looking at around 4 hours. For 2kg about 5.5 hours cooking covered. after this time you need to uncover the meat. Take the meat out of the pan and drain off the juices then put the meat back in the pan. Turn the oven up to around 160°C – 165°C. you can now baste the meat with whatever you want. I used a mixture of apple juice, maple syrup and bourbon. Put back in the oven and every 20 minutes or so give it a baste. You could baste with BBQ sauce, Sweet Chilli Sauce or even reduce the cooking juices down with a bit of dark sugar or honey a little vinegar and soya sauce and use that. after an hour or hour and half if you have a larger joint the meat should be ready. Carefully take the pork out of the roasting tin and wrap in baking or greaseproof paper and tin foil. the meat now needs to rest for at least 20 minutes after which time you can pull it apart with a couple of forks. You can now add more BBQ Sauce Chilli Sauce or leftover juices to the pork before serving.

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Personally I like to serve it in some bread of some sort, with some pickled veg, cheese, jalapeno chillies and some fries on the side. Awesome! You could serve with some good old ‘Ome Made Baked Beans! Follow the link for the recipe.

Of course the best thing about pulled pork is that it goes a long way and you always end up with leftovers. If you don’t you need to buy a bigger joint!

One of our favourite things to do with the leftovers is a Chilli.

Here’s a simple recipe for a really tasty Pulled Pork Chilli!

British Indian Restaurant Curry

British Indian Restaurant Curry And how to Make It!

Scroll down for a basic recipe for Curry Base Gravy and how to use it!

Just like any other food curry has it’s trends and opinions on how to make it. In this article we will find out what British Indian Restaurant Curry is and how to reproduce it in your own home.

I have been following the trend for British Indian Restaurant (BIR) style curries for many years, starting in the 90’s when Pat Chapman started his series of books. Recently Dan Toombs, Misty Ricardo and a handful of other curry aficionados have taken over the mantle.

The British Indian Restaurant style of cooking curry relies on the use of a basic curry powder and a special ‘mix powder’ as well as the use of a ‘base curry sauce’.

Base Curry Sauce

The base curry sauce is basically a thin type of stock/soup. Onions, garlic and ginger are sautéed in a pan before a little spice is added. Carrot and peppers are often added along with fresh coriander stalks and I’ve even seen cabbage added, in fact I’ve used it myself!

The problem I have with the British Indian Restaurant Curry method is that;

1, it usually relies on cooking base sauces and ingredients in bulk and then freezing in portions.

2, it’s best cooking one or two main dishes at a time as it relies on high heat to reduce the base sauce quickly and caramelise in the pan. this is difficult to achieve if like me you are cooking for a family of six (even more if I’m cooking extra for another day!). Also do you want to spend the rest of the night cleaning your cooker top after curry has spat everywhere? I mean it’s bad enough when I just normally cook!

If you’re cooking for just yourself or two people and you haven’t got Kids to look after, the second point may not bother you too much, in fact, I remember those days! If that’s the case you can find some great recipes online. Here’s a couple places to get started:

Curry Personalities

Romain at Glebe Kitchen has some amazing recipes. Easy to follow and explains every stage in detail but without the process sounding like you need a science degree to put some food on the table!

Misty Ricardo has some great recipes on his You Tube channel, or check out his books on Amazon.

Dan Toombs also has some great recipes on his website and again he has a few great books out.

Julian Voigt is somebody else that is worth having a look at. Again he posts lots of ‘how to’ videos on You Tube.

You could also check out The Curry Secret on Facebook.

However If you are like me, sometimes you just can’t be bothered to follow a recipe, and personally I don’t think it’s necessary, if you remember the basics.

And I think the most important thing is that there is no right or wrong way of doing things providing you are getting great end results!

‘Ome Made Curry Masalas

I have just started selling a group of spice blends that are perfect for Indian cuisine, whether you are making traditional dishes or going down the British Indian Restaurant curry route. They are Madras Curry Masala, BIR Curry Masala, Garam Masala and Tandoori Masala.

The BIR Curry Masala is a cheeky little thing. I’ve combined the ingredients you would normally find in a standard curry powder (minus the copious amounts of salt, flour and all the other fillers it would have) and added extra spices that would make up the Indian Restaurants ‘special mix’. Obviously they would add more or less of the curry powder and mix depending on the dish but I have found this is a pretty happy medium and we’ve had fantastic results with it when I was trialling it at ‘ome.

