This recipe is inspired by something I cooked for my children from the new Ella’s Kitchen cookbook. It’s packed with great recipes for children, aged from the baby years to Tweens, which got me wondering whether I could give them an adult twist, too. And, of course, the answer is emphatically, ‘Yes’.

A twist of chilli, a slurp of cream and a hearty grating of strong Parmesan cheese transformed my children’s marvellous meatballs into spicy sensations. The sauce itself is a revelation, involving blitzing together five different vegetables. Both hearty and healthy.
Serves 4

For the meatballs

3 tbsp apple puree
25g breadcrumbs
Handful chopped mixed nuts (optional)
2 tbsp finely chopped sage leaves
500g lean minced pork
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp vegetable oil

1. To make the apple puree, peel, core and chop 2 eating apples. Steam until soft, then mash with a fork.

2. Place the breadcrumbs and sage in a large bowl and add 50ml boiling water. Allow the mixture to soak for 2-3 mins, until the water has been absorbed and the mixture is cool enough to handle.

3. Add the pork, apple puree and nutmeg and use your hands to mix together until fully combined. Mould the mixture into 24 mini meatballs.

4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the meatballs over a low heat for 15 mins, turning occasionally, until cooked through.

5. Mix the meatballs with with Five-Veg Pasta Sauce (see below) and serve with a mound of spaghetti topped with grated Parmesan. (If you aren’t using all the meatballs at once, you can freeze them – uncooked or cooked and then cooled completely – for up to a month).

For the Five-Veg sauce 

This sauce is clever for two reasons. First, there are lots of ways to use it – poured over pasta, or over meatballs, or stirred into couscous, or as a healthy alternative to ketchup. Second, it’s packed to brim with veggie goodness. It’s also perfect for freezing into handy portions.

1 carrot, peeled diced
200g butternut squash, peeled and diced
50g frozen peas, defrosted
415g can baked beans
400g can chopped tomatoes
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp hot chilli powder (optional)
100ml double cream (optional)

1. In a saucepan of boiling water, cook the carrot, squash and peas for 7-8 mins, until tender. Drain in a sieve, then return to the pan.

2. Add the baked beans and puree with a hand blender until smooth.

3. Return the pan to the heat. Add both the canned and fresh tomatoes and bring everything to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 4-5 mins until the fresh tomatoes are soft and pulpy.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and puree again until you have a beautifully smooth sauce.  Add the chilli and cream to make the adult version.

• Ella’s Kitchen Foundation is a charity which funds innovative academic research to improve knowledge of young children’s relationships with food and their attitudes to a healthy diet. Ten per cent of the profits from the book go to the Foundation.

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Six times a year, four musketeer dads get together for a gastronomical night out. But there are times when three of us aren’t available. This is one such time. However, it would be a wasted opportunity to miss out on the much-respected opinions of we fathers in our forties, so sometimes we take it in turns to offer our views on our solo efforts.

Thus, this review of the stupendous pop-up restaurant, Roganic, comes to you from fellow Dads’ Dining Club aficionado, Danny. Over to him…

‘Taster menus are one of a few ultimate dining experiences in my opinion, eating at the chefs table being another. Tasting menus give you the chance to see the complete range of what the chef is capable of, without getting full up.

It’s also the chance for the chef to show off his skills in the most challenging way. I can’t remember where my first tasting menu was but the most memorable (and most expensive) was at the Fat Duck. That day in early 2007 I was blown away and thought I would never experience tastes as amazing as those ever again.

There was of course the theatre of dining there and the impeccable service, both of which should accompany a good tasting menu experience.

Last year, almost as my entry exam to the Dad’s dining club, I chose to take the other Dads to Viajante.

It wasn’t long after that great night that I started the search for the next taster. While looking into a family summer holiday in the Lake District, I stumbled across L’Enclume in Cartmel and after a bit of poking around found out that the owner, Simon Rogan, had a ‘pop-up’ restaurant in London called Roganic.

The review looked great, so I booked a Saturday night were the only menu option was a 10 course taster, standard or Vegetarian (for the Missus).

Roganic is located on a rather lifeless street in Marylebone, opposite a rather skuzzy pub and next to a posh nail salon.

We were only the third party to arrive, quite early at 7pm and were warmly welcomed into what was a rather small, very plain looking room, plain grey walls, no décor whatsoever.

