Hello Dear Reader,
Fidget pie is a traditional pie from Shropshire that has gammon, apples and potatoes. I saw the Hairy Bikers make one and yearned! However, me and pastry don't go well together.....too many calories and too many carbs to add to potatoes. So, in homage to the Shropshire Fidget Pie............here is my Fidget Casserole. It's also a great example of cook once and eat twice so saving energy, CO2 and valuable quilting time! It will be great for ding cuisine for tomorrow.
Here's what I used to make my 'casserole',
One leek - finely sliced
1 pack of bacon - you could use half a pack of 'cooking bacon' or leftover ham or left over cooked gammon - chopped into piece the size of your choosing.
1 onion, finely sliced
2 heaped tablespoons of cornflour
100g of grated cheese (I use half fat)
3/4 litre of skimmed milk
2 Bramley Apples - peeled, cored and sliced
6 potatoes - peeled and sliced.
Tablespoon of dried sage - optional
Fry the bacon, onions and leeks until soft and the bacon is cooked. I don't add oil or butter and just allow the veggies to cook in the bacon fat.
Sprinkle flour and sage over the top of the meat and veggies and stir through.
Add milk and half the cheese.
Continuously stir over the heat until the sauce thickens.
Mix the potatoes, the creamy cheesy veggie mixture and apples and place in a shallow roasting dish.
Bake at 180 for 45 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and top is golden.
Add the rest of the cheese and return to the oven until the cheese has melted. Obviously, you can omit the cheese. Every now and then you get a gobbit of apple and bacon together, along with the fragrant sage and the whole thing really is a winter warmer!
Serve with veggies or salad.
I would be quite happy to eat this straight, out of a bowl in front of the fire!
The real recipe has cream, cider, butter and is of course wrapped in pastry! As delicious as that sounds 'hips don't lie!' and this is a slightly healthier version albeit nothing like the real Fidget pie.
We went back for seconds and there is a mass left. This would easily feed a family of six and tastes delicious. It didn't really need the cheesy topping but it certainly added to the unctuous deliciousness!
Thanks for all your kind words about the horrid weather we are having here in Cornwall. So far, we are on the fifth consecutive days of amber weather warnings. The wind dies down for a few hours through the day and then the nights seem rough all over again.
The little film is from Looe, due south of Liskeard and the poor place has been battered by high tide, high winds, storm surges and the drains have no where to take the water.
Until tomorrow,
A wet and windy Froogs xxxxx