Slow Cook Archives | National Dish

Zimbabwean and African Oxtail Stew | National Dish Recipe

Wayne @NationalDish — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 14:09:43 +0000

Oxtail Stew, especially when coming from Africa, is insane.

Some people get a little weird about cooking with oxtail – which I sort of get, sort of (I’m being a little polite), but they wouldn’t have an issue with oxtail soup from a can, and it tastes way better when you make it fresh.

Everyone knows, anything you cook low and slow, on the bone, is gonna be awesome, this African oxtail stew recipe is no different.

In terms of the country of origin for this oxtail stew recipe, I could have gone British, it’s very traditional. Oxtail is a fascinating ingredient, used all over the world and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular is a massive consumer and I love African cuisine, which is only going to get more popular, plus it has some spice, which = winner. I’ve tried a few and this one is from Zimbabwe.

I’ve said it’s really easy and it is. 30 mins prep and then let is sit in the oven for 3 hours. Before we get going, whack the oven on full and pop a cast iron casserole dish in there – do this first, put the kettle on too for beef stock.

Oxtail Stew Recipe

Oven is on and the casserole dish should be in there getting nice and hot - we'll roast of the oxtails for 20 minutes before adding the stew ingredients and then you can go to the pub for a couple of hours.

CourseMain Dish
CuisineAfrican, Zimbabwean
KeywordAfrica, Oxtail, Stew

Servings4 people

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time3 hours

Ingredients

650grams oxtailcut into chunks - as they come is fine
2whole white onionroughly chopped
2whole bay leaves
3 birdseye chilliessliced
2tbls plain flourto dust the oxtail
500ml beef stockboil the kettle up front and get this ready
3cloves garliccrushed or finely chopped
1tin chopped tomatoes400g tin will do it
2 green pepperde-seeded and chopped into handy chunks
1tsp curry powderyup, gives it a slightly different angle - this one is rather important
1tsp thymefresh is ideal but dried will do - just don't leave it out
2tbls tomato puree

Instructions

Ok, before we start chopping everything up, let's sort the oxtail out. The casserole dish should be in the oven and either getting very hot or already is. In this order, oil the oxtail and then season generously with Maldon Sea Salt and dust with the flour.
Pull the hot casserole dish out of the oven and put on the hob, add a couple of tablespoons of oil and then add all the oxtail (or in batches). Put the lid on and place back into the oven for 20 minutes - no more though, lets not burn the oxtail. During this time you can prep the other ingredients - do the beef stock first. You can seal it on the hob too, but I found this way gives the Oxtail a better finish.
Pull the casserole pot out of the oven and turn the heat down to 140 degrees. Remove the oxtail and put aside and place the casserole dish on hob, medium heat. The Oxtail should be gnarly leaving behind some tasty fat for the next step.
Add all the onions and fry for 5 minutes and then add the garlic, chillies, green pepper, thyme, curry powder and tomato puree. Stir and fry for another few minutes, gently until soft. Then add all the beef stock and bayleaves.
Give it a good stir and add the oxtail back in, push below the surface of the sauce (top up with water if you need to) and replace the lid. Place into the oven for 3 hours at 140 degrees. Check it hourly and prevent it drying out by adding more water.
You'll then have a deep bath for the Oxtail, ready to go in the oven - you can then chill. Won't hurt to check it half way through, to make sure you haven't lost too much liquid.
After three hours the meat should have been falling off the bones and you should have plenty of sauce - it serves wonderfully with white rice, but that's up to you - why not just grab a bowl and crusty bread?
Thank you Zimbabwe, Africa

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How do you make Vietnamese Pho? | National Dish of Vietnam

Wayne @NationalDish — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 13:00:37 +0000

Serve Vietnamese Pho will all the different elements ‘on the side’ and then build your bowl

There seems to be Vietnamese restaurants popping up all over the place – and for good reason, the food is the nuts. How do you make Vietnamese Pho (pronounced fur)?

