FRIDGE FORAGE, COOKING UNDER PRESSURE

It's been one of those days; late deliveries, cold callers offering health protection for me and my boiler, lost pens, blunt scissors, a truculent computer and cold rain.
Time to switch off the lights, lock the doors and head home.
Our 13 mile commute takes us through the Wyre Forest, an ever changing backdrop and a daily game of "dodge the Deer" as muntjac and fallow pay no heed to the Green Cross code.  Darwin may well be Shropshire born, but he may have re-thought his theory of evolution if he'd met these Salopian residents.
Time to let go of work and slip back into domesticity.
So an idyllic countryside gives way to a home-scape of breakfast pots left on the worktop, a discarded pair of trainers in the middle of the floor and a washing machine in need of emptying.
Dinner is required to feed body and soothe the soul. It's midweek and a quick fridge forage is initially uninspiring, but a little imagination and inventiveness, fuelled by hunger, can generally result in something edible.

There is a number of staples that, as a rule, I can rely on finding - onions, garlic, pulses, sundried tomatoes, spices, a selection of carbs and, more often than not a lemon or two.
Do you have any ingredients that are always in the cupboard, from which you can make a meal, however basic?

Life before blog and social media was simpler, make food, serve food, eat food.
But now, I constantly ask myself whether or not the dinner is photogenic; worth recording for posterity, or at least the occasional repeat or refinement; can I/ should I recreate it; shall I jot down the "recipe" on the back of an envelope as I go along; was it well received; did it pass the second helping test?

In the past, something thrown together in a hurry has turned out to be delicious and two hours later I have forgotten what I did, so now I try and take a more methodical approach with pen and envelope always to hand.
The recipe that follows was definitely born of desperation, but turned out to be a keeper.

1 pack of good quality sausages, once again I turned to my stash of Finnebrogue sausages
2 red onions, sliced
The zest of 1 orange
8 sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 bottle red wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a cast iron casserole, over a medium heat.
Add the sausages and brown all over. Add the onions and soften.
Add all the other the ingredients.
Put the lid on and simmer for 40 minutes.

Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and green beans.

What inspires and drives you in the kitchen? Do you prefer the luxury of perusing your book collection, making copious notes, carefully selecting a menu, shopping for the ingredients and then spending the afternoon carefully creating your chosen dishes?
Or do you work best under pressure - fridge forage, the baying of "hangry" kids and a deadline of getting dinner on the table in time for football practice or their favourite TV programme.
Whichever it is, I urge you to enjoy your kitchen time as much as I do.

© Netherton Foundry 2017

A simple sausage supper

Back to the haul of sausages, which we brought back from our trip to Finnebrogue, the wonderful establishment for the creation of delicious gluten free meat products, situated in a fabulous setting just outside Belfast.

We have had some splendid sausage butties, topped off with chunky tomato chutney or some Tewkesbury mustard, with the lovely piggy pieces tucked between some home made bread.  Bliss.

This is the elevation of a British classic beyond its humble origins.

Our toad in the hole has been given a lift too, with the addition of some chopped apple, as I have already recorded. Link

And there have been numerous variations on the sausage casserole theme..... One of my favourites included red onion, sundried tomatoes, fennel seed, orange peel and red wine.

Picture

Christmas saw pigs in blankets two ways, as they would say on Masterchef. The first blanket being bacon wrappers for the Christmas lunch and the second made from crispy pastry for a party buffet.  For the latter I used "puppies" and some homemade chutney to create picked puppies, much to the amusement of the younger party goers. 

The recipe described below started off as a frantic fridge forage, when the evening's plans went totally awry, knocked off course by the giddy roundabout of a teenager's social life.  Food was called for, and speed was the major ingredient!!

In such circumstances, sausages are always a useful standby, quick, simple and tasty and this made a nice addition to the repertoire.

6 good quality pork sausages, I used Asda Extra special pork and leek, made by Finnebrogue

2 apples

250ml dry cider

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

200 ml double cream

Skin the sausages, core and quarter the apples, then cut each quarter into 4 chunks

Break up the sausage meat. Heat 1tblsp rapeseed oil in a prospector pan.

