15 minute read
Recipes
Welsh Beef madras
Serves 4-6 Prep time 20 minutes Cook time 2 hours 30 minutes
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Ingredients
• 675g PGI Welsh Beef chuck steak, cubed • Seasoning • 2 tbsp oil • 2 large onions, peeled and sliced • 1 red pepper, diced • 3 garlic cloves, crushed • Fresh root ginger (3cm piece), grated • 1 tbsp ground turmeric • 1 tbsp garam masala • 1 tsp ground cumin • 1 red chilli, finely chopped • ½ tsp chilli flakes • 400g tin of chopped tomatoes • 1 tbsp tomato purée • 400ml beef stock
To serve
• Natural yogurt • Fresh coriander leaves, chopped • Rice • Side salad of diced tomato, cucumber and red onion
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large pan or flameproof casserole dish, add the beef and fry until browned. Add the seasoning, onion, pepper, garlic, ginger and spices and stir gently for a few minutes. 2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid or foil and continue cooking on the hob or place in the oven at 180˚C / fan 160˚C / Gas 4. Cook for approximately 2 hours 30 minutes until the beef is tender. You may need to add a little extra stock.
3. Spoon into bowls, add a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with chopped coriander.
Serve with rice and a side salad of diced tomato, cucumber and red onion.
Tip: This recipe is also suitable for the slow cooker
Festive porc traybake
Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cooking Time: 40 minutes
This one tray meal is ideal for festive family mealtimes, when all you want is to enjoy some hearty food that will cook away on its own while you put your feet up!
Ingredients
• 4 porc cutlets or chops • 8-12 pigs in blankets
For the marinade:
• 2 satsumas, juiced • 1 tbsp oil • 1 tsp ground cinnamon • 1 tbsp honey
For the vegetables:
quartered • 350g small potatoes • 2 red onions, cut into wedges • 250g sprouts, halved if large • 2 pears, quartered • 2 satsumas, halved • 2 tbsp oil • seasoning • 1 tsp dried sage
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 180ºC fan /
Gas 6.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the porc cutlets or chops, ensuring both sides are coated. Leave to stand for at least 20 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. 3. Place the potatoes and parsnips in a pan of boiling water and cook for 8 minutes, then drain.
4. In a large bowl mix together the oil, seasoning and dried sage. Add all the fruit and vegetables, including the potatoes and parsnips; mix well and transfer into a roasting tray.
5. Place the porc and pigs in blankets on top of the vegetables, add any remaining marinade, and cook for approximately 30 minutes until the meat is cooked.
6. After 30 minutes remove the porc and loosely wrap it in foil to rest. Check that the vegetables are cooked and browned – you may need to put them back in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
7. Serve spooned into shallow bowls accompanied by some chunky fresh bread.
Christmas spiced Welsh Lamb casserole
Prep time: 25 mins Cook time: approx. 2 hrs 30 mins Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
• 650g PGI Welsh Lamb trimmed boneless shoulder or boneless neck fillets, cut into cubes • 2 red onions, peeled and sliced • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed • 3cm fresh ginger, grated • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped • 1 tsp ground cinnamon • Seasoning • 300ml lamb stock • 300ml mulled wine (or extra stock) • Bouquet garni made with 2 cinnamon sticks, sprig of rosemary and bunch of thyme • 2 star anise • 100g medjool dates, halved • 75g dried cranberries • 100g plum tomatoes, cut into wedges • 1 tbsp brown sugar
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan /
Gas 4.
2. Place the lamb, onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, cinnamon and seasoning in a slow cooker or in an ovenproof casserole dish. Stir, then add the mulled wine and stock.
3. Make the bouquet garni by tying the cinnamon sticks and herbs together with string. 4. Place the bouquet garni in the casserole dish with the star anise. Stir well. Cover with a lid and place in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes – 2 hours until the meat is fairly tender (in a slow cooker: 2 hours on the high setting or 4 hours on the low setting).
5. Remove the lid and add the dates, cranberries, tomatoes and sugar. Stir well.
6. Cover with the lid and return to the oven for a further 45 minutes (1 hour in the slow cooker).
7. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes.
Tip: Suitable to cook in the oven or slow cooker.
Parsnip, Pecan and Polenta Loaf
Christmas Eve. I like the light this morning with the sun low in the sky. With presents still unwrapped and family to visit, I wander through the woods seeking stillness. Tonight, I’ll make a festive loaf for tomorrow’s lunch, or in all likelihood, dinner. We’ve always eaten late on Christmas Day, taking our time to open presents and enjoy a couple of drinks. Tomorrow, we’ll take a morning stroll, so I need something ready to pop in the oven while I make the side dishes.
This loaf is rich and moist – much tastier than turkey in my opinion – and it really sings for its supper. I make this listening to Carols from Kings, a tradition as familiar to me as Santa and stockings. This is Christmas.
