HotPot

Serves 4

Ingredients:

700g lamb pieces (such as neck fillet), diced and seasoned
Vegetable oil
2 onions, sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 tbsp plain flour
500-600ml lamb stock
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
3 large maris piper potatoes, sliced ½ cm thick
30g unsalted butter, melted

Serve with: seasonal vegetables

Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ gas mark 4.

In an oven proof casserole dish add a splash of vegetable oil then brown the diced and seasoned lamb pieces, this may have to be done in batches. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the sliced onion, thyme, bay leaf and carrots and cook until browned and softened  - this will take approximately 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook out for a minute or so then add the stock and Worcestershire sauce.  Bring up to the boil and season with salt and pepper.  Return the meat to the pan and stir.

Layer on the potatoes in an overlapping fashion and season.  Place a lid on top and cook in a preheated oven for 1 ½ hours.

After this time, remove the lid and brush with the melted butter.  Return to the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are crisp. Serve with some seasonal vegetables.

Ciabatta

Ingredients

Ovenight preparation

• 250g/9oz Italian type '00' bread flour
• 190ml/7fl oz water
• 15g/½oz yeast

To finish the bread

• 250g/9oz Italian type '00' bread flour
• 10g/½oz yeast
• 190ml/7fl oz water
• 12g/½oz salt

Preparation method

1. For the overnight preparation, mix the flour with the water in a large bowl and add the yeast. Whisk for three minutes and leave to rise overnight (or at least eight hours).
   
2. To finish the bread, add the remaining flour and yeast to the bread mixture and mix well.
   
3. Gradually add the rest of the water to the bread mixture. When nearly all of the water has been added, add the salt to the remaining water and mix together for a further five minutes, until a sticky dough is formed.
   
4. Transfer the dough into a large oiled bowl and leave to rise for one hour.
   
5. Transfer the dough to a heavily floured work surface and leave to rest for a further 30 minutes.
   
6. Preheat the oven to 240C/465F/Gas 8.
   
7. Cut the dough into three strips and stretch them out to make long, flat ciabatta loaf shapes.
   
8. Place onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper and leave for ten minutes.
   
9. Transfer the dough to the oven to bake for 25 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown.
   
10. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
    

Penne alla Luganica

Serves 4
400g Luganica sausage
2 small red onions
45ml (3 tbs) olive oil
2-3 tbs fresh very fi nely
chopped rosemary
2-3 bay leaves
2g dried red chillies, fi nely
chopped
800-900g plum tomato fillets
salt and ground black pepper
to taste
400g small penne
100ml (8 tbs) double cream
160g Parmigiano Reggiano
cheese
Ancient Latin texts refer to the region
of Lucania – modern-day Basilicata and
Campania. Today Luganica is usually from
Lombardia, Trento or Veneto. It’s a fresh pork
sausage which is sweet, long, thin and coiled.
If your Italian deli/butcher doesn’t stock it,
ask for a plain pork sausage without fennel,
strong spices, rusk or bread content. Try this
hearty pasta dish with a glass of red Barbera
‘Briccotondo’ from Fontanafredda.
Put on a pot of water to boil.
Remove the sausage casing and crumble the meat into
a bowl.
Finely chop the onions and brown them in a pan with
hot olive oil. Add the meat, rosemary, bay leaves and
chillies. (The secret here is how fi nely you chop the
rosemary – its fl avour should infuse the sauce.) Cook for
5-10 minutes.
Drain and roughly chop the tomatoes, keeping a little
juice for later. Add the tomatoes to the pan and bring the
sauce to the boil. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Check for taste
and season with salt and pepper.
Boil the pasta until it’s al dente. Drain.
Stir the cream and a little tomato juice into the sauce,
and add half the grated cheese. Mix through the cooked
pasta and serve with freshly ground black pepper and
more grated cheese.

How to grow a roof for your garden shed

• 
• 

By Pippa Greenwood 

Thought much about your shed roof recently? Felt-clad, algae-covered, a single shoe perched rotting in the gutter. Not all that thrilling.

So why not transform yours into a trendy “living” roof? It makes use of a boring surface and adds an interesting element to your garden – especially if you’re short on space. Your neighbours will be green with envy.

3 reasons to do it

Other than simply looking fantastic, living roofs will:

1. Attract wildlife – beneficial insects and useful pollinators will love the new green space.

2. Use up rainwater during the wet season, reducing localised flooding.

3. Have great insulating properties and help keep temperatures inside the shed more constant – cooler in the summer and warmer in winter.

Before you begin

1. Check the roof is strong enough to bear the weight of a green roof and that the shed itself is up to it. If in doubt, you’ll need to install a sturdier framework (see below).

2. Make sure the roof is adequately waterproof. If not, you’ll need to upgrade this or install an extra layer (see below).

3. Consult your local council’s planning department just in case it needs to give permission.

How to do it

A green roof consists of several layers: 

Frame: If your roof is weak install a frame for extra support, using posts or timbers to bear its weight. If you still have concerns, make a frame base by laying a sheet of marine plywood or treated timber on top of the existing roof. 

The frame will need edges to keep the various layers and plants in place. If the roof is sloping, divide it into about six or eight squares, with a mini bed within each, as in our main picture. This will help to stop everything slipping down. 

