Cooking Kedgeree

A traditional British kedgeree

Kedgeree is one of many traditional British foods that had its origins in India and entered the British food menu during the colonial Victorian Age at a time when Anglo-Indian cuisine was fashionable. It is also, traditionally, a breakfast food made by using up leftovers from the evening before. I think it makes a good evening meal as well.

A "real" kedgeree also traditionally uses smoked haddock and no other fish. I improvise by adding mixed seafood and a selection of fish.

The other night, my youngest son asked if we could have seafood risotto for dinner. I didn't have any risotto rice however, so I created my version of a kedgeree instead.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bacon, cut into pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 2 sliced leeks
• 1/2 savoy cabbage, chopped
• 1 cup brown rice
• 300gm smoked fish (I use a pre-packed mix of smoked cod, haddock, and salmon)
• 150gm mixed seafood (again a pre-packed mix of prawns, squid, and mussels)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pinch chilli flakes
• 1/8 - 1/2teaspoon chilli powder (to taste)
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
• salt and pepper to taste

Method: 

1. I started by trimming the cabbage and leek. I then used these trimmings along with a couple small carrots to make a quick and simple vegetable stock. To save time, and washing up, I added the two eggs to the pot of water while it was simmering to give me my hard-boiled eggs. 
2. Heat the olive oil in a deep stew pot, add the bacon and cook until just beginning to crisp. Add in the prepared onion, leek, and cabbage. Add in a couple ladles of stock, then leave to simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes until the vegetables are all softened. 
3. Add in the rice and spices and stir to get everything combined. Pour in half the stock. Bring it up to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. 
4. Add in the fish and seafood, then let it simmer another 10 minutes. 
5. Taste and adjust seasoning and heat as desired. 
6. Just before serving, peel and quarter the hard-boiled egg and stir into the dish. 

It can be eaten hot, or cold. I made up extra and packed the leftovers away for my lunch today.

As as evening meal, kedgeree remains a good way of using up any leftovers from the night before. You can add any vegetables you want along with bite-size pieces of any leftover chicken, fish, or pork. 

If you're looking for a more traditional kedgeree recipe, why not try this one from Delia Smith.

5 Meals Using Leftover Bolognese Sauce

Simmering pot of bolognese sauce

Spaghetti bolognese is a very popular dish in my house. The kids like how it tastes, and I like how I can eke a few meals out of a few inexpensive ingredients, making it a very useful for frugal cooking. I also like that I can slip a few extra veggies in but I don't tell the boys that.

Invariably, I always cook about twice as much sauce as we need for one meal. This isn't a bad thing because a bolognese sauce can be used for so much more than just ladling on spaghetti.

1. Lasagne

I use the exact same sauce for a lasagne that I use for a spaghetti bolognese.

You will need:

• Box of non-cook lasagne sheets - these can be layered in the sauce and don't need to be pre-cooked. 
• Tub of ricotta cheese
• Ball of mozarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh herbs - thyme, basil, and oregano (if you can find them, otherwise dried will work)
• Milk
• Black pepper to season

Method:

• Place the ricotta, a tablespoon or so of grated parmesan, a bit of grund black pepper, and the finely chopped fresh herbs (or dried) into a bowl. Add just enough milk to loosen the cheese enough to spread easily. 
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• Ladle a small amount of sauce into a casserole dish. Cover over with the lasagne sheets, spoon a bit more sauce over the top. Add a layer of the ricotta mixture. Then repeat with sheets, sauce and ricotta. 
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• Finish up with a layer of sauce over the top then shred the mozzarella and spread that plus another tablespoon or so of grated parmesan over the top.
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• Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4. Bake the lasagne for about 30 - 45 minutes, until it is hot and bubbling, and the cheese is melted and browned across the top.

 2. Pasta bake

Similar to a lasagne, but without the fuss of layering.

You will need:

• Cooked pasta - I use farfalle or penne, but anything you have in the cupboard would work.
• Mozzarella or a combination of favourite cheeses
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

• Cook the pasta, drain and combine with the sauce. 
• Stir in chunks of cheese
• Spoon into a casserole dish and sprinkle the top over with parmesan, if desired. 
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350f/180c/gas mark 4 for about 30 minutes, until the top is browned and the dish is hot and bubbling. 

3. Pizza

A quick meal that can be as easy or as complicated as you desire.

