Mince and Tatties

Anyone who has lived or stayed in Scotland will know all about this plain simple but oh so delicious dish. At home as a child it was served up once a week. Mince and Tatties night was always to be looked forward to. Now, for me, it has become the ultimate comfort food. When shopping at the  butchers a pound of mince is always included. My husband calls it Scottish Caviare. Left overs ,if there are any, can be used in a pastie or as known in Scotland a Bridie.

Ingredients:
  500g lean steak mince
1 large white onion, finely chopped.
Beef stock
Salt
White pepper
Gravy browning (optional)
Sploosh of virgin olive oil
A little milk

1. Put oil in a heavy bottomed pan over a low heat and soften the onions but don’t colour them, add the mince, turn up the heat and stir until all the meat is browned and any lumps are bashed out
2. Now add the milk and let it bubble a wee while to remove the graininess you sometimes get with mince. Then add enough stock to cover the mince and simmer gently for about 2 hours during which time season to taste
3. Don’t let the mince dry out, adding a little more stock or water if necessary. Whilst simmering, you may add a teaspoon of gravy browning if you wish to darken the dish but be careful and don’t put in too much!
4. During the cooking period it is important to skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and peas
5. I like to add diced carrots to the mince (some add turnips) while cooking, it just depends what jail you did your time in or how your mother made it.


Ingredients for the creamy mashed potatoes:

• 1kg potatoes, (Red Roosters or Maris Pipers work well)
• Good lump of butter
• A little milk or cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Peel the potatoes and cut  into even sized chunks.

Method for the creamy mashed potatoes:
. Put the spuds in a large pot, cover with boiling water, a dessert spoon of salt and simmer for approximately 25 minutes or until done
Once cooked, drain them, put them back in their pot and cover with a clean tea towel which will absorb some of the steam
Mash the potatoes ( I use a hand held mixer)adding butter and cream and beating with a wooden spoon or a spurtle if you have one
Serve with the mince and some garden peas

If you want to thicken it a little bit add a little oatmeal. Healthier than cornflour or flour and yet traditional.

Stuffed Potato Patties

This is the tastiest recipe I have found for using up mashed potatoes ever. The original recipe is Chilean and came from Gloria's blog. I am not good at quantities and always have mashed potato left. I am not a fan of shepherds pie and dislike mash simply reheated. To me it always tastes like well........reheated mash. This is so tasty. You really need to try it. I had them with pork chops and they were a perfect side dish. The filling can of course be faffed about with. A great way to use up bits and pieces. I used little cubes of mozarella and a finely chopped scallion/spring onion. Delicious. I would recommend making them a little earlier in the day or the night before and store them in the fridge ready to fry. The next time I make them I think I may freeze them then I know they are sitting there for a 'can't be bothered' night. The original recipe is at Gloria's. You really need to have a look there as this is my twist on it. My quantities are non existent and it really is based on left overs. You can of course boil up the potatoes freshly to make these.

Ingredients.

Mashed potato
butter about 25g/1oz
1 egg yolk
25-50G/1-2ozs plain flour plus extra for coating.
a little milk if the potatoes are a bit dry
salt and pepper
Oil or fat to fry.

Filling.
I used a little Mozzarella and finely chopped spring onion but your imagination can run riot here along with the contents of your fridge.

Method

If your mashed potato is cold melt the butter then beat it along with the egg yolk,flour and seasoning into the potatoes. ( I used a hand held mixer)
If it is still fairly stiff add a little milk. You want it soft but not so soft that you can't handle it.
On a well floured board take about a dessert spoon of potato mix and form it into a flat patty on the board.
Pop your chosen filling in the middle and fold the edges over it. Turn the patty over and form it into an oval shape. Dust well with flour. Repeat until all the potato mix is used.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry each patty for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.
Place on a plate and keep warm in the oven while you fry the rest. They keep warm very well without spoiling in the oven.

I used a fairly full pot of mash approx. 3-4 fair sized potatoes worth. This gave me ten of these patties.

Thank you Gloria for this very useful recipe.

Mushroom Soup

I needed a quick serve yourself dinner. For me soup always seems to fill this gap. Just add some fresh bread and a meal is served or in this case some savoury wholemeal scones. I had a box of mushrooms needed using up and also, by careless internet shopping, a huge jar of dried porcini mushrooms. A lovely thick soup, this was delicious and made enough for another day. I love a 'raid the fridge' soup. Just add a dollop of imagination. A little cheese and fruit for afters makes sure the tummies are full.



Ingredients

About 500g mushrooms – Dried porcini mushrooms are lovely here adding depth of flavour
25g - 50gms/1-2 ozs butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, sliced
1 small potato, peeled and diced
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 litre/2.2 pints vegetable or chicken stock if using dried mushrooms include the soaking water
100ml/31/2 fluid ounces double cream
1 tbsp chopped parsley
A good pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

Soak the dried mushrooms if using

Melt the butter in a pan with the olive oil, then add the garlic, onion, leek, potato and cayenne pepper.

Let the vegetables sweat for a few minutes

Clean and chop the mushrooms, then add to the vegetable base to cook through.

