Stew

[stripey_cat]

Fixing dinner tonight, it occurred to me to wonder whether my cooking is odd (or un-English). Basically, a pigeon stew, with stock vegetables (IIRC onions, carrots and celery only today) and red wine, but I've seasoned it with a mixture of spices (again from memory, juniper berries, nutmeg, caraway, cloves, a pinch of cinnamon, and sage),

Comments

[megamole]

Sounds an odd mixture of Sephardic and Georgian. On my mum's side the family is Russian, and we do a Georgian chicken and prune dish that has many similar ingredients.

[stripey_cat]

I really have no idea; it's (as far as I can recall) the sort of mixture I've always put in stews for strongly-flavoured meats. Sometimes I'll use cider or different types of wine (rabbit with elderflower was good), sometimes the spices or fruits vary. What puzzles me is where it's come from: my mother's family are solid north-of-England working/lower middle class, and my father's lot were expats settled in India (until Partition) which might explain the spices a bit, but my grandmother never makes anything like that. Nor does my mother, come to think of it. So I'm very puzzled.

[wellinghall]

I don't know, but can I come round and have some? ;-)

[stripey_cat]

'Fraid not. There were only 4 pigeon breasts (yay for living near enough to a supermarket to be able to wander round most evenings as they reduce things), and we scoffed the lot with fresh bread. It's fairly similar to the mixed game stew I made for the banquet 3 years ago (I think you were there), but more highly seasoned.