Eating Essentials

Ingredients
olive oil
2 onions , peeled and roughly chopped
4 sticks celery , trimmed and roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic , peeled and roughly chopped
3 beef tomatoes , roughly chopped
500 g potatoes , peeled and cut into 3-4cm chunks
3 bay leaves
1 litre organic vegetable stock
700 g fresh fish fillets , from sustainable sources, ask your fishmonger, scaled and pin-boned
1 lemon , juice of
½ a bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley , (15g) roughly chopped
½ a bunch fresh dill , (15g) roughly chopped
Greek extra virgin olive oil
1 loaf rustic bread , to serve

Method
Heat a good lug of olive oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not coloured.
Add the tomatoes, potatoes and bay leaves and pour in the stock. Season lovingly with sea salt and black pepper and bring it all to the boil. Reduce to a low heat and simmer for 15 minutes. At this point, add your fish fillets and bring back to the boil, then reduce to a medium-low heat and simmer for a further 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the fish is cooked through and flakes apart. Stir in the lemon juice and herbs, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, then have a quick taste to make sure you've got a good balance of acidity, freshness and seasoning and serve with chunks of rustic bread.

Ingredients
4 lamb shanks , (roughly 400g each)
2 leeks
200 g pearl barley
1 heaped tablespoon umami paste
500 ml of your favourite ale

Method
Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3.
Place a large casserole pan on a high heat, and fry the lamb shanks in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, while you halve, wash and roughly chop the leeks.
Add them to the pan with the pearl barley, umami paste and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then stir well.
Pour in the ale and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, then cover with 1.2 litres of water.
Cook in the oven for 2 hours 30 minutes, or until tender, then dish on up. Easy!