Simple Bolognaise Sauce

Sous Chef J is keen on foods that "don't take much eating"... by which he means he doesn't have to wield a knife and fork to cut up.  So dishes using mince, slow cooking and pasta are always requested.  This is our take on a pasta sauce - served with spaghetti or other pasta and oodles of cheese. 

Ingredients we used were -

400g mince beef
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2-3 white onions, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped finely
200ml rich beef stock (we used a Knorr stock pot)
1 Tablespoon tomato puree
oil (we used the remainder of the oil from a jar of preserved red peppers - thrifty as ever!)
freshly ground black pepper
grated cheese, to serve (we used mature cheddar today but parmesan or other works well too)

Having chopped the onions, they were cooked in some oil in our wok on a medium heat until they started to turn translucent.  Then the beef was added and cooked for a few minutes until it began to brown.  Next the tomato puree was added, stirred through and the wok lid was placed on and left to cook for about 10 minutes on a low heat.

At this point the carrots, which we'd chopped whilst cooking the mince mix, chopped tomatoes and stock were added to the wok.  The heat was turned up slightly and the sauce was left to cook down for about 25-30 minutes.... the lid left slightly ajar to allow some reduction (boiling off) of the sauce to happen. 

The sauce is served with pasta (today we used Salute spaghetti) and a salad.... and gone in a flash.  The spaghetti was cooked, drained and returned to a buttery pan, then the sauce was mixed through before serving.











We reserved half of the prepared amount, allowed it to cool, bagged and labelled it and froze to use later when time/inclination is lacking and a speedy supper is required.

This could be cooked in a slow cooker but it's supposed to be summer so we did it on the hob!

Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs

 

Needing a warming and simple meal we decided to try making a beef short rib dish.  The ingredients we used were 800g short ribs

and, for the marinade - 
Salt and Pepper
Squirt of rice syrup
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
25ml Worcestershire sauce (we use Biona gluten free)


The marinade ingredients were mixed together



and the ribs were coated in the marinade before being placed in the fridge overnight.





Next day, the other ingredients  - 2 carrots, a leek, 2 sticks of celery (all diced), a Knorr beef stock pot and some red wine were gathered and prepared.

Placing the prepared vegetables in the slow cooker, the ribs were laid on top before adding the wine and stock.

Setting the slow cooker to high for one hour on the and then reducing to the low setting for the remainder of the cooking time.







We left ours on low for about 5 hours - giving a total cooking time of about 6 hours.

Once we were ready to eat, the ribs were served  with a mixed root veg mash (made of potatoes, sweet potatoes and swede).

1.8kg/4lb beef short ribs (Jacob's Ladder), cut in half widthways or oxtail pieces

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

50g/2oz dark brown sugar

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

10ml/2tsp mustard powder

5ml/1tsp smoked paprika

45ml/3tbsp Worcestershire sauce

30ml/2tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

2 medium leeks, sliced and rinsed

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

850ml/1½pints good, hot beef stock

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes with herbs

- See more at: http://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/recipes/slow-cooked-beef-short-ribs-slow-cooker-version#sthash.P8K5lHq2.dpuf

1.8kg/4lb beef short ribs (Jacob's Ladder), cut in half widthways or oxtail pieces

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

50g/2oz dark brown sugar

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

10ml/2tsp mustard powder

5ml/1tsp smoked paprika

45ml/3tbsp Worcestershire sauce

30ml/2tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

2 medium leeks, sliced and rinsed

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

850ml/1½pints good, hot beef stock

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes with herbs

- See more at: http://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/recipes/slow-cooked-beef-short-ribs-slow-cooker-version#sthash.P8K5lHq2.dpuf

1.8kg/4lb beef short ribs (Jacob's Ladder), cut in half widthways or oxtail pieces

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

50g/2oz dark brown sugar

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

10ml/2tsp mustard powder

5ml/1tsp smoked paprika

45ml/3tbsp Worcestershire sauce

30ml/2tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

2 medium leeks, sliced and rinsed

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

850ml/1½pints good, hot beef stock

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes with herbs

- See more at: http://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/recipes/slow-cooked-beef-short-ribs-slow-cooker-version#sthash.P8K5lHq2.dpuf

Apricot Lamb Stew

Sous Chef J knows the sort of gifts I like and sought out a Slow Cooking recipe book as a present for me.  It's a 'old style' with lots of scrumptious ideas for meals for us to try out...

