I do love a good stew, especially now the nights have grown cold. Having something warm and comforting to come home to is just the ticket after a hard nights work. I made this last Monday when you need something extra special to get you through that first day of work. I served it in a giant Yorkshire pudding as it was international Yorkshire pudding day. I used lamb chops that I bought at the foreign food market for this. I’m not sure they were really the right cut, as they were a bit thin so I will try something else next time. But by the time they had cooked they were soft and tender and the stew was full of flavour. Lovely lamb stew served in a giant Yorkshire pudding with an episode of Downton Abbey to watch and Monday isn’t looking so bad.

Ingredients

Stew

500g of lamb chops

1 carrot

1 onion

1 stick of celery

3 potatoes

1 bay leave

1 small bunch of fresh herbs (if not used dried)

1/2 a large courgette

3 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

440ml of Guinness (or dark ale)

2 liters of stock (I used vegetable)

Yorkshire pudding

140g plain flour

4 eggs

200ml milk

Directions

The start of a good stew is always a good stock. I never throw away any meat bones without making them into stock.  Add an onion, some celery, a carrot, and a few cloves of garlic to some water boiling water and it’s done. You can also save all your vegetable peelings and scraps in a little pot in the fridge and add those in too. I store all my stock in the freezer, so I always have some on hand. If you don’t have stock you can just use the cubes instead.

Cut your lamb into bite sized chunks, then toss in seasoned flour. Fry them on a medium heat in a little oil until the sides have browned then remove from the pan. Do this in small batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan.

Chop your onion and garlic and fry off in the meat pan for a couple of minutes, then chop and add the carrot. Fry for a further minute before adding the carrot, onion, garlic and meat chunks to a large saucepan. Add the  Worcestershire sauce, herbs,stock, and can of Guinness, and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat as low as possible. Let the stew simmer for an hour,stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick on the bottom. Then chop the potatoes and courgette add them in too. Simmer for another hour or two. I know this sounds vague but it depends upon the cut of the meat. It needs to be cooked until it is soft, tender, and falls apart from the bone. Add salt, pepper and more herbs to taste.

For the Yorkshire pudding I used Gordon Ramsay’s recipe and it never fails me. To make the batter, put the  flour into a bowl and beat in four eggs until smooth. Gradually add 200ml milk and carry on beating until the mix is completely lump-free. Season with salt and pepper, then pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes or more. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Then put some oil into the tins and put them in the oven to heat up. I used some of those little disposable round foil tins that you seem to find everywhere. They only have a 2cm inch edge but it didn’t seem to stop them rising.  Once the oil is hot, pour the batter into the tins. Place the tins back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 20-25 mins until the puddings have puffed up and browned. Fill with your stew and serve immediately. Voilà delicious lamb stew.

Hurray Hurray its Saturday, so once again and that means its time to celebrate with another cocktail! I do love a good old jug of Pimm’s. However my favourite jug sized drink is too often resigned to only the summer months. I picked up another bottle whilst I was travelling in Hong Kong and I’ve been in the mood for it ever since. Sadly I have not managed to find anywhere in Korea that sells it, but I shall keep up the hunt.  I decided I would make a slightly different version which would be more satisfying during the winter month. Its also hard for me to get hold of mint in the winter, mainly because I have no sunlight in my flat and its -10 outside. So this concoction works perfectly.

Ingredients

250ml of Pimms

500mls of lemonade

300ml of ginger ale

2 baby oranges

1 lemon

A handful of frozen raspberries

A handful of ice

Directions 

Chop up the lemons and baby oranges into pieces. Put them into a jug then add the Pimms, lemonade and ginger ale. Throw in the raspberries and stir. Add ice cubes and enjoy. Voilà how to get drunk, the English way.

