My favourite slow cooked beef...

I have used my new slow cooker quite a few times this Winter cooking up all sorts of dishes from Spanish style Chicken to Chicken Curry, Beef Stroganoff to French Style Beef Casseroles and even a Lentil Dahl and Lamb Biryani.  The ultimate casserole to me would be Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon which I will try this Winter when I have the right ingredients in the house.

Here is a link to Julia's Beef Bourguignon Recipe, a timeless classic...
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=8222804

What I have enjoyed eating the most is the following recipe, loosely based on recipes I have followed previously combined with what ingredients I actually have in the house.


Slow Cooker Beef Casserole

Ingredients
1.2 - 1.5 kgs stewing steak (I cut the steaks into fairly large chunks probably 10cm square
a couple of tablespoons of flour to coat the steak prior to browning
olive oil (enough glugs to brown the meat and veg)
2 red onions sliced
2 yellow peppers sliced (or 4 small ones)
1 courgettes sliced (or 2 small ones)
2 sticks celery finely sliced
1 can tomatoes or half a bottle of passata (about 400g)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon mace
1 tablespoon tomato paste diluted in a cup of beef stock
a couple of sprigs of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme) chopped
enough wine to cover all of the above when it's all placed in the slow cooker
salt and pepper to season

Method
Cut the meat into good sized chunk (2 inch square if you prefer smaller bits but in my case 4 inch square suits me better).  Coat the meat with flour and season with salt and pepper.  Put aside.  When I use my slow cooker I tend to brown the vegetables first and put them in the cooker before the meat.  Brown the vegetables in olive oil and place in slow cooker.  Brown the meat and put in slow cooker on top of the veg.  Add the canned tomatoes, garlic, stock, tomato paste, mace, wine and herbs to the slow cooker and grind over some black pepper and season with salt.  Switch on the slow cooker and leave until cooked.  This would usually take at least 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low. 

This dish is lovely served with mash, rice or buttered noodles (fettuccine).  I also tend to enjoy such dinners with a serving of cooked greens on the side such as green beans, asparagus, peas or spinach.  But tonight I am too tired, so it's simply being dished up over some mash.

Mucho Minestrone...

What a grotty week.  I am feeling like stink, my youngest is sick again for the 3rd time in 2 months, the weather sucks, it's all so truly uninspiring.  My body is begging for healthy food but I feel so wiped out that I am finding myself over-dosing on easy access carbs and am feeling like a true fatty baloomba.  Anyway today I forced myself to make some minestrone as this really is the best you can eat in a bowl as it's loaded with veg and a bit of protein and carbs.  Just what the doctor ordered!

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients
1.5 red onions diced
2 carrots diced
2 celery sticks diced
200g smoked back bacon diced with fat removed
3 cloves of garlic
2 courgettes diced
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
1 glass of wine
500g chicken stock
1/2 bag frozen free flow spinach (175g)
1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
60g soup pasta (I use Ditali Lisci as it's the perfect size for this soup)

Method
Put the onions, carrots, celery, bacon and garlic in a saucepan with some olive oil and sweat over a very low heat for about 30 minutes or until soft.  The key is that the veg must be soft.  Add the courgettes, wine and tomatoes and cook for a further 30 minutes on a very low heat.  Add the stock, spinach, beans and pasta and continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked.  Season to taste if necessary.  I find a good grind of black pepper and some parmesan shavings over the top equals soup perfection.

Roast Vegetables for Unwell Personas

I have been trying to shake a cold for the last week and it just ain't happening.  This is partially to do with having a non sleeping toddler and partner in the house.  My immunity is shot and I feel wrecked.  Am constantly reaching for quick carb comfort food but am trying to get some healthy veg in inbetween.  Last night I made a large tray of roast vegetables and my body just woofed it down.  Clearly this is what the doctor ordered, lots of colourful vegetables with all those lovely vitamins and minerals.  I am off to the food market shortly to get a stash of more vegetables to make a big pot of minestrone soup for dinner tonight.  But in the meantime here is my recipe for roast vegetables.

Ingredients
1 orange sweet potato cubed (4cm)
2 red skin potatoes cubed (2.5cm as they take longer to cook)
2 red onions sliced into chunks
half a garlic separated into cloves but leave the skin on
2 courgettes sliced into chunks
2 yellow peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic glaze
salt and pepper

Method
Prepare all the vegetables by washing them and cutting into chunks.  Place in a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper and drizzle over oil and balsamic glaze (or balsamic vinegar if you have some).  Massage the oil and glaze into the vegetables. 

Cook at 220 degrees for 45 minutes or until cooked, turning vegetables occasionally.  I served my vegetables with some pan fried rump steak with some more balsamic glaze drizzled over the steak.

Saturday morning pancakes...

It's been ages since we got up early on a Saturday morning and whipped up some pancakes.  One of the great things about weekends is that you have more time to spend on cooking things you wouldn't have time for during the week.  My kiddies love pancakes with a blueberries, a blob of greek yoghurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.  It's been so cold this week, it's just nice to have something warm in your tummy as you start your day.

