Chilli Con Jamie

Serves 10-12

2kg beef brisket, trimmed and sliced into 2.5cm thick pieces (note I now use gravy beef, I've dont it with the brisket but it's too fatty)

500ml hot coffee

3 large dried chillies

olive oil

2 heaped tsp smoked paprika

1 heaped tsp dried oregano

2 bay leaves

2 red onions, peeled and diced

3-4 fresh chillies

2 cinnamon sticks

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

s&p

4 x 400g tins of chopped toms

3 TBSP molasses or muscovado sugar

3 capsicums, red, yellow & green (sliced)

2 x 400g beans (kidney, butter or pinto), drained

Natural yoghurt to serve

Make coffee and while it's hot, soak the dried chillies in it for a few minutes to let them rehydrate. Meanwhile, put your largest casserole type pan on a low heat and add a few lugs of olive oil, the cumin, paprika, oregano, bay leaves and onions. Fry for 10 mins, until the onions have softened. Deseed and chop half your fresh chillies. Slice up the rehydrated chillies and add them to the onion mixture along with the s&p and a splash of the chilli-infused coffee. Stir, then add the rest of the coffee, the tinned tomatoes and the molasses or sugar. Add the pieces of meat and another good pinch of s&p, cover with lid and simmer for around 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

After a few hours use 2 forks to break up the meat (I don't do this with the gravy beef I like it to be chunky). Once this is done add the caps, tinned beans and leave to simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 mins with the lid off until the meat is completely falling apart. Have a taste and season well if needed and add the rest of the fresh chillies.

This is awesome served with the flatbreads and maybe some jacket pots that you have wrapped in foil and chucked in the fire and maybe a guacamole as well, put heaps of natural yoghurt or sour cream over the top.

We did this on an open fire in a camp oven on a tripod, just have to adjust the heat, at the start it's only a low heat so don't put it over a raging fire or it will burn, I found it best to just put coals underneath and a small log but keep your eye on it and make sure it's just simmering away.

Flatbreads

Makes 8

250g plain flour plus extra for dusting

1 tsp of salt

1 TBSP of olive or sunflower oil

150ml of warm water

Sift flour into a mixing bowl along with the salt.

Spoon the oil into the jug with the warm water. Pour the liquid over the flour in a thin stream, stirring well all the time with fingers. Bring the flour and water into a soft mass of slightly sticky dough. (Note Grant does this in the food processor at home and they actually come out better).

Sprinkle a little flour on the work surface and take the dough out of the bowl. Start kneading it by pushing the heel of your hand into the dough to stretch it. Fold it over and quarter turn and then stretch it again. If the dough feels to sticky sprinkle with a little more flour. Knead for about 5 mins until smooth and plump.

Cover the ball of dough with the bowl and leave sit for at least 15 mins. Roll the dough into a sausage shape and cut into eight, roll each piece into a ball and then flour your surface and roll out each piece, don't sit them on top of each other as they will stick. Get a hot pan going or bbq grill, don't use any oil and cook on each site until they start to puff up, about 1-2 mins each side, keep them warm in between a tea towel.

Apricot Loaf

Soak the following ingredients in a large bowl for about half an hour or so:

1 cup albran
1 cup sultanas
¾ cup dried apricots (chopped)
¼ cup sugar
1 TBSP golden syrup
1 ½ cups milk

Then add 1 ½ cups self raising flour and add a little more milk if it’s too stiff. Cook in oven 180 degrees or so until ready. Sorry this is mum’s recipe and it’s just watch and see.

Jamie's Pot-Roast Meatloaf

Serves 4-6

2 medium onions

olive oil

salt & pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 heaped tsp ground coriander

12 Jacob's cream crackers (I use breadcrumbs cause I have no idea what these are)

2 tsp dried oregano

2 heaped tsp dijon mustard

500g good quality minced beef

1 large egg

2 cloves garlice

1/2-1 fresh red chilli

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 TBS worcestershire sauce

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained

2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

12 slices of smoked bacon or pancetta

1 lemon

Method

Preheat oven to full whack.

