Category: United Kingdon


Mar
2018

REPOST Dublin Coddle – For St Patrick’s Day

categories: Bacon, Budget Recipes, Cabbage, Holidays, Ireland, Potato, Sausage, St Patrick's Day

Isn’t Dublin Coddle the most adorable name for anything ever?

It sounds like a cuddle and that is exactly what you are going to get from this hearty and warming mix of sausages, cabbage, bacon and potatoes.

Dublin Coddle

I don’t seem to have the best of luck with Irish recipes (remember the corned beef potato salad?)

I had planned to make a totally safe homemade Irish Cream because hot damn do I love a little bit of Bailey’s!  However what they don’t tell you in most recipes for it is that, because it contains fresh cream, homemade Irish cream has a fairly limited lifespan.  As I am trying to moderate my diet and alcohol intake at the moment drinking a whole bottle of whiskey and a shit ton of cream over the space of about 5 five days did not seem like a viable option.

Fun…just not a viable diet option!

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So Dublin Coddle it was.  And whilst this was nowhere near as awful as the debacle that was the potato salad,  the recipe I used for Dublin Coddle (sorry I cannot remember from whence it came) was not without problems.

It asked that you layer thinly sliced potatoes into the bottom of a baking dish then piled your sauteed cabbage, onion and bacon on top and topped that with sausages.  Then you added stock to the dish.Dublin Coddle 2

And therein lay the problem.  Even though I cooked this for absolutely AGES, the potatoes at the bottom didn’t cook at that well and were totally soggy.  And, as viewers of the British Bake Off know all too well, no one likes a soggy bottom!

 

Dublin Coddle 3

This was good but I wonder how much better it would have been if the potatoes had gone on the top and gone all crispy and delicious?

Dublin Coddle 4

I will actually make it that way next time and update you on how it turns out!  The good thing about this recipe is that it was traditionally made from leftovers so you can play around with ingredients and cooking techniques as much as you like!

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Here’s the recipe!

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Dublin Coddle

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A delicious hearty meal, perfect for St Patrick’s Day

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 sausages – the recipe said pork, I used beef
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 2 rashers of bacon, sliced
  • 2 cups of cabbage, sliced
  • stock or water (I used vegetable stock)
  • Oil
  • salt and pepper
  • parsley
  • Dijon mustard

Instructions

  1. Heat a little oil in a large pan and brown the sausages. You may have to do this in two lots.
  2. Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside.
  3. Add a little more oil if required and brown the bacon and onions.
  4. Toss the cabbage through the bacon and onion mix and cook for a few minutes.
  5. Layer the potatoes in a lightly oiled casserole or baking dish.
  6. Top with the cabbage and bacon mix. Season well and almost cover with the stock.
  7. Top with the sausages.
  8. Bake at 190C until the potatoes are tender.
  9. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with mustard.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4

Meantime, enjoy your St Patrick’s Day!!!!

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Dec
2016

Consider The Mutton Curry

categories: Curry, England, Lamb

Today we are taking a huge step back in time and heading back to  the time of gas lamps, hansom cabs and thick London fogs.  How nice then in this cold inhospitable atmosphere to pop into the Oriental Club for a spicy mutton curry to warm your cockles on a cold winter’s night!  Just think, Arthur Conan Doyle could have tucked into this curry as he pondered the intricacies of the first Sherlock Holmes story.

And now you can too!

19th Century Curry 2 Our mutton curry comes from  1861  from The Oriental Club’s chef, Richard Terry who made use of the ingredients from the first Asian grocery warehouse in  London to recreate a curry recipe he had learned from Indian cooks.  It is also indicative of Britain’s and Briton’s long-lasting love of curry!

This is certainly not a curry in a hurry!  There are several parts to making this, which is time-consuming but if you have the patience, it is well worth the effort.  Also, whilst the original recipe called for mutton, I used lamb.  I could not find mutton anywhere – not even dressed as lamb.  Funnily enough though, my mum says that in Sri Lanka when any recipe called for lamb or mutton, what they actually used was goat so use what you can get.

19th Century Curry Powder ingredientsFirst up, you need to roast up some spices to make a curry powder.  This will make more than you need for one curry so you will have supplies if you want to make this again or you can use it in other curries.

