Lamb,Pear and Cranberry Pie (without the pie)

On Violet's Pantry, our members had the privilege of testing some of Lotte Duncan's recipes for her new book Lotte's Country Kitchen which was published last year. The recipes we helped with were wonderful and it was great fun trying them out. I am the proud owner of her book and it is so pretty I am afraid to get a splat of goo on it. It is one of the best cookery books I own.. It does not stop at beautifully laid out pages and stunning photographs. The recipes are seasonal and the chapters laid out monthly so it is very easy to find something that suits the time of year. All are very homely recipes.No complexity involved but Lotte has managed to capture what every home cook wants, lots of flavour and beautiful presentation but as well s being homely everyday fare for the family her dishes would grace a dinner party table perfectly indeed the quantities are mostly for 6-8 people but easily adjusted for smaller amounts. This recipe was for a pie but I just couldn't be bothered making the pastry. The mix of fruit meat and veg is perfect with just the right amount of sweetness and sharpness. A real keeper. If you have a few cranberries still lying around I would recommend this dish. I served it with fluffy creamed potatoes. Delicious.

• Preparation time 30 mins
• Cooking time 120 mins
• Serves 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil
• 900 g (31.7oz) Leg of lamb, diced and trimmed of fat
• 25 g (0.9oz) Butter
• 1 Large onion, roughly chopped
• 3 Large carrots, cut into 2.5cm/1inch chunks
• 1 tbsp Soft brown sugar
• 2.5 tbsp Plain flour
• 570 ml (20.1fl oz) Lamb or beef stock
• 150 ml (5.3fl oz) Red wine
• 2 tbsp Chopped fresh parsley
• 0.5 tsp Dried thyme
• 1 Fresh bay leaf
• 1 Small sprig of rosemary
• 2 Large pears, peeled, cored and cut into chunks the same size as the lamb
• 110 g (3.9oz) Fresh cranberries
• 1 Small orange – grated zest and juice
• 0.5 tbsp Clear honey or quince jelly
• 1 tbsp Chopped fresh mint
• 1 Pinch of salt
• 1 Pinch of ground black pepper
• 225 g (7.9oz) Self-raising flour - For the Suet crust pastry
• 2 tsp Dried thyme - For the Suet crust pastry
• 2 tsp English mustard powder - For the Suet crust pastry
• 110 g (3.9oz) Shredded suet flour for dusting - For the Suet crust pastry
• 1 Egg, beaten - For the Suet crust pastry 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan oven, 140°C gas mark 3. Aga 4/3-door grid shelf on floor of baking oven Aga 2- door Grid shelf on floor of roasting oven with cold plain shelf on third runners.
2. Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the pieces of lamb a few at a time. When each piece of meat is sufficiently browned, remove it using a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. You might need to add another tablespoon of oil to brown all the meat.
3. Now add the butter, onion, carrots and brown sugar to the dish and fry them gently until they are beginning to soften and caramelise due to the sugar. You don’t want the sugar to burn, so keep the heat low. It just makes the vegetables sweeter and gives a lovely colour to the final dish.
4. Stir in the flour and pour over the stock and wine. Bring up to boiling point, return the lamb to the dish with the parsley, thyme, bay leaf and rosemary. Season with a little salt and pepper.
5. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove and then add the pears, cranberries and orange zest and juice. Cook for another 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the honey or quince jelly.
6. Now pour into 1.4 litre/ 2½ pint pie dish and set aside to cool a little.
7. Increase the oven temperature to 190°C fan oven, 170°C/ gas mark 5. Aga 4/3-door Top of baking oven. Aga 2-door Grid shelf on floor of roasting oven.
8. Make the pastry just before you need it because just like dumplings, when you add a liquid to self-raising flour it starts the rising process and you need to cook it straight away to keep the pastry light. If you leave the pastry hanging around, it will be heavy and tough. Sieve the flour into a medium mixing bowl and add the thyme, mustard powder and a pinch of salt. Stir in the suet and mix with approximately 150ml/5fl oz cold water to make a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board and knead until smooth.
9. Now roll out the pastry, bid enough to cover your pie dish with a little overhang. Moisten the rim of the dish with some water and position the pastry on the top and press it over the edge of the dish, and tuck it slightly under. It doesn’t matter if the edges are thick and pleated, this is a very rustic pie and the rougher the better!
10. Make a slit in the middle to let the steam escape during cooking and brush all over with the beaten Egg to give a rich colour to the cooking pastry. Stand the pie on the baking sheet and bake until the Pastry is crisp and golden brown.
11. Slice the pie and serve with steamed runner beans, tossed in butter and plenty of seasoning. 

