Alright mate, 'av some Scouse

Abel & Cole recently contacted me asking if I would like to try one of their mixed fruit & veg boxes. Over the years we've had veg boxes off various people so I was interested to give Abel & Cole a try. The box contained potatoes, carrots, leeks, onions, mushrooms, salad tomatoes, savoy style cabbage, apples, clementines, mangoes, bananas. Most of the veg was turned into Ham & Leek pie and a lasagna leaving me with some potatoes, carrots and onions. It was then I decided to make Scouse. Incidentally they are the first company I've come across who deliver my favourite beer!

Scouse is a dish, originating from Liverpool, that I've been meaning to make for a while and it seemed like a perfect dish to not only use up the veg but to also christen by my Le Creuset dish. My teenage years were spent growing up a stone throw for Liverpool and quite regularly picked up portions of Scouse from the local bakery for lunch. Although the dish had begun to die out over the last few years, I noticed on my last visit to Liverpool it is appearing on menus again. It is this dish that Liverpudlians (aka Scousers) are thought to be named after.

There is different variants of the dish depending on where you are and who you speak to. Scouse is a lamb/mutton stew from Liverpool and was originally brought to Liverpool by North European sailors who called it Labskause. It's what we would now call a peasant dish using cheap cuts of meat and basic veg. Blind Scouse is the same dish, but without the meat and Lob Scouse (or Lob Skows) is more from North Wales and uses beef rather than lamb or mutton. It's by no way a posh looking dish, but it certainly fills you up. Traditionally you eat it with pickled red cabbage, which gives the dish some bite and tartness.

This is also an exercise to prove to Hubby that Liverpool does have a famous dish, which at the moment he refuses to believe. I can see his point as I don't think I can name a single other famous dish from Liverpool, unless and chip butty counts! He wants to call it a hotpot, but I tried to explain calling Scouse hotpot is like calling Beef bourguignon a Lancashire Hotpot.

Some searching in the internet came up with a lots of variations on the recipe, some with both lamb & beef, some with herbs, some with fancier veg and one even suggesting adding tomato ketchup. I decided to stick with what I know and have tasted in turn kept it as simple as possible. It was hard trying not to add herbs to the mix! So here to celebrate the fantastic year that was Liverpool's year of culture, I present Scouse...

Scouse
Serves 4-6

2 tbsp vegetable oil
400g lamb shoulder, diced
1 large onion, cut into chunks
500g carrots, sliced,
2kg potatoes, diced
Worcestershire sauce
750ml lamb stock (you could use beef stock)
salt & pepper

1) Preheat the oven to 170oc. In a deep casserole dish heat the oil then brown the lamb. Remove the lamb then fry the onions for a couple of minutes. Return the lamb to the pan then add the carrots and 500g of the potatoes. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and 500ml of the stock.

2) Place the covered casserole dish in the oven for 2 hours. Stir every hour. Once the 2 hours are over stir in the remaining potatoes. By this point the potatoes that went in at the beginning will have begun to disintegrate and thicken the sauce. Add the remaining stock (if needed) and put back in the oven, covered, for a further 2 hours. Serve hot with picked red cabbage and crusty bread.

Beef & Butterbean Stew in a Bread Bowl

It seems to be taking me ages to write this post, things are all over the place at the moment. My friend has given birth to twin girls, work has been mad and I've got a stinking cold, which in turn kills my appetite. I have however made Hubby's year by getting him a ticket to meet Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and take part in the Pig in a Day course held at River Cottage HQ. This is preparation for the half a pig my smallholding friend is giving us after Christmas. Hubby, bless him, is so excited!

The inspiration for this dish came from the Dough cookbook Hubby had borrowed off a friend and thought a stew from this months Fresh magazine would be perfect in them. I admit I'm not a huge fan of stews as I find them boring, but this one was different. I made a double batch of the stew so we also had some the next day. The stew tasted even better the day after as the flavours had matured. I never thought I would say this but I would have this stew again.

The bread bowls worked better than expected, however next time I would grease the bowl better or use greaseproof paper to stop the bread sticking. It's been nearly 2 months now since I've been making all of our bread at home and I never thought there would be such a significant difference when I came to taste mass produced bread again. At the weekend we were away and I had some supermarket french baguette, it tasted so sweet and a fluffy nothingness compared to the bread I make at home. My homemade bread is far more filling and tastier!

Bread Bowls
Makes 2 bowls
Adapted from Dough: Simple Contemporary Bread

250g strong bread flour
10g polenta
1 tsp dried yeast
pinch of sugar
1 tsp salt
25g olive oil
320g warm water

1) Activate the yeast in warm water and sugar. Leave for 15 min to froth. Stir the olive oil into the yeasty mix.

2) Mix together flour, polenta and salt then gradually add the yeasty water to make a dough. Kneed for 10 min by hand or 2 min by mixer. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.

