Autumn around the corner

There are signs of Autumn in the garden: Trees are starting to turn,

Japanese anenomes are starting to flower,

Hawthorn berries are coming out,

mushrooms are in the lawn,

and my thoughts are turning to casseroles:

I whipped up this neck chop casserole last night and it really hit the spot.

I remember Dad feeding the neck chops to the sheep dogs which really was a waste as they slow cook so well.  The other great thing is that they are REALLY CHEAP.

These are home grown but you can easily get them from the butcher.  

You don't really even need a recipe, just get the general idea then adapt accordingly with what is languishing in the fridge.  I usually flour and season them (in a bag) and brown them in batches in olive oil in a nice heavy pot.  Remove then add a lick more olive oil and fry a chopped onion and garlic for a few minutes then add any vegies you like:  celery, carrot, leek, parsnip, pumpkin, potatoes, you get the idea.  This time I had a yellow capsicum so I threw that in: (please excuse the blackened state of my pan.   It is, as they say, well loved).

Then add a tin of chopped tomatoes (then half refill the can with water and add that), a slosh of worcestershire sauce, a spoon of tomato paste and season.  Return the chops and cook in a 160 oven for 1.5 hours, or put it in the slow cooker.  We had it with mashed pumpkin and potato and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

So hail the "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" (Keats for those who have forgotten) and we shall see what the goodies the garden will provide.  And it is probably time to collect some giant pinecones for the fires too..

Jamie (and the fatted calf, part one)

I love Jamie Oliver.  Love him.  Love his beautiful food and love that he is a man with a social conscience who puts his money where his mouth is.  Love that he fully gets flavour.  I also love that he performed an experiment that I have always wanted to do but could never be bothered.  On his website I found a recipe for beef casserole and he says that he has tried both sealing the meat first and not sealing the meat and chucking it all in.  I am delighted to report that he says there is no difference in the end result.  

Sealing casserole meat before cooking is supposed to a) seal in the juices and b) create nice brown bits on the bottom to enhance the sauce.  Which it does, but the trouble is it is a bit of a pain if you are in a hurry, because to be effective you need to put only a few pieces in at a time otherwise they stew, which at that point you don't want to happen.

So I found a bag of stewing steak from the fatted calf in the freezer (it seems like there are a thousand in there so I thought I'd better get cracking), and vaguely followed his recipe:

Beef and Root Veg Casserole (Jamie calls it Jools Favourite or some such if you want look here:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/jools-s-favourite-beef-stew )

1 onion, peeled and chopped

handful of sage leaves (don't chop)

800g stewing steak, cut into cubes

salt & pepper, flour to dust

2 parsnips, peeled and quartered (or eighths if large)

4 carrots, peeled and quartered

(He had pumpkin and new potatoes in his as well, but I didn't have either, didn't matter)

2 tblsp tomato puree

1/2 bottle nice red wine

300ml beef stock

Heat the oven to 160C.

Heat a nice heavy pot on the stove and add a tablespoon of olive oil and a knob of butter.  Add onion and sage and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until softened.

(Sorry for the blurry pic, I was having camera troubles)

Toss the meat in seasoned flour.  I do this in a plastic bag.  One tablespoon of flour should be enough.

Add meat to the pan with all the vegetables, puree, wine and stock.  Mix it all together gently.  Season with salt and pepper.  

Bring to the boil, put on the lid and cook in the oven 2-3 hours until the meat is tender.  Beautiful with mashed potatoes.  Jamie made a gremolata of chopped rosemary,  lemon zest and garlic which would have finished if off nicely.  It was utterly delicious and I suddenly realised why: grass-fed beef has such superior flavour to grain-fed.  All the more satisfying to know it is home grown too.  Always buy grass-fed beef if you can.  Worth every penny.

And since it is our 15th (gasp) wedding anniversary today I am cooking a slap-up dinner for the family, starting with some yummy looking seafood spiedini (on rosemary stalks) that Jamie did in the last issue of delicious magazine.  I'll let you know if it works.  He's a clever boy...