Haggis

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang's my arm. 

Address to a Haggis by Robert Burns. Scotland's favourite son. The Bard. We are expected to revere this eighteenth century poet but trust me when it is a compulsory subject to study in Scottish schools by the time you finish you could see him in hell. Please don't get me started on Tam O'Shanter. While having no love of the poet I am a huge fan of the subject matter, Haggis. Up there with whisky it is one of Scotland's finest exports. I was reared on it and love it..  I can of course buy it in this part of the world, but, for some unknown reason they make it with pork. Mutton /lamb is what should be  used. Well would you like a beef burger made of pork?.When I am in Scotland I always buy two or three large sausages from a butchers then slice it and freeze it.

This is a much more convenient way of using haggis. I can just lift a few slices from the freezer as required and turn them in the pan. They take on the crumbly texture just the same as the traditional haggis packed in a sheep's stomach. Lovely an spicy it is a taste experience you should not miss. It also makes a wonderful stuffing for steak or chicken

If you are a very brave and adventurous cook you can of course make it from scratch

Haggis Ingredients:


1 sheep's stomach bag
1 sheep's pluck - liver, lungs and heart
3 onions
250g beef Suet
150g oatmeal
salt and lots of black pepper
a pinch of cayenne
150mls of stock/gravy

Haggis Cooking Directions:


1. Clean the stomach bag thoroughly and soak overnight. In the morning turn it inside out.

2. Wash the pluck and boil for 1.5 hours, ensuring the windpipe hangs over the pot allowing drainage of the impurities.

3. Mince the heart and lungs and grate half the liver.

4. Chop up the onions and suet.

5. Warm the oatmeal in the oven.

6. Mix all the above together and season with the salt and pepper. Then add the cayenne.

7. Pour over enough of the pluck boiled water to make the mixture watery.

8. Fill the bag with the mixture until it's half full.

9. Press out the air and sew the bag up.

10. Boil for 3 hours (you may need to prick the bag with a wee needle if it looks like blowing up!) without the lid on.

11. Serve with neeps and tatties.

Me? I prefer the easy route to my favourite dish. I'll leave the hard part to the butcher. Perhaps someday I will have a go.
As a post script I don't usually serve the haggis as shown in the photo. The idea is just to pile it on a plate with creamy mashed potatoes (tatties)and puréed turnips (neeps) but in that form it is not very photogenic so I poshed it up a little.

A Really Good Ragu

Everyone has their favourite recipe for Ragu. It can be done quickly of course but I find it is worth the effort to do it the slow way using good ingredients. The long slow cooking really improves the ragu giving it that Mmmm quality. It is the better for keeping for a few days. The flavours really intensify. I tend to make a large quantity and freeze it in portions. I use it for Lasagne, Spaghetti Bolognese and another pasta dish which is a sort of quick lasagne but is so tasty. It's also very good on it's own served with fresh crusty bread for mopping up and a salad if you want your greens.
If making lasagne, measure your milk for the bechamel sauce the day before making. Add a quartered onion about a dessertspoon of black peppercorns, two torn bay leaves and two crushed cloves of garlic. Leave in the fridge overnight and strain before making the sauce. Wonderful flavour.

