Showing posts with label roast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roast. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Super slow cooked brisket
Each weekend I try to do a 'proper' meal. A sort of meat and 2 veg type affair. This feels so much more important in the autumn and winter, and sometimes it's nice for it not to be roast chicken or pork. I rarely cook roast beef because it's so expensive and because somewhere in my head it doesn't lend itself to leftovers in quite the same way. Of course this is twaddle, but when faced with the butcher or the meat counter in the supermarket I seem to always plump for chicken.
This week I had decided to try something different and slow cook a joint of brisket. Brisket is a cheaper cut of beef, one which requires a lot of slow cooking to break down the connective tissue. We bought ours from the local(ish) butcher and a 3lb joint which cost £12. I nearly fell over but M propped me up, whispering "think of the leftovers" as my shaking hands retrieved the cash from my purse.
Obviously the outlay meant that how I cooked the beef became more important. I had planned to slow cook it, in the crock pot for around 6 hours. I didn't however want to casserole it, as I wanted to retain the integrity of the whole joint of meat.
3lb joint of brisket
2tblsps English mustard
2 carrots roughly chopped
2 parsnips roughly chopped
2 turnips roughly chopped
2 leeks roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
500ml either red wine or beef stock
Start by searing the beef in a hot pan - there's a fair amount of fat on the top of the brisket joint and I didn't want to end with a flooby, flaccid peice of meat. This also gives it some colour, without which the end result will be grey. Still wonderfully tasty, but grey
Cover the seared brisket in the mustard
Line the bottom of your crock pot dish with the veggies, and pour the wine/ stock over. I wouldn't go out and buy wine for this - it's an ideal way to use up anything you've got lying around. In actual fact I used white as that's what I had.
Stir in the garlic, and season
Top with the beef
Put the lid on and turn your slow cooker onto High for 6ish hours. You could easily eat it after 4, but when you touch the joint at 6 hours, it just falls to peices.
At the end you can reduce down the cooking liquid to make a gravy - just do this in a pan and allow it to bubble down for a few minutes
Serve with roast potatoes, and the veggies from the pot. And of course yorkshires are mandatory.
Leftovers
There was a huge amount of leftovers. So much so, this joint did. 4 dinners from the slow cooker. 1 dinner of leftovers, plus a baked potato. A vast amount of curry and a cottage pie. Overall we got 14ish meals from the brisket which starts to make it much more affordable. However, I should just say that I completely understand that no matter how reasonable the per portion cost of the joint works out - the initial outlay might be prohibitive. there have certainly be times in the past when I wouldn't be able to afford the £12. That said, if you can afford it - or even afford a smaller piece, I would urge you to try it.
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Monday, 28 October 2013
Meal Planning Monday: for M, with love
This week I'm working away again. Well if this storm that's forecast lets me travel that is. The meal plan is a very M friendly one as it doesn't require too much of him. Don't get me wrong, M can cook - but, he prefers not to. To paraphrase - he'd rather take tablets at an appropriate time than bother to cook. Food is purely fuel for him, and it's only when I'm cooking that he really enjoys it.
Breakfasts - cereal and toast for M. Fruit and yoghurt for me.
Lunches - sandwiches, crisps, cheese and a cereal bar for M. Cup-a-soup (or similar) for me. I'll have fruit throughout the day, M and his colleagues will have the chocolate traybake I made and iced yesterday.
Supper -
Monday: I'll have my sandwich evening. M has leftover beef curry, rice and flatbread.
Tuesday: I'll probably investigate a Pizza express or similar. M has more leftover curry with rice.
Wednesday: I'll give in and eat in the hotel. M has lentil ragu from the freezer, with pasta and grated cheese
Thursday: I'm home! Well, sort of. I'm popping up to see my sister and nephew.
Friday: Something from the freezer :vague: possibly some of the leftover rice I've been making
Saturday: We have M's parents with us for the weekend, so a roast chicken with all the trimmings
Sunday: Parsnip and bacon pasta - see post later this week
That's our week - next week I'm going to make a beetroot cake, and hopefully we'll have a more interesting one - this is deliberately thrifty and apologies about it being a bit dull. Hopefully someone over at At home with Mrs M will have some more interesting cooking going on!
Monday, 12 August 2013
Meal Planning Monday - what goes here?
So yep, Meal Planning Monday. I've not meal planned or blogged for a while and wanted to get back on track.
I don't know if I've mentioned *ahem* but I had my wisdom teeth out last week - I'd been having pretty much monthly infections so my dentist decided that enough was enough and I was popped on the list to have them out. I deliberately didn't google beforehand but am now beginning to wish I had as OMG the pain.Today (Friday) has been my first day back with tea in my life and dear God I'm so British, I missed it more than I missed eating solids!
I'm back at work next week so need a meal plan to keep my head on track.