Obviously there are plenty of standard curry powders out there for you to try and it’s really easy to find out what the basics are of a BIR ‘special mix’ powder are if you want to make your own. Or you could just use a standard curry powder without the extra spice mix.

Back To Base!

Now on to the Base Curry Sauce.

If I have the time I do, nowadays, make one.

Do I follow a recipe? No. I don’t always have everything that ‘should’ go in to it so sometimes you just have to go with what you have.

Oh, and here’s a tip. If you really can’t be bothered with making a base sauce try using one of those fresh, chilled Carrot & Coriander soups you find at the supermarket. Never done it myself but I’ve read it gives great results! I have also just developed a Curry Bouillon which is a dried blend of onions & vegetables. This is simply fried for a few seconds before adding water and simmering for 10 minutes. You then have a curry stock which you can add to your curry or use as a substitute for base gravy if you haven’t had the time to make one or you’ve emptied your freezer supply!

So, even though I don’t use a recipe myself, here’s two recipes for a base sauce! If you haven’t got some of the ingredients leave them out or replace with something else. See this recipe as a starting point, adapt and customise it how you will and to your taste. It’s the best way!

The first recipe is a bit more complex. The second is about as basic as it comes and you should be able to memorise it after a few goes. If I was honest I use the second one more than the first!

Base curry sauce No. 1

Makes enough for approximately 12 portions of curry. It will keep in the fridge for 3 days or can be frozen. if you don’t want to make so much just halve the ingredients.

Ingredients;

3 tablespoons oil (sunflower, rapeseed, vegetable)
4 medium onions, sliced
8 fat cloves of garlic, chopped
1″ cube of ginger, chopped
2 heaped teaspoons mild/medium curry powder/masala
1 red pepper (or any other coloured pepper!)
1 medium sized carrot
coriander stalks (if you have them, basically if you are using fresh coriander to finish your curry off cut off the stalks now to add to your base!)
big dollop of tomato paste (you could use a squirt of tomato sauce if you don’t have any)
2 litre of water, ideally hot from the kettle.
1 heaped teaspoon of sugar/jaggery/palm sugar
optional extras; few fresh tomatoes, white cabbage, extra peppers, a little coconut powder (or coconut milk or creamed coconut)

Method.

Heat the oil in a pan and add your onion. fry gently for 10 minutes before adding your garlic and ginger, fry for a couple minutes more. Add the curry masala/powder and fry for a minute or so. If it’s sticking add a splash of water. Now add your carrot and peppers and give a stir around. Add the tomato paste and cook for 20 seconds or so. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Now add the coriander stalks and cook gently for at least an hour (and up to 2 hours). If it’s starting to look a bit thick or the liquid is disappearing just add some more water.

Once all the veg is soft you need to puree the sauce. The best way to do that is with am immersion/stick blender. It can be done in a blender but let it cool a little and don’t overfill!

Once your sauce is blended it needs to cook for 30 – 60 minutes more. it should be the consistency of a thin soup.

Base Curry Sauce N0. 2

This is a handy one for us as it does enough for 6, exactly the number of people in our household! It can be doubled up and again it will keep in the fridge for three days or you can freeze it.

Ingredients

4tbsp of oil
3 large onions, sliced
1 tsp salt
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch cubed piece of fresh ginger
3 tsp ‘Ome Made B.I.R Curry Masala (or another curry masala or 1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander & turmeric)
1.2 ltr water
a handful of coriander stalks (if you have them)
1 x 400ml tin of tomatoes (chopped or whole as they get blitzed)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Once hot add the onions and salt and gently fry for 10 minutes or until
the onions are starting to soften.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for a couple more minutes
3. Add the curry Masala or spices, along with a splash of water. Give a quick stir and mix and then
pour in the water
4. Bring to the simmer and cook for 45 minutes, lid off
5. Add the tinned tomatoes and coriander stalks
6. Bring back to the simmer and cook for another 30 minutes
7. Take the pan off the heat and blitz with an immersion blender until you have a smooth sauce
8. Put back on a low heat ready for adding to your curry. If it looks a little thick add some water. It
should be slightly thicker than full fat milk.
9. Use in a curry recipe as directed.

Notes

I have made this sauce in less time than it says, giving it 30 minutes before adding the tomatoes and
coriander and then cooking for only another 20 minutes. It was still good!
Of course you could fry your ingredients off and then add to a pressure cooker or soup maker along with all
the other ingredients and it will still be just as good. Just follow the cooking times for a soup.
This base works really well in a curry when you use the method of adding diluted tomato paste to you
cooked out spices. For 4 people use 2 tbsp of tomato puree diluted in 300ml of boiling water. Add this to
your curry when you have fried your onion, garlic, ginger and spices and let it reduce down so you’re left
with a thick paste. Then you can start adding your base sauce as normal.

