Recipe CXIII - The Pudding 1: Beef, Mushroom and Port (Savoury)

Of all the gastronomic delights I experienced in 2013, the best have been the ones I felt proud of myself for having spent the time making. I would say this one, though, sits pretty high up the list of those as it took 2 days and a lot of care and attention. This is what puddings are about. The middle of winter is a great time to bring out the inner gourmand in us, but also we should embrace our ability to create delicious food with a little imagination and patience.

For those who do not know what it is, we need to discuss what "pudding" means. The word "Pudding" in German is what the British call "custard" and the French call "crème anglaise". They are, though, all slightly different. Custard is hot and can be runny or solid enough to sit on your spoon and I would go for custard each and every time over the other two.

Pudding, in the British sense though, does not mean this at all. It has evolved over the years into what is now a truly beloved yet highly variable household dish, albeit not so often made, considering the time it takes. My mother, bless her, often used to spend hours making a similar dish, and making this myself, I can appreciate just what an effort it was to produce it.

So what are puddings? 

Well, they are round, they form a centrepiece to a table, can be sweet or savoury, and are made with pastry, often suet. 

"Suet?" I hear you ask, "What's suet?"

An astute question as always, dear reader.

I love the English language for its conciseness. It is, in fact, fat surrounding the kidney of a cow used to make pastry. I know, that sounds positively dis-GUS-ting. Well yes. But there are now vegetable suet and other types, and they are very good ingredients for a sweet pudding with lots of fruit or a savoury yet crumbly pastry similar to biscuit.

This is the savoury version - you will do things in this recipe you never thought you would do, like grate fat and freeze butter.

For the filling, it is entirely up to you, as every pudding is different. Just go where your mood takes you!

Ingredients for the filling:

550g-600g of stewing beef, roughly diced

4 medium-sized carrots, chopped

5 to 8 mushrooms, sliced or quartered (porcini or some such, but if not, button mushrooms work out fine)

1 apple, sliced (optional)

1 red pepper, chopped

4 to 6 shallots, peeled and whole

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

Fresh herbs, finely chopped

Some flour, pepper and salt for seasoning

1 glass of port

1 tablespoonful of Worcestershire Sauce (optional but recommended)

 

Instructions for the filling:

Heat the oven to 170°C.

Put the flour, finely chopped herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl and roll the beef in it. Fry gently in butter in a casserole dish until brown.

Remove, and do the same with the vegetables.

Pour over the port, put the lid on the casserole dish and put in the oven for up to 4 hours. 

Before you add it to the pudding, you should let it cool down.

Ingredients for the pastry:

*tsp = teaspoon, tbsp = tablespoon

280g plain flour

A sachet of baking powder

(Alternatively, 280g self-raising flour and 1 tsp of baking powder)

Half a tsp of salt

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley and thyme

80g vegetable suet, chilled and grated

50g frozen butter (but refrigerated enough so it is very hard is fine), also grated

1 egg, beaten

Some butter for greasing

Some cold water on standby, if necessary

Baking paper and string

A large cauldron containing water for steaming 

Instructions for the pastry:

(I apologise for the photo, but you need to see it)

Grease a rounded heat-proof bowl with butter.

In another bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder and fresh herbs. Mix them up well. Grate the suet and add it, then do the same with the cold, solid butter. 

Add the egg and knead everything until it becomes a soft, not-so-sticky dough. Cut a third off and put it in clingfilm to keep fresh.

Roll out the largest piece until it is big enough to fill your bowl. Put it inside the buttered bol and press it until it covers the entire inside of the bowl. Then fill it with the cooled-down beef stew mix until it fills the inner part of the pudding dough.

Use the remaining part of the dough to make a lid.

Then cover it with a double layer of baking paper and tie it up with string. Leave a little room for the pastry to be able to rise slightly.

By now your water should be boiling away, so put the bowl carefully into the pan so that it is no lower than half-way inside the water. Never forget to put something in the bottom so the pudding does not have direct contact with the fiery heat of the cooker. I use an upturned rice cooker base. Then steam for three to four hours.

Once cooked, get a large plate, unwrap the pudding, place the large plate on top and flip it upside down.

As you see, there is now ample space to decorate your pudding however you see fit, or adorn it with all the vegetables you are serving. This makes for an imaginative festive display for everyone to behold before it is carved up amongst all the guests. To be honest, you could do this with lamb, venison or even wild boar.

Finally, I would like to apologise for the appalling photos in this one - I have no excuses.

Enjoy!

Recipe CVI - Pork Belly Stew with Honey and Beans

How do you know when a recipe is fully rounded or not? When you have adapted it three or four times to reach the right flavour and ingredients. This recipe will take some time before it reaches its roundedness, but here is a good base from which to adapt. It is extraordinarily simple to make and your house will smell utterly delicious for hours.

