Surrey Local Recipes

The Full Surrey Breakfast

“It has been said of the British Isles that if one wishes to eat well then eat breakfast three times a day.”

This reputation is founded on our ability to cook up the best fried breakfast in the world and it’s a tradition we delight to uphold. The key to a great English Breakfast is good quality core ingredients and not to have everything swimming in grease.

For my breakfast I’ll use:

	2 Large Free Range Eggs (I get mine from Abinger Hammer) fried sunny side up and just cooked - not too runny but not firm- and the key is to use a good non-stick pan, little or no oil and for once start the cooking process from cold.
	2 Premium Pork Bangers - I use Bangers Galore quality Traditional Pork or Cumberland for the classic breakfast but for a twist try something like their Sun dried tomato sausages or even Venison/Wild Boar sausages - Grilled to release all that flavour and lose any excess fat - this particular brand leave no water and very little excess fat-the mark of a good Banger.
	2 Rashers Smoked Back Bacon - again I use only quality dry-cured and free range oak smoked bacon (from Bridge Farm in Lingfield) for a top quality breakfast, and the bacon is grilled to remove any excess fat during the cooking process.
	2 Slices Fresh Black Pudding - Lightly seared on either side and seasoned with a pinch of rock salt.

These are your core ingredients for my idea of a good solid English Breakfast. Of course optional extras may well include: fried bread, grilled tomatoes, hash browns, mushrooms and of course, baked beans. For me these are all just cherries on the top of what should be a quality fry up!

Suppliers

Eggs: Rad Farm, Abinger Hammer – 01306 730073
Sausages: Bangers Galore, Bookham – www.bangersgalore.com
Bacon and Black Pudding: Bridge Farm, Lingfield – 01342 833825
Ingredients featured can also be purchased online at www.surreyproduce.co.uk

Getting the most from cheaper cuts of meat

The key ingredient for most effectively using poorer and therefore cheaper cuts of any meat is time.

Firstly: Take time to clean your meat properly by removing any gristle or excess fat and especially by removing tendon or connective tissue - most visible as ’silver’ skin.

Secondly: Take time to cook your meat by sealing it first and then by cooking it long and slowly to release all the juices and to tenderise it.

This process will apply to most of your cheap cuts of beef, pork and lamb so if you follow these two simple guidelines you should have no problems achieving a top class dish that will be both hearty and tasty as well as affordable.

Braising Steak
Braising steak (or stewing steak) is a perfect example of a slightly cheaper cut of beef that can easily be turned into something delectable. This may incorporate chuck, bolus, shin, brisket or any other type of cuts that are considered poorer or tougher.

Surrey Beef and Red Wine Casserole (serves four)

	2lb diced cleaned chuck steak (mine comes from Ewhurst and I hang and mature it personally for greater flavour and tenderness)
	2 large onions, diced
	4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
	1 tbsp chopped oregano (fresh)/ 2 tsp (dried)
	¼ lb button mushrooms (I get fresh from Shackleford)
	¼ lb sml silverskin pickled onions
	150 ml red wine
	50ml Ruby Port
	Beef Stock (I use my own home-made demi-glace)
	Salt ,Pepper and Fresh parsley
	Olive oil
	Butter
	Sugar

In a large pot with a little olive oil slowly start to sweat the onions with the garlic, oregano and some pepper and salt.

At the same time separately using a thick based heavy duty frying pan or ’rondeau’ wait until the pan is very hot, then add a little oil and bit by bit add the diced pieces of beef to the pan so that they can start to fry quickly. Do not overload the pan or put your meat in too quickly as this will reduce the temperature of the pan and slow down the sealing process.

This may need to be done in three or four batches depending on the size of your pan. Let the meat seal totally and brown thoroughly before turning over.

When both sides are well browned take them out of the pan and add to the pot with the onions.  Continue to fry off the next batch of diced beef in the pan. After each batch of beef has been added de-glaze the frying pan with some beef stock and some of the red wine - just enough to clean the pan and extract all the flavour, let this boil for a minute and then add to the simmering pot.

Once the last of the beef has been fried and added to the onions add the last lot of red wine, turn down, put a lid on and slowly for 1 -1 ½ hours stirring occasionally to prevent any sticking.

When the beef is soft and tender fry the button mushrooms whole/halved in the oil and butter. When the mushrooms have browned a little add the onions and fry for a minute then add a tbsp of sugar to caramelise the mushrooms and onions. Once they are brown and start to turn sticky and thicken add to the beef pot with a fresh seasoning and the chopped parsley.

Simmer for a further 10-15 minutes and adjust the seasoning.

Serve with some rice or garlic new potatoes and some crusty bread for a brilliant winter warmer.
 

Suppliers

Beef: Coxlands Farm, Ewhurst
Mushrooms: Shackleford Mushrooms, Godalming – www.shackmush.com
Ingredients featured can also be purchased online at www.surreyproduce.co.uk