Cook my Books Challenge- Frugal & Fabulous



Apparently it is spring. The calendar says so, but while I have seen my share of gambolling lambs (and who else but a cute little lamb chop could gambol??) and daffodils, until I enjoy that first plate of asparagus, it is still winter as far as I am concerned.

Watching the All Blacks play Argentina in a Wellington gale on the weekend, Mr PK and I enjoyed excellent cold weather footie watching food. A pasty is a perfect hand held dinner, sustaining, savoury, and if you don’t mind a hail of pastry crumbs all over the carpet, relatively low maintenance fare.

I actually made two versions. The first, based on the famous Cornish version, I baked in a lard based pastry (yes really, lard is wonderful stuff, see here). I kept it simple, with the traditional beef, onion, swede (known as turnip in Cornwall) and potato, going off piste only to add some fresh green parsley.

The second, for my non meat eating sister, a flaky short mess-making butter pastry also containing potato, parsley and onion, with the addition of sharp cheddar cheese. Completely delicious, even a carnivore would be impressed………

The Cornish pasty is based on ther recipe in the inimitable Delia's Frugal Food. I have the 2008 reissue, the book originally came out in 1976, and is full of good hearty mostly English style food that wont cost the earth.

A Long Way from Cornwall Pasties...... based on a recipe by Delia Smith

Makes 4 meal sized pasties, but you could make 6 smaller ones

First make your pastry. 

275 gr plain flour

125 gr cold lard (or cold butter)

pinch salt

Ice cold water 

In a large bowl, rub the fat between your fingers into your flour and salt. You can do this in a food processor, but to be honest it only takes a couple of minutes, and the resulting pastry is much softer & easier to roll than the processor version. Use the same method, adding a couple of spoons of icing sugar and some nutmeg for a lovely crust for an Apple Pie

As you can see there a still little chunks of fat, this is fine, it will melt in the heat of the oven & create steam, giving you little flakes of pastry (which if you are like me, will end up all down the front of your shirt....)

Using a knife to mix, add your ice cold water until the mixture comes together as a dough. Tip out onto a floured bench & just bring together. This isnt bread, it does not require kneading, you are just bringing everything together into a workable dough. Wrap in cling film and pop into the fridge for 30 mins or so (or overnight if you are working ahead)

Now prepare your pasty filling

1 large potato, peeled and cut into small slices
1 medium onions, peeled and chopped into tiny chunks
Half a swede, peeled and cut into small slices
300 gr chuck, blade or topside beef, trimmed of fat & cut into small slices
Salt & pepper
Chopped parsley (not traditional, but delicious)

Try to keep everything a similar size, thin slices of meat and vege will cook right through without overcooking your pastry. You will think there isn't enough filling but trust me, this is plenty, pasties are very economical fare....

Take your pastry out of the fridge, and cut into four quarters (or 6 pieces if maker smaller pasties). Roll out one quarter into a circle about the size of a dinner plate.

Top with a spoonful of potato, then swede, onion & finally meat. Season with salt & pepper, then another layer of potato, swede, onion & finally a sprinkle of parsley. The theory for the layering is the meat juices & seasoning then work their way through the root vege as they cook and give the pasty extra flavour.

If you are using cheese rather than meat, just following the same theory, with your cheese layer in the middle. Use something good and strong like a really sharp cheddar for flavour

Now fold one half of the pastry over to completely encase your filling. This is easier then you think as this pastry is quite soft and pliable. Crimp the edges together, I just go around the edge folding the edge inwards on itself over my finger, I cant tell you it is totally authentic, but it looks ok and does the job! If all else fails go around the edge with the tines of a fork,the main object is to make sure your delicious filling cant escape. Cut a couple of steam holes in the top with the tip of your knife and place on an oven tray

Pop into a 200C/400F oven for 15 mins, then turn the heat down to 190C/375F for another 25-30 minutes, until golden and smelling heavenly.

Now I wont pretend these are the quickest things to make, but they are easy, great value, and if you make a batch up they freeze perfectly. Brilliant picnic food, they are also delicious at room temp, which of course if how they would have been eaten down the mines. The crimp was used to hold the pasty, keeping the rest of your lunch clean if you didn't have facilities to wash your hands, then discarded , but of course you can eat it if you prefer.

Mr PK recommends a good dark beer to drink with your pasty (on a windswept beach with a blanket for preference) , his latest fav is this gorgeous Chocolate Moose from Boundary Road Brewery based just out of Auckland at Red Hill. Rich and chocolatey this is also wonderful in a beef casserole, and I am going to try it in Nigella's Guinness Cake, watch this space.....

Creamy beans with beef.....