Basic Medium Curry British Indian Restaurant Style.

serves approximately 4

Ingredients.

2 tablespoon of oil (not olive) or ghee
1 1/2 medium onions, roughly chopped
4 fat cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
small piece of ginger (to taste) roughly chopped
4 heaped teaspoons curry masala/powder
a half portion of Base sauce No. 1 or all or nearly all of base sauce No. 2
600g of your main ingredient (uncooked chicken, lamb, vegetable, prawns etc)
fresh coriander, chopped
a pinch of garam masala or grind of black pepper
salt to taste

Method

Blitz your chopped onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor, grinder or blender (you may have to add a little water to help) to make a paste. If you haven’t got a food processor you could use a pestle and mortar or just chop finely.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion paste, careful as it may spit a little. Fry the paste gently for 10 minutes or so, don’t worry it will probably turn green!

Add the curry masala/powder and cook gently, if it is sticking add a splash of water, a little at a time. You want the spices to ‘cook out’ the oil will start to split from the paste when this happens and the mixture will spit in little eruptions.

Now add your main ingredient and give it a good stir. Add just enough base sauce to just cover the main ingredients and simmer gently until cooked, if it’s looking a little dry add more sauce. once your chicken, lamb or whatever is just cooked turn the heat up and add more of the base sauce a little at a time until you have your desired consistency. If it’s to thick add a little water. Add the chopped coriander and season to taste with garam masala or pepper and salt.

And that’s it! not exactly BIR style but good enough to give your favourite Indian restaurant a run for their money!

Once you have the basics it’s easy to tweak a recipe to make a lot of different dishes.

There’s some variations you can follow further down the page. Keep Checking Back as I will keep updating and adding recipes and ideas.

Tandoori

The ‘Ome Made Tandoori Masala can be used to make your favourite Tandoori and Tikka dishes.

If you just wanted something quick you can literally rub a little of the Masala in to some chicken, prawns or whatever you fancy before grilling, frying or barbecuing.

For a simple tandoori or tikka marinade just add some of the masala to plain yoghurt to coat your main ingredient.

If you want to go the whole hog, fry roughly 1 heaped teaspoon of Tandoori Masala per 200g of main ingredient (chicken, king prawn, lamb, paneer etc.) in a little oil. This then needs adding to some plain natural yoghurt (Greek yoghurt is fine).

For four people you want roughly 800g of main ingredient and 250g of yoghurt.

If you want a truly authentic flavour add a splash of lemon or lime juice, a teaspoon of grated garlic and ginger, some chopped chilli and coriander. You may want to season with salt and pepper or Garam Masala.

‘Ome Made Tandoori Masala has some beetroot powder in it to give it a slightly more reddish colour but it won’t be the vibrant, garish red that you get in an Indian restaurant. If you want that you need to add a small amount of red food colouring.

To cook I use the oven on a relatively high temperature. Once your chicken, lamb or whatever is cooked, you may want to just give it a blast under the grill to get those nice charred edges. I actually use a blowtorch. Of course if the weather is good Tandoori and Tikka is great cooked over charcoal on the BBQ!

Madras Curry British Indian Restaurant Style

This is as simple as it gets for a British Indian restaurant style Madras curry!

Follow the Basic Medium Curry above to frying the onion, garlic, ginger and spices. Once you have done this add the following;

400g chopped tinned tomatoes (blitz smooth in a blender or food processor if you want a restaurant style curry)

2 Tablespoons Tomato Puree

Cook this for a couple minutes then add your main ingredient. Add a little water or base sauce to thin the sauce a little then leave to cook.

Once your main ingredient is nearly cooked you need to add the coriander, garam masala, salt and the following;

1 tablespoon ground almonds

2 tablespoons of lemon juice, fresh is best but bottled will be fine

3 teaspoons of sugar

2 – 3 teaspoon of chilli powder.

Cook for another 15 – 20 minutes before serving. Simple!

Ceylon Curry British Indian Restaurant Style

Again follow the above Basic Medium Curry recipe. go easy on the base sauce as you are adding more liquid later.

once your main ingredient is nearly cooked add the following;

1/3 of a block of creamed coconut (i usually grate it straight in t the pan) or 3 tablespoons of coconut milk powder

150ml of milk

1 tablespoon of lemon juice, ideally fresh but bottled will work as well.