19th Century Curry PowderOne thing that is strange about this curry is that you not only need a curry powder but also a curry paste.

Whilst we’re roasting and grinding those spices, let’s talk Sherlock!  I am a HUGE fan of the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Andrew Scott because who doesn’t love a bad boy right?  And I am over the moon excited to see Series 4.  Tom Hiddleston! Colin Farrell! This series is  going to be AWESOME!

19th Century Curry Paste IngredientsNow, a very weird thing about this curry paste is that it contains lentils which you grind up.  I have never heard of this technique before but…hey, if it’s good enough for the The Duke of Wellington, who was the President of the Oriental Club back in the day, it’s good enough for me!  The genius stroke is that they help to make the gravy lovely and thick.

Mutton curry (maybe even one based on this recipe!) features as a clue in a Sherlock Holmes story.  In The Adventure of Silver Blaze, which not only contains the phrase”Consider the mutton curry,” the title of this post but also “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time”, a mutton curry is doused with powdered opium, putting the stable boy meant to be guarding the race horse Silver Blaze into a stupor and hence rendering him unable to do his job.

19th Century Curry Paste

The paste mix will also make more than you need for one curry but will keep in the fridge for months.

Sadly, Sherlock Holmes may not have been a fan of curry.  At least not according to the 1946 film, Terror by Night.  This however is not based on a Conan Doyle story so this is open for debate.  Terror By Night is also available for free download here.  Personally, I think Sherlock would have been a fan of this mutton curry…with or without a garnish of powdered opium.

19th Century Curry 2

The 19th Century Mutton Curry was delicious, dark and spicy, thanks to those lentils, the gravy was lovely and thick and the meat was tender.  This was a winner!  And hey, I’ve got paste and powder left so I’ll definitely be making it again!

Best served with an ice-cold beer! Whilst watching Series 4 of Sherlock!

Any leftovers?  A curry jaffle is THE best hangover food known to man.  Just sayin’. Tis the season after all!

Oh and by the way, the Oriental Club still exists and curries still feature on the menu.  I am adding to the list for a trip to London next year!

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19th Century British Mutton Curry

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A delicious mutton curry from the days of The Raj, Queen Victoria and Sherlock Holmes!

Ingredients

Scale

19th Century British Curry Powder

  • 2 tbsp ground turmeric
  • 5 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves

19th Century British Curry Paste

  • 4 tbsp whole coriander seeds
  • 2 tbsp yellow split peas
  • 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1 1/2 whole cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp whole brown mustard seeds
  • 1 tbsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 120ml cider vinegar
  • 6 tbsp corn, peanut or olive oil

Curry

  • 675g bones lamb, cut into 2.5cm cubes
  • 2 tbsp 19th Century British Curry Powder
  • 1 tbsp 19th Century British Curry Paste
  • 200g onions, peeled and finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp corn, peanut oil or ghee
  • 3/4 – 1tsp salt

Instructions

For The 19th Century British Curry Powder

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a jar. Mix. Cover with a tight lid.
  2. Store away from heat and sunlight.
  3. Makes 7 tablespoons.

For The 19th Century British Curry Powder

  1. Put the coriander seeds, split peas, peppercorns and cumin into a medium cast iron frypan and set on medium heat. Stir and roast until the split peas are reddish, the coriander has turned a shade darker and all the spices begin to give off a roasted aroma.
  2. Empty them into a bowl and allow to cool.
  3. Put the roasted spices and the mustard seeds into a spice grinder or food processor and grind as finely as possible. Place in a bowl.
  4. Add thee turmeric, cayenne pepper, ginger, salt, sugar, garlic and vinegar.
  5. Stir to mix.
  6. Pour the oil into a small non-stick frying pan and set over a medium heat.
  7. Add the spice paste.
  8. Stir and fry for around 5 minutes or until it browns slightly.
  9. Cool, then empty into a jar.
  10. Cover tightly and refrigerate until needed.

