Winter is the season to enjoy good comfort food. Here’s two recipe ideas that are guaranteed to bring the whole family together and warm your heart this winter.
Lentil and Tomato Soup
(Serves 4 people)
| Ingredients | |
| 1 tbsp | Olive oil |
| 1 | Onion, chopped |
| 1 clove | Garlic, crushed |
| 1 tsp | Ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | Ground coriander |
| 1 cup | Red lentils |
| 2 stalks | Celery, diced |
| 1 | Carrot, diced |
| 400g can | Diced tomatoes |
| 3 cups | Vegetable stock |
| Plain yoghurt, mint, and Kaiser rolls to serve | |
| Method | |
| 1. | Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and cook over medium heat for 4 mins, or until soft. |
| 2. | Stir in garlic, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. |
| 3. | Stir in lentils, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce heat slightly and cook 10 minutes, or until lentils are tender. |
| 4. | Serve with plain yoghurt, mint, and rolls. |
Shanks for the Shanks
(Serves 2 people, or one very hungry caterpillar)
| Ingredients | |
| 2 | Lamb shanks (can get these on special at Aldi) |
| 2 | Beef stock cubes |
| 1 | Leek |
| 2-3 cloves | Garlic (optional) |
| 2 | Large carrots |
| 2 | Large Pontiac potatoes |
| 500ml | German beer (preferably dark, like Erdinger) or similar dark beer from Australia (you may also use non-alcoholic beer) |
| Method | |
| 1. | Preheat the oven to 110C or use slow cooker: both methods work. |
| 2. | Clean your leek thoroughly and roughly chop, using the softer part of the green tips and all of the white section of the leek (i.e. 2/3 of the leek). |
| 3. | Peel potatoes and roughly chop around the same size as the leek, so leave a little chunky for flavour later. Can use other root vegetables such as parsnip for additional flavour, however, avoid turnips. |
| 4. | Include garlic, but do not slice, just bruise to release the flavour (you can slice in half if very large cloves). |
| 5. | Place the chopped vegetables in the bottom of the oven proof pan or slow cooker and cover with two cups of beef stock. Place the lamb shanks on top of the vegetables and then include the beer, making sure the shanks are covered. Depending on the size of the shanks, you may need more liquid, so perhaps purchase two bottles and ensure they are the beer that you like, so you can savour whilst it cooks! |
| 6. | Leave to cook for quite a few hours until the shanks fall from the bone and there is a delicious gravy at the bottom of your pot! Usually takes around 4-5 hours. |
| 7. | Serve with lightly steamed beans and/or peas for a little freshness as this is a hearty and rich dish and you’ll need some contrast. |
Bon appetit!
Recipes kindly provided by Georgie Fidge and Julie Andersson