Ingredients (for four people):

A medium-sized ceramic or cast iron casserole dish with a lid

Some butter for frying

500g sliced pork belly, cut into strips or left whole - your choice

4 potatoes

4 large cloves of garlic

1 onion

A cup of broad beans (but chick peas, lentils or something similar will also do)

A cup of yellow peas*

A bouquet garni (fresh herbs - sage, rosemary, thyme, etc...)

Some coarsely ground black pepper

2 tablespoons of honey

Salt and water

*fresh yellow peas are rock hard and you should either leave them to soak in water overnight before you use them, or you should cook them for at the very least 2 hours. I chose the latter, as it fit the recipe.

Instructions:

Switch the oven on to about 170°C. Put 2 of the garlic cloves in some butter and allow it to brown. Then remove the garlic from the oil. This will give your casserole a hint of garlic without overpowering it.

Then add the pork with a dusting of salt. Brown it until sealed, then add the black pepper, onion, the rest of the garlic and bouquet garni.

Give it a stir, allow the onion to sweat a little, then put in the yellow peas, broad beans, potatoes and honey. Give it a very good mixing so the yellow peas sink to the bottom. Add water until almost to the level of the ingredients, a good shake of the salt pot and bring it to the boil.

You can then put it into the oven. Give it a minimum of 2 hours, keep trying the yellow peas as they will be the last to be ready. Everything else will be so succulent and moist, and should have a prevailing taste of honey without being overbearing.

Take it out of the oven every 30-45 minutes to fill up with water and to add a sprinkle of salt.

Recipe CI - Pesto from Garden Herbs

We had a party at the weekend, and my herb garden came in pretty useful for marinades. This one is so easy to make and also so very tasty. It goes incredibly well with chicken or pasta.

Ingredients:

Rosemary

Oregano

Sage

Any other herbs you wish

1 small onion

4 cloves of garlic

Some hard cheese like Manchego, Cheddar or Pecorino

Some freshly ground black pepper

Some salt

A good amount of olive oil

Instructions:

Put everything in a blender and give them a good spin for at least two minutes.

Done!

Recipe XCI - Pork Schnitzel

So normally, Wiener Schnitzel is made with veal meat and is deep fried. As you know, I never follow recipes to the letter - why would I? You can find a thousand of the same on the Net. This is a variation, and I must say, I find it somewhat more flavoursome than the original, because it has a few extras in it...


Equipment required:
A meat tenderiser (a hammer with a serrated surface)

Ingredients:
600g sliced pork, about 15mm thick and 10-15cm long
Some flour and a decent amount of ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten and in a wide bowl
Some breadcrumbs, with a lot of finely chopped dried herbs (thyme, oregano, or whatever you want)
Goose fat or butter for frying

Arrange them as below, then you will always follow the correct order.



Instructions:
Take your pork and put it onto a flat surface, preferably not ceramic or glass, for what you are about to do next. Take the meat tenderiser and give your pork a good bashing so that it becomes very thin and twice the surface of its original state. Sprinkle salt over it then roll it in the flour and pepper, and set aside whilst you prepare your vegetables.



Once you are ready to proceed with cooking, dip the meat into the eggs, making sure it is totally covered. You'll be better doing it by hand than with a fork.



Put some oil into a large, flat non-stick pan. I used goose fat because it crisps up the outside very nicely, and fry on a medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes each on both sides. Turn it now and again, but leaving it to its own devices for a few minutes will let it crisp up. I also made some sautéed potatoes and Savoy cabbage.



Austrians also have lemon to add flavour to the breadcrumbs, but if you just add a few herbs to the mixture, you won't need the lemon. Mayonnaise was also welcome!

Recipe LXXXIII - Venison Steaks in Brandy Sauce with Spätzle

German food. In terms of oxymorons, it ranks alongside French self-deprecation, Scandinavian beach resorts and beautiful Belgian scenery. What is Germany's greatest contribution to food? The hamburger? Not in the least. The schnitzel, maybe? That was stolen from the Czechs. The frankfurter, possibly? If you can find any meat in it. The apple strudel? Strong contender if it wasn't originally Czech too.

No, amongst all the stodge, the greatest contribution the Germans have made to food is their cakes. The Black Forest gâteau being exhibit number one. But amongst all the cream and fruit, there lies an alternative German cuisine that never raises its head above all the commercial stuff: their pasta. German pasta? Yep. And it's quite good. Spätzle is like short linguine, but unlike the Italian version, it can also be fried and is much more satisfying to the stomach. This recipe is one of my own, although I am sure variants exist.

Ingredients and instructions for the venison:
500g venison, cut into steaks or medaillons
2 tablespoons of cinnamon in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of flour (1:2 ratio, depending on your need)
10 peppercorns, black, ground
Salt the venison a little.



