Weekend Carnivore

Part of the fun of moving to a different country is learning about the food traditions of that country. Since I moved to the United Kingdom in June 1996, I have been introduced to so many British dishes that I never knew existed. Of course, I had heard of British staples such as fish and chips and shepherds pie. It turned out though that they are just the tip of the iceberg that is this nation’s culinary heritage.

I have heard so many times from people back home about how bad they think British food is suppose to be. Let me tell you, that is a total falsehood. If you can’t eat well in the UK then you simply didn’t try.  In London alone, you can get food cooked by some of the finest chef’s in the world.  In just this past week, I have eaten Turkish food, Czech food, Indian food, Chinese food and Middle Eastern food while out and about in the city.

British food treasures aren’t just found in the restaurant scene though. The true richness is found in those passed down family recipes that have been made for generations. British food is wonderful and it should be celebrated. The classic British dishes are often master classes in making filling meals out of inexpensive ingredients.

Pan Haggerty is just such one British recipe. It is one of those recipes that is more of a concept than an exact recipe. Traditionally, it would have a bit of meat and then a whole lot of root vegetables.  From what I have learned since moving here, most families have their own idea of what makes a pan haggerty recipe.

My mother in law, makes a dish that is near enough a classic pan haggerty but it uses bacon.  She never calls it pan haggerty but I was watching a British cookery show and saw them making pan haggerty and thought ‘hey, that is that recipes!’.

My husband has always really enjoyed her recipe but there is no danger of him learning to cook well enough to be the one to pass down the recipe. So, I figured that I would take it upon myself to learn a pan haggerty recipe that I felt was as tasty as my mother in law’s version.  Of course, as we are trying to eat a vegetarian lifestyle most of the time, I wanted to make it a vegetarian pan haggerty recipe.

I tinkered around with bits and bobs of vegetables I had and decided upon making it a carrot, butternut squash and potato vegetarian pan haggerty recipe.  For a while, I was afraid there was going to be too much liquid in the pan but by the end of the cooking period I was left with just the right amount of ultra tasty juices.

I sliced up some freshly baked bread and that was all we needed for a truly lovely and very British meal.

Vegetarian Pan Haggerty

vegetarian pan haggerty recipe

Ingredients:

30 grams butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
200 grams onions, sliced in thin rings
550 grams potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
300 grams carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
50 grams, butternut squash, peeled and sliced thinly
500 ml vegetarian chicken flavoured stock or vegetable stock
100 grams cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
1. Melt the butter with oil over a medium low heat in a pan that will be safe to go into an oven.
2. Sauté the onions until cooked down and just starting to go golden.
3. Scoop out onions and set aside.
4. In the same pan, layer up the vegetable slices with potatoes, reserved onions, carrots and squash. Repeat the layers making sure to end with a potato layer on top.
5. Add the stock on the pan and cook on a medium high heat and covered for 15 minutes.
6. Take the cover off, reduce the heat and cook uncovered for 10 minutes until most – but not all – of the liquid has reduced.
7. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and put until a pre-heated grill for a few minutes until it is melted and started to go golden brown.
8. Serve

Serves: 4

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