What a busy week, month end, year end, sense of humour end, it's had it all. A quick healthy dinner was in order, something nourishing but maybe a little different? This hit the spot nicely, creamy beans, corn and carrots topped with tangy balsamic marinated beef, yum. The beans would also be great with fish or chicken, and are substantial enough not to require carbs .
This came by way of Jamie's America which I am enjoying on TV at the moment. I brought the book after seeing an episode the first time around, and it is one of my favorites. American food gets such a bad rap, sometimes rightly so. But they also gave us Mac n Cheese, Banana Splits and the Cheeseburger, for that alone I am prepared to cut some slack. This recipe featured on the Georgia episode, and originally contained Venison & Lima beans. Jamie substitutes Broad Beans, but I came across some frozen Edamame beans at the supermarket and used those instead, saves peeling, and they are not only tasty but very good for you.........and they look pretty.

Creamy beans with beef

Serves 2-3

1 large Sirloin steak
Clove crushed garlic
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
good grind of black pepper and salt

2 rashers of bacon (optional)
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 small onion finely chopped
1 stick celery finely chopped
1 carrot, scrubbed and finely chopped
2 cups frozen edamame beans (or use broad beans)
1 cup frozen sweetcorn
1 cup chicken or veg stock
More salt & fresh ground black pepper
big splash of cream

First marinate your steak by mixing together the garlic, oil and vinegar & pouring over the meat. Let rest at room temperature while you prepare your vegetables.

Fry off the bacon rashers if using in a medium non stick pan until crispy. Take out of the pan and place on a paper towel to drain. Pour most of the fat out of the pan, but leave about a tbsp to fry off your onions, celery, carrot & chopped rosemary. Cook for about 15 minutes until the vegetables have softened, then add the beans, corn and stock to the pan, with a good grind of pepper.

At this point I would cook my steak.  I sprinkle my meat with salt, and on a preheated griddle pan, cook over a medium high heat for about 3 minutes a side until med-rare, then pop it in a warm place to rest while you finish your veg
Simmer your bean mix with the lid on for about five minutes, then take the lid off, pour in your cream, stir and let it bubble for a couple of minutes until it thickens. Add more liquid if there is not enough sauce to your taste, stock or extra cream. Taste and add salt if necessary.

To serve portion onto warm plates, slice the meat on an angle and put a few slices on top & sprinkle with your bacon. You may notice a lack of bacon in the picture, this is because I actually forgot about it, so maybe leave it somewhere visible....?

On an entirely different note, I have just finished a great book, written by a new New Zealand author called Tony Price. "Kicking Out" is Tony's first novel and it is a cracker.
If you like thrillers, give this book a go. It has a supernatural element, which isn't normally what I would go for, but the treatment is subtle and never feels unrealistic. I met Tony last year, and he not only can he write a good story, but he is a really  nice guy also. Tony has published this book himself, and if you click on the link it will take you to all the available stockists.

I have the utmost respect for anyone who has the perseverance to write 90,000 words, I have written much less, and it is hard! You write a page, read it the next day, wonder why anyone would want to read such drivel, write it again, read it the next day, and on it goes until you have a finished book or have lost your mind. I am still writing, so I clearly have not reached a decision on that one......

Not making a hash of things.......

Corned silverside. It was a phrase, and goodness knows a smell, to make my heart sink when I was a kid. Walking in after school and catching a whiff of boiling meat, always accompanied by cabbage (one of Moses' lesser known utterances, thy shall eat corned beef with pongy boiled brassica...) you knew dinner would be even less of a highlight than usual.
Its taken many years to come around to the idea, but I think I have turned a corner. Last night I made Corned Beef Hash, and it was good, really good! My Mother-in-law gave me some cold beef to bring back from Tauranga, and thanks to Delia, this was turned into a savoury, tasty, filling supper with very little effort. Do give it a go.....

Delia Smith's Corned Beef Hash

200 grams corned beef
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 big tsp grain mustard
1 large onion
275grams (about 2 medium) potatoes, I use a floury agria
2 tbsp oil
salt & pepper

Cut the corned beef into small cubes, about a cm square, and stir in the worster sauce and mustard. Cut the onion into thin slices, and the potatoes into dice about the same size as the corned beef. Boil the potatoes for about 5 mins in salted water until tender.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan until hot but not smoking. Stir in the onion until it is starting to go brown, and add the drained potato. Stir for a couple of minutes until the potato is also starting to crisp. Add the corned beef mixture, and keep cooking until the beef is hot, and the vege crisp and browned. Add salt & pepper to taste, and turn out onto warm plates. There is no way of making this look delicate so don't bother.... I served mine with a fried egg on top, but this is entirely up to you! Next time I would add some chopped parsley, and a good squeeze of lemon.......yum