Breakfasts: I'm all about the summer porridge at the moment. I've pulled the recipe from various places on line, so make mine with:
1/4 cup oats
1/3 cup skimmed milk
1/4 cup Total Greek 0%
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp maca powder
1 tsp honey/ maple syrup
I then add pretty much whatever fruit I've got in - bananas, blueberries... anything really. I tried peanut butter but couldn't get it to mix in well.
Lunches: I'm not sure yet - my go-to preference of crudites and houmous or houmous type things is a bit too difficult to crunch at the moment. Maybe I'll make some flatbreads and have them with the leftover chicken instead... did I mention my River Cottage Bread course? Watch this space!
Dinners:
Monday: Roast chicken, new potatoes and vegetables/ salad
Tuesday: Leftover roast chicken with baked potatoes and salad
Wednesday: Chicken and broad bean risotto
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: M's night...
Saturday: We're at a working day for our campsite all day so I'm going to go off budget and suggest takeaway, maybe pizza
Sunday: We're going out for a belated anniversary dinner as this week it's been ruled out owing to the necessity I have for soft foods.
Baking - I've just made vegan chocolate courgette brownies (with very un-vegan icing) as a belated birthday cake for M. Post should be up later this week.
That's it for me, don't forget to pop on over to At Home with Mrs M to see what everyone else is up to.
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Friday, 21 December 2012
It's just a roast 2012 - turkey lurkey time!
Following on from last year's "It's just a roast" mantra I had planned originally to continue in that theme with this year's Christmas posts. However, time, work and circumstance seem to have meant that it's suddenly the 21st December, the world hasn't ended but I've barely posted.
If you're me and a thirteenth hour Kate - you'll have watched Jamie, Nigella, Nigel, and anyone else on telly this last week and got loads of good ideas only to find out that the cranberries, star anise, shiny new must-have ingredient is sold out. Unless I'm prepared, I stick to the way of cooking below... it's simple enough and means that I can swap and change out my side dishes/ stuffings to make things different.
So in a final fit of organisation I'm sat down on my afternoon off and thought I'd add in some posts to go live over the next few days, they'll be picture light as I'm away from home, but I will add in photos as soon as I can.
Let's work on the basis you're cooking a turkey - first things first we need to consider the food safety angle. The Food Standards Agency has got some guidance on their website to make sure that you're storing and cooking the turkey in the best way possible to stay healthy, safe and well.
Although you need to store the bird somewhere cold - you want it at room temperature before you start cooking, so take it out about an hour before you want to start.
I don't stuff the turkey, in my eyes it makes timings more difficult and personally I prefer my stuffing cooked separately.
Preheat your oven to gas mark 5, 190 degrees C
Make some herbed butter, I season unsalted butter with a little bit of sage, parsley, salt and pepper - but use herbs you like and that would go with what else you're serving with your dinner.
Put an onion, carrot and a satsuma in the turkey cavity.
Separate the skin of the turkey from the breast by sliding your clean hand between the two and using a side to side motion to gently split them. (It's times like this I really should get M to film me) Then, again using your hand, push the butter under the skin, and almost massage the butter in. Do this on both sides of the breast, and with any remaining butter put more over the widest part of the leg, and the wing.
There are lots of different timings knocking around on the internet and in families, but I think this is the easiest way to work it out - and it worked well on a test turkey recently. Working out your cooking times is easy when you know three main things:
- 20 minutes per kilo
- Add 90 minutes to the total cooking time if your turkey weighs more than 4kg
- Add 70 minutes to the total cooking time if your turkey weighs less than 4kg
Even with these cooking times test your turkey is cooked by inserting a skewer where the thigh meets the breast. If the juices run clear you're done!
If this doesn't help - or you're feeling flustered why not try this:
The British Turkey helpline, 0800 783 9994, is open from 9am-5pm every weekday right up to Christmas Eve. Or text the word 'turkey', followed by the weight of your bird in kilos, to 64446 and you you'll get an instant answer on the cooking time and how many it will feed. This service starts on 1 December and runs 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. (Texts are charged at standard network rate.)
Once the turkey is cooked, we wrap it in foil and then the foil in old bath towels until you're ready to carve and serve. We normally leave it to rest like this for about 30 minutes to an hour as, having a single oven we need the space for the roasties!
Tomorrow's post, what can you do in advance...
Friday, 2 November 2012
Slow roast loin of pork
Please do accept my apologies for the Instagrammed shot of this meal, I was slightly flustered and very hungry when I dished up, and it was only when M said "aren't you going to take a photo" that I realised my camera was on charge, and I didn't want to go and get his DSLR and fuss, so a phone shot it was to be.
