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Caribbean Beef Stew

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Full of flavour, covered with Colour, and perfect to come home to after a busy days work, this dish is simply stunning. It’s great to prepare in the morning, and leave on for the day in a Slow Cooker if you’ve got the time, otherwise, it’s a great treat to have at the weekend.

Caribbean Beef Stew

The Pigeon Peas that are used are known by a few different names – Gunga Peas, Jamaica Peas and Congo Peas. They’re light brown in colour, with a few darker coloured spots on them, and are very popular throughout the Caribbean. If you’re unable to find these, replace with Canned Chickpeas – the end result will be very similar.

To Serve 6
450g Braising Steak
450g Pumpkin or Squash, diced
1 Onion, chopped
1 Red Pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2.5cm Piece of Ginger, finely chopped
1tbsp Sweet or Hot Paprika
225ml Beef Stock
400g Canned Chopped Tomatoes
400g Canned Pigeon Peas, drained and rinsed
400g Canned Black-Eyed Beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and Pepper

1.       Trim off any of the fat from the Steak, and then dice the meat. Heat a heavy, large based pan without adding any extra fat or oil, and brown the meat off in the pan. Stir in the Pumpkin, Onion and Red Pepper, and cook for a minute. Add the Spices, Stock and Tomatoes, and bring to the boil.

2.       Transfer the mixture to the Slow Cooker, cover and cook on a low heat for seven hours. Add the Peas and Beans to the stew, and season to taste with Salt and Pepper. Re-cover, and cook on a high heat for a final thirty minutes, before serving.

Photo Courtesy of: CityMama

Cock-A-Leekie Soup

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You can get two courses for one lot of work with this recipe. Serve the broth as a starter, and you can serve the Chicken for the main course. Sadly, there’s no part of this dish for dessert, so you’ll have to think of that yourself!

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

This is a traditional Scottish dish, adjusted slightly for more modern palettes – in the traditional recipe a piece of Stewing Beef weighing around 550g is added in place of half the Chicken.

This dish works best in a Slow Cooker, so it’s great for when you are entertaining guests. You can put it on and then forget about it for the first seven hours, and then just do a few simple tasks to get it ready for serving.

To Serve 8
12 Ready to Eat Prunes
4 Chicken Portions
450g Leeks, Sliced
1.4l Hot Chicken or Beef Stock
1 Bouquet Garni
Salt and Pepper (to season)

1.       Place the Chicken portions and the Leek in the Slow cooker, and pour the Stock over the top and stir to make sure that all surfaces have had moisture on them. Add the Bouquet Garni, before covering and cooking on low for seven hours.

2.       If you’re serving the Chicken with the Soup (i.e., not in two courses), remove from the Cooker with a slotted spoon and cut the meat off of any bones. Cut the Chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to the cooker. If you’re serving in two courses, leave the Chicken Portions intact in the cooker.

3.       Add the Prunes to the cooker, and season to taste with Salt and Pepper. Cover again, and cook on a high heat for the final thirty minutes.

4.       Remove and discard the Bouquet Garni, and then serve as you prefer – if in two courses, use a slotted spoon to remove the Chicken Portions and then ladle the broth into bowls, otherwise ladle as it is.

Photo Courtesy of: Laurel Fan

Louisiana Courgettes

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A very eye-catching and appealing Vegetarian Starter, this lightly spiced dish can be used as a starter on its own, or served with Chicken or Grilled Fish. It’s a very easy dish, and it’s great to use as part of a dinner party menu due to using a Slow Cooker to cook it.

Courgette

To peel the tomatoes, score a cross in the bottom of them, and place in a heatproof bowl, then pour boiling water over, and leave to stand for thirty to sixty seconds. Drain, and pour cold water over these, and the skins will peel away easily.

To serve 6
1kg Courgettes, thickly sliced
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2 Red Peppers, deseeded and chopped
5tbsp Hot Vegetable Stock
4 Tomatoes, peeled and chopped
25g Butter
Salt and Cayenne Pepper
3tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley (to garnish)

1.       Place the Courgettes, Onion, Garlic and Red Peppers in the Slow Cooker, and season to taste with Salt and Cayenne Pepper. Pour the stock over the top, and mix well.

2.       Pour the Chopped Tomatoes and Butter over the top, and cook for two and a half hours on a high heat until tender. Garnish with Parsley and serve.

