Mutton Cawl

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ESSE Recipes March – A Welsh Spring

Mutton Cawl for an ESSE hob and slow oven, serves 6 – 8

This ancient dish was probably first made with salt pork or beef, or more likely still with game. However these days mutton is the way to go and I’ve chefed the dish up a little with the addition of some fresh herbs and a drop of cider. It is an ideal slow cooking classic which is started on the stove top then left to do its own thing either on a low heat on the top or popped in a slow oven to finish. When cooking on an ESSE EL13Amp, set to slumber and use the low oven for 5 to 6 hours, for other cooker models, use the main oven, aim for the ESSE dial reading to be COOL, temperature about 120°C for around 4 hours.

Ingredients

  • 100g lard
  • 500g of diced organic mutton shoulder
  • 250g potatoes, peeled chopped chunky
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 2 rashers of good, smoked, streaky bacon
  • 2 leeks, washed very well and shredded
  • 1 small celeriac peeled and chopped the same size as the potato
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped the same size as the potato
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 1/2 pint good, dry cider
  • A pinch of ground cinnamon

To finish the stew / soup / stoup? You will need a selection of fresh, finely chopped thyme and rosemary along with some of the green from the leeks and a few nettle tops, some nice strong local cheese and fresh bread.

Method
It is so easy, it’s a no brainer this one. Simply start by sealing everything off a bit at a time in a large casserole dish in the lard, over a moderate heat. Start with the mutton and bacon then the veg, taking care not to overload the pan. You can, of course, complete this first stage in batches and pop the sealed up bits on a plate or in a dish until its all done. Reserve a little of the green of leek to use later and once everything is done, season heavily with pepper and a little salt. With everything now back in the pan, add the cider and cook for a minute or two before adding the bay. Only just cover your meat and veg with water and simmer until tender, probably 2 – 3 hours, topping up as needed with more water.

Once the meat is tender, season again, and then at the last minute stir in very finely chopped rosemary, thyme, leek green and add a pinch of cinnamon. Serve hearty portions with torn off bread and chunks of crumbly hard cheese.

I like to finish the Cawl with a few nettle tops if you can get them, it’s very seasonal and utterly delicious.

Pulled Chicken

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Pulled chicken prepared by Tim Maddams of Green Sauce.

Tim joined us in our factory showroom in Barnoldswick, Lancashire. He personally highlighted the benefits of owning an ESSE to our cookery demonstration team.
We hope you enjoy cooking this dish.

Roast Rack of Mutton with Potatoes, Anchovies and Garlic

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I was lucky enough to be given half a rack of mutton by Hugh after our Lamb and Mutton in a day course that we run at River cottage HQ.

I made this dish at home that night.

If you cant get hold of mutton a rack of lamb or hoggit will be fine.

Serves

Four People

Ingredients

  • Half a rack of mutton trimmed of excess fat.
  • Half a kilo of potatoes
  • A sprig of rosemary
  • 3 or 4 anchovy fillets roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
  • Salt and pepper.
  • Olive oil
  • Pre heat your oven to hot. 210-220c

Method

Peel and slice the potatoes in to 1cm thick rounds.

Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Drain the potatoes in a colander.

Place the rack in a medium sized roasting tin.

Scatter the potatoes around it with the anchovies, garlic and rosemary. Season the whole lot well with salt and pepper and trickle with olive oil.

Roast for 15 minutes in the top oven reading ‘very hot’. Drop to the lower oven and continue to cook for a further 15 mins.

Remove the rack of mutton. place the tray back into the top oven to crisp the potatoes up. This will take about 10 minutes, by which time, the mutton will have had a chance to rest.

Serve with steamed purple sprouting or winter salad leaves.

Rabbit Casserole

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This is really simple to make and warming on a cold winters day, it has a thin but incredibly flavoursome sauce, and goes well with celeriac mash or an egg pasta.

Serves

Four People

Ingredients

  • 2 wild rabbits, jointed
  • 500g bacon, lardons
  • Dash of Dorset cider brandy
  • 0.5 ltr white wine
  • 1.5 ltr game stock
  • 2 lrg onions, sliced
  • 3 lrg carrots, cut into chunks
  • 3 sticks of celery, sliced
  • A handful of Seasoned flour
  • A pinch of coriander, mace and white peppercorns

Method

Part boil the potatoes until just tender but not completely.

