Slow-cooked Greek lamb

Ingredients

• shoulder of lamb, about 2kg
• 1 garlic bulb, cloves separated but the skin left on
• about 30g anchovies
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 10 tomatoes, left whole
• 6 carrots, peeled but left whole
• handful fresh sage
• handful fresh rosemary
• handful fresh thyme
• tzatziki, chickpea salad and flatbreads, to serve

Method

1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and sit a shelf as low as possible. Pierce the lamb all over with a small knife, then fill each slit with a garlic clove and half an anchovy fillet. Rub all over with the oil, then season.
2. Heat a flameproof casserole dish and sear the lamb all over until well browned. Take off the heat, remove the lamb from the dish and tip in the tomatoes, carrots, sage and rosemary. Sit the lamb on top and scatter over the thyme.
3. Cover the dish, slip it onto the bottom shelf of the oven and cook for 4-5 hrs until pull-apart tender. Carefully lift the lamb from the dish, discard the herbs and roughly squash the tomatoes into the juices. Sit the lamb back in the dish and serve in big shredded chunks with tzatziki, chickpea salad and flatbreads for mopping up the juices.
   
   Source: bbcgoodfood

BBQ pulled pork

Ingredients

• 2½ kg boneless pork
• shoulder, skin removed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp Spanish paprika(pimentón)
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp onion salt
• 1 tbsp liquid smoke (optional, see tip, below)

To serve

• 16 brioche buns (see 'goes well with')
• Tangy cabbage slaw, homemade chipotle molasses BBQ sauce (see recipes in 'goes well with') and sweet-and-sour pickled cucumbers from a jar, sliced

Method

1. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Rub the pork with 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Heat a large non-stick pan until very hot and sear the pork on all sides until golden brown.
2. Place the meat on a wire rack in a roasting tin. Mix the paprika, mustard powder, garlic and onion salt, and some black pepper with the liquid smoke, if using. Brush all over the meat.
3. Add 1 cup of water to the roasting tin, cover very tightly with foil and cook for 5 hrs or until almost falling apart.
4. Drain the juices from the meat into a measuring jug. Shred the pork using 2 forks, discarding the fat.
5. Skim off the fat from the juices. Mix 125ml of the juices with 4 tbsp BBQ sauce (see recipe in 'goes well with') and pour over the meat. Keep warm until serving, or reheat.
6. To assemble, pile the meat into the halved brioche buns, spoon over the BBQ sauce, top with coleslaw and pickles, and sandwich together.
   
   Source:  bbcgoodfood

Coconut & banana pancakes

Ingredients

• 150g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 400ml can coconut milk, shaken well
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 1-2 bananas, thinly sliced
• 2 passion fruits, flesh scooped out

Method

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, and stir in 2 tbsp of the sugar and a pinch of salt. Pour the coconut milk into a bowl, whisk to mix in any fat that has separated, then measure out 300ml into a jug. Stir the milk slowly into the flour mixture to make a smooth batter, or whizz everything in a blender.
2. Heat a shallow frying pan or flat griddle and brush it with oil. Use 2 tbsp of batter to make each pancake, frying two at a time – any more will make it difficult to flip them. Push 4-5 pieces of banana into each pancake and cook until bubbles start to pop on the surface, and the edges look dry. They will be a little more delicate than egg-based pancakes, so turn them over carefully and cook the other sides for 1 min. Repeat to make 8-10 pancakes.
3. Meanwhile, put the remaining coconut milk and sugar in a small pan. Add a pinch of salt and simmer until the mixture thickens to the consistency of single cream. Use this as a sauce for the pancakes and spoon over some of the passion fruit seeds.
   
   
   Source: bbcgoodfood

Classic potato salad

Ingredients

• 800g small new potato
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp small capers(optional)
• 2 tbsp cornichons, finely chopped (optional)
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise, or to taste
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• small handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20 mins until just cooked, drain, then cool.
2. Cut the potatoes into chunks, then throw into a bowl with the shallots, capers and cornichons, if using. Add enough mayonnaise to bind, then mix together the olive oil and vinegar and add just enough to give a little sharpness to the salad. Stir in the finely chopped parsley and serve.
   
   Source: bbcgoodfood

Ultimate spaghetti carbonara recipe

Ingredients

• 100g pancetta
• 50g pecorino cheese
• 50g parmesan
• 3 large eggs
• 350g spaghetti (De Cecco is very good)
• 2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
• 50g unsalted butter
• Maldon salt and freshly grated black pepper

Method

1. Put a large saucepan of water on to boil. Finely chop the pancetta, having first removed any rind. Finely grate both cheeses and mix them together. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl and season with a little freshly grated black pepper. Set everything aside.
2. Add 1 tsp salt to the boiling water, add the spaghetti and when the water comes back to the boil, cook at a constant simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until al dente (just cooked).
3. Squash the garlic with the blade of a knife, just to bruise it. While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the pancetta with the garlic. Drop the butter into a large frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the pancetta and garlic. Leave to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is golden and crisp. The garlic has now imparted its flavour, so take it out with a slotted spoon and discard.
4. Keep the heat under the pancetta on low. When the pasta is ready, lift it from the water with a pasta fork or tongs and put it in the frying pan with the pancetta. Don’t worry if a little water drops in the pan as well (you want this to happen) and don’t throw the pasta water away yet.
5. Mix most of the cheese in with the eggs, keeping a small handful back for sprinkling over later. Take the pan of spaghetti and pancetta off the heat. Now quickly pour in the eggs and cheese. Using the tongs or a long fork, lift up the spaghetti so it mixes easily with the egg mixture, which thickens but doesn’t scramble, and everything is coated. Add extra pasta cooking water to keep it saucy (several tablespoons should do it). You don’t want it wet, just moist. Season with a little salt, if needed.
6. Use a long-pronged fork to twist the pasta on to the serving plate or bowl. Serve immediately with a little sprinkling of the remaining cheese and a grating of black pepper. If the dish does get a little dry before serving, splash in some more hot pasta water and the glossy sauciness will be revived.
   
   
   Source: bbcgoodfood

Pimm's

Ingredients

• 200ml Pimm's No. 1
• 600ml lemonade
• mint sprigs, sliced cucumber, sliced orange and strawberries, to serve

Method

1. Fill a jug with ice and pour over the Pimm’s and lemonade. Give it a good stir then add the mint, cucumber and fruit.
   
   
   Source:  bbcgoodfood

Rhubarb gin

Ingredients

• 1kg pink rhubarb stalks
• 400g caster sugar (don't use golden - it muddies the colour)
• 800ml gin

Method

1. Wash the rhubarb, trim the stalks and discard the base and any leaves. Cut the stalks into 3cm lengths. Put in a large jar with the sugar. Shake everything around, put the lid on and leave overnight. The sugar will draw the juice out of the rhubarb.
2. After 24 hrs, add the gin, seal and shake everything around. Leave for about 4 weeks before drinking. You can strain the liquor off through a muslin-lined sieve and transfer to a bottle, but I often just leave the rhubarb and booze in the jar and ladle it into drinks that way. Over time the rhubarb and the gin go a much paler colour – this doesn’t look as dramatic. The upside is you that have to get through it fairly quickly!
   
   
   Source: bbcgoodfood