Beef, ale & cheese soup - hearty flavours!

Are you, like I was, looking at the concept of a soup containing beef, ale (beer) and cheese and thinking "erm .. well how does that work, then?".  If so, then it works very well, surprisingly well in fact.

I'd seen various incarnations of this idea appearing on recipe sharing websites for a while and have to admit that I'd thought it was just one of those fads that occurs from time to time.  Like cheese stuffed meatloaf, prosciutto wrapped chicken breasts and cakes decorated with maltesers.  You know the sort of thing - not something that's going to last, a bit of a fashion thing - a flash in the proverbial pan.

However, I'm not sure if it was familiarity with seeing it turn up so regularly or just sheer curiosity that did it, but whatever it was - I succumbed, tried it out and it works.

Now you'll know that I'm rarely keen on a recipe that involves lots of procedures, lots of ingredients (well, except maybe for curries) and lots of faffing about.  You'll also know that my hubby isn't keen on "bouncy meat" and any type of beef requires a long, relaxing bath in the slow cooker in order for it to gain the thumbs up.

So when I began seriously considering how to make this warming wintery gem, I started from those two standpoints - simple and slow cooker.

Now it's soup we're talking about here - not stew.  So I had to choose a liquid base that would be interesting enough in flavour to be there in quantity plus also able to withstand a long cooking time.  Now obviously, beef stock would have done the job on at least one of those counts.  However, I didn't want the soup to be too weighted to one ingredient or the other.  I was after an amalgous whole.  An affinity between ingredients.  I also didn't want it to be too "gravy" flavoured.  Too much of a "gravy" flavour would be too stew-like.

Tomato passata was out, as it took everything down too much of an Italian route.  Creaminess was out, too.  Nobody wants a beef soup that is creamed.

Inevitably, the ole grey cells turned to alcohol.  After all, I'd done a fair few "in cider" dishes and knew that they worked.  I'd also cooked with ale a few times and knew what a lovely savoury end result you wind up with.  Yes, that was the thing - a light ale.  After all, beer and cheese were made to go together.  Light enough to still be there in the flavour profile, but without dominating either the beef or the cheese.

I knew that building up the flavour in layers is often the way to go - so what vegetable matter to put in there.  Some for flavour, some for texture, some for thickening.  Onion was a given and it would have to be fried so as to avoid that horrible raw onion flavour overpowering everything.  Celery is a good one, but no carrots, not this time.  I didn't want it to be a stew, remember?  Garlic always helps savouriness along, so that was a definite.  As for herbage, I was torn between parsley, thyme and oregano.  Son and heir had complained recently about everything having parsley in it, so I restrained myself to providing a mere sprinkling of parsley as garnish and decided to go with thyme.  Well, oregano was going too far down the Italian/pizza flavour route again.  I had declared myself done with thyme just recently, as it seemed to go in everything and I had got distinctly fed up with it.  However, there was just no alternative - and it went very well.

I was a little bit worried that a lot of these flavours were "top end" and there was nothing really backing up the garlic and beef at the "lower end" of the flavour spectrum, until I remembered I had a few mushrooms.  Perfect.

Now potato was a given as it tends to disintegrate and act as a thickener.  I needed something else though, something that had inherent sweetness that would counteract the bitter, hoppy flavour of the ale.  There in my veggie drawer of the fridge, was sat a half a butternut squash.  Again, perfect.  I peeled it, cut it into cubes and in it went, providing colour, beta carotene and the desired amount of sweetness.

With the combination of mature Cheddar's tangy, salty flavours and the Red Leicester's softer tones, the cheese was relatively easy to pin down.  I felt they both worked very well, although perhaps a medium matured Cheddar might have been better for my palate.  If you can cope with the big flavours of a tangy, salty, matured cheddar then go ahead with it, if you're a bit wobbly about cheese, I'd recommend a medium matured Cheddar.  Just don't reduce the quantity, as it makes a huge difference to the texture of the soup.

Now, what Cook's Tips can I offer you?  Well, apart from the type of Cheddar used (as above), I really don't think the type of beef that you use matters all that much.  Quite obviously, you wouldn't want to be using rump steak, nor a sirloin roast.  However any of your stewing, casserole, braising types from brisket right down to good old shin, would work.  Just adjust the cooking time to suit.  I used a stewing type of beef that had already been diced - not my favourite type of beef to use, but we were fortunate in that it turned out to be just perfect for the job.  I suspect it was probably a combination of shin with a bit of braising steak mixed in, as there were two very different textures of meat in there.  However, I'd use it again as it was really good.  It had around 8 or 9 hours in total on high and was absolutely as soft as butter and completely delicious.

