Whenever I go away I always cook something for my husband so he doesn’t have to resort to takeaways. He actually has a couple of dishes he can do quite well, but I like to think that when he’s lonely and missing me terribly :) there is still the comfort of my food made for him with love.

Mostly I just go away for work for a night or two, but this time I’m going away for a week to see my family in Finland.  He comes with me every summer and really loves it, but during the winter he’s not so keen after a couple of crisp encounters with the astringent Finnish winter. I remember one Christmas when the mercury fell to around -28C. My parents have a dog and she obviously needs a bit of a walk and a visit to the loo whatever the temperature, so we decided to walk to the little shop in the village. 

Minus 28 is pretty cold but the rest of us are all used to it. My husband was clearly suffering and had his scarf wrapped around his face so that only his slightly panicked brown eyes were visible. On the way back he asked my dad why he didn’t wrap a scarf around his face. Dad looked at his son-in-law whom he affectionately calls "son of the desert", thought about the suggestion, but then just said he didn’t really see the need for it.

One of my go-to foods to cook for when I am away is lamb kofta. It’s easy for him to take from the freezer and defrost the amount that he likes. He can cook rice to go with them, or eat them in a pitta bread with salad. And I bet the homely smell and taste make him feel all warm and fuzzy! So that’s what I decided to do now. 

Lamb kofta recipe (12 pieces)

500g minced lamb

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp kofta spice mix (optional)

1 tsp coriander

Pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tbsp breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 red onion

2 cloves of garlic

Salt

Blackpepper