Showing posts sorted by relevance for query lamb. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query lamb. Sort by date Show all posts
Source: flickr.com via Kate on Pinterest
Wahhh . . . gas works are still ongoing here at Casa de Rayner, and so once again no cooking going on. Sigh . . . sad but true. We did have a tasty fry up at a cafe this morning . . . but other than that we've only eaten fruit and cereal today. I think it will be toast and jam for tea, but that's always good and something we both like. After the fry up, something simple and non-fattening is in order!
I thought it would be fun to do a round up of my top of the pop's main dish recipes. These are the dishes that I cook again and again. I can see that comfort food plays a very big part . . . hmmm . . . I wonder what that says about me??? Sometimes it's nice to do a review of things . . . I think so at any rate. ☺
Beer Battered Fish & Chips
What can I say. I've always been a big fan of Fish & Chips. I think they taste better in the North West as compared to the ones we used to get in the South, and you can't go to the seaside without having them. Preferably eaten on the pier, looking out to sea and doused in salt and malt vinegar. Of course, making them at home is best of all.
Cottage Pie with Potato Cobbles
Cottage Pie is a real favourite with my meat and potatoes loving husband and he especially loved this version I made using extra lean beef mince . . . lots of onions, leeks and tasty carrots, swede and peas, all in a rich gravy and topped with lovely potato cobbles and cheese.
Sticky Bangers with Buttermilk and Chive Mash
There is nothing tastier or more beautiful than a good Butcher's pork Banger . . . and when you combine them with a sticky fruity glaze and some rich buttermilk and chive mashed spuds you have something that is very special indeed!
Macaroni Shepherd's Pie
Double the pleasure and comfort with your favourite lamb and veg filling topped with luciously rich macaroni and cheese. What more could anyone want! Different, easy and oh so tasty!
Perfectly Cooked Roast Beef
We have some of the best beef in the world here in the UK, and with my foolproof way to cook it, you are guarenteed to have a delicious roast beef dinner every single time. Tasty, tender and succulent. I like a standing rib roast best of all, but this method will work with any roasting cut. I guarantee!
Simple Pot Roasted Chicken
A deliciously moist pot roasted chicken served with plenty of veg and a tasty au jus. Heartily approved by my "Mr Darcy!" It may not look like much but it is really tender and moist. We like it with roasted potatoes, sprouts and mashed carrots and parsnips. Who doesn't love a tasty roast chicken and this, in my humble opinion, is one of the very best recipes ever!
Cod Fish Cakes and Tartar Sauce
Moist fish cakes, crisp on the outside and with no fillers, flavoured with fresh tarragon and served with a delicious homemade horseradish tartar sauce. This is one of our all time favourites, and so much tastier than those frozen fish cakes you buy in the shops.
Lancashire Hot Pot
British Tradition at it's very best. This is the good, old fashioned, stodge which never fails to please. Simple flavours, beautifully put together. This is what the UK is all about.
Not Your Mama's Spag Bol
Spaghetti Bolognese is one of the UK's most beloved dishes and makes weekly appearances in a lot of homes over here. My husband hates pasta . . . he's very old fashioned in that way, having been brought up during the war. Pasta is foreign food to him and he really prefers traditional dishes. He does like this though . . . as long as I spoon it over mash. I think everyone over here has their own "secret" recipe for Spag Bol. This is mine. It's a cross between Spag Bol and Chili, and quite, quite delicious if I don't say so myself!!
Chicken Curry with Rice
You just can't beat a good curry and I do believe that curry has overtaken just about every dish as Britain's favourite dish, even Roast Beef. (Although I do have to say we do love our Roast Dinners with a passion!) I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to curry . . . preferring mine a bit on the milder side, but loving it all the same. Chicken or lamb . . . fish or vegetable. Curry is one of our favourites. This is a lovely low fat one with a beautiful addition of spinach for added colour, texture and flavour. (We like Green Thai Curry as well!
Pssstt!! We also love a really good Lamb Curry as well. This particular recipe is very good indeed.
