Sephardic Supper - Ottoman Style Braised Meat with Cannellini Beans

 

 

This recipe is from the most beautiful cookery book I possess - and cookery books are often a work of art these days anyway really, but this one really is beautiful. It's that beautiful that I don't want it splattered with ANYTHING. If you saw the state of some of my 'go to' cookery books, with little notes and the evidence of messy cooking, well, in one way it's quite reassuring of a wonderful collection of recipes, but when I cook anything from this book, it's positioned at the other end of the room from the cooker, for fear that it being any nearer will result in it being in line of a random splatter or mucky fingerprint.

 

 

 

So, I maybe should tell you the name of this cookery book seeing as I have bigged it up in such a way. It's called 'Stella's Sephardic Table' and I spotted it in a book shop a few years ago just before Christmas. It was a revelation - not only was my ego interested as the cover bore my name, but its gold lettering and its origins on the Greek island of Rhodes, coupled with visions of antique maps, and elaborate scroll like writing had me hooked. I wanted it from Christmas, but it was too late to do much about it, so I asked for it for my birthday instead and lo and behold, I was very, very fortunate. (Thank you Phill! xx) 

I should probably also say that this is the biggest cookbook I have ever owned. Big and beautiful.

Anyway, I shall cut to the chase. Seeing as the days are getting colder and I am a big fan of a one pot wonder, I was really tempted by this wonderful recipe which hints at warm, exotic origins and can blip away doing its thing whilst I am doing my thing. I sometimes think I should rename this blog 'One Pot Wonder' because there are so many of them on this blog, but I would find it hard to find anything more satisfying to sit down to after a cold day outside.

 

Ottoman Style Braised Meat with Cannellini Beans, adapted from 'Stella's Sephardic Table' by Stella Cohen

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad and three others

 

Ingredients:

 

2 tbsp. olive oil

1kg of braising steak cubed or other stewing cut, cubed or cut into bitesize pieces

1 marrow bone (probably optional, available from butchers, Waitrose or Ocado, which is where I got mine)

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 leek, washed, white part only, sliced

1 celery stalk (and leafy top, if you like) sliced finely

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of parsley

500ml chicken stock

Two tins of cannellini beans

1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

1/4 tsp sugar

1 sprig fresh thyme

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

 

Method:

 

 

 

Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pan over a medium high heat. Add the beef and cook in batches. I put the marrow bone in to and kept it in the pan to leech its wonderful bone marrow into the pan as the beef browned. When the beef is browned, remove to a plate.

 

 

 

 Now add the onion, the leek, the celery, bay leaf and parsley sprigs to the pan. Cook until everything is softened and picking up the beef residue from the pan. Return the browned beef to the pan. Add half the stock and bring to the boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and allow to simmer gently for an hour or so, or until the meat is tender. Keep checking and add hot water if necessary.

 

Stir in the beans, the tomatoes, sugar, thyme sprigs, red pepper flakes and pepper. Pour in the remaining stock and bring to the boil once again, cover and reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, but keep checking.

 

Ten minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the salt and lemon juice and discard the herbs. It might be that you want to thicken the sauce and if that is so, remove the lid and increase the heat so that the sauce reduces. When it is at the consistency, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

 

 

 

Serve in huge bowls!

 

 

 

 

Definitely a light bite! Leek, Bacon and Cheese Crustless Quiche

 

 

Much as I (unfortunately) like pastry, it doesn't like me. In fact I am not sure it likes anybody to be honest, but I always saw it as a necessary evil to encase something really rather nice. Until now, that is. It was when I caught myself staring at a colleague who is far more restrained than me when it comes to eating healthier eating something resembling the custardy centre of a quiche that I thought that maybe making a quiche without the tart would be completely feasible. And so it is, and below is the proof.

 

Now I know that my colleague's 'quiche' is made using cottage cheese which is quite simply the work of the devil, not really my bag. I see myself as settling for half and I like it better, so if I am losing the pastry, I am keeping the cream. I just ensure that the cream is packed with lots of lovely things so that the custardy filling goes a lot, lot further. A mooch around Morrisons, (or indeed a mooch around the price checker) revealed the staple ingredients for this recipe: cream, bacon, cheddar and leeks that were either 'I'm cheaper' or very reasonably priced, so I am working on the idea that this is not only good for me, but good for my purse too. Coupled with the fact that I served this with a vibrant salad, also bought from Market Street at Morrisons, meant that this is really a light bite, good enough to be presented to friends and family for an alfresco summer lunch, or else cut into wedges and put into a lunch box with some of the aforementioned salad and taken to work, ready to be eaten at lunch time. And what's more, Finn - the fussiest of eaters - enjoyed it immensely. Though he did leave the salad...

 

I know that what I am proposing isn't ground breaking - I know that if I googled for long enough I would find someone had done this already and called it an omelette or something, but what I will say is that it is a great way of using staple ingredients which don't break the bank. And it's impressive but simple. And it goes well with a cold glass of wine, so what are you waiting for?

