Kid Rogan Josh

One of the most interesting cookbooks to come out in the past couple of years is James Whetlor's Goat - a book of recipes for using goat meat.

Whetlor used to work with Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall at River Cottage then set up a company called Cabrito to sell the meat from billy goats who would otherwise have been immediately put down because they were not milk producers.

He saw the potential for using this sustainable and delicious type of meat and has been selling it to chefs and consumers ever since. (It's well worth reading the fascinating introduction to the book.)

This is his recipe for Rogan Josh which he says is one of his favourite curries, worth doubling up and freezing any leftovers.

Kid Rogan Josh

Serves 4

600g/1lb 5oz diced kid

75g/1/3 cup plain yoghurt

2 teaspoons chilli powder (add more if you want it hotter)

2 teaspoons unsmoked paprika

1 red onion, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

small bunch of coriander (cilantro), leaves and stalks separated

30g/2 tablespoons butter

1 cinnamon stick

5 cardamom pods

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

3 whole cloves

3 tomatoes, roughly chopped, or ½ x 400g/14oz can tomatoes

salt

Mix together the meat, yoghurt, chilli, paprika and ½ teaspoon salt, and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour, and up to 8 hours in the fridge.

Put the onion, ginger, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and the coriander (cilantro) stalks in a small food processor and blend to a coarse paste.

Melt the butter in a frying pan, add all the whole spices and fry for 30 seconds. Add the paste and cook for 15 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated and the paste begins to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add the meat and its marinade with the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes to break down the tomatoes. Add 200ml/scant 1 cup water then cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender and the sauce is rich and thick. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t dry out, adding a little bit of water if it does.

Check the seasoning and sprinkle with the coriander leaves, roughly chopped. Serve with rice, naan and chilli and garlic chutney (the recipe for which is also in the book).

What to drink: I like a young rioja or other tempranillo with a rogan josh which is not an exceptionally hot curry though you can obviously add extra chilli powder or chilli flakes in which case I'd probably go for a South African pinotage.

Extracted from Goat: Cooking and Eating by James Whetlor (Quadrille, £20.00) Photography: Mike Lusmore. 50% of the royalties from the book go to the charity Farm Africa.

You can buy goat from the Cabrito online shop and other specialist online meat suppliers.

Pork rillettes with fennel

Like many of the best recipes this came about by accident. I bought a box of free-range organic pork and didn’t have enough room for it all in the freezer so left out 4 thick slices of pork belly ...

I originally thought of giving them an Asian spin but suddenly hit on the idea of rillettes, spiced not in the classic French way but Italian-style with fennel. A great success and a handy dish to have to dig into mid-week.

Serves 8

2 tsp flaked or coarse sea-salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp dried thyme or herbes de Provence
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
About 700g-750g good quality organic pork belly cut into 4 thick slices
2 tbsp olive oil
2 bayleaves + a couple more for decoration

You will also need a pat dish or earthenware bowl, about 725ml (1 1/4 pints) in capacity)

Put 1 teaspoon of the salt and the peppercorns and fennel seeds into a mortar and bash with a pestle until roughly ground. Add the thyme or herbes de Provence, grind again them add the chopped garlic and pound until you have a wettish paste.

Put the pork belly pieces side by side in a small roasting tin and rub with the oil. Season both sides with the garlic paste rubbing it in well and tuck a piece of bayleaf between each piece. Cover loosely with foil, put in a hot oven (200°C/Gas 6) for 10 minutes then turn the heat right down to 130°C and cook for about 3-4 hours until the meat is practically falling apart. (I cooked mine overnight in the simmering oven of the Aga.) Cool for about half an hour then pour off the fat and pan juices.

Cut away any skin, remove the bones then pull the meat apart with a couple of forks. You can take out a bit of the fat behind if you want to but it’s fat that gives rillettes its flavour and spreadable texture. Sprinkle over the remaining salt, mix together and pack into a lightly greased pat dish or earthenware dish. Skim off the excess fat from the roasting juices and pour it over the surface of the pork.