I just noticed something is glaringly absent here . . . a Tasty Fish Pie. Time to remedy that. Look for one soon!!!
On Monday I'll post my round up of my top ten favourite British Puds! (Am hoping I have gas for the weekend!)
In The Cottage today, Tex Mex Taters . . . cooked in the microwave and with the aid of an electric skillet!
One thing which I really fell in love with when I was living in the UK was Indian Food. I had of course experienced curry prior to moving over to England. As a young army wife living on a British Army base in Southern Alberta, I had been introduced to it by some British friends. It was love at first bite.
Then when we were living in Fredericton, New Brunswick a number of years later we were introduced to Vegetable Samosas at the Fredericton Farmer's Market which was held every Saturday. I fell in love with those also!
My oldest son and I both loved them and I used to make Samosa deliveries to him after he had grown up and left home and was living in an apartment in downtown Fredericton. Good times!
When I moved to the UK I belonged to an International Women's group in Chester. One of the ladies was Asian and used to make the nicest Indian appetizers. Samosas, pakoras, onion bhaji, etc. They were all fabulous.
A friend of mine, Joy, also made the most beautiful beef/lamb samosas. I enjoyed them at her house many times. You can find her recipe here. We met on Food.com when it was known as Recipezaar and actually spend loads of time in person as well. We share lots of happy memories of time spend together and good food eaten.
My favorite samosas are vegetable ones. I could gobble up a whole plate of them. The recipe I am sharing with you today is a mixture of two recipes. The filling comes from a cookery book entitled World of the East Vegetarian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey.
The method of putting them together has been adapted from a samosa recipe on BBC Food by Anjum Anand from her book Indian Food Made Easy.
There is nothing out of the ordinary except perhaps for the phyllo dough. This is readily available these days in most grocery stores.
For the filling:
- 4 medium potatoes, boiled, unpeeled and cooled
- 4 TBS vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
- 1 cup (152g) frozen peas
- 1 TBS peeled and grated fresh gingerroot
- 3 TBS minced fresh parsley (or coriander/cilantro)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin seeds
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 4 TBS vegetable oil
You will also need:
- 1 packet of ready made phyllo pastry
- 5 TBS melted butter
I like to use fresh coriander/cilantro, but I know a lot of people don't like the taste of it. You can use fresh flat leaf parsley in its place. You will want to toast the spices before you make the filling. This really brings out their flavors.
This is very easily done in a dry skillet. Just pop them into the skillet and cook, stirring, until they become quite fragrant without burning. Set aside to cool.
I really love the simplicity of these ingredients. There is nothing too extraordinary required, but the flavors and textures when put together are fabulous!
HOW TO MAKE VEGETABLE SAMOSAS
These only look complicated. The hardest part is probably folding them up in the pastry. Just follow the instructions and they go together very easily. Once you get the first one done, the rest are simple. Baked and not fried. Quite often I will make the filling a day ahead of time and keep it covered in the refrigerator until I am ready to fill and bake them.
To make the filling, peel the potatoes and dice them into a 1/4 inch dice. Pop into a bowl and set aside.
Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the ground coriander, garam masala, and ground cumin. Cook, stirring until the mixture becomes very fragrant. Set aside and leave to cool.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently until it turns light brown in color. Add the peas and the ginger, along with 3 TBS water and the parsley. Cover, lower the heat and cook for several minutes until the peas are cooked through.
Add the diced potatoes, salt, and the toasted spices, along with the lemon juice. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and adjust seasoning adding more salt if needed. Take off heat and leave to cool completely.
Unroll the phyllo pastry. Cover with some plastic wrap and a damp tea towel. Peel off one piece, keeping the remainder covered. Lay out onto a flat clean surface and brush with melted butter.
Fold one third of the pastry lengthwise towards the middle. Brush with butter again, and fold in one third from the other side. to make a long strip that is triple layered.
