Wealden Times | WT259 | December 2023 | Christmas Supplement inside

Party
Perfect
Over the next few pages, Charlotte Butterworth – aka theneedy.greedy
– creates simple to prepare crowd-pleasing dishes for Christmas
gatherings, drawing on her experience as a cookery teacher,
recipe creator and party caterer. Well versed in fuss-free recipes
for entertaining, Charlotte creates fabulous food for everything
from intimate dinners and family celebrations to drinks parties
and corporate events. She also runs cookery workshops in her
lovely home (which you may have spotted in October’s issue) to
help people rediscover their culinary mojo. You can find more of
Charlotte’s recipes on Instagram and Facebook @theneedy.greedy
Photographs: David Merewether
Lamb tagine
Serves 4-6 Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 2-3 hours
This is the perfect recipe for entertaining, batch cooking or freezing
ahead for Christmas. It’s best made a day or two before, or you
can cook low and slow in the morning. This is lovely served with
my giant cous cous and roast squash salad (see next page).
• 750g lamb, cut into cubes
• 2 red onions, sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cinnamon stick (or 1 tbsp dried cinnamon)
• 2 tsp each of ground ginger, ground cumin, sweet paprika
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• few strands of saffron, soaked in a tbsp warm water
• half a bunch fresh coriander (15g approx), stems roughly chopped
• 75g each of dried dates and dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
• toasted almonds and pomegranate seeds to decorate (optional)
1. Heat some olive oil in a large casserole pan and gently fry the onions
until soft. Add the spices and cook for a further couple of minutes.
2. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and brown the lamb. Add the onions,
alongside the tomatoes, saffron in water and coriander stalks. Bring to a
simmer and cook gently for 2-3 hours. You may need to add more water if on
a hob, or in the oven, but be cautious with the liquid if using a slow cooker.
3. Add the chickpeas and dried fruit 30 mins before the
cooking has finished. Taste and season more if needed.
To serve: sprinkle with toasted flaked almonds, pomegranate seeds and scatter
over the coriander leaves. You could perhaps drizzle over some yoghurt, too.
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