Blueberry and Buttermilk pancakes

Ingredients
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
grated rind of half a lemon
3 tablespoons butter melted
1 can blueberries drained

Method
Blend all ingredients except the blueberries to make a smooth batter.  Lightly grease a non-stick frying pan and ladle in enough batter to make a pancake the size that suits you.  I found you can either manage one giant pancake, or 3 medium sized ones.  I prefer mediums.  Once the batter is in the pan, scatter the blueberries over the batter before it starts to bubble.  When the bubbles appear it's time to flip the pancake over.  Once the pancakes are cooked, serve them with greek yoghurt and maple syrup.

 

Child Friendly Risotto

Bacon and Courgette Risotto with Parmesan Cheese

After a day at home feeling like poo (I have caught my son's virus) I picked up my children from school and kindergarden, and asked them what they'd like for dinner.  'Rice' was the response.  My youngest would live on boiled rice given the opportunity.  How boring but I can understand the appeal of steaming bowl of rice.  Then it dawned on me that I had not infact made a Risotto for a very long time.  And that my children should expand their eating horizons.  So a look through the cupboards found some arborio rice (a must for an authentic risotto), some bacon and courgettes.  As my children are allergic to all things green, I ended up peeling and grating the courgettes in an attempt to disguise them. 

Arborio Rice for making authentic Risotto

Bacon and Courgette Risotto

Ingredients
1 onion chopped
1 tablespoon garlic oil
2 courgettes peeled and grated
100g bacon pieces (fat removed)
200g arborio rice
4 cups warm chicken stock
knob butter
parmesan cheese

Method
Saute the bacon, onions and courgettes in the garlic oil until soft.  Add the rice and fry for a minute or so until the rice is coated.  Slowly start adding the stock a soup ladle at a time, stirring until the stock is absorbed before adding the next ladle full.  It should take 20 minutes for the rice to absorb all the stock.  Once the risotto is fully stocked, add a knob of butter and stir through until melted.  Check the flavour.  It may not need salt as the bacon and stock are quite salty.  It should require a grind or two of black pepper.  Serve in a bowl with grated parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

Risotto before adding the Cheese

As I felt the need for greens myself, I ended up adding some chopped baby spinach leaves to my bowl.

Risotto with baby spinach leaves added

French Tarts

When I lived in London they had this fab take-away called French Tarts who used to make the most delicious tarts with a light flaky pastry base.  They'd deliver these tarts along with the most delicious roasted vegetables, frites and dessert tarts (the tarte tatin was to die for) and even bottles of wine and cigarettes (we used to smoke back in the day).  This was my idea of deliverance heaven.

Here is the link to their menu.  I don't know whether they still exist, but they will forever be etched in my mind as good food that went with very good times.

http://www.yourbestlocal.com/restmenu.asp?rest_id=28-SW11-1EE&cat_id=page1&order=1

I woke up yesterday morning with a craving for French Tarts, as it was such a cold day, and this is the sort of food I like to eat.  I don't know how they make their tarts, but I will try different methods until I nail it.  I guess it's similar to a Galette as it appears to be sort of free form, but I'm guessing it's made in a tin.

But instead I tried just using a slab of reduced fat puff pastry, and topping it with a sour cream, egg and mustard mix, before topping it with toppings.  These tasted pretty damned good but not french tarts as I remember them.  Will keep working on it until I get it right.

Tart 1 for Adults

Caramelise 2 red onions by frying on low heat for about 30 minutes with a little water, butter, oil, sugar and balsamic vinegar.  When the onions were ready, I added 2 courgettes chopped into ribbons and a sliced chorizo sausage and warmed through before turning off the heat.  I then beat one egg and added about half a cup of light sour cream and a teaspoon of mustard.  This mix I then divided in two and spread over 2 pieces of pre-rolled pastry.   I then placed the onion/courgette/chorizo topping onto one pre-rolled square of pastry and topped with sliced brie.  This was baked in a 200 oven for about 20 minutes until golden.

Caramelised onion, courgette, chorizo and Brie Tart

Tart 2 for children

The second piece of pre-rolled pastry which has been brushed with half the sour cream mix, I topped with sliced in half cherry tomatoes and a grating of edam cheese.  Baked for 20 minutes or until golden in a 200 degree oven

Cheese and Tomato Tart for the children

Chicken Nuggets... another fat girl fat recipe

My kids have been begging me to buy them chicken nuggets but I refuse because I know they variety you find in the frozen section of the supermarket contain some ingredients that should just be illegal, plus they are not made out of chicken breast, but pulverised chicken bones, skin and all the bits you wouldn't ordinarily choose to eat. 

I read somewhere if you marinade strips of chicken in buttermilk for a couple of days it tenderises the chicken.  Well I did just that and it was delicious.   I then dipped the strips of chicken into some store bought crumbs for coating schnitzels or calamari, and then fried in about half a cup of oil.  Well these were a real hit.  My kids made chicken burgers out of them and are begging for the same again next weekend.  I will probably wait a month because of the fat content.