Anyway, when I'm cooking pork, I normally do a slow roast shoulder which is a firm favourite of ours. So much so, I've not really considered using other cuts. This meant that the pork loin parcel that Farmers Choice sent me was a bit of a thinker. In the end, I decided that I would use a dry rub to add some extra flavour, and cook the pork slowly, just not as slowly as I would a shoulder. Because the fat on the loin parcel is all on the top, not spread throughout like in the shoulder cut it needed to be almost seared, keeping as much moisture in the joint as possible.
The joint was about 3lb in weight and I worked on the basis of about 45 minutes per pound after the initial 10 minutes.
Dry rub: Salt, sage, thyme, a crumbled bay leaf, olive oil and pepper. Rub all over the joint
Heat oven up to as hot as it will go - about 250 degrees for my oven. Put sliced onions, or leeks on the bottom of your roasting tin, and lay the pork on top. When the oven is hot, put the pork in the oven for 10 minutes
Turn the oven down to 120 degrees, then cook the pork for 45 minutes per pound
Take it out of the oven, lift out of the roasting pan, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to stand for 10 minutes or so
Put the roasting pan back on the heat, add a glass of wine, and a ladleful of vegetable water and stir to make the gravy. Bring this to the boil while using a wooden spoon to incorporate all the yummy sticky and burnt bits from the bottom of the pan. Here is your gravy.
I then sliced off the thin layer of fat from the top that isn't in itself thick enough to make crackling. Turn this upside down, sprinkle liberally with salt and put back in the oven as hot as it will go until you're ready to serve, voila - crackling.
We had our pork with roast potatoes, smashed veg (butternut squash, parsnip, swede and carrots) brocolli, stuffing and gravy. M would like to go on the record as saying it was yummy.
Monday, 15 October 2012
Meal Planning Monday: Another week at home?
I know! I can't believe it either. Well I can, I'm busy, but just get to come home each night. Such a treat, especially as I'm in the middle of a bout of sinusitis, so expect this week's meals to be overspiced, overcooked and over here. Or something.
The kitchen is pretty much overwhelmed by fruited alcohols in various stages on the bottling process. We bought more bottles and foraged for more sloes today so those are ready to go in the freezer. Once bottled everything's being stored in the spare bedroom. Thank goodness really!
This week is a relatively normal one, M's at Welsh, I'm at Brownies and Guides and then next weekend is hopefully relatively quiet.
Baking - I got distracted from my pumpkin and apple traybake by snickerdoodle blondies which are amazing. I have photos so will blog later this week. They've been lovely with cups of tea, as a pudding with ice cream, and are making an appearance in M's packed lunches this week too. Hopefully the pumpkin and apple will make an appearance this week.
Breakfasts this week are hopefully the last lot of yoghurt, granola and fruit. I was sent the granola to try and whilst it's very nice it's over 400 calories per 100g which seems more than a little excessive when compared to my usual yoghurt topper of grape nuts. Once it's finished I'll be onto porridge and sultanas.
Lunches - well tomorrow I've got a ham and mustard sandwich, fruit, and some almonds - then for the rest of the week it'll either be leftovers or soup.
Dinners - well, as a post at the end of the week will show and tell, this is a One Chicken Many ways week, so tonight's supper was roast chicken with lemon and garlic in the cavity, roast potatoes, double podded broad beans, carrots, cauliflower,broccoli, stuffing and proper gravy. Yum. We used the Farmers Choice small chicken and it was indeed small - around 3lb - which is to be fair, perfect for us and a lovely quick roast. Very tasty too.
Monday - leftover roast chicken, with slow cooker baked potatoes, broccoli, carrots and stuffing.
Tuesday - Chicken and mushroom risotto - using some of the porcini I picked up at the Newbury show (and possibly some more of the broad beans from the freezer). Tuesday night I'll also use the slow cooker to make stock. I was hoping the chicken would do soup as well, but I think that might stretch it a bit too far - that said, if it looks like I possibly can, be assured I will.
Wednesday - Leftover risotto
Thursday - I haven't got as far as that yet! Erm... My sister and nephew are coming to help out at Brownies as part of our Disability Awareness badge, so I might do stuffed butternut squash as an antidote to the meat from the rest of the week for us. If I do, I'll be sure to blog the recipe.
Friday - We have leftover sausage pasta bake from this week, so I'll do a quick defrost and we can have that.
So that's this week - busy but hopefully not too chaotic! I'll be linking up with Mrs M, so be sure to hop on over to the linky and see what everyone else is up to.
The kitchen is pretty much overwhelmed by fruited alcohols in various stages on the bottling process. We bought more bottles and foraged for more sloes today so those are ready to go in the freezer. Once bottled everything's being stored in the spare bedroom. Thank goodness really!
This week is a relatively normal one, M's at Welsh, I'm at Brownies and Guides and then next weekend is hopefully relatively quiet.
Baking - I got distracted from my pumpkin and apple traybake by snickerdoodle blondies which are amazing. I have photos so will blog later this week. They've been lovely with cups of tea, as a pudding with ice cream, and are making an appearance in M's packed lunches this week too. Hopefully the pumpkin and apple will make an appearance this week.