Pre-fire the oven to around ‘very hot’.

First brown the bacon lardons in a frying pan over the hot plate, when golden transfer to a casserole dish retaining the fat in the frying pan for the rabbit. Toss the rabbit joints in the seasoned flour shake off the excess and then brown in the same pan.

Add the sliced onions, veg and boquet garni to the casserole pot and sweat over the hot plate, when the rabbit is nicely browned all over add it to the casserole pot with the spices. While the frying pan is still hot add a slug of cider vinegar and deglaze the nice gooey residues stuck to the bottom then add to the pot. Finally add the stock and white wine adding just enough to cover the meat.

Now gently bring the casserole up to a nice slow simmer its really important that you don’t let it boil otherwise you will shock the lean meat making it dry and tough. Put the lid on and put into the top oven for about an hour till the meats really juicy and tender.

Slow-roasted Beef Brisket with Potatoes and Onions

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Brisket’s open-grained texture, generous fattiness and deep flavour make it perfect for slow roasting, as well as boiling. Ask your butcher for the thick end of the brisket, boned and rolled, and make sure he doesn’t trim off the fat.

Serves

Serves six to eight people

Ingredients

  • 2kg piece boned, rolled beef brisket (fresh, not salted)
  • 4-5 garlic cloves, bruised
  • Good handful of thyme sprigs
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1-1.25kg potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • About 400g baby onions or shallots, outer skins removed

Optional Extras

  • Baby broad beans and/or garden peas, podded and blanched for 2 minutes

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Put the brisket in a large roasting dish. Tuck the garlic and thyme inside and under it. Pour over two to three tablespoons of olive oil and massage into the meat, then season well.

Put the meat in the oven for 20-30 minutes, then remove it. Turn down the oven to 130C/250F/gas mark 1/2 , cover the meat with foil and return to the oven for four hours.

After this time, the beef should be very tender. Baste it with its juices, add the potatoes and onions, and toss them in the fat, then turn up the heat to 170C/325F/gas mark 3 and cook, uncovered, for a further hour.

Serve the beef in thick slices, with the potatoes, onions and a little of the rich cooking juices.

Potatoes, Bacon, Onion and Parsley

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This simple but deep flavoured salad works well with larger white potatoes as well.

Serves

Six People

Ingredients

  • 1 kg new potatoes well scrubbed
  • 350 good organic streaky bacon or pancetta
  • 2 large onions peeled and thinly sliced from tip to root
  • 2 cloves of garlic peeled and slivered
  • 1 massive handful of fresh coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 Tbls of olive oil

Method

Par boil the potatoes until just tender but not completely.

Heat a very large frying pan over the hot plate. Add the olive oil followed by the bacon fry until just starting to colour (2 mins max) add the onions and turn down the heat or move to the lower plate.

Sauté for 5 – 6 mins throw in the potatoes and cook for 10 – 20 more minutes.

Season well to taste.

Throw in the parsley, toss well and bring to the table.

Eat with bread, a little olive oil and some fresh tomatoes.

Singapore Vegetable Chow Mein

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This is a tasty noodle dish where the vegetables are flavoured with ginger, garlic and a touch of curry powder. A good vegetarian option it can also suit meat eaters if two finely sliced or shredded duck breasts are added to the mixture at the last stage of cooking with the noodles.

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

  • 250g egg noodles
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 red pepper, cored, seeded and sliced
  • 100g shitake mushrooms, wiped and sliced
  • 75g mangetout
  • 75g spring onions, sliced
  • 100g bean sprouts
  • 1/2 tsp garlic granules
  • 1 tbsp medium curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp crushed chillies
  • 1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
  • 5 tsp Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry)

Methods

  1. Prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions, drain and rinse.
  2. Heat the oil in a wok or large deep frying pan. Add the pepper, mushrooms, mangetout, spring onions and beansprouts and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic granules, curry powder, ginger, chillies, soy sauce, rice wine and cooked noodles. Continue to stir-fry for a further 2 minutes then serve at once.

