Corned Beef and Cabbage Biscuit Pie

This is the last of the corned beef I made for St Patrick's Day.  I knew I wanted to make some kind of hash out of it, then accidentally meal planned it for a closing day.   Prep-ahead casserole it is.

When I thought I had two hours to make dinner, there was going to be a proper crust.  Plans shifted and I used drop biscuits instead.  Haven't made them before, apparently, so I used a half recipe of Preppy Kitchen's drop biscuits with part wheat flour and a bit of substitutions to make that work.  By the time the topping was baked, the casserole below it was bubbly and heated through.  I'm getting better at do-ahead meals.

Some may be disappointed in the tiny cabbages at the market lately, but I'm loving them.  I don't need a giant 3 lb cabbage the size of a basketball.  One pound is perfect for a four-serving recipe.  All the same, I'm getting a little tired of cabbages and will probably shift to other vegetables for a while.

I harvested my first leek!  It wasn't huge, but big enough for this recipe.  I did not realize how long they take to grow.  I need to start another round, so they're ready in six months.  And maybe start half a dozen every month to have a constant supply.

2 Tb butter
*1 small leek
1 lb cabbage
salt and white pepper to taste
*8 oz cooked corned beef
*1 15 oz can sliced potatoes (or one small potato, sliced and cooked)
*1 14 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C all purpose flour, plus 1 Tb
1-1/4 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C cold butter

1.  To prepare the leek, chop off the root and the leafy parts.  Split the white and light green part, rinse well, then dice.  To prepare the cabbage, split it down the middle, remove the core, and dice as you would an onion.  Dice the corned beef.  Drain the potatoes, and cut into smaller pieces if desired.

2.  Melt the butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat.  Add the leek and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the cabbage and stir to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that corned beef is salty and seasoned.  Cover and cook until cabbage is wilted, stirring occasionally.  This could take 15-20 minutes.  If it starts to pick up color, turn down the heat.

3.  Set aside 6 Tb of evaporated milk for the biscuits.  Add corned beef, potatoes, and 1 Tb flour to the saucepan and stir to coat.  In a minute or two the flour and butter should cook into the roux.  Slowly add remaining milk and let it thicken into the sauce.  Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

4.  Pour cabbage mixture into and 8x8 pan.  If this is a do-ahead, refrigerate now.  Otherwise, preheat oven to 425º.

5.  In a bowl, combine flours (or all AP flour for white biscuits), baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.  I also added some dried parsley because I have an abundance of it.  You could add herbs and/or cheese and they will still bake the same.  Dice or grate butter and add to flour.  Cut in until there are no pieces larger than a pea remaining.  Stir in reserved evaporated milk.  If mixture is still dry, add water a tablespoon at a time until it sticks together like a very thick cookie dough.

6.  Spoon or scoop biscuits on top of casserole.  They're going to hold their shape, so what you see is going to be the finished look.  Bake 15-18 minutes, until biscuits are golden and the casserole is bubbly.

7.  Allow to cool 10 minutes, then scoop out and serve.

Difficulty rating  :)