Pot Roasted Beef Brisket with Vegetables

Had a lovely walk out to the Dundas butchers  at Breaston , its a tiny little  shop but we got a gorgeous piece of beef brisket . We also picked up some haggis for Burns night tommorrow night .

Brisket  is a rolled piece from the breast of the cow , its a fatty cut of meat and we all know fat adds flavour . I have never cooked brisket, but the butcher was resassuring that a slow cook with plenty of vegetables works best .  He was right we had  melt in the mouth sweet beef delicious vegetables and a tasty glossy gravy . A delicious  winter dish.

I might add beer next time, replacing half the stock,  to add more depth of flavour but the beef-stock worked pretty well

Pot Roasted Beef Brisket with vegetables

1kg of beef brisket
4 large carrots , peeled a chopped into large chunks 3 cm long at least
3 onions quartered
3 large stalks of celery chopped
2 pints of beef stock
3tbsp of fresh or dried thyme
3 tbsp of olive oil

1. Heat the oven to 150degC
2. season the beef rolling it in salt and pepper
3. In a saucepan heat the oil and place the beef in to brown turning slowly
4. Once brown remove the beef, the add the vegetables to allow them to brown slightly
5. Deglaze the pan with the stock and put all the ingredients in a lidded casserole dish.
6. Put the dish into the oven and cook for hours
7. For the last half hour remove the lid of the casserole dish to allow the meat to brown .

The Pumphouse Bristol

Friday night dinner at the Pumphouse in Bristol. I had tried to get us a booking before Christmas  since it  has been getting rave reviews  with plenty of local seasonal produce , brilliant mix of meat and seafood with  interesting and unusal cuts including Bath Chaps ( cheek and jawbones of pig salted and smoked)   

The Pumphouse used to be massive  horrible pub on the wrong end of Bristol docks , on a sunny weekend it was rammed due to large numbers of outside benches but the landlord was a pig , who I once witnessed shouting at a man with a small child on his shoulders that he was…  “  Too f**cking busy to serve ice cream…”

But all that has changed thanks to a massive reefit and a takeover by experienced chef  Toby Gritten (ex Bell’s Diner and The Albion)  , it has an extensive bar menu featuring chicken livers , duck cofit & hereford beef, that  would be the envy of many restaurants. However it was a special night so  we headed upstairs to the mezzanine dining area for the full restaurant a la carte experience .

Currently dinner is  just £20 for two courses and £22.50 for three courses, Nice wine list including a  £16 bottle of Malbec my current favourite grape so I was happy.  Portions were so generous,  I couldn’t make room for pudding especially since we received a complimentary appetiser of cream of celeriac soup

My starter was a warm salad of braised ox tongue , devilled cornish crab and jerusalem artichokes. The ox tongue was melt in the mouth soft with spicy devilled crab and puree of jerusalem artichokes  . Nick said his belly pork, black pudding and pumpkin terrine was delicious with crunchy celeriac remoulade and fried bread.

My main course was a generous slab of middle white belly , perfectly cooked  tender pork  accompanied by tart and creamy roast apples  a swoosh of parsnip mash and a thick syrupy red wine gravy which happily reminded me of marmite . Nicks main was ethically line caught seabass , with browned butter and carrot purree equally delicious , flaky moist fish

The waiter said they get busy on Saturday nights so booking is recommended

http://the-pumphouse.com/

Picture of the Menu – January 2009

Chicken and Lentil Stew

Ok bit of a moan , I have a horrible cold ( its not flu because I am still just about walking ) , yesterday was a long day finished work very late and  missed a train home. Having to wait an extra 45 minutes  I popped into the Sainsburys supermarket at Paddington , for something to eat on the train. However  they had packs of 600g of chicken legs and thighs for £1.50 and a bag of stew vegetables ( carrots , onions, potatoes , parsnips )  for  just £1 . I try not to to much shopping in supermarkets especially for meat and vegetables but it seemed to good a deal  to miss .

Further train delays meant I didn’t get home til 11.30pm but managed to throw in roughly chopped onions , carrots and some green lentils and chicken into my Le Cruset  , pour of half a bottle of leftover red wine , half a pint of water , 1tsp of vegetable bullion  , covered the pot and  simmered it for  45 minutes  , I turned the heat off and went to bed , leaving the stew to do its magic

Home from work today I brought the stew to a simmer for 15 minutes threw in  a sprinkling of  chopped parsley – out the freezer . There was enough for a massive bowl and a couple of portions left for more late nights .

Clementine and Almond Cake

This is a fantastically easy cake and flourless so good for people with wheat intolerances. I was a little dubious about including fruit pith but it does work  brilliantly with any clementines or satsumas which you may just  have  still hanging around from Christmas. Apparently lemons work too with a little extra sugar. I might try a mixture next time .

Though Nigella Lawsons original recipes said to initially cook the fruit for an hour I found 20 minutes of a fast simmer worked fine softening the fruit perfectly.

