One list five meals: Mushroom Broth

MONDAY

Red Pepper stuffed with Spiced Lamb

Serves 4

70g of rice

A dash of rapeseed oil

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

400g of lamb mince

1 tsp of chilli powder

½ tsp of ground cinnamon

1 tsp of ground cumin

1 tbsp of tomato puree

1 tsp of honey

150 mls of stock

A handful of cashew nuts, chopped

4 red peppers, halved and scooped

100g of Gruyère cheese, grated

Put the rice on to boil in lightly salted water until it is soft. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil over a medium heat and sauté the onion until it is has turned translucent. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the mince to the pan and break it up with a wooden spoon, fry until it is starting to brown.

Stir in the chilli powder, cinnamon, cumin, tomato puree and honey. Add the stock and nuts, stir once more and season. Stir the rice through the meat.

Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place into an oven proof dish. Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and take off the foil. Sprinkle with cheese and some black pepper and put back into the oven for a further ten minutes or until cooked through.

TUESDAY

Blackberry Salad with Yoghurt Dressing and Fresh Herbs

Serves 4

4 slices of bread

2 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise

8 thin slices of goat’s cheese

Juice and zest of a lemon

Good quality rapeseed oil

½ tbsp of natural yogurt

1 tsp of honey

Mixed leaves for four

A bunch of tarragon

A bunch of parsley

4 spring onions, thinly sliced

A handful of sunflower seeds

350g of blackberries

Rub the bread all over with the cloves of garlic and lay the goat’s cheese on top. Place under a medium grill until the cheese is turning golden.

In the meantime whisk together half a tablespoon of lemon juice with the zest of a lemon, one and a half tablespoons of rapeseed oil, the yogurt and honey. Season and taste, and add a little more of any of the ingredients if you wish.

Toss the leaves, herbs, spring onions, seeds and berries in the dressing and serve the cheesy toast alongside.

WEDNESDAY

Mushroom Broth

Serves 4

60g of dried porcini mushrooms

2 kg of button mushrooms

1 kg of shiitake mushrooms

4 bay leaves

2 springs of thyme

1 large onion, roughly chopped

Noodles for four

A dash of rapeseed oil

4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

2 small leeks, sliced

2 spring onions sliced

1 tsp of light soya sauce

This will make a rich, hearty, earthy mushroom stock. Half can be used for todays dinner and the other half can be set aside for Friday.

Put the dried porcini, button mushrooms, 800g of the shiitake mushrooms, bay leaves, thyme, onion and six litres of water into a large heavy pan. Leave to simmer away over a low heat for an hour.

Add a little more water if needed. Drain and set aside.

Put the noodles on to boil in lightly salted water and drain when cooked.

Heat the rapeseed oil and sauté the garlic until it starts to give off a scent, add the mushrooms and sauté until golden. Add the leeks and spring onions and sauté for a further minute.

Add half of the mushroom broth along with the soya sauce and bring almost to the boil. Taste and season. Add a little more warm water if necessary.

Stir in the noodles and serve.

THURSDAY

Bobotie

Serves 4

I ate dinner in the lovely Roundwood house, county Laois recently and they served this unusual South African dish. It was so nice I ended up getting seconds.

It is unusual in the way they use the bread but it does work and the sweetness from the sultans compliments the spiced meat perfectly.

1 thick slice of white bread

15g of butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

600g of minced beef

2 tbsp of mango chutney

2 tbsp of sultanas

1 tbsp of madras curry powder

2 tsp of dried mixed herbs

4 bay leaves

250 ml of milk

2 eggs

½ tsp of nutmeg

Soak the bread in cold water, enough to completely cover it.

Sauté the onion in the butter over a low heat.

Keep the lid on and allow it to go completely translucent.

Add the garlic and mince and stir well. Break up the mince and allow to brown all over.

Stir in the chutney, sultans, curry powder, mixed herbs, one of the bay leaves and seasoning. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Squeeze any extra water from the bread and break it into the mince.

Mash it through the meat so that it is completely combined. Place the mixture into an oven proof dish and flatten down.

Whisk the eggs, milk and nutmeg and pour over the top. Season and lay the remaining bay leaves on top.

Bake in the oven heated to 180 degrees for 30 minutes until the topping is set and starting to go golden.

FRIDAY

Warming Lentil and Root Vegetable Soup

Serves 4

A dash of olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tsp of ground cumin

½ tsp of chilli powder

300g of carrots, washed and grated

300g of parsnips, washed and grated

150g of red lentils

1 litre mushroom stock from Wednesday, if you have less than a litre you can top it up with water

100mls of creme fraiche

Heat a dash of oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion until soft and translucent.

Add the cumin, chilli powder, carrots and parsnips to the pan and stir fry for 30 seconds.

Stir in the lentils and stock and allow to bubble away for 20 minutes until the lentils have softened.

It will take a little longer if they are a little old. Taste and season.

Stir in the creme fraiche and blitz the soup gently so that it still retains some bite.