Winter Collection: Crock Pot!

I've had this Slow Cooker squashed up next to Rob's crates and crates and crates of vinyl in our dusty old basement since the Christmas before last and decided it was high time it saw some daylight. Anyway, as it turns out, I like it very much, it looks nice and it gives the kitchen a warm and cosy hum. Unfortunately, I'm not doing all that well with it. Mostly I'm using too much liquid and we have been eating 'chilli soup', 'lamb-shank dhansak soup' and 'smoked rib and yellow pea soup' this week. Also my attempts to make overnight yogurt have so far failed, first time it didn't set, the next time I scorched it and it set beautifully but tasted like burnt cheese.
By coincidence I have been asked this week to go on GMTV and talk to Lorraine Kelly about the benefits of Slow Cooking (this Thursday, if you're watching) so I am determined to become an expert asap. Any tips, post them here.
In the meantime, here's a recipe from my friend Katie B's lovely book Slow Cooking. Now she is an expert so I'd rather you spent your ingredients on one of her dishes than risk them on one of mine. And if you are thinking of buying a Slow Cooker may I recommend you invest in a Cuisinart - it's more expensive than my Crock Pot but that cook and hold is worth every penny.

Katie's Slow Cooker Chinese Red Braised Beef
Serves 4 - 6
1.5kg brisket joint
2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
150ml light soy sauce
100ml dry sherry
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp shredded fresh root ginger
1/2 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
pred rind of 1 orange
150ml cold water

Place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker dish and mix well.

Cover with the lid and cook on low form 8 hours, or up to 12 hours, until the meat is meltingly tender.

Remove the meat from the slow cooker dish and carve into thick slices. Dizzle with the sauce and serve with noodles and steamed green vegetables.

Nice Day For A Barbecue

Our old gas barbecue is on its last legs. The holes are rusty and blocked with debris so it has patchy hot spots but still, it made nice work of our David's barbecued rump and these potato skewers.

New potato and pancetta skewers
1kg baby new potatoes
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
4 rosemary sprigs
100g sliced pancetta
1 garlic bulb, broken into cloves

Add the potatoes to a pan of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes until just tender. Pass each potato through a skewer then place in large bowl. Add the paprika, olive oil and some sea salt and toss together.

Cut the pancetta slices in half to give 20 short slices. Wrap a piece of pancetta around 20 of the potatoes and push a small sprig of rosemary through the holes of remaining potatoes.

Thread the potatoes onto 8 skewers with the whole garlic cloves, alternating them as you go. Cook over for medium coals for 15 – 20 minutes until crisp and golden.

Lazy Steak & Pickled Onion Pie

I met a friend for lunch at surely London's best pub, The Anchor & Hope, on Friday. It all went a bit wrong as she was an hour late and I drank the two glasses of Prosecco I'd allowed myself in the first half an hour. And I was really hungry which didn't help. Anyway, we ended up drinking way too much including some excellent dessert wine with our excellent Damson Bakewell Tart. But best of all was the steak pie for two which had cooked-for-hours, fall-apart-meat with a few little pieces of kidney, a dark gravy and a proper 'pork-pie-style' hot-water crust. My current favourite blog Old Foodie says it's pie week this week and so here's my favourite cheat's recipe - it can't compare to the A&H pie but it's quick and easy and uses jars and packets so I am sure Delia would approve.

Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
4 rashers smoked streaky bacon
750g cubed casserole or braising steak
4 tbsp plain flour
75cl bottle red wine
1x 450g jar silverskin pickled onions drained and rinsed (250g drained
weight)
3 tbsp redcurrant jelly
2 fresh thyme sprigs
375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Heat the oil in a large casserole pan cut the bacon into 1 cm wide strips, and add to the pan.

2 Season the flour with salt and pepper then toss the steak in the mixture. Shake off any excess flour then add to the pan and cook for 7-8 minutes, turning from time to time until nicely browned.

3 Add the wine, pickled onions, recurrent jelly and thyme. Bring to the boil, partially cover and simmer for 1 hour.

4 Preheat the oven to 200c / gas 6. Open out the pastry and cut to about
2cm larger than the pan, rolling out slightly thinner if necessary. Place on top of the steak, tucking in the edges to enclose the filling. Brush with milk then bake for 20 minutes until golden and puffed.

Bucatini with Brascioli

This a very old-fashioned Italian pasta sauce. My mum has cooked if forever using tough old braising steak and claims it was invented in her home town in Puglia but I'm not so sure about that. Traditonally, the meat is lifted out and served with salad after the pasta and sauce.

For more home-cooked pasta recipes go to the Presto Pasta Night Round-Up

Serves 4
2 x 400g cans plum tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 garlic cloves
bunch of parsley
few rosemary or thyme leaves
pinch of dried chillies
2 tbsp soft sun-dried tomatoes in oil
300g minute or frying steaks (you should get 8 - 10 for this weight)
500g pack bucatini and grated Parmesan to serve

1 Tip the tomatoes into a saucepan with one can of water. Liquidise with a handblender and a little salt until smooth. Stir in the oregano.