I love a good a good stew on a Winter’s eve. There’s nothing better than a hearty chicken and vegetable stew filled with dumplings. This is also a great recipe to use up any leftover chicken or turkey you have lying around. Forget the sandwiches and sort yourself out a great big stew. I’m a big fan of dumplings, especially if they come swimming in gravy. At first I thought you couldn’t make dumplings without suet so I got a box sent from home. However I since tried the same recipe with ice cold grated butter and they worked just as well.  This is going to be one of my favourite dinners for quite some time to come as it’s so cheap,easy and tasty.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut up into 4-6 pieces

1 large onion

1 large carrot

5 cloves of garlic

4 potatoes

1 courgette

1 bay leaf

1.5-2 litres of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs

7-8 mushrooms

A glass or 2 of wine (optional)

Dumplings

200g of all purpose flour

100g of butter (ice cold)

5-7  tablespoons of ice cold water

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs

1 teaspoon of sage

A pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

Cut your chicken into 4- 6 pieces then coat in seasoned flour and fry in a little oil  for a few minutes until it has browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and throw in the chopped onion and garlic. Fry for about 5 minutes or until translucent then add the chopped carrot to the pan and cook for a further two minutes. Put the chicken, carrots, onions, and garlic into a large saucepan then top with the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Meanwhile chop the potatoes into chunks then add them to pot once the stock is simmering. Add a bay leaf and a tablespoon of mixed herbs and a little pepper. Throw in a glass of wine if you have some lying around, red or white is fine. Leave to cook on a low simmer with a lid on top for about 2 hours. Make sure the chicken is covered in the stock. After about an hour you can add the chopped courgette and mushrooms.

To make the dumplings mix the herbs, salt, pepper, and flour together and then grate the butter into the flour. Gently mix it together. Add the cold water a spoon at a time and very softly bring it together in to a loose dough. Do not work it into a ball, keep it loose then break off lumps and roll them gently to form balls. Add them to the top of the  stew, then cook for another 20 minutes. The gravy may be a bit watery so mix two or three tablespoons of cornflour or flour in a bowl with about a cup of the stock. Mix it thoroughly before adding it back into the pot to let it thicken. Serve by itself or with extra green vegetables.  Voilà a Winter warming stew.

If you are an avid reader of my blog you may have heard me mention My French Heaven a few times. It is an amazing blog that you should all go and check out straight away.  When you visit said blog you should follow it then leave a comment telling him that it was me the fat girl who so kindly delivered you so you can help me win a holiday to stay in his glorious château in France. I was in the lead but pole position could be lost at any time so please, please, please, please, help me out and help me to win a very well deserved holiday.

Anyway back to today’s post, one of the fabulously French recipes Stephane featured was this amazing French onion soup. I had to tweak it ever so slightly to make it work here in Korea. I have of course displayed Stephane’s beautiful picture of the soup at the top. My less attractive picture sits at the bottom. But looks aren’t everything are they? It’s the taste that counts.

Ingredients

9 small onions

4 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 liters of water

1 chicken stock cube

A knob of butter

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions

Thinly slice your onions and garlic then fry them in a large knob of butter and a glug of olive oil. Do this on a medium to low heat. This will take around 30 minutes, never leave your pan’s side even for a second. Stir them regularly to make sure they are getting an even coverage. They should be a very brown, but not burnt, by the time they are are done. Once your onions have caramelised, put them into a saucepan along with a 1.5 litres of water and a chicken stock cube. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat so the soup is simmering and cook for 20 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and fresh parsley if you have some. Pour the soup into bowls and top with a slice of baguette. Top with grated cheese (Gruyère in an ideal world, in Korea this will probably entail cheddar, mozzarella, or a mixture of both). Cook under a grill until the cheese is has melted and is slightly browned. Carefully remove bow from under the grill and enjoy! Voilà une très facile soupe à l’oignon.

