The good Reverend Richard Coles mentioned on Saturday Live this morning a dish called Lancashire Tater Ash, which was new to me. For my non-anglophone readers, "tater" is local dialect for "potato", and "ash" is local pronunciation of "hash", from the French "hachis", meaning chopped or minced. It turns out to be nothing more complicated than mince & tatties, a very simple dish and a quick meal that can be thrown together with potatoes, onion and minced meat, ingredients I often have lying around, and meat stock. Additional diced carrots, peas and celery can enhance the texture and vitamin content. It is traditionally served with red cabbage on the side.
Rearranging the layers in a hotpot, where the sliced potatoes are laid on top of the meat mix and baked in the oven, makes an attractive dish to serve the family or an informal dinner party.
Basic mince & tatties
is a popular dish in Scotland, where the vegetables (apart from
tatties) are optional. Tasty, although not always appetizing. It can
be shooshed up with the addition of Worcestershire sauce while frying
the meat, or more exotic spices such as cumin or turmeric if you are
adventurous, Beer or stout, or red wine mixed with meat stock also gives extra
oomph to the taste of the meat. The stock may need to be thickened with cornstarch or (ssshh) Bisto to hold it all together.
Curry spices, or a jar of instant curry sauce if you're lazy, will transform the mince into an aloo keema.
Classic Shepherd's, or Cottage Pie is a way of preparing minced lamb (or beef) and mashed potato for several people and would not look out of place at an informal dinner party, depending on how you present it.
In Belgium minced beef is called "steak américain" and is very lean, as often eaten raw in a tartare. A veal/pork mix is commonly used for the Belgian variation of spaghetti bolognese. Leftover bolognese sauce is a good base for most mince based dishes. I usually put mushrooms and tomato passata in my bolo which can also be added to any of the above dishes. Any and all variations of mince & tatties, be it minced beef, lamb or poultry, with potatoes sliced or mashed, integrated or layered, enhanced with diced vegetables and condiments, make fine comfort food on cold winter days. I often find myself with sprouting potatoes in the vegetable basket that need using up, and usually keep a pack of minced meat and frozen peas in the freezer. It's not haute cuisine, but it beats sending out for a pizza.
Non English speakers (and Americans) should be warned that the "mincemeat" sold around Christmas time is Not Meat. It is mixed spiced dried fruit (sultanas, currants, raisins, citrus peel, and SUET) used in sweet mince pies and Christmas pudding. Far be it from me to curb innovation in the kitchen, but I imagine it's not great with potatoes and gravy.