For The Curry

  1. Put the oil or ghee in a heavy, wide, lidded pan. Set it over a medium high heat.
  2. When the oil is hot, stir in the onions and fry them until they are lightly browned.
  3. Add the curry powder and curry paste.
  4. Stir a few times then add the meat and half the salt.
  5. Stir and fry for a few minutes until the meat is coated in the spice mix.
  6. Cover and reduce the heat to low.
  7. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  8. Add 600ml water and increase the heat/ Bring to the boil.
  9. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for an hour until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick.
  10. Season to taste and serve.

Notes

  • If the sauce is not thick enough, remove the lid and let it boil down.

Have a great week!  Enjoy your holidays if you are on them, enjoy Sherlock S4 if you are watching.  Let me know if you are, we can compare notes after!

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Nov
2015

Sussex Pond Pudding

categories: Desserts, England, Lemon, Pudding

In a weird coincidence, the last three cookbooks I have read have all contained recipes for Sussex Pond Pudding. I had never heard of such a thing  before and suddenly, it was stalking me!  The universe was absolutely, positively telling me something.  And I took that message to be that I should make one.  Because that’s what the universe does right?  Offers a gentle guiding hand to point you in the direction of where you need to be going.

But first, somewhat of a digression.  The cognitive bias that had me seeing Sussex Pond Pudding everywhere has a name – The Bader-Meinhof Phenomenom.  It occurs when a word, name or thing comes into your attention and shortly afterwards it reappears with what seems like greater than normal frequency.  I’d love to know if, after reading this any of you randomly hear the words Bader-Meinhof or Sussex Pond Pudding over the next few weeks.   Let me know if you do.

Sussex Pond Pudding – The Inspiration

My most recent sighting of a Sussex Pond Pudding (kinda makes it sound like the Loch Ness Monster) came from Big Table, Busy Kitchen by Allegra McEvedy.

I find Allegra McEvedy immensely likeable and all of her recipes that I have tried have been successful.  She describes the Sussex Pond Pudding as follows:

“This classic English Steamed Pudding is definitely of a superior nature to most of it’s steamy brethren…it’s the only steamed pudding I ever make and I need to make it at least once a winter”

High praise!

The next reference came from  The National Trust’s Complete Traditional Recipe Book by Sarah Edington.

She offers some the following explanation of the name.

“Sussex and Kent extend their rivalry to puddings – the most famous being Sussex Pond Pudding and Kentish Well Pudding.  The former consists of a suet crust enclosing butter, brown sugar and a whole lemon, and in the latter currants are added.  Either way, when the pudding is cut open, a rich sweet syrup, the well or pond  – oozes out.”

The final book (which was actually the first book I read containing those three words was Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking.  Which you can read more about here.

You may have noticed that thus far, you have not seen any of my photos of the Sussex Pond Pudding.  I thought I would intersperse my pictures with Laurie’s commentary.

A Digression on Suet

By the way, Laurie Colwin calls it Suffolk Pond Pudding.  For the sake of consistency, I will refer to it as Sussex Pond Pudding throughout.

But first.  Can we talk about suet? OMFG – was a more disgusting substance ever invented?  This has to figure right up there with the civet pooping coffee and that bird embryo they keep getting people to eat on Survivor and The Amazing Race.  I had to look it up because I was actually not too sure what it was.  I wish I hadn’t

Suet – raw beef or mutton fat, especially the hard fat found around the loins and kidneys. 

I am really sorry British people who eat this stuff all the time but that is just disgusting.  Raw sheep kidney fat.  Exactly what I want in my sweet pudding.

Turns out you can buy (fake?) suet in the supermarket and it looks kind of like breadcrumbs of butter.  So not as bad as you might think.  Just try not to think where those buttery breadcrumbs come from.

And that pastry?  Was a bastard of a thing to make.  And I was not at all happy with the finished product. It was very both heavy//thick and fragile.  Getting it to line the pudding bowl was a nightmare.

Suet Pastry

Sussex Pond Pudding  – The Commentary

And now, over to Laurie Colwin.

“Sussex Pond Pudding although something of a curiousity sounded perfectly it splendid….it never occurred to me that nobody might want to eat it”

No one wanted to eat mine either.  The fussiest eater in the world took one look at it.

“What is that?”

It’s a Sussex Pond Pudding”

“It looks disgusting”

He comes from Kent.  Maybe I should have added currants.

