Food Blogs
Mince And Tatties Recipe
A dish discussed as much as cassoulet is in Castelnaudary. Questions such as should you add peas or carrots can start a gastronomic row of great proportions. Sticking my neck out, I know Caledonia MacBrayne adds peas to its mince but I don’t, although I do like a spot of carrot in mine. It gets worse—I can’t help making a small gesture to the Auld Alliance as well. If you haven’t tossed this book away in disgust already, here are my mince thoughts.
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MetricUS Imperial
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Ingredients
- 1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 in leek cleaned, sliced lengthwisehalf, then thinly sliced across
- 1 in carrot peeled, sliced lengthwisehalf, then thinly sliced across
- 4 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
- a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds ¼ground beef
- 2 tinned tomatoes
- a handful of oatmeal
- 1 shot glass of Worcestershire sauce
- ⅓ bottle of red wine my gesture to the Auld Alliance
- chicken stock if needed
- sea salt and black pepper
- a dozen proper boiling potatoes
Ingredients
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Instructions
- In a large pan, sweat the onion, leek, carrot and garlic in the splash of olive oil until softened. Add the mince, giving it a healthy stir to break it up. Add the tinned tomatoes, crushed in your hand—a subliminal gesture. Keep stirring and add the oatmeal, not so much that you end up with a porridge. Stir, add the Worcestershire sauce and red wine, then stir again. Take a view on the liquid content; if it seems a wee bit dry, add some stock. You are looking for a loose lava consistency. Check for seasoning.
- Now allow the mince to simmer gently for 1½ hours, if not 2 (if it is drying out, add more stock). Time allows the mince to become itself, as is the case for most of us.
- While the mince cooks, peel the potatoes and simply boil them in salty water. After a long journey, there is no dish more welcoming. Also, a dram doesn’t go amiss.