Breath of the Wild #67: Meat-Stuffed Pumpkin

Ingredients: Fortified Pumpkin, Any Meat

Description: "This hollow, meat-filled pumpkin is a local specialty of Kakariko Village."

The bad news is, it's not pumpkin season yet... (well, when i made this, i have a bit of a backlog so idk) The good news is... WHO CARES?? I HAVE A PUMPKIN SHAPED CASSEROLE DISH

First I just throw the whole entire butternut squash in the oven, that'll provide the pumpkin for the filling (we weren't going to NOT have pumpkin in it!) And fry up the mince, starting with diced garlic and onion.

For the meat i've got a mixture of beef & pork mince, mince is a traditional "stuffing" meat and good for a bolognese flavour. I guess while i'm here why not throw in the fresh tomatoes, a bit of chilli paste, and season with salt & pepper.

I thought it might be fun to throw in some cardamom pods as well, just for a lil' something different.

The mince is nice and brown and mixed up.

As you can see, the baked squash is waaaay easier to chop up now. But we have much more than we need, i'll just use as much as I can fit in the dish with the mince...

Oh! And I was going to put in tinned tomato and red wine vinegar and basil as well... uh... i've done it again haven't I? Why can I never not overfill things? It's fine, ill save the rest of the tomato for some pasta or something.

...So, I was just going to bake it for like 30mins or something, but I got called to an emergency, so i turned the oven off and let it slow cook for about 2 hours. That'll be good for a dish like this.

*****

Oh.. it tastes like being a hero after helping someone in the neighbourhood having a medical emergency! Sweet, rich, and meaty. Sort of like a bolognese with pumpkin instead of pasta.

Breath of the Wild #66: Gourmet Meat Stew

 Ingredients: Raw Gourmet Meat, Goat Butter, Fresh Milk, Tabantha Wheat

Description: "The meat has simmered for so long it melts in your mouth. A true bucket-list meal!."

Going all out again for the gourmet, our meats are venison AND turkey thigh. Then we have the ingredients to make that bechamel sauce again. And since there seems to be other chunks in there, we've got some onions and a sweet potato.

I'll start cooking the venison in butter while I prep everything else, this will probably need the longest to cook if we want it reasonably tender.

Wow it shrinks a bit! Still, good sized meaty lean chunks in there. Now we can start the stew.

I'll cut the sweet potato and onion into pretty big chunks.

Ah right, the "stock"! Ive got a bunch of leftover pastes and sauces in the fridge already, so i've grabbed a selection that I think will complement the dark meats. Beef stock, celery salt, tomato & chilli pasta sauce, and concentrated umami paste (made from tomato and mushroom?).

that can all go in with some hot water.

And that turkey thigh... well... its already pre-cooked actually so we can just sort of... just place it on top? I guess?

We can't do all that and half-ass things, so ill let this simmer for a full hour!

Time to make that sauce again... I swear it feels different every time.. 

Looks good!

And in it goes!

*****

It really does melt in your mouth! The turkey melted right off the bone already, and the venison is sooo tender too. The broth is soo rich and buttery. I guess I could have put the sweet potato in a bit later, its quite different from regular potatoes i guess and gets a little bit too melty after that long. Gourmet, decadent even.

Breath of the Wild #65: Prime Meat Stew

Ingredients: Raw Prime Meat, Goat Butter, Fresh Milk, Tabantha Wheat

Description: "Letting the large portions of choice cuts of meat simmer brought out their savoriness."

We need a slightly better meat than last time... I've got diced beef instead of minced, and then this time I thought we could get a bit more bourguignon inspired and add a bit of wine, tomato and fresh thyme.

We can start with the beef, onions, and i've got some crushed garlic and grated ginger too.

Once thats about sealed, I'll add the carrots. A good amount of salt and pepper too.

Then we can add the water, a beef stock cube, the last of that umami paste and a nice big bay leaf.

And the red wine and some tomato concentrate too. I'll let that stew for like 45min.

Then I can make the bechdel sauce... erm... bechamel. It's a hot day so the butters nice and melty.

That and the stripped thyme leaves go in, looks really nice there!

****

I think it's a bit like the previous stew honestly. Well, I think its a better and stronger flavour broth. It's solid, but.. I guess it doesn't seem that original at this point. Maybe if it had more types of vegetables it'd be more exciting. Like some starchy potatoes or sweet peas.

Breath of the Wild #64: Meat Stew

Ingredients: Raw Meat, Goat Butter, Fresh Milk, Tabantha Wheat

Description: "This hearty meat in this mainstay dish leaves bellies satisfied all throughout Hyrule."

The simplest meat stew. I thought for a simple meat, we could do minced beef. That seems like it'd stew well. Got some carrots and onions to go with, and we'll be making that bechamel sauce just like in the veg. stews as the ingredients demand it!

Since the mince is... mince-y I thought we could cut the onions a bit smaller and fry them up for a nice flavour base.

Once they are brown I put in the mince, with some salt, pepper and paprika.

And once thats all brown too, the chopped carrots, and i'll make a bit of an instant stock with a beef stock cube and a couple open things in my fridge. I got umami paste and chopped chillies.

Time to make... a normal amount of the white sauce.

Yeah perfect. I don't really care to whisk all the lumps out. The stews already hot and lumpy!

In it all goes, it smells like a real meat stew

****

The flavours are simple and easy to like. It seems like a really good meal if you're feeling a bit delicate.

Breath of the Wild #63: Pumpkin Stew

Ingredients: Fortified Pumpkin or Sun Pumpkin, Goat Butter, Fresh Milk, Tabantha Wheat

Description: "Simply simmer a pumpkin to make this dish. A favorite in Kakariko Village."

It says simply simmer a pumpkin, so we'll keep it quite simple! I've got some leftover part-cooked squash (basically pumpkin) from the freezer, half a big onion, chicken stock, and ingredients for a bechamel sauce.

Browning the onion at first.

Then in goes all that nice pumpkin, a block of stock, and why not a big bay leaf? We're feeling fancy.

Thats had some nice stewing time, lets make up the sauce.

Hmm, how do we make this again...? Flour and butter into a paste first right?? is this too much flour?

And then slowly mix in the milk... yeah i think ive made too much.

This is probably a job for the whisk. Hey it looks less lumpy in the photo!

I made loads so I'll use half of it in the stew and half for another stew.

I haven't considered the seasoning on top... hmm.. how about dried oregano? Why not.

***

Its thick and warming, shame im currently in a heatwave... I dunno if its cause it was frozen but without blending, the pumpkin has a not ideal fibrous lumpy texture. Putting in in the blender would be much nicer. Its basic, but im still content with it.