Chicken & Vegetable Stew

So this is the official food of the Beast from the East! This chicken stew will warm you from the inside out and considering that temperatures will not rise above freezing for the next couple of days and there is snow falling as I type then I think this is the recipe for you. 

Talk of Status Red warnings and dangerous driving conditions has blanket coverage on the radio and the television, all this before Storm Emma makes her appearance! 

I love this recipe because apart from a bit of time preparing the vegetables it pretty much cooks itself. Want to add a splash of white wine, no problem any wine that's good enough to drink with your meal can be added at the cooking stage and it will give your stew some extra flavour. Your choice of chicken stock is very important because it will impart the most flavour so don't skimp, add a good quality rich in flavour stock.

Mussel and Bacon Stew

We recently received a lovely gift of mussels and crab legs, fresh from the Atlantic ocean from my brother-in-law. My children were fascinated by the mussels and my son thought the crab legs were the coolest thing ever! All this excitement lead to many questions so now having done some research, I'm passing what I learnt on to you.
Rope-grown farmed mussels are available all year, sold in supermarket chiller cabinets, ready-shelled. But wild mussels come into season when there's an "R" in the month. The most common European mussels have shiny shells and tender, juicy flesh. Fresh mussels should smell of the sea and be tightly closed, those fresh from the sea will have seaweed and barnacles attached to their shells, where as rope grown mussels will have clean shells. Some mussels will open as you wash them, if you are unsure if they are alive or dead, gently tap the shell, it should close within 20 seconds. They need to be thoroughly cleaned and eaten on the day you buy them as they are very perishable.

Serves 4

Ingredients
3kg Mussels
600g Small salad potatoes (I used peeled and cubed roosters instead)
200g Bacon, finely diced or lardons
3tbsp Butter
2 Onions, chopped
150g Carrots,peeled and finely chopped
1 Bunch spring onions, finely chopped
700ml Chicken stock
1 Bay leaf
Parsley, chopped
Seasoning

Method
Sort the mussels and discard any that are broken or open. Rinse them thoroughly in running water, this will reduce the amount of sand in your cooking pot.



Scrub the mussels under running water and pull (or cut) away beards.





Cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling, salted water for 25 - 30 minutes or until tender.




Drain and set aside. Fry the bacon in a dry, non-stick pan until crispy. Set aside. Melt the butter in a very large saucepan and fry the onions until translucent. Add the carrots and spring onions and sweat with the lid on until just tender.





Stir in the chicken stock. Season and bring to the boil. Add the mussels to the pan, cover and cook over and high heat for 8 minutes, shaking the pan every so often, until the mussels have opened and cooked (discard any that do not open). Add the potatoes, bacon and some chopped parsley. Ladle into bowls and serve with bread to soak up the juices.

Related Reading

• BBC Food: Article by Vanessa Kendell, mussels buyers guide, preparation and recipes. 
• Irish Seafood Board: General tips, recipes and where to buy.
• Bord Bia: General information about fish and shell food.  

Rachel Allen's Irish Beef Stew

The beautiful aromas that filled the house while this was cooking, was mouthwatering, it drew everyone to the kitchen with enquiring looks!
Rachel Allen was one of the first chef cookbooks that I bought to start me off on my culinary journey, I have always found her recipes uncomplicated and most importantly tested. Untested cook books are a bug bear of mine, because in the past I have paid good money for cookbooks, where the recipes don't work or are written incorrectly, so that you are left with unused ingredients!
This is another fine example of Rachel's expertise's in the kitchen and it is well worth the effort. I, as usual took some shortcuts, I bought lardons and ready chopped vegetables and steak, saves time and effort!

Recipe compliments of BBC Food Website

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1½kg/3lb 5oz Stewing beef, cut into cubes
175g/6oz Streaky bacon
3 tbsp Olive oil
12 Baby onions, peeled
18 Button mushrooms, left whole
3 Carrots, cut into quarters or 12 baby carrots, scrubbed and left whole
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp Chopped thyme
2 tbsp Chopped parsley
10 Cloves of garlic, crushed and grated
425ml/15fl oz Red wine
425ml/15fl oz Chicken or beef stock

For the roux
50g/2oz Butter
50g/1¾oz Flour
Champ, to serve


Method
Brown the beef and bacon in the olive oil in a hot casserole or heavy saucepan.

I use the lid of my casserole dish to rest the beef (saves washing!)

Remove the meat and toss in the onions, mushrooms and carrots, one ingredient at a time, seasoning each time.

Place the beef back in the casserole, along with the herbs and garlic.

Cover with red wine and stock and simmer for one hour (I left it to cook for two hours) or until the meat and vegetables are cooked. To make the roux, in a separate pan melt the butter, add the flour and cook for two minutes.  When the stew is cooked, remove the meat and vegetables. Bring the remaining liquid to the boil and add one tbsp of roux. Whisk the mixture until the roux is broken up and the juices have thickened, allowing to boil. Replace the meat and vegetables, and taste for seasoning. (I sometimes thicken the stew with 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour mixed with 1 tablespoon of cold water, pour into the stew, stir continually until it has thickened)

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with champ.