CHILL FOOD WITH MEL MORRIS
November 15th, 2004 by susanna
As the nights draw in, we all start to crave the comfort of warming soups, stews and casseroles. These staples of traditional British cooking should be a delight for any cook because not only do they allow you to use the cheapest of meat and seasonal veg, but they can also be made in advance for a quick microwaveable meal later in the week. However, there is a reason why British food is seen as dull by our European and Antipodean cousins. All too often our soups and stews lack flavour, are full of soggy vegetables and unappetising ingredients. Here is my guide on how to cook soups, stews and casseroles with bags of flavour to keep you smiling through the winter months.
Always fry your ‘aromatics’. Aromatics are the things you add that have strong flavours; typical aromatics are onions, garlic, celery, herbs and spices. Frying releases the oils that carry the flavours and adds sweetness. The process always takes longer than you think it should. The base of a good soup or stew needs at least 10 minutes very gentle frying – and give it longer if you can. Take care that nothing burns or starts to take on colour at this stage and that you have a big enough pot for everything to fry rather than steam.
Remember that flavours you extract at the frying stage will be diluted when you add your water or stock later. Make sure you use lots of aromatics now and plenty of each one you use, one clove of garlic won’t taste of anything once diluted so be generous, if the flavour is too strong you can always dilute a soup further but adding flavour at the end is almost impossible. But don’t add salt at this stage, wait until the end of cooking time, a salty soup or stew is horrible and seems to be one flavour that is very hard to dilute!
One phrase to bear in mind when cooking soups, stews and casseroles is ‘do not add anything which does not add flavour.’ Try to avoid using water; stocks (even if just from a cube) are better than water. Wine, beers or ciders can also be added to meat or veggies to make wonderful winter dishes.
A thin soup, stew or casserole can be reduced by vigorous boiling but adding some small pieces of potato is a good way to thicken a dish too.
To avoid soggy vegetables bear in mind how long things take to cook. Adding vegetables like cabbage towards the end of cooking will add an extra dimension to your dish and keep the texture of the vegetable palatable.
Soups do not need to take forever. Clear, oriental style soups, with or without noodles can be made in a few minutes. Chilli, lime juice and a little fish sauce added to water and vegetables gives you an easy tom yam soup that’s ready in minutes.
When buying cheaper cuts of meat for your stew or casserole it’s worth considering tenderising the meat before you begin. This can be done in a variety of ways. You can bash it about a bit to break down some of the tougher fibres. Marinating can help tenderise meat too especially if you use a marinade that has an acidic ingredient such as wine, fruit juice or tomatoes. Some meat can also benefit from hanging, if you are in doubt about this ask your butcher.
Once your meat is tender you don’t want to undo this work by incorrect cooking. Meat should never be taken straight from the fridge and thrown into a hot pan. This causes the fibres to contract quickly and toughens the meat. Allow meat to reach room temperature before cooking. You might also want to consider frying your meat before adding liquids. This gives the meat a more pleasing appearance in a finished dish, helps seal in juices and flavours and add more flavour to the finished dish. Again this process seems to take longer than you think it will so allow time and allow space so that the meat fries rather than steams.
If using pulses or dried beans remember that they will take up water and swell a lot. Too many pulses can leave you with a stodgy, overly strong, but quite dull dish so use sparingly. A good way to make sure you have the right amount is to soak them overnight before using in your recipe.
Get creative. There is a reason why the current food trends are around unusual ingredients, bizarre mixes of flavours and fusion foods – it tastes good. A little vodka added to a tomato soup makes it a bloody mary broth, indian spices can really liven up a root vegetable stew and some chorizo added to a fairly standard coq au vin makes it into something completely different.
So, now I expect I’ve got your tastebuds going, here are this month’s recipes:
Black Bean soup (serves 2/3 as a main course)
You will need
Half a packet of dried black beans
1 stick of celery chopped
1 onion chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1-2 fresh red birds eye chilli finely chopped
2 rashers of smoked bacon finely chopped (optional)
1 large bunch of coriander
2 bay leaves
2 pints vegetable stock
Olive oil
The night before put your beans to soak following the instructions on the packet. Put a good drizzle of olive oil in a large pan. Gently fry the onion, celery, garlic, chilli and bay leaves for at least ten minutes. Add the bacon and fry until cooked, take care not to let any of the ingredients burn. Add the beans with their soaking water and the vegetable stock – make sure the beans are covered and add more stock if not. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a very gentle simmer, cover and leave for 90 minutes or until the beans are tender. By liquidising or forcing the soup through a sieve you can make a more creamy soup. To serve add a good handful of chopped coriander to each portion.
Traditional Lamb Stew (serves 2 as a main course)
You will need:-
4 lamb steaks or chops
A carrot – peeled and sliced
4 medium potatoes – peeled and cut into chunks
An onion – sliced
A small turnip or sweede peeled and cut into chunks
Veg/lamb/chicken or beef stock
2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves garlic
1 stick celery – sliced
A small sprig of rosemary
A tablespoon tomato puree
A little oil
Trim the lamb steaks (not too much -the fat gives flavour) and cut into cubes. Fry the cubes of lamb in a large heavy pan until they are sealed and have a darker colour remove and set aside. Trimmings and bones from the lamb can be boiled with water, a little carrot, onion and celery and a bouquet garni to make a simple stock. Now gently fry the garlic, onion, rosemary, bay leaves, celery in the oil for 10 minutes. Add the carrot, turnip and potato and gently fry again. Add the lamb and any juices back to the pan and stir. Now cover with stock and add the tomato puree. Cover the pan and put into a very moderate oven (150.Gas mark 3) and leave to cook for at least an hour. Traditionally served with mushy peas and dumplings but you can use it as a pie filling or enjoy with crusty bread.
This recipe also works well with beef – but here replace the tomato puree with a glass of heavy red wine and the rosemary with a little grated horseradish.
