Karen Wright: A tasty casserole which is fun to make and freezer-friendly
You never know when something unexpected might strike and prevent you from either shopping for fresh food or using up produce that you have bought in.
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Hide AdThis happened to me recently when I finally succumbed to the dreaded Covid.
All through the pandemic I stayed well and thought that I had escaped its clutches. Not so and I was laid quite low for over a week.
I discovered that the contents of my freezer kept me going right the way through and some of the fresh things that I had in the house were quickly cooked and then frozen rather than let them go to waste.
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Hide AdFor example. I had bought a big bag of cooking apples intending to batch bake some pies and crumbles.
I just wasn’t well enough to do all of that cooking but I did manage to peel the apples, cook them down to puree and freeze ready to bake another time.
I also had loads of celery, carrots and onions. I call these the holy trinity of vegetables as they are the three best things to use to make a vegetable stock.
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Hide AdI roughly chopped everything up and cooked in my slow cooker, I then gave it all a quick whizz with my stick blender, and “Hey Presto” homemade stock, bagged up and into the freezer.
On regular days, if I am cooking something freezer friendly, like casseroles or curries for tea, I try to make an extra portion to pop into the freezer.
Towards the end of my self-isolation when I was feeling a bit perkier, I did a freezer and cupboard raid to see what I could make that was a bit of fun to put together.
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Hide AdI found a couple of links of sausage, a couple of chicken thighs a small pack of belly pork and some lardons.
I didn’t have any potatoes in the house, but I did have an onion and a couple of red peppers.
I browned the meat and put it in the slow cooker. I added a tin of tomatoes, some garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and a can of butter beans and a can of baked beans. Et voila Cassoulet!
An autumn casserole from southwest France. Comfort food at its finest!