I served the soup with some lovely sourdough, rustic bread from our local Patisserie Mark Bennett bakery.  You need bread with some "oomph" alongside the soup, but if you haven't got it don't worry.  The soup is the star!

BEEF, ALE & CHEESE SOUP   (serves 4)

Ingredients :

3 tbsp plain flour
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
750g braising or stewing beef - I used shin - trimmed of fat and cut into chunks
1 onion, chopped small
2 stalks of celery, chopped small
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
1 large garlic clove, crushed and chopped finely
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into cubes
half a butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cut into cubes
half a teaspoonful of dried thyme
500ml bottle of light ale beer
500ml cold water
a teaspoonful of low salt veal or beef stock powder (or a low salt stock cube)
100ml single cream
200g grated cheese - I used 50/50 Cheddar and Red Leicester
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish.

Method :

1.  Place the flour and a pinch of sea salt and half a teaspoonful of black pepper into a large plastic bag and toss to combine.

2.  Add the cubes of beef and toss well to coat the meat.

3.  Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan on a high heat, then place in handfuls of the beef to sear.  Take care to not overcrowd the pan, which will lower the temperature and so cause the beef to stew instead of sear.

4.  As the beef sears, remove it with a slotted spoon to the slow cooker and continue to sear the next batch until all the beef is done.

5.  Add the onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic to the pan - you may need a little more oil - and reduce the temperature.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and coloured a little.  Decant into the slow cooker and turn it on to Low.

6.  Add the potato, butternut squash and thyme to the slow cooker, stir to combine and replace the lid.

7.  Pour the light ale into the frying pan and add the stock powder, plus 500ml of water.  Stir to combine, making sure to deglaze the pan and heat until simmering point, whereupon you can add the contents of the pan to the slow cooker, turn the heat to High and replacing the lid.

8.  Cook for a minimum of 6 hours on High and a maximum of 8 on Low - or until the beef is tender and the vegetables are cooked.

9.  Remove the slow cooker's lid and stir in the cream and the grated cheese until the cheese has melted.  Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

10.  Serve into warmed bowls, adding a sprinkle of fresh parsley to garnish and crusty bread for dipping.

Printable version

Slow cooked Cumberland beef stew with donkey carrots

When I first set out to make this meal, it was supposed to be a crispy topped Cumberland pie.  However, I ran out of puff part way through it - and discovered how yummy just the beef part of the recipe could be on its own.

As with a lot of my recipes these days, this one has taken bits from several different recipes.  However, the original inspiration came from the BBC Good Food website and their Crispy topped Cumberland pie.

The original version was made with feather blade beef, however I opted to use our favourite shin of beef because a) I was going to be slow-cooking it and b) the flavour of beef shin is amazing.  However, this plan back-fired on me this time around - as you'll discover later.

I liked the idea of the sliced potatoes on top, along with the baked to crispiness cheese coating.  Cheddar always goes so well with beef, they are a real comfort food pairing.  I was a bit nervous about the sliced potatoes, however, as I've not had a lot of luck with them in the past.  They either wind up still hard (not long enough in the oven) or turn black and unappetising looking (wrong type of potato, left too long before baking).  You see, I know what I did wrong in the past - so I was determined not to commit any of these crimes this time around.  Hubby always greets the idea of sliced potato on top of a savoury dish with great scepticism, so I not only had my own failures to beat, I had his expectations to exceed too.

Swimming around happily

When it got closer to the time when I would make the transfer from the slow cooker to the oven, I think I had got myself so wound up over the potatoes failing (again), that I just opted for the easier route and didn't bother.

The marriage of beef and cheese is what makes a "Cumberland" something, Cumberland.  So, rather than miss the whole point of the recipe, I remembered seeing Jamie Oliver adding some grated cheese to a beef casserole - and did the same.  It was very definitely counter-intuitive to be grating cheddar into a beef casserole, but for all that it didn't taste obviously of cheddar cheese, it very definitely made a difference in both flavour and texture.

I must pause here and comment on the carrots.  You see, carrots have such a fundamental part to play in British cooking.  They appear on so many plates over the course of a lifetime's meals, yet rarely do you see anyone doing anything exciting with them (apart from the occasional carrot cake and maybe a carrot & coriander soup).  Now, I'm not saying that adding them to this stew was exciting, but if we could just have a little bit of appreciation here for the 'umble carrot in all its many forms, I think it would be appropriate.  The carrots used in this stew were the big fat donkey carrots.  None of your thin, springtime carrots, or your fancy Chantenay carrots.  Oh no.  What you need are big, fat, coarse carrots that are going to stand being cooked for a long time and have loads of sweetness to impart.