Place one heaped spoonful of the filling mixture at one end of the strip, leaving a 1 inch border. Take the right corner and fold diagonally to the left, enclosing the filling and forming a triangle. Fold again along the upper crease of the triangle. Keep folding in this way until you reach the end of the strip.
Brush the outer surface with additional butter. Place onto a large baking sheet, which you have greased with butter. Lightly cover while you make the rest of the samosas.
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.
Bake the tray of samosas in the center of the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Serve hot with your favorite Indian condiments. I like chutney with mine!
These really are one of my most favorite things. I could eat a whole plate of these and nothing else and be quite happy. You can sprinkle seeds on them prior to baking if you like. Sesame, poppy or nigella seeds are quite popular.
I love mango chutney with mine, but any jarred chutney works well. I recently purchased a variety of chutney's from Blighty's, which is an online British Food supplier, but if you are keen to make your own, I found some really tasty looking samosa dip recipes here.
If you are as fond of East Indian Flavors as I am, you might also enjoy the following recipes:
COCONUT CHICKEN CURRY - This chicken curry is fabulously fruit and rich, without being overpowering. It is actually a great dish to make when you are first introducing someone to Indian flavors. Its quite simply delicious! Lovely with steamed rice and some naan bread.
LAMB ROGAN JOSH - Lamb lends itself beautifully to curry dishes. This dish starts with a homemade curry paste and is very easy to make. It has a bit of a kick, but not overly so. It smells amazing when it is cooking. It is moderately spiced. The lamb gets melt in the mouth tender. Delicious with pilau rice and crisp poppadoms for scooping up all of that lush sauce.
Vegetable Samosas
Yield: 24 samosas
Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M
The filling for these delicious samosas has been adapted from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe in her book, World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. Madhur Jaffrey is the Queen of Indian cookery!
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 4 medium potatoes, boiled, unpeeled and cooled
- 4 TBS vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
- 1 cup (152g) frozen peas
- 1 TBS peeled and grated fresh gingerroot
- 3 TBS minced fresh parsley (or coriander/cilantro)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin seeds
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 4 TBS vegetable oil
You will also need:
- 1 packet of ready made phyllo pastry
- 5 TBS melted butter
Instructions
- To make the filling, peel the potatoes and dice them into a 1/4 inch dice. Pop into a bowl and set aside.
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the ground coriander, garam masala, and ground cumin. Cook, stirring until the mixture becomes very fragrant. Set aside and leave to cool.
- Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently until it turns light brown in color. Add the peas and the ginger, along with 3 TBS water and the parsley. Cover, lower the heat and cook for several minutes until the peas are cooked through.
- Add the diced potatoes, salt, and the toasted spices, along with the lemon juice. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and adjust seasoning adding more salt if needed. Take off heat and leave to cool completely.
- Unroll the phyllo pastry. Cover with some plastic wrap and a damp tea towel. Peel off one piece, keeping the remainder covered. Lay out onto a flat clean surface and brush with melted butter.
- Fold one third of the pastry lengthwise towards the middle. Brush with butter again, and fold in one third from the other side. to make a long strip that is triple layered.
- Place one heaped spoonful of the filling mixture at one end of the strip, leaving a 1 inch border. Take the right corner and fold diagonally to the left, enclosing the filling and forming a triangle. Fold again along the upper crease of the triangle. Keep folding in this way until you reach the end of the strip.
- Brush the outer surface with additional butter. Place onto a large baking sheet, which you have greased with butter. Lightly cover while you make the rest of the samosas.
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.
- Bake the tray of samosas in the center of the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.
- Serve hot with your favorite Indian condiments.
Notes
These can be frozen (unbaked), so long as you have used fresh phyllo pastry. Just freeze on a baking tray until frozen solid and then pop into an airtight container. They will keep for up to six months. When you are ready to cook them, no need to thaw. Brush with more butter and bake until golden brown and heated all the way through.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
I don't know about you, but I am right in love with the Joseph Joseph line of cooking and baking utensil products. They are always such fun and in such brilliant colours! I could spend hours looking at all of the line which is available at our local Garden centre, and often do to Todd's chagrin, but then . . . I don't complain when he spends hours looking at man stuff . . . ok . . . so maybe I do a little bit . . .
