Beef Kabobs

My next dish that I found to be quite tasty were some Beef Kofta's or Kabobs. I am not much of a beef eater but I must say that these were some delicious Kabobs that I had one night when I was out with some friends. So like the good blogger that I am, I decided to have Beef Kabobs be my next cooking adventure. I turned back to my lovely British Cookbook "The Frugal English Paleo/ Caveman Cook: Budget Recipes For Gluten Free/Paleo Dishes Suited for British Tastes." Searching throughout the Beef section of recipes, I finally stumbled upon the Spicy Beef Kofta. In each new section of this cookbook the author, Michelle Newbold, gives a few words of wisdom to her reader on how to make the best selections on ingredients as well as prep skills that may be needed.

In this section she gives a few words to get the reader going in the right direction on "Dishes using beef Mince as a base." My favorite part of this is how honest and forward she is with the reader. She just comes out and tells you not to buy bad meat. "When buying mince try to buy good quality fresh mince rather than the cheap and nasty frozen stuff that is a mixture of pork and mince. Using the nasty stuff will result in a tasteless mush swimming in greasy fat that will ruin the consistency of any dish you go on to use it in." THe language that she uses is just hilarious to me. She is very real and just tells you how it is with out sugar coating it so to speak/

Michelle's recipe is as follows:

for 4 koftas
175g/6 oz lean minced beef
1/4 tsp ground turmeric powder
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
pinch of salt
2 tsp dried oregano
2tsp ground coriander seeds
Olive Oil, for frying

1 small bunch of fresh parsley leaves
2tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the koftas, soak five wooden skewers in a bowl of water for ten minutes to prevent the sticks from burning during cooking.
Place all of the kofta ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor and blend until smooth. Use your hands to divide the mixture into five equal portions and squeeze the mixture around the top half of the skewers.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Fry the koftas on both sides for about 5-6 minutes or until cooked.

Steak and Vegetable Pie

Being an American and all.. When I hear the word "pie" only one thing comes to mind. Dessert. I do love my desserts and sweets very much, so you can imagine how I was thrown off a little bit when I continued to read on and it said "Steak and Ale Pie, Chicken Pie, Vegetable Pie.." and so on. I thought to my self.. "What kind of Pie do they serve over here? This should be in the dessert section and not with meat in it." I was very much confused. However, the vegetable pie has become one of my most favorite dishes since I have been here.. The combination of pie crust, cheesy vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy, and an extra helping of fresh steamed veggies on the side... Delicious! After experiencing this amazingness, I knew I had to put it into my food blog as a main event.

For this recipe I looked into the book "The Frugal English Paleo/Caveman Cook: Budget Recipes For Gluten Free/ Paleo Dishes suited for British Tastes." From the title alone I thought that this would be a good choice for me being a student having a budget and all. Right in the introduction it states that "Our modern lifestyles obviously do not allow us to hunt of gather our food anymore, so we have to adapt our lifestyle and consume commonly available foods found in our local shops and super markets." I think this really shows that the author Michelle Newbold, has a common sense sarcastic kind of humor which I liked and related to very much. They also very clearly identified the target audience right in the title and in the following sentence stating "This book is also aimed at people who are looking for budget recipes, and don't want to spend too much time preparing complicated British dishes using hard to find ingredients." After that sentence I thought to my self this may be the perfect cookbook for me! So I continued to flip through and search the recipes.. and this is what I found:

225 g (8 oz) plain wholemeal flour
pinch of salt
pinch of paprika
100 g (4 oz) butter
2 - 3 tablespoons cold water
beaten egg to glaze

225 g (8 oz) broccoli
2 celery sticks
2 leeks, trimmed
2 carrots
2 parsnips
1 red pepper, deseeded
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 quantity white sauce (see below).

Sift the flour, salt and paprika into a bowl. Cut the margarine into small pieces and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add enough water to mix to a soft dough. refrigerate.
Break the broccoli into sprigs. Cut the celery into chunks and slice the leeks into rings. Slice the carrots and parsnips. Cut the pepper into strips. Arrange the vegetables in a deep oval pie.
Add the lemon juice, nutmeg and seasoning to the white sauce and pour over the vegetables.
Roll out the pastry to 5 mm (1/4 in) thick, dampen the rim of the pie dish and cover with a strip of pastry cut from the outside of the oval. 
Brush the strip with water and cover the pie with the remaining pastry. Press the edges together, knock up and flute. 

Brush with beaten egg and decorate the pie with any pastry trimmings made into leaves. Glaze the decorations and bake in a moderately hot oven for 40-50 minutes.

Bangers and Mash

The first recipe that I want to take a look at is the traditional dish of Bangers and Mash. This dish came around during the first World War as a cheap yet filling alternative, and quite delicious. The word "bangers" comes from the sound that the sausage makes when it is cooked over a high heat. And "mash" is simply just a shortened version of mashed potatoes. This dish is still very popular across England and a largely popular dish served in pubs.

The recipe calls for:

8 Large baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 teaspoons of butter, divided
1/2 cup of milk, or as needed
1 1/2 pounds of beef sausage 
1/2 cup diced onions
1 packet of dry brown gravy
1 cup of water, or as needed
Salt and pepper to taste

The recipe goes on to explain:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, and mash with 1 teaspoon of butter, and enough milk to reach your desired creaminess. Continue mashing, or beat with an electric mixer, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until heated through. Remove from pan, and set aside. Add remaining teaspoon of butter to the skillet, and fry the onions over medium heat until tender. Mix gravy mix and water as directed on the package, and add to the skillet with the onions. Simmer, stirring constantly, to form a thick gravy.
3. Pour half of the gravy into a square casserole dish so that is coats the bottom. Place sausages in a layer over the gravy (you can butterfly the sausages if you wish). Pour remaining gravy over them, then top with mashed potatoes.
4. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until potatoes are evenly brown.