Cooking in the colder months often means more casseroles, stews, roasts and pasta dishes. As I am quite certain that most of you are more than adept at the roast dinner and the old spag bol or lasagna I shall bypass them and go straight to a few of our other family favourites. If you want something spicy and special go back to my Special Occasion recipes (e.g. Raan). All year round I cook a curry once a week (lamb or chicken), home cooked fish and chips and various prawn dishes but in winter I am rather fond of one or two pot cooking.
CROCK POT ROAST BEEF
They call them slow cookers these days but I still have my 1976 crock pot in working order. It has three temperatures, low, medium and high – I don’t know what the new ones have so forgive me if it doesn’t all translate.
I usually start cooking on High and once the process begins (after about 1 hour) I turn down to Medium and cook for about 4 hours and then down to Low until we are ready to eat. (You can of course cook it on low all day while you go fishing but it does need to be turned at least once in my experience.)
First, place an even size piece of topside (1.5 to 2 kgs) on to a bed of quartered potatoes, put more potatoes pieces around the meat plus carrot and parsnip pieces, sprinkle with a generous amount of salt, pepper and a teaspoon or two of beef stock powder, a few sloshes of tomato sauce and a cup of water. Put lid on and cook as above. At each change of temperature turn the meat and vegetables to ensure they are cooking evenly. Taste liquid to check for seasoning.
Cook your cauliflower, sprouts or peas to accompany in the usual way. In another small saucepan, prepare to make the best gravy ever. Make a small roux with butter and wholemeal flour. Tilt your cock pot to enable you to get a ladle in and remove a cup or more of the broth. Gradually add this to the roux and stir to make your gravy.
To serve, slice the meat thickly. It will seem to have shrunk a fair bit but don’t worry about that as all the juices are there to be enjoyed in your gravy. It will be well cooked but still moist. Offer horseradish sauce at the table. Serves 4 or 5 people.
STIPHADO (a Greek ragout – modified from Elizabeth David’s recipe)
To serve 4 you need a kilo of boned leg of lamb. Cut meat into approx. 1 ½ inch chunks and brown them in a little olive oil, add about 12 whole shallots (if large, cut in half) and three finely chopped cloves of garlic. Stir and then add 140g tub of tomato paste and a glass of good red wine (say a shiraz or cab/sav) and half a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Stir and as soon as it starts to boil turn right down low, put lid on pot and let bloop bloop for at least two hours. (During this time do check it and you might need to add just a little water.) Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and your choice of greens (beans would be best).
THE POSSIBILITIES OF WHITE SAUCE (also called Béchamel)
I always make my white sauce using wholemeal flour and butter – make a roux with one tablespoon of each, take off heat and add quarter teaspoon salt, a few shakes of cayenne pepper and a few pinches of mustard powder. Gradually add a little milk to blend the roux, return to heat and continue adding milk (about one cup)and then keep cooking and stirring till thickened and flour is properly cooked through. (Note: to make it gluten free use rice flour instead but you may need a little more.)
From this you can then make a Cheese Sauce simply by adding a large handful of grated tasty cheese (Bega is good).
Or, you can make it a Cream Sauce by using 2/3 milk and 1/3 cream.
Or, a Parsley Sauce, by simply adding a tablespoon or more to taste of freshly chopped parsley. This goes well with poached cod which should simply be poached in plain water and changed twice more before serving with the sauce.
With the Cheese Sauce you can make a simple one pot meal as follows.
ASPARAGUS AND CORN MORNAY
Use a small casserole dish about 3 inches deep. This will be plenty for two people. You will need a cup of Cheese Sauce, a tin of creamed corn, a tin of asparagus spears, a roughly chopped rasher of bacon or ham, 3 hard boiled eggs.
Place all the corn in the bottom, drain the asparagus very well (for at least 15 minutes) and cut spears into three or four pieces and layer over the corn, add the bacon or ham and then the eggs which you have sliced up with an egg slicer, and lastly pour over the sauce. Cook in moderate pre-heated oven for ¾ hour or until it is just starting to bubble. Serve in bowls.
CREAMED EGGS with CURRIED RICE
Allow three eggs per person. This will serve two people or simply double quantities for four etc.
Hard boil 6 eggs and cut into quarters. Make about a cup and a half of Cream Sauce and gently add eggs and heat through.
Earlier in the day, cook a cup of long grain rice (salted) and allow to cool. In a shallow fry pan add a tablespoon of ghee and gently fry one large sliced onion (halve it and then slice), then add:
- 2 teaspoons of ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon of ground cummin
- ½ teaspoon of ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon of ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon of turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon of chilli powder
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of pepper
Add a little more ghee to ensure there is some moisture there. Then gradually fork in the rice, mix and heat gently for at least 15 minutes till the rice is just slightly dried or vaguely crisp.
Serve on plates by making a circle of the rice and spoon in the egg mixture into the centre.
PS to this dish – instead of eggs you can use scallops – you will need half a kilo of scallops which you should slightly pre-cook and drain well on a paper towel before adding to the cream sauce.
TWO EASY AND ECONOMICAL DISHES
Bubble and Squeak – my grandmother made this using left-over (not really, she always cooked more vegetables than needed) roast potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and parsnips and cauliflour or cabbage. Chop up and add to large frypan with plenty of butter. Keep cooking and flattening till it gradually blends together into a lovely smelling squeak. If you don’t have such leftovers, simply boil up a large pot of various vegetables, drain well and cook the same way. Plenty of salt and pepper and usually additional blobs of butter along the way. Serve with any left over roast beef, lamb or even corned silverside.
Old fashioned Irish Stew – a big one pot dinner. Two or three lamb shoulder chops (cut off excess fat) per person, simmered just in well salted and peppered water till just done. Add chunks of potato, carrot and parsnip. Cook till done. Thicken with real cornflour and water paste. Cook another 15 minutes and eat. So simple and tasty (it defies logic). Note: the meat should be basically overcooked, starting to fall off the bone. It is not necessary to remove the so-called impurities in the early stages, just stir and they will absorb back into the resulting broth.
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 