Big Bean Casserole

Ingredients

 400g Jonny Beans soaked over night (or dried broad beans)

110 g of speck cut into 8mm dice

2 x medium onions, carrots, celery  all cut into 5mm rings

3 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped

500g Belly Pork scored  into 40mm2

12 chicken wings

300g smoked continental sausage cut into 20mm slices

1L of chicken stock about.

3 bay leaves.

Tbspn black peppercorns, salt to taste 

Method 

Boil beans in soaking water for ten minutes, drain, rinse and reserve.

In a large pan fry off the speck until the fats run and the dice colours, draw off and put in casserole. Fry chicken wings in batches so each side takes on a good colour and pack tightly into bottom of casserole.

Lower heat and sweat off onion, carrot, celery and garlic.

Pack drained beans on top of the wings, scatter peppercorns and bay leaves.

Spreading onions, carrot, celery, garlic over top of beans.

Pour in sufficient stock to cover beans well. 

Push belly pork into mixture until the rind is only just above the water.

Cover and cook in a fan oven 180°C for 2 hours. After one hour remove cover. After a further half hour push the sausage slice into the water, check the beans are soft. 

Check seasoning and Serve.

Vension Shank

 Been some time since I recorded anything here. Not that I havent produced some knockout dishes, just didnt get round to recording them or as ever taking any photos. Yet another missed photo opportunity. If only I could capture the smells to share with you. So another venison, shank this time, again in the slow cooker.

•  1 shank of venison on the bone
  
• 4/5 Tbspn olive oil
• 2 large onions
• 2 good sized carrots
• 4 cloves garlic
• tspn pepper corns
• 12 juniper berries
• 150mm ish of orange peel (without pith)
• 700ml full bodied red wine
• bouquet garni - 2stlk celery+leaves, 2 bay leaves, parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary
• 8 charlotte potatoes, small left with skin on
  

Oil in skillet, get the pan really hot and sear all of the flesh on the shank to a good deep brown, place in the slow cooker. Turn down the heat, throw in the peeled thick sliced onions to sweat off, stir from time to time. Snuggle the bouquet garni, with herbs cased in the celery stalks cut in half lengthways and tied up with string, down against the shank. Peel and cut the carrots into 25mm long roundels, again snuggled down against the shank. Scatter over the coarsely chopped garlic, juniper berries peppercorns and salt to taste. When onions have softened tip in the red wine, cook briefly, stir then tip onions and wine over the shank so the onions cover the shank. Make sure carrots are under liquid.

Cover slow cooker set to low and cook for 7hrs. Around 3.5hrs turn shank onto other side, you may need to turn once more to ensure the tight ball of flesh that has shrunk up the bone gets cooking time in the liquid. Two hours before serving push the potatoes down into the liquid, remove the bouquet garni. by the seven hours you will feel that the meat has soften and easily pulls away. You will probably want to take out some of the juice, blend with flour then stir back in to thicken the richly smelling juices. Enjoy.
 

 

Stirfry courgette

On a medium juliet manadolin slice one small carrot, then a medium courgette. Keep separate. In a hot pan over a just off high heat, put in half tablespoon of a mild olive oil. Toss in carrot stir around to soften without colouring. Then add courgette, carry on stirring until it just begins to soften. Then add thin crescents of two ripe sweet tomatoes, stir occasionally in the dying heat, adding 1/8th teaspoon of paprika, a teaspoon of walnut oil and a tablespoon of chopped parsley. Serve immediately. Do not overcook as it will turn mushy, just catch it when the courgette is still slightly al dente. Gave the quantities as I used them. You will need to adjust quantities. The ratio of vegetables to aim at are 1 carrot: 3 courgette: just under 2 tomato.

Remember to take a photo before eating, unlike me. It looks great and has sweet clean flavour.

Butter Bean Soup

Cheap, simple, easy and tasty soup, what could be better? Soak a 300g bag of butter beans over night. Rinse in freshwater a couple of times. Put in a large pan and boil, add a little oil to control the massive foam, for say five minutes. Discard water and rinse beans thoroughly, to get rid of the sulphur preservative. Put back on more moderate heat with fresh water bring to the simmer. Add one large peeled onion, three large peeled carrots left whole, a stick of celery and a clove of garlic.

After forty minutes check the beans are just tender, may take a little longer if they are old. Discard onion, celery and garlic, gently set carrots aside. Drain liquor off the beans and retain. Pick over the beans for the firm whole ones setting them aside. Liquidise the broken soft beans with say quarter pint of liquor.

Meanwhile in a pint of a rich stock, I used pheasant but duck would be good or even chicken, boil about half pound of celeriac peeled and cut into rough small chunks. When cooked, liquidise.

In a clean pan put the carrots, cut in half or quarters along their length, depending on size, and then cut into slices sat 5mm thick. Add about equal portions of the whole butter beans, say half, the strained liquidised stock and celeriac and then the strained liquidised butter bean and liquor. Gently stir and add more liquor to adjust thickness. A creamy loose soup with a good portion of beans and carrots is the goal. Bring back to heat slowly, stir occasionally, adjust seasoning to taste and serve.

Delicious. Sweet, creamy and rich flavoured. For those not needing to avoid, it cries out for two Tblspn of cream stirred in to lighten the colour. Garnish with four or five thin chillie rings barely softened in hazelnut oil with a couple of drops of the oil.