To celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives, North Dakota Living hops across the pond to northern England for its recipe inspiration this month. Here, poor cotton millworkers pooled their scarce resources to access basic goods at a lower price and created the first modern cooperative business, the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society, in 1844.
Initially, the co-op only sold four items: flour, oatmeal, sugar and butter. You’ll find those four ingredients in the brown butter pumpkin crisp. It’s the perfect fall dessert and a little nutty – in a good way! Don’t skip toasting the pecans and oats in the brown butter.
The Lancashire hotpot is a traditional dish of northern England thought to have originated during the cotton industry in the 19th century. “It’s a simple meal that would have been left to cook slowly all day, ready for the hungry cotton workers at the end of their shift,” says Nicky Corbishley, a recipe blogger from northern England. We tested her hotpot recipe, LOVED it and share it with you!
TOPPING:
¾ cup butter, divided
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup pecan halves, chopped
1 cup flour
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
1½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. kosher salt
FILLING:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
15 oz. can pumpkin
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. cloves
¾ cup heavy cream
In an 11-inch oven-safe skillet, melt ½ cup butter. Continue to stir until butter browns. RIGHT when it starts to darken, add oats and pecans. Continue stirring, toasting for about 5 minutes. Pour mixture into a mixing bowl (do not clean skillet). Add remaining ¼ cup butter in slices. Once butter melts, stir in flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Transfer bowl to refrigerator to chill completely.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, brown sugar and maple syrup until smooth. Mix in pumpkin, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, salt and spices. Once well combined, whisk in heavy cream (the mixture will be fairly thin). Pour the batter into the skillet used previously. Cover completely with chilled topping, making sure no batter is visible. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. It’s done when the crisp is golden brown and the very center jiggles slightly. Cool for about an hour, scoop and top with ice cream.
Recipe by Jenna Barnard, Butternut Bakery, butternutbakeryblog.com
1 T. butter
1 T. vegetable oil
1½ lb. chuck roast, cut into large bite-sized chunks
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 heaping T. flour
2 cups beef stock, hot
1 T. beef bouillon
Fresh thyme
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
3 medium carrots, sliced
1½ lbs. yellow potatoes, thinly sliced
1 T. melted butter
In a Dutch oven, fry beef in butter and oil until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Remove beef, reserving drippings. Add onions and cook until soft, stirring regularly, about 3-4 minutes. Add beef back in, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add in hot stock, bouillon, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and several sprigs of fresh thyme. Place lid on Dutch oven and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, stir in carrots. Transfer stew to a casserole dish. Starting from the outside, layer potatoes, moving toward the center. Brush potatoes with melted butter and sprinkle with more fresh thyme leaves. Cover with lid or foil and bake for 1 hour.
After an hour, turn oven up to 400 degrees and remove lid or foil. Cook for another 30 minutes until the potatoes are browned and crisp on top. Let rest for 5 minutes and remove thyme stems before serving.
Use lamb instead of beef for a more traditional preparation. Any type of beef roast should work, but the marbling on the chuck roast does make for tender, succulent meat.
Adapted from recipe by Nicky Corbishley, kitchensanctuary.com
