Oxtail Ragu.

Made with leftover oxtail meat and stock this a great dish a real meaty flavour even though it contains very little meat.
In a sauce pan cook a chopped rasher of bacon until it starts to colour. Add finely chopped onion, carrot and celery. Add some chopped garlic and rosemary. Sweat down the veg and season.
Add a small glass of red wine and cook off the alcohol. Add the shreded left over oxtail, a little oxtail stock and tomato sauce (see previous recipe), simmer until all the veg is cooked through.
Serve on pasta with grated parmesan.

Quick Tomato Sauce.

This is a quick version of a tomato sauce for pasta dishes etc using tinned tomatoes.
Grate (or finely chop) an onion - add to a sauce pan with olive oil, a clove of chopped garlic and half a chilli. Cooked for a few mins until the onion softens and add a tin of chopped tomatoes.
Add half a tea spoon of sugar and cook on a very low heat for an hour or so until it cooks down into a thick sauce (this also helps to get rid of the tinnyness of the tomatoes).

Garlic and Herb Butter.

Chop a shallot as finely as possible place in a dish and add a cap full of Pastis (ie Ricard or Pernod) Add unsalted butter chopped into small pieces and several grated garlic cloves to taste. Add herbs ( I used dried as it lasts longer).
Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly and leave for an hour or so to let the flavours merge before using.
Great for garlic bread, garlic prawns etc.

Oxtail in White Wine with Celery, Shallots and Carrots.

In an oven proof casserole or similar sear your oxtail on all sides.
Flambé in brandy (this is a bit of an extravagence and can be left out as this is a recipe for a cheap cut! though it does add a lot of flavour).
Add a large glass of white wine and cook off the alcohol. Season and add enough stock to nearly cover the oxtail. Add a bouquet garni with thyme, rosemary, bay and garlic (be generous with the herbs), cover and place in a very low oven for 2/3 hours on 120/140C.
Seperate the meat from the stock and alow to cool - pref overnight as this dish improves if cooked over two days.
The following day you can skim the fat off the cooled stock if you wish and add a little more stock. Bring to heat and add the oxtail with baby carrots and celery hearts. Cook on a very low heat for 30mins or so and add the whole shallots. Continue to cook on a low heat until all the veg is cooked and serve with mash or jacket poatoes to counter the very rich stock.

Salt and Pepper Squid with Sweet Chilli Sauce.

Place pepper corns and sea salt into a dry pan and roast until you can smell the aromas.
Crush in a mortar and pestle and allow to cool.
Mix with corn flour.
For the sweet chilli sauce chop garlic, chilli, ginger and corriander leaves and crush to a pulp in a mortar & pestle with the juice of half a lime (or you can whizz to a paste in a blender). Place in a small bowl with a tiny dash of fish sauce and light soy sauce.
In a small sauce pan bring to the boil a small amount of water and caster sugar and pour over the paste.
Allow to cool.
Clean and thoroughly dry the squid. Cut into rings or scored pieces and coat with the flour mixture.
Flash fry for no more than a couple of minutes in a very hot wok or frying pan with a little ground nut oil.
Serve with the chilli dipping sauce.

Potted Shrimp

In a sauce pan melt some unsalted butterwith a bay leaf. Add a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of mace and a pinch of cayanne pepper. Squeeze in the juice from half a lemon and add 1/2 teaspoon of anchovy paste and season with salt and white pepper.
Leave to cool, mixing in the cooked shrimps when the butter starts to solidify.
This can be sealed with a little extra melted butter and will keep for days in the fridge but should be bought to room temp alowing the butter to soften before serving with toast.

Chicken Noodle Soup

A great cold cure this one - don't ask how or why I just know if I have a cold and eat this I feel a lot lot better!
Use the stock from the previous recipe.
Heat some stock in a saucepan and add noodles of choice - simmer until cooked.
while the noodles are cooking chop your chosen veg - I used spring onions, carrots, red pepper and mushrooms.
I a wok flash fry chopped garlic, chilli and ginger for 30 seconds then add your veg at 30 second intervals (longest to cook first!) place in a bowl with shreded cooked chicken (see stock recipe).
Pour over the noodles and stock and top with a chopped corriander and a squeeze of lime juice and/or a dash of soy sauce.