A long, slow, comfortable ... Stew. Or Beef Stew and dumplings.

Take 2lb (about a kilo) of a cheaper cut of beef - skirt or shin. Cut it into largish chunks and fry in very hot olive oil until browned. Unless you have a large pot you may well have to do this in two or three batches - if you overcrowd the pan the temperature will drop and the meat will boil instead of fry.

Remove the browned meat from the pan and add one or two large onions finely chopped and one clove of garlic also finely chopped. Reduce the heat and sweat these until the onion is translucent.

If you like an all-in method you can now add several large carrots roughly chopped. Add your meat back in and add about 3 pints of stock - you can use beef stock, a good robust red wine or a nice traditional beer or even water. You can even use a combination of beef stock and beer or beefstock and wine. Add three or four bayleaves, fresh thyme and some freshly ground or crushed black pepper to taste. Don't add salt at this stage: leave that until the stew is cooked and ready for the dumplings.

Bring the stew to the boil, cover and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 hours or until the pieces of beef break easily with a fork. Taste and salt to your own preference.

When you reach this stage make your dumpling mix - using about 1lb of self raising flour, half the weight of suet, i.e. 8oz a pich of salt and some ground pepper some chopped fresh or dry herbs and enough water to make a sticky dough. Drop egg sized pieces of the mixture into the stew and replace the lid. Leave the lid in place for at least 25 minutes to ensure the dumplings are fully cooked.

Serve with a hearty green winter vegetable such as sliced spring green or savoy cabbage.

If you are watching your cholesterol you can use vegetarian reduced fat suet and it works just as well.

Curried Parsnip Soup

You will need about:
2lbs of parsnips,
2 largish potatoes
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic
2 teaspoons of mild curry powder
3 pints of chicken stock
Olive oil (a light one is fine - not extra virgin)
1/4 pint of single cream (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Finely chop your onion and garlic and sweat gently in a large pan with olive oil over a low heat until translucent. Peel and roughly chop your parsnip and potatoes. Add your parsnips to the onions and garlic and cook over a low heat until they begin to colour slightly. Add your potatoes and your stock, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Once your soup is boiling simmer for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes and parsnips are cooked through.

Remove from the heat and blend until smooth. Return to the pan and add your cream. Serve with some nice crusty bread and garnish with slivers of caramelised fried onion and a large glass of chilled dry white wine.

Broad Bean and Bacon Soup Loveliness ...

About 2 lbs of shelled broad beans
large onion
clove of garlic
lardons or streaky bacon cut into small pieces
2 potatoes scrubbed well or peeled
2-3 litres of stock
olive oil
basil
salt and pepper to taste

Sweat bacon, onions and garlic in olive oil until bacon is golden brown and onions are translucent. Add broad beans, potatoes chopped roughly and stock. Bring to boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add a handful of chopped/torn basil leaves and allow to infuse for five minutes. Blend in a liqidizer and reheat if necessary. Serve with crusty homemade bread.

Chocolate Waldorf Squares

The recipe was taken from an Essentials Magazine from circa 1991 as part of their Creative Cook Series and is by Rowena King

Makes 24
Cals per portion 310
Keeps for upto 5 days (yeah, right)

For the Cake

Oil for greasing
4 oz/125g of butter
5 oz/150g plain chocolate broken into pieces
1 lb/450g of caster sugar
8 floz/225ml of cold water
1tsp of vanilla essence
8 oz/225g of plain flour
2 oz/50g of self raising flour
2 oz/50g of cocoa powder
8 oz/225g of mayonnaise

For the Glaze

4 oz/125g of plain chocolate broken into pieces
1 1/2 oz/40g of butter
24 walnut halves dusted with icing sugar (so eighties)

Preheat the oven to Mark 3/325°F/170°C
Brush shallow 11"x7" (28x18cm) cake tin with oil and line with greasproof paper.

Place the butter, chocolate, caster sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the chocalate is melted - do not boil. Stir in the vanilla essence.
Sift the flours and the cocoa powder in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Ad the mayonnaise and a litle of the chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Gradually beat in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Pour into the prepared tin then bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour until risen and firm to the touch.

Cool in the tin and lift out and peel away the lining paper.

For the glaze, put the butter and chocolate in a small pan with 1 tbsp of cold water then heat gently, stirring until smoth - do not boil. Spread the glaze over the cake and then chill for 5 minutes. Mark [and cut] into 24 squares and top each square with a halved walnut. Store in an airtight tin.

Welcome

To the archive of my recipes. The recipes on this blog have almost* all been created by me and are free for you to use and pass on if you like them.

*I did steal the chocolate cake recipe.