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Cumberland Pie
When an interest in History and Food collide!
“ A Brief History of the Cumberland Pie - The Cumberland Pie may have become no more than a dressed up Cottage Pie sprinkled with cheese and breadcrumbs, but its history goes so much further. The pie has its roots in medieval times when it would be made with a variety of meats, Herdwick mutton, or perhaps game, dried fruit and sweetened but not sugary by the use of apples in the recipe and spices. This mix of meat, spices, and fruit is not dissimilar to the original Mince Pies once made by a similar filling and not to be confused with the Christmas mince pies we are so familiar with today. “ - https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-cumberland-pie-435424
We I’d not have been popular if I’d put Apples and diced fruit in it. But we did have the cubed meat from to shank of a leg of Lamb I acquired in the discounts and butchered. So this was our take on Cumberland Pie
Ingredients:-
300g scraggly tough Lamb shank meat
½ a Swede cubed
1 large Onion sliced
3 medium Carrots sliced
250ml left over Turkey stock from a previous dish
1 Chicken Stock pot dissolved in 200ml of hot water
Mixed Herbs
Salt & Pepper
A sprig of Rosemary
3 large Potatoes
Grated Cheese
Cornflour
Oil to fry
Method:-
(1) Heat oil in a frying pan.
(2) add Salt & Pepper to a little Cornflour and coat the meat.
(3) Fry the meat to brown slightly on all sides.
(4) In a casserole dish add all the ingredients except the potatoes and cheese.
(5) Cover and place in the oven at 170C and allow to cook slowly for 2 to 3 hours.
(6) Peel the Potatoes and boil.
(7) Remove the casserole lid to allow some of the stock to reduce. Fish out the Rosemary sprig.
(8) Mash the Potatoes and add a thick layer to the top of the casserole dish.
(9) Add the grated Cheese to the top of the Potato and place under the grill so that the Cheese melts and browns a little.
We quite enjoyed this, but it was a bit bland for us. Left to out own devices it would have had Chillies etc. added!
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- Details
- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
I don’t often frequent the local Co-Op in the evening, but it’s probably worth sticking my head in a little more often. This Lamb mince was supposed to be £4.70 a pack, which I simply wouldn’t pay. But at £1.66 a pack it made the foundation for a real treat for us.
Ingredients for the Mayo Dressing:-
Mayonnaise
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 tsp of Whole Grain Mustard
A Squeeze of Lemon juice.
Method:-
(1) Mix well.
(2) Set aside.
Ingredients for the Kofta:-
500g of Lamb Mince
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Tsp of Dried Ginger
1 Tsp of Chilli Flakes
1 Tsp Pepper Corns
1 Tsp Cumin powder
1 Tsp Coriander Powder
Juice of ½ a Lemon
1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt
Oil
Salad leaves to dress.
Method:-
(1) In a Pestle & Mortar grind the dry ingredients.
(2) In a large bowel combine the chopped Onion and minced Garlic, minced Lamb, Oil and dried ingredients.
(3) Form into four Koftas around skewers.
(4) Grill on a medium heat turning regularly until cooked through and browned on all sides.
(5) Dress the inside of the wraps (Gluten free in our case) with a coating of the Mayo Dressing.
(6) Add a layer of salad leaves.
(7) Remove the Kofta from the skewer and place in the centre leaving space at one end to fold.
(8) Fold the end in and then wrap tightly.
(9) Cut diagonally and serve.
We had Cajun Potato wedges with ours, the remain salad mix and the Mayo dressing to dip. Who needs a take away in a cold damp archway on the way home?!
- Details
- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
Well as I posted on Facebook while I was cooking this Monster “Tonight we are having Chicken, Chorizo and mushroom Madras Pies. The Saag Aloo is reasonably traditional. But Sue has been wanting Spouts - So Sprout Bhaji has been invented” - Yes Monster, but an unexpectedly good tasting Monster.
Behind every recipe I’m sure there is a story. In our case often a little insanity as well. We had ½ a roasted Chicken from Friday and ½ a stick of Chorizo in the fridge. The Chorizo was beginning to get a bit dry at the cut end and chilled roast Chicken is best used sooner rather than later. So that was the foundation. But Sue has been fancying Sprouts for a while now. We try to stick to our budget of £4 per day (Including a little plate for Smooh the cat) but at £1.50 for about 6 sprouts they have been out of the question until yesterday. 60P for 500g seemed more reasonable….
