Savoy Cabbage Pilaf

... a little puzzle.

I have a Savoy cabbage to eat and visiting family. Vegetarian visiting family, which on the face of it is simple: cook the cabbage, dinner done! While delicious, it's not especially nutritious and so, time for something fringe ancestral yet highly vegetarian.

I have a bag of "Broth Mix" which would appear to be a mix of spelt, lentils and peas. I also have regular white rice. With a few other ingredients, a well rounded dish with good macronutirent distribution can be made.

... and so I made up a sort of spelt, rice and lentil risotto, cabbage, avocado and tomato stirred in.

Start out with some good fat, coconut oil in my case, into which you soften a chopped onion and a few cloves of crushed garlic. Add the dry ingredients, add some bouillon, black pepper and water to cook through.

When the risotto is soft, stir through shredded cabbage and cook through for a few minutes.

Just prior to serving, stir through some chopped fresh parsley, cubed avocado and chopped tomato. Garnish with a good blob of soured cream and some paprika.

Beef Gulyás [Redux]

You're seeing a theme here, right?

Yes, I'm re-doing all manner of old recipes ... just to see how they play through and what improvements can be made. I don't "do" recipes, but my rambling method still appears comprehensible ... just ...

With a bargain parcel of braising beef, £1.78 for something like a pound of meat I couldn't pass it up. Lovely cut, firm, striped with fat ... I could just see all that fat slow melting out and thickening up any stew.

What better than Gulyás? Goulash, Anglicised.

First, a little history ...

Goulash, or Gulyás, is a Hungarian meat stew seasoned with paprika.

Bográcsgulyás is a thick stew made by cattle herders and stockmen, the Bográc being the large metal cooking cauldron that the Gulyás is cooked in.

Favouring fattier cuts of meat where the collagen turns into gelatin while cooking, goulash is not thickened with any kind of roux.

Earlier in the day, I defrosted some beef stock I had in the freezer - this was the cooking juices from a piece of brisket.

Into an ovenproof dish, I added chopped onion, garlic, black pepper, coriander, paprika, lots of paprika, some smoked paprika, smoked sea salt and the beef, chopped into inch square pieces. Yes, all raw, no pre-cooking, no sealing ... all the flavour wants to permeate into the meat as it slowly cooks through the day.

Pour over the stock until the whole stew is covered.

Lid on and into the over set to 125C for a few hours. I say a few hours, I think I had four or five hours before taking the lid off and raising the heat, adding in a couple of final ingredients for the last hour of cooking and reducing.

For that last hour, temperature raised to 175C, I added some chopped green pepper (capsicum) and a good squirt of tomato purée.

After that final hour, serve out ...

Rather than serving over greens, I mounded some vegetables into the middle: carrots and sautéed potatoes. Garnish with parsley.

Beef Gulyás

I got some really cheap beef from the supermarket - good Scotch beef, mixed cuts, several dog ends ... all the good stuff that just like long and slow cooking.

I also got some lamb kidneys, which are not traditionally included in the Hungarian Gulyás, but I can't believe peasant Hungarians would not include some offals, so in they went ...

Hungarians? Yeah ... Gulyás, or Goulash, is a Hungarian meat stew seasoned with paprika.

Bográcsgulyás is a thick stew made by cattle herders and stockmen, the Bográc being the large metal cooking cauldron that the Gulyás is cooked in. Favouring fattier cuts of meat where the collagen turns into gelatin while cooking, goulash is not thickened with any kind of roux.

Fire up your Bográc!

I began by browning off the beef in some lamb fat (lamb fat? yes, from a shoulder I skimmed off almost a whole ramekin from a while ago), then tossing in the kidneys.

Next, sprinkle loads of good Hungarian smoked paprika over, some cayenne (just a little), black pepper, some smoked garlic, minced and stir around.

Wet is up with a little beef stock to stop it sticking.

Next, a couple of large tomatoes, diced. I also added a little bit of tomato puree and some Worcestershire sauce ... or coconut aminos if you've got a bottle in. Fresh, chopped parsley, too.

Drop in some onion - mine were some of those small onions

Shred a red pepper. I used Romano pepper.

Fold together and transfer to an ovenproof dish, topping up with beef stock, a couple of bay leaves and a good piece of lemon rind.

Into the oven at 125C for ... well ... as long as it takes.

I put it in about 15:00 and we'll probably eat around 19:30. For the last couple of hours, take the lid off to let it reduce, thicken and go all gorgeous. Optionally, in the last hour, drop in some quartered potatoes - Maris Piper is perfect.

Just before serving, stir in some soured cream and some fresh parsley.

Serve with? I've got a nice Savoy cabbage which will get shredded and boiled. Mine will have some sauerkraut folded through it; my Mrs does not like sauerkraut.

Venison & Beef Goulash

First, a little history ...

Goulash, or Gulyás, is a Hungarian meat stew seasoned with paprika.

Bográcsgulyás is a thick stew made by cattle herders and stockmen, the Bográc being the large metal cooking cauldron that the Gulyás is cooked in.

Favouring fattier cuts of meat where the collagen turns into gelatin while cooking, goulash is not thickened with any kind of roux.

This is starting to sound perfectly paleo ... in fact, so perfectly paleo it would be a shame to include traditional potato in the stew, even if us paleo plussers and primals are quite happy with this.

Let's make it really pure, both in terms of paleo and in terms of the heritage of the dish ...

Right, get your Bográc out! I jest - a heavy based lidded sauté pan is fine, and this is what I used.

Begin by softening some onion in some pork fat or beef dripping, and in another skillet, brown off the meat in stages and add to the main cooking pan.

I guess traditionally, the meat would simply get bunged into the Bográc, spices thrown over, water poured in and then left to cook, veggies and herbs tossed in later on.

How much? Well, I went with a couple of pounds of diced beef and one large onion. I then had the genius idea of chucking in about a pound of venison and so added another half onion.

So, that's your onion and meat ...

Next, some herbs, spices and garlic.

I went with a good bunch of parsley, roughly chopped until I got down to the stems and then fine chopped, several cloves of garlic and then the key ingredient: smoked paprika, which I procured from a Polish deli, although I suspect paprika is paprika is paprika, but it's nice to get something from the right part of the world.

I also added in a finely chopped Romano Pepper, a long sweet red pepper, and some shredded pepperoni for a spicy bite, more fat and the rounding flavour that it brings. I figured Hungarian herdsmen would have a spicy sausage in their bag for flavour.

Beef stock (about a pint) and a damn good grind of black pepper, top up with water, bring to the boil and then raise your Bográc up, off the fire, or turn the burner down to low.

That's it ... get about your day.

I went for a good walk over to a local vantage point called Beacon Hill - about eight miles round trip. So, maybe three hours later, maybe four, I get home and the meat is really tender.

Lid off, heat up and get it reducing. Your goulash should have a thick, gelatinous sauce by the time it hits the plate. Just before serving, check for saltiness and add in some fresh parsley.

Veggies! I cubed some swede, boiled it, mashed it and served it out with a generous number of butter cubes over the top.

Gorgeous! Another time I will simply cook this over an open fire.