This is one National Dish we don’t mind posting, we did this as part of a banquet, my good chum @fp_in_the_kitchen and I. I’ll focus on the Pho here though and post the other dishes separately.

Get ready for some good food from ‘The Nam‘, Cheltenham…that’s fucking terrible…

How do you make Vietnamese Pho? | National Dish of Vietnam

This is a single recipe that was part of an entire banquet - for 4-6. We’re focusing on Vietnamese Beef Phở Gỏi cuốn. The cooking times won't require you to be working non-stop - this is all about the prep. You need to prep ahead - OK?

CourseDips and bits, Main Dish, Starter
CuisineVietnamese

Servings4-6 People

Prep Time30 Mins

Cook Time10 Hours

Ingredients

1bone of beefget this from your butcher
2good size sirloin steak
1large bunch fresh corianderfinely chop the stalks and set aside (you'll need the leaves too)
2whole limecut into quarters
1litre beef stock
1cup bean sprouts
1large thumb fresh gingerpeeled and sliced finely
3medium white onionfinely chopped
5cloves garlicfinely sliced
4large fresh red chillisliced, don't both to de-seed (unless you really want to)
6tbls dark soy sauce
2tbls fish sauce
350grams noodlesyour choice, but flat rice noodles is the norm
2tsp Chinese five spice
8chopped spring onionstry and slice them at an extreme angle, they look cool
1bowl full mange toutuse any bean you like, sugar snaps would also be amaze
1handful Chinese greens

Instructions

Right, now the prep for this easy as hell, but after that there is a 10 hour wait - and it's worth it. If you want to make a real Vietnamese Pho, packed with flavour, you gotta do it this way. Nothing wrong with leaving it over night by the way, the longer the better.
You're gonna need some beef bones, any decent butcher should be able to sort you out with these. My guy did good. Get the oven going, place the bone(s) into a roasting tray (only needs to be big enough to take it), chop up an onion or two and some lemongrass, oil it and pop in the oven for about 20 mins at 200.
Whilst the beef bone is building up some colour, add some oil to a stock pot or saucepan on a medium high heat and then add the remaining white onion, garlic (hold a little back), two thirds of the chilli, ginger, coriander stalks and Chinese five spice - give a stir and let the onions soften before.
Whip the beef bone out of the oven, it should be gnarly and brown, drop it (along with the onion and lemon grass) into the stock pot and then add enough beef stock to cover the bone. Add the fish sauce. Bring to the boil, turn it down to super super low simmer, lid on and leave it. For AT LEAST 10 HOURS.
Whilst that's going on, use this time to marinate your sirloin steaks. In a dish that you can cover, add soy sauce, garlic and lime juice and drench the steaks in it - cover with cling film and refrigerate.
Now you should have a deep broth which you'll add a load of goodies that we'll prep now. Everything will be separate, you and your guests will build their own. You'll need some Ramen or noodles bowls. Strain your stock and add it back to the pan. if you want it nice and clear, do it twice through clean muslin. Now keep it hot (do not boil).
Ok, so we're gonna have some sirloin steak, some noodles, some mange tout, bean sprouts, spring onions, coriander leaves - you can totally go off piste here, char-grilled baby pak choy would be the nuts.
To avoid running your ass off in the final moment, firstly prep the stuff that can be served cold, lay the table, put something down to take the hot stock pot - get everything ready, so as you cook and heat things up, you can just serve and sit with your guests and enjoy it. Just think it through for a mo - it's not hard - make life easy.
The main event is the steak, for that you need a very hot pan (I prefer flat bottom not griddle - bring more of the meat into contact with the heat, resulting in more gnarlyness). Get some boiling water on for the mange tout, place a sieve over that and put the greens in, cover that with a lid. Only a few mins.
Prep the noodles to time too. We're gonna cook this steak rare - hot pan, pop em in, season with some salt and LEAVE THEM THE HELL ALONE for a few mins. When you can't bear it any longer, lift and look for decent amount of charring and flip em. This will be for a 2 mins tops probably.
On a piece of wood, whip the steaks out and slice them. Take to the table.
Everything is done - build your bowl with noodles first, then stock (provide a ladle) and add what you want, finishing with a few strips of steak and sprinkle with sprint onions.

