Aldi teams up with top Scottish chefs to showcase festive Scotch Galloway beef recipes

Aldi has teamed up with three renowned Scottish chefs to inspire people to try its range of Scotch Galloway Beef joints this Christmas.

Scotch Galloway beef is rarely available in supermarkets and Aldi’s trio of joints offer great value for money.

Aldi will be selling a Scotch Galloway Beef Sirloin Joint (£14.99 per kg), Scotch Galloway Beef Rump Joint (£8.99 per kg), and Scotch Galloway Beef Joint wrapped in Ayrshire bacon (950g, £10.99) - and these could be an option for those not cooking turkey this Christmas.

The supermarket has partnered with chefs from across Scotland to show customers how to re-create restaurant quality festive feasts using each of the joints.

Each joint will be showcased in three video recipe guides created by chefs Chris Walker, owner of the Selkirk Arms Hotel in Kirkcudbright, 2019 Masterchef finalist, Jilly McCord, and Craig Wilson, owner of Eat on the Green in Aberdeenshire.

These videos will premiere on Aldi Scotland’s Facebook page.

Based in Dumfries & Galloway - the home of the Galloway breed - chef Chris Walker has developed a recipe using the Scotch Galloway Beef Sirloin Joint, which he serves with a hazelnut, mushroom and mustard crust and a mushroom and Port wine jus.

Speaking of the beef, Chris commented: “Galloway Beef is the ancient native breed of my local area, so it was very exciting to be asked to help promote these fantastic quality Scotch Galloway Beef joints.

"One of the things that makes Galloway Beef stand out is its depth of flavour and tenderness. So I’ve developed a recipe that locks all those juices and flavour inside the joint, coating it in a stuffing-style crust that creates a mellow, festive accompaniment to the dish.

“Galloway has a reputation for being one of Scotland’s best kept secrets, and the beautiful flavour of Galloway Beef is also a hidden gem.

"I’m delighted that we can now share that local secret with the rest of Scotland, in the hope that everyone will appreciate the texture, the taste and the very special nature of Galloway Beef this Christmas.”

Masterchef finalist Jilly McCord has created a winter warming dish with the flavours of a classic Boeuf Bourguignon paired with the delicious Scotch Galloway Beef Joint wrapped in Ayrshire bacon.

Served whole and pink in the middle, this dish is best enjoyed with creamy mashed potatoes and a rich sauce.

Finally, the trio is rounded off with Aberdeenshire’s Craig Wilson, also known as The Kilted Chef.

Craig has developed a recipe using Aldi’s Scotch Galloway Beef Rump Joint, which he roasts with rapeseed oil, fresh thyme, sea salt, cracked black pepper and Orkney Brewery’s Clootie Dumpling Ale (or any Innes & Gunn beer) for a festive centre piece.

Graham Nicolson, group buying director, Aldi Scotland said: “We’re thrilled to be able to offer our customers these three fantastic cuts of one of the finest types of beef Scotland has to offer at our everyday amazing prices.

"Scotch Galloway Beef is of the highest quality and enjoyed in restaurants around the world, and we wanted to show our customers exactly how some of Scotland’s top chefs would cook it this Christmas.

“Chris, Jilly and Craig have created three deliciously indulgent recipes that our customers can easily follow at home using quality produce stocked in our 96 Scottish stores.”

Dorothy Goldie, breed secretary of Galloway Cattle Society, added: “By championing the Galloway breed over Christmas Aldi is providing people with an opportunity to experience the rich flavour of one of Scotland’s oldest and most environmentally sustainable native breeds.

"We are absolutely delighted to be working with Aldi and Scotbeef, and we’re looking forward to knowing that Galloway Beef will be the centrepiece of festive dinners across Scotland.”

The Scotch Galloway Beef Sirloin Joint, Scotch Galloway Beef Rump Joint and Scotch Galloway Beef Joint wrapped in Ayrshire bacon, which was recently commended at the Christmas Quality Food Awards 2020, will be available from Aldi stores in Scotland from 19 December.