I love the name "donkey carrots" and have been wracking my brains to try and remember where I first heard the term.  It was either care of Raymond Blanc on his "Kitchen Secrets" programme - he is so funny in this programme! - or with Michael Caines during his carrot episode of the Great British Food Revival.  Either way, "donkey carrot" just suits this great big honking lump of carrotiness perfectly - and "donkey carrots" they shall be, for me, in future.  (I can remember when I owned horses and a donkey, buying a 25kg bag of just these type of carrots, for their feed!  More than one of them went home with me and wound up on my plate!).

Now, what was the end result like, I hear you ask?  Well, I loved it, son & heir loved it but hubby - oddly - couldn't take the texture of the beef shin.

See what I mean by connective tissue?  Can't trim it all out!

I'm really not sure what the difference was, as we've had and eaten beef shin on many other occasions and he hasn't experienced the same problem, plus I didn't notice any difference in the meat as I was trimming it up.  Trimming up beef shin is always a labour of love, so I very definitely went over it with a fine toothcomb for yukky fat and globby bits.  Shin of beef contains a lot of connective tissue, which during the course of slow cooking melts into the gravy and gives it a very rich, almost glutinous texture.  It makes me wonder if the addition of the cheese to the gravy didn't just push the texture over the edge of palatable for hubby, as he really is so terribly sensitive to soft textures in food.

For me, the cheese made the gravy incredibly savoury, rich and unctuous along with giving it a certain indefinable and very pleasant something.  I really liked the carrot and the combination of onions and celery had just melted away into the gravy.  I used my favourite Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pot to provide a good amount of additional "oomph!" to the gravy base - they really are indispensable to me, now.

That oddly coloured carrot on the right, is a purple carrot!

So all in all, I'd very definitely do this recipe again - but I think I'd choose something like Brisket of beef, or perhaps Silverside (depending on the price!), both of which have far less connective tissue and thus would make it palatable for hubby.  After all, there's no point spending all that time trimming, cooking and serving if he can't eat it!

SLOW COOKED CUMBERLAND STEW WITH DONKEY CARROTS   (feeds 4)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
6-700g beef brisket (or braising cut of your choice)
2 big donkey carrots, peeled and chopped into chunky pieces
2 onions, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Knorr Really Beefy Stock Pot (or a beef stock cube)
1 tsp Bovril
half a tsp of freshly ground black pepper
500ml hot water
1 tbsp softened butter
2 tbsp plain flour
a large handful of grated mature cheddar cheese.

Method :

1.  Heat the oil in a frying pan until really quite hot.  Add the beef - you may need to do this bit in stages, so as not to overcrowd the pan - and sear until you have a good dark golden brown colour on at least two sides.  Decant into the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and turn it to low, making sure to replace the lid.

2.  Add the carrots to the slow cooker and replace the lid.

3.  Add the onion to the frying pan (you may need a touch more oil) and cook gently for 5-6 minutes until softened, transparent and just beginning to take on colour.

4.  Add the celery and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

5.  Add the bay leaves, tomato puree, tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, stock pot (or stock cube, if using), Bovril, pepper and water and stir gently to combine as it heats through.

6.  In a small dish, mix the butter and flour together.  Remove the frying pan from the heat and add a teaspoonful of the flour mixture to the gravy.  Stir well to ensure it mixes in without forming lumps.  Continue until you have the consistency you prefer - less flour mix for thinner, more flour mix for thicker.

7.  Return the pan to the heat and stir until properly thickened.

8.  Decant into the slow cooker.  Replace the lid and leave to cook for the next 8-10 hours.

9.  Just prior to serving, remove the lid and using the slotted spoon, move the meat to one side of the slow cooker.

10.  Add the grated cheddar to the non-meat side and stir it gently into the gravy.  Once melted, stir the meat back in to the cheesy gravy.

Serve.

Printable version
 

Slow cooker beef stroganoff

Yes, I know.  Having bored you all to tears with Tenderstem Broccoli, I'm now in the process of boring you all to death about the slow cooker.

I suppose, if you don't have a slow cooker, there's absolutely nothing to stop you assembling the recipe into a casserole dish and cooking it long and slow in the oven.  Same difference!  (In fact, I have since tried doing this - see the note at the end of this post).

