Recipes

Olde English Bacon Casserole

Many years ago, this used to be called ‘boiled beef and carrots’ – but it was never beef, always bacon! This casserole is really hearty, a little heavy on the calories and carbs but you can always balance that with other lower calorie and carb dishes throughout the day. You can either make it with leftover bacon joint (such as at Christmas) or in this case, we have used unsmoked bacon lardons. Whichever way, it’s a tasty meal! Much of the liquid will be absorbed and reduced, so don’t worry if it looks a lot to start with.

Serves: 2 x 700ml food pots

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1tbsp olive oil
  • 200g bacon lardons
  • 3 leeks, trimmed and chopped
  • 2 carrots, washed and scrubbed, then cut into small chunks
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 250g pearl barley
  • 750ml chicken stock
  • 200g cabbage, such as Savoy or similar
  • 2tsp Dijon mustard (more if you like it)
  • Small handful finely chopped parsley

Method:

  • In a large casserole pot, place the oil and bacon lardons into the pot and gently fry off, but not too brown or crispy. Remove from the pot and set aside.
  • With a small touch of water in the pot, cook the carrots, onions and leeks until slightly soft for about 4-5 minutes.
  • Add the pearl barley, mustard and any seasoning (easy on the salt) and top up with the chicken stock. Cook for 20 minutes
  • Toss in the bacon and cabbage and cook for a further 10 minutes.
    Add parsley, stir through and ensure you are happy with the temperature. Adjust seasoning if required.
  • Portion into pots and enjoy this old English classic.

Nutritional Values:

Calories 589, Fat 15g, saturates 3g, Carbohydrates 73g, Sugar 11g, Fibre 8g, Protein 43g, Salt 0.8g

 

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