Sherry Onion Soup with Saffron

The Spanish combination of onions, sherry and saffron gives this soup an enthralling flavour that is perfect for the opening course of a meal. The addition of ground almonds to thicken the soup gives it a wonderful texture and taste.

Ingredients:

40g butter

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

2.5ml chopped garlic

Pinch of saffron threads

50g blanched almonds, toasted and finely ground

750ml vegetable or chicken stock

45ml sherry

2.5ml paprika

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To Garnish:

30ml flaked or slivered almonds, toasted

Chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Method:

Melt the butter in a heavy pan over a low heat. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to ensure that they are thoroughly coated in the melted butter. Cover the pan and cook very gently, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes, or until the onions are soft and golden in colour.

Add the saffron threads to the pan and cook, covered, for 3-4 minutes. Add the ground almonds and cook, stirring constantly, for a further 2-3 minutes, until the almonds are golden.

Pour the stock and sherry into the pan and stir in 5ml salt and the paprika. Season the soup with plenty of black pepper. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

Blend the soup well with a stick blender until the soup is completely smooth. Reheat slowly, stirring occasionally, without allowing the soup to come to the boil. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if required.

Ladle the soup into heated bowls, garnish with the toasted almonds and a little chopped fresh parsley or coriander and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Lamb and Cashew Nut Curry

Cashew nuts, yoghurt and saffron make this a delicious dish for a special occasion. Served with rice, dumplings or Indian breads, it makes a substantial meal.

Ingredients:
1-2 inch piece of root ginger, peeled and chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
2 green chillies
50g unsalted cashew nuts
60ml water
4 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods, bruised
15ml coriander seeds
15ml white poppy seeds
50g ghee
2 onions, finely chopped
1kg lamb, cubed
300ml yoghurt
a pinch of saffron threads, soaked in 30ml boiling water
5ml salt
juice and zest of a quarter of a lemon
30ml chopped coriander leaves
3/4 of a lemon, sliced

Method:
Put the ginger, garlic, chillies and cashew nuts in a blender with half the water. Blend to a smooth paste. Add the cloves, cardamom, coriander and poppy seeds and the remaining water and blend. Transfer the puree to a bowl.

Melt the ghee in a large saucepan. Add the onions and fry over medium heat until the onions are golden brown. Stir in the prepared puree and fry for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the lamb cubes and fry until they are evenly browned.

Mix the yoghurt with the soaked saffron, including the liquid. Add the salt and stir this mixture into the meat in the pan. Increase the heat and bring your curry to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Stir in the lemon zest and juice and sprinkle over the chopped coriander leaves. Cover and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the lamb is tender.

Transfer to a warmed serving dish garnished with lemon slices.

Rezala

Rezala is a Bangladeshi and Bengali mild lamb or goat curry with saffron, rose water, yoghurt or curd, lightly spiced with cardamom and cassia. As a dish for high days and holy days, it's almost a sweet and sour, rich and poor representation of the people of the land from which it comes. If you can get goat, well and good, but if not, make it with lamb or hogget, as I have here. Hogget is lamb that is past its first year and has far more taste and flavour than lamb.

Ingredients:
4 onions, halved
3-4 inch piece of root ginger, roughly chopped
8-9 cloves garlic
100g ghee or clarified butter
10 green cardamom pods
3-4 sticks of cassia bark (tuj or Chinese cinnamon)
1.5kg shoulder of hogget, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
250g full-fat natural yoghurt
15ml dark muscovado sugar
5ml salt
6 dried chillies
30ml rose water
a loose pinch of saffron threads
2 long thin green chillies, cut lengthways
zest and juice of a lime

Method:
Thinly slice half the onions and roughly chop the rest. Put the roughly chopped onions in a blender with the ginger and garlic and blend to a smooth paste.

Heat the ghee in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium to high heat. Add the cardamom and cassia and leave to sizzle for a short while until they give off an aromatic odour.

Add the sliced onion and fry for about 10 minutes until the onion is past being translucent and has quite a bit of colour. Add the onion paste and fry another 5 minutes, stirring as they cook so as not to allow them to catch on the bottom of the pan.

Add the hogget and fry for 5 minutes, stirring to cook the meat all over. Now add the yoghurt, a little at a time, stirring between each addition for a minute or so before making the next addition. This is to ensure that the yoghurt does not split - stirring is essential. Continue untill all the yoghurt is added, then mix in the sugar and salt. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about half an hour.

Meanwhile soak the dried chillies in enough boiling water to cover them and leave to soak for half an hour. Soak the saffron in rose water in a small bowl, crushing the threads a little with the back of a teaspoon. Place the bowl over a dish of hot water so as to warm it and leave it to soak for half an hour.

Drain the soaked chillies and finely chop them - or put them in a blender and pulse tow or three times to chop - don't whizz or they will become a paste, which you don't want. Stir the chopped chillies into the meat with the split green chillies and the saffron and rose water.

Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer for another half an hour or until the meat is tender. Remove the lid, stir in the lime zest and juice and check the seasoning, adding more salt if required.

Serve with sticky rice, naan bread or parathas.

Crab and Saffron Tarts

Crab, which comes into season in April and lasts through the summer until the end of October, is one of the most versatile of seafoods. It can be used in salads, sandwiches, fish pies, pasta dishes, crab cakes and tarts. It requires very little enhancement to create delicious dishes with these delicious crustaceans, which have been caught and eaten for as long as can be remembered. Crab meat is a good source of many minerals, including selenium has anti-cancer potential and helps resist viral and bacterial infections. It also has useful amounts of B vitamins, iron and zinc.

This is a quick and easy tart that's great for a lunch or a starter when entertaining.

Ingredients:

1 x 375g pack ready-rolled shortcrust pastry

a pinch of saffron

2 egg, beaten

125g mascarpone

small handful of parsley, chopped, plus a few leaves to garnish

300-350g crab meat, or 2 x 170g tins white crab meat, drained

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

cherry tomatoes, halved to garnish

Method:

Line 6 x 10cm tart cases with shortcrust pastry. Prick the bases lightly with a fork and trim the edges. Place the lined cases in the fridge and chill for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Cover the tart cases with baking paper and fill the centres with baking beans. Blind bake for ten minutes, then remove the paper and beans. Cook for a further 10 minutes until golden.

Soak the saffron in 15ml just boiled water and set aside for 5 minutes.

Mix together the eggs, mascarpone, soaked saffron and saffron water. Add the chopped parsley to this mixture. Fold in the crab meat and season well.

Divide the mixture between the pastry cases and bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Allow to cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature, topped with halved cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of parsley leaves.

Lamb Biryani

This elegant queen of dishes, a sumptuous North Indian classic, combines the fragrance of basmati rice with garam masala and meltingly tender pieces of lamb.

The name, Biryani, was derived from a Persian word that meant fried or roasted. The dish originated in Persia and was brought to the Indian sub-continent by Persian traders.

Today there are as many variations of Biryani as there are cities in the sub-continent, the cooking of the dish having spread to Arabia and North Africa as well as to every other country that has been touched by the peoples of the Indian Sub-continent.

Traditionally served on auspicious occasions, this luxurious fare is fit for royalty.

Ingredients:

a good pinch of saffron strands

2ml cardamom seeds

2 blades mace

4 onions

100ml vegetable oil, plus extra for deep frying

8 cm ginger, peeled

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5ml chilli powder

1 lime, juice only

750 g lamb shoulder, cut into 4cm cubes

5 green cardamom

2 black cardamom

5 cm cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

2 dried bay leaves

5ml garam masala

3 green chillies, deseeded and sliced

200 ml Greek yogurt

450 g basmati rice

handful mint leaves

30ml butter

Method:

Soak the saffron in 2 tablespoons of hot water and set aside until ready to use.

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the cardamom seeds and mace to a powder and leave on one side; you'll need this later when layering up the rice and meat.

Slice 2 of the onions then sprinkle them with salt and set aside for 20 minutes. Squeeze out any excess water from the onions and pat them dry with paper towels. Deep-fry the sliced onions in hot oil until golden and drain on paper towels. Reserve half for garnishing the biryani.

Transfer the remaining fried onions to a food processor, pour in 3 tablespoons of hot water then purée; you should have about 2 tablespoons of onion paste.

Finely grate half of the ginger and combine with the garlic, chilli powder, and lime juice in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the onion paste and add the lamb. Mix everything together and leave to marinate for 1 hour.

Dice the 2 remaining onions. Heat 6 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole pan set over a medium heat and soften the diced onions for 5 minutes, without colouring.

Slice the remaining ginger into fine strips and set aside. Add the green and black cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves to the pan. Fry for about 30 seconds, until you get a warm, spicy aroma.

Tip in the meat and its marinade and add the garam masala, green chillies, and ginger strips. Bring to simmering point and gradually add the yogurt, a tablespoon at a time. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the lamb is tender and the masala thickened; the sauce should be well-reduced and almost clinging to the meat.

Cover the rice with cold water and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Ten minutes before the meat is ready, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drain the rice and add to the pan then cook for 5 minutes - it should be half-cooked and still have bite to it. Drain the rice in a colander.

Preheat the oven to 160C. Put half of the hot meat in the bottom of a clean casserole pan. Cover with half of the freshly boiled rice and sprinkle with half of the ground cardamom and mace spice mixture and half of the mint.

Top with the remaining meat and rice. Scatter over the rest of the spice mix, mint leaves, and the reserved fried sliced browned onions. Dot the surface with butter and drizzle over the saffron and its soaking liquid. Cover the biryani with wet greaseproof (waxed) paper and a well-fitting lid.

Bake for 40 minutes, until the rice is perfumed and perfectly cooked. Gently fluff up the grains with a fork and serve straight from the pan.