Blind scouse and red cabbage
Scouse is a traditional stew from Liverpool, normally made with beef or mutton – here, Matt makes blind scouse, which has plenty of root vegetables and no meat.
Ingredients
For the blind scouse
- 30g/1oz butter
- 2 bay leaves
- small bunch thyme, leaves picked
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 leek, sliced
- 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 litre/1¾ pint vegetable stock
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú pearl barley, soaked
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 small swede, peeled and diced
- splash Worcestershire sauce
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dumplings
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú self-raising flour
- 50g/1¾oz salted butter
- 1–2 tbsp chopped horseradish, from a jar
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp snipped fresh chives
For the red cabbage
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 small red cabbage, sliced
- 2 Bramley apples, peeled and sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 75g/2â…”oz light brown sugar
- 50ml/2fl oz red wine vinegar
Method
To make the blind scouse, melt the butter in a large casserole and add the bay leaves and thyme. Add the onions and leek and fry for about 15 minutes. Add half of the potatoes. Continue to cook for another 10–15 minutes before adding the stock, pearl barley and nutritional yeast flakes. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes start to break down.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Add the other half of the potatoes, carrots and swede to the casserole. Place in the oven for 50–60 minutes.
To make the dumplings, mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and season with pepper. Add some water to bring the mixture together and form into balls. 20 minutes before the end of the scouse cooking time, remove it from the oven and add the dumplings, some seasoning and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Return to the oven until the dumplings are puffed up and golden.
To make the red cabbage, heat the oil in a lidded saucepan and gently fry the onions for 10 minutes until softened. Add the cabbage, apples and bay leaf, cover with the lid and cook slowly for 40–60 minutes until broken down and soft. Add the sugar and vinegar to taste and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Serve the scouse and dumplings in bowls with the red cabbage alongside.
