Recipes

Tom Parker-Bowles Neapolitan Ragù

Posted by Fiona Beckett on January 10 2016 at 07:41

If you think you have the ultimate bolognese recipe, think again. Try this fantastic version from Tom Parker-Bowles book Let's Eat Meat. I love Tom's style of writing - do read the great introduction:

"Ah, Naples. Considered by many as filthy, dirty and dangerous, a southern Italian wretch who has seen better days. But for me it’s Italy’s greatest city, endlessly invaded and occupied, but endlessly sexy, thrilling and beautiful. It’s also home to the best cooking in the country, as well as two of my favourite restaurants in the world (Da Dora for fish and DaMichele for pizza). This is still a poor area of the country, and meat doesn’t play a huge role in its traditional cookery. But this slow-cooked ragù is a masterpiece, the pride of every Sunday lunch, simmered and devoured with love and lust.

‘You must stay with it, guide it, caress it for hours,’ writes Jeanne Carola Francesconi in La Cucina Napoletana, ‘so that the aromas of its various components can be released and mingle with each other.’ This isn’t mere tomato sauce, rather Neapolitan lifeblood. I’ve adapted this recipe from Arthur Schwartz’s magnificent Naples at Table. It tastes even better after reading Naples ’44, Norman Lewis’s masterpiece on this most magical and seductive of cities."

Serves 6–8

1–2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

250g/9oz rindless pork belly, cut into large chunks

250g/9oz stewing veal

250g/9oz beef shin, cut into chunks

2 onions, finely chopped

½ bottle (37.5cl) of punchy red wine

3 x 400g/14oz cans of chopped tomatoes

big pinch of sea salt

big pinch of dried chilli flakes

handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy pot over a medium–high heat and brown all the meat, in separate batches, until well browned – around 5 minutes for each batch. Start with the pork belly as it will release some fat, but add more oil if the meat starts to stick.

After removing the final batch of meat, tip the onions into the pan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until soft, stirring and scraping up the crisped bits of meat stuck on the bottom of the pan.

Return all the meat to the pan, add the wine and reduce over a high heat.

Add the tomatoes, salt and chilli and simmer very gently for 3–4 hours. Stir every 15 minutes or so, skimming off any excess fat. You may need to add a little water, 100ml/3½fl oz at a time, if the sauce begins to stick in the last couple of hours.

The Neapolitans would remove the meat and serve the sauce with pasta to start, then serve the meat separately for a next course. But I like it all together. Scatter on the parsley and serve with a pile of cooked fusilli or spaghetti.

Extracted from Let's eat Meat: Recipes For Prime Cuts, Cheap Bits And Glorious Scraps Of Meat by Tom Parker Bowles, published in hardback by Pavilion, priced £25. Photograph © Jenny Zarins.

What to drink: I think you need a hearty Italian red with this dish. A Taurasi might well be the local choice but other Aglianicos would work. You could also try a Sicilian red such as Nero d'Avola or even a Barbera even though it comes from the other end of the country. FB

Tags: ragu food:pork veal beef food:beef & lamb
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Bianca's bitterballen

Posted by Fiona Beckett on December 10 2015 at 08:24

If you want to serve something a little different at your Christmas party try these delicious crisp little Dutch meatballs from our guest contributor Bianca Ford of Sip with Supper (@sipwithsupper on Twitter).

Serves 12-14

Ingredients

1kg stewing beef
1 onion
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
A bay leaf
2 cloves
A few sprigs of thyme
100g butter
120g flour
2 shallots, finely chopped
500ml milk
5 sheets of gelatine or enough to set 500ml of liquid (follow the pack instructions)
A small handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Plenty of white breadcrumbs, a beaten egg and plain flour for coating

Method

Put the beef in a large pan, cover with water and bring to simmering point. Add the onions, peppercorns, bay leaf, cloves and thyme. Leave to simmer for 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender.

Strain the meat and onions, reserving 500ml of the cooking liquid. When cooled, put the onions to one side and shred the meat with a couple of forks.

In a saucepan, mix the flour and butter together over a medium heat then add the onions. Gradually add the milk and the meat cooking liquid then leave the sauce to simmer for half an hour, stirring regularly. Take off the heat

Dissolve the gelatine according to the packet instructions and add it to the hot sauce, stirring continuously. Add the beef, parsley, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool completely then refrigerate for at least an hour.

Remove the mixture from the fridge and roll into balls – you should be able to make around 50. Put the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs onto three separate plates and then roll the balls in each of these in turn, finishing with the breadcrumbs. Deep fry the balls, about 10 at a time, at 180° C until golden brown. Drain on kitchen towel and serve hot with mustard.

See Jackie and Bianca's wine recommendations here.

Tags: meatballs beef food:beef & lamb party food bitterballen
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Beef bourguignon pie

Posted by Fiona Beckett on November 20 2014 at 07:03

Why has no-one had the genius idea of putting beef bourguignon into a pie before? Here's the recipe courtesy of the brilliant Ginger Pig Meat Book which I reviewed here.

We started making meat pies around eight years ago as we had a lot of offcuts of meat that was too superior to make into everyday mince. After getting a classic recipe from old farm cookery books, I adapted it to make it more interesting.

