Wintery Casseroles and Curries for Father’s Day

While the northern hemisphere is firing up the grill for Father’s Day,  we’re heading indoors with wintery casseroles and spicy curries. From low and slow to quick and easy, they’re all here. And as we know, both casseroles and curries taste even better the next day. Perfect for a make ahead, no fuss Sunday lunch.

Some recipes are best saved for the weekend, when time is of less consequence than hurried week nights. While not difficult in the least, Coq au Vin does require a little effort. It is proper French cooking that’s immensely pleasurable and rewarding. As with most stews and casseroles, an overnight sojourn in the fridge does wonders to the flavour, adding to its rich complexity, which means, you should really make it the day before. I’ve paired our potato-topped Pot Pie  with La Motte’s slightly woody Chardonnay.

Traditionally, bredie is made using  mutton or stewing lamb. As with most stews and casseroles, the foundational basics like onion, garlic and a good stock. From there, you can add any number of vegetables. Pumpkin, green beans and waterblommetjies are firm favourites. Typically, bredie is a slow-cooked Cape Malay stew. While not especially hot, it is mildly spiced but  with great depth of flavour. Coriander, garam masala and cumin are responsible for the earthiness, while ginger and chilli offer a heated element. For this North African Lamb Bredie, I’ve used lamb knuckles. They’re fatty and gelatinous with a gentler taste than mutton. You could of course use lamb shanks or boneless lamb pieces. Bear in mind though, that meat on the bone with some fattiness with deepen the flavour of the bredie.

Slow roasting guarantees meltingly tender meat with hardly any fuss at all. There are essentially two steps to my Red wine lamb shanks. Marinating, then several lazy hours in the oven. When the meat releases its grip from the bone, it is spoon-tender and ready for the table. Sundried tomatoes, garlic and fresh rosemary are the key ingredients for the marinade. It’s bright, herbaceous and especially good with the shrub-infused flavours of Karoo lamb. An overnight marination is best, allowing the flavours to deeply saturate the meat.

If you’re scouting for the ultimate comfort food, a hearty Beef Shin Stroganoff with truffle mustard is the recipe to make. Characterized by beef strips, or in this instance, meltingly tender beef shin, sweet onions and the vague tanginess of cremé fraîche, Stroganoff remains one of most celebrated dishes on the casserole calendar. Riffing on the original recipe, we’re adding truffle mustard, whisky and a combination of mushrooms – exotic and button. Alternately, portabellini will do just as well. For a meatier umami-ness, try rehydrated or fresh porcini mushrooms. Find Stonebarn Truffle Mustard at The Trufflelady – available online.

With just the slightest nip in the air, it is time to embrace slow cooking and hearty casseroles. My one pan saffron and honey chicken casserole is comforting and bright with a gingery orange and saffron stained sauce that hints towards wintery warmth.

Normandy chicken, a French classic, reflective of an autumnal orchid, with caramelised apples and crisp rosemary potatoes, is pure comfort. We’re pairing the apples with cider and brandy, both of which add complexity and flavour to this creamy chicken casserole.

An all time favourite reader recipe on the blog and from the first cookbook, Bibby’s Kitchen. It’s simple, delicious and very doable. No wonder. It ticks the comfort box with no effort at all. If you haven’t yet made it, now’s the time. Here is the link to my Chicken and Leek Casserole. 

Sticky chicken with roasted grapes, crisp sage potatoes. Add a rustic loaf to soak up marmalade-ish pan juice. And to serve alongside, frosty sun-blushed Mourvèdre Rosé.

Two ingredient butter chicken curry? Yip, it’s possible, with the help of Pesto Princess‘ new Butter chicken curry sauce. Not usually one for instant anything, preferring the cook from scratch route, but, even cooks who love to cook, a lot, get weary and need secret support that tastes like home food.

These Cape Malay chicken meatballs are not to be missed.  I made them for Sunday lunch. By Monday, I was ready to make them again. In the 6 years of blogging, meatballs, chicken and cake, have been amongst the most popular recipes on the blog. This is the first chicken meatball recipe. I think it is going to rival Ottolenghi’s Ricotta meatballs, for sure.

This Chicken and Cauliflower Korma is the work of mere minutes. It’s the kind of food you want to make when you need everything to happen in one pot. No fancy cooking, just good food, made simple.  We’re leaning on a handful of kitchen staples like tinned tomatoes, coconut milk and a ready made Korma curry paste from Woolworths.

With all the flavour of a proper butter chicken curry, but with a healthy spin. Serve with brown basmati and a cooling riata.

Next to butter chicken curry and a spicy tikka masala, a creamy chicken korma is one of the most popular curries. It’s not hard to see why. The sauce, while pale, is unctuously rich and fragrant. Blistered roti is essential, as is something briny or sharp to contrast.  A minted herb chutney is good too. The secret to this pistachio Chicken Korma however, is the homemade curry paste.

If you have a copy of Bibby’s More Good Food, you’ll find the recipe for my Red Thai Gochujang Salmon Curry on Page 155. The Easy Butter Chicken Curry with Browned Butter (made with my secret curry paste, also in the book) is stellar.  Signed copies of the book are available from my online Shop.