I have a huge wish list of wants from Joseph Joseph so when I was recently contacted by Find Me A Gift and asked would I like to try out their new 4 piece baking set, I jumped at the chance! It was like all of my Christmas's Birthdays, Anniversaries had come at once! Lucky moi!
Included in the set are a very uniquely elevated pastry brush and spatula, which have weighted handles and really cool integrated tool rests, which help to keep the mess up off the table.
There is also an unusually shaped one hour baking timer, in bright pink, which I found really easy to use.
The thing I loved the most though, is this fabulous rolling pin. Made of beech it is adjustable, with three sets of removable discs which allow you to roll out your pastries, biscuits and other doughs to three different heights, with the measurements showing in both inches and millimeters!
This allows you to roll things out to an exactness which removes any guesswork! I found the discs really easy to change as they are quite simply held in place with a kind of screw thingie. As easy to use as nuts and bolts!
There are other measurements printed on the actual rolling pin as well, which easily help you to measure out whatever it is you are rolling, eg 12" round, 15" rectangle, etc. These are also in both measurements. I love this rolling pin . . . I absolutely love it.
Of course I could not wait to put it all to good use.
I just adore Samosas. When my oldest son was at Uni, I often would stop at the local market on a Saturday morning and pick up some samosas for us to share. He loves them too. I would ring the doorbell to his flat and when he answered the intercom, I would reply . . . "Speedy Samosa Delivery!" He never failed to let me in. Samosas are Indian snack food/appetisers . . . kind of like little curry turnovers. You can get veggie ones, or lamb ones. (My friend Joy makes fabulous lamb ones!) Most usually they are fried. Beautifully spiced and flavoured.
It isn't much of a stretch really to incorporate those flavours into a tasty pie. I had some leftover roasted chicken that needed using up and I thought a chicken pie would be nice . . . and then I thought, why not a Samosa pie. Win/win!
The crust is just lightly spiced with a bit of cumin and uses butter, so it's rich and beautifully coloured. Sturdy enough to stand up to the hearty filling, and yet flake, flake, flaky!
The filling contains the most usual samosa fillings . . . tender pieces of potato and onion, garlic, some cooked carrot, baby peas . . . cooked chicken . . .
Beautifully flavoured with a tasty mix of aromatics and spice . . . coriander, ginger, fennel, cumin, mustard, fenugreek, tumeric (for colour) and cayenne for some heat, this tasty pie pleases on many levels, both sight, smell and taste . . . and with picnic season having arrived it would make a great pie to take on a picnic. I served it simply . . . with some salad and mango chutney on the side. Deeeeeeeee-licious!
*Chicken Samosa Pie*
Serves 8
Your favourite Indian snack in a dinner pie! Couldn't be easier or tastier!Serves 8
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced (2 large)
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 TBS vegetable oil
2 cups of chopped cooked chicken
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp brown or black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 TBS grated fresh ginger root
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
For the pastry:
For the pastry:
250g of plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp salt
150g cold butter, cubed (2/3 cup)
160ml of milk (2/3 cup)
1 egg beaten, to glaze the pie with
First
make the pastry. Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the salt and
cumin seed. Drop in the butter. Rub it in with a pastry blender or
your finger tips until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the milk
and stir with a fork to form a dough. Divide in two and shape each into
a round flat disc. Wrap in plastic cling film and chill while you are
making the filling.
Place the potato and carrot into a
pot of lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and cook until tender,
about 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl. Heat the oil over
medium heat. Add the chopped onion. Saute to soften. Add the seeds
and stir fry until very fragrant. Tip in the salt, cayenne pepper,
garlic and ginger root. Cook and stir for about a minute. Add the
cooked chicken, frozen peas, coriander leaf, and lemon juice. Taste
and adjust seasoning as desired. Allow to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.
