Seasonal November Recipes
Try these seasonal November dishes below for a warming supper.
Lamb and cranberry are a perfect combination at this time of year. This is a fragrant one-pot that lets your oven do all the hard work. If you're entertaining, serve up this succulent lamb with couscous and yoghurt.
The unsung hero of the vegetable world, the knobbly, odd-shaped celeriac has a subtle, celery-like flavour, with nutty overtones. Try it as mash or in big-flavoured, slow-cook dishes. It's in season now and works well in this curry – the roasted cubes soak up the flavours of the spices. Serve with steamed rice for a warming vegan dinner.
Lamb & Cranberry Tagine
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 ½kg lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, then cubed
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp hot paprika
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large red onions, sliced into half moons
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
6 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp honey
200g fresh or frozen cranberries
50g shelled pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped, to serve
natural yogurt, handful mint leaves and couscous, to serve
Method
At least 3 hrs before (or preferably a day), toss the lamb with half the cumin, coriander, sweet and hot paprika in a large bowl. Cover and leave in the fridge to infuse.
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish over a high heat and season the spiced lamb well. Working in batches, fry until completely brown, then set aside. Add more of the oil as you need it and get some deep colour on the meat – this will add to the flavour of the tagine.
Once the lamb is browned, pour any remaining oil into the dish,reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, garlic and remaining ground spices. Cook for 5 mins until softened, then stir in the cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods. Return the lamb to the dish along with the tomatoes, plus 1 /2 a can of water and the honey. Bring to the boil, season, cover with a lid and put in the oven for 2 hrs 15 mins.
Bring the tagine out of the oven, give it a good stir and tip in the cranberries. Return to the oven, with the lid off, for a further 15 mins until the lamb is completely tender.
Taste the tagine for seasoning and remove the cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods. Scatter over the pistachios, yogurt and mint leaves, then serve out of the dish at the table with couscous.
Curried Celeriac
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 large celeriac, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
2 tsp ground turmeric
ground to make 2 tsp black peppercorns
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
a bunch coriander, stalks chopped, leaves picked and torn to serve
400g tin coconut milk
½ lime, juiced
steamed rice, to serve
Method
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Tip the celeriac into a large bowl with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and some seasoning. Toss to combine. Add the cumin, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric and pepper, and toss again until the celeriac is well coated. Spread out the celeriac and all the spices on a large baking tray, and roast for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through until the celeriac is lightly caramelised and cooked through.
Meanwhile, put the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander stalks and 2 tbsp of water in a small food processor and blitz to a smooth purée.
Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the purée with a pinch of salt for 20 minutes, stirring often until darkened and fragrant. Tip in the roasted celeriac and all of the spices from the tray, followed by the coconut milk. Simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. Season, then squeeze in the lime juice. Scatter with the coriander leaves and serve alongside some steamed rice.