Indeed it was almost silent in there, the other tables were only whispering, nothing from the kitchen, which was unfortunately downstairs and there was no music. For a while it was rather awkward as we felt like we needed to whisper to each other, but as the evening progressed and the room filled up, the atmosphere that was sorely lacking, appeared.

The staff were very friendly, pleasant, highly knowledgeable and down to earth. These qualities together are sadly lacking from 95% of all restaurant staff.

So on to the food. No one dish stood out as exceptional or mind blowing (as they all do at the Fat Duck), instead, with the exception of the Eel and pork belly on smoked hay, each was a subtle crafting of flavors I’ve not experienced anywhere else. The pork belly was powerful and bursting with smells and with strong flavours.

I’ve included here a mixture of photos from both the standard and vegetarian menus.

We both enjoyed the meal tremendously and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who enjoys experimenting with food.

That said, it’s not somewhere I’d return to until I saw a new menu and this probably won’t happen until Roganic find a new residence, as I understand their lease expires soon and they’ll be forced to move on. Staying true to the DDC, our scores:

Venue: Plain, rather cold and lacking in atmosphere. Shame really, but maybe this helps you concentrate on the food? 6/10

Atmosphere: As above, although things livened up as the evening went on, it was just a bit too awkward early on. I don’t want to feel like I need to have a whisper-quiet conversation and equally I don’t really want to hear what the people on the table on the other side of the room got up to the day before! 6/10

Food: Superb craftsmanship but maybe could do with some more big hitting dishes. The wines that were chosen for us were excellent. 9/10

Service: Close to faultless. 9/10

VFM: 10 courses plus amuse bouche, unlimited bread and butter and pallet cleansers for £80 is a bit of a bargain in my books. 9/10

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What could be simpler than taking a couple of tablespoons of Thai green curry paste, mixing it with a can of coconut milk, then chucking in some leftover chicken, asparagus and chopped red pepper? OK, OK, toast could be easier, granted. Or a boiled egg. But neither of those will hit your gastronomical pleasure post like this dish.

I’ve used my friend Nitsa’s homemade (and gloriously fiery) Thai green curry paste, but a good quality shop-bought paste will do the job just as well.

Serves 2

1 tsp oil
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 can coconut milk
Leftover chicken from the Sunday roast, or pre-cooked chicken breast and thigh meat
Small bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
Medium egg noodles, cooked according to packet instructions, to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and stir-fry the Thai green curry paste for 1 min, until fragrant.

2. Add the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Cook for 3-4 mins to reduce and slightly thicken the sauce.

3. Add the leftover chicken, asparagus and pepper chunks. Stir to combine, then cook until the pepper and asparagus are cooked and the chicken is heated through, approx. 5-7 mins.

4. Serve on a bed of medium egg noodles.

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If you are a man who loves to cook, or are married to a man whose Nirvana is the kitchen, then food writer and blogger Simon Cave’s ‘Manly Food’ cookbook is a must-buy gift for Father’s Day. Fortunately, I don’t have to drop my wife unsubtle hints about what to get me for June 20 – because the kind folks at publishers Quadrille have sent me a copy for review purposes. 

My first thoughts were, ‘Manly? You don’t get more manly than Reluctant Housedad’s Recipe Shed – the home of magnificently masculine inspiration for meaty feasts, slow cooked joints and quick-as-a-flash fry-ups.’

But as Simon’s tome landed with a satisfyingly heavy thump on my doormat, I knew I’d met my match. If this was a culinary arm-wrestling contest, Mr Cave would win hands-down.

‘Manly Food’ does, as they say in the adverts, exactly what it says on the tin cover.  In fact, it does exactly what it says on the sleeve notes, as follows: ‘A book of savoury, strong and masculine flavours, Manly Food is a feast of high-quality recipes and expert instruction, designed to appeal to the tastes and interests of men.’

There are around 200 recipes, broken down into 18 chapters, such as, ‘Pure Meat’, ‘Wild & Foraged’, ‘Chilli & Spice’, ‘Fast Food’, ‘TV Dinners’ and ‘Breakfasts & Hangovers’.

So far, I’ve selected 10 that I’m going to cook over the next few weeks, but I’ll be cooking a whole lot more as the months pass, because if there was Recipe Shed chart for cookbooks, then Manly Food has just shot straight in at Number One.

But before I share Simon Cave’s recipe for Peppered Steak with you, let us first ascertain what Manly Food is, with Simon’s simple multiple-choice test:

• A Manly steak is:

(a) A medallion of beef fillet on a bed of subtle cream tarragon emulsion.