So winter is here and so are the holidays. To me that means large joints of meat. Now is the time splash out on ingredients we wouldn’t usually buy. At a Thanksgiving dinner a few weeks ago we were served up some amazing belly pork, cooked by my talented friend James. It was so good, that I immediately sent Niall out into to the cold to buy some as soon as we got home. This glorious piece of meat is for sale in Costco (I have included the label below). Be warned though its not for the faint hearted, this slab of frozen meat was a a whopping 3.7kg but priced at only 22,000(that was the smallest one)! Luckily it just about fit in my freezer. Last weekend I defrosted it and then cut it into 2 large pieces so it was able to fit in my oven. This would make a great christmas day alternative if you cant find a turkey or just if you really love pork.

Ingredients

2kg of belly pork

1 large onion

7 cloves of garlic

1 apple

Salt and pepper for rubbing

Directions

Thaw you meat thoroughly over night. When you wake in the morning cut the piece into two or three unless you have a giant oven (In which case I hate you!) Wrap up the unused pieces and put into the fridge or give to a friend (eg: me). Slice your onion and apple, then roughly chop your garlic. Then put them into the bottom of your roasting tray. If you have any fresh herbs you could put them on too,  mine all died in the snow though Score lines in the fat then rub on the salt and pepper.

Put into an oven at 140 degrees Celsius uncovered for about an hour, this helps the skin get crispy. Then loosely cover with foil and cook for another 4-6 hours. All the fat  juices will collect at the boom of the pan so make sure to pour them off into a jug to save for later. You should also baste about once an hour. This was very easy for me as my oven only cooks for an hour at a time.  After about two hours you may wish to remove your onions and garlic if you are hoping to use them later for your gravy. Other wise they will burn to a crisp.

Once the pork has been fully roasted remove from the oven and leave to rest for at least an hour, loosely covered in foil. Then slice your delicious meat. You can serve exactly how it is or cover the slices in a beautiful apple gravy.  I made mine with the onions, garlic and apple from the roasting pan, the juice from the pork, a little red wine, and a bit of bisto for good measure. Pour over the slices to keep them soft and tender. If you’re not using it straight away this is the best method of storage. Be sure to keep your fat for roasting the potatoes, no one minds a bit of cholesterol at Christmas. Voilà there you have the best roast dinner ever!

I love Chinese food, and especially love their soups. There is nothing more delicious than a bowl of soul warming chicken soup. I’m a huge sweet corn fan and this just makes the soup so scrummy it always has me heading back to the kitchen for a second bowl. Sadly here in Korea it is impossible to go and buy a bowl of this delightful delicacy, but luckily for you it’s very easy to make and you can source all the ingredients at your local Korean supermarket. This soup is so good that we have had it twice this week already. It’s a great option if you have a chicken man that sells roast chickens on your street, if not you can just use two breasts. If you have whole chickens use the bones to make the stock.

Ingredients 

2 chicken breasts (or the chicken picked off the bones of one roast chicken)

2 cans of creamed corn (or 2 cans of sweet corn blended in the blender)

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

An inch of fresh ginger (optional)

1 litre of chicken stock (homemade or stock cube)

4 tablespoons of soy sauce

5-6 spring onions (finely chopped)

2 eggs (beaten)

2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil (optional)

Directions

If using raw chicken breasts boil them in the chicken stock until they are cooked. Remove them from the stock, allow to cool then shred them to pieces. Fry off the onions and the garlic in a little oil until softened. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Add the blended sweet corn to the stock mixture along with the soy sauce and the shredded chicken. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the beaten egg whilst whisking at the same time, this will make the long strands of eggs that you find in the Chinese soups. Throw in 3/4 of chopped spring onions and 1 tablespoon of sesame seed oil. Mix everything together then put into bowls. Garnish with the remaining spring onions and sesame seed oil and serve. If you’re feeling frivolous you can add some mandu into the soup a minute or two before you add the egg , it makes a nice addition in the place of wontons. Voilá my chinese chicken sweet corn soup another way to warm your winter.

