RECIPES
aka... What To Do With Your
Delicious Vowley Farm Beef!
POT ROAST
This has got to be one of the easiest and most DELICIOUS ways to do dinner from a "slow roast" joint of our beef.
(serves 6-8 people)- 1kg (2˝lb) slow roast joint (brisket, chuck, flank)
- 4-6 small whole onions, peeled
- 4-6 small-ish whole carrots, peeled
- 4 sticks of celery, cut into 3
- ˝ large swede, peeled and cut in chunks
- Beef dripping
- 100g (4oz) mushrooms
- ˝ pint hot stock
- Sprig of thyme
- A bayleaf
- Thickening paste made with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour mixed together
- Salt & Pepper
- Pre-heat oven to 140 c/gas mark 1
- Melt the dripping in a large thick bottomed cooking pot. Put in the meat and sear until it's brown all over. Remove to a plate.
- Brown the onions, carrots, celery and swede in the dripping.
- Empty the fat from the cooking pot and replace the meat and vegetables and mushrooms.
- Add hot stock, salt, pepper and herbs. Bring to simmer. Cover with foil and a tight fitting lid and place in the centre of the oven for about 3 hours. (I cooked one of our joints for nearly 4 hours... it was very tender and moist... real melt in the mouth stuff).
- Place the meat and vegetables on a warm serving plate.
- Bring the liquid in the pot to the boil. Add the butter and flour paste and whisk until the sauce thickens.
- Serve... and enjoy... YUMMY!
STEW & DUMPLINGS
The art is to cook this long and slow, a great way to heat the kitchen and fill your home with wonderful smells too! You can vary the ingredients and come up with your own variation on a traditional English classic. (Serves 2-3)
- 500g (1 pack) of Vowley Farm beef stewing (!) (Or you can slice/dice a slow roast joint)
- Chopped Onions, Carrots, Parsnips, Swede, Potato, Celery (any or all of the above, but not cut too small!)
- Little bit of dripping
- Stock (or Red Wine!) to cover
- Salt & Pepper
- Heat the dripping in a cooking pot and brown the meat (although you don't even need to do this bit!).
- Add the vegetables and salt & pepper.
- Cover with stock or red wine.
- Either cook on a VERY LOW HEAT on top of the stove for 2˝-3 hours or put in the oven, 100C/gas mark 1 for 3-4 hours.
- 100g (4oz) SR Flour
- 50g (2oz) suet
- Mix together with some salt, pepper and sage. (Makes an interesting change to put in some mustard powder too)
- Mix to a soft but dry ball with a little water.
- Roll into balls and drop onto the top of the stew for the last ˝ hour of cooking.
I like the juice the consistency it is without thickening... gives the dumplings something to mop up... but thicken it if you want with some butter and flour paste.
I also make double quantities and freeze any leftovers (a likely chance!)
LIVER PATE
- 25g/1oz butter
- 25g/1oz flour
- 150ml/1/4pt milk
- ˝ finely chopped onion
- 3 tbl spoons cream
- 200g/8oz bacon
- 500g/1lb liver
- ˝ t/spoon sugar
- 2 t/spoons salt
- black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 6 finely chopped gherkins
- Make a thick sauce with butter, flour and milk.
- Stir in onion and cream.
- Mince bacon and liver and stir into sauce.
- Add all other ingredients and press mixture firmly into a greased bread tin.
- Cover with tin foil and stand in a dish partly filled with cold water.
- Cook for 55 minutes, 120 c / gas mark 3-4.
This freezes very well but use a very sharp knife to cut into useful sized portions before doing so!