Search

Random Recipe

Sparassis Crispa stir-fry

Sparassis Crispa stir-fry

In a combination of Greek and Latin the name realistically means “ Tear Crispy ” - Not very helpful, even if quite descriptive of the texture? So some common names are - Cauliflower Fungus, Wood Cauliflower, Brain Fungus - Any one of those will do!

I’ve foraged this in Yorkshire and eaten it. But it seems to be a bit of a bug magnet and is a bit of a pain to clean. These were from a local Chinese supermarket and were bug free and dried. Which made them much more appealing!

We soaked them in cold water for a couple of hours before quartering and cutting the dense central core out.

This was a stir-fry with home made Gluten Free battered Chicken ( The Batter recipe is here ) and Sue’s home made Black Bean Sauce. ( Recipe here )

The Brain Fungus work just like a flavour sponge, absorbing and intensifying the sauce. 

On Facebook

Shin Beef recipe, low cost meals, eat well on universal credit

This used to be a common and low cost cut. But it’s generally bought by the Burger Chains now and it’s not often available in the supermarkets around here. So when I found 500g packs yesterday we thought it would be a bit of a treat and essentially within budget. We were not wrong!

Ingredients:-

500g of Shin Beef, cut into larger cubes
2 Red Onions , peeled and roughly chopped
3 Carrots , peeled and roughly chopped
3 sticks of Celery , trimmed and roughly chopped
4 cloves of Garlic , peeled
2 Sprigs of fresh Rosemary
2 Bay Leaves
1 Box of ‘Wild’ Mushroom, roughly chopped
1 Stick of Cinnamon
1 tablespoon of Plain Flour (Gluten free for us)
2 Tins of Plum Tomatoes
⅔ of a bottle low price Red Wine
Olive Oil
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt

Method:-

(1) Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. In a heavy-bottomed ovenproof saucepan / Dutch Oven, heat a splash of olive oil and gently fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, herbs, Muchrooms and cinnamon for 5 minutes until softened slightly.
(2) Meanwhile, dust the pieces of beef in a little seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Add the meat to the pan and stir everything together, then add the tomatoes, wine and a pinch of salt and pepper.
(3) Gently bring to the boil, cover with the lid and place in your preheated oven for 3 hours or until the beef is meltingly tender and can be broken up with a spoon. Taste and check the seasoning, remove the cinnamon stick and rosemary sprigs and serve.

We served ours on a bed of mashed Potatoes with Savoy Cabbage & fried Bacon Lardons and Courgette Fritters.


 

Social Links

Translate

English French German Italian Portuguese Russian Spanish