Ragu

500 gms/1lb approx good quality minced beef,lamb,pork or a mixture if you like.
Six slices of smoked streaky bacon chopped up into small pieces (This really gives a lovely flavour)
Two or more cloves of garlic finely chopped
Two onions
Two tins of San Marzano tomatoes if you can get them. If not, do use good quality tomatoes as it really does make a difference.
Two tablespoons of tomato puree
200mls red wine
100 mls milk
One desertspoon dried Oregan (the flavour is better than fresh)
A good handful of torn basil leaves
Fresh nutmeg grated
Black pepper
A little lard,butter or oil. I prefer lard as I think it gives a sweeter flavour to the onions but you must do as you wish
A liitle (about 50mls) Marsala or other fortified wine. Whatever you have in your cupboard will do.

Method

Melt your chosen fat/oil in a heavy based casserole or saucepan. A cast iron pot is ideal for the slow cooking if you have one.
Chop the onions very finely with the garlic
Stir gently into the pot and cook gently until soft an translucent
Add the marsala/fortified wine
Turn down the heat and place a peice of oiled foil over the onions right down into the pot until it is just in touch with the onions. Leave to soften and cook for about an hour.
Remove the foil and turn up the heat adding the bacon.
Stir for a few minutes until the bacon is cooked.
Add the mince breaking it up with a fork and strirring it so it browns and separates.
Season with freshly ground black pepper. You should not need salt with the bacon but can add it later if you want more.
Keeping the heat up add the wine and let it bubble away for a few minutes so the meat absorbs the wine and the alcohol evaporates.
Add the milk and let it bubble for a few minutes. The milk coats the mince removing the grittiness that sometimes happens with mince.
Add the oregano and about half of the basil leaves
Add the tomatoes and the tomato puree stirring everything well to amalgamate.
You can let this simer very slowly on the hob for a couple of hours or cook in a very slow oven.
Don't forget to taste as you go. Not a hard thing to do.
If it gets too dry add a little water.
Don't add any more salt until the end of cooking. It gets quite concentrated so you don't want to spoil it
When it is cooked, stir through the rest of the basil and grate in some fresh nutmeg.

A Few Other Tips

If making Lasagne I find the dried sheets work better than the so called ' fresh' from the supermarket. Even though the instructions say not to, I find better results by softening the sheets first by putting a roasting pan on the hob with simmering water. Place the sheets in for a few minutes . Rinse in cold water and leave on a tea towel until using.
layer up with bechamel sauce mozzarella cheese and pecorino cheese. Lovely

Another quick baked pasta dish is to boil up some macaroni or other dried pasta, mix it with some of the ragu. Place in a dish and splot some bechamel over the top with mozzarella and grated pecorino/parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven until golden and bubbling.

I favour Pecorino cheese but it is more expensive so any fresh Parmesan can be used. Do use the mozzarella. It makes a wonderful difference to the finished dish.

Liver and Bacon

Liver seems to be making a come back. I was amused to see my son order it in a restaurant in London. If I had offered that to him when he was a youngster he'd have strung garlic round his neck and made the sign of the cross. When I was a child it was cooked in the pan until it was so tough it would have done soles on your shoes. It had to be eaten though. Remember the starving children in Africa? No great hardship. I was always hungry and they certainly weren't getting my dinner. I recall at school being taught to make Venetian liver. It was chopped up, rolled in seasoned flour fried lightly and then stock added. This was a huge innovation and went down very well at home. I have to say I learned long ago to cook it lightly. Much nicer a little pink in the middle. I love this version by Jamie Oliver. Lots of lovely oozy sauce to soak into buttery mashed potatoes. I have to serve it with cabbage. My hubby would think it heresy to eat liver without it. Do try it. It is so easy and like most of Jamie's recipes it works a treat. The crispy sage leaves are wonderful. I have taken to doing these with other dishes. They retain their colour when fried , add texture and a wonderful flavour.

