Scouse is dead easy to make, and it’s an incredibly inclusive and adaptable dish that anybody can enjoy. What’s that? You’re a vegetarian? No worries my lovely chums, we have a traditional version of scouse called “blind scouse” for you. Even better: it’s 100% vegan and gluten-free. Oh yeah, I thought you’d like that.

Beef / Lamb Scouse

You need:

  • 2 large onions
  • 500g* beef or lamb**, cubed
  • 500g potatoes
  • 250g carrots
  • Oxo
  • Flour
  • Cooking oil
  • Water
  • Pickled beetroot or pickled red cabbage
  • Crusty bread

*You can play with the quantities depending on how many hungry mouths you have to feed, just try to keep it at a ratio of around 1:1 for the meat and the potatoes and half that value for any other vegetables you want to throw in.

**some swear by beef, others by lamb. Me? I like to use a bit of both.

  1. Peel the onions, potatoes and the carrots
  2. Cut the carrots and onions up into nice big chunks
  3. Cut most of the potatoes into nice big chucks, but pick a few to slice very thinly – these’ll break down and thicken the gravy.
  4. Dust the meat with flour
  5. Get a big pot, stick it on the hob, add a drop of cooking oil
  6. Add the onion and heat for a minute or so until soft
  7. Add the meat, stir and heat for a few minutes until it’s sealed
  8. Rub in a Oxo (stock) cube or two
  9. Add the rest of the veggies. Throw in some salt and pepper and stir it up good!
  10. Add enough water to cover the meat and the veggies
  11. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and allow to bubble away for 3 hours, stirring occasionally

Don’t let the food stick to the bottom of the pot! Add more salt and pepper as desired. A bit of Worcestershire sauce usually goes down well. Scouse is wonderfully reheatable, but if it’s super thick just add a little more water.

Serve with the pickled beetroot or red cabbage and crusty bread.

Blind (Veggie) Scouse

You need:

  • 2 large onions
  • 500g swede*
  • 500g potatoes
  • 250g carrots
  • 250g sweet potatoes
  • Cooking oil
  • Water
  • Pickled beetroot or pickled red cabbage

*You can play with the quantities depending on how many hungry mouths you have to feed, just try to keep it at a ratio of around 1:1 for the swede and the potatoes and half that value for any other vegetables you want to throw in.

  1. Wash your vegetables well – you’ll be using the skin
  2. Peel the onions, potatoes, carrots, swede and sweet potatoes
  3. Put the peel into a pan with around 500ml of water and boil vigorously for 15 mins (this will be your stock)
  4. Cut the onions, carrots, swede and sweet potatoes up into nice big chunks
  5. Cut most of the potatoes into nice big chucks, but pick a few to slice very thinly – these’ll break down and thicken the gravy.
  6. Get a big pot, stick it on the hob, add a drop of cooking oil
  7. Add the onion and heat for a minute or so until soft
  8. Add the rest of the veggies.
  9. Separate the boiled water from the peel using a sieve or colander, add that water to the pot
  10. Throw in some salt and pepper and stir it up good!
  11. Add enough clean water to cover the veggies
  12. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and allow to bubble away for 3 hours, stirring occasionally

Don’t let the food stick to the bottom of the pot! Add more salt and pepper as desired. A bit of Worcestershire sauce usually goes down well. Scouse is wonderfully reheatable, but if it’s super thick just add a little more water.

Serve with the pickled beetroot or red cabbage and, if you’re not gluten intolerant, crusty bread.