Ingredients >
1 cockerel, cut in pieces
Some flour
Salt and pepper
½ glass olive oil
3 onions, roughly chopped
4 carrots, roughly chopped
100g mushrooms, small
2-3 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
3-4 cloves
3 glasses of red dry wine

Method >
Season the cockerel pieces well and roll in flour. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and saut? pieces in batches. Remove to a baking dish. Add the onions, carrots, whole mushrooms, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and cloves. Pour over the red wine and cover well with the lid or silver foil.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cook for 35 minutes and then remove the casserole lid and cook for another 15 minutes until the juices reduce.

Today’s recipe is an interesting and quite sharp combination of flavours, balanced by the sweetness of the Grand Marnier, all shaken together. An interesting fact is that whenever you use your cocktail shaker, it is a tool with a deep history, dating back to the 1800s. One of the first examples of a cocktail shaker is still displayed at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum in London. It is the shaker that the 26th American President used to prepare the first “legal” Martini, soon after the end of prohibition in 1934. Salute!

Ingredients >
3cl Gold tequila
2cl Grand Marnier
3cl cranberry juice
2cl fresh lime juice

Preparation >
Pour all the ingredients into a shaker half filled with ice. Shake sharply. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a wedge of lime sit on the rim of the glass.

Ingredients >
100ml olive oil
500g cooked prawns, peeled (tails intact, shells reserved)
1.4 litres vegetable stock, hot
500g baby squid, cleaned, tubes sliced into rings
1 onion, finely chopped
440g Arborio risotto rice
125ml dry white wine
100g frozen peas
3 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, deseeded and chopped
Small handful chopped fresh parsley
Lemon wedges to serve

Method >
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the prawn shells and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the stock, boil, then add the saffron and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the stock into a clean pan (discard the shells) and keep at a simmer.
Heat another tablespoon of the oil in a deep frying pan over a high heat. When very hot, add the squid and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until just opaque. Remove and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the remaining oil. Add the onion and cook until softened. Stir in the rice, cook for 1 minute, then add the wine and bubble for a further 1 minute.
Add the stock to pan, a ladleful at a time, making sure each addition is absorbed before you add the next. Continue, stirring frequently, for 20-25 minutes, until all the stock is used and the rice is al dente, stir in the peas for the last 3 minutes.
Stir the tomatoes, squid and prawns into the paella and cook for 2 minutes to heat through. Stir in some parsley and serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over. Serves 6.

Ingredients >
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to brush
1 onion, finely chopped
Good pinch of saffron threads
4 garlic cloves
275ml white wine vinegar
12 cherry tomatoes
2 cucumbers, peeled sparsely, halved lengthways, deseeded and cut into chunks
4 x 150g sea bass fillets, with skin
Handful fresh purple or green basil leaves, finely chopped, to garnish

Method >
Pour the oil into a deep frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring until softened. Sprinkle over the saffron and whole garlic, season and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the wine vinegar and 300ml water. Increase the heat and bring to the boil.
Add the tomatoes to the pan with the cucumber. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, brush the sea bass fillets with the oil and season. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and cook the fish, skin-side down, for 2 minutes. Turn and cook for a further minute or until just cooked through.
To serve, divide the broth and vegetables between serving bowls. Top with a fish fillet and garnish with basil and parsley. Serves 4.

Ingredients >
Large pinch of saffron
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
400g tin chopped tomatoes
150ml white wine
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
500g carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
500g artichokes, peeled and cut into chunks
500g runner beans
Short stick of cinnamon
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
50g blanched almonds, roasted, roughly chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Method >
Soak the saffron in a splash of boiling water for 10 minutes; crush it firmly with a spoon. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Fry for 10-15 minutes until they are soft and golden. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the wine and simmer for a couple of minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Add the vegetables along with the saffron and its soaking water. Pour in enough water to barely cover the vegetables. Bring to the boil; add the cinnamon stick and bay leaf and season. Cover the pan and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle almonds and parsley over the vegetables and serve. Serves 6.

Ingredients >
200g hazelnuts
2 potatoes, peeled and boiled
100g barley, boiled
1 medium red onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves
1 red chilli, deseeded, chopped finely
1 tbsp mild curry paste
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
Salt and pepper
For the crumbs
½ cup pistachios, ground
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method >
Roast hazelnuts for 2 minutes in hot pan. When cool, grind roughly. Place potatoes and barley in a mince meat grinder and grind roughly.
Remove to a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients and mix by hand or in a food mixer.
Divide mixture into eight or ten balls and mould into burger shapes. Coat with crumb mixture and shallow fry until golden. Serve with green salad and wholemeal bread.
Makes 8-10.