Stern is still storming on

The student from York is in his third year at Edinburgh University where he is studying politics, sociology and business.

That might not sound like a culinary cocktail for a budding celebrity chef, but Sam maintains his studies help him in the world of food.

“I am really interested in politics and the study of people and situations. Food can be quite political.”

Sam was taught to cook by his mother at home in York and his first book Cooking up a Storm was published in 2005 while he was studying for his GCSEs.

Four other cookery books have followed annually and this year is no exception with his latest offering Virgin to Veteran: How to Get Cooking with Confidence published next month.

“I wanted to make this book more like a cookery course,” explains Sam.

“It is more of a grown-up book than some of my others, but I think it will be useful for anybody who wants to get more confident in the kitchen.

“It seems to me that cookery books can be either patronising or a list of ingredients and a method. I wanted to show people a little bit more which is why I have included sections of knife skills, saving time and alternatives.”

Although Sam is busy with his studies, he was revising back at home in York when I caught up with him, it is clear that his future lies in cooking.

An eighth cookery book is already planned for when he graduates next year and then television beckons and possibly his own restaurant.

“I has been offered television in the past but it just wasn’t the right time,” says this savvy student. “There may be a restaurant in the future but it is still a bit too early to tell.”

For the meantime, however, he will have to satisfy himself with cooking for his flatmates.

“I live with four other people and we do have quite a few dinner parties. We are supposed to take turns at cooking but it always seems to end up being me.”

Aromatic

Lamb Madras

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

700g lamb leg/shoulder

2-3 green chillies

2 large onions, peeled

4-5 tbsp vegetable/sunflower/groundnut oil

4 cloves

6 cardamom pods

salt and pepper

4 fat garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

50ml water

½ x 400g can of chopped tomatoes

1-2 tbsp tomato purée

2 tsp tamarind paste

½ x 400ml can of coconut milk

a handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

method

If in one piece, cut the lamb (across the grain) into 4cm cubes. Finely chop the chillies and onions.

Put a large heavy-bottomed frying pan/casserole dish on to heat. Add the oil. Toss in the cloves and cardamom and cook for a minute, so the spices release their fragrance. Add the onions and a bit of salt. Cook over medium to high heat, stirring, for 10 min. Let them brown up to create a rich curry base (without burning).

Add the garlic, ginger and chillies. Cook and stir. Add the chilli powder, cumin, ground coriander and turmeric. Cook and stir for 2 min. Add the lamb. Stir and mix well to coat. Add the water, tomatoes, purée and tamarind paste. Cover the pan and simmer on a very low heat. Bang it into the oven at 180°C/Gas 5 if the heat on your hob is too fierce.

After 45 min, add the coconut milk and a bit of fresh coriander. Stir well. Return to simmer for another 45 min, or for as long as your cut of lamb needs. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Serve this up in a good-looking dish topped with lots of fresh coriander. You’ll want a bowl of raita to sooth the chilli effect. Eat with naan bread or wraps, spinach dhal and bombay crush potatoes.

Raspberry Ripple

Cheesecake

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

225g ginger biscuits

50g butter

RIPPLE

150g raspberries

2 tsp caster sugar

FILLING

900g soft cream cheese (at room temperature)

225g caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

200ml sour cream

125ml double cream

4 tbsp plain white flour

1 tbsp cornflour

4 eggs (at room temperature)

juice of 4 limes, plus grated zest of 2

juice of 1 lemon

255g white chocolate, melted

Method

Break the biscuits up a bit then pulse/blitz them in a food processor until fine, or tip into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin. Melt the butter gently in a pan. Remove from the heat, add the fine crumbs and stir well. Press the mix down over the base of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Chill.

Tip the raspberries and sugar into a small pan. Heat very gently, stirring till the fruits fully release their juices. Tip the mix into a sieve over a bowl. Push the fruit through with the back of a wooden spoon, discarding the seeds left in the sieve. Scrape any extra purée left on the other side of the sieve. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Get a big mixing bowl. Add the cream cheese and stir to loosen it up with a wooden spoon. Stir in the sugar, vanilla extract, sour and double cream, then sift the flour and cornflour over the mix. Stir together using a metal spoon. Don’t beat it.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat well with a fork. Dribble them into the mix gradually, stirring rapidly with the wooden spoon until fully absorbed. Add the lime zest and lemon and lime juice.

Break the chocolate into bits, tip into a heatproof bowl, sit over a pan of barely simmering water and leave until melted. Remove from the heat and stir till smooth. Cool for a minute before stirring into the egg mix. Get the tin from the fridge. Pour in half to two-thirds of the mix. Smooth to the edges of the tin using a spatula or back of a metal spoon. Drizzle the raspberry purée over the top in irregular lines or swirls. Spoon over the remaining mix and smooth it gently to the edges. Bake in the oven for 35-40 min until firm-ish at the edges but only just set and still wobbly in the centre when the tin is shaken a bit.

Turn off the oven, leaving the cake in there for an hour as it cools down. (Take it out now and it will crack and won’t firm up enough.) Remove from the cooled oven and place on a rack for 10 min to rest. Carefully run a thin blunt knife between cake and tin to loosen, then pop the cake back in the oven with the door open and leave for another hour.

Take the cheesecake from the oven and leave to cool before removing the sides of the tin and chilling in the fridge for 2 hours. Serve plain, or dot with a layer of raspberries or summer berries.

Virgin to Veteran by Sam Stern (Quadrille £20).