2 Place the garlic, parsley, rosemary, chilli, sun dried tomatoes and some salt and pepper in a mini-chopper and blend to make a paste. Spread the paste over the steaks with the back of a teapoon. Roll up to enclose the paste and tie with cotton or string to secure.

3 Drop the meat rolls into the pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Bubble for a couple of hours until the sauce is dark and thickened. Serve with bucatini and pass round the Parmesan.

David's Barbecued Rump

It thundered down again this afternoon, luckily just after we'd eaten our lovely barbecue lunch. It's St Swithin's Day today and tradition says if it thunders on St Swithin's there will follow 40 days and 40 nights of rain. Great!

Serves 8
1.5 kg rump or sirloin steak
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp wine vinegar

Take the steak out of the fridge at least 2 hours before barbecuing. Massage in the thyme, juniper, mustard and oil and leave to marinate. Rub in the viinegar 20 minutes before cooking.

Cook over medium coal for 8 minutes on each side then rest for 20 minutes before carving

Pasta with meatballs

Scrap had a whirlwind social today. We’ve just said goodbye to his best friend Sami and his little brother Milo who along with Scrap ate three mouthfuls of supper then jumped like crazy on the tiny trampoline until bath time (now!).

Earlier today, Scrap had his old NCT mates John and Henry round for play and lunch. All kids like pasta and most like meatballs so I thought this was a safe bet and good for making ahead of time. I think meatballs need a smooth sauce, so if you’re using cans of tomatoes, whiz them with a hand blender first.

Plenty for 3 mums and 4 small children
2 x 400g can plum tomatoes, whizzed or 800g jar passata
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
6 fresh sage leaves
1 thick slice of white bread, crusts on
500 g lean organic minced beef
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 sweet potatoes, diced or 1 very small butternut squash, diced
500g pasta shapes (I like to mix them up a bit)
250g mozzarella, diced

Pour the tomatoes into a pan with 300ml water and heat gently.

Place the garlic, parsley and sage in a food processor and tear in the white bread. Whizz until the bread breaks into crumbs then add the beef and whiz again until the mince is quite smooth. Add the egg, seeds and a pinch of salt and mix well.

Roll the mixture into cherry sized balls, dropping them into the tomato sauce as they’re ready. Partially cover and bubble gently for an hour or so. Add the sweet potato or squash and cook for a further 30 minutes until the veg is tender.

Cook the pasta, return to the pan and mix in the sauce and mozzarella. Serve as is or tip into a heatproof dish, drizzle with a little olive oil and pop into preheated oven until a bit crusty on top. Offer chilli flakes and grated Parmesan to grown-ups.

Red-hot black bean chilli

Half way through the cooking time

Serves 4
200g dried black beans or cannellini beans
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large red onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 – 6 hot chillies, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp smoked paprika
600g braising or stewing steak, diced
400g can chopped tomatoes
300ml chicken stock
1 square of dark chocolate (I used a chunk of Green & Blacks Maya Gold which is a bit orangey and it was brill)
soured cream or large handful grated mature Cheddar

1 Soak the beans overnight in cold water. Drain, put into a pan with cold water, (don’t add salt or it will make the beans tough) bring to the boil and cook hard for 15 minutes then drain.

2 Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion, celery and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Add the chillies, cumin seeds and paprika and cook for a minute more.

3 Stir in the beans, steak, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for 3 hours. Stir in the chocolate, season then spoon into bowls and top with a dollop of soured cream or some grated cheese.

Burgers for tea tonight

Adrian is coming at 8am tomorrow to fit the special new condensing combination boiler so we are clearing off to the seaside for the weekend. Hurrah! When we get back the house will be warm and there'll be plenty of hot water and the shower will be more powerful than ever before...even the body jets (not holding my breath).
Robert is conveniently working a bit late tonight. Late enough to miss the bedtime shenanigans but he should be home just in time for his tea. So in between doing the books "Mummy read it!!!" and warming icy pyjamas with a mini hot-water bottle and packing an overnight bag for us all I will be using the pack of mince I have in the fridge to makes burgers purely because I can get them on the table in 15 minutes and a good Bolognese (what I really would like to eat) takes hours to cook down. Anyway, we all like a burger. I always make them this way, varying the flavourings depending on whatever herbs etc I have in the fridge and I like to add a bit of chopped bacon or pancetta if I have any. I'm sorry about the photo, I'm a bit pushed for time so I nicked it from my Family book

Makes 4
2 red chillies, seeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
2 dill pickles, roughly chopped
1 thick slice of white bread, crusts on
1 small egg
500 g organic minced beef
4 slices Port Salut, Jarlsberg or Cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 crusty buns

Place the chillies, garlic, parsley and gherkin in a food processor and tear in the white bread. Whizz until the bread breaks into crumbs then transfer to a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the egg, beef and plenty of salt and pepper – you may need to use your hands if you find the mixture difficult to blend.

