Tasty Cheese & Onion Curry

Cheese & onion curry? Sounds weird doesn't it? During my student days in Merrie England we were so skint we couldn't afford to eat meat. We devised many inexpensive recipes that nearly all involved curry powder. One evening we thought we had gotten lucky. We found a can whose label had fallen off. We opened it and found meat. It went in the curry and we all enjoyed it. Later we discovered we had eaten the dog's dinner. But the strangest student recipe of all was apricot curry - now that was weird!

You may be tempted to think that curry is not so traditionally British. On the contrary, curry has never been more popular in the Land of Hope and Glory. It is documented that curry powder was a popular ingredient during Victorian times. Rumour has it that curry earned its popularity due to the lack of refrigerators in the nineteenth century. Anyway, this week's recipe is a fabulously tasty, inexpensive meal that will appeal to vegetarians and carnivores alike. Here is how I made it.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 200g cheese
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 250ml white stock
• 1 fresh apple

Preparation

• Peel and chop the onion then lightly fry it in a little oil until tender
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour and curry powder; mix until smooth
• Slowly stir in the white stock (see note below) ensuring the sauce is smooth with no lumps
• Return to the heat and add the cheese (grated) while stirring until the cheese melts into the sauce
• Peel, core and dice the apple then add to the sauce and simmer until the apple is soft

How to make white stock: If you don't have any white stock to hand it can be made in just a few minutes. Chop some veggies (onion, bell peppers, tomatoes or whatever else you have in the larder, even old, less-than-fresh veggies are good for this purpose) and lightly fry until tender. Add a couple of cups of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes then separate the liquid stock and discard the veggies. You would usually season the stock but that isn't necessary for this recipe.

John's Notes
I served my cheese and onion curry with white rice. It was really very tasty indeed. I am sure that curry afficionadoes will consider this recipe to be very down-market. Well so it is. It put it in a category alongside Bubble and Squeak, Welsh Rarebit, Toad-in-the-Hole and all those other delicious and inexpensive meals my old mum used to serve up when I was a nipper.

Of course I also enjoy my Vindaloo, Tikka Masala, Madras and other fine curries but once-in-a-while it's nice to have a plate of something simple that makes you feel good. Enjoy.

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