Breakfasts this week are hopefully the last lot of yoghurt, granola and fruit. I was sent the granola to try and whilst it's very nice it's over 400 calories per 100g which seems more than a little excessive when compared to my usual yoghurt topper of grape nuts. Once it's finished I'll be onto porridge and sultanas.
Lunches - well tomorrow I've got a ham and mustard sandwich, fruit, and some almonds - then for the rest of the week it'll either be leftovers or soup.
Dinners - well, as a post at the end of the week will show and tell, this is a One Chicken Many ways week, so tonight's supper was roast chicken with lemon and garlic in the cavity, roast potatoes, double podded broad beans, carrots, cauliflower,broccoli, stuffing and proper gravy. Yum. We used the Farmers Choice small chicken and it was indeed small - around 3lb - which is to be fair, perfect for us and a lovely quick roast. Very tasty too.
Monday - leftover roast chicken, with slow cooker baked potatoes, broccoli, carrots and stuffing.
Tuesday - Chicken and mushroom risotto - using some of the porcini I picked up at the Newbury show (and possibly some more of the broad beans from the freezer). Tuesday night I'll also use the slow cooker to make stock. I was hoping the chicken would do soup as well, but I think that might stretch it a bit too far - that said, if it looks like I possibly can, be assured I will.
Wednesday - Leftover risotto
Thursday - I haven't got as far as that yet! Erm... My sister and nephew are coming to help out at Brownies as part of our Disability Awareness badge, so I might do stuffed butternut squash as an antidote to the meat from the rest of the week for us. If I do, I'll be sure to blog the recipe.
Friday - We have leftover sausage pasta bake from this week, so I'll do a quick defrost and we can have that.
So that's this week - busy but hopefully not too chaotic! I'll be linking up with Mrs M, so be sure to hop on over to the linky and see what everyone else is up to.
Monday, 17 September 2012
Meal Planning Monday: The 'All by myself' edition
Well, last week's done with, we're back from the Newbury Show, and I'm sat in the hospital waiting for my occipital nerve blocker as the weekend was bookended by migraines. Learning to live with chronic migraine is definitely taking some getting used to but the injections are definitely helping. I'm typing this whist glaring at my specialist's door, willing it to open and for him to call me in. *uses mind power*
So Meal Planning Monday, M's working in Scotland this week so as the subtitle to this post suggests I'm home alone doing meals for one. I say this like it's a bad thing, but it means I get to eat buckets of fish, and lots of things with coriander in. Mind you, it's my cousin's wedding in three weeks so I'm trying not to eat too much of anything in a bid to fit back into a dress as otherwise I'll be going in jeans and a jumper. It's weird that I've lost a significant amount of weight, but I'm more aware of my size now than I was before. It makes no sense.
Right, so unsurprisingly breakfasts are yoghurt, grape nuts and fruit (as soon as it cools enough that'll be porridge and fruit - I know I'm epically dull where breakfasts are concerned)
Lunches - the last few weeks I've been slack about lunches so I'm going to try and remember to eat during the day as I'm sure as it's not good for me to be solely fuelled by coffee. I keep saying I'll eat salads but I'm really not enjoying them now the weather's got cooler, so tonight's adventures will hopefully include making a batch of fridge bottom soup. Now I just need a decent thermos for them to go in. Suggestions?
Dinners -
Monday: I'm going to revisit the disastrous Thai style turkey burger thingies. This time with the addition of sweet chilli sauce and a tablespoon or so of oil. I'm going to have these with some stir fried spinach and a selection of 'fridge bottom' veg.
Tuesday: Guides tomorrow so although my natural inclination is to skip dinner I will have some grilled fish - a white fish I think (not Pollock - cousin Mark will be pleased to hear) cooked in a foil parcel with soy, chilli and sherry, and some steamed spinach and runner beans
Wednesday: More fish, this time grilled mackerel I think. Loosely based around the recipe I've linked to, so with some horseradish and beetroot in a salady type affair.
I'll blog both of those dishes - with some fishy type tips.
Thursday: Brownies, but M is home so our Farmers choice sausages with runner beans and baked potatoes
Friday: I picked up some amazing chorizo at the Newbury show (I could have bought loads but was so so restrained) so Chorizo and butternut squash chilli as that'll give us leftovers for Saturday.
Saturday: Chorizo and butternut squash chilli leftovers
Sunday: Roast beef I think - see my Farmers Choice post that should go up on Wednesday(ish)
So that's us this week, a bit haphazard, and relatively diet orientated. But with any luck - three weeks of this and running and the teal dress will fit beautifully (she says with fingers crossed)
On the plus side, the only shopping I need to do is for some coriander, sweet chilli sauce and fish. A cheap week for me, so not too shabby.