1 hour 30 minutes, plus cooling time | Serves 3-4
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil • 1 small carrot, peeled and diced • 3 shallots, peeled and diced • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed • 4-5 fresh sage leaves, snipped with scissors
(or use 1 tsp dried sage) • 1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained • 3-4 large parsnips (around 300g), peeled and grated • 100g quick-cook polenta • 1 tsp ground allspice • 1 tbsp apple cider or balsamic vinegar • 2 tbsp olive oil • 2 tbsp maple syrup • The juice of 1 orange • 150g pecans • 50ml oat milk • Salt and pepper)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf tin, and then line it with a piece of greaseproof paper cut to fit the length of the pan. In a large pan, fry the shallots, garlic, sage and carrot in the oil over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
2. Tip the chickpeas into a large bowl and roughly mash. Add the grated parsnip and all the other ingredients (apart from the pecans), plus the fried shallot mixture and stir well. If the mixture seems dry, add a little more oat milk or water and mix again. Take half the pecans and roughly break into pieces, then tip into the mixture and stir well. Press all of the loaf mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Pack it down as firmly as you can as this will help it hold together after cooling.
3. Bake the loaf uncovered for 45-50 minutes until the edges start to darken and the loaf is semi-firm to the touch. Place the loaf tin directly onto a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Then, slide a knife around the ends to loosen, and carefully lift out the loaf tin (using the greaseproof paper as ‘handles’) and place it directly onto the cooling rack for another 30 minutes.
Decorate the top of the loaf with the rest of the pecans.
4. After cooling, carefully slice the loaf into slabs and serve. Drizzle over a little extra maple syrup when serving, if you like.
Recipe from The Seasonal Vegan, Sarah Philipott. Published by Seren. £12.99.
Chocolate Yule Log
With the festive season fast approaching, it’s a good time to brush up on your baking skills. Inspired by The Great British Bake Off, this is a chance for you to spend some quality time in the kitchen baking a family treat: a chocolate yule log.
Ingredients
For the sponge:
• 3 large eggs • 75g caster sugar • 50g plain flour • 25g cocoa powder
Cream filling:
• 300g Double cream • 150g Caster sugar
Ganache topping:
• 300g Double Cream • 300g Dark chocolate
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4
2. Grease and line a 16 x 28cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment or a kitchen aid as doing this by hand can take some time.
4. Using an electric whisk, mix the eggs and sugar together until they become pale and thick. Then add half of the flour/coco powder mix into the egg mixture and use a metal spoon to lightly stir in, cutting through the mix then folding onto itself.
5. This technique ensures the flour is fully and carefully mixed into the eggs without over-beating the mixture. Over-beating will make the baked sponge dense and stop it from rising. 6. Add the remaining flour and continue with the folding.
7. Pour the mixture into the tin and spread evenly, again doing this gently ensuring that the tin is as even as possible.
8. Bake in the oven for around 10-12 minutes, until golden and firm. If the sponge is over-baked it will crack once rolled.
9. The ganache should comprise equal quantities of cream and chocolate.
10. Heat up the double cream until it comes to a boil, then pour over the chocolate and whisk together. 11. Whisk up some double cream with some caster sugar for the filling.
12. Once the sponge is ready remove from the oven and tip out onto a sugared baking parchment, which will stop it stocking when being rolled.
13. When cooled, peel off the lined paper and spread the cream over the sponge. Try not to over fill and leave some space around the edge of the sponge as, when it’s being rolled, the mix will spread to the sides.
14. Start on the short edge and fold over the corner, using the parchment paper to help roll the sponge towards you, which is easier control. Continue until the whole sponge is rolled, then pour over the ganache and use a fork to spread, giving it a wood effect.
Techniques used: folding, whisking and baking.
Baking a chocolate yule log develops skills learnt by apprentices when working towards a Foundation Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery Level 2 and covers preparing, cooking and finishing basic cakes, sponges, biscuits and scones. For more information about Apprenticeships contact Cambrian Training Company at
cambriantraining.com or Tel: 01938 555893
Walnut Turrón and Chestnut Honey Parfait, Salted Walnut Brittle, Riojapoached Pears
Serves 8
Turrón, a type of nougat, is famous throughout Spain, where it is considered a must-have at Easter and Christmas. It comes in two basic different forms – soft, which has the consistency of peanut butter, and hard, which resembles peanut brittle. It is a great snack to enjoy with a coffee, but we also love to incorporate it into things such as ice creams and parfaits, and to use it in ‘liquid’ form for spreading. The dessert is handy to have in the freezer, and the salted brittle keeps well in an airtight container.