Makes 1 large pie (24 x 12cm/9 1/2 x 4 1/2in) or 4 small (12 x 6cm/4 1/2 x 2 1/2in) pies
Takes 2 hours, plus overnight chilling

For the filling
1.3kg (3lb) chuck steak, cut into 2cm (3/4in) cubes
350g (12oz) cooked dry-cured bacon, diced
200g (7oz) button mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp soy sauce, preferably Kikkoman
350ml (12fl oz) red wine
2 tbsp cornflour
leaves from 4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, chopped

For the suet pastry
700g (1lb 9oz) plain flour
350g (12oz) suet
tsp salt

For assembly
25g (1oz) lard, melted
1 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, beaten

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Place the beef and bacon in a roasting tin and brown in the oven for 15 minutes, then stir and cook for 15 minutes more. Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, soy sauce and wine. Cover with baking parchment, pushing it down over the ingredients, seal with foil, and cook for 1 hours.

2 Drain off all the liquid into a saucepan. Blend the cornflour with a little water and
mix into the cooking juices, then place on the heat and stir until boiling and thickened. Return the liquid to the meat, add the parsley, mix, and leave to cool completely.

3 Now place the flour and suet in a food processor and blitz until very well blended.
Transfer to a mixing bowl, add 300ml ( half pint) water and mix until smooth. If making individual pies, divide the dough into eight balls, four weighing 185g (6.5oz) and four weighing 115g (4oz). If making one large pie, divide it into two balls, one 740g (1lb 10oz) and the other 460g (1lb).

4 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Brush the inside of the tin or tins
thoroughly with lard, then dust lightly with flour. Roll out the larger pastry balls and use
to line the tin or tins. Divide the filling between them. Brush the pastry edges generously with egg, roll out the smaller pastry balls and place on top, pushing the edges together. Trim off the excess with a knife and crimp around the edge. Brush with egg, and decorate with pastry trimmings. Cook for 50 minutes. Leave to cool for five minutes, then turn out of the tins and enjoy hot or cold.

Suggested wine match: burgundy is the classic French match for a Bourguignon but given the pie treatment I go for a more rustic and substantial Rhne red or southern French red.

From Ginger Pig Meat Book by Tim Wilson and Fran Warde, £25 Mitchell Beazley

Tags: recipes Mourvèdre Grenache Syrah southern French red Rhône drink:red wine pie beef beef bourguignon food:beef & lamb meat pie
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Real Texas Style Beef Brisket

Posted by Fiona Beckett on July 4 2014 at 07:10

With July 4th falling on a Saturday chances are you’re going to be thinking barbecue this weekend. Here’s an authentic Texan style BBQ recipe from “Slow Fire, The Beginners Guide To Barbecue” by Ray Lampe, aka Dr. BBQ.

I’ve kept the American measurements though you can convert them using this guide

Dr BBQ writes: A real Texas brisket is always a whole brisket cooked with most of the fat intact. It’s seasoned with something simple and a little spicy and then cooked for a long time over oak wood. The traditional accompaniments are sliced raw onion, pickles, and jalapenos. Hot sauce is often used as well but traditional barbecue sauce is not.

Makes about 12 to 15 servings

¼ cup Barbecue Rub #67 (recipe below)

¼ cup Dr. BBQ’s Fired Up Fajita Rub (recipe below)

1 USDA Choice whole brisket, about 12 pounds

3 cans of beer, preferably Lone Star

In a small bowl mix together the Barbecue Rub #67 and the Fired Up Fajita Rub.

Prepare your cooker to cook indirect at 235° using oak wood smoke for flavour. With a boning knife trim out some of the fat that is in between the two muscles so they will cook evenly. Trim any extreme fat from the top, but most of it should remain.

Wet the whole brisket with half of one of the beer cans. Season all the exposed meat liberally with the mixed rubs. Drink the other half of the beer. Place the brisket in the smoker fat side down. Cook for four hours. Pour half of another beer can on the brisket and cook another 4 hours. Drink the other half of the beer.

Pour half the remaining beer can on the brisket and flip to cook fat side up. Drink the other half of the beer. Cook until the the brisket is tender when you stab it with a skewer. This should take about another four hours and about the time the internal temperature reaches 195°.

Wrap the brisket in foil and transfer to an empty ice chest. Top with a lot of crumpled newspaper. Let the brisket rest for two hours minimum and up to four hours. Remove to a cutting board and trim away all of the fat. Slice the brisket through both muscles across the grain and about 3/8” thick. Serve with sliced raw onion, pickles, and hot sauce.

Barbecue Rub # 67

This is a very traditional barbecue rub that’s good on just about anything. I like the texture of this one to remain a little bit on the coarse side so I use it as is. If you want a finer grind just put it in the food processor with a metal blade and pulse until it reaches the consistency you’d like.

½ cup Sugar In The Raw

½ cup Kosher salt

3 tablespoons chili powder

3 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon lemon pepper

½ teaspoon ground coffee

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. May be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to six months.

Makes about 1½ cups

Dr. BBQ’s Fired Up Fajita Rub

This is a big bold spicy rub that will really fire things up! This one’s not for the meek and mild eaters! It’s great for fajita or taco meat where the tortillas will help mellow things out. But also try it on meats that will be used as part of a salad. It just might help out your pot of chili too.

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup good quality chili powder

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon lemon pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. May be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to six months.

Makes about 1 cup

All recipes © “Slow Fire, The Beginners Guide To Barbecue” by ray lampe, Dr. BBQ and published by Chronicle books. Available through Amazon