Category Archives: beef

Beef stew

Posted on October 29, 2009 by theordinarycook| Leave a comment

beef stew

It’s that time of year again, with the nights darker and the days shorter and colder, when we all need more comfort food.  There is little more comforting than a plate of stew that has been bubbling slowly away for a long time.  I am particularly proud of this one because I have in the past relied on the ubiquitous stock cube for gravies and stews and I am trying to wean myself away from them.  I have been making my own stocks when I have bones available from sunday roasts, but last night there was no beef stock left over in the freezer.  So instead I browned the meat until caramelized and cooked the onions for longer than I normally would so that they took on a good caramel colour.  This proved to provide enough colour and flavour to make a tasty stew using water instead of a stock cube – great progress for me. I was really pleased with the result and it has proved that I don’t need to use a stock cube when I am cooking a stew.  The flavour is further enhanced by the vegetables and adding some herbs into the mix.

Feeds two greedy people.

300g (10 oz) shin beef, cubed
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and cubed
55 ml (2 fl oz) madeira wine (or you could use any fortified wine)
10 g (½ oz) plain flour
1 tsp mustard  powder
1 bay leaf
½ tsp dried oregano or marjoram
½ tsp dried thyme
425 ml (¾ pint) boiling water
salt & pepper to taste

Method

Heat a smear of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add cubes of the beef (make sure you don’t crowd the pan or they will steam rather than brown).  Allow the cubes to brown for a good few minutes without stirring them, then turn them to brown the other side.  You really want gooey bits of beef sticking to the base of the pan and a good colour to develop on the beef. When all of the beef has been browned remove to a plate and add the onion to the pan.  Allow it to cook  for at least ten minutes until it develops a good caramel colour (it may take longer than this). Add the parsnip and carrot and cook again for another five minutes, add the meat back to the pan of vegetables.  Add the flour, mustard powder and herbs and cook for a good few minutes, stirring the pot so that the flour has a chance to cook. Add the madeira and stir well, cooking for a minute or so. Add the water and salt and pepper to taste and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.  Simmer for at least two hours before serving with lots of bread to mop up the gravy.  I enjoyed it with a bit of my quince jelly.

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Chilli con carne/ enchiladas

Posted on October 18, 2009 by theordinarycook| Leave a comment

chilli con carne

We often have chilli con carne.  I very often cheat and use a Schwarz chilli con carne mix if I am short of time, but if I have planned ahead and I have a couple of hours before tea time then I make this version. We sometimes have it with the spiced rice that I have already posted  or we have it as enchiladas like we did this week.  It makes a substantial meal, that is easy to prepare.

500g minced beef
1 onion chopped finely
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 fresh chilli, chopped finely
1½ tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seed
a small chunk of root ginger, grated or chopped finely
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 400g tin of tomatoes
1 400g tin of red kidney beans in water
olive oil

Method

Heat a little olive oil in a pan and add the minced beef, stir to break up whilst cooking and fry until golden brown. Lift the meat onto a plate and add the onion to the pan.  Cook the onions over a gentle heat for a few minutes until translucent.  Add the fresh chilli, the garlic and the ginger and cook for another minute.  Add the cumin seed, chilli powder and oregano and return the meat to the pan.  Give everything a good stir and add the tomatoes, the vinegar and sugar and the red kidney beans. Stir well to combine.  Place a lid on the pan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally for at least an hour, preferably nearer two hours if you have the time.   Season with salt and pepper to taste just before serving.

If you want to have enchiladas and you fancy my greek-mexican fusion you will need 6 flour tortillas, 150g greek yoghurt and 200g feta cheese. Divide the chilli mixture between the six tortillas  and place in a baking dish, spread the yoghurt over the tortillas and crumble over the feta.  Place in a preheated oven at 180° c (gas mark4) for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on top.

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Enchiladas

Enchiladas

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Cottage pie

Posted on October 8, 2009 by theordinarycook| 2 Comments

cottage pie 2We had a roast rib of beef for Sunday lunch this week, if I had not been so eager to eat it I might have remembered to take a photograph of it and a post all about it would already have been on the site.  I will try not to be so eager next time…

With the left over beef I made a cottage pie for tea tonight and I have simmered the bones with an onion, carrot and bouquet garni in enough water to cover the bones for about three hours to make a beef stock for the freezer.

A cottage pie (or a shepherd’s pie if made in the same way using left over lamb) is pure comfort food. It can even be eaten with a spoon if you feel you really need some comforting.

It’s hard to be precise about quantities as you need to adapt according to the amount of meat you have left.  I had 8 oz (225g) of beef so I added one onion, one carrot and about 4 oz (110g) of frozen peas. I then topped with half a medium swede boiled with 2 medium sized potatoes. But it will depend on what you have available in the cupboard.  The glory of something that is made out of leftovers is that it is adaptable to what you have left over.  It may be that you have some leftover mash (carrot, swede, parsnip or potato) from the meal when you enjoyed the roast beef, which would make a brilliant topping.

What I tend to do is whizz the onion and carrot together in the food processor until finely chopped and whilst they are sweating I do the same with the beef in the processor. It makes it into a consistency that is very comforting to eat.

Serves 2 generously

1 onion, peeled, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
8 oz (225g) roast beef, finely chopped
4 oz (110g) frozen peas
½ pint (275ml) beef stock
1 bay leaf
olive oil
salt and pepper

For the topping:

½ medium swede, peeled and cubed
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bigger cubes than the swede
½ oz (10g) butter

Method

Heat a little olive oil in a pan over a gentle heat and add the onion and carrot and sweat for about five minutes. Add the beef and stir and then add the stock and the bay leaf.  Cook for 1 hour at a gentle heat. Add the frozen peas.  Season to taste. Turn the mixture into a deep oven proof dish.

Whilst the beef  mixture is cooking you can cook the potato and swede topping.  Swede takes longer to cook than potatoes so I always give them a five minute head start by placing them in a saucepan and adding enough water to cover.  Add a little salt (½tsp) to the water and bring to the boil, when they have been boiling for five minutes add the potatoes and cook until both the swede and the potatoes are tender (this will depend on how big you made the cubes, you can test with the point of a knife). Drain in a colander, return to the pan and add the butter.  When the butter has melted mash them with a potato masher.

Cover the beef mixture with the potato mixture so that it is completely and evenly covered. Place in a preheated oven at 180°c (350°f, gas mark 4) for about 30-45 minutes until the top is crispy and browned.

Ready for the oven

Ready for the oven

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