Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

I am known to be rather partial to eating and cooking vegetarian food, in fact I would list my favourite food as vegetables. With one exception.....
On a recent trip down south I opened the car window to get a bit of fresh air and a better look at the countryside (and the little lambs - is it me or are they arriving earlier every year?) and noted flocks of sheep eating turnips. Mmmmmmm.... The only vegetable I don't like is turnips.The smell from fields of turnips is not that pleasant and the experience reminded me why I don't like them, its not the taste but the smell of them cooking that quite puts me off eating them. Give me a roast parsnip any day!
Anyway back to the task at hand, my Shepherds Pie.....
This 'pie' is delicious, economical, nutritious and a nice change from using meat (and not a turnip in sight). It is a simple dish that can be prepared in advance and easily adjusted for Vegans, by converting the dairy products and soya sauce to your taste.  Children will love it, just tell them it is fancy baked beans with mashed potatoes!
To make the dish a bit different and special, you may like to make individual pies in ramekins, just adjust the time in the oven accordingly.

Ready for the oven

I have cooked it a couple of times now, it feeds two people for a week!! and a very hungry family of four (with plenty left over for lunch the next day).

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie – Alison and Simon Holst -Dominion Post July 2013

For 4-6 servings

Ingredients

6 medium potatoes

2 tbsp butter

1 cup grated cheese

¼- ½ cup of milk

2 tbsp canola or other cooking oil

2 large onions, diced

1 red or green pepper, diced

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp vegetable stock

1 tsp each of dried basil, oregano and paprika

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1½ cups water, beer, wine, bean liquid and/or the potato cooking liquid

2 tbsp tomato paste

400gram can of red kidney beans (or 2 x 300g cans for a larger dish), drained and rinsed

Method

Simmer thinly peeled, chopped potatoes in lightly salted water until tender, drain, saving the cooking liquid in case you want to use it later.

Mash the potatoes, stir in the butter, half the grated cheese and enough milk to make a fairly soft consistency.  After mashing, beat potatoes with a fork until light and fluffy.

Heat the oil in a large pot or fry-pan. Add the diced onions and cook until tender and well browned.

Add the chopped pepper and flour and stir until the flour is lightly browned too.

Add the remaining ingredients except the beans and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.

Then add the beans (if desired mash the beans first – I prefer not to do this step and just leave them whole).

Spread the bean mixture into a lightly sprayed baking pan (about 20x25cm) and cover with spoonfuls of the mashed potatoes, spreading so all the bean mixture is covered.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the surface. If not using immediately, refrigerate until needed.

Bake at 180° C for 20-30 minutes.

If you wish, this dish can be heated in the microwave until centre feels hot,  brown the top under the grill before serving.

Yum!

A classic English pudding

Thinking about good wholesome food and my recent visit to England gave me the inspiration for a dessert to make for our friends last Saturday night. The weather was predicted to be wet and cold, definitely a time to bring out a great steamed pudding to warm the body and soul.
I kept weird hours during my first week home. I would 'drop like a stone' into bed at 7pm and then be awake at four in the morning ready to start the day. So it was that I found myself cooking in my nightie and slippers at 4.30am last Saturday morning.
I remembered a pudding called Spotted Dick. I had never made one. Two of my guests were originally from England (and one male guest just adores puddings) so I decided it would be perfect to make for dessert.
My research on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick offered an explanation to the name of the pudding. It is surely an old English favourite!
I found my recipe in Jamie Oliver's Chef 2 book - 'My Mum's Spottier Dick'. Although it is extremely easy to make, I had a small challenge, as my copy of the recipe's metric conversions were all over the place. I have altered the recipe to what I considered the correct measurements and it was perfect. Trust me - this is a completely addictive pudding! And absolutely delicious with warm runny vanilla custard and a drizzle of cream.
A kitchen hint not included in Jamie's recipe - I used my mothers tip and put an enamel plate in the bottom of the boiling pan, then placed the pudding bowl into it - it stops the bottom getting overcooked or burnt (which ends up being the top of the pudding if you know what I mean). Also, my kitchen assistant had no luck finding suet in the supermarket so I replaced it with butter. I will make it with suet next time, will just have to search further afield to find some.
On the day you make it you probably need to plan to keep the morning or afternoon aside as you need to keep an eye on your boiling pot and make sure it is kept topped up with hot water while the pudding is cooking for three hours.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
The recipe is super for a crowd, Jamie states 6 servings but I would say at least 12 reasonable servings.

