100 days of food stories, day 9 - Hugs in a bowl!

Hugs in a bowl - echoes of Betty's Hot Pot from Coronation Street.

​Today I bring you ‘Big Hugs in Bowls’ good old fashioned cooking to warm us up on these dull January days.

Lamb Hotpot.
​(Echoes of Betty's Hotpot from Coronation Street)
Makes 4.

Ingredients:
900 grms stewing lamb.
100 grms of butter.
6 lambs kidneys, sliced & fat removed.
2 onions peeled & sliced.
4 carrots, peeled & sliced.
25 grms flour.
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce.
500 mls chicken stock.
2 bay leaves.
Salt & pepper. 
900 grms of potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced.

Method:

1. Melt 1/2 the butter in a pan & brown off the lamb. Remove onto a plate & then brown off the kidneys and remove.
2. Add a little oil to the pan and fry off the onions & carrots.
3. Sprinkle over the flour & cook for a few minutes.
4. Then add Worcestershire sauce , chicken stock, seasoning. 
5. Bring to the boil, add back in the lamb & kidney & bay leaves.
6. Pour into casserole dishes (either 1 large one or 4 individual ones). Arrange sliced potatoes on top.  Dot the other 1/2 of the butter on top of the potatoes.
7. Cover with foil & pop into a preheated oven (175 cen) for 90 minutes. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, remove foil so that the potatoes crisp up.

                            

Hugs in a Bowl - Beef & Guinness Casserole with bacon dumplings.

Beef & Guinness Casserole with bacon dumplings.
​Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil.
1 kg of stewing beef.
1 chopped onion.
4 carrots, peeled & roughly chopped.
3 celery sticks cut into bite sized chunks.
3 tablespoons flour.
500 mls of Guinness.
25 grms of dark chocolate (really brings a richness to the casserole)
500 mls of beef stock.
Large sprig of thyme.

Dumplings:
125 grms flour.
100 grms of finely chopped bacon.
1 teaspoon thyme.
60 grms grated butter.
1 egg yolk.
1 tablespoon water.
Chopped parsley.

Method:

1. Heat oil in pan & fry off the beef in batches, remove & set aside.
2. Tip in the onions, celery & carrots. 
3. Add the flour & give everything a good stir.
4. Add stock, Guinness , chocolate & thyme & season.
5. Add the beef back in & give everything a good stir.
6. Pour into casserole dish (large or individual), cover with foil & pop into oven @ 160 for 2 hours.
7. To make the dumplings fry off the bacon, cool. Rub the butter into the flour, then add bacon, thyme, parsley, egg yolk & the water. Bring everything together & shape into balls.
8. 20 minutes before the casserole is ready, remove from the oven & remove tin foil. Pop in the dumplings and return uncovered to the oven.
9. The dumplings will plump up & the casserole will be ready.

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