A Year In Redwood

I have been promising this recipe for weeks!  And finally here it is….

This I adapted from Delia Smith’s, as often happens to me I didn’t have all the ingredients so I had to substitute or improvise!  Of course we used a piece of our own home-grown bacon, and Farmer Alfie’s home-made Apple Beer which made it particularly tasty! Farmer Alfie’s cousin, Mary, was here for dinner the evening we cooked this and she thought it delicious too…. and she wouldn’t be as biased as we would!  The meat was just so juicy and tender, as were the vegetables.  The apple flavours were just wonderful.

Bacon Hot Pot.... yummy!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kg. collar of bacon
• 1 small potato, peeled
• 1 small onion – stuck with a couple of cloves
• Bay leaf
• a few black peppercorns
• 275 ml Apple Beer

Put the joint in a large saucepan with the potato, onion, bay leaf and peppercorns.  Add in the Apple Beer and top up with water to cover the joint.  Put lid on saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes.  When 45 minutes are up remove the skin from the joint.

For the pot-roasting part.  Heat oven to 180 degrees C.

Ingredients:

• 1 small turnip – cut into chunks
• 2 carrots – sliced
• 1 onion – sliced
• 50 g. butter
• Fresh milled black pepper.

Fry the vegetables in butter to slightly brown them.  Season with pepper.  Place the joint on top of the vegetables in a large ovenproof casserole.  Pour in enough of the cooking liquid to just cover the vegetables.  Put a lid on and place in oven for 45 minutes.

Bacon Pot Roast

Serve with some mash and enjoy!

Don’t forget we will have pork and/or bacon for St. Patrick’s Day…. this could be on your menu!