Tag Archives: rice

Ossobuco

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Ossobuco

When I made ossobuco yesterday, it was the first time I’d made this classic Italian dish, but it certainly won’t be the last. The gentle, long cooking required makes it ideal for the Aga. I accompanied it with risotto alla Milanese, even though I tend to think risotto is not ideal for Aga cooking, because of the need constantly to stir it, but in this case it was in my view necessary and worth it. I know there are ways to make risotto in the oven, and I have successfully made it that way, but on this occasion I wanted to be as sure as possible to achieve the authentic Italian dish, so I stood at the simmering plate, stirring away contemplatively, for twenty minutes or so.

The ossobuco recipe I used was Anna Del Conte’s from her book Gastronomy of Italy which my son gave me for Christmas. It’s a wonderful book. The risotto recipe I used was also from this book.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

(You will need a large sauté pan or shallow casserole with a tight fitting lid which will hold the ossobuchi in one layer)

  • 4 ossobuchi (mine were Marks and Spencer from Ocado)
  • Flour, for dusting
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 40g unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 150ml dry white wine
  • 150ml chicken stock

For the gremolata (don’t skip it)

  • 1 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 garlic clove, very finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

  • Tie the ossobuchi around and across with string as you would a parcel, then lightly coat them in flour mixed with 1 teaspoon of salt
  • Heat the olive oil in the pan you have chosen and brown the floured ossobuchi on both sides. I started them on the simmering plate and then transferred them to the floor of the roasting oven. Cook them for just 4 or  5 minutes on each side. Remove them to a dish
  • Add 25g of the butter to the pan followed by the onion and celery. Add a little salt and soften without browing (shouldn’t take more than 10 or 15 minutes in the simmering oven)
  • Return the meat and any juices to the pan on the simmering plate
  • Heat the wine quickly in a pan on the boiling plate and pour it over the meat and boil to reduce by half  (could move it to the boiling plate for this but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t completely evaporate)
  • Heat the stock in the same pan you used for the wine and pour this over everything and add some black pepper. Put the lid on the pan and transfer it to the simmering oven for at least three but maybe four or five hours (as you know, it will not spoil in the simmering oven), depending on when you want to eat
  • Transfer the ossobuchi to a warmed dish, removing the string. Keep warm in the warming oven, on the warming plate or near the Aga covered in foil
  • Add the remaining butter, having cut it into a few small pieces, to the sauce and as soon as the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat; you don’t want the sauce to boil
  • Pour the sauce over the meat
  • Mix the gremolata ingredients together. I spinkled mine over the ossobuchi, but have re-read the recipe and see I was supposed to stir it into the sauce before pouring it over. Perhaps it would have tasted even better if I’d done it the “correct” way!

 

 

 

Beef and Sun-Dried Tomato Stew

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Beef and Sun-Dried Tomato Stew

Before she became a TV celebrity Mary Berry was known as an Aga cook who ran courses on how to get the most out of your Aga as well as for writing The Aga Book which I believe is still given to every new Aga owner when their new oven is installed. My mother-in-law, who has owned a few Agas in her time, learned how to make this stew on one of Mary Berry’s courses and wrote it out for me many years ago because she thought it was so simple yet so delicious. I never got round to making it then but when I found a jar of sun-dried tomatoes which needed using up in my fridge recently, the recipe sprang to mind and I dug it out.

You can make this the day before, refrigerate it overnight and reheat it gently in the simmering oven the next day. I have never worked out why but casseroles are often better when made a day ahead.

The quantities of wine and stock given here are approximate because, as we Aga cooks know, you tend to need less liquid in an Aga. I start with the wine and stop pouring when the meat is almost but not completely covered. You can always add stock later on if you think it needs it.

Beef and Sun-Dried Tomato Stew

(Serves 4 generously)

Ingredients

  • 800g braising beef, cubed
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • Approx. 250ml red wine
  • (Approx. 250ml beef stock: see above)
  • 10-12 sun-dried tomatoes, halved
  • 10g dried mushrooms (I used porcini)
  • 1 red or yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 tbsp apricot jam
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée

Method

  • First you need to brown the meat. To avoid splashing oil everywhere you can do this in the roasting oven, as I did when I made boeuf bourgignon
  • Spread the beef out on your large baking tray, lined with bake-o-glide if you like, drizzle it with olive oil and season
  • Slide the tray onto the first runner and leave it there for 5 minutes before moving it to the floor of the oven for a further 5 minutes, by which time your beef should be browned
  • (You can of course brown your meat in batches in olive oil in the casserole on the boiling plate or on the floor of the roasting oven)
  • Meanwhile in a large casserole gently fry your onion and pepper slices in a tablespoon or two of olive oil (if your sun-dried tomatoes come from a jar you can use some of the oil from that), starting it off on the simmering plate before covering it and putting it in the simmering oven
  • Pour 100ml of hot water onto the mushrooms and put them to one side for 15 minutes
  • When the onions and peppers are soft place the casserole on the boiling plate, stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and then add the beef and stir the flour into it
  • Add the red wine and, if required, the stock and bring to the boil
  • Stir in the tomato purée, mushrooms with their soaking water and apricot jam
  • Cover and place in the simmering oven for a minimum of three hours until the beef is tender. Add seasoning to taste

This is delicious with mashed potato but I think I prefer it with rice. Serve with a green vegetable too.