Tip

Toasted sesame oil gives a good authentic flavour to this stir-fried dish but chilli or wok oil (where the oil is infused with garlic and ginger) can also be used.

Cabbage and Spinach Cake

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This is a great vegetable dish to prepare in advance and left in the fridge.  Just reheat when you want to serve it.

Good use of the induction hob, quickly cooking the green vegetables and melting the butter at the back of the ESSE.

Ingredients

  • 450g green cabbage
  • 450g spinach
  • 25g butter, melted
  • Nutmeg
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Sunflower oil

Method

For the Spinach:

  1. Heat a large saucepan, add a little oil and all spinach.
  2. Stir and cook until the spinach collapses then remove from the pan and lay on a tray to cool down.

For the cabbage:

  1. Leave 5 leaves whole and shred the rest of the cabbage.
  2. Briefly and quickly cook the shredded cabbage until just tender and then lay on a tray to cool down.
  3. Cook the 5 whole leaves in boiling water until tender then drain well.
  4. Take a 20cm cake tin and line with cling film (if you are making this in advance) then line the tin with the whole leaves.

Now prepare the filling:

  1. Squeeze all the water out of the cooked spinach and chop it up.
  2. Mix the shredded cabbage and spinach together and add the melted butter and seasoning with a little grated nutmeg.
  3. Spoon the mixture into the lined cake tin.  Fold the overhanging leaves over the top.
  4. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge until needed with a plate on top.

To serve:

Remove the cling film, turn the cake onto a plate.  Cut into wedges when cold and then reheat, covered with foil in the bottom right hand oven until heated through.

Recipe by Philippa Vine Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.

Chestnut, Red Pepper and Red Leicester Strudel

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Here is something a little more festive than the traditional nut roast for those who are vegetarian or those who choose to forgo meat over the holiday celebrations. Serve warm with seasonal vegetables or cold with a crisp mixed salad.

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 200g chestnut mushrooms, wiped and roughly chopped
  • 100g canned peeled chestnuts
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 sheets filo pastry
  • 15g butter, melted
  • 150g Red Leicester cheese, grated
  • 300g jar red pimientos, drained and trimmed
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds

Method

  1. Preheat the oven if necessary to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT).
  2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion, garlic and mushrooms, mixing well. Cover and cook gently for 5 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat and cook until the juices from the mushrooms have evaporated.
  3. Transfer to a food processor, add the chestnuts and seasoning to taste and blend until you have a chunky pâté type consistency.
  4. Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a clean surface, brush with little melted butter. Top with another sheet and repeat until you have a stack of 4 sheets. Spread the chestnut mixture over the top to
    within 2.5cm of the edge. Top with the cheese and red pimiento. Starting from one end, roll up like a Swiss roll to enclose the filling and place on a baking tray. Brush with any remaining butter and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Serve warm cut into slices.

Get Ahead!

The strudel can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead of cooking. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until required. Uncover and bake from chilled for 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden.

Baked Gammon With a Quince and Sherry Glaze

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A sweet, sticky glaze of quince paste and sherry perfectly complements the flavours of this traditional Christmas gammon. It’s delicious both hot and cold.

Serves

8 people

Ingredients

  • 2.5kg smoked gammon joint
  • 1 litre pressed apple juice
  • 30-35 whole cloves
  • 100ml fino sherry
  • 155g pot quince paste (I used Cano’s Membrillo pure Spanish quince paste)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven if necessary to180°C/Fan 160°C/Esse Dial Guide MODERATE. (Aim for the dial reading to be at the top end of MODERATE or very low end of HOT).
  2. Place the gammon in a large pan. Add the apple juice and enough cold water to cover. Bring to the boil, cover then simmer for 1 hour.
  3. Drain the gammon and allow to cool slightly. Remove any string,then, with a sharp knife, carefully cut away the rind, leaving the layer of fat intact. Score the fat with a diamond pattern and stud the centre of each with a clove. Place on a rack in a roasting tin, cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, place the sherry and quince paste in a small pan and gentle heat until melted. Simmer for 23 minutes. Spoon about half of the glaze over the gammon. Pour a little water into the base of the roasting tin to prevent the juices from burning, recover then roast for another 2025 minutes.
  5. Uncover the gammon, brush with more glaze and roast, uncovered,until golden. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before carving to serve hot.