Liver And Bacon With A Twist

Serves 4

12 rashers streaky bacon
olive oil
a small handful of fresh sage leaves
600gms/1lb 6oz calfs or lambs liver cut into strips
flour to dust
2 medium onions peeled and finely sliced
sea salt and ground black pepper
4 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
4 heaped tablespoons butter


Get a big frying pan nice and hot
Add bacon cook until nice and crispy then remove to a plate.
Add some oil to the bacon fat sprinkle in the sage leaves and cook for thirty seconds until crispy Put with the bacon
Dust the liver with a little flour and shake off the excess
Add onions to the pan with a good pinch of salt
Cook until soft then remove from the pan
Add a little more oil then add the liver.
Cook in batches over a high heat. don't overcook
Put everything back into the pan with the butter and vinegar it will sizzle and spit becoming creamy and saucy
Season to taste Serve with buttery mashed potatoes

Mississippi Mud Cake

I bought 'Southern cakes by Nancy McDermott some time ago but up until now I hadn't made anything from it. I love the southern cooking so rich and totally unhealthy. Following a healthy diet is a normal day to day thing but sometimes a little of this stuff is just what the doctor ordered. Definitely a chocolate feel good factor to cheer up the winter days so that must be good for you mustn't it? The author states that she doesn't know how the list of ingredients transforms into such a tasty cake. I am here to tell you it certainly does. I have to confess I scratched my head a little while reading the recipe. Enjoy this delicious fudgey chocolate delight.

Cake

225gms/8oz butter cut into big chunks
62gms/2 1/2 ozs cocoa poder
4 eggs well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
400gms/14 oz sugar
250gms /9oz plain flour
pinch salt
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts ( I didn't use these)

Frosting

450gms/1lb icing sugar
62gms/ 2 1/2 oz cocoa powder
100gms/ 40z butter
125mls milk or evaporated milk
1 teasp vanilla extract
4 cups mini marshmallows or 3 cups marshmallows quartered ( I have no idea how to convert this to metric or imperial).

To Make The Cake

Pre-heat the ovem to 18o.C/350.F/Gas 4

Grease and flour 13 x 9 " / 13cm x 20cms tin

In a medium saucepan melt the butter and the cocoa over a medium heat stirring now an dagain until the butter is melted and the mixture is well combined about 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the beaten egg, vanilla sugar, flour, salt and nuts.

Beat with a wooden spoon until the batter is well combined and smooth

Quickly pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 - 25 mins until the top is springy to touch and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan

Frosting

Prepare this while the cake is baking so you will be ready to pour it over the hot cake.

In a medium bowl sieve the icing sugar and coca powder and combine well.

Add the melted butter milk and vanilla.

Mix well

Set aside until the cake is done.

Remove the cake from the oven and scatter the marshmallows on top.

Return the cake to the oven for a few minutes to soften the marshmallows

Pour the frosting al over the hot cake and leave to cool

Cut into small squares.

Notes

I made the cake in a 23 cm x 23 cm/9" x 9" tin. This gave me squares 1" thick. If made in the bigger pan I think they would be very thin.
Make half the amount of frosting if using this size of tin as there is a huge amount.
I didn't have enough marshmallows so the photo is not quite a true representation.

As a Post Script these actually taste even better after a couple of days. They get fudgier.

Pomegranate and Honey Glazed Lamb

A very quick easy and tasty dinner. This was exactly what I needed tonight. Just the thing when galloping exhaustion strikes yet something that tastes wonderful is required at the end of the day. I thank Kate for the recipe which came from 'Cook Simple' by Diana Henry.


8 chunky lamb chops (I use chump)
Marinade
2&1/2 tblsps pomegranate molasses
10 tblsps olive oil
1&1/2 tblsps runny honey
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 teasps cayenne pepper.

