It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a recipe. I have a couple of days off work, so today I have a little time to COOK 1940s STYLE!
As always, I’m having to keep an eye on what I spend so I’ve given myself a task this month, of using up what I have stored away in the cupboards, fridge and freezer to save a little money as we are heading off to Waltham Abbey in October, to walk the marathon for Cancer Research UK. Travel and accommodation soon adds up!
For lunch today I re-created a wartime recipe from the late Marguerite Patten’s book ‘Feeding the Nation’ as it included using beans and I happen to have a lot of those in my larder. The recipe called for haricot beans but I only had kidney beans so I substituted those as any thrifty wartime household manager would have done! The recipe also called for bacon and being veggie, I still wanted to experience the taste of the original recipe as close as possible so I used a packet of ‘Quorn Meat Free Bacon Rashers’ which I first chopped and sauted before adding to the mashed potatoes and beans before baking in the oven.
I served with cabbage, as the recipe suggested, and cooked it in the right way (a little water in the bottom with a lid on to steam for a few minutes).
Hope you enjoy!
Canadian Bake
- 1.5 lbs of small white haricot beans (soaked for 24 hours then simmered in clean water until soft – 1.5 hrs)
- 1 lb of potatoes
- 1/4 lb of chopped boiled bacon
- Dessertspoon of ground sage
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt, pepper and butter
- Crisp breadcrumbs
Method
- Mash the potato and haricot beans together and add salt, pepper and butter to taste.
- Mix in the ground sage and bacon.
- Grease a pie dish and sprinkle with crisp breadcrumbs
- Place the mash in the dish and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned.
- Serve with cabbage and gravy.