Tip

Any remaining glaze can be brushed over chicken breasts or pork chops before grilling or baking.

Roast Turkey with Apricot and Couscous Stuffing

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Everyone has their favourite turkey and stuffing recipe… sometimes handed down the family over generations. This is a new take on an old favourite, instead of the usual sausage meat and chestnut stuffing it has a modern and lighter couscous one.

Serves

6 people (with leftovers)

Ingredients

  • 150g dried couscous
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 150g courgette, coarsely grated
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
  • 50g soft dried apricots, finely chopped or dried cranberries
  • 25g toasted flaked almonds
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 thin slices lean bacon, halved
  • 5kg whole turkey
  • 2 oranges, cut into wedges
  • 300ml dry white wine or turkey stock
  • bay leaves, to garnish (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan170°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to beat the low end of HOT)
  2. Put the couscous in a bowl and add sufficient boiling water to cover by 1cm. Leave to stand for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork. Add the garlic, onion, courgette,sage, apricots or cranberries, almonds and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into small bun tins lined with the bacon.
  3. Place the orange wedges inside the turkey and place in a roasting tin. Pour in the wine or stock and cover with foil. Roast for 3 1/2 hours, removing the foil for the final 20-30 minutes to brown the skin. Allow to rest, covered with foil, for up to 1 hour before serving.
  4. Cook the stuffing in the oven during this time for 20-30 minutes.
  5. Make a gravy in the usual way with any skimmed pan juices. Serve the turkey garnished with bay leaves if liked and with the stuffing, gravy and chosen vegetables.

Get Ahead!

The stuffing can be used to stuff the neck cavity of the turkey if preferred but must be cold before doing so. Check the turkey is cooked sufficiently by piercing the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer – the juices that run out should be clear with no traces of pink.

Hot, Sour and Sweet Prawn Stir-Fry

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Fiery from the chilli; sour from the tangy tamarind; and naturally sweet from the delicious Pink Lady apples… this is a Chinese New dish to tickle the taste buds. Try and choose a stir-fry vegetable mix that has lots of different colours and flavours, or make up your own selection. Serve with steamed rice instead of noodles if you prefer.

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

  • 100g dried egg noodles
  • 100g Tenderstem broccoli
  • 2 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 1 Pink Lady apple, cored and sliced into strips
  • 200g raw peeled king prawns
  • 3 tsp tamarind paste
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced
  • 260g pack fresh stir-fry vegetables (or your own mix)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp Thai fish sauce

Method

  1. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, drain, rinse and keep warm. Meanwhile, cut the florets off the broccoli and finely slice the stems and set aside.
  2. Heat half of the groundnut oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the apple slices and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate. Add the prawns and 2 tsp of the tamarind paste and cook for 2-3 minutes until almost cooked. Remove the prawns and keep with the apples.
  3. Add the remaining groundnut oil to the pan and stir-fry the chilli, stir-fry vegetables and broccoli for 4 minutes.
  4. Finally, return the prawns and apples to the pan and stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce and remaining tamarind. Cook for 1-2 minutes then serve with the noodles.

Tip

Make up your own stir-fry mixture by combining ingredients like sliced dwarf corn, chopped spring onions, strips of red and yellow pepper, discs of crunchy water chestnuts or julienne of bamboo shoots for a colourful vegetable medley.

Roast Rump of Beef with Garlic and Thyme

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Christmas and holiday eating doesn’t just have to be about turkey and ham. This might be the time to splash out on a special British beef top rump roast. In this recipe the beef is marinated before cooking with garlic and thyme then roasted with slices of butternut squash.