Pop on over for further inspiration for your weekly meal plan to At Home with Mrs M, and see you next week.
So Meal Planning Monday, M's working in Scotland this week so as the subtitle to this post suggests I'm home alone doing meals for one. I say this like it's a bad thing, but it means I get to eat buckets of fish, and lots of things with coriander in. Mind you, it's my cousin's wedding in three weeks so I'm trying not to eat too much of anything in a bid to fit back into a dress as otherwise I'll be going in jeans and a jumper. It's weird that I've lost a significant amount of weight, but I'm more aware of my size now than I was before. It makes no sense.
Right, so unsurprisingly breakfasts are yoghurt, grape nuts and fruit (as soon as it cools enough that'll be porridge and fruit - I know I'm epically dull where breakfasts are concerned)
Lunches - the last few weeks I've been slack about lunches so I'm going to try and remember to eat during the day as I'm sure as it's not good for me to be solely fuelled by coffee. I keep saying I'll eat salads but I'm really not enjoying them now the weather's got cooler, so tonight's adventures will hopefully include making a batch of fridge bottom soup. Now I just need a decent thermos for them to go in. Suggestions?
Dinners -
Monday: I'm going to revisit the disastrous Thai style turkey burger thingies. This time with the addition of sweet chilli sauce and a tablespoon or so of oil. I'm going to have these with some stir fried spinach and a selection of 'fridge bottom' veg.
Tuesday: Guides tomorrow so although my natural inclination is to skip dinner I will have some grilled fish - a white fish I think (not Pollock - cousin Mark will be pleased to hear) cooked in a foil parcel with soy, chilli and sherry, and some steamed spinach and runner beans
Wednesday: More fish, this time grilled mackerel I think. Loosely based around the recipe I've linked to, so with some horseradish and beetroot in a salady type affair.
I'll blog both of those dishes - with some fishy type tips.
Thursday: Brownies, but M is home so our Farmers choice sausages with runner beans and baked potatoes
Friday: I picked up some amazing chorizo at the Newbury show (I could have bought loads but was so so restrained) so Chorizo and butternut squash chilli as that'll give us leftovers for Saturday.
Saturday: Chorizo and butternut squash chilli leftovers
Sunday: Roast beef I think - see my Farmers Choice post that should go up on Wednesday(ish)
So that's us this week, a bit haphazard, and relatively diet orientated. But with any luck - three weeks of this and running and the teal dress will fit beautifully (she says with fingers crossed)
On the plus side, the only shopping I need to do is for some coriander, sweet chilli sauce and fish. A cheap week for me, so not too shabby.
Pop on over for further inspiration for your weekly meal plan to At Home with Mrs M, and see you next week.
Monday, 3 September 2012
Meal Planning Monday: Autumn's knocking at the door
Unsurprisingly after a damp summer, August didn't even get to end before the weather started to turn. Autumn came a-knocking on Thursday night, the first night in many that the windows were shut. On Friday evening full length pyjamas came back out of the drawer, and now on Sunday slippers are on, roast chicken is in the oven and after a small baking session we're ready and prepped for the week ahead.
I should say Good Luck to everyone (especially my Guides) who starts a new school this week, and for everyone big or small going back to school for the start of the new term.
It's one of my much beloved weeks at home, so we have a proper meal plan, not meals for one for M, with me despairing of Table Table's ability to cook something, anything without a microwave or deep fat fryer.
So we're having roast chicken with all the trimmings tonight, which naturally makes this week: One chicken many ways
Breakfasts: A stand off in Tesco meant that I couldn't actually get to my 0% fat Greek yoghurt, so I'm having natural yoghurt instead (I don't like it as much, owing to the natural sourness). Fruit and grape nuts with it too.
Lunches: Salad with cold roast chicken for me, M will have ham sandwiches, crisps, cake, cereal bars and a drink.
Dinners:
Monday: Leftover roast chicken, baked potatoes, salad/ veg
Monday night is going to herald the chicken being stripped and making stock with the carcass
Tuesday: Chicken and mushroom risotto, using the stock and the leftover chicken.
Wednesday: Leftover risotto for M, I'm out for dinner with the other Guide guiders to plan next term's activities
Thursday: M will be at pinging so something fishy for me
Friday: Baked pasta and meatballs, Lots of parmesan and mozzarella to make this truly diet unfriendly and amazingly tasty.
So that's our week, mainly poultry orientated but yummy fodder to start our transit in to autumn. Don't forget to head on over to At Home with Mrs M to see what all the other Meal Planners are up to.
Also... don't forget to enter my Simple Summer Essentials round up for the chance to win a £50 Asda voucher
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Deeply dippy: about asparagus
Asparagus was one of the treats in my pack from Asda, that has been the basis of this series of Simple Summer Essentials. Truthfully I would normally only buy and cook asparagus during the British season (around Aprilish time) but this year the crops were pretty much devastated by the awful, awful weather we've been subjected to, so I think I managed to find some once. For me, I think part of the beauty of asparagus is in the fact that it's season is so limited, and I do look forward to it.
