Spiced Beetroot Salad

I had this salad with some roughly chopped onion bhaji and spinach pakora left over from the curry instead of naan. The next day I mixed the remaining salad in with the rest of the pilau rice from the curry meal, and had with naan. Spiced Beetroot Salad 250g cooked beetroot chopped into cubes Stir in: - good pinch each of cumin and paprika - 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves - 2tbsp olive oil - juice of half lemon - salt and pepper Taste and add more of the spices and/or lemon juice. Cover and chill for at least an hour. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves and cucumber pieces. Top with a dollop of natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Serve with naan bread Menu this week: Shoulder of pork roasting in the oven as I type. Am roasting it on top of thick slices of apple - just because I had a couple of apples that need using. M Jacket potatoes, sausages and coleslaw T Sliced pork in piquante sauce W Mozzerella and Tomato Pasta bake Th Pork rissoles F Root vegetable bake with Ham

Moroccan Chicken Pie

4 friends from the village came round for supper on Friday. Such a fun evening! The meal started with greek dishes - dolmades, marinated aubergine and tomato keftedes served with pitta bread pieces and a garlic and chive yoghurt and mayonnaise dip. The Moroccan Chicken Pie, served with a green salad, was followed by a selection home made ice cream and sorbets with my own shortbread. There was still room for cheese and a glass or two of last year's sloe gin for some. A number of recipes to write up but here is the main one:

Moroccan Chicken Pie

Put a 1.5kg chicken into a pot and cover with cold water. Peel an onion and 6 cloves of garlic and add to the pot along with 2cm piece of root ginger, halved, the rind of half a lemon and half an orange, a cinnamon stick and the stalks of a small bunch of corainder. Bring to boil and then simmer for about 45 minutes until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from liquid and leave to cool. Strain the poaching liquid and reserve 25 fl oz.

When cold remove the flesh and shred (don't use the skin).

Heat oven to 175C

Finely chop 2 onions and fry over medium heat in 1tbsp olive oil until soft. Add 4 crushed garlic cloves, 2cm grated root ginger. 1tbsp turmeric, 3tsp ground coriander, 3tsp ground cumin and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chicken, chopped leaves of 1 bunch coriander and half bunch flat leaf parsley.

Moisten with some (to all) of the reserved poaching liquid then stir in 2 beaten eggs, 125g chopped almonds and 175g roughly chopped dried apricots. Season to taste.

Mix together 1 tbsp caster sugar with quarter tsp ground cinnamon.

Butter a 5x20x25cm baking dish and layer with 5 sheets of filo pastry, ensuring that there is excess filo pastry overhanging, brushing each sheet generously with melted butter and lightly sprinkling with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Fill with the chicken mixture and fold over the overhanging filo to cover the top. Brush top with melted butter, sprinkle over the rest of the sugar/cinnamon mixture and a handful of flaked almonds. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, turn oven upto 200C and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until browned on top.

Freezes well uncooked. Cook from frozen in 175C for an hour removing foil for last 15 minutes (leave oven at 175C). Ensure heated through before serving.

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Beef brisket, pot roasted in the slow cooker, tonight. The menu for the week is:
M Something from freezer
T Phili Steak 'Sandwiches'
W Chicken Curry (probably Korma from a jar)
Th Mr B's sticky sausage casserole
F TBD
S Pasta and fish

Lovely weather looks to continue so a number of salads for lunches.