Roasted Tomato Soup

3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried

1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (I used 1 full teaspoon of Kosher salt). Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add foil packet of garlic to tray. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Unwrap garlic packet and peel cloves. Transfer cloves, tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a blender or food processor and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and add thyme, crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

Jamie's Best Roast Beef

Ingredients

• 1.5kg topside of beef
• 2 medium onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 bulb of garlic
a small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay or sage, or a mixture
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To prepare your beef:
• Take your beef out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven
• Preheat your oven to 240°C/475°F/ gas 9
• There’s no need to peel the vegetables – just give them a wash and roughly chop them
• Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them unpeeled
• Pile all the veg, garlic and herbs into the middle of a large roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil
• Drizzle the beef with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over the meat
• Place the beef on top of the vegetables

To cook your beef:
• Place the roasting tray in the preheated oven
• Turn the heat down immediately to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and cook for 1 hour for medium beef
• If you prefer it medium-rare, take it out 5 to 10 minutes earlier
• For well done, leave it in for another 10 to 15 minutes
• If you’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, this is the time to crack on with them – get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking
• Baste the beef halfway through cooking and if the veg look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them burning
• When the beef is cooked to your liking, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the beef to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so
• Cover it with a layer of tinfoil and a tea towel and put aside while you make your gravy, horseradish sauce and Yorkshire puddings

Pista Kulfi

Preparation Time: 45 minutes, plus cooling and freezing time
Serves: 8
1 litres / 1 3/4 pints (4 1/4 cups) milk
100g / 3 1/2oz (1/2 cup) sugar
3 tbsp unsalted pistachios, crushed
125ml / 4 1/2 fl oz (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream
1/4 tsp kewra water, or 1 tbsp rosewater
1/4 tsp ground green cardamom

Bring the milk to the boil in a large, heavy-based pand and cook for 25 minues to reduce to 750ml / 1 1/4 pints (3 1/4 cups). PUt the sugar in a heatproof bowl, add 125-180ml / 4 1/2 -6 1/2 fl oz (1/2 - 1/4 cup) hot milk and stir until smooth. Mix with the rest of the milk, then and cook over low heat until thick and creamy. Add the crushed pistachios and cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

Whip the cream in a large bowl until smooth and thick, but not stiff, then mix the cream, kewra water or rosewater, and cardamom into the milk and pour into cone-shaped containers or kulfi moulds, leaving about a 2.5 cm /1 space at the top for the frozen kulfi to expand. Seal firmly with lids and freeze for 8-10 hours, or until frozen.

To serve, hold the cones under tepid water briefly, then remove the lid from the mould, run a sharp knife around the inside edge and slip out the kulfi onto a plate. Kulfi must be served semi-frozen, and not soft like ice cream.

Kulfi

Preparation Time: 50 minutes, plus cooling and freezing time
Serves: 4
2 litres / 3 1/2 pints (8 1/2 cups) full cream (whole) milk
150g / 5oz (3/4 cup) sugar
50g / 1 3/4 oz (1/3 cup) ground almonds
few drops kewra water

Bring the milk to the boil in a large, heavy-based pan, then reduce the heat and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes, until the milk is reduced to less than half it's volume. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the ground almonds and kewra water and allow to cool.

When the milk mixture is cool, pour it into kulfi moulds leaving about a 2.5cm/1-inch space at the top for the frozen kulfi to expand. Seal firmly with lids and freeze for 8-10 hours. or until frozen.

To serve, hold the cones under tepid water briefly, then remove the lid from the mould, run a sharp knife around the inside edge and slip out the kulfi onto a plate. Kulfi must be served semi-frozen, and not soft like ice cream.

Kulfi is a very popular Indian dessert and comes in many different flavours, such as mango, cardamom and pistachio. Use this recipe as a base and experiment by adding your favourite flavours. Special lidded containers, called kulfi moulds, are used for this dessert, but you can use either individual freezerproof moulds or one large freezerproof container with a lid.

CHANA MASALA

Prep time: 10 min | Cooking time: 20 min | Serves: 2 

1 can 1 medium-sized 1 large 1-2 1 tbsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 2 tbsp

chickpeas, drained onion, finely chopped tomato, chopped green chillies, finely chopped ginger-garlic paste tomato paste cumin seeds red chilli powder turmeric powder coriander powder cumin powder light cooking oil salt, to taste water, as needed fresh chopped coriander, as garnish lemon wedges, as garnish

SAUTE cumin seeds in hot oil till they start to sizzle and pop. Add onions and green chillies, and fry till tender.

ADD in tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, tomato paste, salt and spices, and cook till tomatoes pulp and starts to give out oil from the sides. 

STIR in about a cup of water, allow it to come to a boil, and then add chickpeas. Let simmer covered for a few minutes till chickpeas are soft and tender to the touch.

GARNISH with fresh coriander and a sprinkle of lemon juice.

Eggplant, zuke, and spinach Lasagna

1 large eggplant
1 zucchini
1 bunch fresh spinach (or box frozen)
1 large purple onion-chopped coarse
garlic to taste
Italian mixed seasoning
1/2 c vegetable broth
box of spinach lasagna
1 jar fatfree seasoned marinara
soy cheese..grated and to taste

boil lasagna noodles till tender, meanwhile

simmer chopped onion and garlic in vegetable broth till tender add
Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste add marinara (I like
roasted pepper and basil) to onion/garlic mix and blend

slice the eggplant and lasagna in 1/2 " slices
wash and chop spinach into 1/2 " strips
spray large pyrex pan with butter flavored spray and layer:
sauce,noodles,soy cheese
sliced vegetables
sauce, noodles, soy cheese, vegetable
top w/ sauce and soy cheese

bake 300 for 45 min

let set a few minutes before serving
this freezes well and is even better the next day

Squash and White Bean Soup

Serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 celery stalk, strings removed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 pounds (about 2 cups) butternut squash, peeled and seeded, flesh cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
4 cups low-sodium canned beef broth
4 thin slices sandwich bread
1 cup canned great Northern white beans, rinsed and drained

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium pot over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add celery; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in squash and tomatoes; cook until liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until squash is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a leaf-shape cutter to cut leaves from bread; arrange on a baking sheet. Brush with remaining tablespoon oil; bake until just golden, about 10 minutes.

Add beans to pot, and cook until they are warmed through, about 2 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.