Steak with Beetroot and Mustard Dressing

Ingredients
300g Beetroots
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Caster Sugar
1 Teaspoon English Mustard
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil=Extra for Drizzling
2 Tablespoons Water
2x150g Steaks
125g Salad Leaves

Equipment
1 Ovenproof Tray
1 Jam Jar
1 Grill Pan
1 Balloon Whisk
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board

The Good Bit

1. Start by preheating your oven too 180c 350f gas 4, top and tail the beetroot, then cut into wedges, place them in the ovenproof tray and drizzle over a little oil, make sure the beets are well coated then bake them for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile mix the vinegar, sugar and mustard together in the jam jar until smooth, then add the oil and water, screw on the top and shake well. Next cook your steaks under a high grill, 2 minutes each side for rare, 3-4 minutes per side for medium and 5 minutes for well done, let them rest for 2 minutes then slice (rare looks great with this dish and tastes awesome)
3. Add salad leaves to each plate then divide up the beetroot between the plates, top with the slices of steak and drizzle over your well shaken sauce.

Serves 4

Spicey Roast Lamb

Ingredients
1.5Kg Leg of Lamb
1 Teaspoon Each Chilli Powder, Garlic (crushed), Coriander, Cumin, Salt
1 Tablespoon Breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Sultanas
3 Tablespoons Natural Yoghurt
Oil
Salad Leaves, Cherry Tomatoes, Lemon Wedges, Chopped Fresh Coriander and Grated Carrot to serve

Equipment
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Blender
Tin Foil
1 SHARP Knife

The Good Bit

1. Pre heat your oven too 180c 350f gas mark 4, trim any fat that you can from the leg of lamb, rinse it, then pat dry and set on a sheet of tin foil that will be large enough to cover it.
2. Mix all the teaspoons of spices together in the mixing bowl, the rest of the ingredients (breadcrumbs, yoghurt, lemon juice, sultanas and a splash of oil) should be blended until you have a smooth paste, combine this then with the spice mixture and mix well.
3. Pour your spice mixture over your lamb and rub it in well then cover with the tin foil, cook in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, remove and with the juices in the tin foil baste the leg again, you may need to use a spoon here, this time whack the lamb in the oven uncovered to brown off for 45 minutes.
4. Serve on a bed of salad leaves, chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh coriander and maybe some grated carrot and lemon wedges.
   

Serves 6

Lamb Pitta Pockets

Ingredients
350g Lamb Fillets
4 Pita Bread
1 Tablespoon Sweet Chilli Sauce
2 Tablespoons Fresh Mint (chopped)
1 Lemon (juiced)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
50g Salad Leaves (rocket is good)
4 Tablespoons Greek Yoghurt (or Mint Sauce)

Equipment
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Juicer
1 Griddle Pan (frying pan will do)
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board

The Good Bit

1. Mix the chilli sauce, lemon juice, salt and mint together, then drop in the fillets, turning over to coat well, leave to marinate for 10 minutes. Griddle (or dry fry, no oil in the frying pan) the fillets over a high heat for 8-12 minutes turning once until they are charred but still a little pink inside, then set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Enough time to do the rest! Warm the pita bread in the same pan, then cut open and fill with salad leaves, slice the lamb into strips and place on top then a good spoonful of Greek yoghurt or mint sauce on top of that, you can also give lemon wedges to squeeze over for extra flavour!
   

Serves 4

Spicey Lamb Meatballs

Ingredients
500g Minced Lamb
1 Onion (finely chopped)
A Pinch of Black Pepper
2 Teaspoons Cumin
1 Teaspoons Allspice
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
4 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Coriander
4 Small Nan/Pita Breads (or tortillas)
Salad Leaves
1 Red Onion (thinly sliced)
4 Tablespoons Greek Yoghurt
1 Lemon (cut into wedges to serve)

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Blender
1 Frying Pan

The Good Bit

1. Mix the lamb, spices, herbs and chopped onion together, wet your hands and make 20 or so little meat balls, fry in a pan for 10-15 minutes until browned evenly all over.
2. Warm up the nan/pita or tortillas, place on a plate, top with the salad leaves and a sprinkle of the red onion slices, scatter over a few of the meat balls, heap on a good spoonful of Greek yoghurt and add a slice of lemon at the side.
   

Serves 4

Aubergine Stacks

Ingredients
1 Aubergine (cut off 4x1 cm thick diagonal slices)
1 Tablespoon Plain Flour
1 Egg (beaten)
8 Tablespoons Breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan
1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic (thinly sliced)
2 Tomatoes (sliced)
1 Baguette (4x 1 inch thick slices, sliced diagonally)
100g Mozzarella (sliced into 4 slices)
Salt and Pepper
Salad Leaves (to serve)

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Frying Pan
1 Grill Pan
1 Bowl (for the egg)
1 Large Bowl (for the breadcrumbs)

The Good Bit

1. Coat the aubergine with flour then dip it in the egg mixture, in the large bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the parmesan and thyme then coat the eggy aubergine and set aside.
2. Fry the garlic in a good splash of oil (3-4 tablespoons worth) for 30 seconds to flavour then remove the garlic, fry the aubergine for 3-4 minutes then turn over and fry again for 3-4 minutes, then remove, now flash fry the tomatoes just so they get some colour from the pan.
3. Grill your bread on both sides until it's lightly browned, then drizzle over any pan juices and top each with a slice of mozzarella, cook until it just begins to melt. Serve topped with tomato and a slice of aubergine on top, with the salad at the side.
   

