Hibernation Macaroni Cheese

• 1 head cauliflower
• 250ml tub reduced fat creme fraiche
• 250ml double cream (you can substitute with semi skimmed milk to make it healthier, but it tends to split when cooking and goes watery, alternatively use Elmlea low)
• 300g grated cheddar cheese
• 5 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tsp english mustard
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder (leave out if not overly keen on mustard)
• 1/4 nutmeg grated
• 1 clove garlic
• 1tsp onion granules (not salt)
• 500g packet macaroni
• 1 packet unsmoked bacon chopped
• 1 large or 2 medium onions chopped finely
• breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper to taste

WARNING, this is not a light snack ;)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Cook the macaroni as instructed on the packet, drain and leave to cool.

Break up the cauliflower into small 1cm pieces and boil for 5 minutes in a pan of water, drain.

In a frying pan, saute the onions and bacon until all cooked.

In a large mixing bowl mix together the cream, creme fraiche, mustards and powder, nutmeg, garlic and onion granules.  Add the cheese, pasta, cauliflower, onion and bacon and mix until it is all combined.

Grease a large oven proof dish like a lasagne dish or casserole dish.  Pour the mixture into the dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.

Bake in oven for 30-40mins until bubbling and top golden brown.

Plum and ginger crumble

• 16-20 plums, halved, stoned and chopped
• 160g sugar
• 1 tblsp lemon juice
• half jar ginger preserve

Crumble top

• 175g plain flour
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g muscovado sugar
• 100g butter chilled and cut into cubes
• 50g porridge oats
• 50g ginger biscuits crushed
• 1 knob grated ginger

Put the plums, sugar, lemon juice and ginger preserve in a pan and simmer gently until the plums start to soften and liquid forms.  Leave on simmer for around 15 mins.  

Put the flour, sugars and butter in a bowl or mixer, if using your hands rub the butter through your fingers until the mixture forms a breadcrumb style mix (not a dough), then finally add the oats, grated ginger and ginger biscuits.

Put the plum filling in a greased dish and cover with the crumble mix and then cook in an over for 35-40mins at 170 degrees until golden brown on top.  Serve with cream or custard.

Butterbean and bacon soup

• 1 packet 500g dried butterbeans (soak in water overnight)
• 1 unsmoked bacon or gammon joint
• 2 leeks
• 2 onions
• 4 pints vegetable stock (may need more depending on beans)
• some milk

Chop the onions and leek finely and lightly saute in the bottom of a large pan until soft.

Place the uncooked bacon joint into the pan on top of the leeks and onions. Add the soaked beans and then top up with vegetable stock.

Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer on low for as long as possible. Keep an eye on how much liquid the beans are soaking up and if needed, add some more.

After a couple of hours remove the bacon joint and chop up, put back in the soup.

Add around half a pint of milk to the soup and then just before serving use a hand blender to blend half the soup to add thickness.

Warming winter spicy slow cooked lamb

This started out as being slow pot roasted lamb, but then turned into a lightly spiced moroccan dish that i served with some couscous. Here we go.

Take a rolled lamb breast and put this into a big pan and slowly let the outside brown a little. While this is happening take three big onions and peel them and then cut into eighths and put these in the pan with the lamb. When they start to soften a little and the lamb is brownedadd 50g of pearl barley and 50g of green lentils to the pan along with 6 bay leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, a chilli, a teaspoon of chilli powder, a teaspoon of tumeric, a teaspoon of paprika and then a dash of salt. Cover with water and then on a low heat with the lid on for a few hours.

When the lamb has cooked for a few hoursadd 100g each of cubed butternut squash, sweet potato and turnip. Then add a big dollop of tomato puree and just a touch of cinnamon and leave to cook for another couple of hours. About half an hour before you want to serve take the lid off the pan to let the gravy reduce to a nice sticky consistency.

I served mine with some couscous that i added some tomato puree, garlic puree and lemon juice to, but you could just as easily have a nice big bowl with big doorstops of brown bread and butter. Perfect for cold winters evening. Enjoy Peeps!