So there I was, browsing The Kitchn website as I said earlier, and I spy a recipe for Braised Beef Stroganoff (click to view).  Over the last couple of months or so, I've tried two different recipes for Stroganoff without much success.  There was just something missing from the flavour that reminded me of the Stroganoffs of yore - those that my Mum put together and served for dinner at the weekend.

Having read the version on The Kitchn, it seemed so simple that it held some promise of success in that simplicity.  I also knew that the slow cooker was still sitting on the worktop, which meant that any beef recipe that contained shin of beef would be achievable.  It was just a matter of converting The Kitchn's recipe to one which could be done in the slow cooker.

As it turned out, that really wasn't difficult.  The end result was a smooth, glossy sauce over mushrooms and super-tender beef that tasted just perfect.  I've finally found a recipe that captures those Stroganoffs (or Strongenoughs, as they're known in this house) of yore.

To its credit, it even survived my having a tear-stained emotional meltdown about five minutes prior to serving, which meant it had to sit and wait until I'd calmed down enough to consider serving and eating it.  Don't worry, it wasn't the Stroganoff that sparked the meltdown, I was just having a bit of a one-woman pity party.  You know the sort - where you put a on a brave smile and carry on through thick and thin right up until the straw hits that breaks the camel's back.  Well, a bit of a hug and a sympathetic supply of tissues from hubby and I'm back on form again.  What would I do without him, eh?

12 January 2017

Well, it's been a while, but I was cooking this delicious stroganoff for just the two of us today and opted to go for the oven method.  I assembled everything as for the slow cooker version, but into a lidded casserole dish.  It then went into the oven for 3.5hrs at 150degC/300degF/Gas 2.  I then added the sour cream, stirred it through and put it back into the oven for as long as it took the tagliatelle to cook.  It worked perfectly and was completely delicious.  :D

SLOW COOKER BEEF STROGANOFF  (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

2 knobs of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
600g trimmed shin of beef (800g untrimmed), diced into large chunks
3 tbsp flour
a large glass of a full-bodied red wine
300ml beef stock
1 onion, diced
6 small round shallots, peeled and left whole
200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced thickly
a small carton of sour cream
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Heat a knob of butter and the olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat.  Add the diced beef (in batches if necessary, to avoid braising instead of frying) and fry until browned and beginning to caramelise.  Decant into the slow cooker and switch it to low.

2.  Melt the remaining butter into the frying pan and add the onion.  Fry until softened and just beginning to brown.  Add the mushrooms and fry until beginning to soften.  Decant into slow cooker, along with the whole shallots.

3.  Sprinkle the pan with the flour and stir to combine it with the leftover butter and cooking juices.  Season with black pepper and a pinch of salt.  Allow to cook for a minute or so.

4.  Add the red wine, stirring busily with a whisk, to prevent lumps forming.  Bring to a boil and reduce by half, then add the beef stock and continue stirring to combine.

5. Once the sauce has reached the correct thickness (which should be fairly thick, as the juices from the vegetables and meat will serve to dilute it slightly), pour into the slow cooker and stir to combine.

6.  Turn the slow cooker up to high and leave it for a minimum of 4 hours.

7.  After 4 hours, remove the lid and give the contents another stir.  Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.  If your beef requires longer, or you aren't ready to eat just yet, turn the heat down to medium, to prevent the sauce from burning.

8.  Add a tablespoon or so of the gravy to the sour cream and stir to combine.  Then, add the diluted sour cream to the slow cooker contents and again, stir to combine.  This way ensures that the sour cream is accepted into the gravy without leaving any lumps.

8.  Serve with papardelle pasta or rice.

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A magnificent Chilli con Carne

Slow cooked, oven baked, Chilli con Carne

You'll recall from my last post, my dilemma in the butcher's when they didn't have any ham hocks, so I rapidly changed tack to Beef Shin.

At that stage, I didn't really have any idea what I was going to do with it - I just knew that the ingredients for the Ham Hock dish were fairly compatible with Beef Shin in one way or another, so I didn't need to buy anything else.  Which is good on two counts - one because I could do without spending more money and anyway, my back had run out of it's ability to support me when standing up.  So, having limped back to the car, I began to work on what I could use the shin for.

Shin of beef : before trimming

We'd had various stews of one sort of another just lately and I didn't really want to conjur up another stew-type thing (although the idea of dumplings did occur to me and, tempting as they are, were rejected on the "too much fat" front).