It’s getting pretty damn cold outside at the moment and there’s nothing like a nice bowl of hearty stew to warm you up. I’m really loving pumpkin at the moment so I decided to make a pumpkin version. It really adds a good flavor to the broth.  All the taste in this stew comes from the homemade stock. Stock is insanely easy to make and practically free as all you do is boil up the leftover bones and carcass in some water. You can add a bit of onion, carrot and celery too if you have some extra lying around. But I find the bones work fine by themselves. I usually make my stock in the rice cooker since you have to check it much less frequently as it cooks on a lower heat. You need it to cook it for about 3-4 hours to get all the flavor out of it. I fill my rice cooker pot almost to the top with water then throw in the bones and let it do its magic. You should come out with a good pint or two of stock at the end. When it’s done taste it, to see how much flavor it has. If it’s not all that tasty you can add a stock cube to punch it up a bit. If it tastes good on its own leave it as is. The quality of stock is generally down to the quality of chicken, but even if you have a cheap one it’s still worth making. I must note that my picture is a bit iffy here because I couldn’t find the charger for my camera, this soup is insanely good so be sure to give it a go.

Ingredients

1 chicken (whole, roasted)

1 pumpkin (small Korean green one for 3,000)

2 red peppers

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

200g of green beans ( I used frozen ones from the foreign food mart but canned would be ok)

2 red peppers

1 chicken stock cube

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs

Directions

Remove your cooked chicken from the bones and set aside. Use your bones to make the stock above. Cut your pumpkin into chunks and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes so you are able to remove the flesh from the skin. I like to cut half up as chunks for the stew and mash the other half to thicken the stock. In a large saucepan fry your onions and garlic for five minutes or until they have softened. Add your chicken, stock, and pumpkin, and bring to the boil. When the stock is boiling, add the chopped red pepper and green beans, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the green beans are done. Serve with delicious homemade bread. Voilá an easy and tasty stew to warm your winter.

Autumn is  here and our salad days are long over. The nights are getting rather chilly, so much so we have even started putting the heating on (although I’m sure I will live to regret this when I see the bill next month). Soup time has finally arrived and with Halloween just around the corner, what recipe could be more befitting than pumpkin soup?

It was brought to my attention by one of my lovely and adorable fans that my recipes have been rather on the unhealthy side and a quick scroll through confirmed it. I have been doing a lot of deep-frying and baking lately. So to satisfy all you health conscious honeys out there I share with you my trusty pumpkin soup. I started making this years ago when I was dieting, although I do prefer it made with butternut squash if I’m back on home turf. Although as always in Korea we take what we can get so I make it with pumpkin instead. I practically lived on this last winter when my work lunches were less than desirable. Now I have a new job and my lunches are far more delicious, I’ve not yet had the need (today we had a KFC burger). However its time to get back on the healthy bandwagon with a big bowl of pumpkin soup (aka Orange Orgasm).

Ingredients

1 large pumpkin (mine was 4,000 but you could use two of the small ones)

2 small onions

6 cloves of garlic

600ml of water

400ml milk

2 chicken stock cubes

1/2 teaspoon of cumin (optional)

Directions

Chop your pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Chop the halves again into three pieces then put on a baking tray and roast for about 30-40 minutes until the pumpkin is soft to the touch. Scoop all the pumpkin flesh out and put into a bowl. I like to eat the skin if its nice and crispy as it has lots of goodness in it, it’s almost like a vegetable crisp sometimes but if you don’t like it you can throw it away. If you don’t have an oven you can just peel your pumpkin (although this is not an easy job) cut it into chunks then boil it in the stock. Your soup will come out a bit brighter if you do this but I prefer the roasted version.

Meanwhile thinly chop your onions and garlic and fry in a pan for a few minutes until they have softened. Then add the cumin if you are using it. Add your pumpkin, onions, garlic, and stock to a large saucepan, and bring to the boil. You can add the milk at this point too. You may want to add more or less milk or stock to your soup depending on how thick you like it, it’s up to you.

When the soup is ready, allow to cool, then blend. Voilá healthy halloween pumpkin soup.