Scottish Scran 7 - Mince and Tatties

Mince and tatties. Sounds plain enough, but it was always a source of excitement when we found out we were getting this for our tea! I even thought about calling my two cats after it - Minnie and Tattie for short! it has it's own 'World' championships, and has even been the topic of European parliamentary dispute.

I've been looking forward to this post since I came up with the idea for Scottish Scran. Mince and tatties is another comforting childhood favourite of mine. And just perfect for the colder weather.

There'll be no tough mince here. No watery gravy or onion bulk. The mince is real Scottish steak mince, hung and flavourful. Slow-cooked to a thick sauce, served over buttery mashed potatoes, served with a dash of the ubiquitous broon sauce. Then on the second day, made over with the addition of marrow fat peas (no petit pois, thank you), and potatoes infused with flavour from being slowly cooked in the pot.

Mince and Tatties... Day 1

• 1 kilo of good beef steak mince
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp Worcester sauce
• Beef stock to cover
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Mashed potatoes to serve

In a large saucepan, brown the mince in batches, being careful not to overcrowd. This is important - crowd the pan and your mince will boil and lose a lot of flavour. Only drain excess fat if you must - you'll lose flavour and tenderness if you do.

In the same pan, fry off the onion for 3/4 minutes, before returning the mince to the pan. Add the worcester sauce, and beef stock to cover. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 45 minutes.

Adjust seasoning if required, then add the carrots. Now, continue to simmer for a further 30 minutes, leaving the pan uncovered as required to reduce the stock down to a thick sauce. Top up with more stock if required, though this shouldn't be necessary.

Serve atop a pile of mashed potatoes, and with a bottle of broon sauce on the side!

Mince and Tatties... Day 2

• Leftover mince from yesterday
• 1 tin marrow fat peas, drained. or soak your own if you must
  
• Potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces

In a saucepan large enough to take all ingredients, heat the leftover mince. Add the potatoes, and top up with water if required. (Or stock if you have any left) Adjust seasoning - bear in mind that the tatties will absorb a lot of saltiness. Cover and cook gently until the potatoes are cooked through.

Add the peas and cook for a further minute or two.

Scottish Word of the Day!

mince - nonsense, rubbish

Yer no listenin' tae whit that heid-th-ba tells ye, ur ye? His heid's full a' mince!
Or, in response to some haivering blether, simply: Mince!

My Ultimate Chili Con Carne!

This is one of the dishes of my life!

I remember when I was young I used to be excited when my mum was away for the night - because it would mean that Dad would cook his Chili Con Carne for me and my sister. Mum wasn't a fan, so this was a rare treat! Fast forward a few years, and it became one of my student day staples - either to cook up a vat of it and freeze in single portions - or to cook up a vat and feed a group of starving students for about £5 (I bought food, they brought beer - good deal!)

Though I don't cook it as much now, it is still one of my ultimate comfort foods - spicy, tasty and soft - easy to make and easy to eat! So I am throwing it over to Meeta's Monthly Mingle at the lovely What's for Lunch, Honey?.

I do like it pretty spicy, and add different types of heat to give a more interesting burn! Please feel free to adjust the chili and spice quantities to suit!

Apologies for the lack of pictures - the only one I have is from during the cooking time - I forgot to take more when serving up!

My Ultimate Chili Con Carne!

• 500g lean beef mince
• 4 chicken thighs - trimmed and small diced, should be about the same size as a kidney bean!
  
• 2 medium onions, medium chopped
  
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  
• 1 beef oxo cube
  
• 3 Thai red chilies, finely chopped - I leave the seeds in ;)
  
• 1 heaped tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
• 1 heaped tsp ground coriander
• Good shake of tabasco sauce
• 2 400g tins of peeled plum tomatoes (I sometimes replace one of these tins with a carton of sieved tomatoes)
• 1 large tbsp tomato puree
  
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1 400g tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 200ml water
• oil for frying
  

Begin by frying the onions in a little oil over a medium heat until starting to go soft, then add the garlic and Thai chilies. Fry for a further couple of minutes, then remove from pan and set to one side.

Turn up the heat, add a spot more oil to the pan and add the minced beef and diced chicken. Fry til browned.

Add the paprika, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, coriander, crushed oxo cube and fry for another minute. Put the onions back in and fry for yet another minute!

Add both tins of tomatoes, the tomato puree, tabasco, sugar, salt and water. Stir.

Leave this simmering away for a couple of hours, adding the kidney beans 10 minutes before the end of cooking. It will be ready enough to eat after about 45 minutes, but tastes even better with a long cook. It is also really good to make a day in advance, then let the flavours develop overnight!

I usually serve mine with plain steamed long grain rice, and toasted pita breads. also good with the usual suspects - baked potato, tortilla chips, potato wedges...

This time I actually served mine as a chili bake. The day after I cooked it, I heated it in a casserole dish, added about 500g rice and a pint of boiling water. I then covered it and cooked it in the oven at about 200°c for about 25 minutes. Make sure you check it frequently to ensure it doesn't dry out - and to adjust seasoning if required. Once it was ready, I smoothed the top of the bake and covered it with finely sliced tomatoes, scattered over a mix of slightly crushed tortilla chips, cheddar cheese and pecorino. Whacked it under the grill for 5 minutes til the top was bubbling and gorgeous then served... yum yum yum!