Mix marinade ingredients in a plastic bag.
Pop the chops in the bag and coat well.
Leave for 1-24 hours.
Cook in a griddle pan carefully as the sugars may cause the chops to stick

A quick and very tasty dinner. I served with rocket and pomegranate salad with a balsamic dressing and boiled new potatoes. Delicious.

Rustic Beef and Potato Bake

This is a firm family favourite in our house and has been for many years. It is a cheat's dish but if you dislike using processed food you can of course make it from scratch. I have done it both ways. I have also modified the cheat's version slightly. Whatever way you choose to do it, trust me, it is a tasty and filling meal. If you have a busy schedule I suggest you make it the night before then all you have to do is pop it in the oven when you come home from work or wherever your day takes you. Such a relief when you know there is a tasty meal waiting for you and there is no effort. Just pour a glass of wine and relax while it heats.

This will serve 3-4 people. If you want more increase the amount of potatoes as there is plenty of meat and sauce to accommodate this.


450g/1lb minced beef (or lamb)
275g/10oz ready made cheese sauce ( I have used a can of condensed mushroom soup here with added grated cheese)
225g/80z spicy pasta sauce
1 teasp dried oregano
3 largish potatoes thinly sliced
1 onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic smushed
100g/40z cheddar cheese or mozzarella (I use both)
Freshly milled black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 190.C/375.F/Gas 5
Grease a not too deep baking dish.

Fry the mince until brown draining off any excess fat.
Boil the potato slices for about five minutes then drain and allow to dry without the lid.
Whisk together the cheese sauce and the pasta sauce adding the oregano and garlic. If you are making this to put straight in the oven warm the sauce in a saucepan first stirring until it is smooth..

Layer and arrange the potato slices in the dish.
Sprinkle over the chopped onion and give a good grinding of black pepper.
Spread the mince on top of the potato and onions.
Pour the sauce over the top.
Cover with greased foil and cook in the oven for 40-50 minutes.
Sprinkle over the cheese (cheddar first and then mozzarella if using both)
Return to the oven and bake uncovered for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.

If you have left overs they are very nice re-heated the next day.

Irish Stew

As it is Saint Patrick's day today what else would we have for dinner but Irish Stew?
Irish stew, "ballymaloe" or "stobhach gaelach" is a filling, flavourful peasant dish traditionally made with mutton potatoes onions and parsley. The Irish raised primarily sheep and root crops for subsistence. The sheep provided wool for warm clothing, milk for drinking and making cheese, and eventually food. Potatoes were the main food crop, prior to the potato famine. Irish stew traditionally a one pot dish like all stews, would have consisted mostly of potatoes. Today more meat and vegetables are added but the basis is still potatoes.
Everyone in Ireland has their own method of making 'Stew'. This is my version. It's not really a recipe but to enable me to share it I have tried to make it so.

Like all stews the flavour improves if left overnight.
When re-heating you may have to add water to stop it from sticking

Approx 1lb/500gms lamb cut into cubes (or beef)
6-8 potatoes cut up into pieces or less whatever your taste.
2 carrots roughly chopped
2 parsnips roughly chopped
1 large leek roughly sliced
2 onions chopped
oil for browning
Worcester sauce
chicken stock (2or 3 stock cubes)
Dried herbs as desired.
Salt and pepper
Water

Brown Lamb and add onions in a large pot Stir around and add leeks leave a few mins and add about 1/2 pint water and 1 stock cube herbs and Worcester sauce. Leave to simmer until lamb is tender. Add more water as desired.

In another pot boil up potatoes carrot and parsnip in stock. Leave in stock until lamb is cooked.
When lamb is tender add cooked potatoes etc, with stock
Stir all around and keep heat low. The potatoes should be a bit mushy now
Taste and add more stock as desired.
Season to taste
Turn heat off and leave to absorb flavour

Serve with Brown Soda Bread......What else?