Roll
out one disc of the pastry to a 1/8 inch thickness round, large enough
to line a 9 inch pie dish, with some overhang. Spoon the cooled chicken
filling into the crust. Roll out the other disc of pastry to 1/8 inch
thickness, making it large enough to cover the filling with some
overhang. Brush some beaten egg on the edges of the bottom overhang
and top with the other round of pastry to cover. Press the edges
closed. Trim off with a sharp knife and flute the edge decoratively.
Brush the top of the pie all over with some beaten egg. Cut some vents
in for steam. Bake on the bottom rack of the preheated oven for 50 to
60 minutes, until golden brown and tasty!
Cut into wedges to serve. Mango chutney is a good go-with!This delightful Joseph Joseph Baking Set usually retails for up to £40 at most shops but you can get it right now on Find Me A Gift for the low price of only "29.99!" That's a real steal!
Many thanks to Find Me A Gift and the lovely Emma for sending this to me! (Psst! With Father's Day coming up soon you should really check out the Find Me A Gift site. They have ooodles of nice things to choose from on there to suit every price range. They even have a really cool gift finger personal shopper page, which you can find here!)
There are certain times of the week, month and year that my Crock Pot is my best friend and the most valued and used tool in my kitchen! On Sundays when I know we are going to get home from church absolutely famished, it is such a simple thing to do to pop something into the crock pot before we leave, making sure that something tasty is waiting for us when we get home. In the summer when you want something hearty and don't want to heat up the kitchen, the Crock Pot is a great ally, and in Winter, when the cold winds doth blow, there is no better way to create rib sticking hearty and comforting meals for the whole family! Nothing could be easier. Just pile it all in the pot, cover and turn it on. The pot does the rest!
LIVEN UP YOUR CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR ENTERTAINING WITH A TRIO OF DELICIOUS NEW CONDIMENTS FROM MARY BERRY’S
Looking for some beautifully simple recipe inspiration for entertaining this Christmas and New Year? Then look no further. Mary Berry’s has created a range of delicious new condiments that promise to tickle taste buds throughout the festive season – and beyond.
First up, Mary Berry’s Redcurrant & Mint Jelly is the perfect accompaniment to seasonal lamb or venison, but so much more besides, including as a key ingredient in the following seasonally appropriate dishes:
Duck with redcurrant & mint sauce – pan fry duck breasts to brown and transfer to a small roasting tin. Mix redcurrant & mint jelly with a little water and pour over the duck, roast for 10-15 minutes and allow to rest before slicing and serving with pan fried pak choi, pouring over the baking juices to serve.
Gammon, kale & redcurrant stir fry – fry sliced red onion with sliced smoked gammon steak until golden. Add blanched shredded kale, a can of butter beans and some redcurrant & mint jelly and cook for a few minutes. Great served with mash or rice.
Hot smoked salmon pate with melba toast – in a food processor, blend kiln roasted salmon, some natural yogurt and horseradish sauce together to create a coarse paste. Serve with hot melba toast.
Smoked mackerel, potato & cannellini bean salad – mix chunks of smoked mackerel, cooked and sliced new potatoes and cannellini beans into some lamb’s lettuce and toss with a dressing made from mayonnaise, white wine vinegar and horseradish sauce.
Horseradish roast potatoes – parboil chunks of King Edward potatoes and toss in oil or melted goose fat, some horseradish sauce and seasoning and roast in a hot oven until golden. Great for Sunday roasts – or even Christmas dinner.
Last but not least, Mary Berry’s Hollandaise Sauce is made with free range eggs and is sure to get seasonal parties off to a devilishly good start if mixed with a little crème fraîche to make the base for Devilled Eggs. Finish by stirring in a few tablespoons of Mary Berry’s Apricot & Peach Chutney and a tablespoon of paprika, before seasoning well and generously spooning into halved boiled eggs.
