Family Suppers: Spring Meat and Veg
Spring is a wonderful season! Packed with the promise of fresh food, tender young meat and tiny new vegetables to come, Spring is also a bit of in-between time with the last of the old year’s vegetables about and crying out to be used!
It can be chilly outside, and after a walk in bright sunshine, supper needs to be warming. We’ve recipes for a yummy fish pie, a veg-packed Welsh stew - in honour of St. David whose day is celebrated on 1st March - and a simple chicken dish.
For more recipes for Spring cooking with vegetables and meat, be sure to check out our other web pages.
Fish Pie
- 1 lb old potatoes (red Desiree are good for mashing), peeled and diced
- ½ lb celeriac, peeled and diced a bit smaller than the potatoes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 egg
- 1 lb cod fillet
- ½ lb smoked haddock fillet
- ¼ pint milk
- ¼ pint fish stock
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 leeks
- Olive oil
- 4 oz mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 4 oz strong cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5.
Cook the potatoes and celeriac together until tender. (You can boil, steam or microwave.) Drain and mash until most of the lumps have gone. Stir in the butter and egg and beat well with a fork. Set aside.
Clean and slice the leeks. Wipe and slice the mushrooms. Fry the leeks in a little olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue frying for about 5 minutes. Place in the base of a greased ovenproof dish.
Cut the fish into chunks. Bring the milk and water to the boil. Add the fish, seasoning and bay leaf. Allow to simmer gently until tender.
Drain the fish, reserving the cooking liquid and discarding the bay leaf. Put the fish on top of the leek and mushroom mix.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Gradually add in the reserved cooking liquid, stirring well between additions. Return to the heat and stir until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 oz cheese. Pour the sauce over the fish.
Gently place dollops of mashed potato on top until all is covered. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown and hot through.
- You can replace the leeks with spinach. In that case, sauté the mushrooms until almost cooked and then add the spinach and allow to wilt.
- Serve with broccoli and carrots.
Mamgu’s Cawl (Welsh stew recipe)
- 2 onions
- ½ swede
- 3 parsnips
- 2 potatoes
- 5 carrots
- 3 leeks
- 2 lb neck fillet lamb
- 2 pints lamb stock
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Flour
Dice the lamb and toss in a plastic bag containing flour, salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large wide-based pan and fry the meat, a few pieces at a time, until nicely browned. Set aside.
Add more oil to the pan if necessary and add the, onions, swede and carrots. Cover and allow to sweat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and parsnips and continue to sweat for another 5 minutes. Add the stock, meat and extra pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer covered for about 1 hour before adding the leeks. Continue cooking until the meat is tender.
- Serve with fresh crusty bread.
- Stew is traditionally simmered on the hob but you can cook this dish in the oven at a low temperature.
Chicken with Bacon
- 4 chicken joints ( allow 1 per person)
- 1 egg, beaten
- Breadcrumbs (toasted if you’re making your own)
- 2 oz butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 rashers lean back bacon
Preheat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5.
Wipe the chicken joints and remove the skin. Dip in the beaten egg and then roll in breadcrumbs to coat.
Place the oil and butter in a baking tin in the oven until the butter has melted and is hot. Place the chicken in the tin, turning the pieces over in the butter to baste. Return to the tin and cook for about 1 hour.
Cut the rashers in half and roll up, fixing them onto skewers. When the chicken has been cooking for about 45 minutes, add the bacon skewers to the pan and allow to finish cooking.
Serve with baked tomatoes, broccoli and roast butternut squash.