Put the flour, cinnamon and pepper into a flat bowl and mix until homogeneous.



Roll the venison in it, then set the meat aside (fridge) for a while, whilst you cut up the vegetables.



Ingredients for the sauce:
4 shallots or small onions
Some porcini mushrooms
Some whole black peppercorns
Some currants, sultanas or raisins
2 apples, diced
Some red berry confit (blackcurrant, redcurrant or something similar)
Some old-style mustard (seeds included)
Some thyme
A glass of brandy



Instructions:
Fry the steaks and onions/shallots in butter for a few minutes, then remove the meat. Add the whole peppercorns, and stir until they puff up. Then add the mushrooms, raisins and apples, and stir for a minute or two before you add the brandy, which will hiss and bubble with an aroma that should make small animals pass out, so put a lid on top and reduce the heat. About 5 minutes later, add a spoonful of mustard and confit, and some thyme. Keep on the lid and allow the liquids to run. You can put the venison steaks back on top, to integrate. Do not fear, the cinnamon exterior remains.



While that is going on, boil your spätzle. This takes between 10 and 12 minutes. Don't believe the packets in Germany which tell you to boil pasta for 2 minutes longer than necessary. Germans like soggy, runny pasta apparently.
As a nice touch, when you serve, why not put the spätzle all round the outside and fill up the middle with your sauce, putting your venison on top?



This goes well with a young, tart red wine from Navarra or northern Italy.

Recipe LXXXII - Homemade Burgers and Potato Wedges

One thing I really appreciate in the UK is proper unassuming pub food. Burger, potato wedges and mayo please my taste buds far more than anything from a fancy restaurant. And that's not only because of the food, but because of the atmosphere of the place. The people there are far more accessible, the service is (usually) with a smile and the food is filling. Plus you don't get stared at if you eat your short pasta with a spoon. This recipe is so simple and takes twenty minutes to prepare and half an hour to cook.

Ingredients (for 2 people)
500g minced beef
1/2 an onion (finely chopped)
A spoonful of thyme
A spoonful of oregano
5 cloves of garlic (chopped - optional)
10 peppercorns (crushed)
Some salt
1 egg
A tablespoon of flour
10 smallish potatoes, cut into wedges

Instructions:
Put your beef in a mixing bowl. Add the salt, onion, herbs and peppercorns, and give it a really good mix. Then add the egg, which acts as a binding agent.



Once everything is mixed in well, divide them into two balls and put them on a lightly-floured plate and put some flour on top. Flatten them with a spatula or the ball of your hand to the thickness you require. I like mine thick, so I cook mine for longer, but it's up to you.



Put it in a buttered, non-stick pan and fry until done. I like mine slightly burnt on the outside, so for the last ten minutes I turn up the heat.



For the potato wedges, I'm sure you know how to do them, but anyway - heat up some oil in a deep pan. While it is getting nice and hot, cut the potatoes into fairly large pieces. Wash and dry them. The easiest way to dry them is to put them on a towel and dab them. Pick them up to put them into the frying basket, then deep-fry them for five minutes. This is the 5-4-3-2-1 method. Remove the basket for a while and put it back in for four minutes. Remove again, then three, repeat, two, and just before serving, one minute. They will be lovely and crispy by then!



I served it with a mix of fennel and onion, plus a good spoonful of mayonnaise.

Recipe LXII - Stoved Chicken

Last weekend, I was in Belgium and whilst perusing the shops of Leuven's historic centre, I came across a bookshop where, in the window, was the last thing any Belgian would ever expect to find in pride of place: "Good Housekeeping: Book of British Food". Billowing with nostalgic pride, I immediately opened it, and found everything in it you could ever wish for in a book: advice on choosing various meat; when fruits and vegetables are in season; where the best places in each British region are to buy various items; local gastronomic events, and the main wine producers in the UK. It was a small fortune, but I bought it and took it to work to show my classes. They were pretty fascinated, and not one made a sarcastic remark. Ladies and gentlemen, British food is being taken seriously - get used to it!
Today, I am sampling a recipe from that very book, which took the fancy of some of my French, Spanish and Italian students. As with a lot of British recipes, they are mere guidelines, and not Gospel, so I have adapted it to suit my requirements and tastes.

Ingredients:
500g chicken breasts, halved or 4 chicken quarters
2 thick slices of back bacon, the skin removed and cut into strips
6-8 large potatoes (floury ones like King Edwards), peeled and cut into slices
2 small onions and 2 shallots
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
7 teaspoon-sized knobs of butter
600ml chicken stock
Salt & plenty of ground black pepper
Fresh chives for garnishing



Instructions (there are three layers: potatoes, meat, potatoes):
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Fry the chicken, shallots and the bacon for about five minutes to seal, until they are lightly browned. Leave to one side.



