The way to a man's heart is through his stomach

The way to man's heart is through his stomach, so the saying goes and I often express my love through preparing delicious meals for my loved ones.

For Valentine's Day, why not prepare one of the simplest dishes I learnt last year during the lockdown? It's beef short ribs cooked in the oven for five hours. The preparation is simple but it yields one of the most delicious meals. It's from a book by the French chef Stephane Reynaud.

Everything is cooked in one pan, so this recipe is also kind to whoever has to do the washing up. Well, you may have other things in mind after this dinner.

The ingredient list is also short:

1.2 kg beef short ribs for 4 people

4 red onions, quartered and included in its skin, or peeled and chopped roughly

8 new potatoes, or King Edwards also fine

3 tablespoons of tomato puree

1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

80g butter

Pepper

Preheat the oven to 120 degrees Celcius.

Peel and chop the onions and clean the potatoes. Mix the tomato sauce, honey and soy sauce in a small bowl. Take a flameproof casserole dish, melt the butter and brown the ribs all around. Cover the ribs with the sauce and arrange the onions and potatoes around the ribs. Cover and cook in the oven for 5 hours. Check halfway through and add a little water if the ribs stick to the pan.

You can also add chunks of parsnips and carrots to the mix. They will hold their shape and will be a delicious addition to the dish.

If you prefer, you can exclude the potatoes from the casserole and serve this dish with some mashed potatoes that can absorb the delicious juice.

Bon appetite!

Comments

‘Southsea dinosaur’ returns

Luna Park 2021, an eagerly anticipated new public artwork for Portsmouth designed by internationally renowned artists Ivan Morison and Heather Peak of Studio Morison will be launched on 2 October 2021 on a celebratory day in Southsea Common. The 1.4 metres bronze sculpture is a tribute to the original 53-foot high 2010 artwork Luna Park, which tragically burned down on Southsea Common. The artists will unveil a new sculpture that responds to ten years of public demand to ‘bring back the Southsea Dinosaur’. The new public artwork will be located within a direct sightline to the position of the original Luna Park sculpture. It will sit on top of a fossil Portland stone plinth with a QR code which when scanned with a smartphone will connect to an Augmented Reality experience. People will be transported to a digital rendering of the original artwork, seemingly standing life-size in front of them on Southsea Common. Viewers will also be able to use their mobile devices to visit a...

Delicious thinly sliced pork in Korean marinade

Sometimes you found a recipe and wrote it down on a piece of paper to try it out. Having done that, you forget where the recipe came from. Likewise this Korean recipe for pork, which turned out to be so delicious we have cooked it for everyone. The marinade is simple to make and yet really packed with flavours. For the Korean marinade you need 3 garlic cloves 1/2 brown onion 1/2 a pear or apple Blitz these ingredients together and then add 5 tablespoons soy sauce (I use Kikkoman) 3 tablespoons caster sugar 2 tablespoons sesame oil 3 tablespoons mirin black pepper For dinner for 2 people, 200g pork tenderloin is enough. Slice this thinly, and bash it to an even thinner piece with a meat mallet. Marinade in the sauce and leave it in the fridge for an hour. Then heat a frying pan on medium heat with a teaspoon of vegetable oil and fry the thin pork pieces until browned. You want some of the edges of the meat to be dark brown and caramelised, if you can. Don't cook too many pieces or ...

The irresistible attraction of Sherlock Holmes

The silhouette of Sherlock Holmes, with his deerstalker hat, pipe and magnifying glass, is instantly recognisable. The stories have been translated into many languages, and new stories are always being written. All over the world actors have made their name by playing the famous – and infinitely malleable – detective, and groups meet to discuss and dress as characters from the stories. But what is behind this extraordinary attraction to the character of Holmes? Go along to the Spring Arts and Heritage Centre, to listen to Michael Gunton, Senior Archivist at Portsmouth City Library, who will explore some of the reasons for our enduring fascination with Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps due to the hugely popular television series starting Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, Holmes is often mistaken for a historical figure, rather than a fictional creation. An extensive collection of items relating to Conan Doyle is housed in the Library’s second floor history suite, and M...

SouthseaScene

Search This Blog