Warming Winter Beef Cobbler Recipe

Well it's definitely turning cold here in England, the leaves on the trees have turned fabulous colours and when they're piled high on the ground they are a great source of fun for the dogs. With the cold weather starting to make it's presence last night's dinner was Beef Cobbler, a warm and satisfying meal that is easy to make and can be prepared well in advance.

I'm not sure if other countries know what a Cobbler is, it's so funny to think that something commonplace in your own country has never been heard of in others, I discover new foods and ways of cooking them every day and it's a source of endless variety.

As you can see in the photograph above a Cobbler is a stewed filling which has scone type biscuits placed on top and which as they rise leave you with a topping that looks like an olde English cobbled street, which is probably where it got its name. There are a lot of sweet versions of Cobblers but this is a main course savoury option where the cobbled top has the tang of Cheddar Cheese and goes so well with the minced beef stew nestling underneath.

• Warm your tablespoon of oil over a low heat and then add your chopped onions.

• Gently saute the onions for at least 5 minutes, this will get rid of any bitterness in the onions and for me I hate eating a stew where the onions are still slightly crunchy or firm, because the first stage of the cooking has been rushed. This is a time to relax, turn your brain to a low simmer and just stir letting your shoulders relax and the day's stress recede. Continue cooking until the onions are translucent, shiny and just beginning to take on a pale golden colour.

• Next add the minced beef and continue stirring and sauteing until the mince has turned from that deep red to brown.

• You can now add all the vegetables that you are using, for me this is the ideal time to empty the fridge of all those odd vegetables that need to be used up, and it's a great way of bulking up the meat and providing the family with fibre and vitamins. My husband has an allotment and there's always little baby carrots or some cabbage to hand, but with today's modern quick frozen vegetables which hold their vitamins just as well as fresh you can just add whatever you have to hand.

• Add the can of chopped plum tomatoes.

• Add the 2 tablespoons of flour and stir for a minute or two until cooked through and incorporated into the mixture.

• Finally add the Beef Stock and seasoning and stir.

• Cover with a lid and leave to gently simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Don't forget to check your seasoning about 10 minutes into it's simmer and adjust before putting together in the final stage of preparation.

Ingredients for the Cobbler:

225g / 8oz Self-Raising Flour

50g / 2oz Unsalted Butter or Margarine

100g / 4oz Cheddar Cheese, grated

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

7-8 tablespoons of Milk

This really is the easiest dough to work with and for a beginner or someone that is a bit worried about doing this I promise it really is very simple. I got my 11 year old daughter to roll this pastry and cut it and as you can see in the photograph above she did a grand job.

• Sieve your flour into a medium sized bowl.

• Add a pinch of salt and a couple of twists of ground pepper.

• Cut up your butter into small pieces, place it in the bowl with your flour and then to incorporate them both together rub the butter and flour between your fingertips, continue doing this until all the large pieces of butter have disappeared, it's much easier than it sounds.

• Add the grated Cheddar Cheese and give it a quick stir.

• Finally add half of your milk and using a normal household knife mix it in to the breadcrumbs and cheese.

• Slowly add a little bit more milk and using your hand squish the dough until it comes together. You may or may not need more milk it all depends on the flour that you're using but I normally find that this amount is sufficient to make the dough stick to itself without becoming too sticky to handle.

This is a very easy dough if you do add too much milk please don't panic, sprinkle a little more flour over the dough, basically what you want is to be able to pick it all up in one ball without it hanging on to your fingers and covering you in a sticky mess.

The key to a light scone/biscuit is not to mess with it too much, the less you work the dough the lighter your cobbles will be.

• Sprinkle flour onto your work surface and roll out the dough till it's about 2.5cm thick. Again please don't worry if they're thicker or thinner it really won't matter they will still be delicious I just like mine this size, and if you look in the photograph below you will see that we had various sizes. We even had a tiny heart-shaped one for me from my babygirl.

• It's entirely up to you whether you want round or square cobbles, the streets here in England have both types - you will find that this dough cuts very easily and you can use a plain or fluted scone cutter, a knife or a pizza cutter to chop this dough into cobbles.

Final Preparation:

All of this can be done in advance which means that it will take you minutes to pull it all together in time for your family and friends sitting down for their meal. The final cooking stage will take 25-30 minutes.

• Pre-heat your oven to 200ºC / 400ºF / Gas Mark 6.

• Pour your Beef Stew into a shallow baking dish.

• Place your cobbles slightly overlapping in layers on top of the stew.

• Brush the cobbles with a little egg wash or just some milk if you prefer.

• Place in the hot oven for 25-30 minutes.

And there you have it a lovely warming Winter Beef Cobbler, this is a wonderfully filling meal and I find that even when everyone is hungry all that is needed with this is some more lovely vegetables on the side.

HAPPY EATING!