Farmersgirl Kitchen

Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Slow Cooker Sausage, Tomato and Rosemary Casserole

Operation Dry Rot is finally progressing with construction rather than destruction now the order of the day. However, I am still cooking without my stove, so Slow Cooker recipes are featuring heavily. I like them because you can cook everything in one pot and there is less fussing around with the single electric ring and the microwave.

This is a simple casserole using everyday ingredients which make it tasty, thrifty and convenient.

Sausage, Tomato and Rosemary Slow Cooker Casserole
Serves 3-4
6 pork sausages
1 seasonal root vegetable pack containing 3 carrots, 1 parsnip, 1 small turnip (swede), 1 onion.
2 large potatoes
1 400g can chopped tinned tomatoes
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 stock cube (I used beef)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the oil in a pan and brown the sausages all over (I have a Sear and Stew Slow Cooker so brown mine in the cooking pot on the hob), slice the onion and add to the pan, turn down the heat and cook slowly for about 10 minutes.

2. While the sausage and onion are sauteing in the pan, peel the other vegetables and chop into small even sized pieces. You can cut the potatoes slightly larger as they will soften more quickly than the carrot and swede.

3. Put all the other ingredients in the slow cooking pot and mix the stock cube with 200ml of boiling water, add this to the pot.

4. Cook for 6-8 hours on Low until all the vegetables are tender. You can serve it with a green vegetable, like broccoli, or simply serve it as it is, which is what we did. It's particularly good with some crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Tip: If you want to make this stretch to feed more, take the sausages out and cut them into pieces. There are loads of vegetables so you could probably make this dish feed six.

The theme for Cooking with Herbs this month is 'Rosemary' my favourite herb, which is included in this dish. Cooking with Herbs is run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage

As this recipe used inexpensive recipes, I will be adding it to Credit Crunch Munch which is run jointly by Camilla at Fab Food 4 All and Helen at Fuss Free Flavours

Bloggers Around the World has landed in GB and this sort of sausages are very much a British tradition, so I'm sharing this recipe at Chris's site Cooking Around the World.

Labels: casserole, comfort food, Cooking Around the World, Cooking with Herbs, Credit Crunch Munch, Rosemary, sausages, slow cooker, thrifty

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

Comfort Food to Banish the Winter Blues

What's your favourite comfort food? In a recent poll, insurer Axa found that a roast is our favourite comfort food, shepherd's pie, chips and lasagne came next followed by spaghetti bolognese, macaroni and Cheese on Toast. While most of the top comfort foods require a bit of time and effort to prepare, Cheese on Toast can be put together in minutes providing a pick-me-up which, Psychologist Donna Dawson says, reminds us of our childhood as we associate them with family and feeling safe.

Cheese is usually high in calories and fat, so it's a comfort food you have to take care not to eat too often which is why I was pleased to try out this Pilgrim's Choice Extra Mature Lighter Cheese. It's still matured for 12 months and has the tangy taste you expect from Extra Mature Cheeese, but with 30% less fat than regular extra mature cheddar.

I was slightly concerned about how well the cheese would melt as it's the fat in the cheese that melts. However I was pleasantly surprised with the bubbliness and browning I got with Pilgrim's Choice Extra Mature Lighter Cheese. I wouldn't say it had the equivalent flavour of a full fat extra mature cheddar, but it was a tasty piece of cheese with good texture and a good melt.

Nutritional info:

302 calories per 100g
22g of Fat per 100g
750mg of Calcium per 100g

350g of Pilgrim's Choice Extra Mature Cheese Lighter costs around £3.40

I was supplied with a pack of Pilgrim's Choice Extra Mature Cheese Lighter to review, I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.

Labels: cheese, comfort food, lighter, Pilgrim's Choice, toast

Monday, 30 January 2012

More 'Bilbao' than Boston Baked Beans!

I seem to have established a bit of a reputation for comfort food. Until I started blogging I don't think I realised just how much I like warming stews and casseroles, bakes, crumbles and pies. Not wanting to disappoint my followers, here is another one! It started out as Boston Baked Beans but as I had no belly pork as per the recipe, I subsituted the spicy chorizo sausage which was in my fridge, so the dish moved continent and ended up in sunny Spain.

I'm entering this for Slow Sunday on Karen's blog 'Lavender and Lovage'

Bilbao Baked Beans with roasted roots

350g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight and drained

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

4 sticks celery, sliced

200g chorizo sausage, cut into chunks OR 200g Quorn Meatballs

1 x 200g can tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp molasses or black treacle

1 tsp mustard powder

600ml chicken stock

Roasted Roots

4 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 small swede, peeled and cut into chunks

2 tbsp 'Do me a Flavour' Roast Parsnip Seasoning (optional)

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1. Bring the beans to the boil in a pan of fresh unsalted water. Cook them for an hour until tender but not mushy.

2. Put 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a roasting tin add the chopped veg and the seasoning, if using. Mix together and roast in the oven at 200C for 40 - 50 minutes. The swede I had was using wasn't cooking very well, so after about 30 minutes, I covered the tin with foil and cooked it for about 20 more minutes, then uncovered to finish it off for 5 minutes.

3. While the roots are roasting, make the bean dish, put 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a pan and add the onion and celery, cook gently until starting to soften then add the chorizo chunks, or quorn meatballs (you might want to add half a teaspoon of smoked paprika if you are using the quorn) and stir around until the onion and celery start to take on the colour of the chorizo.

4. Add the beans, the tomatoes, tomato puree, molasses or treacle, mustard and stock.

5. Cover the casserole and cook in a preheated oven (160C) for 1hr 30 minutes. Add the roasted root vegetables to the casserole and cook for another 30 minutes.

This dish is quite a long way from either Boston or Bilbao but was inspired by both, and also by what I needed to use up from the fridge!

Labels: beans, carrots, casserole, chorizo, comfort food, Do me a flavour, one pot, Parsnips, tomato, vegetarian

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Farmersgirl Kitchen

Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Slow Cooker Sausage, Tomato and Rosemary Casserole

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

Comfort Food to Banish the Winter Blues

Monday, 30 January 2012

More 'Bilbao' than Boston Baked Beans!

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