To the best of my knowledge, Rabbie Burns never set foot in Suffolk, and certainly didn’t spend his holidays in a cottage on what the tourist board likes to call our Heritage Coast. But I’d like to think he’d have enjoyed this version of a cottage pie, which uses traditional Burns Night ingredients of haggis, mince, neeps and tatties. Continue reading
I’m a huge fan of compound butters, especially when they feature garlic in any form. This bone marrow and roasted garlic butter is sensational with beef, as you might expect, and gives extra oomph to an already well-flavoured sirloin steak. Continue reading
It’s a scary looking thing, a raw ox tongue. But it’s actually very easy to cook and served, as here, with a mustardy celeriac remoulade and salty, sharp caperberries it makes a fabulous starter or light lunch. Continue reading
Stuffed with mushrooms and given a long, slow braise beef (or ox) cheeks become soft, succulent and packed with flavour. A lip-smacking example of nose to tail eating. Continue reading
Who doesn’t like a slab of pie, with chunks of beef in a rich, dark gravy? This steak and onion slice is designed to give you maximum flaky pastry pleasure while not compromising on the flavourful filling. Eat it hot or cold, cut into succulent squares. You won’t even need a pie dish. Continue reading
This is a chunky, nourishing, main course soup, a sort of East Anglian borscht with oxtail and pearl barley. Beef, beets and barley – it’s a real winter rib-sticker and packed with fabulous flavour. Continue reading
I blame Hollywood. The popular image of medieval and Tudor food is all fat, gouty nobles with meat grease dripping off their chins, waving haunches of venison which of course would be stiff with spices because they didn’t have fridges and the meat was off. In between gargantuan flesh fests they would oppress peasants and maybe ravish a maiden or two before getting their comeuppance from a hero of gentle birth who lived in a treehouse. Continue reading
This is a stew made rich and dark as sin with stout, but it’s the blue cheese dumplings that take it to the next level. Continue reading
This is the best sort of comfort food, the flavours bursting out of that glorious suet crust with beefy, fruity bravado. I think I’m in danger of over-egging this particular pudding but honestly, give it a go before the quince season slips through our fingers, it’s really good. Continue reading
Beef, or ox, cheeks are perfect for slow cooking, cheap and full of flavour. They’re well worth seeking out. A good butcher should be able to help and you can also ask him/her to trim them up for you, although that’s easy enough to do at home.
I’ve cooked them here with quince and pomegranate in a Persian/Iranian-inspired stew. Meltingly soft meat and a gently spiced, sour/sweet fruity sauce – delicious.This is one of the best things I’ve made this year. Continue reading