Pour in enough vegetable stock to cover the ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Use a stick blender or transfer the soup to a blender.

Blend the soup to a smooth creamy consistency.

Bring back to just the boil

Season the soup with salt and pepper and add a good glug of cream.

Pour into bowls and garnish with parsley and some more cream

Carrots From Brownievillegirl

When this recipe popped up on my reading list I got very excited. When I went over to Brownievillegirl's Blog I saw she too had been very excited. I'm not quite sure if it's a carrot thing or an Irish thing. Like her I have long looked for a nice way to cook carrots. I do love a carrot. Such a bright cheerful little vegetable. Just made to cheer up a plate. This comes from Heston Blumenthalls 'Family Food'. Apparently (and I quote BVG here) "Orange juice shouldn't be used when cooking carrots as the acid interferes with the cooking process.Orange zest gives the flavour while retaining the correct texture. " Whatever the reason these carrots mixed with garlic, coriander and cumin are just gorgeous. I could have eaten them all straight from the pot. Simple done you really need to try them. Thank you Brownievillegirl for the recipe.



Carrots Glazed with Cumin and Orange


750g peeled carrots (I think organic are worth the extra money)
1 clove garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 or 3 cardamom pods
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp caster sugar
zest from 1 orange, in large pieces (remove carefully with a potato peeler, with as little of the white pith as possible)
salt and black pepper


Slice the carrots into 1cm (1/2 inch) rounds - they look better sliced diagonally.
Heat your pot without any oil and when hot add the cumin and cardamom seeds (which you have removed from the pods), toast them for a minute or two until they release a beautiful smell.
Add the oil, butter, garlic (I grate it in, you could crush it), thyme and the carrots.
Turn the heat down to medium and sweat the carrots for 5 minutes.
Add the sugar and about 1 tbsp of water and the orange zest.
Cover with a lid and cook until tender - keep an eye on them and add a little more water if necessary.
When cooked remove the lid and reduce any liquid if necessary.
Season and serve.

Cauliflower Cheese

Comfort food. Plain, simple, everyday cooking. So why am I putting it in my blog? Well this blog is destined to be a recipe book for Rhyley so a few basics must be included. Everyone has their own way. All a matter of taste isn't it? I always make enough for leftovers to make the soup below. Some of the leaves must always be included for me. They look attractive as they add colour and why waste them? They have a lovely flavour and have all the nutrients of any green leafy vegetable.. I always make a very thick cheese sauce to go with the cauliflower. It is quite a watery vegetable and this dilutes the sauce. I also think it is worth doing a bit of prep to the milk by bringing it just to the boil with a quartered onion, a bay leaf, some black peppercorns , a few sprigs ot thyme, and a crushed garlic clove, leaving it to infuse for a while then straining before use. The sauce won't be a disaster without this but it really does improve the flavour

Pre heat oven to 200.C/180.C Fan/gas 6/400.F

Ingredients

Head of cauliflower cut in to florets discarding the outer leaves but keeping the sweet inner ones. Wash and then boil for five minutes. Strain and run cold water over the florets and greens to keep them from cooking any longer and leave to drain.
When well drained arrange in a buttered oven proof dish

For the sauce

75g/3oz butter
75g/3oz plain flour
500 mls milk (for a very rich sauce you can replace some of the milk with cream)
1 tablespoon of white wine or vermouth
1 teaspoon of mustard ( either dijon for a mild flavour or English for more bite)
A little cayenne pepper (optional)
Grated cheddar cheese. I like to use extra mature cheddar and lots of it but it's up to your taste buds.
A little grated parmesan to sprinkle on top

Method

Melt the butter gently in a saucepan over a low heat.
Stir in the flour and leave to cook for a minute or so.
Remove from the heat and stir in the mustard and wine/vermouth
Start to whisk in the milk gradually.
Return to the heat. keep the heat lowish and keep stirring until it thickens. ( I find my mini whisk perfect for this job.)
Continue on until it becomes very thick.
Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese and cayenne if using.
Pour over the cauliflower and sprinkle the parmesan on top.
Bake for about 20-30 mins until golden and bubbling.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

For me this is a great reason to make cauli cheese. I always make sure there are left overs for this. Really quick and easy.

Chop an onion and fry gently in a saucepan until soft
Add about 500mls chicken stock and some chopped parsley
Add the left over cauli cheese and let it heat through in the stock, then puree.
That's it. So delicious


Note

I find that half or just over half the quantity of sauce is enough but I always make the full amount and keep the remainder to make a baked pasta dish later in the week

Beetroot Chutney

I love beetroot. I love the colour. I love the way your hands turn bright pink when working with it. Oh the simple pleasures of life in the kitchen. I prefer this chutney to plain old pickled beetroot. If you grow your own this is the perfect way of using it.. The recipe comes from my Mother's old recipe book. Ludicrously simple, you just can't fail. I love it on just about everything. It is perfect with goats cheese and the colour gives wonderful contrast. It keeps for ages in a cool dark place.


