Traditional English Cooking
...As in slow-cooked and using ingredients that I wouldn't normally have to hand, rather than bland and soggy. Today I'm making shin of beef casserole with mushroom dumplings (a Delia Smith recipe, the doyenne of traditional British cuisine). It's ideal because it's nice and warming on a cold day, and can hang around in the oven for ages while our lunch guests attempt to cross London in the age of ice. And if none of them make it, C and I can freeze our leftovers nicely.
My list of outside of the comfort zone ingredients for this recipe include:
shin of beef - very sinewy, so not good for cooking quickly, but great for adding extra flavor to a dish that will spend at least 3 hours in the oven
beef dripping - mmm. rendered beef fat. yum.
suet - what exactly is suet, anyway?
and finally,
mushroom ketchup - this is the real mystery ingredient. It has the consistency and color of Worcestershire sauce. I was tempted to try some in a spoon, but lost my nerve.
So, I will let you know if the mushroom ketchup transforms the dish into something magical and wonderful, or if it's all just a bit weird. You'll have to keep in mind though, that I have gone so native that I ate black pudding for breakfast this morning and LIKED it.
My list of outside of the comfort zone ingredients for this recipe include:
shin of beef - very sinewy, so not good for cooking quickly, but great for adding extra flavor to a dish that will spend at least 3 hours in the oven
beef dripping - mmm. rendered beef fat. yum.
suet - what exactly is suet, anyway?
and finally,
mushroom ketchup - this is the real mystery ingredient. It has the consistency and color of Worcestershire sauce. I was tempted to try some in a spoon, but lost my nerve.
So, I will let you know if the mushroom ketchup transforms the dish into something magical and wonderful, or if it's all just a bit weird. You'll have to keep in mind though, that I have gone so native that I ate black pudding for breakfast this morning and LIKED it.