Poach franks
Blanch savoy cabbage leaves
Boil some sliced onions
Grate some mature cheddar
Toast bread and butter
Assemble: Bread, v generous smooth Dijon mustard, cabbage, franks, onions, cheddar, season, other bit of bread.
Welcome to the blog! I write recipes here for things I have cooked, trying to include useful information.
Showing posts with label cabbage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cabbage. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Sunday, 23 October 2016
Stuffed cabbage rolls in tomato sauce
(Stuffing here is indicative)
Serves c.4
8 savoy cabbage leaves
6 sausages
100g brie or other cheese
2 slices white bread without crusts
75ml milk
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dried oregano
Cut the thickest stem parts out of the leaves in a V shape. Wash in cold water. Boil in a large volume of salted water for 8 minutes, turning over the pan contents half way gently. Drain in a colander and leave to dry and cool in a sink until they can be handled. Don't need to refresh with cold water. They can be quite fragile.
Soak the bread in the milk until absorbed. Slice the skins off the sausages, combine with the bread, chopped brie and some seasoning.
Place the leaf flat on a board with the V towards you. Place some stuffing across the centre. Fold the sides in first, then roll up and secure with 1 turn of cooking string.
Melt some butter and oil in a large casserole. Place in the cabbage rolls and warm through briefly. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for around 45 minutes. Lovely with potatoes.
Serves c.4
8 savoy cabbage leaves
6 sausages
100g brie or other cheese
2 slices white bread without crusts
75ml milk
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dried oregano
Cut the thickest stem parts out of the leaves in a V shape. Wash in cold water. Boil in a large volume of salted water for 8 minutes, turning over the pan contents half way gently. Drain in a colander and leave to dry and cool in a sink until they can be handled. Don't need to refresh with cold water. They can be quite fragile.
Soak the bread in the milk until absorbed. Slice the skins off the sausages, combine with the bread, chopped brie and some seasoning.
Place the leaf flat on a board with the V towards you. Place some stuffing across the centre. Fold the sides in first, then roll up and secure with 1 turn of cooking string.
Melt some butter and oil in a large casserole. Place in the cabbage rolls and warm through briefly. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for around 45 minutes. Lovely with potatoes.
Monday, 14 December 2015
Minestrone soup (2 stage)
Basically you boil/poach the meat first then make a soup with the meat and the stock...
Serves c.8 generously
Full ingredients list
1 bacon hock (preferred), or 1 very large slice (300g) of slab bacon (like unsliced streaky bacon; not pancetta)
300g of stewing steak (eg. skirt; chuck; brisket)
1/2 btl red wine
5 onions
4 carrots
1 thing of celery
4 cloves garlic
2 cans whole plum tomatoes
Large bunch of thyme
1/2 spring or other tender cabbage
Handful green beans
Handful garden peas (assuming frozen here)
c. 100g small pasta shapes eg. little stars or orzo
3 tbsp very finely chopped flat leaf parsley (measured when chopped)
4tbsp vegetable oil
100g butter
To serve:
Grated parmesan cheese; extra virgin olive oil; ground black pepper
Stage 1
Place the bacon in a small pan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil with the lid on. Boil for roughly 5-10 minutes. This is to rid the joint of excess saltiness and is a vital (and easy) step. Dump it into a sink, wash it with cold water.
Place the bacon, beef, and some of the stock vegetables, all finely sliced, in a snug pot. Ie. 3 onions; 2 carrots; 3 sticks celery; all the thyme. Add a bay leaf/parsley stalks/whatever else you have. Pour over the wine and top up with cold water. Bring to a simmer. Simmer off any scum that arises then adjust to a very slow simmer. It takes time to adjust it to the right level, over the heat, because if your heat is at its lowest level the boil will be very sensitive to exactly how 'ajar' the lid is. Poach like this for 4 hours.
Stage 2
Empty the above into a colander over a bowl once cooled for 20 minutes. It's practical here to put the liquid and meat (separated) in the fridge until the next day. Discard all the other vegetables in the stock.
Chop all the remaining vegetables finely. In the vegetable oil sweat them adding each five minutes after the last in the following order: Onions; celery; carrots; garlic (briefly) then add the canned tomatoes. Slice these against the back of a wooden spoon. Cook like this for 5 minutes. Chop the meat small then add this along with the stock. Add more liquid if you think there isn't enough (this is bulk cooking!), and cook at this point for 1 hour.