Vegetable Pilau

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Vegetable Pilau

Or is it pilaf? I believe the words are synonymous, but perhaps it depends if your dish is Middle Eastern (pilaf) or Indian (pilau). This one is a pilau because it’s based on one of Meera Sodha’s from her wonderful book Fresh India, which I mentioned here and a copy of which I now own.

A pilau is made with long grain rice and is a great way of using up leftover ingredients, which is what I was doing the other night when I made it. I added asparagus because at this time of year during the British asparagus season, hardly a day goes by when it isn’t on our menu at home.

A couple more points: first, I don’t always have fresh ginger in my fridge, but I do make sure I keep a bag of Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients chopped ginger in my freezer, also useful when I’m in a hurry; secondly, when a recipe requires vegetable stock I almost always make it with Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder, which I thoroughly recommend.

Ingredients

For two servings

  • 110g/4oz white basmati rice
  • 175ml/6 floz vegetable stock (see above)
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 green chilli, sliced (deseeded if you want less heat)
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • Lump of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (or some of  the frozen stuff: see above)
  • 100g broad beans, cooked and then slipped out of their skins
  • 200g courgettes, roughly chopped
  • 100g asparagus
  • 100g green beans
  • Salt and pepper
  • Chopped fresh herbs: dill, coriander, parsley, mint…whatever you have to hand

 

Method

  • First, cook the rice the Aga way in the simmering oven, except using the vegetable stock instead of water. It will wait happily in the simmering oven until you’re ready to add it to the vegetables
  • Meanwhile heat the oil in a saucepan and add the cinnamon stick and cumin seeds
  • After a minute add the onion and stir to coat the slices in the oil
  • Put a lid on and transfer to the simmering oven until the onion is soft and translucent
  • Add the chilli, garlic and ginger and return to the simmering oven
  • Cook the green beans in boiling water and drain them, pouring over lots of cold water so they retain their greenness
  • Snap the woody ends off the asparagus and discard. Slice the spears, reserving the tips
  • After 5-10 minutes add the courgettes to the pan, stir to coat in the oil and add a little water
  • Replace the lid and return to the simmering oven. 10 minutes or so later, do the same with the sliced asparagus and add the tips about 5 minutes after that
  • Finally add the broad beans, green beans and some seasoning. When these are hot and the other vegetables are tender, fold in the rice
  • Sprinkle over the herbs and serve with lemon wedges

 

 

Aga Oven Rice

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Aga Oven Rice

It is so ridiculously easy to cook rice in an Aga that I thought I’d tell you how I do it, in case you haven’t discovered this method. It’s the absorption method; nothing new there, you might say, but doing it in the Aga simmering oven takes simplicity to a whole new level. I discovered it in the original Mary Berry “The Aga Book” (now out of print) which came with my brand new Aga twelve years ago. I still use this book a great deal but some of the recipes are somewhat dated and I suspect that nowadays new owners get her updated “The Complete Aga Cookbook”, which also includes the rice instructions.

Once you have learnt how to cook rice this way, you will not look back. I always use basmati and my favourite brand is Tilda but this method is for any long grain rice.

For 4 servings

  • 225g/8oz white basmati rice
  • 350ml/12 fl oz water

or

  • 225/8oz brown basmati rice
  • 420ml/14 fl oz water

 

  • Wash the rice by rinsing it in a few changes of water until the water runs clear
  • Tip the rice into a saucepan with the water and 1 tsp salt
  • Bring to the boil on the boiling plate
  • Give it a single stir, put the lid on and place in the simmering oven for about 20 minutes (for white) and 40-45 minutes (for brown) until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, but in both cases it will not come to any harm if left in the simmering oven for twice as long
  • Fork through the rice before serving

 

 

Braised Pork with Ginger and Star Anise

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Braised Pork with Ginger and Star Anise

My sons gave me two cookery books for my birthday. My daugher-in-law looked a bit sceptical and asked if I was sure they were what I wanted (I do have quite a few already), but I assured her it was. I had dropped a few (many) hints in the run-up to my birthday. One of the books was Diana Henry’s new one, How to Eat a Peach, which is a beautiful 71ztiybGwmLcollection of menus rather than recipes; it’s also a sort of memoir, an account of the places she’s travelled to since she was a teenager, and where she discovered all the dishes she loves to cook and eat. I have already cooked a few of the recipes from the book, although I haven’t yet put together a whole menu. The first thing I made was this braised pork, which I pounced on because I knew it would be perfect for the AGA simmering oven. I adjusted the quantities because there were only four of us eating and off I went.

