For many years, on New Year’s Eve instead of making new year resolutions, I simply write a list of between six and ten things things I would like to achieve in the year ahead.
Generally these range from the the purely pleasurable, such as taking my wife Sara to Venice, to the more challenging such as running a half marathon or cycling coast to coast from the Irish Sea to the North Sea.
I don’t always achieve all of my New Year goals, but when I don’t achieve them somehow it doesn’t feel as bad as if I had broken a new year resolution.
One of my ambitions for 2014 is to go on a food photography workshop. Hopefully, after I do so, you will see the improvement in the quality of the photographs on this blog.
Whatever your own personal hopes and ambitions are for the year ahead I’d like to thank you for reading and following my blog and to wish you a happy and fulfilling year ahead.
After the excesses of Christmas, here’s a light, simple but flavourful recipe, best served with good quality buttered pasta
Happy New Year!
leek, mushroom and pepper stroganoff
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, washed and thinly sliced
250 g mushroom (Forestiere or field mushroom are best)
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp plain organic flour
1 tbsp organic tomato purée
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
100 ml red wine
300 ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp fresh parsley
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the leeks, mushrooms, chopped pepper and garlic and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomato purée, flour, dried oregano and salt. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly to distribute the flour evenly. Add the wine and stir to deglaze, before adding the stock. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to just maintain a simmer and cook for a further 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the sour cream and half of the chopped parsley and stir to combine. serve with buttered tagliatelle or rice, sprinkled with the remaining parsley.
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