 

Leek, Bacon and Cheddar Crustless Quiche

 

Ingredients:

 

two leeks, washed and finely sliced

150g bacon sliced (or you could use lardons)

three eggs

300ml double cream

50g grated cheddar (or to taste)

chopped parsley (optional - I like my quiches flecked with green)

salt and pepper to taste.

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 180c. Grease and line an 8/9 inch spring form pan or suitable baking pan.

 

 

 

Fry off the bacon and the leeks until the bacon has rendered its fat and becoming crisp and the leeks are becoming translucent.

 

Pour the mixture into a bowl.

 

 

 

Add the cream and whisk in the three eggs, then grate in the cheese.

 

Season to taste. Start off carefully for the bacon might be salty.

 

Add the herbs if using and mix well.

 

 

 

Pour into the pan and shake to ensure even coverage of custard and mixture.

 

 

 

Put into the preheated oven and cook for about 25 - 30 minutes until the custard has set and the top is becoming brown.

 

Remove from the oven and allow the quiche to cool a little before running a knife around the sides of the pan and removing it.

 

Serve barely warm or at room temperature with some salad and a sense of virtuous well being.

 

 

This post is an entry for the #MorrisonsMum (or #MorrisonsDad) Summer Recipe eBook Challenge sponsored by Morrisons, which has recently cut prices on over a thousand every day products. Find out more here price checker tool. I am submitting this recipe for the light summer family meals category.

For Connoisseurs - Bacon, Leek and Sweetcorn Pie

 

 

The cynics amongst us might think that themed weeks are a little 'meh' and spend the time wondering what the point is of making a week out of something when let's be honest, a day would be quite enough. However, I am not a cynic and some things are worth a week of extoling their virtues, so most definitely I would say that a week devoted to bacon is a wonderful thing. This week is 'Bacon Connoisseurs Week' which is a week to raise awareness of the brilliance and versatility of bacon as an ingredient, from the crispy streaky that you put on a slice of doorstop white bread for the ultimate bacon butty, to the bacon joint, simmered to create the most wonderful stock and even more wonderful soup. It's hearty, honest, unpretentious food and despite the keenness of the health lobby to point out how we should be careful about the amount of processed meat, sausages, etc. we eat, I still fervently believe that a little bit of what you fancy does you good. Bacon does you good. Is there anything more instantly gratifying than the smell of bacon cooking? I don't think so.  

 

And if we are to be more conscious about just what we consume, then all the more reason to be selective in what we actually buy. A little bit of bacon goes a long way and the purchase of a quality bacon such as something endorsed by the Red Tractor label really makes the difference to the finished dish and a difference to the welfare of livestock in this country. Food for thought, literally.

 

So, to celebrate Bacon Connoisseurs Week, I have recreated a dish by Fay Ripley, who is the ambassador of 'Bacon Connoisseurs Week' Her recipe for bacon, leek and sweetcorn pie uses dry cured gammon steaks to flavour and intensify the filling and the addition of leek, sweetcorn and cream cheese produces an unctuous and satisfying pie which even Finn liked! And Finn, as you may know, is hard to please.

 

I hope that you are inspired to look at good quality, dry cured bacon as a basis for a myriad of dishes that could feed yourself and your family ethically but economically. Here's the recipe:

 

Bacon, Leek and Sweetcorn Pie, adapted from the recipe by Fay Ripley

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

 

My adaptations in red

 

Ingredients:

2 dry cured smoked bacon or gammon steaks (about 200g each in weight), cut into cubes (You could also use lardons, or pancetta)

15ml (1tbsp) Oil

2 leeks, washed, halved and sliced

200g low fat/light cream cheese

325g can of sweetcorn, drained (alternatively use 260g of frozen sweetcorn)

500g ready made puff pastry (I actually used six sheets of filo pastry - Lola and Finn are fans of the texture of filo)

Milk and egg, whisked, for glaze (or melted butter if you decide to use filo)

Black pepper – to taste

 

Method:

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7, 200˚C, 400˚F.

 

Heat the oil in a large pan.  Add the bacon and leeks and cook until the bacon has changed colour and the leeks are beginning to soften.

 

Add the cream cheese and combine together well.  Heat through and allow to thicken slightly for about 2-3 minutes.  Taste and check for seasoning - you shouldn't need salt because of the saltiness of the bacon. Add the black pepper and sweetcorn then place in a large 1 litre/2 pint pie dish.

Roll out the pastry to a size that will roughly cover the dish – decorate the edge with a pattern (a good effect is to use the edge of a small round glass) and if you wish cut out shapes to decorate the top of the pie.  Brush pastry with the milk and egg glaze. (If you decide to use filo, use some melted butter to brush over each layer of filo - I used six layers in total. I seasoned the top with salt and black pepper)

Place in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and well risen.

 

Serve with vegetables and enjoy!