Suet Pastry2Back to Laurie:

“My suet crust was masterful.  When unwrapped from it’s cloth, the crust was a beautiful deep honey colour”

Mine too, at least at the bottom, which became the top where all the butter and sugar had soaked into the pastry.

Sussex Pond Pudding

“My hostess look confused.  “It looks like a baked hat”, she said.

“It looks like the Alien,” my future husband said.

“Never mind, ” I said.  “It will be the most delicious thing you ever tasted”. 

Sussex Pond Pudding2

“I cut the pudding.  As Jane Grigson had promised, out ran a lemon-scented buttery toffee.  I sliced up the lemon which was soft and buttery too.  Each person was to get some crust, a slice of lemon and some sauce.  What a hit!  I thought.  Exactly the sort of thing I adored.  I looked around me happily and my happiness turned to ash”

The buttery lemony sauce was by far the best thing about this . It was actually quite delicious.  And the soaked buttery pastry was not awful either.

Sussex Pond Pudding4

 

My host said: “This tastes like lemon-flavoured bacon fat”

“I’m sure it’s wonderful, ” said my hostess.  “I mean, in England”.

The woman guest said “This is awful.”

My future husband remained silent.

Mine did not taste like bacon fat, maybe because I used the fake supermarket suet. If you got  the right ration of sauce (lots) to pastry (not much) it was actually not too bad.  It was not the “weird inedible sludge from outer space” Laurie Colwin describes however it is also not something I will feel compelled to make at least once a year like Allegra. Or ever again.

Although I am going to have to find something to do with the rest of that suet!

Sussex Pond Pudding5I guess that sometimes, instead of being that gentle guiding hand, the universe is a smartarse little jokester who is six steps ahead of you laying down banana peels for you to pratfall on.

And then, just as you are shaking your fist at it, it gives you a little wink and a grin and holds out its hands in a let’s be friends gesture.  In my instance, remember a couple of weeks ago  I said this:

I have a real hankering to go back and watch some early XFiles. I have yet to scratch that particular itch but it’s there….

And lo and behold, I was flicking channels on Saturday night during an ad break in, ok, I admit it, The Hunger Games and look what was on my telly:XfilesJust a couple of minutes before this scene Mulder was examining Scully’s butt for alien probes.  It was AWESOME!  I can’t wait for next Saturday!

Have a great week!

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Mar
2015

Whiskey in The Jar – The Emerald Presse

categories: Cocktail, Ireland, St Patrick's Day, Whiskey

I was so disappointed with my attempt at an Irish Potato Salad Roll that it drove me to drink.

Quite luckily as it happened because that particular cab on the road to rack and ruin drove me right up to the Emerald Presse.  And you know, if there’s one other thing the Irish are famous for outside of potatoes, corned beef and cabbage, it’s drinking. And the Emerald Presse will tickle the tastebuds of even the most fastidious of Fassnidges.

Emerald Presse1

Emerald Presse1

I’m not normally a whiskey drinker so I was not sure how this would taste.  I liked the idea of the mint, apple and lime even though they seemed a weirdly light combination for what I always think of as being a heavy drink.

Anyhoo….Put  ’em together and have you got? Not bibbidi-bobbidi-boo but…My new favourite drink!!!!

Emerald Presse2
Emerald Presse2

The flavours worked really well together.  That little frizzante from the sparkling apple juice also added some lightness to it. In my best Irish accent this was the fooking craic!!!! I can’t even begin to tell you how delicious this is.  You need to make it immediately and come back to me.

Go  on

I’ll still be here when you get back.

Now, take that first sip and “Ohhhhh…..Yeah, sooooooo good”

Then we’ll have a sneaky second.  Just because that sparkling apple juice isn’t going to sparkle forever.

Emerald Presse3
Emerald Presse3

The original recipe for this called for 45 ml of Jameson’s.  When I measured this out, it looked like a huge amount of whiskey.  I scaled mine back to around 30mls and found it about right for my taste.  You can scale up or down according to your preference.

Styling Tip

If you really wanted your whiskey in a jar, this would look really cute served in mason jars – in which case you probably could use the full  45ml of Jameson’s.