Although we didn't use the slow cooker for this recipe, it's something that will be putting the slow cooker to good use over the coming months.

The first recipe we decided to try, Lamb with Apricots, was picked by Sous Chef J as part of the Knorr Gluten-Free Challenge. We've used Knorr stock pots quite a lot in our recipes - like this Spiced Apple and Squash Soup and this one for Slow Cooker Potato Layers both are great for the cooler days and longer nights.

The ingredients we needed were -

550g braising lamb
2 Tbsp Plain flour, seasoned (we used Gluten Free Plain)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
600ml chicken stock (made using a Knorr Chicken Stockpot)
1 Orange (grated zest and juice)
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 tsp Clear Honey
175g Dried Apricots
3 Tbsp Fresh Mint, chopped
30g Ground Almonds
30g Flaked Almonds, toasted lightly


The ingredients were weighed out, prepared and ready for use.

Dicing the lamb and coating it in some seasoned plain flour, we made sure it was well covered.

A large pan had the oil added to it and it was heated for a couple of minutes before the lamb was added.  Cooking the lamb, until browned, took about 4 minutes and it was removed from the pan.  (At this point add the meat to the slow cooker if you are using one)

Adding the onion and garlic to the pan, they were cooked gently on a low/medium heat for about 5 minutes until they started to soften.  We then added the lamb back into the pan and added all the other ingredients apart from the ground and flaked almonds.  (If you are using a slow cooker add same ingredients to the pot and turn the heat to high - cook for one hour, then turn to low and cook for 6-8 hours)

We put the lid on the pan and brought it up to the boil when the heat was reduced and the pan was left to simmer for an hour.

Once the meat had cooked through and the ingredients had become a lovely deep amber colour, the ground almonds were stirred through.

Sprinkling some flaked almonds over the top, we served the lamb stew with boiled baby pearl potatoes and steamed broccoli.



Disclosure - this blog post was written as part of Knorr's Gluten-Free Challenge. We were sent a hamper of ingredients but were not paid for this post. #glutenfreeknorr

Slow Cooker Potato Layers

To make this simple store cupboard dish, we gathered the ingredients - garlic (2 cloves), onion (one large), potatoes (we used about 6 small ones), butter, cheese (grated leftovers from Christmas) and vegetable stock.  The amounts you will need depend on how big a potful you want to make - you'll need enough potatoes, onions and garlic for the layers and can add as much (or little/no) cheese as suits.  We used cheddar cheese, finely grated but gruyere or others could be used if they're what you've got to hand.  Here's what we did -

Whilst the onions were sliced thinly and the garlic was chopped, we switched the slow cooker on high to warm it up. 

Next, we sliced the potatoes thinly (and carefully) using a mini-mandolin device we have... it's always a bit of a worry to use such things as digits get very close to blade - hence I did this rather than delegate to Sous Chef J.

Once everything was prepared, we greased the inside of the slow cooker pot with butter, then began assembly...

 .... which is simply layering onion and garlic, then potato slices and cheese... repeat until all ingredients used up.

On the top layer, we added some knobs of butter and a good grind of black pepper.

Finally, vegetable stock (we made ours up using a Knorr stock pot and used about 300ml, enough to just about reach the top of the layers) was poured into the pot and the slow cooker was turned down to low. 

The lid was placed on and the dish was left to cook for about 6 hours.  (It can also be cooked on high for about 3 hours -  which is useful if you forget to start the dish in time to leave it to cook for hours and need to eat earlier!)

The end result was judged as being "very tasty".