The cooking thread and what are you having for dinner tonight beansnikpoh?

I like Haggis but it has to be good Haggis.

This week has been a smashing super tasty week so far. Sometimes it's just rinse and repeat but this weeks menus:

Sunday: Seychelles fish

Monday: Sea bass

Tuesday: Chicken, mushroom and Pak Choi noodle soup

Wednesday: Chilli con carne (3 hours in the oven, it was delish)

Torsdag: Swedish meatballs. the gurls are having pasta*, me; mash

Friday: Lamb Biryani

Saturday: Chicken kebabs

*In the Uppsala Uni internal rag and as the staple of a student diet, this combo with ketchup was eloquently coined 'Spaghetti rouge'.

Very simple and very delicious.

Make a tomato sauce using onions, celery, tinned plum tomatoes and tomato puree.

Finely chop the onions and celery sweat them down in butter and pure sunflower oil. Add a tin of plum tomatoes - mash them beforehand. Do not blend.

Add a dessert tablespoon of puree. Posh technique is to put the puree in a bowl and add in warm water incrementally until you have a smooth, consistent runny mixture. This adds a bit more water to the sauce and blends in better than simply chucking it in.

Season with a teaspoon of brown sugar, salt, pepper and fresh parsley if you have it.

Simmer for an hour (or more if preferred). That's if you want it fresh and lively or a bit richer. It's then freezable and can be pulled out at any time to complement quite a few recipes including a Bacalao recipe I make.

Take some bog standard white fish like Pollock. Breadcrumb the fish, Sautee.

When cooked, place on kitchen roll to remove a bit of the oil. Place the fish on top of the sauce in the pot, being careful not to stir. Let the fish settle in to the sauce whilst you cook the rice by absorption.

Serve on the rice. Easy peasy.

An alternative is to just put the fish on the plate with the sauce on the rice.

Yeah sure.

In a skillet, brown off some diced beef of your choosing in olive oil (not too much). About 500gms for a family of 4. I use brazing steak. Add a dash of red but not too much either or it smacks of Bourguignon, simmer the wine off.

Add 2 medium sized chopped white onions to the same pan keep them moving with a pinch of salt to avoid burning and sweat them down for 5-6 mins. Add 1 decent sized red and 1 yellow bell pepper. I like them julienne rather than chopped - about 2cm strips. Add a tin of chopped plum tomatoes, beef stock, Bay leaves, Thyme, a generous helping of paprika, black pepper and salt.

Put the lid on the skillet for 30 mins to simmer and then transfer to a preheated oven and casserole pot at 165 deg fan.

Now, here's the thing: Some recipe's add flour to the onions and beef as a thickener, I don't. I like the juices it creates on a slow cook which are especially good for soaking up with a nice chunk of bread say, baguette or soda bread. So the amount of stock is down to your preference and how much/type of potato you add.

Cook for 90 mins, add roughly chopped carrot and diced potatoes (the spuds cook very slowly so don't cut them into large chunks). Cook for a further 1 hour. Check the spuds just in case it needs a bit more cooking time.

No need to stir the pot very often. Just let it simmer in it's own juices. The alternative is whole baby potatoes with skins which is my choice but couldn't find any today.

Serve up in a bowl.

Yeahbut if you do it on the cooker, it's best to stir often to prevent it catching and that stirring makes it creamy.

Oven done rice pud is ace though and a different texture.