First meal in new house (with Aga!)

Rainy-Days

Once you have brought the potatoes to the boil you literally take them from the hotplate and put them straight into the oven - do not drain them until you are ready to mash or serve them.

DebtFree2012

Mazzarati2000 wrote: »

Both my Aunt and my Grandma had Agas throughout my childhood, and most of my out of school time was spent with either one or the other, so most of my initial culinary experience was Aga based.


I'd be tempted to prep a stew (raw veg, brown the meat if you like), and pop it in the bottom oven the minute you get the keys (assuming it's left on and up to temp when you move in (might be worth checking the plan with the agent), if not transfer the same meal to the slow cooker and forget about using the Aga the first day!), that'll give you a good 4-5 hrs moving in and sorting without having to lift a finger to cook until you're all ready to eat. Do you know what type of fuel the Aga in question is powered by?

It is an oil fueled 2 oven Aga. Yes the slow cooker is my current saviour for most days. I use it regularly and it is definitely on the cards as option #2 in case the Aga thought doesn't come to fruition on day one. Thanks for the reply!

DebtFree2012

Rainy-Days wrote: »

Once you have brought the potatoes to the boil you literally take them from the hotplate and put them straight into the oven - do not drain them until you are ready to mash or serve them.

Presumably the roasting oven? Thank you.

DebtFree2012

What about soup - are there any reliable Aga soup recipes out there, or is that not something you could do in a 2 oven? I can't wait to move in!!! Fingers crossed it all works out!

theoretica

One of the things I loved an aga for was muffins - the breakfast type. Slit them round the edges, but don't cut in half, pop them in the top oven to toast and then split them and the innards are lovely and fluffy and hot to melt butter. Other rolls are pretty good too.

Lots of things can be started on the top and then popped in the oven. Rice works exactly as the boiled potatoes described, and even things like sausages or chops. You do need to check the handles and lids on your pans can take the heat, and that they have flat bottoms.

Skintmama

DebtFree2012 wrote: »

Presumably the roasting oven? Thank you.

I am sure it would be in the simmering oven. Personally, I do drain most of the water off potatoes and vegetables and then just let them steam cook in the bottom oven. I can't help with you with timings though as I just know my own oven!

As for soups - I do mixed root vegetable and red lentil soups by giving them about 10 minutes at boiling point on the simmering hotplate then transferring them to the simmering oven for an hour, or even all day if that is what suits me. I do use cast iron casseroles though so this may be a factor in retaining the heat? I am very much an instinctive soup maker (as in make it up as I go along!) so I am sorry I don't have a specific recipe.

Pasta - I bring this to the boil in a large pan of salted water, give it a stir, put the lid on and put it into the bottom oven for however long it says on the packet. This results in perfect al dente pasta which doesn't stick together.

I haven't mentioned the Aga solid baking sheet. This is stored out of the oven so that it is cold and can be placed on a rung above the food to create some protection from excess heat. I find it essential for when I am baking cakes. Unfortunately, as with all Aga equipment it is expensive. I don't have any of their pans or baking tins and manage just with the Aga baking sheet, an Aga roasting tin (not essential at all) and a rack for cooking toast on the hotplate.

I have also cooked Drop Scones and Singin' Hinny directly on the simmering plate. Could be fun and rather yummy in your early days in your new home.

Sometimes Aga cookshops run demonstration days (although I haven't been to one) and it may be worth looking out for these.

Sorry I am not more help but I just have a very aged oil conversion Aga and I am sure it is very different to the modern ones!

Rainy-Days

DebtFree2012 wrote: »

Presumably the roasting oven? Thank you.

No - pop it in the simmering oven and check after about 15 minutes as you don't want them going to mush! The other thing I forgot to mention was that this is for pan sets like Le Creuset or metal pans with metal handles. If you have plastic handles they may well not handle the heat and will disintegrate! I put a mug into the cooking water and pull off roughly about a couple of mugs of water to reduce the liquid down a bit - also helps with getting the potatoes a bit fluffy as well. You want about a quarter of the original boiling water left at the bottom and then put the lid over and place it in the simmering oven on the bottom rung. You also need to be aware of placing things directly onto the oven floor of the roasting oven as well as that is the hottest place in the oven so you are going to need to get familiar with your racks and also your cold shelf as well!

You would be very much worth getting Bake-O-Glide which is fab stuff, you can even fry eggs on this on the warming plate! You can get it off eBay. There are some tips and hints on You Tube, which is a good place to start as well. I got an amazing Roulade recipe off it and it's a bit of a show stopper for when I have done dinner parties!