(b) A burnt and bloody side of cow.

• Manly dessert is:

(a) A cupcake.

(b) A hunk of cheese.

• A Manly cocktail is:

(a) Fruit and cream-based with lots of different colours and an umbrella.

(b) Tastes mostly of alcohol, and is bitter, sour or salty, or a combination of all three.

I think we know the answer is (b) right? RIGHT?

As Simon says: ‘Want to explore your manly side? Saddle up, pilgrim.’

Here’s Simon’s recipe for Peppered Steak, as adapted and cooked by me…

Serves 2-4

2-4 sirloin steaks, about 3 cm thick (these beauties are grass-fed Argentinian, sourced from Pampas Plains)
2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
Crushed black peppercorns, to taste
50g butter, chilled and diced
120ml dry white wine
100ml good quality veal or beef stock
1 tbsp double cream (optional)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard (optional)
Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 120C/Gas 1/2 and put a serving dish in to warm.

2. Brush the steaks with a little of the oil and dredge them in the crushed peppercorns. Push the peppercorns down well so that they stick. Season well with salt all over.

3. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and add a couple of pieces of butter once it is hot. When the butter foams, add the steaks, cook for about 4-5 mins on each side for medium. Transfer to the warmed serving dish. Cover with aluminium foil.

4. Pour the white wine into the pan and bring it to the boil. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve any sediment, and reduce by half. Add the stock and reduce over a medium heat until the sauce becomes syrupy. Stir in the remaining chilled, diced bitter.

5. If you want a creamy sauce, add the cream now. If you want the mustard too, stir in at this point.

6. Transfer the steaks to a chopping board and carve into thick slices. Transfer to plates and pour over the unctuous sauce.

7. Serve with my famous thrice-cooked chips and a grilled Portobello mushroom, stuffed with Stilton cheese.

• ‘Manly Food’ by Simon Cave is out now, price £25, though probably cheaper on Amazon. 

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I’ve adapted this recipe from Atul Kochhar’s wonderful ‘Curries Of The World’ book. His introductory note to this very mild, but tasty, Sumatran Lamb Kurma, goes: ‘The korma, or kurma, is thought to have originated in India but such is Asia’s history that dishes have travelled and been adopted by other countries, where they often take on a new life.

‘So, while this seems to be an Indian-inspired recipe…it is also characteristically Indonesian because of the lemongrass, as well as the coconut, Whatever its origins, it all adds up to a fantastic korma.’

Serves 6

1 kg lean boneless leg of lamb, chopped into chunks
6 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
1 onion, finely chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp finely chopped lemongrass
5cm piece of cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 bay leaves
400g potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
250ml coconut milk
Salt

For the spice powder

Quarter tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
4 green cardamom pods
4 cloves
10 black peppercorns

1. First make the spice powder. Lightly toast all the spices, one at a time, in a dry pan until fragrant. When they are cool, grind together to a fine powder in a spice mill or coffee grinder.

2. Mix together the lamb, spice powder and some salt in a bowl. Set aside in a cool place for 20 mins.

3. Heat the oil or ghee in a pan and saute the lamb for 4-5 mins until lightly browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the lamb and set aside, then add the onion to the pan and sautre for 5 mins until softened.

4. Add the garlic, ginger and lemongrass and saute for 2-3 mins. Remove the mixture with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

5. Discard the oil left in the pan. Return the lamb and onion mixture to the pan. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaves and potatoes. Pour in enough hot water just to cover the ingredients. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then cover and simmer on the lowest possible heat for 45 mins.

6. Remove the lid and add the coconut milk. Add a little more hot water, too. Simmer, covered, for a further 15-20 mins or until the lamb and potatoes are perfectly cooked.

7. Adjust the seasoning and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Serve with rice, naan bread or chapatis.

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One of my favourite Chinese cooks is Ching He-Huang. I got her ‘Chinese Food In Minutes’ cookbook sent to me a few years ago when I worked on a cookery magazine and I’ve used it at least a couple of times a month. It’s a fantastic source of inspiration.

This particular recipe for Yellow Bean & Honey Roast Chicken is one of my favourites. I’m always on the look out for a new twist on the traditional roast chicken for Sunday lunch, and this one didn’t let me down.

Ching writes in her introdcutory note: ‘I love traditional roast chicken, so inspired by that and my love of Chinese ingredients, I decided to try yellow bean and honey marinade for my roast chicken, with a sprinkle of roasted ground Sichuan peppercorns for a fragrant sweet citrus numbing heat. After cooking, the leftover marinade and pan juices make a rich, savoury east-meets-west gravy.’