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How do you make Fennel Gin? | National Dish Recipe | Gin Infusion

Wayne @NationalDish — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 21:28:21 +0000

Looks really beautiful when you first put it in, but that will change – so keep an eye on it.

We like infusing our own Gin and have a growing number of flavours. Fennel Gin is a bit of a surprise – I wasn’t sure how it would turn out – it’s real good, it’s vegan and is a subtle version of Sambuca.

Unlike fruit based Gin infusions, which you would leave for 3 months, fennel needs to be rather quick, cause it goes brown…fear not, we made a recipe, so you’ll be fine.

Our Plum Gin – which is a thing to behold, was created in a very large Kilner Jar, I’ve moved down to 1 litre jars – I can then make more than one at the same time.

How do you make Fennel Gin | National Dish Recipe

Might not seem like an obvious ingredient to infuse, but aniseed is incredibly popular in booze and if you're going for it, use a fab vegetable like Fennel and the result is fab. Remember, when infusing, sterilisation of EVERYTHING is EVERYTHING.

CourseCocktail, Drinks
CuisineBritish

Servings1 Litre

Prep Time20 Mins

Passive Time1 Month

Ingredients

1Litre ginuse a pretty good one, not a designer brand though. We went for Tesco own.
3Large bulbs fennelslice it up in biggish chunks
5Tbls caster sugar
1Litre kilner jarclean as...
1clean jam straineryou could use your grandma's tights, just avoid the gusset

Instructions

First is the sterilisation - you can get a clean bowl and put the kettle on. Wash the kilner jar including the lid, rinse it and place in the bowl standing up. Then pour boiling hot water into it, over filling (be fucking careful) and push it over - cover everything in boiling water - leave it for 10 mins.
In the meantime get the other ingredients ready.
Remove the jar and let it cool - don't touch the inside, the rim or the inside of the lid. Then put in the fennel and sugar and all the gin.
Screw the lid on and leave in a cool dark place, like a cupboard. Shake it every day for the first few days and then leave for a month. During this time the fennel will start to go brown, but that's ok as long as you don't let it turn gross. At one month it should be ready.
Strain into a sterile jug through a jam strainer (sieve isn't good enough) and then transfer to a sterile bottle through a sterile funnel. Done and ready to drink.
If anyone comes up with a good cocktail recipe using it, let me know on social media or post below.

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Cook the perfect Beef Brisket and pull it with a fork | National Dish Recipe

Wayne @NationalDish — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 18:22:52 +0000

You know very well, all that colour and those soft looking vegetables – the perfect Beef Brisket is bathing in there.

Some people find roasting and cooking beef a real challenge, ending up with a disappointingly tough result, especially a beef brisket.

All that is usually missing though, is a little patience and foresight.

Brisket is a cheap (although annoyingly, that is changing) cut of meat from the lower front chest of the cow, just above the front legs – so it gets worked hard and is therefore naturally tough.

Cook it right though and something miraculous happens.

Cook the perfect Beef Brisket and pull it with a fork | National Dish Recipe

Once you have cooked this, you can do any number of things with the finished result. You'll be able to pull it apart with a fork, leaving you with strands of the softest beef you can imagine. Run a hot sauce through it and shove it in a roll or just use the cooking liquor as a sauce, put in a bowl and cover (mashed potato would be amaze with it). You'll need a casserole dish - get that on to a hob, high heat with a little oil and put the oven on 140c (no more).

