December recipe: Winter chicken hotpot

Winter chicken hotpot

This casserole is warming, easy to make, and a versatile user-up of odds and ends of vegetables. In this version I’ve used chicken pieces, although you could also make it with leftover turkey if you have a lot of turkey to use up after the Big Day. It’s a complete meal cooked in one pan, so the washing up is minimal, and if you use tinned pulses it will take under an hour to make.

You can vary the vegetables as you choose, depending on what you like and what you happen to have available. Carrot, parsnip, turnip, swede* and cooking apple would all be quite at home. Similarly, you could use butter beans or haricot beans instead of chick peas.  It’s the sort of recipe that’s more of a general guide than a set of specific instructions, and will probably be different every time you cook it. Here’s the version I made the other day, in the middle of a busy week.

Winter chicken hotpot (serves 2)

2 oz (approx 50 g) dried chick peas, or twice the weight of tinned chick peas

Two chicken pieces (wings, drumsticks or thighs all work well)

8 oz (approx 250 g) butternut squash

4 oz (approx 125 g) leeks

Half a red pepper

2 oz (approx 50 g) mushrooms

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

Approximately 0.25 pint (approx 150 ml) water

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon medlar jelly** (optional)

1 lb (approx 450 g) potatoes

Soak the chick peas in cold water overnight. Rinse the soaked chick peas three or four times, then put them in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until tender. If using tinned chick peas, follow the instructions on the tin.

If using chicken wings, halve them at the ‘elbow’ joint. This is quite easy with a sharp and strong cook’s knife. I find it easier to cut just on the lower side of the joint, where the wing has two small bones instead of the single thick bone in the upper part of the wing.

Peel the butternut squash, scoop out the seeds in the core, and cut the rest into chunks about 1.5 - 2 cm (0.5 - 1 inch) cubed.

Trim, wash and slice the leeks.

Remove the seeds from the red pepper and cut into pieces about 1.5 cm (about 0.5 inch) square.

Peel the mushrooms. Quarter them if small, or slice them if large.

Peel and chop the onion. Peel and crush the garlic.

Peel the potatoes and chop them into dice about 1 cm (about 0.5 inch) cubed.

Brown the chicken pieces in cooking oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.

Add the chopped onion, squash, leeks, pepper and mushrooms. Fry until the vegetables are starting to colour. Stir in the crushed garlic.

Add the cooked chick peas and diced potatoes, along with the water, paprika and medlar jelly. Season with salt and black pepper.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the chicken and vegetables are all cooked. Stir from time to time, especially towards the end of the cooking time, as the potatoes tend to stick to the bottom of the pan when they are nearly cooked. If it starts to get dry, add a bit more water. 

*I believe previous discussions here established that the root vegetable that’s called ‘swede’ in the UK is called ‘rutabaga’ in the US

**Recipe for medlar jelly.  Crab-apple jelly or redcurrant jelly work equally well.

July recipe: Fried mackerel fillet with gooseberry sauce

Fried mackerel fillet with gooseberry sauce

July is peak season for gooseberries. They are traditionally used in desserts and preserves, and I’ve previously posted recipes for gooseberry fool, gooseberry jam, and gooseberry pie.

Gooseberries can also be used in savoury cookery.  Their sharp sweetness goes especially well with pork or oily fish such as mackerel.

Here’s a quick and simple recipe for fried mackerel fillets with a sweet and sour gooseberry sauce, ideal for dinner on a summer evening.

Fried mackerel fillet with gooseberry sauce (serves 2)

2 fillets of fresh mackerel

1 Tablespoon (1 x 15 ml spoon) olive oil

1-2 shallots, or half a small onion

4 oz (approx 125 g) fresh gooseberries

1 teaspoon (1 x 5 ml spoon) demerara sugar

1 Tablespoon (1 x 15 ml spoon) lemon juice

1 Tablespoon (1 x 15 ml spoon) cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon (1 x 15 ml spoon) chopped fresh herbs (I like mint, sage, or oregano, or a combination thereof)

Peel and chop the shallots or onion.

Top and tail the gooseberries (this means cutting off the stalk at one end and the remains of the flower at the other).

Fry the onion or shallot gently in olive oil for a few minutes until softened.  Add the gooseberries and continue to cook gently for another few minutes until the gooseberries have produced some juice.

Add the sugar, lemon juice, vinegar and chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Leave the sauce to simmer, uncovered, over a low heat while you fry the mackerel fillets.

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan over a moderate heat.

When the butter is melted and starting to foam, make sure it is spread out over the bottom of the frying pan and put the mackerel fillets in, skin side down. Fry the fillets for about 3 minutes.

Turn the mackerel fillets over and fry the other side for 2-3 minutes.  The flesh should be opaque and a knife should slide in easily.

Remove the mackerel fillets from the frying pan, transfer to a plate, and pour the gooseberry sauce over them.

Serve with new potatoes and salad or a green vegetable of your choice.

