I confess that I haven’t managed to sit down and write anything for a long time.  Why?  Hmmm… Good question.  Well a number of reasons really.  I’ve had to travel quite a bit for work projects in the last few months and my busiest event period ever also kicked in.  There have also been a few highs and quite a few lows of late… Details of which I won’t bore you with.  But an hilarious opportunity presented itself to me early in October and I seized it! 

I took part in a UK based TV cookery show (The name of which, I sadly cannot repeat until it airs next year) But the idea is based on a group of strangers who each take turn to host and cook dinner for the group, often to hilarious and bitchy consequences.  Each cook is scored for their efforts, by the other guests and the winner gets a prize at the end.  It has a somewhat cult-status here in the UK and I can tell you that the whole process was a bizarre experience, indeed. 

A week of intense filming, Monday through Friday from 6pm-3am sometimes, leaves you absolutely exhausted as you have your normal day job to do also and so you are getting only 3 hours sleep each night!  I wasn’t planning on even writing about this, but someone made me promise I would mention it… Although I did agree that only in the instance that I won, would I write about… and by some miracle I did actually win! 

Now let me tell you that this doesn’t make me any kind of genius cook, it just means I got lucky and pulled off a better meal than the others.  I’d like to credit my Iranian heritage for making me a naturally good hostess.  It’s a cultural thing right?  We do tend to like to make sure our guests are comfortable, fed, watered and happy more than a lot of other cultures I could mention.

So aside from that I’ve been travelling a bit too… Nowhere too far, but Paris, Saint Tropez and Wales to organise various different events, from Sailing on the Cote D’Azur to Champagne and Foie Gras at the Ritz in Paris.  Yes, yes, I know… it sounds glamorous.  But all the while, I just kept thinking “I wish I was at home” or in the words of Dorothy… “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home”.  Only problem was that I didn’t have Dorothy’s magical red sparkly shoes to get me anywhere, so I had to just buckle down and get on with things.   

I’m pleased to say that work projects have thankfully slowed down for now, allowing me a much needed break.  I haven’t actually cooked for myself in a couple of months and the diet has well and truly been neglected.  That’s all ok… I have had a little respite in the last week and I am ready to get back to eating sensibly and focusing on weight loss.  But not before I re-visited the virtues of one of my favourite comfort foods… One pot cooking.  I just love cooking that way.  My favourite dish of late seems to be a classic Irish stew.  It’s so easy that anybody could make it.  In fact, I’m going to tell you how to make it, just to prove how completely idiot-proof it is!  

IRISH STEW

Lamb Neck Fillets - 4 fillets (Weight really doesn’t matter, if you are greedy, buy more! Just so long as it fits into your cooking pot, it’s all fine.)

2 Parsnips

3 Carrots

400g Swede

4 crushed garlic cloves (un-chopped)

2 large onions (halved and then quartered)

Either 4 stems of thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme (whichever is easiest for you!)

Two heaped table spoons of vegetable stock (I use the brand ‘Swiss Bouillon’ but you can substitute with any kind of good vegetable, about 2 litres of stock or 2 stock cubes in 2 litres of water)

Pepper to taste

METHOD

Ok, the idea is simple.  Cut the lamb fillets into chunks of about an inch (or slightly more) thick.  In the biggest cooking pot you can find, pour a little cooking oil and lightly fry the meat on a medium to high heat. DO NOT brown the meat, just fry it lightly and toss in the raw onions and crushed garlic and soften them a little with the meat.  Then strip your thyme stems of the leaves and discard the woody stems and then season with as much pepper as you like. Stir the mix well and add all your root vegetables (Swede, carrot and parsnips – which should all be chopped into big chunks about 2 inches wide, as other wise they will dissolve in the slow cooking process)  Once you added the vegetables, pour in your 2 litres of stock, which should be enough to generously cover your stew (and if not, just add more water) and then turn to a medium heat, cover with the pot lid and leave it well alone for 2 hours.  Then serve in bowls to allow for deliciously messy consumption!

* * * *  

That’s all you have to do!  Don’t believe me?  Try it for yourself.  It’s hearty, it’s warming and in the current economic climate, it’s a great low cost meal that would easily feed a family of four (or a greedy 2-some!!!) and perhaps serve a little mashed potato on the side and its damn near heaven!  Although, personally I prefer to just eat it without the mashed potato and instead, I have my own little ritual which involves me mashing the root vegetables in the stew itself, so they work as a self-contained accompaniment.  Could anything be more satisfying than this?  I doubt it.  Especially when London has already seen its first snow in OCTOBER!  It’s just the kind of winter warmer you need!

So what else can be made in a single pot with equally good results?  How about Risotto?  Combinations are infinite and all are such simple dishes to make and the best part is there is only ever one pot to wash!  Risotto base is just chopped onions, a little chopped celery, butter, oil and the some Risotto rice.  You lightly toast the rice grains in the onion and celery mixture and then slowly add a ladle of stock in at a time until the rice cooks.  What you put into your Risotto is entirely up to you!  Whether it’s wild mushrooms and bacon (or Italian Pancetta) or whatever vegetables you have in your fridge or just Saffron, which is forms the classic and simple ‘Risotto alla Milanese’ usually served with Osso Bucco.  The point of Risotto was always to make a meal out of leftovers or just whatever you have in the house.  It’s a totally versatile base to a great and filling family or dinner party dish.    

What about a nice homemade chilli?  Add some good quality cocoa powder to the mix to give it a velvety rich texture.  Or a nice beef and Guinness stew?  Essentially, anything that is slow cooked tends to exude the highest degree of flavour and usually involves using the cheaper cuts of meat that require a longer, slower cooking.  So it’s a win-win situation really.  Not only should it be simple to make, but it should be filling, tasty and cheap to make.   

If after reading this, you aren’t already savouring your idea of ‘Heaven in a pot’ then I haven’t done my job properly.  But I would seriously urge you to try the Irish stew, especially if you are the kind of person who NEVER cooks because you are not really confident in the kitchen… This is the dish for you.  Moist, melt-in-the-mouth delicate chunks of lamb with flavour packed root vegetables that gently sweeten the meaty broth that envelops it all.  If it was possible for any dish to literally give you ‘A warm hug’, than this is the dish that would do the job!  So if you are feeling like you need to light the fire within and top-up your inner-glow… Then why are you sitting around reading this?  Get started on the stew. 

But let me just give you one little warning, making this dish when you are alone could have dangerous consequences… ones which I have fallen victim to a couple of times.  The dish is so damn tasty, that whilst at first you start picking at the dish, you suddenly find you have eaten your way through the whole pot, without noticing!  Be careful, it’s very easily done… So try and make sure you are cooking for people… and like I’ve said before, food tastes so much better when it’s shared with friends.