Squirrel Stew

I've had a few queries about Squirrel Stew (which we often have at weekends as it is quick, wholesome and oh so tasty) so here is the recipe.

When I say recipe ...... well, this is a dish that has evolved and I've just sort of tweeked it as we've gone along so this is probably the nearest you'll get to it without actually having me there to cook it for you.

SQUIRREL STEW

(or Skwirrel Stoo if you come from Suffolk)

Serves
3 to 4 normal people or 2 greedy ones

Ingredients:
250 gms minced beef
6-8 large closed cap mushrooms
1 medium fresh onion
1 handful of sultanas
1 small can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon garlic puree
3 good shakes of Tabasco bottle
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
Generous sprinkling all over mince of garlic salt
1 sprinkle of paprika
1 sprinkle of ground black pepper


Method:
Chop mushrooms into little chunks and if using fresh onion finely chop that.

Lightly fry onions until translucent – I use butter with a dribble of Olive Oil to stop the butter from burning.

Chuck the rest of the ingredients (except the tinned tomatoes) into a large pan. Cook on hob until mushrooms golden and mince cooked through. Should take about 10 – 12 mins. You will need to stir to make sure it cooks evenly and you don’t get dollops of puree in one place.

Turn off the heat. Empty tinned tomatoes into mixture and stir through. If mix seems a little dry (very much depends on your mince) add a little cold water if needed and continue cooking.

Cook enough rice for personal appetite. You will need enough each to make a nice comfy mattress for the mixture.

At 7 minutes before rice is ready, turn heat back on to meat mix and heat through thoroughly, giving it a good stir.

We use pasta bowls for this but plates are just as good so long as they are big enough.

Side dish of garlic bread or ciabatta works well.

Grated parmesan or fine grated cheddar to dress the Stew once dished up.

Don’t worry if you have too much mince mix, you can always freeze the leftovers. Mince mix also works very well with salad in fahitas.

So there you go!  Would be interested to know if any of you actually give it a try.

Hugs, Sxx