Shape into four even-sized burgers with a thickness of no more than 1cm. Cook in a preheated griddle pan or under the grill for 3 – 4 minutes on each side until nicely browned but still just a touch pink in the centre.

Split open the buns and place a burger on the base of each. Top with a slice of cheese and maybe a smudge of mustard .

Steak Milanese

I love Monday nights (double Corrie, early night) but the dinner is always a bit of a hotchpoch of whatever's still edible after the weekend. Robert was in charge of the last shop so all that's left in the fridge is one gigantic sirloin steak and lots of drinks. Scrap's got his pal Henry here and I'm in no mood to manage two 2 3/4 year old boys round the deli and SMBS in this wet weather. So I have decided on my mum's steak in breadrumbs. It is a version of the Italian classic Scaloppe Milanese- Milanese Veal Escalopes.
Elizabeth David says that after coating the meat in egg and breadcrumbs, they should be "fried in a plentiful amount of very good clarified butter so that the outside is crisp and golden and garnished with halves of lemon and parsely. Accompaniments are either a green salad or saute potatoes." So there we are then.
I am planning to cut my steak into six pieces and then bat them out as thinly as possible. I'll beat an egg with a crushed garlic clove and dip the steaks first in that and then into a mix of fresh white breadcrumbs and Parmesan. They need only a little olive oil for frying and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice before eating. I suppose I probably could muster up some saute potatoes but then again, Robert could easily pop into M&S on the way home for a box of Gastropub Chunky Chips...

Osso Bucco

We went to my Christmas party last night. It was thrown by my lovely agents, JHA, at The Lansdowne in Primrose Hill. It used to be an old favourite of mine a very long time ago when I worked in Camden and along with The Eagle in Farringdon, was one of London’s first Gastropubs. All these years later and it has remained pretty much unchanged. The party was lovely and so was the food though it was very slow. The gap between starter and main was nearly an hour but when my Osso Bucco arrived it was fabulous – soft and tender and classically paired with saffron risotto, though having said all that, we’d drunk so much during the wait, I might not have been the best judge.


Elizabeth David's Ossi Buchi Milanese
2lb of shin of veal sawn into pieces 2in thick, ¼ pint each of white wine and stock, 3/4lb tomatoes, parsley, a lemon, a clove of garlic, 2oz butter.
Brown the slices of shin of veal in the butter. Once browned, arrange them in the pan so that they remain upright in order that the marrow in the bone may not fall out as the meat cooks. Pour the white wine over them, let it cook for 10 minutes then add the skinned and chopped tomatoes, let them reduce, add the stock. Season. Cook for 1 ½ – 2 hours.
Prepare a handful of chopped parsley, a clove of garlic, chopped, and the grated peel of half a lemon. The Milanese call this mixture gremolata, and it is an essential part of the traditional ossi buchi Milanese. It is to be sprinkled on top of the ossi buchi before serving.
To make the dish as it should be, a very tender veal from an animal not more than three months old should be used. A dish of risotto Milanese always accompanies ossi buchi.

Tea tonight

It's cottage pie for tea tonight. I'm going to be home a bit late though, Robert, so you'll have to put it in at 180C for about half an hour to warm it up.

Cottage pie
Enough for 6
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 tbsp plain flour
750ml beef stock
1 kg minced beef
2 tablespoons brown sauce
150g frozen peas
handful fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 kg floury potatoes, peeled and cubed
100ml (1 /4 pint) milk
knob of butter
150g mature Cheddar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and caraway seeds and cook for 3 – 4 minutes then add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.

Pour in the hot stock then add the mince and brown sauce and simmer gently for 30 – 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes for 15 – 20 minutes until tender then mash well and stir in the milk, butter, cheese and seasoning. It’s a good idea to warm the milk first as it blends in more easily.

Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven 160C) gas mark 4. Stir the peas and parsley into the mince and add salt and pepper. Spoon over the mash then bake for 45 minutes until bubbling and golden.

Salt Beef and Spinach

That butcher's on Nunhead Lane is the only place I've come across in London that makes and sells its own uncooked Salt Beef. I know it's a pretty unpleasant grey on the outside but once cooked, it's so wonderfully soft and pink within (as good as any gammon) I can't understand why it isn't more popular. If you don't live near Nunhead, you could salt your own but you'll need curing salt or saltpetre. These people do salt beef by mail order but you might have to order more than one joint.

Today, I nicked off work a bit early and at about 5pm, popped my pale little joint (just under 1kg, cost around £6.50) in a big pan with water, four halved shallots, a chopped carrot, a sliced red chilli and garlic clove, a few whole herb sprigs and a couple of star anise. I bought it to a simmer and kept it going very gently, skimming from time to time until 7.30pm (popping out to nursery to fetch The Scrap half way through).

Finally, I tipped in a big bag of young spinach leaves, just for a couple of minutes until wilted. I cut a few thick pink slices off the beef, into two bowls and ladled over the lovely, clear, fragrant broth and vegetables. It was fantastic. And along with some American mustard and dill pickles, the rest of the beef will keep Robert in packed lunches at least until Thursday!