Add the cabbage, finely shredded, and green beans cut into 1cm lengths. Simmer another 20 minutes.
Add the pasta shapes and when they are nearly done add the frozen peas which only need to simmer briefly.
Add the chopped parsley at the very last moment and season well with salt and pepper. You can also adjust the flavour with sugar if there is insufficient sweetness or red wine vinegar for acidity.
Top each serving with grated parmesan cheese, and pour a little extra virgin olive oil over then finish with extra pepper. Should work!
Serves c.8 generously
Full ingredients list
1 bacon hock (preferred), or 1 very large slice (300g) of slab bacon (like unsliced streaky bacon; not pancetta)
300g of stewing steak (eg. skirt; chuck; brisket)
1/2 btl red wine
5 onions
4 carrots
1 thing of celery
4 cloves garlic
2 cans whole plum tomatoes
Large bunch of thyme
1/2 spring or other tender cabbage
Handful green beans
Handful garden peas (assuming frozen here)
c. 100g small pasta shapes eg. little stars or orzo
3 tbsp very finely chopped flat leaf parsley (measured when chopped)
4tbsp vegetable oil
100g butter
To serve:
Grated parmesan cheese; extra virgin olive oil; ground black pepper
Stage 1
Place the bacon in a small pan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil with the lid on. Boil for roughly 5-10 minutes. This is to rid the joint of excess saltiness and is a vital (and easy) step. Dump it into a sink, wash it with cold water.
Place the bacon, beef, and some of the stock vegetables, all finely sliced, in a snug pot. Ie. 3 onions; 2 carrots; 3 sticks celery; all the thyme. Add a bay leaf/parsley stalks/whatever else you have. Pour over the wine and top up with cold water. Bring to a simmer. Simmer off any scum that arises then adjust to a very slow simmer. It takes time to adjust it to the right level, over the heat, because if your heat is at its lowest level the boil will be very sensitive to exactly how 'ajar' the lid is. Poach like this for 4 hours.
Stage 2
Empty the above into a colander over a bowl once cooled for 20 minutes. It's practical here to put the liquid and meat (separated) in the fridge until the next day. Discard all the other vegetables in the stock.
Chop all the remaining vegetables finely. In the vegetable oil sweat them adding each five minutes after the last in the following order: Onions; celery; carrots; garlic (briefly) then add the canned tomatoes. Slice these against the back of a wooden spoon. Cook like this for 5 minutes. Chop the meat small then add this along with the stock. Add more liquid if you think there isn't enough (this is bulk cooking!), and cook at this point for 1 hour.
Add the cabbage, finely shredded, and green beans cut into 1cm lengths. Simmer another 20 minutes.
Add the pasta shapes and when they are nearly done add the frozen peas which only need to simmer briefly.
Add the chopped parsley at the very last moment and season well with salt and pepper. You can also adjust the flavour with sugar if there is insufficient sweetness or red wine vinegar for acidity.
Top each serving with grated parmesan cheese, and pour a little extra virgin olive oil over then finish with extra pepper. Should work!
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Bubble and squeak featuring mashed potato
Sprouts are still in season. For advice on cooking them see the Christmas cooking tips blog. But sprout tops, those leaves at the top of whole stems of brussel sprouts, were the reason I made bubble and squeak on Boxing Day last year. They are absolutely delicious, but you could substitute savoy cabbage.
Bubble and Squeak
1 large shallot, sliced finely lenthwise
Some sprout tops, washed and sliced into 1cm shreds
1 carrot, peeled and diced (quarter lengthways then slice into 5mm quarter-rounds)
Pinch dried herbs
Olive oil
Some mashed potato, not too loose. Add in any leftover roast potatoes.
Well seasoned flour on a plate
For the mashed potato, peel the potatoes (Maris Pipers are great), cut into 2cm dice then boil until well cooked in heavily salted water. Drain. Return to the pan and place on the heat. Shake to drive off the moisture. Mash at this stage, with the saucepan on a board. In another small saucepan, heat some butter, milk, cream and seasoning. If you like add a garlic clove, unpeeled but flattened, to this pan for flavour. Add as much liquid to the mash as required and beat with a wooden spoon for a few minutes.