It was when the beans came to mind, that I considered doing a Chilli con Carne.  I knew that I had a tin of red kidney beans in the cupboard, chilli powder in the spice rack together with crushed red chillis and in the fridge, fresh red chillis.  I also remembered that I'd bought two tins of cherry tomatoes on the offchance that I'd need them.  It's always good to grab a couple of tins when you see them, as they are quite the best tinned tomatoes, I've discovered.  Yes, chilli con carne was the way to go.

We'd been wanting to try the more authentic way of making Chilli con carne - that is, with pieces of meat, rather than with mince, for a very long time - so this was my chance.  I even had a block of dark chocolate in the fridge, specifically for this sort of recipe.

Shin of beef - after trimming

Being shin, the meat would require long slow cooking in order to render out the fat and have it tender enough to be cut with a spoon.  The only sensible way to do this was to oven cook it in a casserole dish.  Now, I've done oven cooked chillis and bologneses this way in the past and find that the sauce tends to amalgamate better with less likelihood of it splitting, so that all made sense.

So having sat and thought about the recipe for a while, I set to with making it.

Dustbin 1

The shin really is glorious stuff, but it is essential that you have a sharp knife (and two eager hounds to act as dustbins) when trimming it up.  Without a sharp knife, I dare say I'd have lost patience with it and a good percentage of it would have gone into the dog, rather than into the casserole dish.


It's not difficult to trim of its fat and gristle, it's just a wee bit fiddly.  Still, you can see that once trimmed, you still have a good quantity of meat left from your 700g - and two happy dogs.

Dustbin 2

I began by sweating down one large chopped onion, the garlic and the chilli, then setting aside to keep warm, whilst I sear the meat.  That's the opposite way around to most people, but I think that the flavours of the onion, garlic & chilli get into the meat before they've all been introduced, that way.

It didn't take long to assemble, then it was into the oven, back out to be stirred and the moisture levels checked - I had to add a little water later on in the cooking - and add the beans at the last minute.

I served up with white rice and a dollop of greek yoghurt because it really was blisteringly hot flavour-wise.  The yoghurt isn't traditional but it was there as a survival technique for both son and myself.  We also like to sprinkle on a little grated cheese and some sultanas - but then I think we may be bit weird that way.

Searing the beef

Hubby's verdict, after the second mouthful, was that it was a magnificent chilli.  In my opinion, I'd consider it to be the best chilli I have ever produced - which considering the amount of chilli's (in their various forms) I have produced over the years, is definitely saying something!

Ready to go in the oven

SLOW, OVEN-COOK, CHILLI CON CARNE  (serves 4)

Ingredients :

2 tbsp olive oil

700g beef shin, trimmed and cubed

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 red chilli, chopped, seeds left in

2 tsp hot chilli powder

tin cherry tomatoes

2 beef oxo cubes

200ml water

half a tsp of dried sage

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper

can of beans of your choice, red kidney or haricot are good

1-2 squares of very dark chocolate

Method :

1.  Pre-heat oven to 140deg C.

2.  In a deep sided frying pan, fry the onion in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened.  Add the chilli and continue to fry gently until the onion is beginning to brown.  Add the garlic and fry for another minute.  Keep aside in a warm place.

3.  Heat the remaining olive oil until very hot and gradually introduce the meat, until it is all seared and brown.  Remove to a casserole dish and replace the onions in the frying pan.

4.   Add the chilli powder and fry for a minute or two, stirring, to ensure it is all mixed in and moistened.

5.  Add the tomatoes (and turn the heat up), oxo cubes, water, sage, tomato puree, tomato ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and stir until all is combined.

6.  Taste for seasoning – you may need to add a little salt.  Restrain yourself from adding any sugar at this stage, for the chocolate (which is added later) may well do that job for you.

7.  Add to the casserole dish and cook at 140deg for 2 hours.

8.  After the hour, add the beans and chocolate – stir gently until the chocolate is dissolved – then replace and cook until the meat is butter-like and tender which should be around a half hour to an hour later.

Serve with white rice, grated cheese and sultanas over.  If particularly chilli-hot, serve with an additional tablespoonful of greek yoghurt.

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Beef Bourguignon

Way back two Sundays ago, I decided to have Beef Bourgignon for dinner on Saturday evening.

I'd been holding a recipe for Bourguignon for the longest time, waiting until the stars converged - or alternatively, I had everything necessary in one place.  Well, it so happened that (thanks to my Wine ice cubes) I had everything necessary, barring the beef.

Well that was easily fixed by a quick trip to the butcher for some Beef Shin.

Imagine my surprise when I saw, on the t.v., the latest M&S advert which was extolling the virtues of their Beef Bourguignon - made with "prime cuts of beef"!  Having just made the dish with what (don't tell it, for goodness sake) could easily be described as "a very non-prime cut of beef", yet have the dish turn out so completely deliciously, made me a little scathing of their prime cuts.

