Shank you very much!

Slow cooked lamb shanks and rice

Some thoughts on Greek cooking

Lamb and olive oil are the first things that come to mind for many people when thinking of Greek food. While Greece might not have the best olive oil in the world (close, but no banana), the olives themselves are something else. I remember driving through Kalamata - and there they were! I love Portuguese olives best of all (though getting your hands on the really good ones isn’t easy in Sydney).

What is often forgotten is that Greek home cooking is very veggie friendly. Fundamentally a peasant cuisine, meat was a rarity. Stuffed vegetables, spinach and feta, olive oil and bread. Lemon juice to add zing. And legumes. Those guys sure know how to cook a bean!

Well, I can’t claim any fancy leguminous techniques here: my chickpeas come out of a can. But the overall effect is a hearty farewell to winter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose tomato salsa
• 1 cup lamb stock
• 4 lamb shanks (see lamb two ways)
• 1 can chickpeas (including brine)
• 2 cups long grained rice
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• pepper to season
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• About .25 cup each olives and feta cheese

Method

The whole thing takes about seven hours, but very little effort.

I use a slow cooker for this. Otherwise, use an oven-proof dish with a good sealing lid, and put in the oven at 110º.

Steam two cups of rice.

Heat the olive oil in a fry pan, and brown the lamb shanks for about 2 minutes. Place them in the slow cooker when done. Drop the heat and sauté onion and garlic. Once the onion is translucent, add the stock and salsa and stir to deglaze the pan. Add bay leaves, rosemary, pepper. Pour contents of pan over lamb shanks.

Set slow cooker to low and cover. Leave slowly cooking for four hours.

By this time, the lamb will be well cooked - but not quite with the marrow-strong flavour we are looking for.

Add the chickpeas, folding into the rest of the contents. Replace lid.

After another two hours, add the rice, feta and olives, and fold through again.

One hour later - ready to serve.

Sweet and hot!

At the beginning of poverty week, it’s time to make with the condiments and stock to tart up a string of cheap eats.

Pay day, is followed by rent, is followed by child support - and that just about does it for the week. I don't begrudge it - it’s just what I have to work with.

So, rather like some bachelors I know, it’s time for something sweet and hot!

Today I am making chicken stock for yummy rice and soups. Yesterday I made chilli sauces for dips and stir fries.

I generally do this in two lots, as I can use one half of the red capsicum for each different sauce. Roast red capsicum brings a rich flavour - earthy and sweet - to each of these very handy sauces.

Sweet and sticky

This is your garden variety sweet chilli sauce

Ingredients

• .5 red capsicum
• 1 birds eye chilli
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• .5 cup rice vinegar
• 1.5 tablespoons cornflour

Method

Preheat oven to 200º C. Roast capsicum until I starts to blacken and blister. Remove from oven, and put it in a sealed plastic bag to let is sweat. Once it has cooled enough to touch, peel off the skin and chop. Retain as much of the juice as you can.

Place half the chopped capsicum and juices into a sauce pan. Chop the chilli and garlic, and add along with all the other ingredients, except the corn flour.

Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Let it cool until it won’t burn you, then whizz up with a food processor or bamix (choose only substitutes!) - this bit really is optional - sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.

Return to saucepan and bring back to a boil, then a simmer.

Mix the cornflour with about 1 tablespoon of water - just enough to make a fairly runny paste.

At this to the saucepan and stir. Simmer until it starts to thicken.

Pour into sterilised jars, seal, and put straight in the fridge.

Yields: 2 cups (.5 litre) sweet chilli sauce

Hot and salty

This one is almost a chilli jam: hot, sour, salty, sweet. Very versatile as a condiment, a stir-fry base, or even a glaze for a roast chicken. I use palm sugar rather than regular sugar for this because of the rich colour and flavour and, when combined with Thai fish sauce, it rounds out so well for a stir fry.

Ingredients

• .5 red capsicum
• .25 cups (4 table spoons) palm sugar
• 5 birds eye chilli
• 3 cloves garlic
• .5 cup water
• .5 cup rice vinegar
• .25 cup fish sauce
• 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon corn flour

Method

As above!

Yields: 1.5 cups (about a third of a litre)

Missing, making, and bringing the bling

In the world of the contemporary bachelor father (ref not-so contemporary family sitcom of the same name), missing your children is inevitable.
For bachelor food, there are two main remedies. First is prepare something to set aside for their next stay (stock is a favourite). Second is to make something for yourself to give some bling to your interim meals.
On Sunday afternoon, out in the garden (such as it is), my eldest son remarked that the chilli and basil plants were getting a little heavy.
After saying goodbye to them (the children, not the chillies), I swung into action.

Recipe: Chilli paste

This is an extremely tasty and versatile bit of bling. It's based on one I used to do about 15 years ago when, above the cooktop, I used to hang a sign "put the rice on now" because meals whipped up using this little gem were ready so quickly.

It works very well with poached fish, and fried with coconut cream as the basis of a stir-fry. Or you can just add it to stuff.

Ingredients

15–20 bird’s eye or tabasco chilies
1 large red capsicum
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon palm sugar
5 basil leaves
3 curry leaves
2 teaspoons salt

Method

Roast lightly oiled capsicum (preferably over a barbecue). Turn when skin begins to blacken and bubble. Once blackened on all sides, remove to a plastic bag, seal and set aside until cool enough to handle.
Roughly chop remaining solid ingredients, and place in blender with the vinegar, oil, salt and sugar
Remove capsicum, peel off the skin and remove seeds. Roughly chop, then place in the blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Remove to a small saucepan, bring to boil and simmer until mixture is reduced by about 1/3.
Place in a sterilised jar, seal and refrigerate.

Recipe: Mixed herb pesto

Ingredients

3 big handfuls basil leaves
Several sprigs each: Sage, Parsley, Oregano
.25 cup almond slivers
1 clove garlic
Juice 1 lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated parmesan

Method

In a dry frying pan on medium to high heat, fry almond slivers until they are golden. Careful, once they start to go, they blacken quickly if you let them.
Once done, remove to a bowl. Now pop the unpeeled garlic clove into the pan and brown in on each side, so that it is soft and starting to caramelise in the middle. Then let it cool, and peel.
Put all the ingredients a little at a time into a blender, using enough oil to keep the contents churning. The amount of oil you need will vary according to the moisture content of the basil leaves.
Spoon into a sterilised jar, seal and refrigerate.