Easy does it

Every home cook sometimes needs a break - and that's when stews and other dishes that pretty much make themselves come into their own
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's lamb
Scrag end of lamb with lemon, kale and spelt. Photograph: Colin Campbell

I don't mind a bit of graft in the kitchen: skinning or plucking, gutting and scaling, cracking or shucking, topping and tailing... All you need is a bit of rhythm and a sense of where you're heading, and such jobs are a positive pleasure. But that's not to say I have the least problem with recipes that do away with such processes and cut to the chase. In particular, I'm a fan of those dishes where the work of the "chef" is but a few strokes of the knife, and the subtle transformation of raw ingredients into delectable, tender subtlety is all the work of that mysterious force of nature: heat.

I'm talking about throwing together meat and veg in a matter of minutes, then leaving them on a slow simmer, or in a low oven, to get on with the quiet, miraculous business of transforming themselves into dinner. Someone somewhere coined the phrase "one-pot wonders" to describe such satisfyingly simple kitchen alchemy, and I'm happy to endorse the epithet - at least until one of the supermarkets steals it as a brand name for a range of ready meals.

Shame if they do, because the whole joy of such dishes is that they reinforce the vital notion that real home cooking needn't be a stretch. It may take three hours to cook the perfect stew, but the point so often missed is that only about 15 minutes of that involves the cook doing stuff. The remaining two hours 45 minutes can be spent building up an appetite with a yomp, a bit of gardening or, more likely, with your feet up in front of the EastEnders omnibus.

So there's nothing fancy or complicated about today's recipes. The shin of beef and scrag end of lamb are both inexpensive cuts that, given a little coaxing and support, yield the most meltingly delicious results. As for the rillons, a jar of them in the fridge is like money in the piggy pleasure bank.

Of course, while you're in kitchen mode, waiting for one of these dishes to cook itself, you may be tempted to embark on a more time-consuming project such as making bread, pasta or lemon curd. Don't even think about it. For once it's time to slow down and smell the confit.


Rillons are a sort of confit pork belly, with large cubes of the meat slowly cooked in their fat to melting tenderness. They're the big brother of rillettes, being whole, not shredded, and can be sealed and stored in their fat for weeks. Makes one large jar.

1-2kg pork belly (ideally from the thick end, ribs removed)

1 generous spoonful lard

3-4 fresh thyme sprigs

6 garlic cloves, unpeeled and whole, but bashed (optional)

1 large glass red wine

1 small glass water

Maldon sea salt (or any flaky salt)

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ gas mark 6. Cut the belly roughly into about 5cm cubes, leaving the skin on. Heat the lard in a large pan and throw in the meat - you may need to do this in batches, or in two pans, because you don't want to crowd the meat. Brown fast and hard, turning occasionally, then transfer to a large, ovenproof dish in which the pieces fit fairly snugly without being piled on top of each other. (Or use two dishes.)

Throw in all the other ingredients, including the rendered fat from the frying pan, a generous sprinkling of salt and plenty of black pepper, and place in the oven. Check on the rillons every eight to 10 minutes, turning the pork when you do so. After about 30 minutes, the fat rendered from the meat should come at least halfway up the porky pieces, which will be getting very nicely browned. Turn down the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2 and cook for at least another hour and a half, turning once or twice during that time. You can't really overcook rillons, as long as you remember to turn the oven down; they are basically done when the skin is tender enough to chew without too much effort.

You can eat the rillons hot as soon as they are cooked, but I also like them cold, even straight from the fridge. Cut each cold rillon into three or four slices, sprinkle with a few flakes of salt and eat just as they are, or with a dab of chutney.

Rillons can be stored for months, like a confit of duck or goose, if covered in their own fat and kept sealed in sterilised jars in a cool place. The fat will set to form a highly flavoured lard (because of the garlic and herbs). If you're not using this fat to store the rillons, keep it in a sealed tub in the fridge and use it for roast potatoes or fried bread.

Shin of beef with ginger and soy

This is based on a favourite recipe of mine for spare ribs or pork belly that works brilliantly with shin of beef, too. Do not trim any of the sinewy parts from the meat - they are vital for the final, full-bodied, gelatinous texture. Serves four.

A little cooking oil or beef fat

1.5kg shin of beef, cut into thick slices, bone in

Sea salt and ground black pepper

4 'thumbs' ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

6 large garlic cloves, peeled, germ removed and thinly sliced

3 tbsp tart fruit jam or jelly, such as redcurrant, plum or crab apple

10 tbsp soy sauce

350-500ml apple juice

2 fresh or dried chillies, medium-hot

Noodles, to serve

Choose a pan in which the meat will fit snugly in a single layer. Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/gas mark 1.

Heat the oil in the pan over a high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then brown it in batches, removing each piece when nicely coloured. When all the meat is browned, turn down the heat to low, add the ginger and garlic, and sweat gently until soft but not coloured. Add the jam and soy, stir, then return the meat to the pan. Add apple juice barely to cover the meat, the whole chillies and a few more grinds of pepper, bring up to a simmer, cover and put it in the oven for two and a half to three hours, until tender.

Serve with noodles and sweated greens. The garlic and ginger should just about hold their shape and should be eaten with the meat. The chilli will have done its job and can be discarded - or carefully nibbled by anyone brave enough.

Scrag end of lamb with lemon, kale and spelt

This dish is inspired by one given to me by a Russian friend, Ivan Samarine. It's based on a Greek recipe, but the addition of spelt and kale transforms it into a sort of exotically lemony scotch broth.

1kg scrag end of lamb, on the bone, cut about 3cm thick

Sea salt and ground black pepper

4 tbsp olive oil

Juice of 1½ lemons

4-8 sprigs fresh thyme

800ml water or stock

120g pearled spelt (or pearled barley)

70g kale, tough stems removed, leaves chopped

Plenty of good white bread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 130C/250F/ gas mark ½. Season the lamb all over. Heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole that's big enough to take all the ingredients, add the meat and allow it to sizzle and spit for a few minutes, turning regularly, until it is lightly browned all over. Add the lemon juice, thyme and water (or stock) barely to cover, and season. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and put in the oven for an hour and a half.

Add the pearled spelt and cook for a further 30-40 minutes, until the grains are tender. Remove from the oven, put the pot on the hob over a medium heat and add the kale. Cook until the kale is just cooked through - a couple of minutes only - and then serve with lots of white bread to soak up the juices.

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