Steak and Cabbage Stir Fry

As we are away on holiday (Norfolk) next week it makes sense to use up everything in the fridge. No veg box this week so we just had a small head of pointed cabbage in the fridge. Along with a piece of steak from the freezer (left over from the Beef Stroganof a few weeks ago) I had enough for a tasty supper.

Ingredients (for 2)
1 piece of frying steak (sliced into strips)
1 head of pointed cabbage (or a small Savoy, or a bag of spinach, kale or spring greens) coarsely chopped.
1 onion (sliced)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 thumb sized chunk of ginger (cut into matchsticks)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 star anise
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of Thai sweet chilli sauce
3 tablespoons of black bean sauce (or oyster sauce)
a splash or two of water

Heat a wok still hot and add the oil. Add the garlic, star anise and ginger then the onions and stir fry briefly. Add the steak and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the cabbage and briefly stir fry again. Add the soy, chilli, black bean sauce and the water. Stir fry to coat the meat and cabbage.

Serve with rice or noodles dressed with sesame oil and a glass of cold beer.

Beef Stroganoff

Now that the clocks have gone forward we have the chance to work in the garden if we get back from work on time. Today we concentrated on tidying the frond garden. Three large recycling sacks of pruning and one small bag of rubbish (how did that crumpet get there??) we were ready for supper. It had to be something warming and quick and this fitted the bill.

Ingredients (for 3)

250g of thinly cut steak cut into strips
250g chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
1 medium onion (thinly sliced into half moons)
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
1 tub (c250ml) sour cream
Small bunch of dill finely chopped
1 teaspoon oak smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of caraway seeds
knob of butter
1 teaspoon of olive oil
salt and pepper
Plain boiled rice and steamed greens to serve

Fry the onions in the butter until softened then add the mushrooms, garlic, paprika and caraway seeds. Fry until softened. Fry the steak in a separate pan in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes then add to the onion and mushrooms. Add the sour cream, the dill and season. Warm through briefly and serve with the rice and greens.

For a vegetarian option add stacks more mushrooms.

Oxtail Stew

This was inspired partly by my visit to the Imperial War Museum's Ministry of Food exhibition as well as imbibing a double espresso before going shopping in a fine butcher. Canned oxtail soup is one of my favourite lunchtime treats so I was hoping this would come out as rich and tasty. I wasn't disappointed. Serves 2-4 with some mashed root vegetables (parsnips, potatoes and carrots) and some steamed savoy cabbage.

Ingredients
3 large chunks of oxtail trimmed of excess fat
2 carrots cut into chunks
1 onion cut into chunks
Few peppercorns
Few juniper berries
Few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon of dried
2 bay leaves
2-3 tablespoons of red current jelly
1/2 a bottle of red wine
Zest of one small orange

Brown the oxtails all over in a little oil in a casserole pan. Add the carrots, orange zest, peppercorns, juniper berries, thyme and onion then cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then cover and put in a low oven (130-140C) for 3 hours or so. Remove the oxtails from the stock and leave to cool. Strain the stock and discard the stock vegetables etc. Add 1/2 a bottle of red wine to the cooking liquor and reduce to a thick gravy like consistency. Shred the meat from the bones and add to the
gravy along with the the red current jelly.

Beef Casserole

One of my favourite dishes. This serves at least 4 possibly 6 if you add dumplings or a pile of mashed potatoes. Ingredients can be varied depending on what you have in the vegetable drawer. The red grape juice gives a wonderful sweet flavour.

Ingredients:
500g Beef in c.3cm chunks (braising steak, skirt or leg - I'm a skirt man myself!)
1 large onion roughly chopped
2 large leeks cleaned and sliced
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 bay leaves
6 juniper berries
3 parsnips in large chunks
4 medium carrots in chunks
A few dried mushrooms
Red grape juice (500ml-1ltr)
Handful of pearl barley
2-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of seasoned flour (Flour, mustard, salt, pepper, thyme)

Method:
Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Coat the meat in the seasoned flour and brown in batches, lift out and keep warm. When all the meat is browned fry the leeks, onions and garlic. Add the root vegetables and stir to coat. Return the meat and add the pearl barley and bay leaves. Add enough grape juice to cover and the dried mushrooms.
Bring to the boil then cover and put in a low oven for 3-4 hours or until you can't take it any more. Examine occasionally, adding more grape juice or water if it looks a little dry.
Serve with horseradish dumplings or mashed potatoes or crusty bread. Make a big batch as it always tastes better the next day.