Yes, beef shin does require a little knife work to remove the worst of the fat and gristle, but there really isn't all that much.  Just ask Jonty & Basil - they would rather it contained much more fat and gristle, as they get to be the wagging dustbins into which it goes!  It's just a shameless marketing ploy on their behalf, I reckon.

I put our Bourguignon into the oven for around two and a half hours, which had the pieces breaking up under knife and fork and requiring the minimum of chewing.  Now if that's not scrumptious, I don't know what is.

Oh - and I expect it cost around the same, but for very much more.  *smile*

BEEF BOURGUIGNON  (feeds 3 hungry people)

Ingredients :

1 tsp olive oil
15g butter
700g diced beef shin
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, grated
200g chestnut mushrooms
5-6 whole round shallots, peeled
225ml red wine
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dried thyme (or 2 sprigs, if fresh)
500ml beef stock.

Method :

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 180deg.

2.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the beef, seasoning it as you go.

3.  Remove, place into a warmed casserole dish to keep warm.

4.  Melt the butter in the pan, add the onion and fry until soft (around 5 mins).

5.  Add the whole shallots and garlic, cook for another minute, then the mushrooms, cook for another 2 minutes, then the wine and bring to the boil.

6.  Stir in the tomato puree and let the liquid reduce for around 5 mins, then stir in the thyme and add the stock.

7.  Pour the liquid into the casserole dish, cover and place into the oven for 2-2.5 hours or until beef is tender.

8.  If necessary, pour gravy off into a saucepan and boil until reduced and syrupy.  I found I didn't need to do this part, as the sauce was at perfect consistency.

Printable version

Serve with Boulangere potatoes, curly kale cooked briefly in boiling water for 3 mins, and carrots.

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Austrian Beef Goulash

Not so long ago, I had a crack at making Hungarian Beef Goulash.  It wasn't so terribly successful in that the broth/sauce was far too thin for hubby's tastes and the paprika didn't feature well enough in the general flavour.

I resolved to have another go at another time, as once I'd fixed the thin broth issue, the paprika issue should be easier to define.  However, in the meantime, I discovered this "Austrian Beef Goulash" recipe.

Now this intrigued me, as I wondered what made it "Austrian", as opposed to "Hungarian".

Having made the dish, I think the largest differences are the degree of tomato that is employed, plus the lack of caraway seeds.  In truth, though, it really is very similar.

Oddly enough, even though the recipe uses two tablespoonfuls of paprika, hubby still declared the paprika flavour to be lacking.  I might have to use three tablespoonfuls in future, although I am a tad nervous of overdoing it for everyone else!

I used beef shin in mine, as I am trying  - where possible - to use cheaper cuts of meat.  Doing that is good for my purse and good for the global waste issue.  I extended the cooking time of the original recipe to some three and a half hours (at a low heat) to ensure that the fat was all rendered down and the meat super-tender.  Shin of beef really does lend itself to this type of cooking, as the flavours were superlative.

It is worthwhile, when cutting up the beef, to make the cubes a little bit larger than one normally would for this kind of meal.  The sauce becomes quite thick and we've discovered that it is difficult to find smaller cubes when it comes to plating up.  You don't want to plate up two ladlefuls of sauce, whilst leaving all the beef in the pan!

One other advantage to using shin of beef, is that Jonty and Basil (the dogs) get the offcuts.  From the moment my feet touched the kitchen floor, Jonty (the Saluki) was in attendance.  He's a very attentive companion, as he watches everything being got out of the larder, pan cupboard and fridge.  He begins to lick his lips as the onions go into the pan, as he knows the next job will be to cut up the meat.  I think, however, he just doesn't understand why I insist on calling Basil (Jack Russell) to come and share the haul.  He'd be really much happier if I'd leave Basil sleeping and let him (Jonty) have the lot!

AUSTRIAN GOULASH (feeds 3-4)

Ingredients :

3 tbsp sunflower oil (sunflower is best, as it can attain a greater heat than olive)

2 large onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated
4-5 chesnut mushrooms, quartered
600g shin of beef, cut into large cubes
2 tbsp paprika (more, if you desire)
2 tbsp plain flour
salt & pepper
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tsp mixed herbs
125ml red wine
400g can tomatoes or 500ml passata
350ml beef stock
2 large red peppers, cut into rings
142ml carton soured cream
chives, chopped, to garnish


Method :

1.  Heat a tablespoonful of the oil in a flameproof casserole over a medium to low heat, and cook the onions until soft - approx 5 minutes or so.


