Please note that this is primarily an index for personal use and reference by the authors, and that most of the recipes listed are not given in full.

Garlic soup

In Praise of the Potato p.115
Serves 6
Preparation / Cooking time: about 45m (a bit longer if you don't have a hand-held liquidizer)

This firm favourite is a very simple yet delicious and richly flavoured soup from Lindsey Bareham's In Praise of the Potato: she took the recipe from Colin Spencer. Since Google Books does not provide a preview, the Mammal will risk life and liberty to bring you this lovely recipe through what is probably technically a breach of copyright. Though if publicizing garlic soup doesn't constitute fair use, what does?!

Ingredients
700g floury-variety potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 heads of garlic, peeled
6 tablespoons olive oil [yes, tablespoons is correct]
generous pinch saffron [use turmeric if no saffron; purely cosmetic in any case]
2 pts water
275ml single cream
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Method
Roughly chop the garlic and sauté it in the oil for 3 or 4 minutes until soft but not brown. Add the potatoes, saffron, seasoning and water. Simmer for 30 minutes, then cool and purée [cooling not necessary with hand-held liquidizer]. Reheat gently and add the cream and parsley.

© Lindsey Bareham / Grafton Books

Basil French-toast sandwich with prosciutto, mozzarella and tomato

SM 2002-02 pp.74–75 [01.068.04]
Serves 2
Preparation / Cooking time: 20m

Stir-fried red cabbage with smoky Frankfurters

SM 2002-02 p.74 [01.068.03]
Serves 4
Preparation / Cooking time: 35m

Indian cottage pie

SM 2002-02 pp.72, 74 [01.068.02]
Serves 4
Preparation / Cooking time: 1h

Asian salad with cream cheese and sweet chilli sauce

SM 2002-02 p.72 [01.068.01]
Serves 4
Preparation / Cooking time: 15m

Sardine pasties

SM 2002-02 pp.70, 72 [01.067.02]
Serves 4
Preparation / Cooking time: 1h

Rice noodles with scallops and sweet chilli sauce

SM 2002-02 p.69 [01.067.01]
Serves 2
 Preparation / Cooking time: about 30–40m

Butternut squash risotto with goats' cheese, lemon and thyme

SM 2002-02 p.66 [01.066.02]
Serves 2
Preparation / Cooking time: about an hour all told

Pork with rosemary and roasted vegetables

SM 2002-02 p.65 [01.066.01]
Serves 2
Preparation / Cooking time: about 40m

Greek chicken pie

Book of Greek Cooking pp.88–89
Serves 6–8
Preparation / Cooking time: allow about 3h all told
(stages 1–3 could be done in advance, if preferred)
Advance preparation: You will need to have a batch of chicken stock to hand for this recipe; it really isn't one where a stock cube would do.

For Easter, the Mammal dined on an old favourite; this Greek dish does not feature on the everyday menu, but gets rolled out several weekends a year when there is chicken stock in the freezer and the time to devote to its rather leisurely cooking and preparation. It is an absolute corker of a pie, full of flavour. Kefalotiri cheese can be hard to come by, and the approved substitute is parmesan or similar, but we've frequently committed the sin of using cheddar and that tastes fine, too, as well as being easier on the pocket. It can be served with salad, steamed veg, anything that offers a 'clean' and simple taste to complement the richness of the pie.

The recipe is reproduced from Lesley Mackley's The Book of Greek Cooking, which is well worth a look; tantalizingly, the Google Books preview shows the first but not the second page of the recipe, so I'm afraid the Mammal has had to engage in a minor act of piracy here.

Ingredients
1.5 kg chicken
chicken stock
450g onions, sliced
150ml (2/3 cup) milk
115g (½ cup) melted butter
3 tsp of lemon juice
115g (1 cup) grated kefalotiri cheese [or substitute parmesan or romano]
Salt and pepper
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 tsp chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs, beaten
12 sheets filo pastry
Salad leaves, to garnish

Method
1. Put chicken in a flameproof casserole into which it fits tightly. Pour in enough stock to almost cover legs. Cover chicken breast with a sheet of buttered greaseproof paper. Cover casserole and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is just cooked. Remove chicken from casserole and leave to cool.

2. Add onions and milk to stock. Boil rapidly uncovered, until liquid is reduced to 300ml (1 ¼ cups) of thick pulpy onion sauce. Preheat oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4). [Inner Mammal's note—boil rapidly, my furry a***: this takes forever!]

3. Remove chicken skin. Cut meat into neat pieces and place in a large bowl. Add onion sauce, half the butter, the lemon juice, cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, parsley and eggs. Mix together well.

4. Lightly butter a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 in) roasting tin. Brush one sheet of pastry with butter and place in a tin, overlapping edges. Brush 5 more sheets of pastry and layer them on top.

5. Spread the filling over the pastry. Flap over-lapping pastry over the top. Cut remaining sheets of pastry to fit in. Brush with butter and layer on top. Score top into squares and sprinkle with water. Bake for 45 mins or until golden brown and crisp.

© Lesley Mackley / Salamander Books