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!

Venison Chilli

Our Butcher sometimes gets some very nice wild venison in. When he does we always make sure that we get some venison neck in, we usually buy quite a bit for the freezer. Venison neck when cooked long and slow is great. It makes fantastic curries but this was a first for us. I can honestly say though that this chilli was one of the finest I’ve ever tasted!

We put this in the oven at 165 C and then turned it straight down to 115 C and there it stayed for a good eight hours! I don’t see why it couldn’t be cooked for less time on a higher heat though? I would say that at 165 C for four hours would be fine, any less I would expect the venison not to be quite so melt in the mouth.

This recipe gives a medium (to us!) heat level. Although our kids like spicy, too hot and they start to grumble. Kit and myself simply added some ‘Ome-Made Chilli Sauce to ours.

If you can’t get venison neck you could always do this recipe with chuck steak or even beef shin would give a good result. There is no reason why you can’t even stick to the traditional minced beef.

You will notice that the recipe makes a lot but if your going to have the oven on for that amount of time you may as well do extra! It freezes and reheats well so gives some hassle free meals in the future.

Venison Chilli (makes approximately 12 portions)

1 kilo/2lb Diced venison (or meat of your choice)

500g/1lb dried beans (I used red Kidney beans and pinto beans) soaked over night or couple tins of beans of your choice

4 big fat cloves of garlic, chopped

3 medium onions

3 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons chilli powder (I used 1 standard hot, 1 new Mexico and 1/2 of bhut jolokia but not everyone has these hanging about in there cupboards)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 large glass of red wine (or anything else ‘moist’, beer, lager or even cola), don’t forget one for yourself too!

2 tins (280g in total…ish) tomato puree

1 400g tin chopped tomato

2 tablespoon sugar (granulated will do)

3 beef stock cubes or 1 tablespoon beef bouillon or some strong beef stock (approximately 1/2pint/280ml)

50g of seriously dark chocolate (at least 70% but I used 85%)

Plenty of freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Method

Drain and rinse the soaked beans put in a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Boil for ten minutes then drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pan

Fry the garlic and onion until soft

Add the spices and continue to fry for a couple minutes, if they are catching add a splash of water.

Add your meat to the pan and brown, stir in the oregano and season with salt and pepper.

Add your wine or beer (if you haven’t drunk it all yet!) and whack the heat up to reduce the liquid to a nice thick consistency.

Reduce the heat and add your tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes or so now add your tomatoes, sugar, stock cubes (or stock) and par-cooked beans (if using tinned add an hour before serving) and enough water to cover everything + 1/2 inch, bring to the simmer

Break your chocolate up roughly (remembering to taste to check for quality!) and sit on top of the chilli, let it melt slowly before stirring it into the liquid. now put a lid on the pan and put into a pre-heated oven at 165 C/330 F and then turn down to 115 C/240 F where it will stay for eight hours (or less if you decide to cook on a higher temperature, see above)

Go and enjoy the rest of your day knowing that all you have to do for tea now is cook a bit of rice!

Pimms, Friends & Slow Cooked Lamb

We hadn’t seen a friend of ours (an old neighbour) for a while, and we still had half a bottle of Pimms in the pantry that he had bought up on his last visit!

We seemed to be having a good run of weather so we thought it was time to invite him round for Pimms and a bit of decent nosh.

We decided to do slow roasted lamb, Middle Eastern style with Turkish salad, Tzatziki, ‘Ome Made Chilli Sauce and pitta breads.

I started the lamb off in the oven but finished it off in the smoker which gives it an incredible flavour. There’s a video on the Blog and You Tube (OmeMadeByUs) of me preparing the lamb (if you want a chuckle!)

We also had lots of Pimms which was great because we had plenty of fresh Borage leaves and flowers to put in (so much better than cucumber!)

