Can you remember the cartoons and the annuals that were, and still are, produced by “The Sunday Post” newspaper? If you can then you, like me, will have loved “Oor Wullie” the young lad with the bucket and the catch phrase “jings” and his moan of “I nivver get ony fun roond here”. If you enjoyed “Oor Wullie” you will have enjoyed and had a good laugh at the antics of the “Broons, an extended Scottish family made up of Maw, Paw, Granpaw, Hen, Daphne, Joe, Maggie, Horace, The Twins and The Bairn, plus at various times, a gaggle of friends, relations and neighbours.
Having followed their adventures you will no doubt be aware that both “Oor Wullie” and “The Broons” all liked nothing better than a braw plate of mince and tatties and so did we at home in county Durham. (Only we pronounced the Tatties as Tate-ies). Now, I have no idea whether the recipe came from “The Sunday Post”, a long forgotten Scottish ancestor, or simply was an existing Northeast recipe, but having checked the recipe against those from north of the border they are almost identical.So here is the northeast version of that Scottish favourite, Mince and Tatties. (Mince and Tate-ies).
Fred Watson.
Mince And Tatties
Ingredients
1lb of mince
2 onions
1 ounce of butter
2 carrots
1 ounce of plain flour
Beef stock
Method
Peel and chop your onions
Melt butter in a saucepan, add chopped onions and cook until soft.
Add mince to onions, separate into pieces and brown.
Slice up your carrots and add to the pan.
Add the flour and mix well.
Pour in enough beef stock to cover the mince
(You can use a stock cube to make the stock)
Cook until tender (about an hour)
If too thick add a bit of water.
Serve with a few peas and potatoes that have been mashed with a little butter and milk.