The recipes

Roast Sirloin with hazelnut, mushroom & mustard crust served with a mushroom and Port wine jus

By Chris Walker, Selkirk Arms Hotel

-          Recipe for 1.2kg Rolled Sirloin of Galloway Beef

-          Serves 4 – 6 persons

Ingredients 

For the crust

120g Hazelnuts

100g Chestnuts

2 tbl spoon of Grain Mustard

2 tbl spoon olive oil

4 sprigs of fresh Thyme

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cracked black pepper

100g button mushrooms

For the roast potatoes

1kg Maris Piper potatoes

100g duck or goose fat or 100ml olive oil

2 tsp flour

For the port wine jus

100ml Port wine

500ml beef stock

100g button mushrooms sliced

For the carrots

6 whole carrots

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Fresh thyme, for garnish (optional)

For the cabbage

1 lb fresh Savoy cabbage

2 to 4 tablespoons butter

salt and freshly ground pepper

an extra knob of butter

Method

PREPARE THE BEEF & CRUST – 15 MINUTES

1. In a small bowl, mix together crushed hazelnuts, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic, French mustard and olive oil to make a paste, add finely chopped mushrooms and blitz in a blender
2. In a large oven-proof skillet, sear the beef joint in a dry pan over high heat until golden all over. This does several things; it adds colour and flavour to the outside of the meat by crisping it up. Secondly it helps seal in the moisture.
3. Let it cool slightly and cover evenly all over with crust mixture using French mustard as a base to allow the crust to stick to the joint. Transfer back to the skillet. Leave whilst you prep the potatoes

PREP THE ROAST POTATOES – 10 MINUTES

1. Peel 1kg Maris Piper potatoes and cut each into 4 even-sized pieces if they are medium size, 2-3 if smaller (5cm pieces).
2. Drop the potatoes into a large pan and pour in enough water to barely cover them.
3. Add salt, then wait for the water to boil. As soon as the water reaches a full rolling boil, lower the heat, put your timer on and simmer the potatoes uncovered, reasonably vigorously, for 2 mins.
4. Meanwhile, put 100g duck or goose fat or 100ml olive oil into a roasting tray and place in the oven at 180
5. Drain the potatoes in a colander then shake back and forth a few times to fluff up the outsides.
6. Sprinkle with 2 tsp flour and give another shake or two so they are evenly and thinly coated.

BEEF & BLANCHED POTATOES INTO THE OVEN FOR ROASTING – 1 HR 10 MINS

1. Carefully put the Galloway Beef joint into a roasting tray and Bake in a 325°F (180°C) oven for 40 minutes covered in tin foil and then a further 10 minutes without the tin foil to crisp up the crust.
2. Roast the potatoes for 15 mins, then take them out of the oven and turn them over.
3. Roast for another 15 mins and turn them over again. Put them back in the oven for another 10-20 mins, or however long it takes to get them really crisp and golden. The colouring will be uneven, which is what you want.
4. Remove the beef joint from heat and transfer the roast to a cutting board cover with foil for at least 20 minutes while you make the sauce.

MAKE THE SAUCE – 15 MINUTES

1. Heat 20g butter over medium high heat with any pan juices, add the 100ml of port and reduce, add the button mushrooms and cook until softened and starting to colour, about 5 minutes then add 500ml of beef stock.
2. Add a bay leaf and let sauce reduce and thicken slightly, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Thicken with cornflour if needed. Leave in a saucepan until ready to serve

PREP THE CARROTS – 15 MINUTES

1. Peel the carrots and remove both ends. Slice the carrots diagonally into 2-inch-long batons or carrot sticks. Just remember to use the same cut for all the carrots, and keep them to about the same size so they cook evenly
2. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
3. Add the carrots and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots start to soften, about 5 minutes
4. Stir in the orange juice and maple syrup. Cook until the liquid reduces to a glaze, about 15 minutes, while stirring occasionally to coat all the carrots.
5. Taste and season carrots with additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve immediately.

PREP THE CABBAGE – 5 MINUTES

1. Remove all the tough outer leaves from the cabbage.
2. Cut the cabbage into four, remove the stalk and then cut each quarter into fine shreds, working across the grain.
3. Put 2 or 3 tablespoons of water into a wide saucepan, together with the butter and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, add the cabbage and toss over a high heat, then cover the saucepan and cook for a few minutes.
4. Toss again and add some salt, freshly ground pepper and the knob of butter.

BRING THE WHOLE DISH TOGETHER & PLATE – 5 MINUTES

1. Re heat your saucepan of gravy
2. Carve the Beef and plate
3. Add your roast potatoes, cabbage and carrots and ladle the gravy on top and serve immediately.

