Lots of spice and things nice

FOOD:Sophie Dahl has written a cook book with integrity and more than a few recipes worth pinching

I RELUCTANTLY BOUGHT Sophie Dahl's first ever cook-book, Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights(HarperCollins, £20) and then decided to ignore it for a few months. Finally, I gave in and delved into it to see if there was anything I could rob. Now without meaning to sound witchy, some of her recipes may be a tad dull for my liking, but her writing skills and personality more than make up for it. Her book is a charming insight into her views on good eating and her trials and tribulations with her very public weight gains and losses.

As a cherubic model with a fantastically charismatic family history, the inevitable media obsession with her lumps and bumps must have been hard for a young woman to have coped with. But she seems to have come out of it all with a healthy outlook on food and her witty and self-deprecating tales would make sensible reading for teenagers, who face a bevy of insecurities about their weight and looks throughout their formative years.

Dahl really seems to have grasped some lovely concepts that we would all do well to cling to: everything in moderation; beware of food-labels claiming that they’re low-anything (as it usually means high in something else); and food should be delicious, nutritious and a little bit medicinal.

She came out with a lovely analogy that the way in which we feed ourselves is often totally contrary to the way we want to feed our children. As she rightly points out, we’d never send our kids to school on a cup of sweet coffee and let them skip lunch, or have a packet of crisps and a diet soft drink instead. I love this kind of no-nonsense thinking because it makes so much sense. We all know we shouldn’t skip breakfast and that we need to eat our five-a-day. But having the discipline to force ourselves to see it through is sometimes another thing.

Anyway, I would recommend it as a cook-book with a lot more integrity regarding food philosophy than I would have imagined. I’m ashamed to say, I did judge it by its cover (the gal is too damned gorgeous).

A few months ago, I dropped a rather large hint about wanting a pestle and mortar and it seemed as though no one paid any attention. But one super-star girl did and she has now firmly usurped all other “friends” who chose not to pay any attention to my unsubtle hints. Cheers Livia.

But, of course, now that she has given me a bit of kit, it seems all important to find some dishes to use my new gizmo. This lamb dish, simplified from a Skye Gyngell recipe, is perfect. I love that blend of spicy, salty and sweet, unless you’re just going for a very butch, meaty and alcohol-based kick from a classic, such as beef bourguignonne or a beef and Guinness stew.

Lamb stew with prunes, maple and chilli (serves six)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 boned leg of lamb, diced into bite sized chunks

Salt and pepper

3 large onions, peeled and sliced

Big knob ginger, peeled and diced

6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 chillies, finely chopped

Big bunch coriander

1.5 litres water

2 tins chopped tomatoes

Few bay leaves

100 ml soy sauce

3 tbsp maple syrup

200g prunes, roughly chopped

Zest and juice of 2 limes

SPICE MIX

2 cinnamon sticks, broken up

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp fenugreek

5 whole cardamom

2 star anise

2 cloves

In a heavy-based saucepan, heat the olive oil and brown the lamb well and season with plenty of salt and pepper. This should take a good 10 minutes. At this stage, you can drain some of the fat off, if too much fat is rendered from the lamb. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chillies and sweat for another ten minutes so that they start to caramelise a little.

Meanwhile, prep your spice mix. Heat all the spices in a non-stick frying pan until just starting to smoke. Remove from the heat and grind up in grinder or with a pestle and mortar or in my old ignorant way – with a rolling pin and a cup. When it’s ready and ground down, add to the lamb. Mix well so that all the meat is well coated.

Chop the stems off the coriander and add the stems to the lamb along with the water, tomatoes and bay leaves. Mix well and simmer with a lid half on, for about an hour.

Check it every now and then and if too much liquid is evaporating, then add some more water or cover fully with the lid. After about an hour, add the rest of the ingredients and cook for about another 30 minutes or so. Taste again and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Let it sit for a while before dishing out. Needless to say, it tastes even better the next day. Serve with the sweet potatoes and coriander leaves on top.

Sweet potato puree

6 big sweet potatoes

2 chillies, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper

75g butter

Good glug of olive oil

Good few splashes of soy sauce

Good squeeze of maple syrup

Peel the spuds, cut into chunks and place in a large saucepan of cold water. Bring up to the boil and simmer until tender. Drain and then blend in a food processor or just mash with the rest of the ingredients. Regular spuds go too starchy if you put them in a food processor, but sweet potatoes are a little less precious. This is perfect with the lamb.

dkemp@irishtimes.com

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