North African flavours

This is a development of one of my favourite recipes from a book called Supercookery, which was a present for my 21st birthday - and, no, I am not going to tell you when that was!!  But here's a picture of the book, so you can make up your own minds how old it is and therefore how old I am..........

The recipe it's based on is called Carrots, Algerian style and at the time, was considered very exotic.  Cumin was hard to come by in those days unless you lived in the south or a Midlands city with a sizeable ethnic population and a brief spell living in County Durham made spice shopping an epic venture.

Of course these days what were once exotic ingredients are now readily available and North African cooking is far more prevalent.

As is the appropriate cookware - what better to prepare this in than one of these ........

What I particularly love about the original recipe though is the family story of Neil telling our, then 3 year old, daughter that these carrots were his favourites.

The next day she asked me when we were having Daddy's friends for tea again.

I assumed she meant the friends who had been round the week before and explained that they were on holiday, so it would be a while before they could come again.

"No," she said, "not them, the carrots.  Daddy said they were his friends!!"

They are now firmly established as Daddy's friends, though I'm pleased to report that he does have some human friends too.

Daddy's friends tagine

1 onion, sliced

2 fat cloves garlic

1 dessertspoon cumin seeds

2 tsp rock salt

1" ginger

6 cloves

1 dessertspoon dried rose petals (optional)

200g chick peas, soaked and cooked - or use a 400g tin

4 large carrots

1 red pepper, sliced

2 satsumas, quartered

6 dates, stoned and chopped

1 dessertspoon honey

450ml stock

Black pepper

Pucketts carrot and cardamom chutney (optional)

Put the cast iron bowl over a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon oil.
Fry the onions until translucent.

Meanwhile, pound the garlic, salt, cumin and cloves to a paste.

Add to onions and stir well to distribute evenly.

Peel and finely chop the ginger and add to the bowl.

Cook for 3 minutes over medium heat.
Thickly slice the carrots.

Add chick peas, carrots, stock, rose petals, satsumas, dates, honey, chutney and black pepper. Stir well to mix.

Put the tagine lid on.
Cook for 45 minutes.

Remove the satsumas before serving

Serve with roast chicken and cous cous for a sumptuous Sunday lunch - or with flatbreads and salad for a mid week meat free treat.
You can also leave it til the next day and serve at room temperature as a salad or pitta bread filling.

You can also make this dish using the electric tagine.

Once all the ingredients are added to the cast iron bowl, put the tagine lid on and carefully transfer the dish to the heater base.
Cook on LOW for 3 - 4 hours.

 Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2014 ©

Bridgnorth Beef Barrels

A delicious  dish, that punches well above its weight in terms of flavour and cost.  This is what slow cooking is all about - taking a cheaper cut of meat, adding some additional ingredients and producing a fabulous result.

This takes the classic combination of steak and mushrooms, as used for classic pub grills, stroganoff, pies and the ultimate - Beef Wellington, and marries them together as something new.

This would be as welcome mid week as it would centre stage for Sunday lunch.... I'm thinking of Yorkshire puddings with gravy here too!!

Our spun iron frying pans do make excellent Yorkshire pudding pans  - as you can see from this Toad in the Hole

You will need

500g braising steak - in a single piece


I bought this beautiful piece of meat from Checketts in Ombersley; great meat, great service, great advice.

And
2 medium field mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large onion, sliced
70g fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
100 ml port
1 litre stock

Method
Hammer out the steak to twice its original size -  use a meat hammer if you've got one, otherwise a rolling pin will do a good job.



Finely chop the mushrooms and mix together with the breadcrumbs, egg, thyme and seasoning.
Slice the onions.
Put the cast iron pot onto the hob and heat 1 tblsp oil over a medium heat.
Add the sliced onion and cook until softened, but not brown.

Spread the mushroom stuffing over the steak.


Then roll it up like a Swiss roll and sit it on top of the onion slices. Secure with cocktail sticks or string.
(Please do not use Bridget Jones style blue string!! Check the link if you've never read the book/seen the film/done the trivia quiz....)

Any "escaped" or leftover stuffing can be added to the dish.



Add the port and the stock and put the lid on.



Transfer to the heater base and cook on LOW for 6 - 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2014 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Pattacake

A pan fried version of a nut loaf, that is very quick and easy to prepare and which will appeal to vegetarians and omnivores equally.
It's also nice served cold with coleslaw and a baked potato.

Cashew and Halloumi rissole

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ butternut squash, peeled and chopped into ½" chunks
75g chopped roasted cashews
100g breadcrumbs
1 block Halloumi, grated
Salt and pepper  to taste
2 eggs

Place a crepe pan on the hob and gently heat 1 tblsp oil.
Fry the onion and squash until soft.
Remove from heat. Place all the other ingredients into a mixing bowl, then add the onions and squash.
Stir well to mix. Season to taste - Halloumi is quite a salty cheese, and if you are also using  salted cashews, make sure you taste the mixture before adding additional salt. 
A handful of chopped fresh herbs will give this dish some extra zing - try parsley, thyme or mint.

Leave for 20 minutes for the breadcrumbs to absorb the egg.

Replace the crepe pan on the hob, add 1 tblsp oil and turn the heat to medium.

Add all of the mixture to the pan and spread out evenly.  Press down with the back of a wooden spoon.

Cook for around 7 minutes until the underside is browned and the "cake" holds together.

Place a large plate or serving board over the pan, invert and turn out the cake.

Slide back into the pan, cooked side upper most.
Continue cooking for another 7-10 minutes until the underside is cooked..

Slide out onto a plate and cut into slices.

Serve with greens, tomato sauce and, if you fancy, real chips!
We finished off the last of the Christmas cranberry sauce with this, which was a delicious accompaniment.

Cranberry sauce -  a quick and simple version
Simply cook some fresh cranberries with a splash of orange juice and sugar to taste.  As soon as the fruit softens, remove from the heat and leave to cool.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2014

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk