Author: drceit

Armenian bean and walnut beorijch

This is an unusual combination, very tasty and relatively simple and quick to make, especially if you use tinned beans. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 225g Black eyed beans (or 2 cans of black eyed beans)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  •  1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 125g walnuts (you could add or substitute almonds)
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper
  • a teaspoon of date molasses or sugar

METHOD:

  • Soak the beans overnight, and then simmer in plenty of fresh water for 30 to 45 minutes. Drain and set aside. 
  • If you are using walnuts bought in the UK, they are probably quite bitter. Soak them overnight in cold water as well, and drain. 
  • In a food processer, chop the notes roughly
  • Use a large pan. Heat the olive oil over a low heat, and cook the onion slowly for ten minutes. 
  • Add the garlic, tomaotes and tomato puree and continue to cook for a further ten minutes. 
  • Add the nuts, parsley and beans, mashing them together slightly. 
  • Season with salt and pepper, and a little date molasses. Continue to cook, stirring, for another ten minutes. 

For a variation, add a pinch of mild chilli flakes, such as Pul Biber, when adding the garlic. 

We served this with brocolli and greek flatbreads and feta cheese. 

Greek flatbreads

I was inspired to make these when the co-op stopped selling them. These have been a staple over the last year, delicious soft foldable breads. I made the dough in my breadmaker, but it should work if you make them by hand as well. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tsp dried yeast
  • 400g strong white bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 250ml cold water

METHOD:

  • Put the ingredients into the breadmaker in the order listed, and set it onto the white bread dough program.
  • When the dough is ready, remove it from the breadmaker and  divide it into six balls. It will be a tad sticky. Cover with a damp cloth while you prepare the next bit. 
  • Brush a rolling surface with flour, and roll out the first couple of breads , so that they are about half a centimetre thick, and the size of the bottom of your frying pan.
  • Heat a cast-iron frying pan over a medium to high heat, with a little olive oil in. Put in the first flatbread in the pan and keep preparing the next flatbreads. After about a minute and a half, the flatbread in the pan will be puffing up a little, so turn it over and cook the other side. 
  • As each flatbread is cooked, check to see if the pan needs oiled, and start cooking the next one. The cooked flatbreads should be placed onto a clean cloth and wrapped over to keep them warm. Pile them on top of each other as you go, as this will keep them moist and pliable. 

We served with dishes of sliced radish, cucumber, olives, fried haloumi, sliced pepper and lettuce. The flatbreads fold over in half to enclose the filling; you could add tzaziki, feta cheese, salad, cooked chicken, grilled vegetables, all sorts. Having an array of potential fillings means that people can make their own favourite. 

 

Huevos Rancheros

I’m really enjoying trying out south American flavours and recipes. I’ve ordered a selection of spices from Seasoned Pioneers, and I used their Central American spice mix, which includes cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, roasted garlic, roasted red chillies, cayenne, all-spice, thyme and oregano, and some onion salt. They suggested making huevos rancheros, so I made this tonight. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Cooking oil; I used sunflower oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 can of red kidney beans
  • 2 tsp central American spice mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 warm tortillas
  • 1 chopped tomato
  • Chopped jalapeno peppers (I bought pickled ones in buth Neillie)
  • Avocado, lime, coriander leaf to serve

METHOD:

  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, and gently fry the onion with a good pinch of salt, until it is soft. 
  • Add the garlic, cook for another minute. 
  • Stir in the beans, spice mix and 75ml water. Cook for 7 minutes or so. Don’t let this get dry. 
  • Roughly mash the beans and set aside to prepare the rest. 
  • Warm the tortillas and fry the eggs. 
  • On each tortilla, spread the bean mixture, and then add the chopped tomato, jalapenos, fried egg, and garnish with coriander.
  • Serve with dishes of avocado, and lime wedges. 

We didn’t have any avocados, I have not had good luck with these locally over the years, so I don’t buy them. 

Slow-cook shank of venison

I made the weekly raid on the freezer for my birthday evening meal, and pulled out a shank of red deer venison. I hadn’t cooked this cut before, so I did a bit of googling, looked at the ingredients in the fridge and then made this braised venison. I think it would have worked well for up to two shanks, so we have ended up with a very tasty gravy for a second meal. 