As an alternative to this dish, try replacing some of the courgettes with Squash, and a mix of four tablespoons dried breadcrumbs and four tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese instead of the tomato, and then cook on a low heat for six hours – it’s a great alternative, and adds another layer of taste to the dish

Photo Courtesy of: FotoosVanRobin

Goulash

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Goulash and Rice

This traditional Hungarian Stew has many different versions, dating all the way back to the ninth century. Try to find a Sweet, Hungarian Paprika for this recipe, as it suits it the best – the Caraway seeds taste a little like aniseed, so you may want to slightly change the quantity or even not include them altogether if you’re not a big fan of the taste.

To serve 4
4tbsp Sunflower Oil
650g Braising Steak
2tsp Plain Flour
2tsp Paprika
300ml beek Stock
3 Onions, chopped
4 Carrots, diced
1 Large Potato, diced
1 Bay Leaf
½ to 1 tsp Caraway Seeds
400g Canned Chopped Tomatoes
2tbsp Soured Cream
Salt and Pepper

1.       Heat half of the Oil in a large heavy based frying pan, and cut the steak into cubes about an inch across. Add the Steak cubes to the pan, and cook over a medium heat and cook until browned all over. Reduce the heat, and stir in the Flour and Paprika. Stir constantly for two minutes, and stir in the Stock, before bringing to the boil, then transfer the mixture to the slow cooker.

2.       Rinse the frying pan out, and heat the remaining oil in it. Add the Onions and cook over a low heat for five minutes until soft. Stir the Carrots and Potatoes and cook for a few minutes more, before adding the Bay Leaf, any of the Caraway Seeds and Tomatoes (with the Juices from the Can). Season to taste with Salt and Pepper.

3.       Add the vegetable mix to the Slow Cooker, and stir well. Cook on low for nine hours, until the meat is tender.

4.       Remove and discard the Bay Leaf, and then stir in the Soured Cream, and serve immediately.

Photo Courtesy of: RoolRool

Simply Stunning Sides

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Four side dishes, which are easy to make, taste amazing and look even better! All of these sides make enough to serve six people, but you can always adjust the quantities to serve more or less – if you want to that is!!!

Potatoes and Onions

Roasted Onion and Potato Slices

1kg Baking Potatoes

2 Red Onions

3tbsp Oil

½ tsp Paprika

1.       Peel and slice the Onion and Potatoes – the Potato into rounds about 1cm thick, and the onion as thin or as thick as you’d like.

2.       Heat the oven to 200 C or Gas Mark 6. Pat the potatoes dry, and mix with two tablespoons of the Oil with the Paprika, seasoning with Salt and Pepper.

3.       Transfer to a large, non-stick roasting tin, and spread out in a single layer, and bake for twenty minutes, turning occasionally.

4.       Mix the onions with the remaining Oil, and scatter in with the Potatoes. Cook for a further fifteen to twenty minutes, until golden and crispy.

Thyme and Lemon Courgettes with Fennel

3 Courgettes, Sliced

Juice and Zest of ½ Lemon

3tbsp Olive Oil

1tbsp Dried Thyme

1 large bulb of Fennel, sliced thinly

1.       Heat half the Oil and Thyme in a large frying pan, add the Fennel and cook for two to three minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2.       Heat the remaining Oil and fry the Courgettes on a high heat for two to three minutes until almost tender.

3.       Re-Add the Fennel to the pan, along with the Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Slow-Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes

450g Tomatoes

½ tbsp Thyme Leaves

2tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1tbsp Olive Oil

1.       Heat the oven to 150 C or Gas Mark 2.

2.       Halve the Tomatoes, and arrange in a roasting tray. Drizzle Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil over the top, sprinkle with Thyme Leaves and season well with Salt and Pepper.

3.       Bake for one to two hours until lightly caramelised.

Creamy Spinach with Cheese

40g Butter

2 cloves of Garlic, Sliced thinly

75g Grated Full-Flavour White Cheese

500g Spinach

Nutmeg

50ml Double Cream

1.       Cook the Spinach in a large pan for two to three minutes until wilted. Tip into a colander and squeeze well to remove excess water.

2.       Melt the Butter in a large pan over a medium-low heat, add the Garlic, and cook for two to three minutes until softened, but not changing colour. Add the Spinach to the pan, and grate some Nutmeg over the top. Season with Salt and Pepper.

3.       Stir in the Cream and Cheese, and cook for one minute until melted

Photo Courtesy of: Jon Mountjoy