Chevyman

Essentials, essentials. Mine include a CD player and a few landscape photos taken by me and Mrs Chevyman.

I am of the opinion that a recipe should never be "sacred" it should be designed and modified to suit your palate(s)

So...............enjoy your Crispy Fried Beef "sans chilli"

If I wasn't meant to drive that fast, the pedal would stop half way!!

John Llewellyn Moxey

I do miss Bubble and Squeak!

Chevyman

It's easy to make. You can enjoy it anytime

If I wasn't meant to drive that fast, the pedal would stop half way!!

Dame Starry

I love bubble and squeak!
It's something that you seldom, if ever, find in a modern recipe book - so I'll reproduce a traditional one that I found in a book I have from c. 1910:

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Ingredients:

Thin slices of cold roast or boiled beef
Cold mashed potatoes
Cold greens of any kind
1 x Onion, shredded
Butter or dripping
Salt and pepper
Vinegar, if liked

Melt a little butter or fat in a frying pan, put in the meat and fry quickly until lightly browned on both sides, then remove and keep hot.

Put in the onion, fry until brown, add the potatoes and greens and season to taste.

Stir until thoroughly hot, then add a little vinegar if liked and turn onto a hot dish.

Place the slices of meat on top and serve.

Chevyman

A Creole version of Bubble And Squeak often found on menus after the weekend in Louisiana.
Ideal way of using up leftovers and easy to make

Serves four as a light lunch

Ingredients
1 small tin Red Kidney beans 8oz or 227g
1 Sprig Thyme or ½ tsp Dried Thyme
8 oz leftover Ham or Bacon, diced.
2 tbsp Cooking Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Green pepper, seeded and diced
3 sticks Celery, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 Red Chilli, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Spring onions, finely chopped

Method
Heat the oil in a medium frying pan and cook the onion, celery, garlic and peppers until the onions are soft
Drain and rinse the kidney beans under running water.
Add the beans and continue cooking for five minutes.
Add the ham or bacon with the chilli, stir thoroughly and cook gently for a further ten minutes.
Serve on a bed of cooked rice and sprinkle over with the chopped spring onion

TipsAs an alternative you could substitute some salami or chorizo for the ham
Dried red beans are an option but they will need overnight soaking , then boiling for ten minutes followed by simmering for three hours. Only then can you add them to the fried vegetables.
Include the green part of the spring onions for extra flavour

TippleA light dry white wine

If I wasn't meant to drive that fast, the pedal would stop half way!!

Chevyman

That's whetted my appetite

Any more gems from that recipe book?

If I wasn't meant to drive that fast, the pedal would stop half way!!

Dame Starry

I found one for 'Rook Pie' - but I thought of "The Two Ronnies" sketch and I can't stop laughing!

I must confess, I didn't know you could do so much with eel!

DS x.

John Llewellyn Moxey

Thank you Dear Dame! I shall keep this and raid the shops.

John

Chevyman

Some of the older cookery books fetch a lot of money now. Escoffier is particularly expensive. Even Marco Pierre White's (more recent I know) catalogue is largely out of print.

Some of the ingredients in the Edwardian cook books are difficult to find.

I have a copy of "Kathy Webber's TV Times Cookery Book from the 70s. I must scan the cover and put it on here. Bear in mind that garlic and fresh herbs had only been "allowed" recently in the British Kitchen at that time. I still use it but find that I have to add a little to most of the recipes

If I wasn't meant to drive that fast, the pedal would stop half way!!

Dame Starry

Mine's an old Mrs Beeton's; it tells you how to organise the servants, how to equip and furnish the home and how much everything costs.
It also prices all the recipes.
I've seen it on e-Bay for £60 - but the one for sale was in one piece! Unfortunately, mine was dessicated by the time I got it and, because I had the audacity to actually use it, it is now in several pieces and I have to keep it in a bag.
However, it's worth more to me as a reference book than a bit of cash that would just be spent and forgotten.

I have several other books with recipes for things like hair restorer and freckle-removers!

DS x.

Chevyman

For you John. This is the scandinavian version. Not worth buying the main ingredients. More for using them up


This is a very traditional Scandinavian dish. It is so simple and very good. Great recipe for re-cycling left over roasts etc. Add some peas or some mushrooms, any left over veggies. The fried egg is optional, but does add to the experience


Serves four

Ingredients
3 ounces butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 ½ lbs cooked cold potatoes, diced
1 lb cooked leftover meat
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
4 fried eggs (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Melt the 1/2 the butter in a large frying pan
Add the onions and sauté until golden.
Remove from pan and keep warm.
Put the remaining butter in the skillet and sauté the potatoes until they are turning brown.
Add meat and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the onions and cook until all is heated through.
Traditionally, you put a lightly fried egg on top of the hash, but while this isn't necessary for the dish it IS a delicious addition.
In Sweden this is usually accompanied by some pickled beetroot

Tips

If you want to keep an eye on your lipid intake use a polyunsaturated oil or margarine instead of the butter
Works particularly well with lamb

If I wasn't meant to drive that fast, the pedal would stop half way!!

Dame Starry

I actually make my bubble & squeak in bulk - in little cakes (like fishcakes), coat them in flour and egg and then I freeze them.
Very handy.

DS x.

Harbottle

Never had B&S with mashed tatties and onion At the risk of a smack across the back of my hand with a spoon, surely it should be made with left over roast spuds?

Dame Starry

In 1910, they didn't actually roast potatoes - and I can't find out exactly when the practice started.
However, in another book I have dated 1935, there are 2 recipes for 'Browned Potatoes' using cooked, cold potatoes and baking them in the oven in fat. One with whole or sliced potatoes and the other with mashed.

They roasted meat and they made Yorkshire pudding - but they didn't roast potatoes in the early 20th Century, so they wouldn't have used them for B&S then; mash, onion and cabbage are the traditional ingredients.
I add chopped grilled bacon to mine.

I hope that answers your query, Harbottle.

DS x.

John Llewellyn Moxey

Sounds interesting and tasty!! Thanks Chevy, I will try it.

John