2.  Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking and stirring for another five minutes or so, then set aside.


3.  Add the remainder of the oil and, on a high heat, add the beef and sear until browned.


4.  Return the onion mixture to the pan and add the flour, seasoning, paprika, tomato puree, vinegar and herbs.  Stir well, then add the wine and bubble for a minute or so.


5.  Add the tomatoes, stock and bring to the boil.  Stir all the time, to avoid lumps forming in the sauce.  Once boiling, check the seasoning.


6.  Cover and place in the oven for two hours.


7.  Remove from the oven to add the peppers and stir through.  Put back in the oven for another hour.


8.  Serve with white rice, sour cream and chopped chives sprinkled over.


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Shin of Beef : a hearty stew with parsley dumplings

I want to make a steak and kidney pie.

There, I’ve said it.  Owned up to it, so I’ll have to do it now, instead of shying away from it like a pony scared by a flapping leaf.

With that in mind – you see, I’ve been working up to this moment – I thought I’d better suss out the beef from our local butcher.  We’d had a fabulous piece of rib of beef at Christmas, but that was all and I wanted to get some cheaper cut just to see whether I was capable of cooking it in the manner that would get the best out of it.  So, when we visited the butcher this week, I picked up 600kg of Shin with a view to doing a properly hearty beef stew with dumplings.

Now, remember I’ve got two fat-phobic boys in the family here.  They can’t bear it if any of their meat is “wobbly” (their description).  This is why I approached the Shin with caution, as I was very aware of their requirements and didn’t really want to spend hours trimming every little bit of fat from the meat – and so lose a lot of the flavour.  But sometimes you have to experiment in order to discover.

As such, I wasn’t too particular over trimming the meat.  Obvious strings of gristle were removed, as well as thick pieces of fat, but otherwise I left it in the hope that the 4hrs cooking that was ahead of it would do the trick and render what little fat was left.

I found that the 600g of Shin was the perfect quantity for 4 of us.  Yes, I know there are only 3, but you’ve just got to have second helpings of this one!

I started the cooking at around 2pm, by cooking all the ingredients that were going to add flavour to the gravy and then adding the meat.  When we came back from collecting Son and heir from school, the whole flat smelled of glorious beef stew.  I next looked at it with an hour and a half to go and added the “soft” vegetables.  Then, with just a half an hour to go, I included the dumplings.

Oh. My. God.  Honestly, if you never master any other dish – master making this one.  It truly is heaven.

HEARTY SHIN OF BEEF STEW WITH PARSLEY DUMPLINGS (feeds 3-4)

Ingredients :

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

3 tablespoons of plain flour

salt & pepper

600g Shin of Beef, cubed

1 fat clove of garlic, grated

1 leek, sliced

2 sticks celery, de-stringed and chopped

half a red pepper, seeds removed and cut into cubes

2 beef oxo cubes

1 litre plus of boiling water

1 tablespoon of tomato ketchup

1 teaspoon of creamed horseradish

1 large teaspoon of wholegrain mustard

1 teaspoon of Bovril

a shake or two of Worcestershire Sauce

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm pieces

1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped into large chunks

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into large chunks

3 mushrooms, cleaned and each cut into 6

a handful of peas or broad beans

For the dumplings :

150g self-raising flour

50g suet (I used vegetable suet)

salt & pepper

fresh chopped parsley to taste – if you don’t have fresh, make plain dumplings

small quantity of milk to bind

Method :

1.  Turn your oven on at 160deg (fan) to pre-heat.  Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a deep pan or casserole – one that will go from the top to the oven.  Cook the onions very slowly until transparent and beginning to colour – approx 5-10 mins.  Remove and keep warm.

2.  Put the flour onto a large dished plate (or one with a lip) and season it well, then mix lightly with your fingers.  Toss the shin of beef in the flour until it is coated.  In the meantime, heat 1 more tablespoon of oil in the pan and add the coated beef.  If your pan isn’t big enough, you might need to fry the beef in two batches.  Make sure it fries and browns – don’t let it stew!

3.  Remove the beef and keep warm.

4.  Add the leek, garlic, celery and red pepper and cook until it begins to soften.

5.  Then return the onions to the pan and add the remaining flour, mixing well to ensure it amalgamates and cooks for 2-3 minutes.