It sounded delicious, but I must offer a word of caution on those Sichuan peppercorns: don’t go over-the-top with them. Mine were given to me by a friend, Helena, and they are hotter than the Sun. Used sparingly, they impart a lovely background heat, but go to far, and your mouth will be as numb as if you’ve visited the dentist!

Serves 4

1 chicken, weighing approx. 1.8kg
1 tbsp ground, dry-toasted Sichuan peppercorns
1 onion, sliced
Groundnut or sunflower oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour, blended with 2 tbsp cold water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the marinade

6 tbsp yellow bean sauce
6 tbsp runny honey
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5cm piece ginger, grated

1. Wash the chicken well and pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper. Put the chicken into a large ziplock bag or freezer bag. Add the marinade ingredients and shake to coat the chicken, then leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.

2. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5. Place the chicken breast-side up in a roasting tin. Retain the marinade. Season the chicken well with salt and half the ground Sichuan peppercorns, then stuff with the onion and brush with oil. Roast in the oven for 1 hour 20 mins, or until the juices run clear when you cut into the chicken thigh. As you can see from the photo, the skin is blackened, which is a result of the honey catching, but don’t loet that put you off: it’s delicious.

3. To make the gravy, heat the juices in the roasting tin with the reserved marinade and 100ml water until boiling. Season with salt, pepper and the soy sauce. If you like a thicker gravy, add the cornflour mixture.

4. Serve with roasted veggies (potatoes, squash, sweet potato) and steamed asparagus or broccoli.

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Springbok fillet has to be the most tender cut of meat I’ve ever tasted. It has the texture of pate and the taste of a mild venison. Utterly delicious. For such a lean meat, I was expecting it to be quite dry, but it was very moist and succulent.

I wrapped my springbok fillets in Parma ham, before pre-cooking in a Sous Vide water bath for 1 hour. It was a stage I could have easily skipped but I just didn’t fancy any blood on my plate. If you don’t have a water bath, just put the springbok in a hot oven for around 10 mins, after first browning the Param ham-wrapped parcel in a frying pan.

Serves 2

1 whole springbok fillet/tenderloin, cut in half (I sourced mine from Alternative Meats)
150g Parma ham slices
1 tbsp olive oil

For the port and cranberry sauce

100ml fresh chicken stock
100ml fresh beef stock
100ml port
Handful dried cranberries

1. Lay the Parma ham slices on a work surface and wrap each fillet half tightly in the ham to form a parcel.

2. Seal in a Sous Vide vacuum pack and cook in a Sous Vide water bath set to 60C for 1 hour. (If you don’t have a Sous Vide, skip this stage).

3. Remove the vac-pack from the water bath. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the springbok parcel all over. (If you don’t have a Sous Vide, brown the parcel all over before transferring to a hot oven and cooking for 10-12 mins).

4. Allow to rest and carve into thick slices before serving.

5. To make the sauce, put all the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 mins to reduce the sauce by half so that it is thick and a little sticky.

6. Serve with roast baby new potatoes and steam broccoli.

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OK, it’s not food, but it’s just as tasty to the eye. This magnificent cherry blossom tree is in the garden at my sons’ primary school. It was rather windy last night – and the effect is spectacular.

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Do- Piaza translates as ‘two onions’ because that’s the number of times they appear in the cooking process. The first stage involves making a puree from onions, garlic and ginger. The final stage is to add lots of sliced onions to the dish. Cook this long and slow, either in a slow cooker or casserole dish, and you will be rewarded with an incredible depth of flavour. The onions become so, slightly caramelised, and wonderfully sweet. 

I used bone-in chicken thighs for this dish, but it works just as well with tougher cuts of meat, such as lamb shoulder or beef stewing steak.

Serves 2-4

4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed

For the first stage

2 tbsp ghee or sunflower oil
2 onions, finely chopped
Golf ball-sized piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
6 cloves
1 brown cardamom pod
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Half tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
150ml natural Greek yoghurt

For the second stage

3 onions, peeled and sliced
4-6 small tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
Salt, to taste

1. Heat the ghee or oil in a large frying pan and add stage one onions, garlic and ginger. Cook for 10-15 mins until very soft. Add a little water if they start to catch.

2. Add the spices and stir through, followed by the yoghurt. Now add the chicken thighs and stir until thoroughly coated with the sauce.

