redjanet's Reviews
5 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 5Sort by: Title 
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Home Cooking Made Easy
By Lorraine Pascale
HarperCollins - 2011
This was simple enough to make and consisted of ingredients that give good flavour (chorizo, lemon and thyme for example), but overall, although it was nice, it was very basic and nothing very special. I didn't really see the point of topping the fish with most of the chorizo and some lemon zest, only to add the rest of those two ingredients for another five minutes at the end.
useful (0)
After doing Nigella's version of this from Kitchen for the last few years, I stumbled across this recipe and decided to give it a go as it seemed ever-so-slightly more straightforward. This was quick and easy and came out very well, with lots of flavour, and dare I say it, but I think I may prefer Lorraine's version to Nigella's. The chopped spring onions and sesame seeds (which I didn't bother to toast) added a subtle crunch to the texture and the sauce thickened nicely. My only complaint is that this dish is quite sugary, but then I suppose that's what makes it taste so good!
useful (0)
This is a simple, straightforward recipe for roasting a pork shoulder, which was exactly what I was looking for as up until yesterday I had never done so before. The pork itself turned out beautifully and was soft and tender and the gravy to go with it was easy and delicious. However, it did feel as if some instructions were partially missing. Maybe my pork wasn't fatty enough to have much in the way of juices once it had cooked for a couple of hours (I did a 1.6kg joint for 4 1/2 hours total at 140 deg fan), but I took it upon myself to drizzle some olive oil over the vegetables halfway through as without it they were looking very dry. I'm glad I did so as the potatoes especially came out very well, with nice, crunchy brown edges. However, with the timings given by Lorraine, my carrots were still hard in the middle. Also, sprigs of fresh thyme are shown in the recipe photograph, but there is no mention of it in the recipe itself, unless it is just there as a garnish. In any case, I'm glad I tried this recipe, but I will use it as a starting point to use more interesting versions in the future.
useful (1)
This is a terrific main dish to make for a dinner party. After some initial, easy prep, the lamb shanks and some other bits are left to stew in the oven in a wine and balsamic vinegar-flavoured sauce for three hours (with the chorizo and veg added after two hours). This was flavourful and went well with mashed potatoes. Lorraine gives instructions on how to reduce down the sauce for a thicker gravy but I didn't find that necessary.
useful (2)
A very simple and quick way of cooking haddock, which yielded a lot of flavour in the sauce. The minimal amount of chopping and prep made this an ideal weeknight dinner. I served this with buttered new potatoes and vegetables on the side instead of rice, as the author suggested.
useful (0)