Start layering half the amount of onions and potatoes in a casserole. This will be the bottom layer of the three. Do not forget to season it well - I sprinkled ground black pepper between them. Put half of your knobs of butter in strategic places.



Now put the bacon, chicken and shallots on top. This will be the middle layer of your dish. Sprinkle the thyme into it.



And now for the top layer. Repeat the bottom one, not forgetting the butter. Pour over the chicken stock so it barely covers the ingredients. Put the whole thing into the oven, and wait for about 2 and a half hours.



Sprinkle the chives on top just before serving.



REMARK:
The recipe was in every way spot-on in terms of measurements, cooking times and flavour balance. However, I would say carrots, garlic and some white wine would go extremely well with this recipe.



I wholeheartedly recommend the Book of British Food, and believe that the bookshelf of every true lover of cooking would only be enhanced by it.

Recipe LII - English-style Slow-roasted Leg of Lamb, Vegetable Medley and Roast Potatoes

Lamb is my favourite meat. I love lamb so much, I only eat it four or five times a year. It is such a wonderfully sumptuous meat that the best people in the world to consult when it comes to its cooking are the people of the English-speaking world (UK, New Zealand, India, especially), but also the Spanish to the west of Madrid, the North Africans and the Portuguese. There are some very, very special breeds of lamb that provide some of the best meat in the world.:Shetland lamb, grazing on grasses close to the sea, giving them a briny taste, the farming practices of Wales which have been recognised with the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) by the European Commission, but whichever lamb you choose, be sure to cook it with love, and over a long period of time.
This recipe takes a loooooong time to cook, but gives you a loooooong time to do other things too.

Ingredients for the lamb:
One leg of lamb, fat removed, tendons cut off
4 carrots, diced
1 whole garlic head, cut in half
2 onions, cut into rings
1 long, thin red pepper, diced into small pieces
3 sprigs of thyme
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (my rosemary hasn't woken up yet, so I used what I'd saved from last autumn)
Ground black pepper
350ml meat stock and 200ml red wine (see below for details)



Instructions:
Switch on the oven to a low 120°C (or 100°C if you have no fan). Dry the exterior of your lamb from the moisture it may have accumulated by being in a plastic pack. Rub salt into it thoroughly. Then rub your fresh herbs and pepper into it.



Take a large, high-sided baking tray and put your diced vegetables in there randomly. Place the meat on top and put it in the oven for seven (yes SEVEN!!) hours. The low heat will mean it will fall off the bone when time to eat.



After 2 hours, remove the lamb from the oven and pour the stock and red wine over it. Cover the top well in aluminium foil and put it back in the oven for the remaining time.



On the seventh hour (imprecise - an hour either way won't hurt it!), peel your potatoes and parboil them. When the potatoes are ready to go in the oven, remove the lamb from the oven, put it and the potatoes in a separate roasting tray and turn up the heat to about 180°C to 200°C. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes.



Meanwhile, take the remainder of the juice from the seven-hour slow roast and reduce slowly to make a delicious gravy.



I like to serve the whole thing on a large plate so guests can help themselves.



To make meat stock:
Save the bones of a roast chicken. Don't throw them away. Put them in a large saucepan. Add a generous amount of salt, some pepper, dried herbs and an onion, halved. I even used some of the peeled carrot, as you see in the photo below. Boil it for a good hour on a low heat.
Drain it off into a bowl.
Take the amount you want for this recipe and put the rest in an old resealable ice cream tub and put in the freezer for another day.



To make the vegetable medley:
Take 3 carrots (chopped), a handful of green beans (halved), one head of fennel (diced), and 3 cloves of garlic (thinly chopped).
Fry the fennel for 4 minutes. Add the carrots, fry for 3 minutes. Add the green beans, fry for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, fry for 1 minute. Add the water from the potatoes. Cover and cook on a medium-low heat until all the water has disappeared. Put aside until the rest is ready.

Recipe I - Carbonnade à la Flamande

Ingredients:
700g-1kg of stewing pork or beef, two onions, two slices of white bread, a couple of bottles of dark beer (Orval, Chimay, Rochefort 8, etc...), a slice of gingerbread or some five-spice, a bay leaf, thyme, mustard, cornflour (optional), salt and pepper.

Instructions:
Put the onion in a stewpot, fry until sweating, salt and add the meat, fry until sealed. Add the beer (pour slowly and try to avoid too much froth), put the other ingredients in except the cornflour. Cook the whole thing on a low heat for up to three hours. If the sauce is not thick enough, add some cornflour. Roux is often suggested, but I think it is too fatty.

Serve with a generous portion of chips and mayonnaise.

Unpretentious and utterly delicious!