So here’s the recipe for the lamb;

Slow Roasted Lamb Middle Eastern Style

1 x whole shoulder of lamb (leg works as well, but I prefer shoulder for slow cooking, you could also get a half shoulder but the leftover meat is great to use in other dishes)

Marinade (don’t be scared to experiment with these ingredients, they’re only a rough guide)

garlic 3 – 6 cloves (depending on taste) finely chopped/crushed

ginger – 1 inch piece finely chopped

chilli powder 1-4 teaspoons (again depends on taste)

Cumin powder 3 teaspoons

cinnamon 1 teaspoon

all spice/pimento 1 teaspoon

dried mint 1 teaspoon

2 teaspoons of salt

lots of black pepper (grind until it hurts!)

Juice from a lemon (and zest) or two table spoons bottled lemon juice

1 tablespoon oil (I tend to use olive for this but anything goes)

Method

Mix all the marinade ingredients together (you can use ready bought Ras el hanout mix instead of the individual spices if you want).

Slash the meat with a sharp knife so the flavours penetrate the meat and then rub in the marinade… vigorously! Go on slap it on! The meat would benefit from being left in the marinade overnight if you have chance to prepare the dish a day in advance.

Put the meat in a roasting pan with a couple tablespoons of water and then cover tightly with tin foil (it’s sometimes a good idea to use two pieces)

Put in the oven at 165 C/330 F to be ready after 6 hours or 145 C/290 F to be ready after 8 hours (either way you could leave it for a couple hours longer and it will still be fine).

This is a great dish to do if you are out for the day or at work and you want to come in to have something practically ready to eat!

This has to be one of our household favourite meals. It’s like an up-market kebab! I don’t remember having Pimms before my late night kebab when I was younger though!

Smoking!

you may have noticed that there are a few references to slow cooked smoked meats on the Blog. You wouldn’t be wrong.

I recently acquired a big American style smoker/BBQ and it’s been getting a fair bit of use.

I love proper American food, I’m not talking McD****ds or K*C here but big hunks of meat coated in secret dry rubs and cooked slowly for hours on end. Pulled Pork, sticky ribs, slow cooked brisket even a humble chicken simply seasoned and cooked in the smoker for three hours is transformed into something remarkable.

And then served with sour cream, chilli sauce, bbq sauce with a multitude of different “slaws” to go with it, quality.

I even like a simple beef burger, ‘Ome made of course! Given the right treatment, a nice cheese or two to top, gherkin, onion, tomato and some nice crisp iceberg and some lovely, mustardy mayonnaise (which has to dribble down your chin!) and of course a good squirt of ketchup. Burgers can, and should, be good and a real treat to eat.

Anybody remember a certain burger I created?

So yes there maybe some recipes for smoked meats or BBQ food on the Blog, that doesn’t mean that a conventional oven can’t be used. However I can recommend getting a smoker, it is such an enjoyable and slightly addictive way of cooking!

A Note On Recipes…

I have always loved reading recipes. It’s funny then that I rarely follow them. I don’t know if this is because I have been cooking for so long that I just kind of know how things should go or I just remember the recipes?

Sometimes I will start making something for tea and I don’t actually know what I am doing until it’s finished! Thankfully It always tastes ok.

I suppose I have learnt a lot of techniques and methods over the years which means I don’t have to rely on recipes so much.

A lot of people don’t prepare food at home, it seems to have become that ready meals or RTU (ready to use) sauces have become the mainstay of many homes.

I sometimes think that many people are afraid to cook, too scared to have a go. There is a generation of people that didn’t learn how to cook from there Mothers or Fathers and have relied on convenience foods simply because they don’t know what else to do.

I was lucky. I grew up with a family that food (and drink!) was an important part of life, something to be enjoyed and relished. Sitting at the table for tea was something that was done on a regular basis, not just for special occasions.

So what I’m trying to say is that I get into a lot of difficulty when someone says ‘Oooh that was nice, you must give me the recipe’.

I’m there frantically trying to backtrack to remember what ingredients and amounts went into the dish because quite frankly there is no recipe!