As I'd gone without in the Spring, I thought 'to hell with it' (just this once mind you) and decided to embrace my Asda asparagus with open arms. I had two bunches so decided to do it two ways.
The first was - and probably always will be - my favourite way to eat asparagus is with softly poached eggs. I use the lightly steamed spears as green soldiers, and dip them happily into the golden, runny yolks of my eggs. (I get bored once the yolk has gone but don't tell). The only thing I do differently from the post linked to above is poach the eggs properly now, and omit the toast.
Poached eggs - pantry style (I say that, this is probably the easiest thing to do ever)
Poached eggs work best with fresh eggs - at the supermarket I'm never entirely convinced about how fresh they are, so when I can I get them from either a local farm shop, or our farmers market, where a free range chicken lady sells her eggs. Not 'her' eggs obviously, that would be weird. The eggs her hens lay.
Fill a wide, flat pan with a couple of inches of water that you've just boiled in the kettle, put this on a lowish heat until you get small bubbles.
Break the egg into the water and let the water stay at this gentle simmer for a minute
Take the pan off the heat and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with asparagus
To cook asparagus I either steam it, or cook it this way. Put the stems, tip down in a pyrex jug - fill up to to about two thirds of the way up the stem with boiling water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Dunk with gusto into eggs, using the cold ends to hold. Genius!
OK, so now - asparagus another way.
Just lately there's been something I've really taken to about savoury tray bakes. Not adding vegetables to sponge cake, but the whack it all in a roasting tin and leave it in the oven for an hour or so. I've started to buy a whole chicken and ask the butcher to joint it, then just add some potatoes, veg, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for about an hour at 200 degrees C. It's a no fuss supper and ideal for when M's edgy because we've not had meat yet that week.
Roast asparagus
About 5-10 minutes before the end of any savoury traybake - the one pictured was sausages, sweetcorn and potatoes. (I had salad with mine) add the asparagus to the roasting tin, tossing it gently in any oil or seasoning. Then pop back in the oven until you're ready to serve, and on serving - fight over who gets the bigger portion (true story)
As I'd gone without in the Spring, I thought 'to hell with it' (just this once mind you) and decided to embrace my Asda asparagus with open arms. I had two bunches so decided to do it two ways.
The first was - and probably always will be - my favourite way to eat asparagus is with softly poached eggs. I use the lightly steamed spears as green soldiers, and dip them happily into the golden, runny yolks of my eggs. (I get bored once the yolk has gone but don't tell). The only thing I do differently from the post linked to above is poach the eggs properly now, and omit the toast.
Poached eggs - pantry style (I say that, this is probably the easiest thing to do ever)
Poached eggs work best with fresh eggs - at the supermarket I'm never entirely convinced about how fresh they are, so when I can I get them from either a local farm shop, or our farmers market, where a free range chicken lady sells her eggs. Not 'her' eggs obviously, that would be weird. The eggs her hens lay.
Fill a wide, flat pan with a couple of inches of water that you've just boiled in the kettle, put this on a lowish heat until you get small bubbles.
Break the egg into the water and let the water stay at this gentle simmer for a minute
Take the pan off the heat and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with asparagus
To cook asparagus I either steam it, or cook it this way. Put the stems, tip down in a pyrex jug - fill up to to about two thirds of the way up the stem with boiling water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Dunk with gusto into eggs, using the cold ends to hold. Genius!
OK, so now - asparagus another way.
Just lately there's been something I've really taken to about savoury tray bakes. Not adding vegetables to sponge cake, but the whack it all in a roasting tin and leave it in the oven for an hour or so. I've started to buy a whole chicken and ask the butcher to joint it, then just add some potatoes, veg, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for about an hour at 200 degrees C. It's a no fuss supper and ideal for when M's edgy because we've not had meat yet that week.
Roast asparagus
About 5-10 minutes before the end of any savoury traybake - the one pictured was sausages, sweetcorn and potatoes. (I had salad with mine) add the asparagus to the roasting tin, tossing it gently in any oil or seasoning. Then pop back in the oven until you're ready to serve, and on serving - fight over who gets the bigger portion (true story)
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes - seriously slow cooked Pork shoulder
OK, it didn't take that long, that's 8 thousand, seven hundred and sixty hours (or a year for those familiar with Rent).
This is a recipe I dreamt up last weekend courtesy of a vague memory of a television programme from some years ago (something about eating British Pork). Do you ever have that? Or is it just me? You know where you wake up thinking about something and know that you 'need' to cook it just so that your internal dialogue stops prodding you and suggesting - try slow cooked shoulder of pork, try slow cooked shoulder of pork.
