Bacon, Fennel and Potato Crumble

Crumble is one of those peculiarly English things which appears to have passed me by. Whilst everyone I know adores it, I’ve always found it to be quite underwhelming. Perhaps it’s because my overriding memory of the stuff is being served it at school dinners. Mancunian school-dinner-crumble was practically inedible – big lumps of fibrous mulch hidden underneath a bone dry topping. The best part was the chocolate custard it came with, although this was invariably lumpy, with a rather unpalatable skin on top. No wonder I begged my Mum to allow me to take packed lunches to school.

Perhaps the problem lay with sweet crumbles. OK, so they’re the quintessential British teatime treat, but apple crumble has never really buttered my crumpet. Savoury crumbles however. Well, they’re another matter entirely.

The idea for this Bacon, Fennel and Potato crumble came when I was wondering exactly what to do with all of the fennel bulbs festering away at the back of my fridge and contemplated turning them into a tasty gratin. However, I was all out of breadcrumbs and there was no way I could acquire any (if by ‘no way,’ you mean ‘I couldn’t be arsed schlepping to ASDA to buy any’). So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own savoury teatime masterpiece. Potatoes were boiled and sliced, bacon and fennel sweated in their own delicious juices, and the whole thing was smothered in créme fraiche and a bucketload of cheese. The end result was delicious – sweet, salty and savoury all at the same time, a big plate of comfort.

Whilst I may still take some convincing on the merits of fruit crumbles, this Bacon, Fennel and Potato Crumble is definitely a keeper. In fact, it’s so good, it deserves to have an entire song dedicated to it…

BACON, FENNEL AND POTATO CRUMBLE (Serves Four)

You will need:

• Four medium sized potatoes
• Two bulbs of fennel, thinly sliced
• Four slices of good quality bacon
• 300ml créme fraiche
• 50g cheddar, grated
• Salt and Pepper

For the crumble topping:

• 150g plain flour
• 150g butter
• 50g parmesan, grated (I estimated it as being 50g, but honestly, just add as much as you like to make it tasty)
• 1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to season

MAKE IT!

1. Peel your potatoes, cut them into chunks and boil them for around five minutes. Drain, leave to cool, and slice thinly. Layer these at the bottom of a large casserole dish
2. Slice your bacon into chunks, and fry in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once it’s sizzling, and there’s lots of lovely fat in the pan, add the sliced fennel, and sauté until it’s turned soft. Layer these over the top of the potatoes and smother in the creme fraiche and the grated cheddar.
3. Make your crumble topping by adding the butter, chilli powder (if using), grated parmesan and salt & pepper to the flour, and rubbing the mixture between your fingers until it turns sandy and resembles breadcrumbs. Pour this on top of the bacon, fennel and potato mixture.
4. Bake at 200 degrees C/Gas Mark 5 for 40 minutes until the crumble has turned crisp and golden.
5. Serve immediately.  The leftovers can be reheated and make a nice lunch (or breakfast if you’re greedy and don’t fancy a bowl of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes).

LAZINESS, SAFFRON AND A PLEA FOR BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLZ

Ok.  Don’t speak.  I already know what you’re going to say. “I thought you said you were going to be writing a blog post every day in November.” And, well, you wouldn’t be wrong there. But life has a funny habit of getting in the way of the best made plans. Whilst I leapt into Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the best of intentions, a two hour long teleconference, a 40 minute wait for a bus in the pouring rain, a hole in my favourite pair of pumps and  three bottles of wine (a mediocre Shiraz, a lip smacking Pinot Noir and a zingy Savignon Blanc) put pay to those pretty swiftly. So yes. Sorry about that readers. I would promise not to do it again, but it’s my birthday on Sunday which means that anything could happen. And last time I checked, Mancunian gutters don’t have very good wi-fi.

Whilst I may not have been blogging, I have been cooking.  There’s a jar of Saffron currently nestled away in my spices cupboard, and I’ve been curious to find out what I can do with it besides from popping it into a Tagine or using it to flavour Paella.  Due to its expense, I’ve never really experimented with Saffron much – mainly because I’m terrified that I’ll sneeze and send a fivers worth of spices down the plughole. However, I love the rich yellowly-orange colour it gives to dishes, and its interesting – almost metallic – taste.  I took delivery of a massive aluminium stewing pot the other day and there are some chicken thighs in the fridge needing to used up.  Its time to experiment.

A quick rummage around my spice cupboard shows that I’ve got cinnamon, cardamom pods, ginger,  lemon juice and a metric tonne of minced garlic. I make a marinade out of these, coat my chicken in it, and leave all the flavours to sit and soak in for an hour. Then I brown my chicken, throw in some diced onion, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a pint of chicken stock. Then I throw in my secret ingredient – the saffron and let it all bubble on the stove whilst I squeal like a girl over who has been evicted from X Factor this week. After 45 minutes, I add a large squeeze of honey to the mixture,  before  serving it up with a large pile of fluffy steamed rice which has been cooked with some crushed cardamom.

It may be cold outside, but here in a little corner of Bootle, a girl is hunched up by four bars of a gas fire, sniffing her dinner and pretending she’s in Morocco rather than Merseyside.  If you fancy doing the same (and getting some funny looks from those around you), then why not try this out for yourself?

Oh, and before I continue, an apology. One day I will take better photographs than those used here to illustrate my dinner. If anyone fancies offering me a proper camera (I’m currently using the one on my Blackberry. Yes, yes I know – I deserve to have all of my  food blogger rights taken away from me) and some lessons in how to make my dinner look delicious rather than devastating, then I wouldn’t say No.

MIDDLE EASTERN CHICKEN (Serves two hungry people)

You Will Need:

• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 chicken thighs
• 4 cardamom pods (crushed)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
• 1 pint of chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon of saffron fronds
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• Parsley (to garnish)

Make It!

1. Mix the garlic, crushed cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and lemon juice together well. Use this mixture to coat your chicken thighs well. Cover, and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat a non-stick pan until hot and add the chicken thighs. Cook on both sides for 4-5 minutes until they begin to turn brown.
3. Add the chopped onion, tomatoes and stock and simmer for around 30 minutes until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced. Place your saffron in a small bowl full of hot water and leave it to sit for ten minutes. Add the saffron and its liquid to the pot.
4. Give your chicken a good stir and add the honey. If your sauce is too thick, then add some more stock until it reaches a nice consistency. Serve with parsley, couscous or rice.