Cucina - Lettura - Trascrizione
Hello everybody! Welcome to the English Blog. In this podcast, you’ll be learning some interesting English on how to make a traditional English dish called Cottage Pie.
Before starting, let me first explain that the lesson is divided into two parts:
PART ONE: you’ll be listening to some useful English expressions; you’ll then hear a short explanation of these words, followed by an example of how they are used.
PART TWO: you’ll be listening to a recipe on how to make a Cottage Pie.
So let’s start!
Woman: Mince
Man: Mince is meat that has been cut into very small pieces with a special machine.
Listen to this short conversation:
Woman: Hello, can I have ½ a kilo of mince please.
Man: Which kind of meat would you like mincing?
Woman: Beef please.
Man: OK, would you like anything else?
Woman: No, thank you.
Woman: Diced.
Man: Diced is a special cut of vegetables, so that they are cut into very small square shapes.
For example
Woman: Can you help me with these vegetables please?
Man: Sure, what would you like me to do?
Woman: Dice the carrots please.
Man: What does that mean?
Woman: First cut them into flat strips, and then cut them into small squares.
Man: OK, I’ll try my best.
Woman: Chop.
Man: Chop means to cut something into pieces with a knife.
For example:
Woman: Can you chop the onions please?
Man: Do I have to? They always make my eyes water.
Woman: That’s because you don’t keep the surface face down. OK I’ll chop the onions and you chop the tomatoes.
Woman: Ground
Man: Ground is the past of grind, which means to press and break something into very small pieces or into a powder, between two hard surfaces or in a special machine.
For example:
Woman: Mmm, this is delicious, it just needs a little ground black pepper.
Man: I’ll grind it, that’s my job.
Is that enough?
Woman: Yes, thanks.
Woman: Now let’s listen to a recipe on how to make Cottage Pie, adapted from www.bbc.co.uk.
Man: COTTAGE PIE (sformato)
Serving for 4
Ingredients
1 lb (450g) mince
8oz (225g) carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion finely chopped
1lb(450g) old potatoes
Knob of margarine
3-4 tablespoons of milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C (400°F/ Gas mark 6).
- Peel the potatoes and place them in a saucepan of water to boil.
- Dry fry the mince in your frying pan until brown.
- Add the onion and carrot and cook with the mince for 5 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes in the colander and return to the pan.
- Add the margarine and milk to the potatoes and mash until creamy.
- Put the mince mixture into a baking dish and spoon over the mashed potatoes.
- Place in the oven for about 45 minutes.
Woman If you wish you can hear this lesson again. In the meantime we hope we have helped you to be more confident with your English. Watch out for the next topic. Thank you for using the EnglishBlog.
very useful, thank you !