CourseMain Dish
CuisineBritish

Servings6 People

Prep Time15 Minutes

Cook Time5 Hours

Ingredients

3whole white onionpeeled them all and slice two, cut the third in to quarters and leave seperate
2fresh carrotpeel them if you like, don't have to - but chop them in to chunks
2sticks celerychop into chunks
350ml aleuse your fav, even Guinness will do (not lager though)
500ml beef stockdepending on the size of the joint and pot - you'll only add enough to just cover the meat
1kgbrisket of beef
2tablespoons tomato puree
2whole bay leaves
1decent handful fresh thyme

Instructions

Casserole dish should be on the hob - if you don't have a hob proof dish, use a pan for this and add to an oven proof version. Run oil on the beef and season very well with Maldon Sea Salt and cracked black pepper.
When the oil is hot, brown off the beef brisket on all sides and ends, remove and put to the side.
You may have been able to chop all your bits whilst browning it off, turn chop, turn chop. In which case, you can throw your sliced onions straight in with the thyme and bay leaves- you shouldn't need more salt. Give em a stir, fry for 5 and get all the beef treats off the bottom of the pan.
Put the beef back in and add the ale, tomato puree and enough stock to cover the beef brisket. Put the lid on and cook for three hours - leave it completely alone.
After three hours, carefully remove the pot and turn the beef brisket over. At the same time add all the carrots, celery and quartered onion.
I also added a spoonful of Fortnum and Mason Beef Extract - this is totally optional.
Cover and put back in for another two hours - don't touch it.
When done, remove the beef brisket from the liquor - see what I mean, you've got a ready made sauce here, almost like a stew.
Put it on a chopping board, remove any chef's string, cover with folk and let it sit for 10 mins. Then grab two forks and pull it apart. Don't forget to try some - uhhhhh.
Serve it however you planned.

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How do you make Plum Gin? | English Plum Gin | National Dish of England

Wayne @NationalDish — Sun, 07 Jan 2018 08:02:18 +0000

You can use any variety of Plum, I’m using Mirrabella and Victoria

The time of year is late August and my two Plum tree varieties – Mirebelle and Victoria are ready to harvest.

I could make Jam but that means eating bread and that ain’t gonna happen. So I’m making Gin!

How do you make Plum Gin? This recipe will have it ready for Christmas.

How do you make Plum Gin? | English Plum Gin | National Dish of England

This isn't really a recipe, it's a process - a little bit of work up front, especially around sterilising your Kilner Jar, give it a shake for a week and then leave it the hell alone for 3 months - simples...

CourseCocktail, Drinks
CuisineBritish, English
KeywordGin, Homemade, Plums

Servings1 litre

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time0

Passive Time3 months

Ingredients

1litre ginuse a mid range Gin that you can improve rather than budget stuff
1kg plumsany variety, I have two Mirrebelle and Victoria, both homegrown
250g caster sugardisolves better
Pinch cardamom pods
Pinch juniper berries

Instructions

Sterilise your Kilner Jar, wash your plums and measure out your ingredients.
Get a clean fork and stab your plums all over, this will release all the juices into the Gin. Any plums that look a little ropey throw away, we want to avoid excess nasty bacteria.
Now add all the ingredients to the jar and give it a shake and seal - place in a cool, dry and dark cupboard.
For the next week, shake on a daily basis to dissolve the sugar and then leave alone for at least 3 months. Should be perfect for Christmas. If you want to make more, just double all the ingredients.
After three months and you were good at sterilising you'll have some kick ass plum gin. Just look how much the colour changes and I promise you, this goes in to the flavour.
You'll need to filter the sediment out, I used a jar with a tap and ran it through clean muslin into a pan.
More sterilising, hopefully you had the sense to keep some old gin bottles, or any bottle, in anticipation of this day - make sure they are ultra clean. Fill em up and cap it off. You might want to sellotape the lids, as if they were bought from a shop - further fermentation could force the them off.
My homemade Plum Gin made great Christmas gifts - not all of it though...
Thank you England

Recipe Notes

I'm sorry, I know this looks like an old man having a wee - although, he's got issues if it's that colour, tastes good though. But, I filmed it so I might as well post it. If videos of gin filtering into a pan gets you going, sit back, grab some Kleenex and enjoy...

