Honeyed Parsnip and Ham Orzo

I love orzo. It’s a fantastically versatile rice shaped pasta that works well in soups, casseroles and anywhere you would use rice or pasta. It takes less time to cook than rice and has a really delicate texture and flavour too. 

This is one of those meals that tastes really special but isn’t at all difficult to make. Yes, there is a bit of peeling and chopping, but it’s worth it. And if you don’t eat meat or are serving vegetarians, please just leave out the ham. I only include it when I have leftover ham to use up anyway.

The sherry adds a beautiful flavour to this dish, but it is still delicious without it. If you would rather leave it out, just substitute more stock.

To serve four people you need:-

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 parsnips, peeled and cut in half inch dice

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons oregano

a couple pinches of pepper

1 tablespoon honey

1½ cups orzo

4 cups vegetable stock

¼ cup sherry

½ cup frozen peas

1 cup chopped cooked ham

chopped parsley or dried parsley

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan with a lid or a stove top casserole. (I use my shallow Le Creuset casserole dish.)

Gently sauté the onion over medium heat until it begins to soften. Add the diced parsnips, carrots, oregano and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

When the vegetables all begin to soften a bit (this will take at least fifteen minutes), add the honey and stir to coat the vegetables. Now stir in the orzo.

Add the sherry and vegetable stock and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring constantly. Turn the heat down to a simmer, put the lid on the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender.  Be sure to keep the heat low and stir frequently or the mixture will stick to the pan.

Stir in the ham and the peas, adding a bit more stock if the mixture needs it, and heat through for about five minutes.

Serve garnished with the parsley.

My Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is a British classic. It was traditionally made with lamb, leftover from the Sunday roast and ground into fine pieces. The meat was then mixed with gravy, and maybe some vegetables, topped with fluffy mashed potato and baked. If you had beef for your Sunday roast, you did the same thing but called it Cottage Pie.

Over the years this dish has evolved, and many people now make it from scratch using raw ground lamb or beef as well as the traditional way. Vegetarians use vegetarian mince products like Quorn, or those made from soy or textured vegetable protein.

It’s a great go-to meal to have on hand, and you can even make it ahead and reheat it the next day - or freeze it if you prefer. At one point my mother-in-law was running three homes in three different countries (England, France and Spain), and whichever one you visited, there was always a healthy stock of her homemade shepherd’s pies in the freezer.

In our house, we call it Shepherd’s Pie whatever meat (or vegetable product) I  use to make it, although it is generally pasture raised or free range ground beef that I use. Although it isn’t strictly correct to call it this, it works for us, and is a nod to my son’s cute name for the dish when he was a little boy. He used to refer to any potato topped meat dish as ‘Shepson Pie’.

It really doesn’t take long to make, although if you do have time to let the meat simmer before you bake it in the oven, it does make it taste even better. It’s a fantastic meal to just pop on the table and let folks help themselves to country style, although I always make more than I think I need when I am serving a crowd as everyone always seems to want seconds.

One twist on the traditional I do use pretty regularly when parsnips are in season is to mash some of them with the potatoes. We love parsnips in our house and it gives this dish a gorgeous flavour. However if you don’t have any parsnips, or your family doesn’t love them like we do, just use an extra potato.

To serve about four people you need:-

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 pound ground beef (pasture raised or free range is best)

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

½ cup beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

about an eighth of a teaspoon of pepper

1 bay leaf

For the mash:-

2 to 3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into about four pieces each

2 to 3 parsnips, peeled and chopped

generous tablespoon of butter

about ¼ cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375℉ or about 170℃. You’ll need an oven safe casserole dish to bake this mixture in. The shape doesn’t matter all that much, but it needs to be fairly deep.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and gently fry the onion until it just begins to soften, but not brown. Stir in the ground beef and brown it, breaking up any larger chunks.

Stir in the carrots, beef stock, tomato paste, pepper and the bay leaf. Cover and simmer over low heat for at least ten minutes or for up to half an hour, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes and parsnips (if using) in boiling salted water until they are soft enough to mash. Drain and mash with the butter and milk. You may need a little more or less milk depending on the texture of the vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the bay leaf from the simmering ground beef mixture and transfer it to an oven safe casserole.

