This is from simply recipes though to be honest it’s a standard braising recipe that I’ve used time and time again. The 2 new things are: short ribs, which I’ve never done before and reducing the sauce till it’s very thick.

1. brown ribs (no oil needed, it’s already fat enough), remove from pan
2. remove excess oil, sweat mirepoix until soft
3. add 1 bottle wine, reduce to 1/3 original volume and almost syrupy
4. return ribs to pan, add chicken stock until ribs are almost covered — recipe says veal or beef stock, neither of which I have
5. braise at 180°C for 3hrs until meat is falling off bones
6. leave overnight — normally it’d be in the fridge, I did one better and left it on my balcony with its 4” of snow
7. remove fat layer (there’s a lot of it), reheat making sure ribs are well glazed

Marinade pork chop with olive oil, rosemary and seasoning. Bake with sliced apples, basting regularly, until done. Serve on a bed of baby spinach.

season 4 chicken portions with cumin, tumeric, salt & pepper (I used drumsticks)
brown in a casserole dish or deep pan with chopped garlic
add a can of chick peas and a can of chopped tomatoes
simmer for 25-30mins until chicken is done and the sauce has reduced
throw in green peppers
season again
serve over garlic mash — or cous cous for more mediterranean flavour

I was watching Nigella Feasts this weekend and she was making Comforting Beef Casserole which is basically beef and guinness stew. I thought I’d try it myself.

We don’t get chuck or skirt steak here, at least not in the small supermarkets. There was rump steak which was too expensive. There was something better though, packets of the most lovely marbled diced beef. I didn’t have allspice so I marinated it with salt, pepper and mixed spice.

So I browned the beef with garlic and shallots in my heavy pot. Look at the nice marbling again. I removed the beef and threw in diced carrots and celery, leaving them cooking for a few minutes. Then I returned the beef to the pot.

The cooking liquid was water and about 250ml Guinness. Seasoned more, added a few bay leaves and I left the casserole simmering on low heat with the lid on for 2.5hrs. About 10 mins before the end, I threw in some haricot beans just because they were on sale today.

Like Nigella, I served the casserole on top of a double potato mash which was regular potatoes and orange sweet potatoes mashed together. She’s right, it’s less sweet than just sweet potato, and definitely a much comforting food for a cold(ish) wintery day.

I bought a pack of frozen kangaroo sirloin steak at Melbourne airport. They packaged it in an insulating box and it survived the flight remarkably well.

It’s a red meat. In raw form it’s darker than beef though not as dark as venison. Looked very lean, which seems to be the case. Though labelled sirloin, the pieces looked more like fillet with their cylindrical shape.

All I did was grill them like normal beef steak. Season with pepper and sear at high heat. When almost ready to turn, salt the uncooked side then turn over. Season again. Turn the heat down to medium and use the same softness test as usual steak. I sliced it up and served it over a bed of green salad, tomato and mango — just cos that was what I had in the fridge.

I don’t know whether it’s the quality of the meat, that I didn’t salt till I was ready to turn it over, or that I let it rest properly but the juices held and it sure was tasty. It had more texture than beef and wasn’t tough. I really liked how it had bite. A little game-y but not overpowering like venison or even ostrich. I wish it’s more widely available.