tomato dahl with lamb

This poor, poor recipe: it got bumped for weeks and weeks off the menu as other things came up, we got home late, someone invited us out... and finally we made it. It was very nice, luckily.

The lamb was supposed to be koftas but mega-juicy onions didn't allow the meat to bind into kebabs. So instead the lamb mince was mixed with onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric to make a batch of fried mince. The dhal was onion, garlic, turmeric and lentils simmered in stock, with a tin of tomatoes, to form the carb part of the dish. Not fussy, not clever, but satisfying.

(the white strips above are slivers of halloumi cheese that were sitting looking bored in the fridge lightly grilled and left on top)

hot pot

Not mucking about now - this is proper winter food.

It's very simple and fills like few other dishes. I use lamb neck fillet, which I've espoused the glory of before. It's diced and layered here with onion rings, sliced potatoes (sod peeling), and diced carrot. Each layer is seasoned and dashed with chopped rosemary. Finally lamb stock is poured over and allowed to mingle between the bits. Then I leave it in the oven for about three hours,  so everything gets a chance to soften and develop.

It comes out of the oven as pure wholesome warming comfort food. As a total flavour contrast I pair it with pickled cabbage out of jar, which gives you a real mouth-puckering tang against the savoury meatiness.

moussaka

This moussaka posited an excellent time-saver: red pesto as the main gravy indredient. You can't hold back with moussaka; as a permutation of lasagne as all nations are wont to have, bold flavours work best here. This version oozed lambiness, retaining a lot of that savoury juice that characterizes rich lamb dishes.

The red pesto saved a lot of bother by forming the basis of the sauce, both gutsy and part tomatoey. Persuaded to try again I'd some tomato puree to oomph up that side. In a semi-traditional nod this recipe had a custardy topping, one which I've never been oversold on. And this is no exception. A clagginess underscores any flavour advantage you might gain. I'd rather head back to roux territory for the ultimate aubergine topping. And what a star aubergine is here. Meaty, moist and exuding a mediterranean flavour, and somehow always so filling.

Served with leftover courgettes from yesterday, this was a very satisfying meal.

lamb with cous cous and courgette

Inspired by a recipe in last month's delicious magazine, this faintly Moroccan dish seemed too tempting to pass up. I love an excuse to eat lamb, which can often take too long to cook, so when I find a snappy lamb dish difficult to ignore.

I got some lovely lamb neck fillet, all chunky and packed with lambiness. This was smeared in a yoghurt-spice mixture and left alone for a while. The spice was supposed to be a Moroccan-style infusion but due to a kitchen mix-up got blended with my garam masala (gary masala...) which I'll get to the recipe for one day but rest assured it's fairly standard Indian-y blend of cumin, cinnamon, chilli, pepper, fenugreek...

The nice and sloppy marinated lamb was griddled to brownness and then left in the oven for ten minutes whilst the other stuff went on.

The cous cous was steeped in boiling chicken stock, lemon zest and butter and left covered to absorb the flavours. Meanwhile, I griddled razor-thin sliced courgettes a coupla minutes a side to get those attractive dark lines. Five minutes later, I'm adding lemon juice, chopped coriander and the browned courgettes. Tumble it onto plates, dot with lamb and serve with lemon wedges. Not difficult at all, but filling, tasty and very nearly healthy.