Happy St David’s Day! We love Wales. We go every year on holiday and I have done since a child. So, I have a real fondness for Welsh lamb and today I’m showing it a bit of love by sharing a Welsh lamb recipe.

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Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye
Food Writer
Happy St David’s Day! We love Wales. We go every year on holiday and I have done since a child. So, I have a real fondness for Welsh lamb and today I’m showing it a bit of love by sharing a Welsh lamb recipe.
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Welcome to the Simple and in Season January Round-Up on Fabulicious Food! January seemed like a long month. I have no idea why, but it did. I’ve been longing for the weather to warm up, so we can walk/scoot to school instead of having to de-ice the car and avoid ice patches, but now snow is forecast! I’m sure this is why this month has been about comfort food and food that brightens up our day or keeps us warm!
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I pretty much knew as soon as I opened River Cottage Veg Everyday, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s latest (and best-selling) televison tie-in, that Hugh’s Leek and Cheese Toastie would be the first recipe I would make from it.
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You can tell it is January as everyone is writing posts about soup or muesli. We’ve all over-indulged during the festive period and today, as the decorations come down, it is time to face the music. It’s all change for me in many ways as my little boy goes back to school on Monday and my daughter goes to nursery for the very first time, swapping her usual nap time for toddler-filled playtime. I have resolved not to use the time to write, but instead, to hit the gym and enjoy the precious couple of hours I will have to myself. We’ll see how that goes…
I can’t tell you how much my little boy loves leek soup. He askes for it all the time. This is the simplest of soups to make, just three ingredients and a stock cube, yet it brings such comfort. You might even have these ingredients growing in your veg patch or on your allotment – another of my resolutions! This year, he was a Wise Man in his school Nativity play and given that today is the feast of The Three Kings, I promised I would make ‘golden soup’ for us to eat. The feedback today was: “Mummy, this leek soup is so yummy, I would like to fill up the bath with it and have a rest in it tonight!” So, in case there are any Wise Men passing by your house tonight, needing a bath or just a bowl of soup, here’s our recipe for Golden Leek Soup.
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Bye bye festive plates and bowls for another year!
I’m hoping to open up Family Friendly Fridays here as a blog event soon as well as rounding-up and re-instating Simple and in Season VERY soon!
In the meantime, I’m also linking this up to Helen’s Frugal Food Fridays!
Having survived National Cupcake Week, my scales are pleased that we are now into British Food Fortnight. Whilst I could continue to bake cakes, I am moving instead, into savoury, autumnal cooking-mode.
British Baby Leek & Mushroom 3 Grain Risotto
Serves 4Ingredients:300g Three Grain Risotto (I used the Riso Gallo brand)1 Tablespoon British Rapeseed Oil1 Small Onion, finely chopped220g British Baby Leeks, cleaned and finely chopped150g British Oyster Mushrooms, chopped50g British Chestnut Mushrooms, sliced1 Litre Vegetable StockFor the topping110g British Baby Leeks, washed and finely chopped15g ButterA twist of pepperA handful of freshly grated vegetarian-style Parmesan cheeseMethod:1. Boil the kettle and make up the vegetable stock to one litre in a separate sauce pan. Leave the pan on a low heat so that your stock is constantly simmering as you add it to your grains/rice.2. Add the oil to a large heavy-based pan and gently fry the onions and leeks for around five minutes. Add the rice, stir it well until it is coated in the oil and mixed with the onions and leeks.3. Add the mushrooms and risotto rice/grains, mix well until all the grains are coated. Over a medium heat, add a ladleful of stock to the rice and vegetables and simmer. As the stock bubbles in the pan and is absorbed, add another ladleful and again stir. If your rice/grains are in any way sticking to the pan, your heat is too high. Add more as necessary, until all the stock has been used up and the grains are cooked. The grains should take no more than 25 minutes to cook and should still have some bite to them, but should not be hard.4. Using your (now empty) stock pan, add the butter and the extra baby leeks and gently fry for three minutes or so. Serve your risotto in bowls and top with the extra baby leeks, a twist of pepper and plenty of grated cheese.
It’s Meat Free Monday again which means I have a really lovely, easy recipe to share. This one is great for a quick kids’ tea as it really should take less than twenty minutes from chopping to serving. We really love macaroni cheese, it is lovely and warming and cheese melting under the grill really makes the house smell yummy!
Although making a roux (flour and butter based white sauce) isn’t difficult, even an expert roux-maker can have issues with lumps so I make a really easy alternative with cream, crème fraîche and cheese. You can use half-fat versions if you prefer. I also add a touch of Dijon mustard and an egg yolk, just for flavour.
This is a really versatile sauce and can be added to any pasta dish (try adding chopped smoked or poached salmon, chopped bacon and peas or chopped left-over chicken for a non-Meat Free Monday alternative) or just make a veggie version, as I have, adding any vegetables you like. You can also skip the pasta altogether and just use it as a sauce for pouring over cauliflower or broccoli.
I have used baby leeks this week, which are in season and make a more colourful alternative to onions. They also have a much subtler and sweeter flavour, don’t make your eyes water and are a great source of Vitamin C as well as iron and fibre. Go for small or medium sized leeks, as the larger ones can be a bit woody. You can remove the outer layer if you need to and give them a good wash removing and grit.
Easy Macaroni Cheese with Baby Leeks
Ingredients 250 g macaroni pasta 200 ml double cream Salt & Pepper Method Pre-heat your grill. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add your macaroni or other shaped pasta to the pan, stir and cook according to the packet instructions (firmer/al dente is best) Finely chop your leeks, add a tablespoon of olive or rapeseed oil to a frying pan and gently fry your leeks for a few minutes until they soften. Pour the cream and crème fraîche into a pan and gently bring to the boil. Once it is very gently bubbling, add the grated Gruyère cheese and mix well. (For extra flavour you could add some extra cheddar too) Add the Dijon mustard and mix again. Take off the heat and add your egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper and stir again keeping it off the heat. Drain your pasta and add it to the pan of cheese sauce, tip in the cooked baby leeks. Mix well until all the pasta is coated. Sprinkle over the cheddar cheese (or use more Gruyèreor any firm cheese) and place it under the hot grill just until the cheese starts bubbling and melting. Serve and eat as soon as possible. |