 

Braised Pork with Ginger and Star Anise

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the pork

  • About 1tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
  • 1kg pork shoulder, cut into 3cm cubes
  • 200g shallots, sliced
  • 20g fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed
  • 5 tbsps kecap manis
  • 3 tbsps light soy sauce
  • 11/2 tbsps tamarind paste
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • 1 star anise
  • 2 medium-hot chillies, halved, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 birds’ eye chillies, left whole

For the crispy fried shallots

  • Groundnut or vegetable oil
  • 100g shallots, finely sliced
  • Sea salt flakes

Method

  • Spread the pork out on a large baking tray, lined with bake-o-glide and drizzle with the oil
  • Place on the top rung or on the floor of the roasting oven for 10 minutes, then remove it, turn the meat over and return the tray to the roasting oven for about 5 minutes. Your aim is to have golden brown pieces of pork; you’re not trying to turn it dark brown
  • Meanwhile  get on with your shallots. Heat a tablespoon or two of oil in the casserole you want to braise your pork in. Do this on the simmering plate. Add the shallots, turn them over in the oil, put the lid on and transfer the casserole to the simmering oven for about 15 minutes until they are soft and golden
  • Stir the garlic and ginger in and return the pork to the pan along with the kecap manis, soy sauce, tamarind and stock
  • Bring to the boil on the boiling or simmering plate, add the star anise and all the chillies and place your casserole, uncovered, in the simmering oven for about 3 hours but, as I’m sure you know, when slow cooking in the Aga simmering oven the timing is not crucial as long as you end up with meltingly tender meat
  • Remove the star anise and the whole chillies
  • Meanwhile make the crispy fried shallots by heating about 2cm of oil in a small pan on the simmering plate. Add the shallots and fry, moving them around, until they are crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to a sheet of kitchen towel on a plate and sprinkle with salt
  • If the liquid around the pork is not thick and glossy and seems a bit thin, remove the pork with a slotted spoon to a dish and keep it warm in the simmering oven. Boil the liquid for a while on the boiling or simmering plate until it’s reduced and then return the pork to the pan to heat through
  • Serve the pork with the crispy fried shallots sprinkled over. We ate ours with rice and stir-fried pak choi
Lay the pork out on a baking tray
Brown it in the roasting oven
Kecap Manis and Light Soy Sauce
Shallots, chillies, garlic, ginger…
Chillies and star anise
Shallots
Merge the shallots with the pork
Add everything else
Stir-fried pak choi
Crispy fried shallots
The finished dish
Delicious with rice

Boeuf Bourguignon

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Boeuf Bourguignon

Inspired by the success of the lamb ragù in my last post, I decided to try out the “not browning the meat” method once again and made an old favourite: boeuf bourguignon. It was a success, so I thought I’d give you the recipe I used for this classic dish. I adapted it from Delia’s in her Complete Cookery Course. It’s also available online here. I’m probably breaking the rules here but if you don’t have any Burgundy, it would not be a disaster if you use whatever red wine you do happen to have in your kitchen.

Serves 6 generously

Ingredients

  • 1kg braising steak (I used chuck), cubed
  • Olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 heaped tbsp plain flour
  • 400ml approx red Burgundy
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme, or ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Approx 12 small onions or shallots, peeled and left whole
  • 225g streaky bacon, smoked or green, ideally bought in a piece and then cubed but don’t worry if you only have rashers: just chop them up
  • 120g mushrooms, sliced, or small button ones left whole

Method

  • Spread the beef out on a large baking sheet which fits on the Aga runners and drizzle with olive oil
  • Place the tray on the top runner of the roasting oven for 10-15 minutes to brown the beef
  • Meanwhile in a large casserole, sweat the onion in a tablespoon or two of olive oil in the simmering oven until soft and translucent
  • Place the casserole on the simmering plate and add the beef to it. Stir in flour to soak up the juices, then gradually pour in the wine until it barely covers the beef, stirring all the time. Don’t use all the wine if you don’t have to; remember that you tend to need less liquid when cooking in an Aga
  • Add the crushed garlic, thyme and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper
  • Put the lid on and place in the simmering oven for 3 hours or more
  • In a frying pan on the simmering plate fry the onions and bacon in a little olive oil until coloured
  • Add them to the casserole together with the mushrooms
  • Put the lid back on and return to the simmering oven for at least an hour, but longer would not do any harm at all
  • Sprinkle with some chopped fresh parsley to serve

Boulangère or dauphinoise potatoes go well with this and so does rice. A green salad and/or green beans are also good accompaniments. As with most casseroles, this one is better on the second day so it’s worth making the day before you want to eat it. I’d maybe not add the mushrooms until reheating it on the second day