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Roasted flap of Lamb with rosemary and garlic | National Dish Recipe of a boned rolled shoulder of lamb

Wayne @NationalDish — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 19:20:02 +0000

It might have a gross sounding name, but just look at it – Roasted Flap of Lamb
Photograph: Wayne Morgan – nationaldish.co.uk © 2017

Roasted flap of lamb doesn’t sound particularly appetising, but it is stunning. A shoulder of lamb is a fine cut, but when you buy it de-boned and rolled, it looks gross and would fool anyone in to thinking it’s a shit cut….wrong.

Cooking it in it’s rolled state is fine, but unroll it, turning it in to a flap and when you slow cook it, good things happen.

My baby bro loves this and asked me for the recipe, here it is buddy…

Roasted flap of Lamb with rosemary and garlic | National Dish Recipe of a boned rolled shoulder of lamb

This is super simple, but you need to be patient and cook it low and slow. The upside, you can spend more time on your PlayStation whilst it cooks - or if your partner is around, play with them instead. Whack the oven on 140 degrees - yup, loooooowwwwwww.

CourseMain Dish
CuisineBritish

Servings4 people

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time3 1/2 hours

Passive Time3 hours

Ingredients

1rolled shoulder of British lambunwrap it, cut the strings and unroll the lamb in to a flap
1good glug rape seed oilget the good stuff, Cotswold Gold
1massive pinch sea salt flakesMaldon and you know it
8sprigs rosemarygot this from my garden, everyone needs a Rosemary bush
1bulb of garliccut in half around the equator
1pinch ground black pepper

Instructions

Grab a roasting tin and lob yer flap in.
Get the oil and sprinkle liberally over the lamb, rub it all over.
Grab a generous pinch of salt and throw it all over, rub it on both side.
Get four of the eight sprigs of Rosemary and cover them in oil too and throw on top of the lamb
Add garlic, sprinkle with a little oil - don't worry about the salt.
Put it in the oven (140 degrees for a fan), it'll be in there for 3 and half hours - set a timer to enable you to check it every hour or so, just to check it's OK and nothing is catching.
When done, remove the cooked rosemary and add the other 4 sprigs. Cover with tin foil and leave it for about 20 minutes to rest - it doesn't need to rest that much.
Grab a nice wooden board and slice it up in to steak sized chunks, serve straight away.
Thank you Great Britain

Recipe Notes

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How do you make Filipino Pork Adobo | Adobo Baboy | What is the national dish of the Philippines?

Wayne @NationalDish — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 11:31:48 +0000

This is undoubtedly the national dish of this multi-island paradise nation. It’s slow cooked pork, poached in a deep flavoured liquor. How do you make Filipino Pork Adobo?

You will probably want a side dish with it, try our filipino garlic fried rice (sinangag) recipe.

How do you make Filipino Pork Adobo | Pork slow cooked in soy, vinegar and garlic.

Using pork shoulder for this will benefit the slow cooking process - whilst the sauce is reducing and concentrating the pork will soften and take on all the flavour, uhhhhhhh

CourseMain Dish
CuisineFilipino

Servings2 people

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time90 minutes

Ingredients

350g pork shoulderI used a couple of steaks
3tbls vegetable oil
50ml malt vinegarI used clear
100ml dark soy sauce
2 bay leaves
8cloves garliccrushed
2tsp black pepper cornscrushed
150ml water
1thumb sized piece fresh gingergrated