Serves

4-6 people

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 850g British beef top rump roast
  • 700g sliced butternut squash

Method

  1. Mix the garlic, thyme, shallots, olive oil and seasoning to taste in a dish. Add the beef, cover and chill for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or overnight, turning twice.
  2. Preheat the oven if necessary to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT).
  3. Remove the beef from the marinade. Add the squash to the leftover marinade and toss to coat. Heat a roasting tin on the hob over a high heat and brown the beef quickly on all sides. Transfer to the oven and roast according to how you like your beef cooked (see ROASTING GUIDELINE below) Cook for the calculated time, adding the squash for the last 30 minutes. (This may mean that the squash is cooked from the beginning for a rare piece of beef).
  4. Cover with foil and rest for10 minutes before carving

Roasting Guideline

Allow 20 minutes per 500g for rare beef; 25 minutes per 500g for medium beef; and 30 minutes per 500g for well done beef.

Turkey with chestnut, celery and bacon stuffing and roast potatoes

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Philippa Vine cooked a Kelly Bronze turkey: “it is very simple – I put it into the top oven of ESSE at 190C/ESSE dial reading low end of HOT until cooked – as it depends on the size of the bird!”

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped
  • 3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
  • Small bunch of herbs, such as sage, thyme and parsley, finely chopped
  • 10 dried apricots, chopped
  • 110g cooked chestnuts, chopped
  • 150g wholemeal breadcrumbs
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Fry the bacon, onions & celery in a little olive oil until soft and just starting to colour.
  2. Then add the herbs, chestnuts, apricots and breadcrumbs.  Mix well and add seasoning to taste.  For a more “set” stuffing, mix a little beaten egg.
  3. Put into a baking dish and cook in the bottom oven at 180C/ESSE dial reading very low end of HOT for 20 minutes or until just starting to brown.

 

Here is Philippa’s recipe for her roast potatoes, always a hit in the ESSE!

“King Edward potatoes are my favourite as they are really floury and soak up the olive oil or dripping well!  Second choice would be Maris Piper.”

Method

  1. Part boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water and drain well.
  2. Add a little olive oil or dripping in a roasting tray and put in the top oven at 200C (vent open)/ESSE dial reading middle of HOT and heat for 5 minutes until the oil and tray is very hot. Then add the potatoes.
  3. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Roast until crisp and golden turning them over occasionally.

Recipes by by Philippa Vine, Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.

Hogget with flatbread

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Hogget/Lamb with flatbread, avocado butter, chill & lemon dressing.

For the flatbread

Ingredients

  • 400g Self raising flour
  • 350-400g Yoghurt
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate
  • Salt

Method

Mix all the above… roll out and cook in a hot dry pan.

For the avocado butter

Ingredients

  • 1 avocado
  • 20g soft salted butter
  • 1 lime
  • 1 tsp chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp chopped dill

For the lamb

Ingredients

  • 1 neck fillet of lamb finely diced
  • Black pepper
  • 1 tsp Allspice
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Grated nutmeg
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon chopped mint
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • Salt & olive oil

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and marinade for 30 minutes. Sauté the marinated lamb in a pan and keep pink. Remove and rest.

For the chilli lemon dressing

Ingredients

  • 1 diced green chilli
  • Handful of chopped parsley
  • 2 lemon juiced
  • 2 crushed garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons White wine vinegar
  • Handful of toasted Pine nuts to garnish

Method

Mix all, taste and season.

To serve spoon the avocado butter onto a plate, add the lamb, spoon over the lemon sauce and scatter with the pine nuts. Flatbread on the side.

Recipe presented by Matt Tebbutt using the 990 EL at Humble by Nature

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

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Butternut Squash & Chickpea Curry cooked the ESSE way.

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 knob of root ginger, grated
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 400ml passata
  • 300ml vegetable stock
  • A handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

In a roasting tray tip in the butternut squash and onions, then mix in the olive oil, garlic, ginger, spices, salt and pepper.  Cook in the top oven of the ESSE with the vent open at 200C / ESSE dial reading middle of HOT.  Roast for 25 minutes.

Then stir in the passata, stock and chickpeas.  Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.  Taste and add more seasoning then scatter over the fresh coriander.  Serve with flat bread and rice.

Suggested serving with flatbreads cooked on the ESSE hotplate.

Recipe created by Philippa Vine of Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.

Presented by Dan Blewitt on an ESSE Bakeheart at Humble by Nature.

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