Beetroot Chutney

Ingredients

1.3Kilos/3 lbs cooked beetroot cubed
225g/ 1/2 lb cooking apples cubed
2 large onions finely chopped
225g/ 1/2 lb sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teasp salt
568mls/1 pint malt vinegar
juice of a lemon

Approx 6 warm sterilised jam jars.

Method

Place the vinegar, salt, ginger, lemon juice, and sugar in a large thick based pan.
Add the apples and onions and give it all a good stir.
Boil for20 minutes
Add the beetroot amd boil for a further 15 mins or until nice and thick
Spoon into the warm jars.
Seal tightly.
Store in a cool dark place

That's it

Butternut Squash With Pecans and Blue Cheese

On Vi's Pantry there is a challenge running at the moment. Every two weeks someone has to pick a dish from Nigella Lawson's 'Express and then we all cook it and publish our pictures and opinions. It's an interesting challenge making us cook recipes we might not otherwise make. I am a rather plain and unadventurous cook so I don't think I would have made this had it not been for the challenge. I haven't used this particular book very much. It's a different style for Nigella and I have been uncertain about it. Squash would not normally be on my shopping list but it certainly will be again. This was delicious. I made it as a side dish to acompany lamb chops but it is really satisfying and could be eaten on it's own. I would never have thought to use pecan nuts but they were lovely with it. Unfortunately I forgot to add them for the photo. Ah well it wouldn't be me if I didn't forget something. The blue cheese gave it a wonderful richness. A very tasty dish. Highly recommended.

Ingredients
2kg/4lb 8oz butternut squash
3 tbsp olive oil
6 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
100g/3½oz pecans
125g/4oz Roquefort, or other blue cheese, crumbled
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Halve the squash, leaving the skin on, and scoop out the seeds. Cut the squash into 2.5cm/1in cubes - you don't need to be precise, just keep the pieces uniformly small.
3. Place into a roasting tin and drizzle with the oil. Strip about four sprigs of thyme of their leaves (or use dried thyme) and sprinkle over the butternut squash.
4. Transfer to the oven and roast for about 30-45 minutes, or until tender.
5. Once out of the oven, remove the squash to a bowl. Scatter over the pecans and crumble over the cheese, stirring everything together gently. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. To serve, tear the remaining sprigs of thyme into small pieces and sprinkle over the top of the butternut squash mixture.

I actually made this in my new Tefal Actifry using the recommended 1 tablespoon of oil. It only took twenty minutes in it so I was well pleased

Quick and Easy Potato Gratin

This is a very tasty side dish of potatoes. I am constantly trying different ways to cook and present this humble staple in our diet. As the Italians eat pasta and the Asians eat rice so the Irish love their spuds. It would not be unusual for the man of the house in this country, upon being presented with a tasty pasta dish for dinner, to say 'That was very nice but what happened to the spuds? Therefore the hunt is always on to find various methods of cooking other than plain boiling, mashing , roasting or chipping. This is one way which is quick, simple and tastes really good.

Amounts feed four quite generously

Pre-Heat oven to 200.C/400.F/Gas6

Four good sized potatoes
200 mls milk
200 mls cream
1 teasp of Old Bay Seasoning or any other spice you prefer or none.
1 clove of smushed garlic
Black Pepper ( a good grinding)
Handful of grated parmesan


Place the cream, milk old bay seasoning, black pepper and garlic in a fairly large saucepan and bring to the boil.

Remove from the heat and put the lid on to let the flavours infuse.
Peel and slice the potatoes into approximately 1cm slices.
Pop them into the saucepan with the milk and cream mixture and bring to the boil.
Simmer gently until just cooked.
Pour this mixture into a buttered oven proof dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes until turning golden and bubbling
About five minutes before the end of cooking scatter over the parmesan..
Allow to stand for a few minute before serving.

This can be served with anything of course but I think it goes exceptionally well with baked or boiled gammon. It makes a meal of plain bacon or sausages and sits well with fish.

Simple Green Sides

I try to make vegetables inviting looking if I can. I just love the colour combination of Kale and Carrot. Kale has become very popular in recent years. It is associated by many as cattle fodder but that is a much tougher variety than the curly leaved Kale we eat and enjoy. It freezes well as the flavour actually improves when exposed to frost. It is extremely nutritious too.
Kale contains four times more Magnesium and five times more Calcium than Brussels sprouts 17 times more Vitamin C than carrots and four times more than spinach. Nearly double the magnesium of spring greens . More folate than broccoli and seven times more carotene than cabbage. It also tastes very good. Sweated off in some butter is all it requires. It holds it's shape much better than cabbage. All in all a good choice for a side veggie.



Left Over Lettuce

How many of us have a lettuce or a bag of greens that are just a wee bit limp to serve as salad? Don't dispatch them to the bin or the compost heap. Use them as tonight's vegetable. Just cook in a little melted butter for a few minutes. I add a little chilli sauce. It tastes wonderful and stops the waste. I suppose a green footprint if you will.
Lettuce has surprisingly high nutritional content. Not Iceberg as they are nearly all water. Others such as Cos, Romaine and Little Gem are rich in Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Folate, Iron, Potassium and Manganese. So don't chuck it eat it.

Our Grannies were right when they told us to eat up our greens. They really are good for you.

Good Health!