Goosnargh Cakes - Forgotten Food for Slow Food Week 2013

I have a number of recipes on that blog that are traditionally "Lancashire" and a couple of them are very popular, so I was delighted to be contacted by Slow Food UK  to take part in their campaign to  create an ark of Forgotten Foods, this highlights foods which have fallen out of favour, the idea of the campaign is to preserve these traditional foods before its too late and they are lost forever and promote our rich regional culinary history.

One such food is Goosnargh cakes (not really a cake at all more of a biscuit) which is  no longer commercially available reliably and is seldom baked locally,  this caraway flavoured crumbly shortbread style biscuit has really fallen out of favour.

Goosnargh is a village just outside Preston and is now probably more famous as the home of fabulous poultry production. I have had a  recipe for Goosnargh cakes on the blog for a couple of years and its now pretty popular especially since being featured in "Visit Lancashire" year book, most traditional Lancashire recipe books have a recipe for the cakes but since being contacted by Slow Food I have actively been searching them out.

I have been lucky, a neighbour who knows I love cooking and baking recently lent me his hand-written family recipe book and low and behold another Goosnargh cake recipe was contained within, this one using coriander powder and a little baking powder, I estimate this dates from the early 1900's .

Here's the link to the earlier post on the blog for Goosnargh cakes with the original recipe.

In celebration of all things Goosnargh cake, here's the new recipe and also a selection of new photographs to tempt you to bake this "forgotten food". 

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb flour (this will be plain)
• 6 oz butter (or 5 1/2 oz and small tsp of baking powder)
• 2 oz sugar
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder or bun seeds (these will be caraway seeds)

Method

• Rub in and mix to a paste without moisture.
• Roll out to 1/4 inch thick
• Cut with a plain round cutter
• Bake for 15 mins in a moderate oven (top shelf), do not turn them, when cold dust them thickly with castor sugar

I am hoping in some small way that by being involved in the campaign I am doing my bit in ensuring Goosnargh cakes will not be a forgotten food for long. The recipe book is proving a treasure trove of long forgotten delicacies which I will enjoy experimenting with. Slow Food UK have a section on their website called "Cook it or lose it" which is proudly featuring a related post. 

You might also want to consider joining Slow Food UK , follow the link if you want to find out more.

Slow Cooked Brisket of Beef

I use my slow cooker a lot in the winter, its an easy way to have a scrummy no messing evening meal waiting for you when you come home from work. They take a little getting used to, but once you have learned that you need to hold back on the liquid compared with oven cooking they are easy to use. A favourite recipe in our household is brisket of beef, tender melting well flavoured meat that can be used to create some delicious meals. I get my brisket from Spout House Farm which is near me, but any good butcher should have this for you and in a size of piece suitable for your family.

Its easy to ring the changes with this recipe and use whatever you have to hand, the main rules being the quality of the brisket and the quality of the stock.

Ingredients

• Beef brisket - rolled
• Flour - seasoned
• Onions - chopped
• carrots
• bay leaves
• mixed herbs
• Beef stock / Beer / red wine
• salt and pepper
• Balsamic vinegar or fruit vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• Oil

Method 

Firstly make your seasoned flour, roughly 1 tablespoon of flour on a plate and add salt, freshly ground pepper and some mixed dried herbs. Roll your brisket in this mixture until well coated and don't forget the ends. Fry off your brisket to seal it in a little oil and to give a nice golden crust. Now place in your slow cooker ( if you don't have one then you can use a casserole dish and the oven instead but its a bit more hassle), next fry your onions and carrots in the same pan, scraping up any brown bits from the meat as this is were the flavour is, until the onions are slighty softened. Next add to the pan the stock / wine/ beer, balsamic, mustard and bay leaves and bring to a simmer, stirring ever so often to again loosen any sticky bits on the pan. Then pour this over your brisket in your slow cooker or casserole dish, put on the lid and if using a slow cooker cook for at least 4 hours on high, but I just leave it all day and it always turns out fine, if using an oven cook on 150c for at least 4  hours, but check every hour or so to see if needs more stock or water as it can dry out. Your brisket is ready when it falls a part when gently crushed with a fork, your gravy  will be well flavoured, thicken if necessary with slaked cornflour and serve with your favourite vegetables. Enjoy !

Awesome beef stew & fluffy dumplings

My all time favourite casserole / stew is based on Jamie Oliver's Jules Beef stew, Jo had the idea of including butternut squash in his vegetables which cooks down to a satisfying mush in the gravy and not browning the meat. Both contribute to producing a casserole which has non of the bitter edges which sometimes result from slow cooking beef.

Ideally when sourcing you beef, buy from a good butcher or farm shop and go for beef skirt or shin which should ensure a great result if its available. I will be buying my from Spout House Farm, delicious local meat.

Ingredients

• Beef - stewing, shin or skirt, toss in seasoned flour
• Onions - chunky chopped
• Carrots - chunky chopped
• Butternut squash - chunky cubes
• Fresh sage 
• Fresh Thyme
• Beef stock
• Red wine or beer
• Tomato puree
• Other vegetables, maybe parsnip, celery, swede - chunky chopped

Dumplings

• 50g Suet - vegetable
• 100g Self raising flour
• Dried herbs
• pinch of salt
• Water

Method 

Preheat your oven to 150c, add all your non dumpling ingredients to a cast iron casserole, ensuring you only add as much stock / wine to just cover your ingredients, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and place in oven for anything from between 2 - 4 hours. I often use my slow cooker and simmer all day whilst at work. Be assured its better to cook long and slowly to achieve a good result, this is slow cooking at its best. You know its ready when the vegetables are beginning to fall and the meat is soft and tender.

Now to make your dumplings, mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl and then add enough water to make a soft dough, split the dough into small round balls - golf ball sized this mix makes approx 6 - 8 balls, be gentle with your mixture as over working makes your dumplings tough, pop into your casserole for 20-30 minutes until well risen and fluffy, serve and enjoy.

Spout House Farm

Today saw our first visit to Spout House Farm in Higher Wheelton, Chorley. We have been meaning to visit for  quite a while as this is a supplier to our favourite restaurant " The Red Cat", which is just down to the road from the farm. The farm shop also comes recommended by Phil from Slow Food Lancashire and Throughly Food. 

We were warmly welcomed and glad to see that this is a family affair with the emphasis on local produce and  Lancashire, the lamb and beef is produced on the premises and at a great price, also they have local free range chicken and pork, cheese vegetables and baked goods. 


Pay them a visit. I have some lamb shanks I am planning to slow cook, so I'll let you know the results.

UPDATE - The lamb shanks were awesome, slow cooked .