1 – 4 fresh green chillies chopped (or more or less to suit your taste)

cook for a couple of minutes before adding the garam masala, salt and fresh coriander and cooking for another 15 minutes or so before serving.

Again once you have mastered the basic recipe for a curry you should be seeing now how easy it is to tweak it and make lots of variations.

Chicken Karahi

Ok, this is another easy adaptation to a basic medium curry.

To me Karahi is about the lovely fresh taste of ginger along with some nice fresh peppers and tomatoes. I usually add fresh chillies as well. To be fair when you add fresh chillies this dish is virtually indistinguishable from a Jalfrezi so this is almost a two in one curry!

So follow the recipe for medium chicken curry above EXCEPT add more fresh ginger. You want a piece roughly as big as your thumb. Also add a teaspoon of turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon of chilli powder (more if you like it hotter) when you add your curry masala.

about 15 minutes before you’re ready to dish up add some chopped peppers (1 red, 1 green or whatever you have), 4 tomatoes cut in to quarters and some optional fresh chillies, and of course the chopped fresh coriander.

I’d love to see and hear about your own variations. Remember to post your creations on my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/omemade or Twitter account @Omemade

Remember to keep checking back here as I will add more recipes!

Spicy Crispy Lamb Breast

Spicy Crispy Lamb Breast… this was an absolute winner!

I’m quite a fan of lamb breast, a very underused and under rated cut of meat.

I think a lot of people are put off by the appearance (there appears to be very little meat) and they don’t know how to cook it.

I normally roll it with a nice stuffing to soak up the juices and make it go a bit further.

On this occasion I remembered seeing a recipe where the breast was cooked without being rolled so that it went nice and crispy, so I thought I’d give it a go with a nice spicy coating.

‘Ome Made Spicy Crispy Lamb Breast.

We were not disappointed! I used three lamb breasts which did me, Kit and the four hungry Kids and then there was some leftover for lunches.

It does reheat really well and goes even crispier!

The recipe below is for one lamb breast so double it for two or treble for three… There’s nothing like stating the obvious is there, sorry!

Lamb breast needs to be cooked slow to render the fat down and give you tender meat so this was cooked in two stages the first with the marinated meat cooked in a low oven, wrapped in tinfoil. The oven temperature was then turned up and the lamb finished off uncovered.

Before you cook the lamb breast you need to remove the thin bit of film that covers the inside of the ribs as it tends to be a bit tough. If your not confident about doing this ask the butcher to do it.

Talking of ribs the breast can be cooked with or without them.

Our Kids love the ribs when they are removed after the meat is cooked!

As far as flavourings you could use any mixture you like. I stuck with cumin, which goes fabulously with lamb, chilli and garlic as the main focus.

Of course you could use a ready bought mixture from the shop such as Ras el Hanout or of course any of the ‘Ome Made seasonings and rubs which are available at www.omemade.co.uk.

‘Ome Mades Moroccan Rub-a-Dub-Rub would be ideal for this recipe.

Spicy Crispy Lamb Breast

1 Lamb breast

splash of lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic crushed

2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

lots of ground black pepper

A little oil of your choosing

Prepare the lamb breast removing the film and any big lumps of fat. lightly score the meat (SEVERRRN!… Sorry!) and any fat to help the marinade penetrate the lamb. Splash a little lemon juice over the lamb and rub in. Put the crushed garlic, spices and seasoning in a bowl and add enough oil to make a paste. Cover the Lamb Breast with the paste and give it a good rub in. leave to marinate in the fridge for up to 24 hours if you have the time, however the meat can be cooked straight away and still taste good! When ready to cook wrap the lamb breast in a couple pieces of tin foil and place in a roasting dish. Place in a preheated oven at 145°C/125°C Fan for around 3 hours.

After this time the meat should be cooked and tender and the soft fat will have rendered down giving incredibly moist, tasty lamb.

Turn your oven up to 200°C/180°C Fan.

Remove the lamb from the tin foil and place on a wire rack (if possible, will be fine if not) in a roasting pan.

Once the oven has come up to temperature put the meat back in. After 15 minutes turn the meat over and leave for another 10 – 15 minutes or until you have a nice crispy finish to your lamb.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 15- 20 minutes before slicing into strips to serve.

We served the crispy strips of lamb breast with some mashed potato and garlicky sautéed cabbage… Winner!

Don’t forge to check out the range of ‘Ome Made rubs & seasonings at our online shop; www.omemade.co.uk

Portuguese One Pot Chicken.

It was a Saturday. Something strange had happened. I fancied something other than curry for tea! Not sure Kit was so impressed with this idea!

However not all was lost…

I still wanted that hit of spice!

We were going to be having curry. We had bought 3 chickens especially. To be honest I think the thought of taking the meat off 3 birds was not appealing to me on this particular day. I think a bout of ‘Can’t be arsed’ had come over me!

As well as three chickens I had also put a load of chickpeas into soak the night before so I had to incorporate those in some way.

I had been making some seasonings a couple days previously and knew that I had some surplus ‘Ome Made Portuguese Rub-a-Dub-Rub. And that was all the inspiration I needed! “One Pot Portuguese Chicken”.

One Pot Portuguese Chicken

This really is a simple recipe and whilst it’s cooking you can go about and enjoy your day rather than slaving over a hot stove.

You don’t have to use three chickens! The recipe below is for one. You can also use whatever vegetables you fancy.

You will need;

One Large Chicken
165g dried chick peas (soaked overnight, boiled for 10 minutes and drained)
4 large potatoes quartered
4 large carrots cut into chunks
1 large onion sliced
2 bulbs garlic chopped
roughly 120g mushrooms sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons ‘Ome Made Portuguese Rub-a-Dub-Rub (or Piri-Piri seasoning or mix up a little paprika, cumin and chilli) mixed with a little oil to make a paste.
Roughly 1 1/2 litres chicken Stock (you could use a little less and add a glass of red wine or as we did a splash of Port!)
4 tomatoes chopped
Big handful of fresh coriander chopped
Seasoning to taste

Method

Take a large roasting pan or anything oven proof that all your ingredients will fit in. Put all the ingredients except the chicken, spice mix, stock, tomatoes and coriander in your roasting pan. pour over the stock so that it almost but not quite covers your vegetables.

Rub the spice mixture all over your chicken and place it on top of your vegetables. Cover the whole pan with a couple layers of tin foil and place in a preheated oven at 170°C/150°C fan/gas mark 3 for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Take out of the oven. Turn the oven up to 220°C/200°C Fan/ Gas Mark 7. Remove the tin foil and stir in the tomato and fresh coriander. Check for seasoning. Place the pan back in the oven for approximately 30 minutes for the chicken skin to crisp and colour a little.

Remove from the oven and let sit for twenty minutes. The chicken will just fall off the bone. Try serving with some steamed rice and some good crusty bread.

Bao saúde

‘Ome Made Falafel

Falafel are great… or can be if they’re made right! The thing is you need to put bags of flavour in there. You need serious amounts of garlic, lemon juice, pepper and salt. And then of course there’s the spices. For me it has to be heavy on the cumin, probably my favourite spice and a little paprika and ginger help give an extra zing to the proceedings. A good handful of fresh herbs give the finishing touch.

Falafel are surprisingly easy to make. The main ingredient, chickpeas, are incredibly cheap too!

I like to have Falafel just as they are accompanied by a nice salad, maybe some Tabbouleh and lashings of Tzatziki… Oops, I’m beginning to sound like a vegetarian!

Once cooked they can also be warmed in a sauce, a nice rich tomato sauce works well. They’re almost like a vegetarian version of a meatballs.

So here’s a recipe you can follow to make your own. It uses dried chickpeas which have to be soaked overnight. I’m sure if you wanted you could cheat and use tinned, if you do you’ll want about double the amount of dried.

‘Ome Made Falafel

You will need:

500g dried chickpeas
6 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chilli
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

Method.

Soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain and rinse the chickpeas then grind to a course pulp in a food processor.

Mix in all the other ingredients using your hands to really work the mixture together.

Form into 4cm balls and place on greaseproof paper on a tray in a single layer.

To cook the Falafel are best deep fried or shallow fried and then finished off in an oven.If deep frying the oil wants to be around 160°C so that they will cook through without the outside getting too well done Take the Falafel out of the oil when they are firmed up and just starting to colour. The Falafel can be par cooked like this and then cooled and refrigerated or frozen. The Falafel can then just be popped into an oven to finish cooking.

Alternatively the Falafel can just be deep or shallow fried.

Gnocchi-Wocky-Doo-Dah!

Every now and then when we ask the kids what they want for tea they answer with something that strikes fear into me!

Gnocchi is one of them!