 

[yumprint-recipe id=’27’] Happy St Patrick’s Day, may the road rise to meet you!

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Mar
2015

When Irish Eyes Aren’t Smiling

categories: Ireland, Potato Salad

I wanted to make something really amazing for St Patrick’s Day and when I say something really amazing what I mean is an Irish Potato Salad Roll. And you all thought I was joking when I said I was going to make the PSR into a thing!!!

So, I found this recipe for an Irish Potato Salad – this baby has potatoes, cabbage and corned beef.  Faith and Begorrah, could you get more stereotypically Irish?

I was so excited I played some Mumford and Sons and did a little impromptu Riverdance around the dining room.

Irish Potato Salad Roll here I come!!!!

Irish Potato Salad Roll
Irish Potato Salad Roll

 The Luck of The Irish Part 1

The first problem arrived when I could not find celery seed in either of my two local supermarkets.  Minor Detail.  I have celery salt.  And celery.  How much flavour is the seed going to add anyway?

 The Luck of The Irish Part 2

I”m just going to come out and say it.  Corned beef is disgusting.  Maybe I bought the wrong sort of stuff but it said Corned Beef on the tin:

Corned Beef 1The recipe said to cube it, so I assumed it was going to be kind of like Spam i.e. able to be cubed. What I did not expect was this disgusting gelatinous fatty mush which almost made me gag.  There were also big chunks of fat left in the bottom of the can.

DSC02545And it smelt really bad.

My original plan was to cook the corned beef, onion and cabbage together, then make a kind of chunky mash with the potatoes, mayo and pickle and swiss roll them together and serve it cold.

Having seen the corned beef cold put me right off though so that plan went out the window. Mine was going to be a warm salad.

The Luck of The Irish Part 3

So, I started cooking my corned beef and onion and….oh, god, this bit did actually make me gag.  There was something weird in the meat.  Initially I thought it was one of those lumps of fat.  Except it didn’t melt.

It looked like a piece of skin.  This picture does not even convey the disgustingness of this lump of….whatever the fuck it was…

So, whilst I was dry heaving, the corned beef started to stick to the pan.  So I thought it might be a good idea to throw a glass of wine in there to deglaze the plan. Because wine makes anything better right?

Wrong.  This is how doomed this dish was,  Adding the wine just made a very fatty, milky, winey, even more stinky liquid rise to the top.  This was so incredibly gross it’s kind of making me throw up a little in my mouth just thinking about it.

The Luck of The Irish Part 4

In the end I plated it up by making some chips with the potatoes and making a stack.  Potato, corned beef, potato, mayo and chives, potato, corned beef, mayo and pickles.

Irish Potato Salad Roll2
Irish Potato Salad Roll2

 The Luck of The Irish Part 5

If this was a Hollywood version or even a reality tv show, right about now, I’d saying something along the lines of “You know, when I plated this up, despite all the set backs, despite all the trials and tribulations, this tasted fantastic….best thing I’ve ever eaten”.

Irish Potato Salad Roll 4
Irish Potato Salad Roll 4

It was nothing like that.

It definitely wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten.  Then again, I ate bugs in Cambodia.  It was the definitely worst thing I’ve eaten this year.  And this is the gift that keeps on giving, not only did it leave a layer of grease in my mouth that survived at least two tooth brushings  but even though I had the extractor fan on for the longest time, the day after I made this, there was still a fug of corned beef and cabbage through my entire house.

Hmm…maybe this really did need the celery seed.

Epic fail.

Sorry people of Ireland. I tried.

And my head told my heart
“Let love grow”
But my heart told my head
“This time no, This time no

But never fear…just like a benevolent Colin Fassnidge on My Kitchen Rules, I’m giving myself a redemption round.

And this time, it’s something not even I can fuck up.   Roll out the barrel of Jameson’s…next up…we’re having an Irish inspired cocktail.  Please let it be fabulous…or you know…just better than this.  Otherwise, I might have to strategically vote myself out….

How do you plan to celebrate St Patrick’s Day? If at all?

What’s the worst thing you’ve eaten this year? Ever?

What are your thoughts on strategic voting – MKR or anywhere

Have a great week!

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