The Mock Goose Experiment
Potato, apple, sage and cheese. What doesn't sound good about that, amirite? What's more, don't those flavours just say goose to you?
I've never had goose, but I'm willing to bet that this tasted nothing like it.
That said, it was surprisingly decent. The recipe came from Marguerite Patten's 'Feed the Nation', a collection of her recipes from c. 1940-1950. I'd left the book at home when I moved out, and coming back for the Easter holidays, I wanted to try some of the recipes. Unfortunately, the book did not mesh well with my new-found vegetarianism; in the savoury sections, almost everything has meat in it, even if it's just 2oz bacon. I'd naively assumed that meat rationing would mean a spike in popularity for vegetarianism, but that was apparently not the case.
This is what it looked like after doling out; three is an awkward number for recipes, and nobody really fancied seconds. I prefer to take that as a testament to its wonderful fillingness rather than an aspersion on my cooking.
In all seriousness though, it tasted fine. The savoury apple wasn't very jarring at all, once you got over the mental block. Would I make it again? Probably not. But it was a nice deviation from the norm.
The Recipe
1 1/4lb Potatoes
2 large cooking apples
4 oz cheese
1 tbsp plain flour
3/4 pint of stock
Sage, salt and pepper, for seasoning.
Slice the potatoes and apples thinly, like for a dauphinoise, but leave the skins on; remember, it's wartime, and wastage won't be tolerated. Grate the cheese. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190C/375F.
Grease a large-ish casserole dish, and put a layer of potatoes in the bottom. Cover with a layer of apple, and then season well with the sage, salt and pepper. Put more than a gentle sprinkle of sage; I was nervous about adding too much, and couldn't really taste it at the end. Cover that in a thin layer of cheese. Repeat. Finish with a layer of potato on top, season again, and cover in the rest of the cheese. Pour over 1/2 pint of stock, cover (with foil or something) and put in the oven for 45 minutes.
Blend the flour with the remaining stock. Remove the foil, and pour this mixture over the 'goose'. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Serve with green vegetables (we had cabbage, just for authenticity's sake).
I've never had goose, but I'm willing to bet that this tasted nothing like it.
That said, it was surprisingly decent. The recipe came from Marguerite Patten's 'Feed the Nation', a collection of her recipes from c. 1940-1950. I'd left the book at home when I moved out, and coming back for the Easter holidays, I wanted to try some of the recipes. Unfortunately, the book did not mesh well with my new-found vegetarianism; in the savoury sections, almost everything has meat in it, even if it's just 2oz bacon. I'd naively assumed that meat rationing would mean a spike in popularity for vegetarianism, but that was apparently not the case.
This is what it looked like after doling out; three is an awkward number for recipes, and nobody really fancied seconds. I prefer to take that as a testament to its wonderful fillingness rather than an aspersion on my cooking.
In all seriousness though, it tasted fine. The savoury apple wasn't very jarring at all, once you got over the mental block. Would I make it again? Probably not. But it was a nice deviation from the norm.
The Recipe
1 1/4lb Potatoes
2 large cooking apples
4 oz cheese
1 tbsp plain flour
3/4 pint of stock
Sage, salt and pepper, for seasoning.
Slice the potatoes and apples thinly, like for a dauphinoise, but leave the skins on; remember, it's wartime, and wastage won't be tolerated. Grate the cheese. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190C/375F.
Grease a large-ish casserole dish, and put a layer of potatoes in the bottom. Cover with a layer of apple, and then season well with the sage, salt and pepper. Put more than a gentle sprinkle of sage; I was nervous about adding too much, and couldn't really taste it at the end. Cover that in a thin layer of cheese. Repeat. Finish with a layer of potato on top, season again, and cover in the rest of the cheese. Pour over 1/2 pint of stock, cover (with foil or something) and put in the oven for 45 minutes.
Blend the flour with the remaining stock. Remove the foil, and pour this mixture over the 'goose'. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Serve with green vegetables (we had cabbage, just for authenticity's sake).
posted by Pippa at
18:14
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