Root membrane layer: To stop plant roots and water penetrating the roof, cover it with either a 300micron-thick damp-proof membrane, from DIY shops, or a butyl pond liner from a garden centre. I’ve even heard of people using several layers of opened-out empty compost bags. As well as covering the roof surface, make sure that the layer lines the upright edges.

Filter sheet: Next, lay down weed membrane (the sort that goes under gravel paths). This stops soil from penetrating through to the lower layer, while allowing water through.

Moisture-retaining layer: Over the weed membrane, place a fleecy layer to help retain moisture for the plants. Either buy “geotextile membrane” or, if cash is tight, try old blankets or towels.

Substrate: Follow with a 4cm layer of crushed brick, limestone chippings, gravel or expanded clay granules. This helps to ensure adequate drainage and prevents the plants’ roots from becoming waterlogged.

Once it’s in place, you can add a mixture of garden soil and horticultural sand – make sure it’s at least 3cm deep. The soil shouldn’t be too fertile, so if you have some subsoil available this works well. Make sure your soil/sand mixture is even textured and any large lumps removed, then try to lay it evenly on to the drainage layer.

Plants

Great choices include sedums, like Sedum acre – a hardy succulent that’s slow growing, often with attractive, fleshy leaves that contain various shades of red.

They produce small, starry flowers on tall flower spikes. You can buy roll-out sedum mats to lay on to the roof, like a carpet. 

Wildflowers and ornamental grasses also work well. Sow from seed or, for a quicker and more reliable effect, buy small plants or “plugs” and put direct into the soil.

For wildflowers suitable for green roofs, check out British wildflower plants at www.wildflowers.co.uk or call 0160 371 6615. A mix of plugs sufficient for a small roof costs just under £40. 

Send your questions, comments and tips to Pippa atpippagreenwood@mirror.co.uk  or write to Your Life, Daily Mirror, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP. Send us pictures of your garden and your tips, and we’ll print the best ones.

Pippa Greenwood has presented her own series, Growing Science, on Radio 4 for three years and is a regular panelist on the station’s Gardeners’ Question Time. She’s also written many books including Pippa Greenwood’s Gardening Year (Headline, £16.99).

Wild garlic soup

Ingredients

For the soup

• 50 g butter
• 100 g onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 200 g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 300 ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 bunch of fresh wild garlic
• 2 tbsp double cream

For the pesto

• 2 handfuls wild garlic, chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
• 50 g Hazelnuts, skins removed and toasted
• 50 g parmesan, roughly cubed

Method

1. For the soup: melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and potatoes, lightly frying, then season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. 

2. Add the stock bit by bit to the potato and onion mixture so that it combines well with the mixture. Once all the stock has been added bring the pan to a boil, reduce the heat and cook until the potatoes and onions are tender. 

3. Stir in the wild garlic leaves and cook for 1 more minute. Add the double cream and stir. 

4. Transfer the soup to a food processor and blend to a smooth consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

5. For the pesto:crush together the hazelnuts, parmesan and wild garlic leaves in a pestle and mortar, or a food processor. Season with some pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and mix well. Set aside. 

6. Serve the soup in bowls with the pesto drizzled over the top. 

beef and vegetable stir fry

© David Loftus

    SERVINGS  4

ingredients

• 250g dried medium egg noodles
• vegetable oil
• 350g steak, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
• a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
• 1–2 large fresh red chillies, finely sliced
• 200g peanut shoots or beansprouts
• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• juice of ½ a lime
• 1 large red pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
• a handful of mangetout, finely sliced
• a handful of baby corn, quartered lengthways
• 6 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
• a bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• cos lettuce leaves, to serve

method

Cook the egg noodles in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain, place in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a large wok or a heavy-based frying pan until very hot. Add a splash of vegetable oil then stir fry the beef slices with the sliced garlic, ginger and chillies until just cooked. Add the shoots or beansprouts, a good splash of soy sauce and sesame oil and the lime juice for the last 30 seconds of cooking.

Tip the contents of the wok into a large bowl, including all the lovely juices. Put the wok back on the heat, add a splash more vegetable oil and all the vegetables. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the cooked noodles and toss well over the heat.

Divide the fried vegetables and noodles between 4 plates. Return the beef and juices to the wok and stir fry until heated through. Add the coriander and toss until well mixed with the beef. Arrange on top of the noodles and garnish with a cos lettuce leaf.

Tuna pepper pitta pockets recipe

Serves 4

120g (½ a tin) chickpeas or kidney beans
120g (1 tin) tuna
3 heaped tbsp cream cheese
A handful of olives, sliced (optional)
Leftover bits of veg – eg peppers (red and yellow – good for colour), cucumber, tomato, grated carrot, lettuce etc
4 small or 2 large pittas (if you're using big ones, cut them in half)

1. Tip the chickpeas or kidney beans into a mixing bowl and mash well.

2. Add the tuna and cream cheese and mix well. If you're using olives, stir them in now too.

3. Warm the pittas just a little bit, so that they are easier to open up, but not so much that they go hard once cooled.

4. Line the pittas with a few pieces of whatever kinds of veg your kids like, then stuff with the tuna mixture.