Home made pizza

You will need:

• Pizza bases, make your own or buy ready-made
• Favourite grated cheeses
• Assorted meats and vegetables for toppings
• Fresh thyme and basil, roughly chopped
• Ground black pepper
• Olive oil

Method:

• Place the base on a baking sheet
• Spoon some of the sauce and spread over the pizza base. 
• Add on any toppings you want
• Add on a bit of cheese
• Sprinkle over some of the fresh herbs, a bit of black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350f/180c/gas mark 4 for about 10 - 15 minutes. 

For an even quicker, child-friendly, mini-pizza lunch idea, spoon a bit of the heated sauce over slices of bread (I will sometimes use a round cutter to create rounds of bread, add a bit of cheese, and tuck under a medium-hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

4. Jacket potato

This makes a nice lunch-time meal, or a simple mid-week evening meal

You will need:

• Baking potato, one per person
• Favourite cheese, optional

Method:

• Bake whole potatoes in the oven or microwave until soft inside
• Spoon over some of the heated sauce, and sprinke with a bit of cheese if desired. 
• Serve with a fresh salad

 

5. Omelette

This works equally well for any meal in the day.


You will need:

• Eggs
• Butter
• Cheese

Method:

• Whisk 2- 3 eggs until frothy, add in a touch of milk if desired
• Melt butter in a skillet over a medium-high heat
• Pour in the egg mixture and let cook untilnearly set all the way through
• As the eggs cook, gently lift at the sides to allow more of the uncooked egg to run underneath.
• When nearly cooked through, spoon some of the heated sauce over one half of the omelett, sprinkle over some of the cheese. 
• Fold the other half of the egg over the sauce and serve immediately
• You can have this as is for breakfast or brunch, or add a green salad for a complete lunch-time or evening meal.

Savoury Meat Pies

Shepherd's Pie

The British savoury pie is a time honoured tradition. This is simple food at its most delicious. A steaming hot filling of gravy, vegetables, and meat surrounded by a pastry shell or topped by a thick layer of mashed potatoes. Served up on a plate with a large spoonful of fresh seasonal vegetables, it's meal fit for any table.

These pies can be the perfect way to use up cooked bits of meat and cooked vegetables from a family roast dinner. They're also good when you want to stretch a few ingredients out to feed the family. Favourites at our house include beef cottage pie, beef pie with a puff pastry topping, chicken pie, and shepherd's pie.

Cottage Pie or Shepherd's Pie

I sometimes see some confusion between these two similar pies, but it's realy very simple. A shepherd's pie is made using lamb or mutton, and a cottage pie is made using other meats like beef or chicken.

Otherwise, they're made exactly the same way.

You will need: 

Leftover roasting joint (beef, lamb, or chicken) - pull as much meat as you can off the bones then put the bone into a pot of water to make a stock.
1 large or 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
1 - 2 carrots, diced and cooked until soft in boiling water
1 cup frozen peas or corn
Herbs and spices - pick 2 or 3 that go with whatever meat you're using. For instance, rosemary goes well with lamb or beef, sage and thyme go well with chicken
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Gravy
Mashed potatoes

Chop meat in food processor

1. Roughly cut up the leftover meat and then put it into a food processor and pulse it a few times until you get the desired consistency. I prefer to have a few bigger pieces but other may way it to be completely chopped into small pieces. If you don't think you'll have enough meat, add in a couple slices of bread and chop those in as well. 

Cook onions and frozen vegetables

2. Heat about a tablespoon olive oil in a pan (I use the wok because it's big enough to do all the mixing as well) and cook the onions until the are soft. Add in the frozen peas or corn and whatever herbs or spices you might want to use. Continue stirring occasionally and cook down until you just start to see some browning on the sides of a few of the veggies. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Now remove it from the heat.

3. Add in the cooked carrots and the chopped meat and mix together.

Pour over  gravy to make a wet mix

4. Use the stock to make a gravy for the pie. Pour enough of the gravy over the meat and vegetables to make a rather wet mixture. Spoon this into your casserole dish. It should be big enough to hold all of the mixture and leave a half inch minimum from the top of the dish.

Spoon mix into casserole dish

5. Mash your cooked potatoes and spoon that over the top of the mixture.

You'll need enough potatoes mashed to cover the entire top of the casserole dish to a layer of at least 1/2 inch. I generally use 5 - 6 large potatoes for a 2-quart dish. You'll want to make a dry mash, so don't add any milk and just a small amount of butter when mashing as the mash will absorb some of the moisture from the meat mixture while cooking.