Simmer the carrot pieces for a few minutes, or use leftover carrot.
In a medium saucepan, sweat the shallot in some olive oil until translucent. Add the pinch of herbs, season and cook for another minute. Add the shredded sprout tops, a couple of spoons of the carrot water, stir well, cover and sweat/steam for a few minutes to wilt the sprout tops. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly and add the carrot and mash to the saucepan. Season again if needed and mix.
Shape into decent sized round patties, dredge on both sides with the seasoned flour on the plate, and cook over a medium heat until well crusted, using plenty of butter. Or potentially lard...
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Coleslaw
To my mind, no dish better demonstrates how to cook really well than coleslaw. If you start off with good fresh ingredients, handle them with care, make things from scratch (here, mayonnaise), taste carefully and season boldly, you will end up with something just exceptionally delicious.
This is lovely with a homemade beef burger (see steak haché blog post) and chips, or the roast belly of pork from another post with some new potatoes. No further sauce would be necessary in either case.
Coleslaw
2 large, fresh carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1/4 white or spring cabbage, cored, sliced finely, washed and left to perk up in cold water for 10mins (if possible) then dried in a tea towel
1 egg yolk
100ml vegetable oil
lemon juice
salt and freshly ground (preferably white) pepper
excellent quality wholegrain mustard from a jar that is less than 2 months old
Place the egg yolk in a mixing bowl, steadied on your work surface by a damp cloth. Add 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, a pinch of salt and some ground pepper. Whisk briefly until well combined and very slightly lightened (this is an easy recipe). If the egg yolk is straight from the fridge, as it most likely will be, then place the base of the bowl, with the yolk in it, into a saucepan of water hot from the tap, and whisk gently for a minute or two. This will get it up to room temperature and lets the emulsion form more easily. Straight from the bottle, add a drop of oil while whisking, then another, then in a thin stream progressing to large glugs as the mayonnaise thickens. The more oil you add the thicker it will get.
You can now add the carrots and cabbage straight into the bowl along with a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard and combine with a metal spoon.
Now to taste. The way you make this dish, as well as a great many sauces, taste exceptional is by seasoning accurately, and strongly, with both salt and acidity (which comes from the mustard and lemon juice). The three flavours, fattiness, acid and salt will balance each other and create a heightened and lengthened, very pleasant, flavour. So when you are tasting, take time to assess the flavours. If it is too salty add more acid. If it is too sharp add more salt. If it is flabby and fatty tasting, you may need to add more of both.
This is lovely with a homemade beef burger (see steak haché blog post) and chips, or the roast belly of pork from another post with some new potatoes. No further sauce would be necessary in either case.
Coleslaw
2 large, fresh carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1/4 white or spring cabbage, cored, sliced finely, washed and left to perk up in cold water for 10mins (if possible) then dried in a tea towel
1 egg yolk
100ml vegetable oil
lemon juice
salt and freshly ground (preferably white) pepper
excellent quality wholegrain mustard from a jar that is less than 2 months old
Place the egg yolk in a mixing bowl, steadied on your work surface by a damp cloth. Add 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, a pinch of salt and some ground pepper. Whisk briefly until well combined and very slightly lightened (this is an easy recipe). If the egg yolk is straight from the fridge, as it most likely will be, then place the base of the bowl, with the yolk in it, into a saucepan of water hot from the tap, and whisk gently for a minute or two. This will get it up to room temperature and lets the emulsion form more easily. Straight from the bottle, add a drop of oil while whisking, then another, then in a thin stream progressing to large glugs as the mayonnaise thickens. The more oil you add the thicker it will get.
You can now add the carrots and cabbage straight into the bowl along with a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard and combine with a metal spoon.
Now to taste. The way you make this dish, as well as a great many sauces, taste exceptional is by seasoning accurately, and strongly, with both salt and acidity (which comes from the mustard and lemon juice). The three flavours, fattiness, acid and salt will balance each other and create a heightened and lengthened, very pleasant, flavour. So when you are tasting, take time to assess the flavours. If it is too salty add more acid. If it is too sharp add more salt. If it is flabby and fatty tasting, you may need to add more of both.
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