Add the sausage meat and cook until browned all over.

Add the apples and continue to cook until they take on a little colour.

Add the cider and simmer for 20 minutes.

Mix the mustard with the cream and stir into the sausage mix. Simmer for a further 20 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Scatter a handful of pumpkin seeds on top and serve with linguine.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2017

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Toad in the Hole

Do you remember our trip to Finnebrogue and the rucksack full of sausages that we brought back with us?
Well this is what happened to another pack of them; a simple addition to an old favourite.

The key to a good Toad in the Hole is the temperature of the oven and of the oil when you add the batter.  Our Prospector pans are great for really hot cooking, but please remember that if you are using them on induction, you need to start them on a very low heat and increase the power gradually.
As they are made of 99% pure iron, you will struggle to find anything with better performance on induction stoves.

Good Little Company pork sausages, 2 per person

1 tart apple, I used a Granny Smith

150g plain flour

2 eggs

Milk, approx 200ml

Salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC

Put the flour into a large mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper

Add the eggs and half the milk.  Whisk together.

Add more milk until you have a batter with the consistency of double cream.

Heat 1 dessertspoon of oil in a Prospector pan over a medium heat.

Place the sausages in the pan and brown on all sides.

Quarter the apple and remove the core, there is no need to peel it.

Add to the pan and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.

Turn up the heat and when the oil is smoking hot, pour the batter over the sausage and apples.

Place the pan immediately into the hot oven and cook for 20 minutes until well risen and golden.

Ours was accompanied with carrots, peas and cider gravy.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Venison sausages

Remember our trip to Finnebrogue in Downpatrick and our selection of sausages?
Well, of course, venison has to feature.  After all, this is how they started.

Their venison sausages are truly wonderful and, like all their sausages they are gluten free.
Venison is a dark, delicious and low fat meat, making it a great addition to your diet. Whilst some cuts of venison can be expensive and/or hard to get hold of, these sausages are an ideal introduction to the joys of bambi meat.

Fine as they are with mash and gravy, I decided on something a little more adventurous and matched their intriguing colour with the deep purple of damsons and beetroot.

This dish was cooked in one of our woks and ready in 20 minutes - the time it took for #1 son to complete his cardio-vascular cycle run.

So, here goes:

1 onion, chopped
6 Finnebrogue venison sausages, sliced into 5 pieces each
120g stoned damsons*
¼ tsp chopped rosemary
8 juniper berries, crushed
2 cooked beetroot
½ head Hispi cabbage
2 tablespoons damson gin -  in fact, I used my homemade elderberry gin**
Salt and pepper to taste

*   Freeze the damsons and then defrost them to make stoning them a doddle!!!!
** You can replace the gin with red wine, port or stock. If using wine or stock, add 2 teaspoons of sugar to counter the sharp flavour of the damsons.

Heat 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil in a wok.
Add the chopped onion and cook over a medium heat until translucent.
Increase the heat and add the sausage chunks, rosemary and juniper.

Cook until the sausages are browned all over.

Add the cabbage, damsons and beetroot and cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour in the gin, season to taste and cook for 5 minutes more.

Gorgeous with new potatoes.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Comfort food in troubled times

The last week or so has been turbulent and troubled, by any standards.  The world may still be revolving on its access, the word seismic has been overworked, but it definitely feels a little wobbly - like an old fashioned spinning top that is losing momentum.

A referendum was called to ask the man in the street (RIP Sid Vicious) to make a judgement on something that he/she was far from qualified to do and the resulting bitter campaigning and final outcome rocked the establishment that set the ball rolling. 

We now have a governing party whose leader has stepped down, and with a backbiting contest to find a successor.

Meanwhile the Opposition are led by someone who claims to have the backing of tens of thousands of party supporters, but who cannot fill his own front bench.

Throw the English football team's dismal performance in the Euros into the mix alongside the nosediving pound and you may feel like pulling the duvet over your head and waiting for Christmas.

I was about to add that nobody died, but of course, that's not true.  We must not forget the senseless murder of the MP, Jo Cox admired and respected across the political divide.

