Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom pie

 

This was actually an exercise in using up leftovers, but it was delicious as well as "frugal".  We had chicken left over from some roast chicken thighs and ham left over from BBQ pulled gammon.

I made a sauce using the last of the leeks and mushrooms from the veg box, and some soya milk.  Threw on a pastry lid, bunged some potatoes in the oven, and we finished the coleslaw.

Olive oil

Leeks

Mushrooms

Cooked chicken

Cooked ham

Plain flour

Soya milk

Flour

salt

butter

Yogurt

Cold water

1.  Make pastry - rub butter into salted flour.  When it resembles breadcrumbs add a couple of spoons of natural yogurt and a splash of cold water, work together gently to make the pastry.  Form into a ball, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

2.  Fry mushrooms and leeks in olive oil, add cooked meats.

3.  Sprinkle a spoonful of flour into the pie filling mix, coat all of the elements, then add about a muful of soya milk, stir in to form the sauce.

4.  Transfer pie filling to pie dish, roll out pastry and cover the top.  Wash with soya milk.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes.

5.  Serve, scoff

Roast gammon, with hasselback potatoes, butter bean leek and mushroom casserole and stir fried celeriac slaw.

Some days you fancy something just a little bit different … ie. a tiny bit different... so I hasselbacked the potatoes - other than that it really is a pretty standard roast gammon dinner.

Gammon
Potatoes
Garlic
Olive oil
Leeks
Mushrooms
Veg stock
White wine
Butter beans
Leftover celeriac slaw
Apple juice
Coleslaw
Chicken stock cube

1.  Roast gammon - 25 minutes plus 20 minutes per 500g - in foil, then another 20 minutes without foil.  10 minutes to rest.
2.  Wash potatoes, cut slices that don't go all the way through the potatoes by cutting between two chopsticks, or on a wooden spoon.  Brush the potatoes, into the gaps with crushed garlic mixed with olive oil.  Roast for an hour.
3.  Sautee leeks and mushrooms for a few minutes, then add a splash of white wine and a cup of veg stock.  Simmer, add butter beans, transfer to oven dish and keep warm while everything finishes.
4.  When you uncover the gammon pour in a glass of apple juice.
5.  After 20 minutes make the gravy using the apple juice and meat juice, chicken stock - simmer this and then thicken with cornflour (slake cornflour in water, add it to gravy, stir as it thickens).
6.  Stir fry left over celeriac slaw  (or prepare whatever veg you are using, obviously)
7.  Serve, scoff, have seconds

… loads of gammon left for tomorrow's lunch.

St Patrick's Day - baked gammon and colcannon

St Patrick's Day - and I am now in a largely Irish household, so any excuse for a roast gammon dinner and a pint or three of the black stuff.  It was made even more special by the beautiful gammon from Bracewell's butchers in Todmorden market hall - absolutely first rate.

Gammon joint
Potatoes
Onions
Cabbage
Carrots
Apple juice
Chicken stock cube
Butter
Egg
Cornflour

1.  Bake the gammon at 180 for about 2 hours (obviously depending on the size of your joint, this was just under 3lbs).  Turn it over after an hour, and add a cupful or so of apple juice to help make the gravy.
2.  After 1 hour peel the potatoes and put on to boil for the mash - steam chopped onions and shredded cabbage above the potatoes, and steam the peeled batons of carrot over them, for about 15-10 minutes, until the potatoes are done.
3.  Drain the potatoes, mash in the cooked onions and cabbage with plenty of butter.  Place in an oven dish and put in the oven to brown the top.  Cover the carrots with foil and put in the boom of the oven to keep warm.
4.  Drain the juices from the gammon, and make a simple gravy with chicken stock and cornflour.
5.  After another 30 minutes the dinner will be nearly done, so fry an egg for all those who want one.
6.  Serve, scoff ..

This is the veg dodger's plate - 4 carrot batons!  honestly!  But everybody had seconds, most had thirds and fourths .. success

Roast gammon, cheesy leeks

Cheapest Sunday roast out there? Gammon joint I would think ... not only that, it's really tasty.

Gammon joint
Leftover cider (optional)
Onions
Red pepper
Garlic
Black eyed beans
Chilli
Mustard
BBQ sauce
Tomatoes
New potatoes
Leeks
Milk (soya for us)
Cornflour
Grated cheese

1.  Roast the gammon joint - 2 hours for this one - initially covered in foil, which was removed for the last 30 minutes.  I splashed some left over cider in the bottom of the pan to keep it moist - but you can use water.  I would have made a sauce with the pan juices - but we had cheesey sauce, so I didn't bother in the end.
2.  Nothing to do for an hour.
3.  Start the beans - sautee chopped onion, pepper and garlic until soft.
4.  Add drained tinned beans and a tin full of water, add chilli, mustard, BBQ sauce etc to taste and simmer.  After a few minutes add some chopped tomatoes and stir them in.  Don't add salt yet as it could make the skin on the beans tough.
5.  Boil the potatoes, and steam the chopped washed leek over them.
6.  Make the cheese sauce - you could go all bechamelly, but I just boil the milk, add slaked cornflour (cornflour mixed with a little cold liquid) and whisk it in.  Continue to simmer as it thickens, then add grated cheese.
7.  As the elements of the dinner are ready you can transfer them to oven dishes and pop them in under the gammon.
8.  You should really leave the gammon to rest for 20+ minutes  - but it's much less critical than for other joints.
9.  Serve, scoff

The veggie was totally happy with cheesy leeks, beans and potatoes.  The veg dodger had 2 helpings of cheesy leeks ... and ... polished off ALL of the gammon in midnight feastings - thus rendering my hopes for budget busting sandwiches for work completely dashed.

Bacon, cabbage and mash

It's quite chilly now, and we fancied something traditional and warming, but I also wanted to ring the changes a little - so a quick forage around Todmorden market, and this delicious concoction was invented.

From Bracewell's the butchers

Gammon steaks

From The Crumbly Cheese

Raclette, butter

From The Mediterranean Pantry
Olive oil, caraway seeds, bouillon powder

From Garry the veg

Onions, Potatoes, white cabbage

1.  Peel and boil potatoes for the mash.
2.  Chop onion, sautee in olive oil.
3.  When the onion is soft add shredded cabbage, a scant teaspoon of caraway seeds (not too many, it goes medicinal), a teaspoon of bouillon powder and a cup fo water, simmer gently.
4.  Mash the potato, with butter, and pop in the oven to brown.
5.  Top the onion and cabbage mix with raclette, and pop in the oven to melt.
6.  Fry the gammon for a couple of minutes on each side - you can pop it into the bottom of the oven to keep warm until the potato reaches the right colour for your taste.
7.  Serve, scoff

Lovely, and about £4 a head.

It's Bacon Lovers Day

And we love bacon.  Not every day, before anyone reports us to the health police - but it's really good.  These gammon steaks were from Bracewell's in Todmorden Indoor Market and they were FABULOUS.

Equally fabulous was the cabbage from Jean from The Crumbly Cheese - OK, you can't buy them from her - this was a delicious gift from her garden ... Jean - your cabbage was amazing!

Also, potatoes and carrots available from Garry outside.

Gravy made with apple and calvados jelly from The Mediterranean Pantry - it was a feast.

1.  Peel and boil potatoes.
2.  Prep and steam carrots and cabbage.
3.  Fry gammon on a medium heat, until it starts to colour on both sides.  Remove and keep warm.
4.  Mash potato, add butter and seasoning.
5.  Add white wine (or cider) to gammon pan to make gravy from the juices, add a spoon of apple jelly until it melts.
6.  Fry eggs for the vegetarian.
7.  Serve, scoff .... groan cos you're too full to leave the table!

Gammon in a mustard and cider sauce, with purple mash and cumin cabbage and carrots

It messes with your head a little bit does purple mash, but it's just purple potatoes, mashed ... and it's delicious.

The gammon is organic and came with the veg box - and was really good.

So, ...

Potatoes (they don't have to be purple!)
Olive oil
Onion
Grainy mustard
Cider
Cumin
Carrots
Cabbage
Bouillon powder (well, stock of any sort really)
Gammon
Butter

1.  Peel potatoes, chop into chunks and boil in salted water.
2.  Peel and chop onion, sautee in olive oil.
3.  Add a spoon of mustard to the onions, and about 1/2 pint cider.  Simmer.
4.  In another pan, heat a little olive oil and add a teaspoon of cumin seeds.
5.  Peel and slice carrots, shred cabbage.  Add to cumin and oil, and mix around.  Add half a cup of water, put a lid on and cook on a medium heat for about 12 minutes.
6.  When the potatoes are done, drain, add a good knob on butter and mash.  Put in a hottish oven to keep warm and/or if you have long enough get a crunchy crust on top.
7.  Add the gammon to the cider sauce, lid on simmer for about 5 minutes, turn over, and do the other side for 5 minutes or so.

Should all be done ... serve and scoff.

The veggie option was grilled haloumi with the onion sauce - removed before the meat was added.  Also delicious.