Month: March 2023

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.