At times you may look at a recipe on this Blog and think ‘ well that’s not much of a recipe’.

I think recipes should be a guide only. People need to learn to have confidence in there own abilities and judgement. I use a lot of garlic, onions and spices. For some people it might be too much. If you are not overly keen on garlic, add a bit less. It’s your food. I’m not going to be there tapping you on the shoulder saying ‘well you’ve done that wrong!’

I hope that people will look at the photos and recipes on this blog and be inspired to go out, buy some nice ingredients and have a go. You can keep it as basic as you want or you could really go to town and create something stunning.

Whatever you cook I can guarantee it will be tasty and enjoyable and far more satisfying than eating something that you have nuked in a microwave for six minutes.

Cricket & Kebabs

It was by a stroke of luck that we found out the other day that there is a local cricket club that have practice sessions for children under 9 on a Saturday morning. A 1 hour session for 2 quid! Book ‘em in we thought.

Today was the first morning that we took them but first we had to pay a visit to the farm shop. Cricket practice starts at 10am and the farm shop opens at 9am and its a 20+ minute drive back from the farm shop.

You see, normally we are in the shop for at least twenty minutes, we can never decide on what we want and when we do Mick the owner will say “Jez (yeah, it’s ‘Ome but Mick insists on calling me Jez. To be fair Mick is actually Mike but we call him Mick, so I don’t complain! Mick/Mikes assistant is also called Mick… confused?)I’ve got this if you want it…” and then it makes it even more difficult to decide. Today we broke all records. In and out in less than 10 minutes! A leg of lamb for Sunday and a nice salmon cut of beef for today.

So we went to cricket practice, Dj and MissT just watched for this one (but decided they want to do it next week)and CurlyE and Lil’MrM Joined in and gave it their best. They loved it! Although Lil’MrM was testing the patience of the coach for the last 15 minutes. All in all though it was fantastic and they can’t wait to return next week.

So then it was home. What to do with the beef? The suns out, its dry and reasonably warm. I think the Smoker or BBQ has to be bought in to play. Sweet chili beef kebabs with one half of the beef leaving a small roasting piece to do on the BBQ for lunches and tea in the week. Sounds like a plan…

The piece of beef I bought was about 2.5 Kilo. I cut it in half leaving the thick end whole to roast. The other half I cut into cubes, roughly 2 centimeter in size to make into kebabs.

Marinade

2 tablespoons of ‘Ome-made Chili sauce (theres a recipe for a basic chili sauce on the site)or use your favourite brand to the strength you require. If you have no chili sauce you can use a tablespoon of vinegar (ideally white wine or cider) and a teaspoon of chili powder (or more if you like the heat!)

1 level teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons of sugar

A Good grind of black pepper

Put the marinade ingredients in a bowl, mix together and then pour over the meat (you can pour a bit over the whole piece if you want to give that a nice glaze after being roasted). Massage the marinade into the meat and then leave in the fridge to marinate (up to twenty four hours). Remove the meat from the fridge about 30 minutes before your going to BBQ or grill. It will cook more evenly and taste better for not being stone cold when it goes on the heat.

If using bamboo skewers for your kebab soak them in water for a good half hour to prevent them burning. Put about half a tablespoon of oil onto the meat and stir to coat. Thread the marinated meat onto the skewers, try not to overcrowd them. You want a nice even char on all sides of the meat.

Then cook on the BBQ for 10 – 15 minutes (turning every 4 – 5 minutes) or until done to your liking. The kebabs could also be cooked under a grill or in a hot oven. If doing in the oven you can always give them a quick searing with a blowtorch when they come out to give them that charred BBQ flavour.

You can of course put onion, tomatoes, peppers etc onto your meat skewers. Personally I prefer to do the veg separate, the meat cooks better that way.

Smoked Chicken & Sweetcorn Chowder

So Kit has to go to the emergency eye clinic, turns out she has got viral conjunctivitis, not nice.