6.  Add enough boiling water to just above the contents, mixing well with a whisk to ensure no lumps form from the flour.  Add the tomato ketchup, horseradish, mustard, Bovril and Worcestershire Sauce.  Return the beef to the pan and stir to combine.  Add a little more water, if the beef isn’t submerged.

7.  Cover with a lid and place into the oven for a minimum of 1½ hours – whatever suits you. A longer time would be fine, but a shorter time is not good.

8.  Remove the lid and give the contents a stir.  Taste, so that you know where the gravy is headed.

9.  Add the potatoes, parsnip, carrot and mushrooms, stir to combine, replace the lid and place the whole lot back in the oven for up to another 2 hours.

10.  Remove the lid, stir the contents and taste for seasoning.  Add more seasoning if you think it is required.  Add the peas or broad beans (or both if you’re feeling rash!), replace the lid and return to the oven.

11.  Make the dumplings.

12.  Place the flour and suet into a bowl and season.  Add the parsley and mix to combine.  Add a little milk and mix to combine.  The dumpling mixture should stick a little to the spoon, but not be fluid in any way.  If your mixture is too fluid, add a little more flour.  Too dry – add a little more milk.  The mixture should make eight dumplings.

13.  Remove the stew pan from the oven, remove the lid and carefully add spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture to the stew.  Allow them to sit where you dropped them, then replace the lid and back in the oven they go, for 20-30 minutes, depending on how big your dumplings are.

Once the dumplings are cooked (you can insert a knife into one, which will show you whether they are still sticky or not), serve into warmed bowls or warmed dished plates.

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Chicken breasts and Shin of Beef

We’ve not long come back from doing the main food shopping for the week and I find myself unaccountably pleased at our purchases made from the local butcher.

Not the shin I bought - but shin nonetheless

Apart from the fact that he couldn’t supply us with a rabbit (although he did recommend a place that could – we’ll pop in there on Friday), we picked up another five chicken breasts for £5, together with 600g of Shin of Beef for a beef stew tomorrow, which cost us the princely sum of £2.something (neither of us can quite remember how many pence the “something” represents), but either way, it’s a fabulous price for some “real” beef.  I say “real” beef, because somehow beef bought from a supermarket just doesn’t feel “real”.  You have no idea how old it is, nor do you know which bit of the cow you’ve got.  I also wonder, sometimes, whether it’s been previously frozen and they’re just not saying.

It’s silly, I know, but I got all nervous about going to the butcher.  Just in case the prices turn out to be horrendously more expensive than the supermarket, or I get asked questions that I’ve no answer to and so wind up looking like a fool.  Lord knows, I should be used to looking like a fool – it happens that often, but it never sits comfortably with me.  However, all was well and we had a nice little chat with him while he was serving us – all about ~shrug~ cutting the grass.

I think all that is why I feel so happy about it.  I’ve always wanted to find a local butcher that I could go to and feel comfortable about asking questions, plus I could have a little chat with, just like two human beings.  I remember my Nanna would shop like that – and it’s so much nicer than the impersonal drifting around your local supermarket.  Mind you, having said that, we’re such a regular feature at our supermarket that the Security staff (who keep the keys for the disabled buggies) are chatting, we’ve established our favourite checkout lady who recognises us every week, I exchange a few words with some of the shelf-fillers, plus some of the other shoppers are just as regular as we are – and have started saying hello back to me when I acknowledge them.  It all helps to make you feel at home in a place, I find.

Not perfect : but getting there!

Anyway, beside all that, last week was momentous on two counts.  Firstly, I made a Toad in the Hole – and you all know what troubles I’ve had over Yorkshire Pudding.  Well, it wasn’t perfect, but it was by far the best Toad that I’ve ever made.  The ends of the sausages got a bit frizzled, but with the @FoodieFellow (the Guerilla Griller) tip to reduce the temperature, the next one could well be that perfect toad.

Looks nice - but what could it be?

The other momentous occasion was that I devised my own recipe from scratch – without using someone else’s recipe as a base and adapting it to my own requirements.  I won’t say too much about it here, as it’ll spoil the blog post about it.  Everyone enjoyed the meal, although there were things that could have been improved upon and which I’ll take into account the next time.  Just the sheer fact that there’s likely to be a next time, is quite a significant improvement in my cooking.

I see that time is marching on towards lunchtime, so it’s time to go and make some Ramen noodles – which are my current passion.  I love that I can use up veggies and that they take seconds to cook (or warm up, in some instances), yet I get a lovely bowl of warming soup piled high with yummy noodles.  I even had to buy some chopsticks so that I could do it properly.  Yes, I do get it all down my front, but isn’t that part of the fun of eating noodles?

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