 

March recipe: Leek and bacon pie

Leek and bacon pie

Leeks, being a hardy vegetable crop, will stand in the ground all winter despite rain, wind, frost and snow.  This makes the leek one of the most useful crops for the kitchen garden, since leeks can be harvested fresh in March when not much else is growing. Leeks are versatile in the kitchen, too.  They can be sliced and fried in butter as a hot vegetable, and I’ve previously posted recipes for Leek and turkey pie, Stir-fried sweet and sour pork with leeks, and Bean and vegetable pie.

This leek and bacon pie pairs the mild onion flavour of leeks with smoked streaky bacon (or smoked ham works equally well).  It’s a sort of more substantial form of quiche, ideal for the cool days of early spring.  Here’s the recipe.

Leek and bacon pie (serves 2)

Shortcrust pastry

4 oz (approx 125 g) plain flour

1 oz (approx 25 g) lard

1 oz (approx 25 g) butter

Water to mix

Filling

8 oz (approx 250 g) leeks

2 oz (approx 50 g) smoked streaky bacon

1 egg

2.5 fl. oz. (approx 70 ml) milk

Grease a shallow heatproof pie dish.

Rub the butter and lard into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Gradually add cold water to mix to a soft dough. If the mix is floury, you need to add a little more water; if it is sticky, you have added too much water and need to add some more flour.

(Or you can use ready-made shortcrust pastry if you prefer).

Roll out about two-thirds of the pastry and line the bottom and sides of the pie dish.

Put the other one-third of the pastry aside while you make the filling.

Trim the leeks and wash them thoroughly.  If they are very gritty (which is likely by March if they are home-grown), cut a vertical slash down the length of the green part and put them in cold water for a few minutes so that the leaves can separate and any grit trapped between them can fall out into the water.  Cut the leeks into thin slices.

Chop the bacon into small pieces.

Fry the bacon over a moderate heat in cooking oil for a few minutes until starting to colour. Add the sliced leeks and continue frying for a few more minutes until the leeks are starting to soften.

Remove from the heat and season with salt and black pepper.

Put the leeks and bacon into the pie dish and spread out evenly.

Beat the egg and milk together and pour over the leeks and bacon.

Roll out the remaining one-third of the pastry to make a lid.  Put it on top of the pie filling, trim off any surplus, and seal the edges.

Use any surplus pastry to make decorations for the top of the pie, if wished.

Brush the top of the pie with milk.

Bake in a hot oven at about 200 C for about 30 minutes until the pie is golden brown.

Serve hot, with potatoes and vegetables of your choice.  This pie goes very well with roast potatoes, which need the same cooking temperature and about the same length of time and so can share the oven with the pie.

January recipe: Stuffed cabbage leaves

Stuffed cabbage leaves

This recipe is loosely based on the classic Greek dish dolmas, stuffed vine leaves.  Vines, and by extension vine leaves, don’t tend to be a staple crop in Britain, although I daresay they are obtainable from specialist shops if you look hard enough.  However, the handsome dark green Savoy cabbages make a satisfactory wrapping for the filling.  This is a colourful, mildly spicy dish to cheer up a grey winter day, which is very convenient as Savoy cabbages are at their best in the middle of winter.  Here’s the recipe.

Stuffed cabbage leaves (serves 2)

Approximately 12 oz (approximately 350 g) Savoy cabbage

8 oz (approx 220 g) lamb mince or beef mince

Half an onion

1 oz long-grain rice

2 Tablespoons (2 x 15 ml spoon) chutney*

2 oz (approx 50 g) raisins

Half a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 Tablespoon (1 x 15 ml spoon) Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon (1 x 5 ml spoon) paprika

2 teaspoons (2 x 5 ml spoon) cornflour

Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packet (or use leftover cooked rice).

Separate 8 large leaves from the cabbage, trying not to tear them (the odd rip doesn’t matter).  Cut out the hard base of the stalk from each leaf, leaving a V-shaped slot.

Blanch the cabbage leaves for 2 minutes in boiling water.  Drain, then leave to cool.

Shred the remaining cabbage finely.  Peel and chop the onion.

Fry the minced lamb or beef in olive oil over a medium heat until browned.

Add the onion and shredded cabbage, and fry gently for another few minutes until the vegetables are starting to soften and colour.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the cooked rice, chutney and raisins. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the mixture between the 8 blanched cabbage leaves, and fold each leaf over the filling to make a parcel.

Put the parcels in a single layer in a casserole dish.

If the tomatoes are very coarse, or if you want a smooth sauce, liquidise the chopped tomatoes.  Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, paprika and cornflour.  Pour this over the cabbage parcels in the casserole.

Put a lid on the casserole and cook in a moderately hot oven at about 180 C for about 45 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and the sauce has thickened.

Serve with long-grain rice.

I don’t think this would freeze very well, although I’ve never tried.  

 

*Home-made tomato chutney works well in this dish