Pot Roast Beef a la Bourguignon with creamy mashed potatoes

 By Jilly McCord

This is a great warming dish with the flavours of the French classic Boeuf Bourguignon paired with delicious Scottish Beef – a real Auld Alliance.

Slice and serve with creamy mashed potatoes and lashings of the beautiful rich sauce. Add some green beans on the side for a bit of colour.

For the Pot Roasted Beef

Prep time – 15 minutes

Total cooking time (including resting) – 1hour 15minutes

• 1 Galloway Beef Joint Wrapped in Ayrshire Bacon
• 8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon or lardons
• 3 tbsps sunflower oil
• 2/3 bottle of Aldi French Red Wine
• 1 onion
• 2 sticks of celery
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• A good, bushy bunch of thyme
• Beef stock (use 2 stock pots or 3 rich beef stock cubes)
• 2 tsps tomato puree
• 1 packet of shallots
• 1 packet of small button mushrooms

Heat the oven to 150C Fan

Take a large cast iron pan and heat the oil until very hot. Sear the beef joint – browning on all sides. Remove from the pan and keep aside.

Now sauté the finely chopped onion and celery until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for around a minute before adding the tomato puree and herbs.

Cook gently in the pan for 2 minutes, then up the heat and add the red wine and de-glaze the pan. Simmer the wine and reduce by around a third.

The add the beef stock dissolved in around 500ml of water. Place the lid on the sauce and cook in the oven for around 30 minutes. At the same time, place the potatoes in the oven to bake.

Now chop the streaky bacon into lardons, peel the shallots and wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth to ensure they are clean. Take a frying pan and heat to a high temperature.

Fry the bacon until the fat has rendered and it is becoming quite crispy. Add the shallots and the mushrooms to the pan and colour on all sides.

Remove the sauce from the oven and place the beef roasting joint and the fried shallot mixture around the side of the casserole. The liquid should come around half of the way up the roasting joint.

Remove the lid from the cast iron dish and place back in the oven to cook the meat. This should, take around 45 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 55C for medium.

Once the beef is cooked, remove the joint from the sauce and wrap in foil to rest for around 15 minutes (keep the sauce warm on the hob or in the oven).

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Total cooking time – 1hour 15mins

• 1 kg Maris Piper potatoes
• 150g butter
• 150ml warm milk

Bake the potatoes in the oven for an hour until very soft. Scoop out the flesh and put through a potato ricer or mash with a masher until smooth.

Place the mash in a pan and gradually add the butter and warm milk, whisking all the time until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

To Serve

Once the beef has rested, slice the whole joint into thin slices and place on top of the sauce.

Finish with a little chopped parsley and serve with the creamy mashed potatoes and some green vegetables. I chose fine French green beans which are also available in Aldi stores.

Boozy beer beef with honey and chilli glazed root vegetables

By Craig Wilson, Eat on the Green

Ingredients:

• 300ml The Orkney Brewery Clootie Dumpling Ale (or any Innes & Gunn beer)
• 1 Galloway rump of beef
• 300 ml Beef stock (using Aldi Beef Stock melts)
• 5g Fresh thyme
• 1 clove of fresh garlic
• 3 tbsp Aldi Scottish rapeseed oil
• 600g Rainbow carrots
• 400g Parsnips
• 1 Red onion
• 1 Fresh chilli
• 1tsp Chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp Honey
• Good grind of cracked black pepper
• 15g sea salt

Method

Get a large roasting tray, place the beef in the tray.

Crush the garlic and place in a bowl with the rapeseed oil, fresh thyme, sea salt, cracked black pepper and 3 tbsp of the beer. Mix together then rub all over the beef joint.

Place into the oven at 220 degrees Celsius fan for 15 mins

For the vegetables, roughly chop the parsnips, red onion and carrots.

Once the meat takes on a good colour, remove from the oven and scatter the vegetables around the meat, add the beef stock and the rest of the beer into the tray.

Cover with foil, reduce the heat of the oven to 200 degrees fan and put beef back in for around 1 hour.

Once ready, take out of the oven, remove the foil and take the vegetables out and put into another tray. Add the honey, the fresh chilli and the chilli flakes then put back into the oven at 200deg fan for 15 minutes.

Wrap the beef in foil and place onto a board and leave to rest. Pour the juices from the tray into a pan and reduce by 50% on a high heat, for a delicious, flavoursome gravy.

Carve the beef and serve with the vegetables, to finish pour over the lovely, flavoursome gravy.

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