Truth be told I woke up last weekend in serious need of comfort food, the cold I had had over Christmas has alarmingly mutated into one of those viruses I get from time to time that fells me completely and on Saturday my need for comfort food was immediate and clear. M was working and so I spent my day indoors, pottering around the kitchen (in a vague attempt to ignore the need to hoover. I capitulated on Sunday) I believe that the slow cooked, hot food really helped although I was lost to the virus, hence the quietness on the posting front this week.
So Slow cooked shoulder of pork. I asked my butcher to score the fat as I definitely wanted crackling (diet? What diet? This virus is doing it all by itself). Normally I'd ask him for cooking tips, but the plan in my head was already fairly formed.
I started by rubbing the pork skin with salt (generously) and seasoning the meat with salt and pepper. It then went into a preheated Gas mark 7 (225 degrees ish) for about 45 minutes, after which I turned the oven down to Gas mark 3 (150 degrees ish) and covered the meat tightly with a double layer of foil. The high heat at the start was to get the crackling well and truly started, and I felt that by then covering the meat over it would prevent the juices/ fat from evaporating in the oven. I'm not very scientific I could be completely wrong.
I left the pork in the oven cooking for 4 hours, whilst I napped, tidied and generally pottered (I love days like that, it could have only been better if I'd stayed in my pyjamas. But don't tell M, I don't think he's picked up on my slattern-like tendencies yet). I think this is what makes this an ideal weekend recipe, once it's in and the oven turned down, you can just leave it be.
After 4 hours I basted the pork with the fat that had rendered out from the joint and turned the oven back up higher to cook the roast potatoes. I popped the pork back in, minus the foil, but on some veggies - celery, carrots and onions, just roughly chopped, a bulb of garlic broken down into cloves (the cast is good for something) and a couple of bay leaves. This was purely because that was what I had in the fridge, you could easily amend it to suit you. I intended to recreate my get-ahead gravy by bashing these into submission with my potato masher to make gravy, but next time I might add butternut squash and parsnips which I would take out first.
When the meat went back in, I turned the oven back up to crisp up the crackling - and as a happy accident the edges of the meat. About 15 minutes before the potatoes were done I took the meat out, wrapped the joint back up in the foil and left it to rest. I added about a pint of water to the meat tin, and as with the get ahead gravy, bashed 7 bells out of the veggies, scraping up the goodness from the bottom of the tin, until it was all combined, and then strained it through a colander into a jug. I didn't add flour this time so it was more watery gravy than the Christmas one, but I enjoyed this as it was.
I served the meat and potatoes with some steamed savoy cabbage and carrots, tart applesauce and it made a lovely, undemanding comforting dish. Just what is needed at this time of year. And cheap, as I didn't buy any veggies or anything other than the pork. The meat was so well cooked that it just fell apart and I shredded it with 2 forks (bearing in mind one of those is still encased in purple plaster) before serving. The combination of the soft yielding meat with crispy crackling, flavourful gravy, with lightly steamed veggies and crispy potatoes was just what the doctor ordered. Although not quite enough to ward off the virus it did set me up for a week in which my staple diet has been marmite toast and tea
This would work equally well with a lamb shoulder, although I'd be inclined to make small cuts and put extra garlic and rosemary inside them.
Penelope's Pantry patient pork
(picture free, because it was just that good, that we started picking as soon as I put it on plates)
Shoulder of pork - ask your butcher to score the skin, and to advise you on how much - I went by size which is probably of little help but it was about a six inch wide piece
Sea salt
Pepper
Vegetables: I used celery, carrots and onions
Bulb of garlic
Couple of bay leaves (truly I added these because the packet keeps falling over in the cupboard and annoying me. I keep adding them to things at the mo purely for that reason)
Apple sauce, I cooked down 2 eating apples because that was what I had. Just peel, chop and cook with no sugar until they're pulpy.
Vegetables and potatoes to serve.
Make sure your fat is scored and rub in salt
Cook in a preheated (225 degrees) oven for an hour
Turn the heat down (150 degrees) and cover the meat in foil tightly
Put back in the oven for 4 hours
Baste the pork with the fat from the tin
Remove from oven, put veggies, garlic and bay leaves on the bottom of your roasting tin and put the pork back on top
After an hour (or so, I went by eye) remove the pork, wrap tightly in the foil and add water to your baking tray. Put it on the heat and bash the veggies, garlic et al up with a potato masher. When you're happy with the consistency strain through a seive or colander and pour into a warmed jug.
Shred the pork with 2 forks (remove the crackling first)
Serve with your chosen veg, potatoes and applesauce.
This is a recipe I dreamt up last weekend courtesy of a vague memory of a television programme from some years ago (something about eating British Pork). Do you ever have that? Or is it just me? You know where you wake up thinking about something and know that you 'need' to cook it just so that your internal dialogue stops prodding you and suggesting - try slow cooked shoulder of pork, try slow cooked shoulder of pork.