3) Lightly oil the outside of 2 ovenproof bowls. Divide dough in half and roll into balls. Roll out each piece of dough into a circle 3-5mm thick. Shape ontop on the upturned bowls and press down to rid of air bubbles. Rest for 10 min.

4) Bake bowls at 200oc for 20-25 min until the bread bowls are golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully removing the bread from the bowls

Beef & Butterbean Stew
Serves 4
Adapted from Fresh Magazine

2 tbsp olive oil
750g stewing steak
1 onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp hot smoked paprika
125ml red wine
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of butter beans
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt & pepper

1) In a deep casserole dish brown the stewing steak in the oil. Remove from the pan, set aside and fry onions and peppers in pan until softened.

2) Add the rest of the rest of the ingredients (apart from parsley & butterbeans) and simmer on a low heat for 3 - 3.5 hours, until beef begins to fall apart.

3) Stir in butterbeans and parsley then simmer for a further 5 minutes.

3-Bean Chilli

Poor Hubby, with a fridgeful of veg and lots of recipes I wanted to try I've inflicted a plethora of veggie dishes on him. First vegetable pie then next bean chilli. The familiar smell of chilli greeted him as he came from the front door and you could see his face literally drop when he noticed it was missing his favourite ingredient, meat. Without the soured cream it's vegan. Although it is a veggie dish the beans help to make it meaty (according to Hubby) I've promised him some proper meaty dishes for the rest of the week!

The recipe is cross between my chilli con carne recipe and a bean casserole recipe given to me by the lovely Fi on a foodie forum.

3-Bean Chilli
serves 3-4

1 onion, sliced
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 carrots, sliced
2 tins chopped tomatoes
100ml white wine
450ml vegetable stock
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 can borlotti beans
1 can cannellini beans
1/2 can kidney beans
salt & pepper

1) Fry onions for until they are beginning to soften in a small amount of olive oil, then add the garlic and carrots. Continue to cook for 3 minutes.

2) Add the wine and reduce for a few minutes. Add stock, spices, chilli. Simmer for 35 min, or until sauce has thickened. Add all the beans and seasoning. Simmer for a further 8 minutes.

Ragu of Tiny Meatballs

The Easter weekend is nearly over and I can't believe how fast it's gone. My Simnel Loaf went down really well, I'll be making it again next Easter. At least I'm now on a 2 week holiday before going back to work (one of the few advantages of working in a school). As I gave up biscuits for lent I can see a surge of biscuit baking ahead!

Saturday night we camped out with Hubby's cousins. It was the first camping trip of the year. I admit I was a bit apprehensive at first, when we settled in for the night frost was beginning to form on the tent. However once we snuggled into our sleeping bags we were soon warm. At 6am I had to get up to shake an inch of snow off the tent, just a shame it had all melted by 8am.

A few weeks back I stumbled upon Katie at Other People's Foods post on Jamie Olivers Ragu of Tiny Meatballs. I've made various meatballs before, but they have always been really disappointing. However these look so delicious I decided to give meatballs another go.

Both of us really enjoyed them and to make it even better we have another portion for tomorrow night. The only slight alteration I would make to it in the future is to only put zest of 1/2 a lemon in.

Congratulations to Niri who won the Hotel Chocolat Easter egg.

Spinach & Feta Frittata

This week is Farmhouse Breakfast Week and to celebrate I made Scotch Pancakes with the butter and buttermilk I made earlier on in the week. They were beautifully fluffy and if my waistline allowed I would eat them every day.

With the miserable weather and all the stodgy comfort food we've been eating today I was craving a simple veggie summer dish. Although a frittata is traditionally done on the hob in a frying pan, I prefer to oven bake it. This is a slightly different version on the oven-baked frittata I've baked before. On the way home from work I popped into Morrisons to pick up some feta, while walking to the fridges I noticed a huge display promoting 5-a-day. On this display was potatoes, I didn't dare point out to the woman setting up the display that potatoes don't count as one of your 5-a-day!

Spinach & Feta Frittata
Serves 4

4 eggs
1 tbsp cornflower
200ml milk
200g spinach
handful of feta
seasoning

1) Heat oven to 220oc. Wilt spinach, allow to cool then squeeze out water. Blend the cornflower with a bit of milk, then whisk in the rest of the milk and eggs. Season with salt and pepper.

2) Line 8in x 8in baking tin with baking parchment. Pour in the batter, then sprinkle the spinach and feta over the batter. Bake for 20 min until firm and golden. Can be eaten warm or cold.

Spicy Meatloaf

I find the usual sausage dishes can get a bit boring after a while, so tonight decided to some chilli flecked sausages (called Rudolf's Revenge) from the farm shop and turn them into a meatloaf. The only memories I have of meatloaf aren't particularly pleasant ones, but I'm glad to say tonight's meatloaf was far better than I expected. The recipe is a mix of recipes I've come across. Can't be bad as Hubby has asked if I will cook it again soon.