Spoon mash over the top

6. Spread the mash to cover the entire mix and seal it around the edges. Using a fork run across the top to rough up the surface then dot with a bit of butter and season with salt and pepper. This will give you crunchy bits on top.

Rough up the surface with a fork

7. Place on a baking tray to catch spills and bake in a moderately hot oven (Gas Mark 6/400f/200c) for 35 - 45 minutes, until the topping is browned and the filling is hot and bubbling.

8. Serve it hot. I like to make extra gravy to pour over the top of mine

Cooked shepherd's pie ready to eat

Roasted Gammon, then Ham and Bean Soup with Cornbread

Last week for Boxing Day I cooked up a small smoked gammon roast for our dinner. Today, I am cooking up the leftover with two types of beans to make a ham and bean soup. I'll serve this up with homemade corn bread.

Because my elder son doesn't eat soups I've kept a few slices of ham to the side for him which he will get along with some cooked carrots and, provided he still likes it, a bit of the cornbread.

Roasting a Gammon (Ham)

Roast gammon

Cooking time: 25 minutes/ 500gm (1 pound) + 25 minutes

Gammons roast up a bit different from other joints because they've been cured, usually in brine. This makes them incredibly salty if you're not careful.

I prefer a smoked gammon, but of course you may prefer unsmoked. The cooking directions are the same regardless.

To start, remove the joint from whatever packaging it might be in and submerge it completely in a pot of cold water. Let it soak at least 6 hours to help pull out as much salt as possible. I generally let it soak overnight, giving it a good 12 hours. Change the water after 6 hours, or in the morning if soaking overnight.

Discard this soaking water. Rinse out the pot and fill it again to cover the gammon over completely.

Now put the pot over a meium heat and bring the water up to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and let it cook for all but the final hour of the total cooking time.

A 5 pound gammon joint would  therefore be cooked. 25 X 5 = 125 + 25 = 150 minutes, or 2 hours 30 minutes. You would boil it for 1 hour 30 minutes, then bake it for 60 minutes.

Out of the water, into the oven

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/400f/200c

Place the gammon on a rimmed baking tray or into a roasting pan. I use skewers if necessary to prop it upright in the pan.

Very carefully (because it is hot!) use a sharp knife to cut the rind off, leaving the layer of fat behind. Use the knife to score the fat into a diamond pattern.

I now like to stud each diamond with a whole clove, then sprinkle demerera sugar over the top before placing it uncovered into the oven.

Serve this gammon with a bit of English mustard and perhaps some roasted potatoes or parsnips, and a side of autumn vegetables.

Ham and Bean Soup

Ham and bean soup

I think there is nothing better than a hearty ham and bean soup on a cold winter evening.

You can use tinned beans, but it's cheaper to use dried beans. You just have to allow time for soaking and cooking them.

You'll need about a pound of beans, dried.  I grew up using butter beans, I've seen other recipes that use northern beans. I say, use what you've got to hand and don't fuss about it. For my soup tonight I'm using what I had in the pantry - so half a pound each of lima and kidney beans. These I covered over with water in a bowl to soak last night.

At lunch time today I drained the beans and placed them in a large cooking pot along with most of the leftover chopped ham and a finely chopped yellow onion. The gammon was still plenty salty so I didn't add any salt to the soup - remember, you can always add more salt but it is rather difficult to remove. If this gammon joint had come with a bone in, I'd have added that though.

The soup is now simmering on the cooktop where it will remain until we are ready to eat this evening. I give it a stir occasionally and will taste it for seasoning about 15 minutes before we're ready to eat.

Corn Bread

I use the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. However, I reduce the total amount of sugar by about half because otherwise it's too sweet. For the cornmeal I use masa harena.

Ingredients

Corn bread

1 cup plain flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar (the original recipe calls for 2 - 4 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup lard, melted (the original recipe calls for cooking oil or shortening, but I don't use these as they are dreadfully unhealthy)

Method

Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9X9X2-inch baking pan, set aside.
Stir together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.
In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and melted lard. I use the glass measuring jug. Add this all at once to the dry mix. Stir until it is just moistened. It will be lumpy.
Spoon the batter into the baking pan. Bake in the oven at 425f/gas mark 7 for 20 - 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.

Or, do what I do and serve hot and slathered with lots of butter along side the bowl of ham and bean soup.

Generally, I crumble my cornbread into the soup then add a dollop of butter over the top.