Corned Beef with mash and mustard sauce

Now that the weather is cooling down, and the days seem so much shorter, making your meal in the slow cooker is a great option.  Simply place it all in the crock pot - turn it on and forget about it until dinner time.

One of our all time favourites is corned beef.  Most times (unfortunately) there are never any leftovers - such the favourite it is.

It's a cold day here today - and this is the perfect warm you up meal for those cold winter nights!

Corned Beef
Cooked the way my Mum does it - well kind of - she doesn't use the crock pot - she cooks it on the stove

1 piece of corned beef
1 carrot, cut into large chunks
1 onion, quartered
1 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs white vinegar
2 whole cloves

Place the carrot, onion, brown sugar, cloves and white vinegar in the crock pot bowl.

Wash your piece of corned beef well, under running water.  I also like to remove as much of the fat as I can. Place on top of the vegies.  Cover with water.  Put the lid on the crock pot and allow to cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Serve with mashed potato, vegies of choice, and we like to top it with a mustard sauce.

I know I blab on and on about the thermomix, but one of the great things it does is make mashed potato.  It is so smooth and creamy.

Mashed Potato
Thermomix EDC Cookbook


1kg potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2cm cubes
250g milk
salt to taste
30g butter

Place the milk, salt and potatoes into the TM bowl.

Cook for 20 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.

Insert the butterfly.  Add the butter and mash for 20 seconds on speed 3.

Place in the Thermoserve (that has been preheated with boiling water while you are cooking the potatoes) to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

One of the other great things the Thermomix does, I have now learn,t is making bechamel sauce - wow - no standing and stirring to avoid lumps - simply bung it all in the TM bowl and turn it on!!!

Mustard Sauce
Adapted from Thermomix EDC cookbook

500g milk
50g flour
50g butter
1 tbs american mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Place the milk, flour, and butter into the TM bowl.  Cook for 7 minutes at 90 degrees on speed 4.  Add the mustard.  Mix for 3 seconds on speed 4.  Season to taste - you may like to add a little sugar to sweeten if you like - depends on personal taste.  If you are not serving children you may also choose to make the mustard sauce using powdered mustard, if I do it this way I add a little stock concentrate to flavour up the sauce.

There you have a wonderful winter warmer the whole family will love.  The kids love it because the meat is so soft - the adults love it because it is pure comfort food at it's best.

What is your ultimate comfort food Dear Reader - please share!