They love potato gnocchi and indeed so do I, however, making gnocchi for six hungry people, it’s one of the more… shall we say… time consuming dishes!

However sometimes you just have to and for all the time it takes and mess it causes the end result is always worth it.

Of course you can always cheat and get your gnocchi ready made from the supermarket!

I have to say that I’m not keen on gnocchi when it’s boiled and served in a sauce… it just doesn’t do it for me. However we do love it when it’s gently poached and then fried in butter so it’s nicely caramelised and slightly crispy. It makes an Epic! (Kids description!) side dish when served like this.

I had bought some nice Tuna steaks that had been on special offer and as we don’t have Tuna very often I thought they deserved something a bit special. It was decided that we have them with gnocchi and some chick peas tossed in a nice lemon, butter sauce flavoured with just a touch of cumin.

When I make gnocchi I have to say I normally just wing it! I add flour, egg and a touch of baking powder to some mash potato (usually leftovers!) and hope for the best!

However here is a recipe for those that don’t want to take the risk!

Ingredients;

6 large potatoes peeled and cut into four

1 medium egg

3 handfuls plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt and pepper

Method;

Place the potatoes in a pan and just cover with salted water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for approximately 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

Drain the potatoes well and put back in the pan, leave for a couple of minutes for the potatoes to dry out a little then mash or put through a potato ricer.

In a large bowl whisk the egg and add the seasoning and a splash of water. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix together until you have a soft dough. If it’s too wet add a little more flour, if it’s too dry add a splash more water.

Divide the dough into four. Take one piece of dough and on a floured board roll into a long sausage shape. Use a blunt knife to cut the dough making little pillow shapes. place the dough pieces on a floured tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Once all the dough has been used up, place the tray with the cut dough on it in the fridge for ten minutes or so to firm up.

To cook the gnocchi bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Carefully drop the gnocchi in and bring back to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for a couple minutes or until the gnocchi floats on the surface of the water.

Once cooked the gnocchi can be drained and either tossed in a sauce or coated in a little oil to either serve later (just drop into boiling water to warm up or heat in a sauce) or be fried. To fry the gnocchi melt some butter in a frying pan and when sizzling drop in the gnocchi, keep turning until the gnocchi are nicely coloured and golden.

We had our gnocchi this time with a nice seared tuna steak and a simple sauce consisting of a little onion and garlic sautéed in butter with chicken stock, a splash of white wine, zest and juice of a lemon, cooked chick peas, ground cumin and finished with yet more butter!

A simple salad of chunky tomato, cucumber and onion drizzled with a little vinegar and a pinch of sugar and seasoning is all that was needed for a superb tasting, Mediterranean style dish.

Get Sconed!

We don’t do many desserts or puddings in the ‘Ome Made home but one of the things that always goes down well when we do is a nice scone (pronounced “scon”… of course!).

Scones are so easy to make and with a little jam of your choosing and a big fat dollop of clotted or whipped cream they have to be one of my favourite treats. I could eat them forever and a day, which is probably why we don’t have them too often!

Before I give you my recipe, lets just get something straight, OK? It’s jam spread on the scone and then your dollop of cream on the jam. Any other way is just wrong… got it!

This is a basic recipe for scones. You could add a handful of sultanas or glace cherries if you want. If you want to make your scones with buttermilk just use the same amount as you would milk.

You will need;

450g (1lb) self-raising flour

2 rounded teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

75g (3oz) butter

50g (2oz) caster sugar

2 medium eggs

About 225 ml (8 fl oz) milk & a splash of lemon juice (optional)

Method

Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and give a light mix.

Roughly dice the butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Lightly mix in the sugar (now is the time to add any fruit if you are doing).

Beat the eggs in a measuring jug add the milk to make the volume up to 300ml mix together with a splash of lemon juice if you have it.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and gradually add your milk and egg mixture, bringing the whole lot together until you have a slightly sticky dough (if it’s too sticky add a little more flour).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and give a quick knead.

Split the dough in half and roll one lot out to a thickness of about 2cm. Cut out the scones with whatever shaped/size cutter you want and place (turn over so the bottom of the scone becomes the top) on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the second lot of dough. Bring any leftover dough back together, roll out and cut again.

Using a dry pastry brush, brush off any excess flour on the tops of your scones and then egg wash them.

Place the scones in a preheated oven at 220°C/gas mark 7 for 10 – 15 minutes.

Once cooked remove from the oven and baking tray onto a wire rack to cool.

Eat as fresh as possible and freeze any leftover (yeah right!) for another time.