Of course, things could be worse, we are not at war and the sky has not fallen in, so let's look for reasons to be cheerful.

The Welsh football team have put in their greatest performance since 1958, when a young player called Pele put paid to their progress.

All credit to the whole team - many said before the tournament that it was Gareth Bale and 10 other blokes heading to France, but those 10 blokes have more than proved themselves.  As have the Welsh fans, who have conducted themselves admirably and of course, proved to be the best singers there.

And whilst they beat England, you have to cheer on the Icelandic team, drawn from a nation of just over 350,000 people.

What I'd give for a Wales v Iceland final :-)

As for the Netherton crew, last month, we were fortunate to have been invited to the official opening of Finnebrogue's new facility in Downpatrick, just outside Belfast, where the guest of honour, ceremonially cutting a string of sausages, was Arlene Foster, First Minister of Northern Ireland.

This is a remarkable success story and we are delighted to be associated with some of the team who made this happen.

We love owner Denis Lynn's philosophy:

Offer something truly different and unique. Really understand your competition and work out how to do it better.

Once you know how to do it better, then sell the story. Nobody will buy your products unless you can articulate your unique selling points.

Deliver both margin and volume. Avoid getting into the commodity trap by selling cheap basic products at low margins just to get volume through the factory.

Never Stop. Innovation is continual. Keep working on the next big thing and put as much energy into long-term as short-term.

Get a reality check: It is easy to get caught up in the world of innovation and product development, but unless you connect back to the real world, and the customer, then you can drift off course. Listen to the customer.

Don't innovate for innovation's sake. Ask good questions and listen to real people.

He has followed his own advice to create truly wonderful products and we believe that our aims are the same.

                         

We came away from the launch with a sackful of their top quality sausages, with which to create some new dishes.

This caused much amusement when our rucksack passed through the scanner at Belfast Airport - how many sausages!!!!!

In the interests of national harmony, I have used our English pan to cook Northern Irish sausages, made with Welsh Cheddar to produce a hybrid of two of my favourite comfort foods; shepherd's pie and bangers and mash.  Because this is made with pork, rather than lamb I have named it the Swineherd's Pie.

2 onions, peeled and chopped

1 apple, cored and chopped - no need to peel it

1 pack of Asda Extra Special Pork, Welsh Cheddar and spring onion sausages

300ml dry cider

4 medium potatoes

100g strong cheddar cheese.

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC

Put 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil into an ovensafe frying pan and put on a medium heat.

Once the oil is warm, add the chopped onions and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Chuck in the apple and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the skin off the sausages and discard.

Once the onions start to take on a little colour, put the sausages into the frying pan and break them up with a wooden spoon.

Cook for around 5 minutes.

Pour over the cider and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the sausage mix is cooking, peel and chop the potatoes and boil until soft.

Drain and place back on a low heat to drive off any residual moisture.

Crush with a potato masher or fork - this is not going to be a smooth mash, so don't overdo it.

Stir in the cheese.

Pile the potato mix on top of the sausages and place the pan into the oven for 20 - 30 minutes, until the top is golden.

Pour yourself a glass of cider and tuck in!

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Sausage casserole

This is an incredibly easy and tasty dish for chilly winter days, serious comfort food.

I came up with this when I was about to sit down with Sam Gray's delightful book "Doing it in Wellies", as I knew that once I started, I wouldn't be able to put it down.

In fact the combination of the book and the slow cooker struck us as such a good idea, it is listed as one of the inspiring combinations in the Shropshire Creatives section of our website.

8 sausages, browned in a frying pan or the slow cooker bowl
2 onions, sliced and browned
4 carrots, chopped
1 butternut squash, peeled , de-seeded and chopped in chinks
2 tomatoes choped
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
400g chopped tinned tomatoes
250ml stock
Thyme and marjoram

Buy the very best sausages you can - it really does make a difference and this is just as true of veggie sausages as it of pork sausages.

Place the slow cooker bowl on a medium heat and add a little oil.
Brown the sausages - they do not need to be cooked through, this is just to make the finished dish look even more appetising.

