When the mercury drops and people have to arm themselves again against the cold, it is good to eat food that makes people warm inside. And that provides enough energy to stay warm. Typical fall food does. Typical autumn foods are stews and hash.
Nature tells us what to eat
Nature is actually very good at telling us what to eat. Whoever follows the seasons is also good for the environment, because vegetables and fruit (and meat) that come from far away use a lot of energy even before they are anywhere on a plate. Winter carrots from your own garden or from the organic farmer or pickled cabbage or fresh cabbage fresh from the land does not take much energy. That means that living with the season ensures less energy waste and less CO2 emissions.
Each season has its own vegetables, fruit and meat
Each season has its own vegetables, fruit, meat and fish. Eating strawberries in winter is ridiculous. They will grow somewhere in the world like in Malaysia, but before such a bowl of strawberries is here, it has already used up way too much in terms of energy. There are plenty of potatoes in the winter. Once harvested at the end of the year, the tubers can be stored for a winter. Many people are also unaware that fish has its own season. For example, if a fish mates, it cannot be caught.
An autumn dish in the spotlight: the hash
Hachee is a traditional stew. The basis is formed by blocks of meat, fish or poultry and vegetables. In the Netherlands, hash stands for a stew of:
- Beef
- Onions
- Acid in the form of vinegar or its
Brabanders think that hash is a typical dish from their province
Hachee is often seen as a typical Brabant dish. In this province they serve a fairly thick gravy and it is also flavored with cloves and bay leaf. The hash is often served with:
- Red cabbage
- Apple
- Apple sauce
- Potatoes
Where does hash come from?
Hachee comes from the word chop in French which is haché. Hachees were already made in the Middle Ages and they appear in books about medieval buffets. There will be recipes from that time, but are not known to us.
The revival of hash
Hachee probably arose because people did not want to throw away the meat they had left, but wanted to reuse it. Vegetables were then added that were also just available at that time. Adding sour things like vinegar or wine was supposed to soften the meat. This tenderizing of meat has been known for a long time. Lemon or lime juice is also often used to tenderize meat. Lemon juice is also often used in marinades to soften meat. The acid also protects against the carcinogenic substances that are formed when meat is cooked directly on the fire (barbecue).
How do you make hash?
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 600 grams of lean beef ribs
- 75 grams of butter or margarine
- 1.5 kilos of onions
- 3 cloves of garlic to taste
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- A quarter liter of beef broth
- To taste 2 leaves of fresh bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar
Preparation of hash
- Cut the beef into large tins
- Sprinkle the meat with pepper and sweet and add the flour. Mix well
- Let the butter or margarine get hot and then fry the meat for about 10 minutes until brown
- Remove the meat from the pan and place it in a bowl with aluminum foil over it to keep it warm
- Peel and roughly chop the onions
- Chop the garlic into pieces
- Fry the onions and garlic in the fat in which the meat was fried. Do that for about 8 minutes
- Then return the meat to the pan
- Add the red wine and the stock
- Then add the bay leaf and vinegar
- Then let the mixture stew on a low heat for 2.5 hours. Make sure that the dish does not get dry
- Serve with potatoes or brown rice