Pasta Bolognese

I am not a Bolognese snob. I do not hold with their being one way to make it and all others being a sin. A great many ways are rubbish, there's no denying it. I've seen some horrible Bologneses in my time, as well as one in California which was actually a tomato sauce with meatballs and sausages like in The Godfather.

For myself, I like a Bolognese to be thick, rich and meaty, without carrots or celery.

Ingredients
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic (oh yes, I went there), finely chopped
250g lean minced beef (not extra lean)
400g chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 glass red wine
1/2 tsp oregano*
1 tsp basil*
1 beef stock pot

75-100g pasta per person

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium-high heat.

Add the onion and garlic, stir well, reduce the heat to medium and then cover and sweat until the onion starts to soften.

Add the beef, making sure to break up any large chunks early. Stir periodically as the meat browns.

Add the herbs, a twist of black pepper, the puree and the wine. Stir well, add the tomatoes and the stock pot and mix well until the stock is dissolved.

Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-20 minutes.

Serve with almost any kind of pasta and freshly grated Parmesan. You can also mix with the pasta and layer into an overproof dish with mozzarella to make an excellent pasta bake.

* While living things wither in my presence, if you can keep a basil or oregano plant alive, this is a meal that really benefits from fresh herbs.

Chicken Paella

This is one of my signature dishes. It's kind of involved, but well worth the effort. Your classic paella is full of seafood, but it can be made with anything and I'm not a fan of shellfish. I usually use chicken, but sometimes substitute game.

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
250g chicken breast or thigh, cubed
1 red pepper, roughly diced
2 green pepper, roughly diced
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100g diced chorizo
100g diced pancetta
20g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
200g chopped tomatoes
1/2 tbsp paprika
180g bomba rice
500ml chicken stock
Pinch of saffron
200g peas

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan on a medium-high heat.

Fry the chicken and peppers until the chicken is browned, then remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the saffron to the stock to infuse.

Clean out the pan and heat the remaining oil on a medium-high heat.

Fry the onion, chorizo, pancetta, parsley and garlic (the sofrito) until the onion begins to soften.

Add the tomatoes and paprika, then cook on a medium heat until the liquid from the tomatoes is mostly evaporated.

Restore the chicken and peppers and add the rice. Stir so that the rice is coated in the other ingredients.

Add the peas and then the stock. Cook at a high simmer for c. 10 minutes without stirring or covering.

Simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, until all of the stock is absorbed and the rice has just a little bite left. If the liquid is used up too quickly, top up with a little boiled water.

Cook on a high heat for a minute to scorch the bottom of the paella.

If cooking game - pigeon, pheasant etc - instead of chicken, omit the pre-cooking, as the meat will end up too dry.

Spaghetti Carbonara

This is a good standby, both because it's quick to make and because my daughter reliably eats it. I have added peas to the standard recipe because Arya eats them and it puts at least some vitamins in what is otherwise a carb-and-protein dish.

Ingredients (per person)
100g spaghetti
1/2 cup peas

2 eggs
2 rashers bacon
2 tsp grated Parmesan
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp olive oil

Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and peas, bring back to the boil and then simmer until the spaghetti is cooked.

Once the spaghetti goes in, heat the oil in a large saucepan.

Fry the bacon until cooked to preference.

Beat together the eggs, cheese and pepper.

Drain the pasta, add to the saucepan and toss together with the bacon and oil.

Remove from the heat, add the egg and stir though.

Camembert with Chorizo

Get one Camembert of baking size (6"-8" across) and about 50g of diced chorizo.

Place the Camembert in a baking container and slice the top rind. Push chorizo cubes into the slices and scatter the rest on top of the cheese.

Bake at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Eat with hot bread, carrot sticks and chutney.

Christmas Ham

Ham is a pretty simple thing to cook, but I had never done it before. Now I've done it twice. In both cases, the essential process was the same:

1. Take a ham (or gammon, if you will).
2. Place in a pan and cover with cold water.
3. Bring to the boil; drain.
4. Cover with cold water, adding vegetables and spices to the pan.
5. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes per 1/2 kilo.
6. Drain and transfer to a roasting dish.
7. Glaze and bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes.
8. Turn, glaze, and bake for 10-15 minutes.

In the first instance I used fresh vegetables and black pepper for the boil. In retrospect, since I wasn't reserving the stock due to lack of freezer space, it would have been as good to do what I did in the second instance and use vegetable stock to season.

The Christmas Day ham had a half-and-half honey and mustard (English) glaze, but Arya didn't go for that. Since honey and mustard mix up nice and runny, the glaze could be applied cold.

The New Year ham had a variation on a marmalade and brown sugar glaze, using a couple of tablespoons of good marmalade and one of black treacle, heated to mix and bring to a good consistency for painting onto the ham with a brush.