Add all the other ingredients - I picked some fresh thyme and marjoram from the garden, but dried herbs will work as well, just don't overdo it!!

                                                  

Place on the heater base and cook on LOW for 4 hours or 8 hours on Keep Warm.  Serve with buttery mashed potatoes.

Can be adapted as a vegetarian dish using veggie sausages.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Autumn treats

WARM DISHES FOR COOLER DAYS

The leaves are turning colour - those still left on the trees after the recent winds - and the temperature is definitely falling with them, so here are some lovely warming recipes for Autumn.
I made these indoors, I have to admit, but we have recently sold a lot of our Outdoor Hobs, which will no doubt be used on Bonfire Night and on those lovely cold and crisp days which really bring the joys of Autumn to mind. 
One bowl of charcoal will barbecue for up to 4 hours, but if you pop the pot on, you can cook for up to 7 hours - believe me, I experimented in the Springtime ( remember the snowy April we had?).  The seasons really do seem topsy turvy these days.  

 

We should all be doing whatever we can to minimise the impact of climate change and in our own way, we are trying to make a difference with our cookware range - we don't use anything other than iron, wood and flax oil for the pans, we make sure that you can restore the surface and replace most of the parts, but most of all these are built to last - they are durable and get better with use and age.  Sustainable materials, low component miles and a complete contrast to the concept of "disposable" product, with built in obsolescence

Anyway, enough of the philosophy - on with the cooking..............

Baked beans

500g haricot or cannellini beans, soaked and cooked
1 tblsp oil
1 tblsp black treacle
2 tsp grain mustard
4 cloves garlic
1 tblsp brown sugar
½ tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
2 tins chopped tomatoes
250 ml water
Salt and pepper to taste

Warm the oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat and add the chopped garlic. Cook gently for a couple of minutes. Don't let it burn or it will taste very bitter. Add all the other ingredients, except the beans and stir well to mix.  Cook until the sugar has dissolved and then add the beans.
Cover with the lid and simmer for at least a couple of hours, but they will be even better after 5 or 6 hours.  You can do this on the hob, on the slow cooker base (use the LOW) setting or on the charcoal base of the Outdoor Hob

These are fantastic on toast, with baked potatoes, with sticky sausages or chuck in some chorizo, chunky bacon pieces or chestnuts to make an even more sustaining meal.

These sausages were added to a pile of caramelised onions and then I stirred in a large dollop of marmalade to make a very sticky and tangy glaze.

Pumpkin and cashews

2 tblsp oil

4 cloves of garlic

2 heaped tsp cumin seed

2 tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp paprika

750g squash or pumpkin (peeled and seeded weight), cut into chunks

Juice of 1 orange

100g cashew nuts

2 large onions, peeled and sliced

Dry sherry

Pre-heat the oven to 180º C/gas mark 4

Crush the garlic with the salt and cumin to make a paste.

Warm the oil in a cast iron casserole and add the garlic paste, cinnamon and paprika.  

Cook gently for a minute, then stir in the squash or pumpkin. Stir well to coat with the spice mix.

Add the orange juice.

Put the casserole in the oven and roast for approx 25 minutes.

Meanwhile heat 1 tblsp oil and a knob of butter in a frying pan

When the butter foams, add the sliced onions and cook over a medium heat til soft and beginning to turn colour.

Add a splash of dry sherry and continue cooking until sticky and caramelised.

Remove the casserole from the oven and scatter the cashews on top - return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to heat the nuts.

Serve the pumpkin and the onions on top of a bed of cous cous.

This would also work well as an accompaniment to roast chicken or roast pork, particularly with some buttered kale or spinach.

If you like these recipes, have a look on the website for more details of the pots and pans I used.

The Outdoor Hob is a fantastically versatile charcoal powered barbecue and outdoor slow cooker, which you can use all year round.

The cast iron casserole has a 4 litre capacity and is great on the hob and in the oven - I use mine for so many thing from curries to crumbles, risotto to rice pudding

The spun iron frying pans have a completely natural flax oil finish, which gets better and better the more you use them.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk