Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sun on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die.

-Mary Elizabeth Frye-


25 June 2014

The World Cup Food Challenge - Day 8, England (Shepherd's Pie)

It occurred to me at the beginning of this World Cup Food Challenge, that I would have to give some thought to how I pick the dish of the day. It would be nice to be able to order them in such a way that when we get to the later stages of the tournament, I would be left cooking dishes of countries which are still left. That means though, I would have to try and figure out which countries are unlikely to make it to the knock out stages. Despite the fact that I did not expect England to go far in the tournament, I did not expect them to make it to this list - the list of countries not making it to the knock out stages, I mean. But it has happened, England has a flight booked out of Brazil after the first round. Ironically, the dish I made for England (I made it the day before, which was day 8) was served and enjoyed on the same day, during the same few hours of the day in fact, that their exit from the World Cup became a certainty (day 9).*

I picked England for day 8 for the simple reason that I had to make a dish to contribute to a midsummer's party. And since I had embarked on this challenge, my dish had also represent one of the countries in the World Cup. The first thing which came to mind was a shepherd's pie, despite the fact that England cannot really claim credit for the shepherd's pie on its own. Most sources seem to name the United Kingdom (being England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and Ireland as the being the origin for the shepherd's pie. Some say Scotland and Northern England, some say Ireland. It may well depend on the nationality of the author! All that aside, as I have mentioned before, I am not looking to set some kind of food facts record straight. I just want to make good food. I associate shepherd's pie strongly with England, even though I have not really had shepherd's pie all that often while actually in England. I wonder why that is... The best shepherd's pie I have ever had (other than, ahem... those I have made) was at an English pub in Kuala Lumpur. Remembering the pie at the George & Dragon that one time - it was not always the same at other times, of course - is enough to kick start another phase of hankering for shepherd's pie. But anyway, I needed to make a dish for a large party, and though I had several other options, I chose this simple because I was pressed for time, and this recipe was one I knew.

There was therefore no seeking of advice nor searching for recipes this time. This one has served me well time and time again. It is based on Marguerite Patten's 5000 Recipe Cookbook which I snapped up in a second hand bookshop more than ten years ago and have carted all around the world with me since. My base recipe is a combination of two of the recipes in the book, but what happens on the day is really anybody's guess. It depends on the ingredients I have on hand and how well my memory serves me on the day. I do not always consult my recipe book, and some times, even when I do, I somehow manage to overlook whole lines of instructions. Not this time though. Seeing as I was making it for a party, I felt I had to deliver. I had my recipe book out in front of me the whole time, and I consulted it constantly, though I did deviate ever so slightly now and again.

Shepherd's Pie

Close up of the shepherd's pie to avoid catch all the other food I also had on my plate
at the party! - I only remembered to take the essential photographic evidence of the dish
halfway through the meal.
Ingredients (feeds at least 10)
2 large onions, chopped
2 - 3 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
30g butter
2 tbsp flour
300ml stock (I use beef)
500g minced beef 
700 g potatoes
milk & butter for mashed potatoes

Additional options:
cumin or curry powder
red wine and/or sherry
tomato paste (concentrate)
nutmeg or allspice for mashed potatoes
grated cheese (I used Gouda)

Method:
1. Fry onions in hot butter till just starting to cook, then add tomatoes and cook until softened.
2. Add flour (and, if using, curry powder).
3. Add stock, bring to boil then lower temperature and allow to simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally.
4. Add minced beef, stirring gently to break up lumps. 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste (and, if using, about 1/2 tsp cumin powder)
6. Cook meat till tender. If desired, add a splash of red wine. (I had a bottle of Sherry, so used that instead. Then when the meat was almost ready, I realised I had an open bottle of red wine tucked away in the fridge for cooking. I added a splash of that as well.)

(mashed potatoes)
7. In the meantime, boil potatoes till cooked. Then mash a few potatoes at a time with a masher; add butter while mashing. Season with salt and pepper (and, if using, nutmeg or allspice (but only a pinch of either - enough to give a hint of spice to the mashed potatoes, but not enough to be obvious or even worse, overpowering.) Add milk and mix well. (I tend to wait to add milk until the potatoes are most or less mashed. Otherwise, the milk cools down the potatoes rather quickly which hardens them. Use an electric mixer for smooth, fluffy mashed potatoes.) 

(Finally)
8. Pour beef into casserole dish, and cover with mashed potatoes. (Make sure beef is completely covered, otherwise the sauce would boil over and leak through gaps onto the mashed potatoes. It won't spoil the dish or the taste, but the aesthetics.)
9. Top with butter and / or grated cheese, if desired.
10. Bake at about 180-°C for about 20-30 minutes until lightly browned. 

Verdict: success!!  - there really could be no other outcome.
As I said, this recipe has served me well many a time. And this time was no exception. It was really one of the better outcomes, one of the best I would even say. The sherry could not be tasted, neither could the red wine, but I reckon it gave the meat and the sauce a really nice rich flavour. It was probably good that I did not remember the red wine until later, because I would have probably gone a bit overboard and added too much. But instead, I think, because I started with the sherry, it lent a hint of sweetness to the dish, and it stopped me from being too heavy handed with the red wine. There was possibly just a bit too much mashed potato this time. But that was due to the fact that I initially did not make enough. There was barely enough mashed potato to cover the whole pie. So I got to boiling another batch of potatoes and spread another layer on the whole thing just to be sure it was properly decked. It was a bit of a shame though, that it had got cold by the time it was finally served. It could have, should have really, been heated up. Unfortunately, I did not think of it until I saw it being brought out from the kitchen to the table at the party, and by then, I figured, it was a bit too late to stop proceedings for a good twenty minutes to wait for it to be heated up.

*during the Costa Rica v Italy game - who woulda thunk that Costa Rica would win all three games??

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