Two Top Winter Recipes for a Frosty Day

When it’s cold outside and you’ve been on the grind all day, there’s nothing better than going home and tucking into a big warm bowl of comfort food.

So, whether you’ve been out working, running errands, Christmas shopping (it may be just that bit early for some, in which case head to our site and click our Un-Christmas Me! option in the top right hand corner), or anything else for that matter, here are two winter recipes to help warm you up on a frosty day…

Tangy Lamb Tagine

Ingredients

• Two kilograms of lamb neck fillets
• Five tablespoons of mild olive oil
• Three medium onions, chopped into thin wedges
• Four finely chopped garlic cloves
• Four teaspoons of ground coriander
• Four teaspoons of ground cumin
• One teaspoon of spicy chilli powder
• One teaspoon of ground turmeric
• A large pinch of saffron
• Two cinnamon sticks
• Two preserved lemons cut into wedges
• 300 grams of dried apricots (ready to eat)
• 250 grams of dried, pitted dates
• 100 grams of shelled pistachios
• 25 grams of cornflour
• Two teaspoons of rosewater
• Cooked cous cous (to serve alongside tagine)
• A small bunch of coriander

Method

1. Heat the oven to around 180C/160C fan/gas four. Trim any hard fat off the lamb, cut it into medium sized chunks and season. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a big flame proof casserole dish and brown the lamb in three to four batches for up to two minutes until lightly coloured. Add another tablespoon of oil between each batch and transfer to a bowl every time a batch is browned.
2. Heat the rest of the oil in the same bowl over a medium heat and fry the onions until soft and lightly coloured. Stir in the cumin, garlic, coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, one teaspoon of black pepper and one teaspoon of sea salt. Cook for one minute while stirring; return the lamb to the dish and add 1.5 litres of water, plus the saffron, cinnamon and lemons. Bring to a simmer, while stirring; cover with a lid and place into the oven. Cook for an hour.
3. Gently remove the dish from the oven and stir in the apricots, dates and half the pistachios, then cover again and place back into the oven. Cook for another half an hour until the lamb is particularly tender.
4. Place the dish onto the hob and season according to taste. Mix in the cornflour with the rosewater and three tablespoons of cold water, before stirring it into the tagine. Cook over a medium heat for around two minutes until the sauce thickens. Roughly chop the rest of the nuts and sprinkle over the top. Throw on some coriander serve up with the cous cous and last but certainly not least, tuck in!

Gooey Pear Pudding

Ingredients

• 200 grams of butter, plus extra for greasing
• 300 grams of golden caster sugar
• Four large eggs
• 75 grams of plain flour
• 50 grams cocoa powder
• 410 grams can pears halves in juice, drained
• 100 grams plain dark chocolate
• Cream or ice cream, to serve

Method

1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas five. Lightly grease a 20 x 30cm shallow oven proof dish. Add the butter to a large saucepan and place over a low heat until just melted. Remove the butter from the heat and stir in the sugar until well mixed.
2. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl. Slowly add the eggs to the butter and sugar, beating well with a wooden spoon in between each addition. Sift the flour and cocoa powder on top of the egg mixture, then beat with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.
3. Pour into a prepared tin or dish and push the the pears into the chocolate batter. Put the chocolate on a board and cut into chunky pieces with a large knife. Scatter the chocolate pieces over the batter
4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, or until the mixture is crusty on the surface and lightly cooked inside. Make sure you don’t overcook, as the cake will become spongy rather than gooey in the centre. Serve warm with cream or ice cream and enjoy.

We hope these dishes help to warm you up over the winter and if you’re in the mood for even more chocolaty delights, check out this brownie recipe from the one and only Eric Lanlard. 

Images:COREY TEMPLETON, STJIN NIEUWENDIJK and YAN via Flickr