Peel and finely chope one of the onions.

Place onion in a large frying pan on med/high heat with 2 lugs of olive oil and a pinch of s&p, add ground cumin and coriander, fry and stir every 30 seconds for 7 mins until lightly golden and then put in a bowl to cool. Wrap the crackers in a tea towel and smash up fine, add to the bowl with the onion mix, then add oregano, ustard and minced beef. Crack in the egg and add another good pinch of s&p. With hands scrunch and mix up well. Move the meat mixture to a board, pat and mould it into a large rugby ball shape, rub with olive oil.

Please meatloaf in a casserole pan or baking dish and put in over, turn down to 200 degrees and back for half an hour.

Peel the other onion and chop, peel and slice garlic and finely slice the chilli. Place the onion, garlic and chilli in a large pan on med/high heat with 2 lugs of olive oil, the paprika and a good pinch of s&p. Cook for around 7 mins stirring every 30 secs. Add the worcestershire sauce, chickpeas, toms and balsamic vinegar, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and let it slowly simmer for 10 mins.

Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalks and put them in a little bowl. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and pour all the fat from the pan over the rosemary leaves and mix up well. Spoon your sauce around the meatloaf. Lay the slices of bacon/panceta over the top of the meatloaf, scatter over the rosemary and put back in the oven for 10-15 mins until the bacon turns golden and the sauce is bubbling and delicious. Serve and squeeze with lemon!

Jools' favourite Saturday afternoon pasta

This is a Jamie recipe and my boys love it, it's a good everyday dish, easy to do but yummy, give it a try.

Serves 4

olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1-2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

1 level tsp ground cinnamon

a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks chopped

2 x 400g can plum toms

2 x 300g tins of tuna, drained and flaked (I just buy 1 big tin)

s&p

500g penne or rigatoni

zest and juice of 1-2 lemons

a small handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a frypan cook onion, chilli, cinnamon and basil stalks on a med-low heat for 5 mins until the onion has softened and is slightly sweet. Turn up the heat and add toms, tuna and a good pinch of salt. Break the toms up using the back of the spoon, then bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 mins. Taste for seasoning.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pan of salted boiling water according to packet instructions. When al dente, drain the pasta in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water. Toss the pasta into the tuna and tom sauce with the roughly torn basil leaves, a glug of olive oil, the lemon zest and juice and parmesan and mix together well. Loosen the pasta with a little of the reserved cooking water if needed. Check seasoning.

Chicken & Basil stir fry

I went to a Thai cook class for mum's birthday and learnt this recipe, I cook it all the time, it's so simply and yummy. I'll do some simply one's to start with and if people want some longer, more complex one's let me know and I'll bring them out to!

Chicken & Basil stir fry

With this dish there was no amounts given so you have to do it to taste, add a little and taste and then add more if you think it needs it, we like it hot so I add more chilli. I'll just put roughly what I put in.

Ingredients

2 Chicken breasts
Basil (I just rip up a few handfuls at the end)
2 Chillis
2 cloves Garlic
a lug of Oil
a couple of lugs of Soy
a few lugs of Fish sauce
about 2 tbs Oyster sauce
1 tbs Chicken stock powder (use the dried asian style not cubes, this is like powder)
palm Sugar (I like it pretty sweet so I used the bottled stuff and add a big tbs, you could use brown suger)

Method

Slice chicken into thin slices and marinate in oyster and soy sauce
Crush or blend together garlic and chilli.
Heat oil in hot wok and add garlic and chilli blend (I added some fresh ginger to this mix too), stir fry for 1 minute.
Add chicken and stir fry until cooked.
Season with chicken stock, sugar and fish sauce to taste.
Add basil leaves and stir for 1 minute.

I’ve also added cashews and cut up snake beans (or normal beans) to this recipe as well, that’s nice too.