I served it as dessert for Christmas Eve dinner topped with whipped cream , satsuma slices and some chopped stem ginger . It was so good and got eaten so fast I have already made it again  it keeps perfectly for at least two weeks , growing more and more moist.

Clementine and Almond Cake

6 clementines (about 300g total weight)
6 eggs
250g of  caster sugar
300g  of ground almonds
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

Method

1. Put the clementines in a pot pour over boiling water and bring to the boil , simmer fast for 25 minutes .
2. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the seeds. Then finely chop the skins, pith, and fruit in the processor .
3. Preheat the oven to 190degC and line an 8-inch springform pan with greaseproof paper
4. Beat the eggs til frothy and add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder.
5. Mix well, adding the chopped clementines.
6. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, you will have to cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top from burning.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, in the pan on a rack.

New Years Eve Dinner

New Years Eve it all go a bit seventies actually with a sumpuous meat and cheeseboard and this lovely Beef Stew with a french bread and mustard topping adapted from a Le Cruset recipe book.

Simplicity itself it happily cooked away in the oven while we demolished the meat and cheeseboard  and meant I could fully devote myself to not falling asleep before Midnight

The bread topping gives you instant dumplings ,  soft and gooey with gravy on the underside and crunchy on top with a hit of mustard , the beef stew is unctuous with a gently taste of beer and herbs

Beef Stew with French Bread and Mustard Topping
Serves 6

400g of beef stewing steak cut into largish chunks
200g or 2 large onions cut into slices
3 cloves of garlic
200g of carrots roughly chopped
400ml of strong ale ( Riggwelter from the Black Sheep Brewery)
Half a pint of beef stock
2 tbsps of roughly chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp of fresh rosemary
1 small french baguette
3 tbsp of dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to season

1. Turn the oven to 150degC
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper
3. Place a cast iron lidded casserole dish on the hob , using a little olive oil fry the beef in batched brown it .
4. Return all the beef to the dish adding in the onions ,carrots, rosemary , garlic and half the thyme .
5. Pour over the beer and stock cover and bring to a gently boil
6. Place the covered dish in the moderate oven to cook for 2 hours
7. Mix together the thyme and the mustard season with salt and pepper
8. Cut the baguette into disc and smear each with a generous amount of the mustard thyme mix
9. 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time remove the casserole from the oven , removing the lid , layer the bread discs mustard side up over the top of the stew surface
10. Return to the oven without the lid and cook for the remaining 20 minutes

Happy New Year 2009

Becoming a tradition this mosaic

I certainly seem to have cooked and eaten pretty well this year . Thank you to everyone who has inspired me in 2008 and for all your lovely comments.

For me 2009 is set to be incredibly scary since I am moving to London for work after 30 years on and off in Bristol  my home town I am  pretty scared but calming myself with the hope of plenty of new foody experiences .

Bye Bye 2008 .. Hello 2009

1. Spiced Baked Apricots, 2. Pork Chops with Cider and Rosemary, 3. Cabra al Romero Sandwiches, 4. Salmon cured with beetroot and vodka, with cream cheese on malted toast, 5. Pear Tart, 6. BBQd Koftas, 7. Lamb , Olive & Tomato Stew with Olive Bread, 8. Sag Paneer, 9. Mashed Broad Beans with Preserved Lemon & Mint on Walnut Toast, 10. Shepherds Pie, 11. Roasted Wild Mallard Duck with Balsamic Cherry and Lentils, 12. Two Peach & Cardamon Tart, 13. Salt Marsh Lamb with Spiced Salad, 14. Asparagus Roasted in Parma Ham, 15. BBQ Mackerel, 16. Greek Salad, 17. Tri Color Salad, 18. Dim Sum for Dinner, 19. Wild Garlic Butter, 20. Wild Garlic, Courgette and Asparagus Salad, 21. Three Seed Bread Rolls, 22. Three Bean Chilli, 23. Smoked Mackerel and Beetroot with Creamy Fennel & Lemon Dressing, 24. Tomato and Haricot Bean Soup, 25. Oatmeal Raisin and Coconut Cookies, 26. Chick Pea , Kale and Spicy Lamb Meatball Stew, 27. Breakfast – Wholegrain Toast , Soft Cheese, Watercress and Smoked Salmon, 28. Creamy Herb Lentils, 29. Date Balls, 30. Vodka Marinated Salmon and Beetroot Chutney Canape, 31. Rhubarb and Ginger Upside Down Cake, 32. Faggots in Dark Ale & Onion Gravy, 33. Lavender and Rosemary Lamb Neck Fillet with Bean Salad, 34. Pork and Sweet Potato Peanut Chilli Stew, 35. Paprika Chicken Livers with Coriander & Mint Yogurt, 36. Chilled Courgette Soup with Radish and Mint Pesto

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