Decorate the dish/bowl with some bayleaves and a few peppercorns, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge to set for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight. Bring to room temperature for an hour before serving with sourdough toast and cornichons or cippolini (balsamic glazed onions).

What to drink: This needs a fresh-tasting wine with good acidity to cut through the fat. Beaujolais is the classic match for French charcuterie but you could easily accompany it with a young Italian red like a Langhe nebbiolo.

Slow-cooked ox cheek in spicy tomato sauce

A warming wintry recipe from José Pizarro's Catalonia - the perfect dish to cook as the nights draw in.

José writes: "If you go to Palafrugell, you must visit the market. It’s a great place to go for all the food you’ll need for the day or weekend ahead, and you’ll inevitably end up buying many things you didn’t go there for, just because there’s so much choice.

The farmers are very proud of what they’ve brought to market, so spend a little time chatting to them and they’ll be delighted.

On the day we went, the ox cheek that was available was just stunning, so we made this dish for our lunch."

Slow-cooked ox cheek in spicy tomato sauce

Serves 6

4 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) ox cheek in large chunks

2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour, to dust

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 stick celery, finely chopped

6 anchovies, chopped

2 teaspoons sweet smoked pimentón

2 teaspoons hot smoked pimentón

handful thyme sprigs

300 ml (10 fl oz) red wine

2 × 400 g (14 oz) tins chopped tomatoes

150 ml (5 fl oz) chicken stock

Heat half the oil in a casserole dish. Dust the ox cheek in the plain flour with plenty of seasoning, add to the dish and brown in batches. Set aside.

Heat the rest of the oil in the pan and fry the onion, carrot and celery for 10 minutes until softened. Add the anchovies and pimentón and cook for a minute. Then add the thyme and red wine and bubble until reduced by half.

Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently, covered for 2 hours. Uncover and cook for a further 30 minutes – 1 hour, or until the ox cheek is really tender and the sauce reduced and thickened. Rest for 15 minutes then serve with a chicory & pomegranate salad (also in the book) if you like.

What to drink: You really want a big rich red such as a Priorat with this dish FB

Catalonia: Recipes from Barcelona and Beyond by José Pizarro (Hardie Grant, £25) Photography © Laura Edwards

Baingan Bharta - roasted smoky aubergine

I've been lucky enough to eat my friend Romy Gill's food on many occasions - she's an inspired home cook - so it's great to finally see her recipes in print.

This is one of her favourites from her lovely new book Zaika, which she describes as her 'ultimate desert island dish'.

Romy writes: The beauty of Indian food is that it not only has regional dishes but families cook each of these in so many ways. If you don’t like one method, you can just cook it another way! Baingan bharta with dal and roti would be my ultimate desert island dish; the perfect balance of smoky aubergine and the warmth of the green chillies is so divine.

The aubergines are roasted on the hob and then left to cool down before peeling off the skin and mashed; this recipe is how my mum made it, so I give her all the credit.

30 minutes

SERVES 3

2 medium-sized aubergines

6 tsp rapeseed oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 medium onions, finely chopped

3 green chillies, seeds in, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, finely chopped

20g coriander leaves, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp salt

Roti, to serve (there is a recipe in the book)

Roast the aubergines over a gas burner on the hob over a medium heat using a pair of tongs to hold them, or under a preheated hot grill. Either way, turn the veg regularly for even roasting. Allow to cool, then when cool enough to handle, peel off the roasted skin. Mash the flesh in a large bowl.

Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds, then add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the onions and chillies, cook for 4–5 minutes over a high heat and keep stirring. Once the onions are translucent, add the chopped tomatoes and coriander to the pan and cook for 3–4 minutes. When the tomatoes have broken down into the onions, add the rest of the spices and salt and mix together well. Finally, stir in the mashed aubergine and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat.

Serve with roti.

What to drink: I'd probably drink lassi with this or one of the lovely soft drinks in the book but you could drink a light aromatic white like a sylvaner or riesling (I know Romy's favourite is the Kung Fu Girl riesling) or a rosé.

Extracted from Zaika: vegan recipes from India by Romy Gill, published by Seven Dials at £20. Photo ©Del Sneddon.

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