The beaver is a proud and noble animal

This is another recipe we saw recently and just had to try out. It’s from the Beeb’s Something for the weekend. I prepared the mix the night before we wanted to cook it for dinner and it came out tasting loverly! The best thing though is that it makes excellent leftover meatloaf sandwiches :)

Ingredients

1 free-range egg, beaten
150ml oz milk
300g soft white bread, cut into cubes
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
pinch dried thyme
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
pinch dried basil
handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
100g celery, finely chopped
225g bacon lardons, fried until golden-brown all over
salt and freshly ground black pepper
700g minced beef
200g minced pork
3 slices streaky bacon

Method

1. For the meatloaf, place the egg and milk into a large bowl and mix together.
2. Add the cubes of bread and leave to stand for 15 minutes.
3. Mash the milk and egg-soaked bread with a fork.
4. Add the mustard, thyme, nutmeg, basil, onion, celery and bacon lardons, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well.
5. Add the beef and pork mince. Mix well to combine thoroughly.
6. Cover with cling film and place into the fridge to chill (overnight if possible, but for at least two hours).
7. Preheat the oven to 180C/360F/Gas 4.
8. Transfer the meatloaf mixture into a 30cm x 11cm/12in x 4in loaf tin.
9. Top with the streaky bacon slices to cover.
10. Transfer to the oven and bake for 55 minutes, or until completely cooked through.
11. Remove from the oven and leave the meatloaf to stand for 5-6 minutes before slicing.
13. To serve, slice the meat loaf. Place a slice onto each plate with a dollop of mashed potato alongside. Pour over some gravy and enjoy.

Ingredients

* 2 lb. stewing beef
* 4 onions, white or yellow
* 3 Tbsp. sweet paprika
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 L. water
* 4 peeled and diced potatoes
salt & pepper

Cut beef into 1 inch squares, add 1/2 tsp. salt. Chop onions and brown in olive oil, add beef and paprika. Let beef simmer in its own juice along with salt, paprika, bay leaf and 1/2 liter of water for 2 hr. on low heat. Add more water as required during simmering period. Add diced potatoes and remaining salt. Cover and simmer until potatoes are done and meat is tender.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 kg beef brisket, cut into 1-inch chunks
* salt and freshly ground black pepper
* tabasco sauce, to taste
* 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
* 3 tbsp olive oil, divided use
* 5 medium sweet onions, sliced and separated into rings
* 1/2 cup sweet red wine
* 1 cup oxo cube broth
* 1 tin chopped tomatoes with juice
* 4 tsp cup sweet Hungarian paprika (see Note)
* 1 cup sour cream

PREPARATION:

Place beef chunks in a large bowl. Sprinkle liberally with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss with the flour.

Heat a heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Place beef chunks in a single layer and brown on two sides. Season with tabasco. You will probably need to do this in batches. Do not crowd the meat or it will boil instead of brown. Remove browned beef chunks to a bowl.

Reduce heat to medium-low. To the drippings in the Dutch oven, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, onion rings and onions. Toss to coat with the olive oil. Cover tightly and sweat the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until onions are limp but not browned.

Add red wine to the vegetables and cook 2 minutes. Add broth and paprika. Return beef to the pan. Stir until well-combined. Cover tightly, reduce heat, and simmer on low heat for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until beef is fork-tender.

Remove Dutch oven from heat and wait for boiling to subside. Taste and add additional salt if necessary. Stir in sour cream until completely incorporated into the gravy.

Serve Hungarian gulash over hot buttered noodles with chopped parsley or over plain basmati rice.

I made piroshki this weekend. I saw a post in food_porn that made me drool and went recipe hunting. For a first time, they came out really nice!

MEAT FILLING:

1 large onion, finely chopped
bacon, cubed with the fat trimmed off
flank steak, minced
half a small white cabbage, finely sliced
olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
chili powder
mustard seeds
cumin powder

SOUR CREAM DOUGH:

3 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. sour cream

To make filling: heat olive oil and add mustard seed and onions. Add onions and brown slightly. Add bacon and steak and sautee until coloured. Flavour to taste with all the spices. Add cabbage and cook until tender.

To make dough: Sift together in large bowl, flour and baking powder. Cut in butter until particles like cornmeal. Stir in eggs and sour cream. Mix to form dough. Knead lightly until mixture is a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic and chill 2-4 hours.

Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut 5 inch rounds, rerolling and cutting to make 18 rounds. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in center of each circle. Using pastry brush, coat edges with beaten egg. Fold dough over and shape into moons. Press edges firmly together. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and brush tops with beaten egg.

Chill 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Makes 18 piroshki.

---

I cheated with the dough, really, as I didn't have any sour cream (substituted with milk and a bit of vinegar) and I found out the hard way that I didn't have any eggs (so I added more milk and more butter, which made the dough more crumbly but still damn tasty!)

All in all though, they are NUMMAY!!!