Truth be told I woke up last weekend in serious need of comfort food, the cold I had had over Christmas has alarmingly mutated into one of those viruses I get from time to time that fells me completely and on Saturday my need for comfort food was immediate and clear. M was working and so I spent my day indoors, pottering around the kitchen (in a vague attempt to ignore the need to hoover. I capitulated on Sunday) I believe that the slow cooked, hot food really helped although I was lost to the virus, hence the quietness on the posting front this week.
So Slow cooked shoulder of pork. I asked my butcher to score the fat as I definitely wanted crackling (diet? What diet? This virus is doing it all by itself). Normally I'd ask him for cooking tips, but the plan in my head was already fairly formed.
I started by rubbing the pork skin with salt (generously) and seasoning the meat with salt and pepper. It then went into a preheated Gas mark 7 (225 degrees ish) for about 45 minutes, after which I turned the oven down to Gas mark 3 (150 degrees ish) and covered the meat tightly with a double layer of foil. The high heat at the start was to get the crackling well and truly started, and I felt that by then covering the meat over it would prevent the juices/ fat from evaporating in the oven. I'm not very scientific I could be completely wrong.
I left the pork in the oven cooking for 4 hours, whilst I napped, tidied and generally pottered (I love days like that, it could have only been better if I'd stayed in my pyjamas. But don't tell M, I don't think he's picked up on my slattern-like tendencies yet). I think this is what makes this an ideal weekend recipe, once it's in and the oven turned down, you can just leave it be.
After 4 hours I basted the pork with the fat that had rendered out from the joint and turned the oven back up higher to cook the roast potatoes. I popped the pork back in, minus the foil, but on some veggies - celery, carrots and onions, just roughly chopped, a bulb of garlic broken down into cloves (the cast is good for something) and a couple of bay leaves. This was purely because that was what I had in the fridge, you could easily amend it to suit you. I intended to recreate my get-ahead gravy by bashing these into submission with my potato masher to make gravy, but next time I might add butternut squash and parsnips which I would take out first.
When the meat went back in, I turned the oven back up to crisp up the crackling - and as a happy accident the edges of the meat. About 15 minutes before the potatoes were done I took the meat out, wrapped the joint back up in the foil and left it to rest. I added about a pint of water to the meat tin, and as with the get ahead gravy, bashed 7 bells out of the veggies, scraping up the goodness from the bottom of the tin, until it was all combined, and then strained it through a colander into a jug. I didn't add flour this time so it was more watery gravy than the Christmas one, but I enjoyed this as it was.
I served the meat and potatoes with some steamed savoy cabbage and carrots, tart applesauce and it made a lovely, undemanding comforting dish. Just what is needed at this time of year. And cheap, as I didn't buy any veggies or anything other than the pork. The meat was so well cooked that it just fell apart and I shredded it with 2 forks (bearing in mind one of those is still encased in purple plaster) before serving. The combination of the soft yielding meat with crispy crackling, flavourful gravy, with lightly steamed veggies and crispy potatoes was just what the doctor ordered. Although not quite enough to ward off the virus it did set me up for a week in which my staple diet has been marmite toast and tea
This would work equally well with a lamb shoulder, although I'd be inclined to make small cuts and put extra garlic and rosemary inside them.
Penelope's Pantry patient pork
(picture free, because it was just that good, that we started picking as soon as I put it on plates)
Shoulder of pork - ask your butcher to score the skin, and to advise you on how much - I went by size which is probably of little help but it was about a six inch wide piece
Sea salt
Pepper
Vegetables: I used celery, carrots and onions
Bulb of garlic
Couple of bay leaves (truly I added these because the packet keeps falling over in the cupboard and annoying me. I keep adding them to things at the mo purely for that reason)
Apple sauce, I cooked down 2 eating apples because that was what I had. Just peel, chop and cook with no sugar until they're pulpy.
Vegetables and potatoes to serve.
Make sure your fat is scored and rub in salt
Cook in a preheated (225 degrees) oven for an hour
Turn the heat down (150 degrees) and cover the meat in foil tightly
Put back in the oven for 4 hours
Baste the pork with the fat from the tin
Remove from oven, put veggies, garlic and bay leaves on the bottom of your roasting tin and put the pork back on top
After an hour (or so, I went by eye) remove the pork, wrap tightly in the foil and add water to your baking tray. Put it on the heat and bash the veggies, garlic et al up with a potato masher. When you're happy with the consistency strain through a seive or colander and pour into a warmed jug.
Shred the pork with 2 forks (remove the crackling first)
Serve with your chosen veg, potatoes and applesauce.
Labels:
crackling,
easy dinner,
gravy,
pork,
roast,
slow cooked
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