For slow cooking, mutton beats lamb hands down. It is much meatier and adds great flavour to the humblest of ingredients.

Serves 6

2 tbsp avocado or ricebran oil
500 g trimmed boneless shoulder or leg of mutton, cut into 1 cm thick pieces
1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks celery, trimmed and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 small swede or turnip, peeled and diced
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 fresh or 1 dried bay leaf
1.5 litres lamb stock
100 g pearl barley, rinsed
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat half the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the mutton with the cumin seeds, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until browned all over. Remove from the saucepan on to a plate, using a slotted spoon.

Heat the remaining oil in the same saucepan and fry the vegetables for 5 minutes until softened but not brown. Return the mutton to the pan, add the herbs and pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for about 1½ hours until tender. Add the pearl barley, bring back to the boil, cover and continue to cook, for a further 50 minutes until the barley is swollen and tender. Discard the herbs and season well.

Ladle into warmed soup bowls. Serve immediately with bread to mop up the stock.

Recipes from Shop Local Eat Well: Cooking with Seasonal Produce in New Zealand, by Kathryn Hawkins wih Laura Faire (New Holland Publishers, 2009 RRP $29.99).

Carrot and Ginger Pud

Try adding grated carrot to cake and pudding mixtures such as Christmas pudding for a natural sweetness and added moistness. This steamed pudding makes a lighter alternative to the traditional rich fruit pudding.

Serves 8

175 g unsalted butter
175 g brown sugar
3 free-range eggs, beaten
25 g preserved ginger, finely chopped
50 g  sultanas
75 g grated carrot
175 g self-raising flour
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt

Grease a 1.2 litre pudding basin and place a small disc of baking paper in the bottom. Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale, thick and creamy. Gradually whisk in the eggs and stir in the chopped ginger, sultanas and grated carrot.

Sift the flour, ground ginger and salt into the bowl and carefully fold into the carrot and ginger mixture. Spoon into the prepared basin and smooth the top. Top the pudding with a round of baking paper then cover the top of the pudding basin with a layer of pleated foil. Secure with string.