Alternatively, this beautifully smooth and velvety hollandaise sauce is the perfect base for a host of delicious festive holiday breakfasts, including
Smoked salmon & hollandaise bagels – spread halved and toasted bagels with a little hollandaise sauce. Top with cucumber slices, smoked salmon and a spoonful of extra hollandaise sauce.
Or why not try stirring a tablespoon of Mary Berry’s Hollandaise sauce and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard through scrambled eggs just before serving?
All three new Mary Berry’s condiments are available in Tesco now (RSP: £1.50 per jar).
For more information about the Mary Berry’s range of sauces, dressings and chutneys, visit Mary Berry's Foods.
Charlie Bigham's, makers of delicious dishes for two, have launched brand new recipes for their signature Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie dishes as they look to serve up the most delicious versions possible of these two British Classics.
I have long been a fan of Charlie Bigham's meat pies, having first tried them when we lived down South, and so I have been keen to try these new dishes!
Charlie and his team have been busying themselves away over the stove to create some sumptuous flavours, including the richest red wine and thyme tomato ragu the chefs have ever made.
This is the ragu they use in the new Cottage pie, which features tender, slow-cooked British beef, topped with creamy mashed potato, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and Cheddar Cheese.
Charlie's Shepherds Pie now has an even more tomatoe-y ragu wih an extra sprinkling of thyme to give it that rich, deep flavour. Originally the Shepherds Pie was made with a beef and lamb combination, but following customer feedback, it is now all lamb based and is succulent and full of flavour.
I like the idea that at Charlie Bigham's they are not afraid to take customer feedback on board and make changes to enhance their existing recipes making them even more delicious!
One thing I love about the Charlie Bigham's products is that they can be ready in minutes and provide a homely supper which is just as good as homemade and from scratch. In fact they taste like homemade and that's not bad.
These new improved pies are now available to buy in stores nationwide via Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Booths, Budgens and Ocado, RRP £7.00
For more information do check out the Charlie Bigham's website.
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I grew up in a home where dishes like this were not really served very often. My mother would make Pate Chinoise for my father from time to time, which we had to eat as well. Pate Chinois is a French Canadian version of Cottage pie, using minced beef, mashed potatoes and corn or peas. My mom always used peas, and tinned ones. She also used cheap ground beef, which I did not like at all. It was full of bits of gristle. It was never my favourite meal, but my father love LOVED it! Perhaps I was just too picky.
People often confuse the two, Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie. Traditionally both were dishes invented to use up the leftover gravy and veg from the Sunday dinner. With beef being used in the Cottage Pie and Lamb in the Shepherds Pie.
Most people just use the names interchangeably for the both. I can be a bit pedantic however . . . it is one of my weaknesses . . . for Shepherds Pie I use lamb and for Cottage Pie I use beef. It can be leftover or fresh ground, though. I am not quite that picky!
Basically both are casseroles with meat and a flavourful gravy on the bottom, a layer of vegetables and a lovely thatch of mashed potato on top!
These types of meals are my Todd's favourites. In fact today he had two helpings. He normally doesn't exceed his one serving of anything, but he was really enjoying this.
I have a secret ingredient for the potato thatch. I always add a tiny bit of cheese, which really helps it to brown to a nice golden brown and adds just a touch of flavour. Sometimes I will add a bit of horseradish to either the gravy or mash for a Cottage pie, because it goes so well with beef.
I like to make a pattern in the potatoes with a fork. Today it was a basket weave. Not hard to do at all. You don't have to do that, but do try to rough them up a tiny bit so that you can get some crispy golden edges!
I also use frozen petit pois . . . not tinned or leftover cooked. And I don't thaw them out before putting it together. I just layer them on frozen. The heat from the filling and the mash will cook them perfectly. (I have a real dislike of over-cooked peas. I can't help it.)
The gravy is also very simple to make. Of course if you happen to have leftover gravy from the Sunday lunch that would also work, but it is very simple to make your own from scratch.
I start by sweating a mirepoix of fresh vegetables in some butter . . . carrot, swede, onions and celery . . . aromatics and real flavour boosters! Especially when you have sweated them in a bit of butter.
