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Acili Ezme - Turkish tomato Mezze

This is a great Turkish Meze dish that can be eaten with bread or other small dishes.  It's also perfect alongside some grilled fish or meat.  It's basically a salsa, but strong and fresh tasting thanks to the pomegranate and sumac. RECIPE BELOW:

Slow-roast Suckling Pig with Fennel-seed Rub

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This is a real treat.  We cooked this recently for a party and not a scrap was  left.  How much meat you get depends on how big your pig is!...  The last one we cooked was 8-10kg with head  trotters still on.  It easily fed about 16 adults and gaggle of kids. You should probably cook this on a rotisserie to get the real drama, but here's how to do it if you only have an oven.  This way gets amazing crispy skin and unbelievably succulent pork. I got my pig from http://alternativemeats.co.uk/. They do a massive range of game, goat, mutton and loads of really interesting meats like Crocodile, Buffalo, Kangaroo, Kudu, Springbok, Blesbok and Zebra.  This pig was £90, so not cheap!  But it goes a long way, and in in this instance it's worth splashing the cash! CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE:

Warm Basil, Onion & Anchovy dressing

This takes 5-10mins depending on how quickly you can chop... It's a great dressing for tomato salad or mixed bean salads.  It's got quite a strong flavour, so it's good even if your tomatoes aren't the best.  It's delicious in a humous wrap the next day too. CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE:

Roasted Lamb with a Herb Crust

This is a Jamie Oliver jobbie.  It's easy, cooks in 1 hour, and always works.  It's a perfect hassle free Sunday lunch.  My kids love it too. The recipe below will feed 6 with roasted veg. You need: 1 large leg of lamb - butterflied 500g Natural Yoghurt 1x can Chickpeas Bunch of Coriander Bunch of mint 1 tsp cumin seeds 1tsp coriander seeds Salt & pepper Grind the coriander and cumin seeds, then put in a food processor with the fresh herbs.  Blitz, then add the yoghurt.  Blitz again.  Season with salt & pepper. Put half of the flavoured yoghurt in a tub and keep in the fridge.  Put the lamb in a clean plastic bag (with no holes in!), then add the remaining yoghurt mixture.  Give it a really good massage to coat the lamb thoroughly.  Then pop the bag in the fridge and leave for at least an hour, or preferably overnight. When it comes to cooking, put the lamb straight on to a shelf in a preheated oven at 220C.  P...

How To Prepare Octopus

This takes just a few minutes once you've done it a couple of times. It can be a fairly messy job with a fair bit of ink sometimes, so clear a decent space and have a watertight bin bag nearby for the unwanted bits. TO READ MORE CLICK BELOW

Octopus Stew with Peppers & Recheado Sauce

This is one of my favorite recipes.  It's an Eagle Pub creation & it's genius!  Cleaning Octopus can be a messy job, but once you've done it a few times it becomes very simple. The sauce can be made in advance and will keep in the fridge for months, good for next time....  RECHEADO SAUCE RECIPE HERE The smell is incredible, a cinnamon spice, it fills the room.  It's great with bread or rice.  You don't need much more. Well, maybe a few beers. This serves 4 .  Cooking time 1.5 to 2 hours . CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE:

Minted corn

Use fresh corn kernels, or thaw frozen ones in a colander for half an hour & then dry them well. Fry the corn on a medium heat with a large knob of butter until golden and nearly popping.  Then season with salt and stir in some finely chopped fresh mint. It takes about 10mins.  Really nice with some steamed fish.