Sarah Venning’s recipes

For 4. Heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 5
4 lamb shanks (season with salt and pepper)
1tsp coriander seeds
1 small dried red chilli
1tbsp fresh rosemary
1tsp dried marjoram/oregano
1tbsp flour
1tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, quartered and finely sliced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
6 sticks celery, quartered and finely chopped
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
170ml/6fl oz dry white wine
6 anchovy fillets
2×400g tins plum tomatoes
1 handful fresh basil or marjoram or parsley, chopped

1 Crush coriander seeds and chilli and mix with chopped rosemary and dried marjoram

2 Roll lamb in spice mixture, pressing in well. Dust lamb with flour

3 Heat oil in heavy oven proof pan and brown meat, then remove
4 Add garlic, carrot, celery, onions and pinch salt, and sweat until soft

5 Add balsamic vinegar and reduce to syrup

6 Add wine and simmer for two minutes
7 Add anchovies and tinned tomatoes, keep whole. Shake pan and add lamb
8 Bring to boil, put on a lid or foil seal and simmer in oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas 5 for 1.5 hours. Remove lid. Cook for further 0.5 hour.
9 Skim off any fat. Check seasoning. Stir in herbs. Serve

Goes well with mash, esp if part parsnip mash, and touch of parmasan.
Or couscous

2 large parsnips
4 small carrots
1 clove garlic
50g butter
Tablespoon fromage frais
2 tbsp grated creamed coconut
1tsp mild curry powder
Pinch cinnamon
2pts chicken stock
1tbsp chopped coriander

Chop parsnips and carrots into small pieces and sweat in butter for 10 minutes. Add garlic after 5. Add spices and cook for further minute. Add enough stock to cover, bring to high summer then turn down to low simmer and cook until soft (15-20 minutes). Whiz in food processor or with hand blender. Add coconut, coriander, fromage frais and remaining stock and heat through

2tbsp sunflower oil
450g beef, cut into good chunks
2 large onions, thickly sliced
2tbsp light brown soft sugar
1tbsp plain flour
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
500ml bottle Timothy Taylor’s Landlord strong pale ale
2tbsp creamed horseradish
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 150°C/Gas 2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in casserole dish with lid. Brown beef lightly. Set meat aside.
Sauté onions over a low heat for 6-7 minutes until beginning to soften. Add sugar, flour and balsamic vinegar and stir over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Pour ale over onions and stir until reaches boiling point.
Add beef to casserole, season, cover and cook in oven for 1.5-2 hours until meat very tender. If liquid too runny at end, remove meat from pan and boil hard to reduce.
Mix creamed horseradish and thyme leaves together and serve as an accompaniment to the casserole with mashed potato.

1 red cabbage, roughly chopped
1 large onion or 2 small, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
8 cloves
4 bay leaves
1tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
2tbsp light brown sugar
4 sprigs fresh thyme
550ml/1pt ale
25g butter
Preheat oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Mix garlic, cloves, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, sugar and thyme in a bowl. Layer cabbage and onions in an ovenproof dish with a lid. Add some of the herb mixture and a bay leaf to each layer. Pour over the ale and dot with butter. Braise in oven for an hour. Serve with meat or with thick slices of rye bread.

4 rashers streaky bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
2 leeks, sliced and washed
A fist-sized chunk of green cabbage, finely sliced
1 tin of haricot or cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1 tin tomatoes, chopped
3pts stock or water
55g spaghetti, broken into short lengths
30g parmesan, grated
Basil leaves

Cut rind off bacon and discard. Cut the bacon into strips about the width of a pencil using scissors. Put the bacon and onion in a large pan and cook gently until the onion is softened. The bacon should provide enough fat to fry.
Stir in the garlic, cook for another minute and add the rest of the vegetables, tinned tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour. Add pasta and cook until soft, then stir in parmesan. Season and serve with ripped basil leaves and more grated parmesan.

Blackberry ice cream Autumn
Cranberry and blueberry Eton mess winter
Strawberry pavlova summer
Calvados syllabub
plum and pecan crumble autumn/winter
Apricot and walnut crumble
Plum clafoutis
Lemon cheesecake (Marie Claire flavours)
Rhubarb ice cream
Strawberry ice cream
Bread and butter pudding made with croissants or chocolate croissants
Petits pots au chocolat (Eat Up)
Layered blueberries, crème fraiche and crushed mascarpone biscuits with lemon rind
Gooseberry and elderflower ice cream
Raspberries with ricotta and lemon sugar (River Café Easy)
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Serves 2-3
450g venison sausages
1 dessert spoon olive oil
225g pancetta
1 large clove garlic
225g shallots peeled
1 dessert spoon juniper berries
275ml red wine
1tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
175g medium sized open cap mushrooms
1 heaped tsp plain flour
Rounded tsp mustard powder
25g butter
1 rounded tbsp redcurrant jelly

Heat oil in casserole. Fry sausages brown all over on medium heat (don’t split skins). Transfer to plate. Brown bacon, garlic and shallots. Crush juniper berries slightly without breaking. Sausages back in with berries, wine, thyme and bay leaves. Cook 30 minutes at medium heat. Stir mushrooms in. Cook another 20 minutes. Place in serving dish. Mix flour, mustard and butter into a paste. Whisk slowly into juices. Whisk in red currant jelly.

50g butter
1 medium onion, chopped
110g celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped
15g dried wild mushrooms, soaked for 20 minutes in 150ml boiling water
300ml stock
200ml crème fraiche
1tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
Salt and pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan and add onion and celeriac. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Strain mushrooms and reserve liquid. Chop the mushrooms, add to the pan and cook gently for about a minute. Add stock and strained liquid and bring to boil. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Cool a little and purée. Stir in crème fraiche and herbs and season. Gently reheat to serve.

500g floury or all purpose potatoes
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 litre water
0.5 tsp salt
500g kale cabbage (or spring greens or Savoy cabbage), shredded very finely
2 chorizo or other garlicky sausages
Salt and pepper

Peel potatoes and slice into 2cm dice. Cook with olive oil and garlic in the 1 ltr simmering water until tender. Mash in the water. Add cabbage and return to boil Simmer for 5 minutes, then season. Slice sausage on diagonal and fry until lightly crisped. Pour soup into bowls and top with sausage. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.