Instructions

Cut the pork in to largish chunks, it'll will reduce in size during the cooking process.
Place all the oil in to a saucepan on a medium high heat, when hot, add all the pork and give it a stir, you don't want to seal the meat.
Straight away add about two thirds of the peppercorns, garlic and ginger, quick stir,
Add all of the soy, water and vinegar, slosh it around and throw in the bay leaves, bring to the boil and turn down the heat to a gentle simmer. You'll let this go like this for a minimum of 90 minutes, all you have to do is not let it dry out - just add a little water if need be, but it must go for the whole time.
When you've reached the target time all the liquid should have reduced down to a glistening coating on the pork - not dry and not sat in a pool. Grab a warm serving plate, build a pile of Adobo and serve.
Thank you The Philippines

Salamat

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How do you make Nepalese Lamb Pakku? | What is the national dish of Nepal?

Wayne @NationalDish — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 22:31:25 +0000

I’ve done this to accompany a Dal Bhat, a match made in heaven, or as near to it as you can get in the Himalayas.

In Nepal they would use mutton or goat rather than lamb, but it makes for a close substitute in the UK. Not that mutton is that hard to get, if you really want it, lamb is plenty good enough.

It starts with marinating and as always, the longer the better, but even if you can only manage an hour, take it, it’s totally worth it. How do you make Nepalese Lamb Pakku?

How do you make Nepalese Lamb Pakku | Nepali style slow cooked lamb, mutton or goat

Whilst this is a slow cook dish it is low maintinence. Don't get me wrong, it's not a 10 hour roast job, it's about 60 minutes cooking time (plus marinating) - but slow is the key. The good thing is, you barely touch it as it cooks, leaving you plenty of head space to cook it some friends. It's not a complicated dish, but much like climbing Nepals highest mountain - good preparation is the key to achieving something amazing.

CourseMain Dish, Side Dish
CuisineNepalese

Servings2 people

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time60 minutes

Ingredients

Main bits

4 lambchops
2tbls vegetable oilolive oil is fine

Spices and stuff

2tsp cumin powder
1.5tsp coriander powder
1.5tsp chilli powder
2tsp turmeric powder
1tbls fresh gingergrated
5cloves garliccrushed
4 bay leaves
4 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cardamom pods
1pinch saltMaldon is the best

Instructions

Get a good size mixing bowl ready, it's about to take more flavour that it may have in a long time.
On a chopping board, and please be careful, get the lamb and chop it up in to bite size pieces, some on the bone and some not and place in the bowl. Keeping the lamb on the bone helps with the cooking process and also gives it a feeling of authenticity. Use kitchen shears (meat scissors) if you have them.
Next, take all of your spices and a dash of oil and throw the lot in to the bowl, get your clean hands in there and mix it all thoroughly - coating all the meat. The smell alone at this point should have you wetting yourself, let alone the colour.
Cover and place in the fridge. If you can only manage an hour it's still worth it - it's like Everest Base Camp. Stretch that to three or four hours then we're talking Everest Camp Three and way more depth. If however you can do 12 hours plus (overnight would be smart) then we're basically at The Hillary Step about to summit the highest point on earth.
When you're sure that you are as prepared as you can be, get a large saucepan with a lid (not frying pan) on to a low heat and add the lamb.
Over the next 30 minutes slow cook it and stir only three times, all you need do is prevent it from catching. What started as a rather dry looking dish will suddenly start to release fats and water, sitting the lamb in a shallow but bubbling sauce.
Now remove the lid, again stirring only to keep it from catching on the bottom, cook for another 30 minutes and evaporate as much as the liquid as possible.
When done you should have a slightly glistening, deeply coloured and wonderful smelling Nepali Lamb Pakku.
Remove the cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamon pods and cloves (if you can find them - don't bust a gut, just get rid of the obvious stuff) and in a bowl or very white plate, make a nice little mountain of lamb.
This is an easy dish with lots of passive time to create some other dishes to go with it - your mates will think you've actually climbed Everest...maybe.
Thank you Nepal

धन्यवाद

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