Toss 'em in the oven legs

I love chicken legs. In terms of the chicken's life, the freer the better for the meat. The chicken legs from the Ginger pig are from Packington poultry I believe, who produce some pretty good giant, meaty legs; however, as much as I hate to champion a product from a supermarket over a local shop, the best chicken legs I have ever eaten were bought from Ocado and produced by The Black Farmer. They are so free range they border on wild and one can certainly tell this from the meat - the meat is dark, chewy and rich (if I didn't know it was chicken I would have guessed game).
I have found though that most chicken legs (providing they are from a decent free range origin) are pretty fail-safe when chucked in the oven. And that is what is so great about them, they are the ultimate easy Saturday night fare. I rarely plan what I am going to do with them, instead preferring to simply put "chicken legs" on my weekly planner then toss in whichever spices/veg I feel like/have at the time. The following recipe I really enjoyed and so jotted it down...

More apples

For some reason or other I have been even more into apples this autumn than any other. Probably because this year (since going to Morocco in June) I have been much more drawn towards the sweetness of savoury dishes cooked with fruit. Apples lend themselves so well to savoury dishes and I find the tangy sweetness they add to a dish is so suited to a good autumn dish.
The apples I had this week were organic (I try to only eat organic apples since they are on the "dirty dozen"), English Spartan apples, which I had never tried (or heard of) before. They were a beautiful rosy red and looked like large cherries, and they were very nice - a particularly sweet, crisp variety which begged to be stewed or roasted alongside some meat. The meat in question was a little plump pheasant. Game season is in full swing now and makes a delightful change to the copious amounts of chicken consumed throughout the summer months. Unforgivably (since I didn't manage to get around to getting a grouse in August) this is my first bit of game of the season. As a result I kept it simple with the following recipe of pheasant cooked with apples and lemon - a great evening warmer as the cold nights surround us thick and fast.

An autumn inspired classic

If a nationwide survey was to take place, which asked each person their favourite season would be, I wonder what the results would be. The initial thought would probably be the much deserved summer we crave each year; however most British people confusingly do nothing but complain from July onwards if the temperature goes above 23. Upon further thinking I would say that autumn would come in first. Not many people complain about autumn being too long, since at the end of it is a daunting six months of freeze. For this reason (let us call it the reason of British fickleness) autumn would probably merit the best compliment to complain ratio.

I seem to be quite removed from food. What I am trying to say with the above is that autumn is here - and everyone loves it. With good reason too I would add, since it is a magnificent season, particularly speaking from a culinary point of view; however because of this general consensus of autumn being a magnificent season I shall refrain from being yet another person spurting out their clichéd description of the season. Instead I shall let the season and its produce speak for themselves with a simple recipe, not overly complicated but as autumnal as autumnal can be. It is somewhat a twist on that (in a way much forgotten) classic: toad in the hole.
This recipe is also supposed to have a handful of sage leaves scattered in amongst the sausages, but I forgot to pick any up. Feel free to add them if you have any to hand.

Cabrito goat meat

I didn't really get a good look when ordering some kid goat cutlets in the Ginger pig. I saw a handful of the last remaining cutlets get wrapped up in paper and handed to me to investigate more thoroughly when I got home. Expecting a sweetness that usually wafts out from the opening of a Ginger pig wrapping of rare breed beef or pork, I was hit with pungent disappointment. The first thing to note about kid goat meat is that it is rather gamey in smell when raw and doesn't quite get one salivating like the smell and sight of a slab of aged rump. Nevertheless, I tried to get into a more carnivorous mindset and prepared to get stuck into them; besides, whilst a gamey smell isn't always the most pleasant, a gamey taste is.

Pig cheeks and basil oil

Pig cheeks, the dish that I have been longing to try since I can remember, finally found themselves on my plate on Sunday. Smoked pig cheeks, to be precise. They came from the ginger pig at two for £6, which was advertised outside on a chalkboard. I bought first and thought later, which doesn't really matter with something like pig cheeks because one can just toss them in the oven with some herbs and stock and let the meat be the star. I had some basil oil leftover at home and a tin of chopped tomatoes so thought I would do something with those. The end result was pig cheeks slow cooked in tomatoes, olives and garlic with a dressing of basil oil, toasted fennel seeds and thyme.

I would recommend making the basil oil at least a couple of days in advance. To make it simply pour over a decent amount of oil over roughly torn basil leaves in a saucepan. Heat over a low to moderate heat for about five minutes and then pour into a sterilised jar. Allow to cool and then place in the fridge (strain before using).

Barbecuing neck of lamb

I have never made a decent barbecue, partly down to the fact that I never had a barbecue. We purchased a smallish one last august and, in the rush of the setting sun of summer, whacked out a few burger sessions. They were OK. But when summer 2012 came to an abrupt end, we were left dreaming of what we could do next year. That year never seemed to arrive, and by the start of June we were starting to face the sad realisation that we may not get much barbecuing done this year.
Thankfully (for my overall well being, regardless of barbecuing) summer has arrived, and Victoria park in East London is covered by a thick veil of meat smoke. As atmospheric as barbecues in the park can be, I had an overwhelming desire to get away from the sight of packaged burgers and supermarket sausages - so we were off home with some Ginger Pig neck of lamb and a few chorizo sausages.
Originally the plan was to have some sort of chicken barbecued with chorizo, but arriving late in the day at the Ginger pig expecting to have chicken on the first hot weekend is very foolish. With depleted stock, and no back up plan, I panicked and came out with a diced neck of lamb fillet.

A spring dish for spring weather

It is the end of June now and the weather is best described as decent for a spring day. This is one of the worst weather years I can remember, and it has certainly affected my food choices. Light, summery ceviche and barbecued, spiced fish are nowhere to be found. I was eating winter food in March and April (when the temperature was rarely above 0), and so I shall eat spring food late this year. I am not missing a season. Lamb can lend itself quite well to summer; however this dish is spring lamb. The bitterness of the capers and lemon and the saltiness of the anchovies cut through the sweetness of the fat. It is a teasing dish, perfect for spring. The parsley, lemon and fennel offer an insight into summer flavours, but the sheer comfort of the fatty cut of lamb acts sternly as a reminder that we are not there yet.