Edibletcetera – Fast & Fabulous Food

“Pickled walnuts – what are those?”- I’m frequently asked (over here).

Answer: they’re a whole young walnut that’s been pickled in malt vinegar – soft green shell and all – resulting in a mysteriously dark and tender treat that’s a wonderful accompaniment to ham, cold roast beef, strong Cheddar or Stilton cheeses…and they make an unexpectedly good addition to a beef (or venison) stew.

Pickled walnuts have been enjoyed in the UK since the early 19^thC but are generally unknown in the US so I resisted posting this recipe; that is until I recently discovered they’re available from Amazon.com…. and to think I’d been maxing out my weight limit by loading my suitcase up with jars of these devilishly dark delicacies each time I flew over the pond!

This recipe is popular in the UK for several reasons; it’s easy to make and pickled walnuts are available everywhere; it can be made ahead of time and has a marvelous richness that makes it impressive enough for a dinner party. It also freezes well; perfect for those evenings where you want a hearty comforting supper and can’t be bothered to cook.

True, you’ll have to visit Amazon online and pay for shipping but it’s totally worth it. This dish uses about 2/3 of a jar so you’ll have a few left over to enjoy with your cold cuts and cheese  – and just imagine the fun you’ll have tormenting your guests with a guessing game about the delicious dark morsels lurking next to the tender chunks of meat.

If you have a slow cooker, this would be the perfect opportunity to use it rather than the oven method in the recipe below and like many dishes of this type, it will taste even better if gently reheated the next day. I like to serve it with Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and mashed potatoes with celery root (celeriac) – that recipe is below this one:

BEEF (or VENISON) STEW with GUINNESS, PORT & PICKLED WALNUTS

(A Delia Smith recipe – serves 4 -6)

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs (682g) of stewing beef, venison or elk, cut into 2 inch (50mm) cubes

10 fl oz (275ml) of Guinness

2 ½ fl oz (65ml) of port

9 oz (350g) of pickled walnuts, drained and halved

1 bay leaf

2 large sprigs of fresh thyme

½ oz (10g) of butter

1 tablespoon of extra-v olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 fat clove of garlic, minced

¾ tablespoon of all purpose (plain) flour

Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Action:

Starting 24 hrs ahead – combine the meat, bay leaf, thyme, Guinness and port in a bowl. Put a weighted plate on top of the meat to keep it pressed down into the liquid. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 275F (140C)

Remove the meat from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels, reserving the liquid and herbs.

In an ovenproof pan/casserole/Dutch oven with a lid, heat half of the butter and olive oil. Brown the meat in small batches (overcrowding will cause it to steam rather than brown). Transfer the browned meat to a plate as you go.

Heat the remaining butter and oil in the pan and sauté the sliced onion until soft and golden then add the garlic; cook for a couple of minutes more.

Return the browned meat and any collected juices to the pan along with the onions and garlic. Add the flour and stir until it’s completely absorbed, then carefully pour in the marinade, including the bay and thyme.

Add the pickled walnuts and stir gently…season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bring everything to a simmer, put the lid on and stick it in the oven for 3-3 ½ hours; if the meat isn’t wonderfully tender and the sauce isn’t yet dark and rich looking, turn the heat down to 250F (120C) and give it another hour or so. If you’re using a slow cooker you might want to cook it overnight on the lowest setting. Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the meat and if not, just add more Guinness and/or port, at your discretion.

MASHED POTATOES with CELERIAC (Celery Root)

Ingredients:

Celeriac/celery root, weighing approx 1 lb (450g), peeled and cut into ½ inch (12mm) dice

12 oz (340g) of red-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks about 1 ½ inches (38mm)

1/4 cup (60ml) of thin cream and 1 oz (28g) of butter, heated together gently until the butter melts

Action:

Cook the celeriac in large saucepan of boiling salted water for 15 minutes.

Add the diced potato and continue to boil until both are very tender, approx 15 minutes longer  – drain.

Return the potato and celeriac to same saucepan and shake over a medium heat until any excess liquid has evaporated.

Add the warmed cream and butter and mash everything until mixture is almost smooth, leaving some texture. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pork roasts with the skin left on are quite hard to find in the US but its well worth the hunt because once cooked, the skin is magically transformed into ‘crackling’; that crispy crunchy fragrantly delicious outer layer that should accompany a proper pork roast…a traditional British Sunday lunch delicacy that everyone, especially the men, like to fight over.

Your regular supermarket will probably sell pork belly that’s already been skinned so you’ll need to seek out a good Mexican butcher …see my  last post, Rillettes of Pork, or an obliging  meat counter manager who’ll order you a piece with the skin left on.

If you prefer, leave out the crushed spices; just rub the scored skin with sea salt and place the pork on top of 3 or four flattened peeled garlic cloves and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary that you’ve previously soaked in water for 30 mins. This will perfume the meat without overwhelming it.

Serve this juicy roast with Perfect Roast Potatoes and perhaps Spiced Red Cabbage with Apples and your favorite applesauce.

ROAST PORK BELLY with SPICED CRACKLING

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tsp fennel seeds

3-4 large cloves of peeled and flattened garlic

4lb (2kg) thick-end pork belly with skin

Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Action:

Preheat the oven to 425F/220C. Crush the seeds lightly in a pestle and mortar.

First of all, make sure the skin is completely dry and if it isn’t already scored, do it yourself with a sharp knife at finger-width intervals and down to the fat underneath but not into the meat.

Rub a good sized pinch of salt, some freshly ground black pepper and half of the cracked seeds onto the skin, working them into the cuts.

Place the flattened garlic in the bottom of a large roasting pan then scatter the remaining cracked seeds over them; put the meat on top, skin uppermost – and roast for 30 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 360F/180C and cook for one hour and a half more, or until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a skewer and the skin has crackled to a gorgeous golden brown.

If the crackling looks a bit pale, turn the heat up to its highest setting and keep checking every 5 minutes, until it’s blistered and puffy.

Remove the roast from the oven and leave it to rest uncovered in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Remove the crackling before carving the meat and break it up into equally fair pieces to avoid arguments.

Belly pork needs to be sliced thickly in order to be fully appreciated.