Ingredients
• 3 eggs, separated • 2 tsp caster sugar, plus an extra pinch • 100g chestnut honey • 1 vanilla pod, split open lengthways • 310ml double cream
For the walnut brittle
• 145g caster sugar • 125ml water • 100g walnuts, lightly crushed
For the poached pears
• ½ bottle (375ml) young unoaked Rioja or other unoaked red wine • 65g granulated sugar • 2 cloves • 1 cinnamon stick • 1 strip of lemon zest • 1 vanilla pod, reserved from parfait • 3 hard, squat pears, preferably Comice or
Williams • Lemon juice, to taste
Method
1. First make the walnut brittle. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Continue heating and stirring until it develops into a caramel the colour of light mahogany.
When it reaches this point, remove immediately from the heat. 2. Place a large sheet of non-stick baking parchment on a work surface. Place the walnuts in a bowl and stir in all the liquid caramel. Pour the mixture onto the parchment and spread thinly. This will harden to form the brittle. When set, use a rolling pin to break it into pieces. Transfer these to a blender and blitz into coarse grains.
3. To make the parfait, place the egg yolks, caster sugar, chestnut honey and vanilla seeds in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until the mixture becomes light and frothy, before then thickening into a custard consistency. Remove from the heat.
4. Place the egg whites in another bowl, add a pinch of extra caster sugar and whisk into soft peaks. In another bowl, whisk the cream into soft peaks.
5. Fold the walnut caramel grains into the custard, then fold in the whipped cream, and finally the whipped egg whites. Pour the mixture into a lidded plastic container and place in the freezer overnight, making sure it is flat. 6. To make the poached pears, put the wine in a pan with the sugar, spices and lemon zest and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
Meanwhile, peel, halve and core the pears and add them to the wine mixture. Place a circle of baking parchment directly on top of the fruit and cook over a medium heat until a knife goes into the pears with only a little resistance. The time this takes can vary, depending on the ripeness of the fruit.
7. Transfer the pears to a plate to cool, then reduce the liquor in the pan to a syrupy consistency. Add some lemon juice, tasting until you reach your preference.
8. Cut the cooled pears into small dice and add to the wine syrup.
9. To serve, add a slice of parfait to each plate, then top with the pears in wine syrup.
Recipe from Bar 44 Tapas y Copas, Owen and Tom Morgan. Published by Seren. £25.00 Photo by Matt Inwood.
Pot Roast Pheasant
PREP TIME 15 minutes COOK TIME 1 hr 20 minutes INGREDIENTS Serving 4 - 6
Ingredients
• 2 ready to roast pheasant (800-900g) • 20g salted butter • 4 slices smoked streaky bacon or pancetta • 1 large leek • 3 sticks celery • 2 carrots • 2 bay leaves • 6 sprigs thyme • 350ml chicken stock • 150ml dry Welsh white wine
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (160C fan)
2. Prepare the vegetables by peeling and chopping into the same size pieces around 3cm each and roughly chop the bacon into similar size pieces.
3. In an ovenproof dish (large enough to hold both birds) melt half the butter over medium to high heat and brown the pheasant on all sides for about 8-10 minutes then remove and set aside. 4. Add the remaining butter then add the bacon, celery and carrots for 10 minutes until they begin to soften then add the leek and stir well and remove from the heat. Lay both pheasants on top of the vegetables and bacon and season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour over the stock, wine and herbs and put a lid on top of the dish and roast for 1 hour until the bird is cooked through.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving
6. Remove the pheasant from the dish and carve and serve with the vegetables and jus along with mashed potatoes.
UNIQUELY WELSH. FREE TO GRAZE...
Welsh livestock farmers know that if you look after the environment, the environment will look after you.
For centuries, they have played a pivotal role in creating and maintaining the spectacularly beautiful rural landscapes that we know and love, and their sustainable management has helped create a diverse rural environment that is rich in wildlife and visitor-friendly, thanks to a network of footpaths maintained by farmers. While the impact of agriculture on climate change is currently a very hot topic, it’s important to remember that there are huge variations in the environmental impact of different farming systems across the world, with Wales being especially suited for rearing cattle and sheep. Here are some key differences between the Welsh way of agriculture and that found in other parts of the world…
The vast majority (80%) of Welsh farmland is unsuitable for growing
crops, therefore raising cattle and sheep is the most efficient way to turn marginal land into high quality food.
unlike other parts of the world, where water resources are depleted or significant land is used to grow feed, Welsh sheep and cattle are overwhelmingly reared on our natural resources – grass and rainwater.
Grassland in the Welsh hills captures carbon from the atmosphere,
and Welsh farmers make a positive contribution to mitigating climate change; managing this grassland by combining traditional practices with new innovation.
The Welsh way of farming has a very different story to tell compared with some of the intensive and industrial systems found in other parts of the world. With high standards of animal husbandry and pasture land management, our family-run farms have helped preserve our unique landscape for generations, and will continue to do so for generations to come.
