Happy St Patrick’s Day – Irish Stew

saint-patricks-day

Recipe by Gary Rhodes and taken from Sunday Magazine many years ago!

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb (750g) middle neck of lamb, cut into cutlets
4 onions
1 lb (450g) potatoes
4oz (100g) unsalted butter
1 garlic clove
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 1 sprig each of fresh rosemary and thyme tied in a square of muslin) or bouquet garni sachet
2 ½ pints (1.5 litres) chicken stock or water
6oz (175g) carrots
6 celery sticks
8oz (225g) Savoy cabbage
2 tsp freshly chopped parsley

Step One : In a large pan, cover the lamb with cold water and bring to the boil. Drain off the water and refresh the meat in cold water. Drain well. Whichever, cut of lamb you use – for example, neck, scrag end or chops – you should always do this blanching process. It removes any impurities and gives the stock a cleaner, clearer finish.

Step Two : Slice the onions and then peel and dice the potatoes into 1 in (2.5cm) pieces. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onions, half the potatos and the garlic clove.

Step Three : Add the bouquet garni to the pan and fry for 2 mins. Add the lamb cutlets and cover with the chicken stock or water. Bring the liquid to the simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 30 mins. The meat will be half-cooked and the potatoes will have started to puree and thicken the stock.

Step Four : Peel and dice the carrots and add them to the pan. Continue to cook the stew for a further 10 mins. Dice the celery sticks into 1 in (2.5cm) pieces and add to the pan with the remaining potatoes. Cook for 15-20 mins. At this stage, the potatoes shouldn’t be cooked until they’re pureed but until they’re just soft.

Step Five : Shred the cabbage, add to the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the meat and vegetables are tender. Adding the cabbage towards the end of the cooking time ensures that you don’t lose the fresh flavour and that the stew won’t discolour. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper.

Step Six : Remove the bouquet garni and garnish with the chopped parsley. Serve the stew in individual bowls or from one larg bowl in the middle of the table. You now have a complete meal but even so, I usually serve it with good crusty bread.

British Spanish Omelette

A recipe by Gary Rhodes.

Spanish omelettes are just potatoes and onions blanched in oil, mixed with egg and cooked like a flat omelette – the texture is wonderful. This recipe is similar but gives you almost unlimited options.

Gary used a simple combination of cooked new potatoes (you could also use cold roast ones), onion, eggs and Cheddar. But this basic recipe can become a potato pizza using peppers, mushrooms, olives or whatever you like. The most important thing is to use a good omelette or frying pan.

Serves: 1 – 4

Ingredients:
5 or 6 new potatoes, cooked
1 onion, butter for frying
3 large sized eggs
1 level tsp freshly chopped parsley, optional
Salt and pepper
2-3oz (50-75g) cheddar cheese, grated

Step One : Cut the potatoes into ¼ in (5mm) thick slices. Slice the onion. Heat 6 in (15cm) omelette or frying pan, add a small knob of butter and allow it to melt. Add the sliced onion and sauté for a few mins until golden brown.

Step Two : Beat the eggs together, adding the freshly chopped parsley, if using. Add the onions to the egg mixture and stir. Season with salt and pepper.

Step Three : Reheat the omelette or frying pan, adding another small knob of butter and allowing it to melt. Lay the sliced potatoes in the frying pan, so that they cover the base. Gently fry the potatoes on one side only, until they are a nice golden brown.

Step Four : Pour the onion and egg mixture on top of the potatoes and continue to cook on a medium heat. You will notice the egg beginning to set. After a few minutes, remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle the grated Cheddar cheese evenly over the omelette. Place the pan under a preheated grill until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown, which should take only about 1 or 2 mins.

Variation : Before grilling the omelette, thinly sliced tomatoes can be placed over the cheese. Arrange tomatoes so that they overlap and completely cover the top. The omelette can then be grilled until the tomatoes are cooked.

Step Five : Transfer the omelette to a serving plate and dish up immediately. This omelette can be for 1 or 4 people, depending on everyone’s appetite.

Some other Autumn / Winter recipes can be found in Gary’s book here …

Sweet Sherry Apple Fritters

A recipe by Gary Rhodes from Sunday Magazine.

I’m sure you’ve eaten apple fritters before but not with a sherry-based batter. To make the flavour really strong, I also like to soak the apples in neat sherry for 30 minutes. You can imagine the wonderful rich flavour of the apples. I find that they go very well with pouring cream, vanilla ice cream or yogurt ice cream, which really lifts the sherry taste.

Serves 4

Ingredients: 2 eating apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2 in (1.5cm) thick rings or 8 wedges; 4 tblsp sweet sherry; 2 eggs, size 2; 4 oz (100g) self-raising flour; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, optional; 1 oz (25g) caster sugar; Oil for deep frying; 1 tblsp icing sugar, optional

Soak the apples in the sherry for 30 minutes. Drain off the sherry and put to one side.
For the batter, beat together the eggs, flour, cinnamon, if you’re using it, and caster sugar. Add the sherry. Dip and coat the apples in batter. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180oC/350oF and fry the fritters until golden. It’s best to cook 4-5 fritters at a time and then keep them warm in a pre-heated oven while the rest are cooking.
Sprinkle on icing sugar, if you’re using it.

In honour of it being a Gary Rhodes recipe, here is a recipe book of Gary’s