Spicy sausage meatloaf
Serves 4

Meatloaf
500g spicy sausagemeat
1 onion finely sliced
100g (about 4 small/2 large slices) fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 egg, beaten

Topping
2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons
25g (1 small slice) fresh white breadcrumbs
30g grated cheese

1) Preheat oven to 160oc. Lightly fry onions until soft. In a bowl mix all meatloaf ingredients (including onion) until well combined. Press into 1lb loaf tin. Bake for 55min.

2) Fry bacon until crispy then fry topping breadcrumbs for 2 min until golden. In bowl mix with cheese and bacon. Sprinkle on the top of the meatloaf and bake for a further 5 min, until cheese has melted. Allow to stand for 10 min before serving and slicing.

Bacon & Mushroom Quiche

Continuing our theme of not-so-healthy dinners, I made a bacon & mushroom quiche for tea tonight. I admit I cheated slightly with the pastry. I can make really short pastry which is great for mince pies, but not so good with quiche so I picked up some ready made pastry in the shops. I've never really "baked blind" before and I forgot that pastry does sometimes shrink, but I managed to fit nearly all of the egg mix in. However I forgot that our oven is on a slight slant and the egg mix tipped out of the back of the pie and into the oven. Oh well!

Bacon and mushroom quiche
serves 4

pre-cooked pastry base
3 rashers of bacon, cut into pieces
5 mushrooms
3 eggs
100ml double cream
100ml milk
handful of grated mature cheddar
seasoning

1) Preheat oven to 160oc. Fry bacon and mushrooms until cooked. Sprinkle pastry base with cheese then bacon & mushroom

2) Whisk eggs, milk and cream together then season. Pour egg mix in base. Cook on a baking tray in the middle of the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Sausage Casserole

Most weeks Hubby makes a sausage type casserole for his lunch. Every week the ingredients vary depending as to what is in season and what is in our cupboards. This week Hubby isn't feeling too great so I've made the casserole.

Hubby's sausage & bean casserole
Serves 3-4

2 large leeks, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
6 lemon & fennel sausages, each cut into 3
4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
5 flat cap mushrooms, sliced
500ml passata
250ml beef stock
1/2 cup of red lentils
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 can of cannellini beans (or naked beans as Hubby calls them !)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp thyme
salt & pepper

1) Fry leeks and garlic in a large saucepan in a small amount of butter until soft. Add the sausage pieces and fry until beginning to brown.

2) Stir in carrots and mushrooms and cook for 2 min. Pour in passata, stock, Worcestershire's sauce, bay leaf, thyme and seasoning. Stir. Simmer for 25 min.

3) Stir in lentils and cook for another 5 minutes. Then add cannellini beans and cook for another 5 mins. Regularly stir during these 10 mins or the lentils and beans can catch on the bottom of the pan.

Shepherd's Pie with Spiced Parsnip Mash

Originally I was going to make moussaka for tea then hubby announced he doesn't like aubergines so I had to have another think about how I was going to use the lamb mince and make it stretch over 2 nights. Some body then suggested shepherd's pie. After having a quick search online I came across this recipe for shepherd's pie with spiced parsnip mash.

Hubby enjoyed it, but I'm not too sure. I think I found the parsnips overpowering. I would rather a load of cheesy mash on top than parsnips.

I have a stat counter on this blog that tells me where visitors come from and what they click on while they are here. The Google keyword hits are the most interesting, "immaculate baking" did make me laugh! Over the last few days I've had quite a few hits from around the world after people putting "custard creams" ?!?

Chilli Con Carne & Guacamole

Monday and Tuesday night are usually double meal night as I'm at a night class on the Tuesday and want something quick and easy for tea. Tonight we had chilli con carne with guacamole and tortilla chips. Tomorrow I'll probably serve the chilli with rice or on jacket spuds.

I didn't realise how shockingly bad this photo was and the splodge of chilli on the bowl until I had uploaded it. The guacamole was a beautiful vivid green when I made it 5 min before the photo was taken, but it soon discoloured.

Chilli con carne
Serves 4

1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
500g beef steak mince
75ml port (or red wine)
1 red pepper, sliced
1 medium red chilli, finely sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 beef oxo cube
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
salt & pepper
1 tin of kidney beans

1) Fry onions and garlic until softened. Add mince, then cook until browned. Pour in port and boil for 3 min.

2) Stir in the remainder of the ingredients (apart from the kidney beans). Simmer for 50 min.

3) Add kidney beans and simmer for a further 10 min.

Guacamole
Serves 1-2

Juice of half a lime
1/2 a fresh red chilli, finely sliced
1 tsp coriander
1 ripe avocado
salt & pepper

1) Blitz all ingredients until you have a paste.