My Mum’s Spottier Dick - from Jamie Oliver Chef 2

Ingredients

125g suet (or butter) grated

140g dried chopped apricots

225g raisins or sultanas

1 orange (zested)

140g plain flour

140g sugar

140g fresh breadcrumbs

2tbsp fresh grated ginger ( I used 1 tbsp syrup from a jar of preserved ginger)

Pinch grated nutmeg

Pinch salt

1 egg beaten

500ml milk

Method

Grease (really well) a 1 litre pudding basin.

Mix all the ingredients together, except the egg and milk. Add the beaten egg with milk and mix well. (I used my kitchen whizz to mix the butter with the flour then put the mixture into a large bowl, added the fruit etc and then the egg/milk mixture).

Put the mixture in the basin, cover well with tinfoil or a cloth (used about 4 layers of tinfoil – adding a pleat at the top to allow for the pudding to rise). Tie a piece of string around the bowl for easy placement and removal.  Put the basin in a large pan of boiling water – the water should be about half way up the sides of the basin. Put on a tight fitting lid and simmer for 3 hours, making sure to top up with boiling water every now and then.

Serves 6

Next day, left overs ready to be warmed through, yum!

Home is where the great food is.....

I have been on holiday this last month, in very warm nice places with great people. I was reflecting on my holiday (while on my walk this morning) and what I should share on my blog. The first thought that came into my head was, it is great to be home and the second thought was, that our little country at the bottom of the world is holding up very well against all the food and wine competition out there.
Yes we have our issues and problems. But overall New Zealanders are great people, we have scenery to die for, our coffee is great, our wines are fabulous and our choices and the quality of food is right up there. We also have lots of space to breathe and (almost) unlimited countryside to enjoy.
The one thing we don't have of course is the magnificent history and the architecture that goes with it (as they do around the world). And now and then, it is the one reason I have to travel thousands of kilometres to enjoy and experience for myself!
During my trip, our group had many meals out and while visiting villages we shopped in local markets and wineries. We oooh'd and aahhh'd at displays in shop windows. We savoured everything we ate and drank. We picked our favourites and, very often went back for more! And we agreed we were lucky to be able to enjoy this time away together.

Lunch made by Deb - La Motte style, where's the wine?

Yes, I have a number of absolute food 'stand outs' from my holiday. First, a simple entree of smoked salmon nestled on a bed of fennel salad, eating while in a fabulous setting of lush trees and buckets of colourful flowers. (I tucked into it and forgot to take a photo!)
The second was Lavender icecream, more of an experience really, it was so beautiful to look at but to me it tasted like eating hand cream!

And thirdly, an array of wonderful seafood meals at a restaurant called The Hut - with my great friend Di. We ate there every night during our Isle of Wight four day stay - right on the waterfront - watching the dazzling sea and the fading light. 

Lastly the many fabulous Rose wines in the South of France (hardly food I know), but we so enjoyed the tastings and matching the Rose with our food, cheers or should that be salute!

Leaving with our Rose purchases

While I am happy to be right here, right now - I am already thinking about my next overseas trip, maybe 2015....... the brochures have already been delivered, I'd better start saving!!.

Handmade in Welly

Recent weeks of other busyness has meant no time for blogging, so my apologies for not posting, "not good enough Kristeen"!
Before I go overseas on Wednesday (did I tell you I am going to London, Isle of Wight - onto to Paris and the South of France ) I had to post about yesterday's little gem of a moment.
As part of the 2013 Handmade conference, I attended Rosemary McLeod's Master Class on 'Never throw anything away: Clever tricks from the rag bag 1920s - 1950s'. I knew it would be good as had I attended her talk on aprons at 2012 Handmade and loved it.
Now this lady deserves a 'gong'! She is an absolute national treasure. I am in awe of her knowledge of old textiles and craft, her collection is just fantastic. She held the audience spellbound (with our 'oohs and aahs') for over an hour with her stories and sharing with us the delightful pieces she had collected over the years. They were mostly found 'ratting around' in thrift shops although she lamented the shops are not what they used to be (I agree but you can still get the odd bargain or treasure).
She commented on the difficulty of how and where she stores her treasures and I cast my mind back to the things I have held on to over the years and the things I had to toss away through lack of space (and carting them from one house to the other). Darn! I really wish I had kept that handmade and embroidered cooking apron with matching hat. It was a masterpiece! Luckily my dear daughter shares my passion for historical textiles and 'homemade' crafty things so I know my little treasures will not be 'biffed out' when I pop off but will be passed on into good hands.
Of course Rosemary is also a very successful columnist and writer. She has recently published a new book called 'With bold needle and thread', it's gorgeous and I plan to buy it on my return.
Yes, I am heading off for a little jaunt, catching up with old friends in England and spending time with great friends in Paris and staying in a villa for two weeks in la Motte in the south of France. I hope to post many stories on food, wine and a bit of song. We plan to spend a lot of time perusing the markets finding stuff to cook (and drink) each night. I know it will be lots of fun, it's just the getting there that I find a bit of a pain.
On a completely different note, yesterday I made the 1974 Edmonds Cookbook version of the Date and Walnut loaf. It was so divine, definitely an oldie but a goodie. As our afternoon tea guests were tea and coffee'd out, we ate, the still warm loaf, lavishly smeared with butter suberbly matched with a magical glass of reisling.
Now I probably won't get that combo in France....