Carefully, a spoonful at a time, begin to cover the mixture with mashed potato and parsnip. You need to be careful the spoonfuls are not too large or they will sink into the mixture.

When the ground beef mixture is completely covered in the mashed potatoe mixture, run over the top with a fork. This also gives little peaks and troughs which brown up nicely.

You may want to put the casserole dish on a baking sheet as the meat mixture sometimes bubbles through the potato topping when the Shepherd’s Pie is cooking and can mess up the bottom of your oven.

Bake in the oven for about half an hour, until the topping is beginning to turn golden brown. The edges usually get toasty and the meat mixture will definitely try to bubble through, but what this dish lacks in beauty it makes up for in taste!

You can serve this straight from the oven, but take care as it will be molten hot. If you are making this ahead, cool it down before storing in the fridge. Reheat for about half an hour or until piping hot throughout.

If freezing, wrap well in Saran Wrap and aluminum foil when cold. Thaw overnight in the fridge before heating in the oven for about forty to fifty minutes or until piping hot.

Le Creuset Giveaway - and Luxury Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie is a great dish for this time of year, not least of all because you can make it ahead and reheat it. I often make two at a time and freeze one so I have a delicious and easy meal tucked away for busy days. I make lots of different variations on my recipe, but this version is just that little bit extra-special as it contains Madeira, a fortified wine. One of my favourite casserole dishes to use for my Cottage Pies is my Le Creuset oval casserole dish pictured above. It’s a brilliant oven to tableware dish that is also fridge and freezer safe. I own a number of Le Creuset products and they are a brand I trust and use regularly. And the great news is that the generous folks at Cookware.com



have offered to send one of these very useful Le Creuset oval casserole dishes to a reader in the United States or Canada. (Sadly they only ship to North American addresses.) If you click here you can see a Le Creuset dish like the one Cookware.com are giving away. In return they have asked me to mention their new line of Paula Deen Cookware, which looks really interesting. I saw Paula’s products at her very famous shop in Savannah and they were definitely very covetable! For a chance to win the Le Creuset dish, send an email to april@21stcenturyhousewife.com with the words Le Creuset Giveaway in the subject line and I will enter you into the draw - closing date is Sunday 10th January. Remember you have to have an address in the continental US or Canada to enter as the prize is being shipped direct from Cookware.com.

Here is the cottage pie I made the other night, with its lovely gravy peeking up around the edges:-



and here is the recipe!

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Luxury Cottage Pie
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 pound of ground beef
1 generous tablespoon flour
2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
3 parsnips, peeled and cut in chunks
(if you don’t like parsnips, just use an extra potato)
3 tablespoons butter
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup light cream or half and half
about 1 cup beef stock
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Madeira (or dry sherry if you do not have any Madeira to hand)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, and sauté the onions gently over low heat until they are beginning to soften. Add the beef. Break up any large chunks with a spatula or spoon and brown, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes and parsnips in a saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for about ten minutes until the potatoes and parsnips have softened. Drain and return to the saucepan. Mash with the butter. Add the cream gradually, continuing to mash, until the potatoes and parsnips are moistened, but still have a fairly firm consistency. Cover and set aside.

When the beef is nearly cooked through, sprinkle with the flour and stir it through. Allow to cook for about a minute. Gradually add the stock, a bit at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the ketchup, Madeira and Worcestershire sauce and stir in. Bring to the boil, and allow to bubble away merrily for about five minutes so the gravy can reduce a bit, stirring occasionally so the mixture doesn’t stick. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. If the mixture appears to thick, add a bit more stock, but be careful not to add too much.

Put the beef mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish. Carefully dollop the potato and parsnip mixture on top with a spoon. Gently spread the mixture over the beef using a fork, covering it right up to the edges. (The Shepherd’s Pie can be cooled at this point and refrigerated or frozen for another day.)

Bake the Cottage Pie at 350℉ or 175℃ for about 20 minutes or until the potato is beginning to turn golden. (If you have made the pie a day or so earlier and taken it from the fridge, you will need to heat it at about 375℉ or 190℃ for about 30 to 40 minutes or until heated through. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then cook as for from the fridge.

