After a bit of a break from food blogging, I am really happy to be back with a little leftovers idea for y’all. So I lost my cooking mojo for a bit; that happens sometimes. I had so much other stuff going on that my brain was full to capacity. And when your brain is full to capacity, and you are running on empty, it’s not at the forefront of your mind to get creative in the kitchen, let alone take a styled snap of dinner. It took all my energy just to chuck some pasta on and lob some shop bought pesto over the top of it!!
Family life, eh? It can be tough…
But I can happily report that we are kind of making progress. School problems are still there, but we are starting to get a picture of what is going on, and moving towards a plan. Our extension (for the past 6 months we have had a team of builders at the house every day building a large extension on the house) is not too far off now. As I type they are breaking through to the house. It’s… erm… dusty. But at least I can put off cleaning for another few days…
Despite us still being in the thick of general, stressful family life ‘problems’ – hey, who isn’t??! – I feel like my cooking mojo is returning… I flicked through the latest copy of Good Food Magazine and started to feel inspired again. For me, being creative is a physical need – but one that suffers when I am down or stressed – and when I get back into it I feel like I am ‘myself’ again. So expect some more food blog posts over the next few weeks…
Anyway I am really being introspective now. What is new with you all? Do tell, I love hearing what other people are up to!
This dish is a great way to use up Sunday roast leftovers. We had an enormous leg of lamb on Sunday and had lots of veggies leftover. Whether you mash up leftover veggies, or cook them and then mash them is neither here nor there. The basic idea is that you mash up roots (carrots, parsnips, potatoes) and then fold in leftover cabbage to make a bubble and squeak topping. Then simply simmer the bone and the leftover shredded meat in veg stock or water. Add a splash of wine and thicken with granules to create the filling. So this is more of an idea / suggestion that a recipe as such, hence the lack of amounts below. But OMG it was SO good – Adam and I could not stop eating it.
Makes: A large pie
Takes: 2-3 hours approx
Ingredients:
- Leg of lamb leftovers plus bone
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Glass red wine
- Gravy granules
- Few carrots
- Few parsnips
- Few potatoes
- Leftover cabbage
- Cheddar, grated
Instructions:
- Shred the meat from the leg. Set aside with bone.
- Soften onion and garlic in oil.
- Add meat and red wine. Let wine bubble off a bit. Pop the bone in too.
- Now stock, enough to cover meat and almost the bone. You want enough for gravy too, i.e. a lot.
- Let the meat, bone and so on simmer for as long as possible, I did it for about 1 1/2 hours.
- Boil the potatoes, carrots and parsnips in same size chunks if not using leftovers. OR mash together your leftover roots.
- Fold through the cooked cabbage (OR cook then fold through if you are not using leftovers).
- Remove bone from meat mixture then add gravy granules to the mixture to thicken. Drain this mixture to take out most of the gravy (leave some in or else it will be dry). Set gravy aside in a jug to be reheated.
- Preheat oven to about 180C.
- Pop mixture into large pie dish and top with bubble and squeak. Grate cheese over top.
- Bake until brown and bubbling, about 30 mins or so. Serve with peas and gravy.
