Dr Mobeus
Liverpool Scouse
Scouse is the stew that named the people, a sailor’s lobscouse carried into Liverpool through the port and cooked so long and so cheaply that the whole city ended up called Scousers. It is beef and root vegetables with a serious weight of potatoes, half of which cook down into the gravy and do the thickening that flour would otherwise have to, which makes it a one-pot dinner for six at around £3.20 and one of the most efficient feeds in the British canon. The traditional accompaniment is pickled red cabbage, sharp against the soft sweet stew, and there is a famous meatless version called blind scouse from the years when meat was more than the budget allowed. Like all stews it is better on day two, which is lucky, because a pot this size is never finished on day one.
Liverpool Scouse
Ingredients
Method
- Toss the beef in the flour with a good pinch of pepper. Brown it in the oil in a large pan over a high heat, in two batches so it fries rather than stews, then set it aside.
- Turn the heat down, soften the onions in the same pan for 5 minutes, then add the carrots and swede for another 5 minutes until the edges take colour.
- Return the beef to the pan with the stock cube, the bay leaf and around 750 ml of hot water. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 15 minutes, until the beef is starting to give way.
- Add all the potatoes and simmer uncovered for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the small dice collapses into the gravy and thickens it and the chunks are just holding together. Add a splash of water if it looks too dry at any point.
- Fish out the bay leaf, season hard and serve in deep bowls with a spoonful of pickled red cabbage on the side, which is how it is eaten in Liverpool.
Tips and Variations
Blind scouse, without the meat and with extra potatoes, is the genuine old poverty version and still a good bowl of food. The stew thickens as it stands, so loosen it with a splash of water when reheating. It freezes for 3 months and improves for the pause. Lamb neck is the other traditional meat and worth it when it is cheap.