A good beef stock made from a quality beef stock cube or gel pack. I like the Knorr ones. Some Tomato puree (tomato paste in the US), or yes even ketchup will work. If you are using ketchup leave out the HP Sauce. Just use a splash or Worcestershire.
I use herbs as well . . . to be specific, Summer Savoury . . . its an Eastern Canada thing. You can use Marjoram or thyme . . .
Today I made a delicious coleslaw to go along with it. Salad is nice also. Todd likes a slice of bread and butter with his. You could serve any vegetable on the side. Green beans and carrots are nice. I like salad.
Its a great way of stretching out leftovers. I do like a thick gravy with mine. I don't like it too soupy, but if you do, then you could certainly add more gravy, or make your gravy thinner, but do bear in mind that the potatoes will absorb some of the gravy, so you want your gravy to be a bit on the thick side and your potatoes as well. You don't want a soupy thatch!
Yield: 4
A Simple Cottage Pie
prep time: 20 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 65 mins
Simple, delicious, and a family pleasing comfort food.
ingredients:
400g leftover roast beef, roughly chopped (about 3 cups)
1 TBS butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 stick celery, trimmed and chopped
1/2 carrot, peeled and grated
a cube of swede (rutabaga) peeled and grated
1 TBS tomato puree
1 TBS plain flour
1/2 TBS brown sauce (HP sauce)
400ml well flavoured beef stock (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp summer savoury
salt and black pepper to taste
100g frozen peas (1 cup)
For the potato thatch:
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
warm milk
a knob of butter
salt and pepper
2 TBS grated cheese (Parmesan or cheddar)
melted butter to brush (optionalinstructions:
Put the potatoes in a pot of lightly salted water and
bring to the boil. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes until soft. Drain well
and then return the potatoes to the pan. Shake the pan over the residual
heat of the burner to dry them out a bit and then mash the potatoes
well until smooth with some warm milk, and a knob of butter. Season to
taste with salt and pepper and stir in the cheese. Set aside and keep
warm.
bring to the boil. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes until soft. Drain well
and then return the potatoes to the pan. Shake the pan over the residual
heat of the burner to dry them out a bit and then mash the potatoes
well until smooth with some warm milk, and a knob of butter. Season to
taste with salt and pepper and stir in the cheese. Set aside and keep
warm.
Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the
onion, celery, carrot and sweet. Cook, stirring frequently over medium
low heat until softened and the onion is translucent. Stir in the
flour. Slowly stir in the beef stock and bring to the boil. Cook,
stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the
tomato puree, brown sauce, and summer savoury. Season to taste with
salt and black pepper and then stir in the chopped beef. Pour this into
the bottom of a buttered 1 litre (1 quart) shallow baking dish.
Sprinkle the frozen peas over top. Spread the mashed potatoes on top to
cover. Rough up the potato a bit with a fork. Brush with melted
butter.
onion, celery, carrot and sweet. Cook, stirring frequently over medium
low heat until softened and the onion is translucent. Stir in the
flour. Slowly stir in the beef stock and bring to the boil. Cook,
stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the
tomato puree, brown sauce, and summer savoury. Season to taste with
salt and black pepper and then stir in the chopped beef. Pour this into
the bottom of a buttered 1 litre (1 quart) shallow baking dish.
Sprinkle the frozen peas over top. Spread the mashed potatoes on top to
cover. Rough up the potato a bit with a fork. Brush with melted
butter.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas
mark 6. Bake the casserole in the heated oven for 45 minutes until the
potatoes are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let stand 15
minutes prior to serving. Serve hot with your favourite sides.
mark 6. Bake the casserole in the heated oven for 45 minutes until the
potatoes are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let stand 15
minutes prior to serving. Serve hot with your favourite sides.
Created using The Recipes Generator
We are really going to enjoy the leftovers today for our tea! Dishes like this have a habit of tasting even better the next day! Bon Appetit!
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