Pearl Barley Risotto - delish

I had 'simple, nutritious, but untried recipe' on my mind when I thumbed through my recipe books for ideas for a one pot Vegetarian dish that would appeal to a (nearly) seven year old and, as the three adults were eating at different sitting times, would be ok to reheat later in the evening. 
I grabbed my new recipe book Jerusalem, it is a visual feast in itself and this recipe really appealed to me, it ticked all the boxes and I had everything I needed in my pantry and fridge (believe it or not). Plus - I was feeling a little adventurous and took the chance that it would be ok cooked in a slow cooker (which meant I could turn it on and basically forget about it and get on with reading my new book). 
If you decide to use your slow cooker for this recipe, you may need to reduce the stock (I thought it looked a bit too sloppy so removed about 100ml). Using my slow cooker guidelines for cooking pulses I cooked the dish on high for about 4 hours, tested the barley, then lowered the temperature to low for the last 2 hours. (Every slow cooker is a little different so it would pay to check accordingly). It was declared delicious (even after the late comer warmed it through in the microwave). And by the way - the little one loved it - not a speck left on her plate. 
Note: It can be easily adapted as a Vegan dish, leaving out the butter and using toasted Pumpkin or Pine nuts for garnish instead of feta cheese.
I used baked cauliflower as a side dish. Just lightly spray a layer of raw cauliflower 'florets' in a roasting dish lined with baking paper and bake at a high temperature until lightly browned - so much tastier than boiled or steamed cauliflower and it complements this dish well. To accommodate those in  need of a bit more protein, I added some cubed stir fried chicken.
Overall a simple, nutritious, tasty combination of flavours.
As an aside I find it amusing to see that kitchen enamelware is making a bit of a comeback. I own some old relics from childhood family camping days and as you can see some of my pieces are a bit battered. They are still used on a regular basis. I just love them! 

The risotto captured with the last bit of evening light

Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta - from Jerusalem – Ottolenghi & Tamimi Pub 2012

Ingredients

200g pearl barley

30g unsalted butter

90ml olive oil

2 small celery stalks, 5mm dice

2 small shallots, 5mm dice

4 garlic cloves – 2mm dice

4 fresh thyme sprigs

½ tsp smoked paprika

1 bay leaf

4 strips of lemon rind

¼ tsp chilli flakes

salt

400g tin chopped tomatoes

700ml vegetable stock

300ml passata

1tbsp caraway seeds

300g feta, broken roughly into 2 cm pieces

1tbsp fresh oregano leaves

Method

Rinse the pearl barley under cold water and leave to drain.

Melt the butter and 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a very large frying pan and cook the celery, shallot & garlic on a gentle heat for 5 mins until soft. Add the barley, thyme, paprika, bay leaf, lemon rind, chilli flakes, tomatoes, stock, passata and ½ tbsp salt. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a very gentle simmer and cook for 45 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure the risotto does not catch on the bottom of the pan. When ready, the barley should be tender and most of the liquid absorbed.

Meanwhile toast the caraway seeds in a dry pan for a couple of minutes. Then lightly crush them so that some whole seeds remain. Add them to the feta with the remaining olive oil and gently mix to combine.

Once the risotto is ready, check the seasoning and then divide between four shallow bowls. Top each with the feta mix and a sprinkling of oregano leaves.

The risotto with chicken and baked cauliflower