Mr. S asked what’s for dinner and I said I wasn’t sure and hoped the market would be my source of inspiration. Root vegetables seemed to be everywhere from the different stalls. Some had packages containing carrots, potatoes, cabbage and turnip and were selling them as ingredients for a boiled dinner or what I call corned beef and cabbage. I picked up my root vegetables from different vendors and the corned beef from Meadowbrook Meat Market. Corned beef (the term corn refers to the coarse grains of salt used for curing) is the salting of the meat which is then submerged in a brine, refrigerated for 10 days, drained, rinsed off and placed in a large pot of water with root vegetables.
Corned beef and cabbage is an Irish dish with its roots hailing from Cork City and made popular in North America during the early 1900’s from the Irish who emigrated there years ago. My mom’s side of the family is Irish and this is a dish I have enjoyed over the years. It’s an easy one-pot dish…if you can boil a potato this meal is a snap to make. My favorite way to eat this meal is by using a fork to mash the potatoes and vegetables (helps to sop up the broth), dip a chunk of meat into the mustard and top with vegetables. Yum!
Serves 2
450g corned beef
1 large onion, quartered
3 to 4 bay leaves
2 to 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 or 5 carrots, washed and sliced
small green cabbage, cut into quarters
small turnip, peeled and cut into cubes
grainy mustard or your favorite mustard
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon whole cloves
Add turnip and bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Then add potatoes, carrots, cabbage and cook for another 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Optional – during that last few minutes of cooking, add the meat back to the broth and vegetables to reheat.
Slice the meat and add to the plates. Then add the veggies with some of the broth and good dollop of grainy mustard on the side.
The Culinary Chase’s Note: Before placing the corned beef in a pot, rinse under cold water. I find that the brine in commercial packages tend to be too salty for my liking. If you have any meat leftover, it makes a wicked corned beef sandwich. Enjoy!
- 450g corned beef
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 3 to 4 bay leaves
- 2 to 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 4 or 5 carrots, washed and sliced
- small green cabbage, cut into quarters
- small turnip, peeled and cut into cubes
- grainy mustard or your favorite mustard
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 1 tablespoon whole cloves
- In a large pot add corned beef and fill with enough cold water to generously cover the meat. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seeds, cinnamon stick and cloves. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer (gentle bubbles) for at least for 2½ to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Remove meat from pot, place on a plate and cover with foil.
- Add turnip and bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Then add potatoes, carrots, cabbage and cook for another 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Optional – during that last few minutes of cooking, add the meat back to the broth and vegetables to reheat.
- Slice the meat and add to the plates. Then add the veggies with some of the broth and good dollop of grainy mustard on the side.
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