I’ve got really into using gluten-free flour as a thickener for stews and soups, the consistency of the gravy is good, not gluey at all. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 or 2 red deer venison shanks (see above)
  • 2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
  • 2 small or 1 large stick of celery, diced
  • approx 50g butter
  • olive oil
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • a bay leaf
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 250ml red wine
  • 250ml vegetable stock
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tsp juniper berries, bruised in a pestle and mortar
  • 1 tbsp gluten-free flour

METHOD:

  • Season the venison well with salt and pepper. 
  • In a pan that is big enough to cook the shanks, melt the butter in the olive oil. Set the oven to 150C
  • Over a moderate heat, brown the shanks, one at a time, and then set aside. 
  • Reduce to a low heat, add the onions, carrots and celery to the same pan, and cook until softened.
  • Add the red wine, and reduce 
  • Add the stock, bay, thyme, and juniper and tomatoes and cook down for around 15 minutes. This will give a better consistency and taste at the end. 
  • Add the venison shanks, bring back to a simmer and then cook in the oven for 4 hours. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, prepare any side dishes such as mash, cabbage, etcetera. 
  • At the end of cooking, remove the shanks from the pan, and mix the flour with a spoon or two of the gravy before adding to the pan and bringing to a simmer for around 5 minutes. 

And serve. 

Stovies

This is an excellent recipe for using up left-overs. The key ingredients are potatoes, meat and onion. The version here is my basic recipe, but it can be adapted to incorporate all sorts. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 30g lard, butter or dripping 
  • 1 onion, finely chopped (I sometimes add a leek too)
  • 1/2 a turnip (or swede, if you are English), peeled and diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • (optional, shredded cabbage, diced celery, etcetera)
  • 600g potatoes, peeled and roughly sliced
  • Around 100ml stock or left-over gravy
  • Around 200g chopped cooked meat (could be varied according to what is available, both in type and quantity)
  • A grate of nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper

METHOD: 

  • Melt the fat in the bottom of a large pan, and fry the onion (and leeks, celery, if you are using this) over a low heat until soft and almost browning. 
  • Add the potatoes and stir them in. When they are hot, add the carrots and the turnip and any other extra vegetables, and stir to mix. 
  • Heat the stock and pour it in, adding the chopped meat at the same time. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and stir again. 
  • Cover the pot and simmer over a low heat for around 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are beginning to break down. Check from time to time to see how the potatoes are cooking, to stir together and to assess whether any more stock needs to be added. 

Very warm, filling and thrifty. 

Cabbage, celeriac, carrots and cream

Delicious. Another Gordon Ramsey creation, I watched this on a youtube clip and tried it without knowing the quantities. It was excellent

INGREDIENTS:

  • 30g butter
  • Half a savoy cabbage, shredded
  • A couple of carrots, diced
  • A celeriac, diced
  • 100g pancetta, diced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 150ml cream

METHOD:

  • Fry all the vegetables and the pancetta in the butter at a high temperature for about four to five minutes. 
  • Pour the cream around the edge of the pan, season with salt and pepper and stir to mix. 

You could add a wee grating of nutmeg, but it is delicious without. 

Venison back strap (loin) with a red wine and chocolate sauce

I have used red wine and chocolate before, in a stew with beef, served with fried potatoes and prunes in brandy, stunning. This I tried after watching a videoclip of Gordon Ramsey cooking venison backstrap. No quantities were given, but I have found some clues elsewhere. I added rather too much chocolate the first time. I also struggled to find all of the ingredients he used, so I had to substitute a little. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Venison back-strap – allow a piece of meat around 5cm x 5cm x 2.5cm, approx 200g or similar for each person. I took one piece of the back-strap and cut it into three. I used local red deer venison.
  • salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tsp butter
  • 3 shallots or one white onion if shallots are not available – finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic – finely chopped
  • 2 bayleaves
  • 5 sprigs of thyme, or a tsp dried thyme
  • 12 black peppercorns, ground
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar (the original recipe uses raspberry vinegar, but not available locally
  • 300ml chicken stock
  • 300ml red wine
  • 30g unsweetened dark chocolate, finely chopped or grated. 
  • 100g smoked pancetta or streaky bacon

METHOD:

  • Heat the oven to 220C. Cut some grease-proof paper, one section for each serving, and large enough to wrap up a portion of venison. 
  • Lightly season the venison with salt. Heat the oil in a pan until it is very hot, and then sear the venison on all sides. 
  • For each portion of venison, place on a piece of grease-proof paper, add a teaspoon of butter, wrap and put onto a small roasting tray. Put into the oven for eight to nine minutes. 
  • To make the sauce, fry the onion and pancetta in a small pan with a little olive oil , thyme, bayleaves and black pepper. As it starts to brown, add the garlic until that too is cooked. 
  • Add 300ml red wine, and reduce to a thick sauce by simmering. 
  • Add 300ml stock, and reduce by simmering. 
  • Strain out the solid ingredients. To the hot sauce, add a teaspoon of vinegar, and then whisk in the grated chocolate over a low heat. Do not bring back to the boil, just hot enough to melt the chocolate and no more. 
  • Take the venison from the oven, slice and then pour over the red wine and chocolate sauce. 

I served this with roasted brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes. This is definitely good with mash and green vegetables. 

Rabbits, wild geese and Venison

I have been posting a lot of recipes for rabbit and venison, and there is a good reason for that. I live on an island that has beautiful sandy habitats called Machair on the west, facing the sea, and heather-covered hills to the east. The Uist islands are one of the few places left where the machair is still managed.

The rabbits have invaded the machair, and are eroding the dunes, and deer numbers are out of control, spreading ticks and with them Lyme disease as well as damaging native ecosystems. Wild greylag geese crop the machair lands very close, pulling up vegetation by the roots and fouling the grasslands. 

The existence of the machair, and the biodiversity that it supports, depends on low level agriculture. This includes controlling the species that are present, wild and otherwise. Rabbits, geese and deer need to be controlled to keep the dunes safe, the grasslands in good condition, and conserving some of the more fragile aspects of our environment. By researching tasty recipes and passing them on, I am supporting local diversity. 

Rabbits, apples and cider

We had this tonight, either this was an exceptionally tender rabbit, or the recipe was just fab. I think the latter. As it was midweek, I did my trick of doing the main cooking last night, and then reheating and cooking for another 15 minutes tonight. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 rabbit, jointed
  • seasoned flour
  • 50g butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
  • 1 cooking apple, peeled and diced
  • 1 good pinch of dried thyme leaves
  • a good grating of nutmeg
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 200g pancetta or diced smoked streaky bacon
  • 300ml dry cider
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Heat the butter in a saucepan, and fry the chopped apples, onions, bacon and celery together. When the onion is soft and beginning to brown, set aside, and add the herbs and nutmeg. 
  • Dip the rabbit in the seasoned flour. Add a little more butter to the pan and fry the rabbit until the joints are browned. 
  • Add the cider and the fried onion mixture, bring to a simmer and season to taste. 
  • Cover and put into an oven heated to 150C for around an hour and a half. 

We served this with mashed potatoes and braised cabbage. It would be excellent with parsnips too. 

Easy venison casserole

This is a basic venison casserole that could be made with meat from the shoulder, or other cut suitable for stewing. It is very simple and tasty. You could vary the vegetables a little to your taste. I have posted a similar recipe in the past, I think, but with a few more exotic ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 700 to 900g venison, in 2cm cubes, trimmed of potential elastic bits
  • 2 tbsp plan flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 sticks of celery, chopped
  • 4 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 neep/turnip/swede, peeled and diced
  • 200g smoked pancetta or bacon
  • 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 300ml stock
  • 300ml dark ale
  • salt and pepper to taste. 

METHOD:

  • Set the oven to 150C. Prepare the meat and vegetables. Dip the cubes of venison into the seasoned flour. 
  • Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and brown the venison in stages, so it cooks in a single layer and browns easily. Put this in a dish for adding back to the casserole later. 
  • Fry the onion, celery and carrot together with the bacon until the onion is beginning to brown. 
  • Add the herbs, and stock, bring to a boil and add the ale. Bring back to the boil and add the meat and neeps. Adjust the seasoning at this point. 
  • Cook for 2 1/2 hours at 150C. You can cook it for a couple of hours and then set aside for reheating and a final half hour of cooking the next night. 

We ate this with mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts.