Check out the baby aisle in the supermarket/cheap shops for tiny pots – inexpensive and don't take up space in your freezer.
Here are the hints, tips and photos!
Not a lover of garlic because it can be too strong or even bitter?
If you roast garlic it becomes sweet and delicious – here's the science!
It all boils down to the presence of allicin, the sulphur compound responsible for that instantly recognisable garlicky taste. Those all important garlic enzymes are inactivated by heat, and the allicin compound is destroyed during cooking. Garlic mellows as it cooks and is most pungent in its fresh, raw form.
Some may recognise “Allium” a genus of flowering plants which includes the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, leek and chives. Allium is the Latin word for garlic.
Moving on, you might think this recipe is a faff in itself since you have to “pop” the garlic cloves from the bulb and box, preferably in tiny pots – messy I know - I can only say it's worth it.
Roasted Garlic
2 bulbs of garlic
olive oil/rapeseed oil for drizzling
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme - optional
salt and black pepper
Pre-heat your oven to 200c/180f/Gas 6.
Slice the tops off the bulbs or not, as you wish and place in a small ovenproof dish, garlic roaster or foil dish so that they fit snugly. Drizzle with oil and season with thyme, salt and black pepper.
Roast in the oven for about an hour – until the garlic has softened.
Squeeze the garlic cloves out of the bulb. It's a good idea to wear gloves and to have a compostable bag ready for disposal. To store in the fridge, add a little more oil and keep in a screw top jar.
You can use the paste in the same way as you'd use fresh garlic – the difference is that the roasted version is sweeter and ready to use!
The paste will keep in your fridge for one to two weeks or you can freeze in tiny pots.
If, like me, you forget to take stuff out of the freezer another plus here is that because the pots are so tiny they don't take long at all to defrost!
Speaking of freezing and tiny pots ...
Toppings on pies are a serious business - shall it be mash - if not then what?
Two of the fundamentals that I still use are baking jacket potatoes (usually six - large) in foil whilst my oven is already on. The other is grating a large box/bag of mature cheddar cheese and fridge it. You create a very useful stash!
It may seem trivial but I have found these two “bits” invaluable – for example, with the potatoes, the principle is if your oven is on, with a roast chicken, roast spuds and parsnips, stuffing et al, you can always find space for jacket potatoes. Bake for an hour and a half then test – you want your paring knife to move firmly through the potatoes. Remove them and set aside to cool – bear in mind they will continue cooking because they are insulated by the foil. When cool they can be bagged and fridged.
Which brings me to the title of this piece. You don't have to have a mashed potato topping for your Snug Shepherd or your Cosy Cottage – you can slice a couple of jackets from your stash, peeled or not for a “top” and then use some of your grated cheese to complete!
If you choose a mashed potato topping and you want it lump free then put the pototoes through a ricer – don't add milk or butter. Set aside to cool.
You can add grated mature cheddar cheese, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and black pepper to the riced potato before you complete your pie. If you want added flavour to zhuzh the mash you could add a finely diced onion softened in a little unsalted butter and a tiny drop of rapeseed oil.
Mashed potato seems to be on “the definite list” - definitely yes you love it or definitely no you hate it! If you're in the no camp then try the sliced baked potatoes.
This is my favourite method of winter cooking especially when you want a meal as quickly as possible when you arrive home – turn on your oven to pre-heat when you've taken off your coat and by the time you've juggled a few more balls or spun a few more plates your shepherd or cottage – posh or not - is in the oven - ready for the hungry hordes.
Whether mashed or baked the beauty of this dish is it can be made and assembled ahead and then baked in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 30 mins.
Simple stuff but it hits the winter comfort spot.
Whilst I'm on the subject of saving time here's another tip – always providing you like garlic!
Depending on what you fancy, the following is for either a “Snug Shepherd” or a “Cosy Cottage” – minced lamb for the shepherd and minced beef for the cottage – pie that is!
A Shepherd or a Cottage
700g minced lamb or beef (or Quorn)
1 tbsp rapeseed oil (Canola USA)
2 tbsps Madeira
2 tbsps Ruby Port
2 tsps Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsps tomato paste
2 lamb, beef or veggie stock pots
50-100 ml water
Using a large frying pan and preferably one that is suitable for transfer to the oven. Heat the oil and then add the mince and brown, turning until thoroughly browned. Add the Madeira and the Port and bring to the boil for 2/3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and the stock pots and mix well until absorbed and melted.
Your filling should not be too dry but not too wet either. You should be able to see tiny puddles of liquid. If you need to add water then add it gradually – you can add more you can't remove it!
It's difficult to predict how much fat there'll be in minced meat. Lamb, generally speaking, will have more than beef.
You can transfer the filling into a foil tray or, as I did, leave it in the frying pan.
As a guide, my frying pan that is suitable for hob and oven is 28cms in diameter – 3 very large appetites or 4 normal.
I feel the need to describe the “puddles” :
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See them glistening – not too wet but definitely not too dry.
Next - to mash or not to mash, that is the question!
This is a speedy supper that won't break the bank and thrifty too – it only takes 20 minutes!
Cheat's Chilli
650g minced beef or Quorn mince
glug of rapeseed oil
*½ tsp each of cumin, coriander
and cinnamon
*500g carton of passata
*1 can of red kidney beans
60ml sweet chilli sauce
l large onion, finely chopped
1 Knorr garlic flavour pot
*¼ tsp chilli powder
Only piece of kit required – a large frying pan.
Heat the rapeseed oil, add the onion and garlic and soften on a moderate heat for 2/3 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chilli and cook to allow the spices to release their umph!
Add the minced beef and break up and mix thoroughly to ensure that the mince is browned. Add the passata and the sweet chilli sauce, mix again, finally add the beans – bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally .
Variations
Add 50g of dark chocolate broken into small
pieces and drop into simmering chilli to enrich
Use spiced mixed beans instead of red
kidney beans
Add 150g of diced chorizo – (remember you can
get Plant Chorizo Puppies) (reduce the amount of minced
beef to 500g). Fry off the chorizo first until it begins
to crisp and set aside - the rapeseed oil is not necessary since
you're making use of the oil released from the chorizo – continue
with the recipe adding the onion, garlic and spices
as above, add the chorizo back when the mince is
browned
Add a topping of sour cream
Serve with bread of your choice or wraps or how about tacos?
Why not serve with a raw slaw!
If this doesn't disappear it'll be a miracle. If by some chance there are any leftovers, freeze portions in microwave boxes.
By the way those ingredients marked * are great store cupboard items!
OR … perhaps you'd prefer a Shepherd or a Cottage?
… the humble onion salad :
Onion Salad
2 medium onions, finely chopped -
weight 150g per onion approximately
salt and black pepper
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tomato paste
pinch of chill powder
Place the onions in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Place the salad in sealed airtight containers and store in a cool place.
The secret to this salad is that you should not serve it for at least a day, preferably two after making it. It's important that the orange and lemon juice and the tomato paste are allowed to “mature” - leaving to infuse takes away any harshness from the onion and the tomato paste.
This is a perfect accompaniment for any curry.
Here it is :
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If you are a lover of all things spicy then this onion salad is excellent with cold meats or, best of all, with a strong mature cheddar cheese.
It's a match made in heaven – koftas, curry and two sides as well.
Next – if you don't fancy a curry what about a Cheat's Chilli?
Here's a photo guide of the original Bombay Aloo :
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the beginning
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the middle
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the end
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in an individual pot, ready to roll!
It's a win win – you use up any potatoes and produce a dish that will go down a storm – an added bonus - if you cook it on purpose it doesn't break the bank – I love it when a thrifty plan comes together especially when it tastes so good!
The final side ...
