Gumbo

Ah, gumbo. The taste of Louisiana, so I'm told. This is a rich stew, perfect for cold evenings and a glass (or two) of full-bodied red wine. I like to use chicken, sweet chipolatas from the local butcher, and a very few fresh, raw tiger prawns from the fishmonger. But you could vary this depending on what you have to hand: pork fillet, turkey, even steak would be perfectly acceptable instead of chicken, and some fine smoked fish or scallops would be delicious instead of prawns.

I usually serve this with plain brown rice, but crusty bread or roasted sweet potatoes would also work. This is a good meal to cook for friends as it is fine reheated- just don't add the tiger prawns until you're about to serve. I tend to make it on a Sunday for just the two of us, then keep another two portions for later in the week.

Ingredients:

• 4 (or more if your budget stretches) raw, shell-on, tiger prawns
• 2 large or 4 small chicken thighs
• 6 long, high-quality chipolatas
• 1 red onion
• 1 white onion
• 1-2 green peppers
• 4 fat cloves of garlic
• 1 sweet red chilli (or 2-3 if you like it HOT)
• 3 stems celery
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• half a small glass of red wine
• 2 tins good-quality chopped tomatoes
• 250g okra
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, lightly pounded in a mortar and pestle
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 2 bay leaves

Shell the tiger prawns, and make a quick stock out of their heads and shells, the onion heads and tails, one of the stems of celery and 100ml of water. You can leave this bubbling while cooking the rest of the ingredients.

Add a tbsp of vegetable oil to the bottom of a deep cast-iron pot (Le Creuset is perfect here!), set it over a low heat and finely chop the red and white onions. Gently fry these for ten minutes until translucent. Meanwhile, chop the green pepper and celery into small pieces, and very finely chop the red chilli. Add these and crush the garlic into the onions. Stir and cook for three minutes, until the chilli and garlic have softened. Remove the vegetables from the pan.

Cut the chipolatas into thirds. If there is no oil left in the pan, add a mere drop, and then add in the chicken thighs and the chipolata pieces. Sear them on each side for a few minutes, until the skins are sealed and golden. Add the flour to the oil that will have accumulated from the sausage fat - if there is not at least 1 tbsp in the pan, add a little more. Cook the flour until it has changed to the colour of peanut butter: this is the roux, and it will thicken the stew and add a smoky flavour. Meanwhile, slice the okra diagonally, to make pretty parallelogram pieces.

Splash in the red wine to deglaze (one for you, one for the pan), then return the vegetables and add the two tins of tomatoes, okra, cumin, paprika and bay leaves. Strain your prawn shell stock into the pan. Combine gently, then cook covered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom. Taste and season, then add the raw tiger prawns to the surface, pushing them just under the liquid. Cover and cook for four more minutes: the prawns should curl up and go pink. Serve with brown rice, or sweet potatoes, or just a dollop of creme fraiche. Top with fresh chives or coriander if desired. Must be eaten with the rest of the red wine, or an ice-cold (lager) beer.

Duck with Shitake Mushrooms

Today I felt like something warming and delicious, but not too heavy. It's also getting toward the end of the week so I have a few ingredients which are beginning to look a bit tattered. So here's a fresh take on duck for spring, with a sweet and crip salad and smoky shitake mushrooms. This morning I put the marinade on the duck, a matter of a few minutes work, and this evening the meal took about half an hour to prepare. We settled down and watched 'In Bruges', which was rather excellent!

 Ingredients:

For the marinaded duck:

• a few splashes of soy sauce
• a few splashes of fish sauce
• a thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated
• a clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp of Szechuan peppercorns (or substitute 1tsp black peppercorns if unavailable), pounded
• juice of one lemon
• Two duck breasts

For the salad:

• Three small or two large pears
• Half a bulb of fennel
• a small bag or bunch of watercress
• juice of one lime

For the rest:

• A handful of fresh shitake mushrooms (or soaked, dried)
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• soy sauce
• short grain Asian or 'fragrant' rice

Between 6 and 36 hours before you want to cook, marinade the duck breasts in the marinade ingredients, covered in the fridge.

Set the rice cooking according to the instructions (I use 2:1 water:rice, barely simmering, covered for 10 minutes). Heat a medium-sized heavy-based non-stick frying pan to moderate heat, and place the duck breasts fat-side down. While the duck fries and the rice cooks, thickly slice the mushrooms and add them to the fat rendering from the duck, tossing occasionally. You'll need to turn the duck after about five minutes; don't be worried if the fat is blackened a little on the outside by this time. Remove the mushrooms when they have turned dark gold and shrunk slightly.

While the duck and mushrooms cook, using a sharp knife, slice the fennel as thinly as possible, reserving the fluffy heads if they have them. Peel and cut the pear into long, thin slices. Wash and roughly shred the watercress. Combine the salad ingredients, tossing in the lime juice and a little olive oil if you like.

When the duck is finished cooking - a matter of five minutes per side - remove and leave to rest. Wipe out the pan, return the mushrooms to it, with a teaspoon of sugar, a splash of soy sauce, and enough water to thinly cover the bottom of the pan. Cover and leave on a low heat for about 5-10 minutes, allowing some of the liquid to evaporate and soak back into the mushrooms. If you like, strip the fat from the duck, before slicing into thick bite-sized pieces. You're aiming for a nice juicy pink colour, with clear or slightly pinkish juices. Arrange over the salad, and serve with the rice and mushrooms, sprinkled with fresh coriander or mint leaves.