Hugh's Stewed Venison with Juniper and Bay

By Helen

Despite appearances this is not a photography blog

Main Ingredients:

• Venison
• Lardons
• Juniper berries and bay leaves
• Red wine
• Onions and carrots

All three of this week's eaters had run the Bupa 10k earlier the same day so were looking for a hearty meal to reward their efforts and repair sore muscles. 

Hugh's venison stew looked just the thing - warm, comforting and a little bit luxurious.

The slowcooker was loaded up with fried lardons, the browned venison, softened onions, carrots and herbs, then covered with stock and red wine and cooked for just over 2 hours. The quantities seemed a bit off (not for the first time) - a huge amount of meat and just 12 juniper berries for example. I can't help thinking that Hugh F-W doesn't actually measure things in his own kitchen and the numbers in the book aren't particularly accurate - next time I'll trust my gut and chuck some more in.

The finished result smelled pretty good and went well with creamy mash and cabbage. But just like an earlier recipe I couldn't help thinking that this was less than the sum of its parts: it would have been almost as good - and a lot cheaper than £3.54 a head - with beef instead of venison, and the juniper and bay didn't make much of an impression. 

I'm sure there are ways to buy venison more cheaply (especially if you live somewhere other than East London) but another hit of flavour seemed to be needed to make this more memorable. 

Best for... Welcoming hungry athletes home

Taken from... Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - River Cottage Every Day

Chris says... So, is this stag or bambi's mum? To be honest, if you swapped it for cow, I'd be none the wiser...

Jamie's Thai Green Curry with Crispy Chicken

By Chris

Main Ingredients:

• 6x chicken thighs
• Coconut milk
• Rice noodles
• Lemongrass, chilli and coriander
• Sesame seeds and honey

So far I've avoided many Jamie recipes due to the over-reliance on food processors and blenders, but with my mum's old Kenwood adopted, I thought I'd give this a go.

This turned out to be one of the slowest 30-minute meals I've done yet, clocking in at 1hr10mins, but there were so many parts to it that it wasn't hard to see why. First six chicken thighs were fried in some oil, salt and pepper for about 20 minutes. The recipe said to use eight, but six was plenty for four people.

While these were going I made a Kimchee Slaw by shoving a handful of radishes, a quarter of a white cabbage, half a red onion, two chillis, some ginger and coriander into a blender. So far, so simple. Then came the tricky part - making my own Thai green curry paste.

Jamie uses so many cheats in the 30-minute meals book and I can't see why this shouldn't be another one of them. Blending together coriander, lemongrass, chilli, lime leaves, ginger, garlic, oil and spring onions is quite a faff, and probably more expensive than just buying a jar. What's more, the mixture wasn't really thick enough to make a paste, more a garnish.

There were some redeeming factors, for example the way the chicken thighs were finished, with honey and sesame seeds, was a delicious touch. Furthermore, the rice noodles added a really light feel to the overall dish and I'll be buying those again. If I was to do this again, I'd keep the kimchee slaw (delicious and easy), but go for the cop out option and buy a jar of paste.

Best for... An exotic option when you're not too pressed for time
Taken from... Jamie Oliver - 30 Minute Meals
Helen says... I usually avoid radishes but the slaw was hot, crunchy and sweet and went perfectly with the creamy sauce. Plus most of the chilli was in the slaw so it was easy for people to vary the heat levels according to their preference.

Delia's Stuffed Breast of Lamb

By Helen

Main Ingredients:

• Breast of lamb
• Parsley, mint and rosemary
• Breadcrumbs
• Egg

Our demanding guests asked for lamb this week and Delia delivered. 

First I made a stuffing of breadcrumbs, herbs and lemon zest bound together with egg, then spread this inside the meat. Breast of lamb is a slightly weird, flat piece of streaky meat around 30cm by 10cm but rather pretty once rolled and tied with the fresh herby stuffing.

Then I roasted the meat for two hours - at which point it had somehow grown to frightening proportions. I made the best attempt I could at carving the meat (which was determined to fall apart) and served with roast potatoes, parsnips and broccoli. The juices from the meat were made into a rich gravy with the addition of redcurrant jelly, which didn't go particularly far.

Overall this was pretty impressive - an untidy but fragrant stack of thick slices of juicy lamb and plenty for lunch this week. Plus it worked out at a bargainous £1.72 a head. Nice one, Delia!

Best for... A more relaxed roast

Taken from... Delia Smith - Complete Illustrated Cookery Course

Chris says... One of the best smelling dishes we've had so far and the gravy was super rich and tasty.

Jamie's Sausage Cassoulet with Warm Broccoli Salad

By Chris
Main Ingredients:

• Chipolatas
• Streaky bacon
• Haricot and butter beans
• Tender stem broccoli
• Passata, sage and rosemary

This may not have been the most picturesque Jamie meal so far, but it definitely didn't disappoint in the taste department. I was quite keen to give cassoulet a go as I've eaten it many times on family holidays in France. Jamie does call it 'kinda cassoulet' as it doesn't include duck legs, but that omission aside, it tasted thoroughly authentic.

First four rashers of streaky bacon were chopped and fried up with sage leaves, rosemary and bay leaves, before 1 1/2 red onions and two leeks were chucked on top and a jar of passata and the two tins of beans were added to give it a casserole-ey consistency. The sausages were layered on top, before a tonne of herby breadcrumbs were sprinkled on top to give it a bit of crispiness.

This admittedly mushy looking concoction was served up with tender stem broccoli al dente, in a dressing of red onion, plum tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. It didn't look particularly filling with no potatoes, but the beans more than made up for that.

My only criticism was that this didn't benefit from being a 30-minute meal, and probably would have been tastier and heartier if the cassoulet had been stewed for half an hour, instead of the four minutes it had under the grill. With my distinct lack of flashy chef skills this took 50 minutes in total, so you may as well give it that extra 20 mins to make everything thicken up a bit more. 

Also, if you wanted to make it for cheaper than the £2.82 a head this version cost, then fresh herbs could have been easily substituted for dried, although I must admit, the fresh sage really did ramp up the flavour.

Best for... Hearty winter fare after a long walk

Taken from... Jamie Oliver - 30 Minute Meals

Helen says... Nothing (away on business, boo!)

Hugh's Lamb Chops, Pea Salad and Roasted Squash

By Helen

Main Ingredients:

• Lamb chops
• Butternut squash
• Rosemary and thyme
• Garlic
• Peas and spring onions
• Feta cheese

Another long lovely Bank Holiday weekend and I returned to Hugh F-W for inspiration - why not, when I had all day to prepare?

But almost by accident I stumbled on the one recipe of his so far that didn't take all day. I fried the chops for a couple of minutes with squashed garlic cloves, then roasted them with lots of thyme, some capers and a glass of white wine. In the same oven I was already roasting chunks of squash with more garlic, rosemary and chopped chilli.

The same book also provided the greens - chopped spring onions cooked with peas and thyme, then ricotta and feta cheese. All in all a very simple, quick meal which would almost be at home in Jamie's book - lots of colour and fresh herbs, plus the usual shortcuts (ie don't peel the squash, pre-heat the roasting tin while you're doing something else).

This wasn't a particularly spectacular recipe but was slightly more special treatment for the ingredients than they would usually have, and it paid off. We already had most of the ingredients so the cost per-head was a not at all bad £2.33.

Taken from... Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - River Cottage Every Day
Best for... Supper with friends when you'd rather be chatting than stuck in the kitchen
Chris says... Pretty damn tasty, although as always with lamb chops, more meat would have been welcome.