Hmmm, was going to be chicken & mushroom lasagne for tea, made with some ‘Ome smoked chicken (done at the same time as the lamb for Easter).Thinking about it though seems as our house is ‘house of the lurg’ at the moment maybe a nice warming smoked chicken & sweetcorn chowder might be in order. There is nothing like a soup made with real chicken stock to kick those pesky virus and bacteria into touch!

Chicken & Sweetcorn Chowder (Serves 4-6)

You will need:

Leftover roast chicken (approximately 300g or two good handfuls, it doesn’t have to be smoked!)

Butter

Flour

Onion

Garlic

Chicken stock (Boil up the bones from the roast chicken if you’ve had time. You want about a pint)

Milk or cream

sweetcorn (frozen or tinned)

Cooked potato (either leftover new potatoes or dice up a large baker and boil for 20 minutes)

Seasoning

Method:

Melt some butter, about 125g, in a pan. Add some chopped garlic (1 or 2 cloves) and some onion (1 medium sized). Fry gently for a couple minutes.

Add a tablespoon of flour to the pan and stir for a minute to help cook the flour out.

Add some stock (if it’s hot it will blend with the flour better and you will void lumps), a bit at a time and keep stirring to make a smooth paste. Once you’re at this stage you should be able to add the rest of the stock with no problems. Keep stirring until the sauce comes to a simmer (if it does go lumpy you can always get the hand blender in there or put in a liquidizer).

Add your chicken and potato and let that heat through for 10 minutes. You can then add the sweet corn and either a couple tablespoons of cream or about 1/4 pint of milk. The soup should be a nice thick consistency, if it’s too thick thin with a bit more stock or milk.

Season with pepper (ground white works best) and salt to taste. I also add a generous pinch of paprika (you could use smoked).

You can add some finely chopped fresh parsley or chervil if you have any.

After ten minutes the Chowder will be ready.

Serve with some nice crusty bread for a lovely comforting meal.

Lamb In Garlic & Lemon Sauce

Five days into the Easter holidays, wake up with sore throat and generally feeling a bit sorry for myself. Three quarters of the kids are playing up and my head’s beginning to hurt now too. It’s April… I should be full of the joys of Spring but there’s still snow on the ground and its barely a couple degrees centigrade outside!

Well at least there is some smoked lamb shoulder left over from Easter. I think it will be done Mediterranean style in a sauce thickened with the garlicky, lemony houmous (one m or two m’s… I’m sure some smart arse will correct me!) also left over from Easter. Winter may still have a chilly hold over Spring but a bit of Mediterranean sunshine in the kitchen may just help blow those winter blues away.

Lamb in Garlic & Lemon Sauce

You will need;

500g/1lb leftover roasted lamb or cooked chicken (For a non-meat version you could use some roasted vegetables)

1 medium onion

1.75 pints/1ltr of stock (chicken, veg or leftover meat juices)

225g/8 oz Houmous (or whatever you have available, this is a leftover dish after all. If you don’t have any houmous you can whizz up a can of chickpeas with some garlic and lemon juice and add that)

a few tomatoes roughly chopped (or a tin of tomatoes if you have no fresh)

some sliced peppers or mushrooms if you have any (or anything else that may be lurking in the recesses of the fridge!)

Method

roughly slice/chop your meat.

Dice the onion

Add a knob of butter or some oil to a pan and sautee the onion for a minute or so

throw your main ingredient into the pan stir to coat and then add the stock. bring to a simmer and stir in the Houmous the liquid should now thicken up and release a lovely aroma of garlic and lemons.

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Give a good grind of black pepper and a pinch of salt if desired (I go easy on the salt as I am quite liberal when I roast meats!)

The dish should be ready after 15 – 20 minutes.

If you have any fresh parsley add some roughly chopped before serving.

This dish can be served with mashed or new potatoes, plain rice or big slabs of crusty bread.