Incidentally, if you are wondering why this is called Cottage Pie and not Shepherd’s Pie it is because Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb and Cottage Pie is made with beef. And yes, there is absolutely no reason why you could not use ground lamb in this recipe and call it Shepherd’s Pie :)

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

* Cookware.com have not reimbursed me for this post in any way, except for providing the Le Creuset dish for the giveaway, which will be shipped to the winner directly from them.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Christmas Parsnip Soup

There is nothing like coming home from a hard day's Christmas shopping knowing that you have something lovely and warming for supper in the fridge. Parsnips are plentiful this time of year and combined with the nutmeg, they just taste of Christmas. This soup is so easy to make, and although it takes a bit of time, very little of that is labour intensive. It is wonderful served with crusty bread or rolls, or with your favourite sandwich. It travels well in a thermos too, if you want to take it along for lunch on the go!

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 – 7 medium parsnips, peeled and cut in fairly small chunks
1 litre chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
125 to 250 ml milk or single cream
paprika or a swirl of cream for garnish

Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook over low heat until softened. The longer you can cook the onion the more flavourful it will be, provided you keep the heat very low. If you have time, you can leave them cooking away for about fifteen or twenty minutes; if you are in a rush, just make sure that they are nicely softened.

Stir in the parsnips, making sure to coat them with the melted butter and oil. Turn the heat down as low as you can and put the lid on the saucepan. Set the timer for ten minutes and let the parsnips sweat in their buttery coating. You can peek, in fact I encourage you to, just to be sure they are not sticking. Turn the heat back a bit if they do start to stick a little. Let them sweat away in the pan, giving them the occasional stir.

After ten minutes, remove the lid and add the stock. Bring to the boil. Now turn back the heat. Stir in the nutmeg and simmer gently for about 20 to 30 minutes until the parsnips are very, very soft. Take the soup off the heat.

Cool for a few minutes so the liquid and parsnips are not scalding hot. When the soup has cooled a bit, puree it in the blender in batches. If I am going to serve it later, this is the point at which I allow the soup to cool right down and then refrigerate it as I prefer to add the milk or cream just before serving.

If you are serving the soup right away, however, wash out the pan and dry it, and put the soup back in. (If you made the soup earlier and you now want to serve it, remove it from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for about twenty minutes -so it isn't icy cold - before putting it in a pan on the stove. ) Place the pan over a low heat and begin to stir in the milk or cream. Now the amount of milk you add depends on the thickness of the liquidised parsnips and stock you have in your pan, and indeed whether you have chosen to use milk or cream (which is slightly thicker). Just take it slowly as there is nothing worse than thin soup. Remember, you can always add more milk or cream, but you can’t take it away! Heat until piping hot. Carefully taste the soup, adding a little bit more nutmeg if you feel it needs it.

Serve in bowls or mugs with a sprinkling of paprika or swirl of cream for garnish.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Leek, Beef and Beer Stew with Carrot and Parsnip Mash

This is a gorgeous, warming stew for a blustery winter’s evening. The carrot and parsnip mash gives a lovely hit of color alongside the stew, and it’s a great way to get your antioxidants this time of year.

This recipe will serve four, but don’t worry if there are only two of you, the leftovers taste lovely if you cool them quickly, store in the fridge and re-heat thoroughly the next day!

For the stew:-
2 tablespoons butter
3 or 4 leeks, washed and sliced in thin slices
about 500 grams of chuck steak, cut in chunks
275 ml bottle lager beer (I use Coors light)
250 ml beef stock (ready-made or from a cube is fine)
1 bay leaf
1 generous spoonful of red pesto or tomato paste (tomato puree in the UK)
150 grams orzo

For the mash:-
3 – 4 carrots, washed, peeled and cut in chunks
3 parsnips, washed, peeled and cut in chunks
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350℉ or 170℃.

In a large stove top to oven safe pan /casserole dish with a lid (I use a large shallow one by Le Creuset but a deeper one will work just as well), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leaks and fry for a few minutes until they are beginning to soften. Stir in the beef and cook until browned, stirring pretty much constantly.

Pour in the lager and the beef stock. Bring the mixture to the boil. Stir in the bay leaf and the red pesto or tomato paste.

Put the lid on the casserole and carefully put in the oven. Cook for an hour and fifteen minutes, stirring once after about forty minutes. If it looks like it is cooking too quickly, lower the heat a bit.