3. Transfer to a slow cooker or casserole dish. If using the slow cooker, cook on LOW for 3 hours, until the chicken is very tender. If using a casserole, cook in a 160C/Gas 2 oven for 2 hours.

4. After the cooking time, add the stage two onions and tomatoes and cook for a further 30-40 mins, until the second batch of onions are very soft. Towards the end of cooking, add the herbs and season with salt.

5. Serve with chapatis or wraps and chick pea mash, made by mashing together a drained can of chick peas, juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp garam masala, 50g butter and a handful of fresh, chopped coriander.

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Theme parks don’t do it for me. I’m a wuss, see. Prone to dizziness and screaming. Not a good look for a man approaching his 50th year. The last time I took my kids on an ‘adventure park’ ride was when the fair came to town. I went on the Spinning Teacups with my youngest son – and promptly begged the sadistic ride owner to stop before I threw up. Oh, how proud my children were.

But my 11-year-old stepdaughter Daisy is made of different stuff. The wrong right stuff. The higher the better, the faster the better, the more perilous the better, the more terror-inducing the better. If there was a rocket blasting off for Mars any time soon, she’d be at the front of the queue.

Thankfully for her, her dad’s side of the family feel the same excitement when presented with the opportunity to seek thrills – which they do on a regular basis. And Thorpe Park near Chertsey, in Surrey, is one of their favourite destinations. As Daisy said to me the other evening: ‘I’d live there if I could.’

Which brings me to the subject of this (non-sponsored) post. The very lovely fellow blogger Helen aka Actually Mummy got in touch to tell me about a 2-for-1 offer going at Thorpe Park and wondered if my readers would be interested.

Well, even if you’re not, I certainly know a girl who is. And her name begins with D.

But first, here’s what she thinks of the place…

“Thorpe Park is not just like any other theme park. It stands out because of its amazing rides and attractions. In this review I will be sharing with you a few of the rides and the ones to go for.

We arrived at Thorpe Park at around ten o’clock, it was not too busy. We went and queued for the rides. The waiting time was not too long and soon we were whizzing around and upside down. The rides were super fun and I enjoyed all of it!

Tidal Wave- The ultimate log flume.

Is one of the wettest rides ever but one of the best. You go up and up and up and just when you think you can’t go up any more you turn and shoot straight down into water, lots of water. For a few seconds, everything around you looks like a water kingdom as it pours down on you. You will get wet! This one was awesome!

Detonator- Countdown to terror.        

This isn’t a lookout tower so you’d better savour the jaw dropping views before you plummet at 45mph back to the ground!

Zodiac- Are you ready to go for a spin with a difference?         

This ride is one of my personal favourites as it makes you feel a disorientated sensation like no other as you spin into the air, upside down, and then plummet to the ground! Which way is up and which way is down?

Rush- Think swings are for kids? Think again!   

A massive swing swoops in to action as all you playground nightmares take control. When you talk about extreme rides, Rush is as thrilling as it gets!

Storm Surge-Spin into action.                                                                        

I love this ride and highly recommend it. You don’t get too wet but you will get quite soggy. You go quite high in a big rubber ring and then spiral out of control! (Getting a little wet along the way!)

Extreme Rides

All of these rides are spectacular and great thrills especially rush but the rollercoasters are even more popular so lets see………………….(unfortunately, I have hardly been on any of these fantastic thrills, but I hope to soon!)

• The Swarm- The UK’s first winged rollercoaster.

• Stealth- Personally I believe this is the scariest ride, and even though I have not been on it you can tell by just by looking. 0-80mph to 205ft in under 2 seconds. Wow!

• Nemesis Inferno- A red hot, fiery ride. Upside down!!

• Slammer- Get slammed on a human sky swat!

• Vortex- Lose your mind on a crazy psycho swing!

Convinced? Personally, I would rather hide in my local pub, but if Thorpe Park sounds like your children’s idea of Heaven, there’s no need to pay full-price. Here’s how you can get some discounts…

• Pick up a Frijj to take advantage of a 2-for-1 coupon offer when booking tickets. Check out more information on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/frijj
• Book tickets 7 days or more in advance to save 30% – adults from £30.24, children from £23.52 (under 12)
• Head to the http://bit.ly/17J8sYd to get 2-for-1 tickets courtesy of Coke
• If travelling by train, head to South West Trains to get online discounts on entry: http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/thorpe-park-summer.aspx

For more information visit thorpepark.com. 

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