I’ll not bother with the recipe for the Curry Pie as such. Basically I Chopped the Chorizo into 5mm crescents added a chopped Onion and at good shake of Chilli flakes to a 49p Madras sauce. I simmered it for 20 minutes and then added the cubed Chicken. Once heated through I lined the cast Iron glazed skillets we got from a charity shop for £1 each with Gluten free pastry and spooned the filling in. Add a top of pastry and an Egg wash and in the oven with it! It was really tasty, but not the star of the show. Spout Bhaji – Really these were supposed to be a joke, but it’s unlikely we’ll even have a plain boiled Sprout again…..
Sprout Bhaji
Ingredients:-
200g of Sprouts, boiled and drained to soften
100g Gram flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp Chilli powder
Juice of ½ a Lemon
Garlic Salt
Onion Salt
½ tsp Turmeric
Salt
Method:-
(1) Mix all the dry ingredients with just enough water to make a thick batter.
(2) Pre heat a deep fat fryer to 180c.
(3) Coat each Sprout in batter and fry in small batches.
(4) When they pop up and the batter is golden brown drain on kitchen paper.
(5) When you are ready to plate up drop them all back in the fryer for 20 seconds and drain again.
We served this concoction with Saag Aloo and home brewed Kimchi. Because at this stage any semblance of food tradition respect had clearly been forsaken!!!!!
- Details
- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
We had a small box of minced Beef in the freezer from a previous recipe. So with this thawed and the addition of an Aubergine each and some Chilli Cheese slices we came up with this.
Ingredients:-
250g Minced Beef
1 Tin of Kidney Beans
1 Onion sliced
2 Cloves of Garlic grated
1 tin of chopped Tomatoes
½ a tube of Tomato Purée
2 teaspoons of Chilli powder
2 whole Chillies chopped ( Deseed if you prefer it mild )
Oil
Salt and Pepper
Method:-
(1) Cut the Aubergine in half length ways and hollow out. Leaving some flesh inside the shell.
(2) Fry the Onions, Garlic and Chilli powder and add Salt & Pepper to taste.
(3) Add the Aubergine flesh, Kidney Beans, Minced Beef and tin of Tomatoes then allow to simmer.
(4) Add the Tomato Purée.
(5) Add the Chillies.
(6) Simmer on a low heat.
(7) Lightly Oil the Aubergine casings and pop them in the oven at 180c on a try.
(8) When the Chilli has reduced and your Aubergine cases have roast bun at still firm enough to hold a filling, spoon the Chilli into the cases.
(9) Add a layer of Chilli Cheese and place under the grill to melt the Cheese.
(10) Garnish with a little fresh Parsley for colour.
We served ours with herbed new Potatoes and a little salad. Even Smooh the cat enjoyed a little Chilli!
- Details
- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
Half price Cajun Turkey strips, oh why not! They made the foundation for a quick and tasty dinner last night. We didn’t do the Halloween nonsense here and being on the first floor we avoid unwanted callers. Which in this time of Plague suits us just fine!
Ingredients:-
A pack of Cajun Turkey Breast strips
2 Gluten free wraps each. (2 for one offer at the local supermarket – So we have a pack in the draw as well)
Pea Shout Salad
Mayonnaise
½ a Medium Onion, sliced
½ a Beef Steak Tomato, chopped
Oil
Method:-
(1) Fry the turkey stripped, turning occasionally.
(2) Dress the wraps with Mayonnaise.
(3) Add the Salad, Onion and Tomatoes. Leaving a space around the sides.
(4) Add the Turkey once cooked.
(5) Fold the end of eat wrap and then roll them.
We were incredibly lazy last night and just had a few Crisps with the wraps. If we had gone with the planned Potato wedges we’d not have been able to eat them anyway. These wraps were unexpectedly filling.
- Details
- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
I found some Venison “Grills” - Burgers to you and I, in the Yellow Sticker fridge. Sue had seen a recipe in one of the Gluten Free groups she follows which used Portobello Mushrooms instead of a bun. So this was out take on it.
There’s really not a lot of point in typing a recipe – Just freestyle it with wherever you fancy! We had the Mushroom stems, minced Garlic, chopped Red Onions sautéed in Garlic Butter, Griddled Red Onions sliced, Grated Mature Cheddar and Beefsteak Tomatoes slices in ours. Add a bit of Horseradish and some home made Onion Rings and you’ve got a pretty tasty dinner!
Don’t forget the hand cut chips…..
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