Feasting to Fasting

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything of note, but as a particularly food related event is coming up in the calendar, it seems appropriate that I should at least give it a mention.

Shrove Tuesday, or as a rather clever ad campaign puts it, Jif Lemon Day, is but a couple of days away. It's a time to consume rather a lot and indeed, to use up certain foodstuffs before the fasting of Lent begins.

I'm sure not many of us actually observe the strict practices of Lent, but most of us certainly take advantage of the day preceding it.

Already the shops are stacked to the ceiling with syrups and plastic squeezy lemons and dare I say it, ready-made pancakes – hmm, that sort of defeats the object of using up ingredients, but I suppose when you're hungry as well as time starved, it's the only way to indulge.

As you may have guessed, I have an obsession with Iceland, so I maybe practicing their pre-Lent festivities instead, as it involves cream-filled buns, but a thin pancake sprinkled with sugar and a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice is just as good

I think the Icelanders have a rather clever approach to the proceedings and they can even make the gorging go on for a couple of days!

If you'd like to know more about the Icelandic tradition of Bolludagur, our friends at Reykjavik Outsider have the whole story and a delicious recipe for those indulgent buns.

Click here to find out more.

Photo: everystockphoto.com

Casseroled Lamb

We don't often eat red meat. It's not a health thing or a cost issue, but we don't have an obsessive carnivorous urge that drives us to eat it often. My husband is not your typical man who would happily, every day, down a juicy steak with blood oozing from it and I can quite happily leave the big beast meals for special occasions too. In fact we can get through just over a week without having chewed on the flesh of some animal, so we could actually pass as vegetarians!

But today I quite fancied some lamb and after some consultation with hubby, it was agreed.

It's that time of year when the cold, damp days have one longing for some comfort food, so something like a stew… er, sorry casserole is called for. I hesitated there for a moment, because it is a sin to mention 'stew' in our house. For my husband, it has all the wrong connotations and to him, it deems a meal unfit for human consumption. I think there's some bad childhood memories that come back to haunt him. So 'casserole' it is.

I love lamb when it's cook slowly until the meat is so soft and melting that you could eat it it with a spoon.

I made quite a simple recipe, not many ingredients but the end result is rich and tasty.

First I took an onion, a carrot and a stick of celery and cut them into a fine dice and sauteed them in some olive oil with a clove of crushed garlic and two whole star anise for a couple of minutes. I then tipped them into my casserole pot.

Next I took some lamb leg steaks and cut them into large chunks and then lightly coated them in plain flour. I then placed them in a hot frying pan with olive oil and sealed them until they were brown all over. These went into the pot too.

Then I deglazed the pan with a good splosh of red wine followed by some stock and poured that into the pot as well.

Then I mixed everything together in the pot with a generous grind of black pepper, some salt and finally a small bunch of fresh thyme which I pushed well down to allow it infuse its flavours.

I put on the lid and this all went into a preheated oven, Gas 3, for 2 hours or so.

I checked it now and again and stirred in a tablespoon of redcurrant jelly towards the end of the cooking time. I also added some cornflour mixed with a little water to thicken and placed it back in the oven while I prepared the mashed potatoes.

Just before serving, I removed the thyme stalks.

Well, Mr Spouse enjoyed it very much – so success!

Cleaning Up

One thing I’ve learnt is, when using the food processor to chop up meat or fish or anything containing eggs, is never to immerse it in hot water when I’ve finished.

The rule is, if it's protein based, the remnants will instantly cook and adhere to the surfaces making it very difficult to clean. Not being a Stepford Housewife, washing up is not a favourite past time, so I quickly worked out that rinsing with cold water first is the best course of action. Oh yes, flour reacts in much the same way, so the same rules apply. Please excuse me for adding this piece of information to my 

Tasty Tips. I’m sure you all know how to wash up, but it’s one of those things that could be vital to someone, assisting them in kitchen survival. After all, we want to spend more time making delicious food rather than being up to our armpits in dirty dishes!

Eccles Cakes

I haven't made Eccles cakes for a very long time. In fact I was probably still a schoolgirl when I did so. I remember baking them during our home economics class when we learnt how to make flaky pastry. My teacher was adamant that they should not contain either candied peel or spices, but I knew I had the traditional recipe. In spite of her comments I went ahead and made them as they should be and they were delicious. My pastry wasn't bad either so she couldn't give me a low mark even though she thought my recipe was wrong!

Ingredients

500g flaky pastry (ready-made, shop bought is fine)
25g melted butter
half teaspoon ground nutmeg

half teaspoon ground allspice
50g candied peel
100g sugar
200g currants

Method

Pre-heat the oven to Gas 7, 220C, 425F.

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar and butter and cook over a medium heat until melted.
Take the pan off the heat, add the currants, candied peel, nutmeg and allspice.
On a lightly-floured surface, roll the pastry thinly and cut into rounds of about 0.5cm thickness and 10cm diameter
Place a small spoonful of filling on to the centre of each pastry circle.
Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little water and draw the edges together over the fruit and pinch to seal.
Turn over, then press gently with a rolling pin to flatten the cakes.
Next, snip a V in the top with scissors. Place on a baking tray.
Brush with water and sprinkle with a little extra sugar.
Bake in a the hot oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned round the edges
Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.