When there are about ten minutes left to go, steam the carrots and parsnips on the stove-top until tender. Drain and mash with the butter and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside to keep warm, or place in a covered casserole dish in a low oven.

Remove the stew from the oven and place the casserole on a heat-proof surface. Add the orzo and stir. There should still be a fair amount of liquid in the stew, but if not, add a bit of boiling water just so the orzo has liquid to absorb. Stir again.

Cover the casserole and return to the oven for ten minutes. Remove once again and check the liquid level. If it has all been absorbed, add a tiny bit more boiling water (only a little!). Return the casserole the oven for five to ten minutes more. At this point, the orzo should be tender and most of the liquid should be absorbed.

Serve the stew and mash with some warmed crusty rolls.

By the way, it is easy to make vegetable mashes and they are a healthy alternative to mashed potatoes served with just about anything. As well as carrot and parsnip mash, you could try parsnip and turnip (swede in the UK) or butternut squash and sweet potato. Just steam the vegetables and mash with butter and seasoning as above.

Parsnip, Potato and Leek Gratin

Autumn is a capricious season. One day it’s crisp and colourful with the leaves a spectacular display of gorgeousness, the next it is damp, bone chilling and grey, making you want to go and hide under the duvet. As the nights draw in, I crave warming, delicious food that not only tastes good, but also fills the house with wonderful smells so that as soon as you walk in the door you are enveloped by comfort and cosiness.

For this reason, I've always made a lot of gratin dishes in the Autumn months. They are always well received and they are also easy on the cook. There is a fair bit of slicing involved, but after that it is pretty much an assembly job. They are also easy to cook – you simply put them in a low oven for an hour or so and voila, dinner! Easy on the pocket in these days of economic meltdown, gratins hold beautifully in the oven if everyone is eating at different times on busy Autumn evenings. 

I was keen to incorporate some vegetables from my organic veg box in my gratin this week so decided to experiment with parsnips and leeks.  The results were delicious.  You do need a bit less liquid when you are making this sort of a gratin as parsnips and leeks release some of their own liquid during cooking.  (Be sure to drain the leeks well after you wash them as the last thing you want is watery gratin.)   I always use half fat (2%) milk for health reasons, but if you wanted a richer dish you could use full cream milk instead.  I recommend using cheddar cheese in this dish as its strong flavour really compliments the root vegetables.  In fact, this is an ideal dish for vegetarians, provided you use a vegetarian cheddar. The recipe that follows can be a meal in its entirety; simply add a little something green and crisp on the side. It could not be easier to prepare, and it is absolute heaven to eat. However, if for you potatoes will never be more than a side dish, this gratin is equally delicious as a partner to any meat or fish.
 
1 – 2  large baking potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and thinly sliced
4 medium leeks, washed, drained and very thinly sliced
5 large (or 7 medium) parsnips, washed, peeled and thinly sliced
2 vegetable stock cubes
2 handful of bread crumbs
3 handfuls grated cheddar cheese
2 ½ cups (that is roughly a pint, or 600 ml) milk
 
Prepare the vegetables.  Mix together the bread crumbs and cheddar cheese in a medium size bowl.  Finely crumble the stock cubes into this mixture and stir to combine. 
 
In a large casserole dish, begin to layer the gratin.  Start with a thin layer of potatoes, then of parsnips and then leeks.  Sprinkle with one third of the cheesy breadcrumb mixture.  Repeat with another layer of potatoes, parsnips and leeks and again sprinkle with one third of the cheesy breadcrumbs.  

For the third layer of vegetables, reverse the layering order and start with the parsnips. Follow with the leeks and finish with a layer of potatoes.  Do not sprinkle the last portion of breadcrumb mixture over top just yet.
 
Heat the milk in a saucepan or in the microwave until it is just warm (not boiling).  Pour the milk over the gratin.  Now sprinkle the last one third of the cheesy breadcrumb mixture over the top of the gratin.  Bake at 170ºC ( about 350ºF) for about an hour and a half. The gratin is done when the vegetables are tender (a good way to check this is to insert a dinner knife in the gratin - it should slide in really easily) and and the top is golden brown.

Cool any leftovers quickly. They will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator and are delicious rewarmed. Be sure to reheat until piping hot.