Serves 4

Stir Fried Pork With Vegetables

Ingredients
250g Pork Fillet (thinly sliced)
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sherry
1 Teaspoon Cornflour (mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons cold water)
1 Carrot (cut into slices diagonally)
1 Green Pepper (de seeded and chopped into bite size chunks)
175g Mixed Salad Leaves (shredded)
1 Spring Onion (cut to the same size as everything else)
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Ginger
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Vegetable or Pork Stock (water will do)
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
2 Mixing Bowls
1 Slotted Spoon
1 Wok
1 Spatula

The Good Bit

1. In one of the mixing bowls mix together the pork strips, 1/2 of the sugar, 1/2 the soy sauce, the sherry, corn flour and water mixture, mix well and set aside in the fridge whilst you prepare the rest.
2. Get the oil warm in the wok then drop in the pork and stir fry over a high heat for a minute to seal in the flavours then remove with the slotted spoon. Chuck in the vegetables and ginger and stir fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add in the salt, the rest of the sugar and soy sauce along with the stock, bring to the boil, stirring well then serve.
   

Serves 4

Steak and Tomato Salad

Ingredients
1 Teaspoon Crushed Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Cumin
2 Teaspoons Dried Oregano
4 Steaks (your choice of cut)
8 Large Tomatoes
Fresh Mint And Coriander
2 Red Onions
1 Lemon (zested and Juiced)
A Drizzle of Olive Oil
Salad Leaves (Rocket, Spinach and Basil are my choice)

Equipment
1 Large Frying Pan/ Griddles are really good for this if you have one
1 Sharp Knife
1 Spatula
A Couple of hours to spare! (for marinading purposes only)

The good bit

1. Mix together the black pepper, paprika, salt, oregano, cumin and lemon zest.
2. With your knife, score the steaks in lines vertically about 1cm apart then horizontally 1cm apart (not too deep, just enough so you can see they've been cut) rub the spice mix into the steaks, (both sides if you have plenty to spare) and leave in the fridge (or microwave) for 2 hours
3. Cut your tomatoes in half lengthways and dry fry (no oil) on your griddle until they begin to blacken 6-8minutess (do NOT turn them over)
4. In the meantime roughly chop your mint and coriander, dice your onion and mix together along with the lemon juice and a good drizzle of olive oil (if you really want to be Mediterranean then add a finely sliced clove of garlic, just don't expect to get kissed afterwards!)
5. Fry your steaks over a high heat (again using a griddle pan is excellent, use no oil if you are) Time scales is down to you, If done over a high heat, you should only need to turn over once after about 5 minutes (check to see if the side has burnt a little) after another 5 minutes on that side you should have a really juicy medium steak, obviously add a little longer for well done or less for rare.
6. Serve the steak with 4 of the charred tomato slices with a drizzle of the mint and coriander mixture over them and the salad leaves at the side.
7. Grab a beer and sit outside and enjoy, or for those of you back in Manchester, stay indoors out of the rain with your beer and just imagine your on holiday!

Serves 4

Spanish Salad

Ingredients
150g Spinach and Rocket Salad (available at most supermarkets)
1 Small Onion (red is sweeter and preferred)
2 Oranges
Dash of Olive Oil
Optional
4 Chicken Breasts (The flavoured packs of cooked chicken pieces that supermarkets do work very well here and will allow you to experiment with flavours like Thai, Mexican and BBQ, if you are using flavoured pieces, ignore the rest of this section)
4 Tablespoons Flour (any will do)
1 Teaspoon Chilli Powder
A Good Pinch of Salt and Pepper
Zest and Juice of A Lime
1 Tablespoon of Cajun Seasoning

Equipment
2 Large Bowls
1 Small bowl for the lime juice
1 Large Frying Pan/Wok
1 Spatula
1 Lime Zester and Juicer

The Good Bit

1. If you are having the chicken, mix all the spice, salt, pepper and flower in a bowl along with the zest of the lime, dip your chicken in the lime juice and then coat both sides with the flour mixture.
2. Fry these off on a medium heat until golden turning only once so as to disturb the coating as little as possible.
3. Mix the salad leaves in with a dash of olive oil, peel and cut your oranges into skinless segments collecting any juice and mixing that in with the salad leaves.
4. Serve the leaves straight onto a plate and add a couple of slices of orange, then place a chicken fillet on top, or if you are using the pieces option, sprinkle them on top or mix in with the leaves, it's down to you!

Serves 4