As much as I would like to cook something different and a little bit fancy each night, that trick doesn’t always work around here.
When Nat wants comfort and the boys want comfort, that’s what you do.
This bolognese is the best of both worlds.
It’s comfortable and yet, with the excellent soffritto and four or five hours of cooking time, it is certainly on the fancier side of bolognese. Sizzler buffet this is not.
Next time, I’d try to dial it up further with some milk to the soffritto and maybe some anchovies; perhaps veal and pork mince rather than just beef, though the bacon makes a nice touch.
As it was, it was more than fine.
The boys wolfed it down and Oliver asked for it in his lunchbox. Nat said it was the best she has ever had.
This dish won’t change the world though I know I will be asked to cook it again and again and I can certainly live with that!
Ingredients Olive oil 40g butter 2 medium carrots, diced small 3 medium brown onions, diced small 4 bacon rashers cut into fingernail size tiles 2 celery sticks, diced small 1 tbsp soft brown sugar 4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped and crushed 3 tbsp tomato paste 1kg beef mince 1 lemon; 4cm piece of peel/rind and then halved for juicing 500ml red wine 3 bay leaves Splash Worcestershire sauce 2 cans tinned tomatoes 500ml beef stock
1 large pack of egg tagliatelle 150g Italian parmesan cheese, grated 1 loaf crusty bread and a green salad for serving
Method
For the soffritto: Heat a heavy pan over a low-medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and the butter and heat.
Saute the onion, carrots and bacon. After a few minutes, add in the celery and cook the vegetables slowly until translucent. Sprinkle over the brown sugar and stir through. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for a further few minutes.
Set the soffritto aside in a bowl.
Add more olive oil to the pan and when hot, brown the mince. Add the browned meat to the soffritto.
Turn up the heat and deglaze the pan with the red wine. When the wine has reduced by half, add back the meat, soffritto, bay leaves and a couple of good dashes of Worcestershire sauce, lemon peel, tomatoes and stock. Stir.
Season with salt and a good squeeze of lemon juice from one half of the lemon. Reserve the other lemon half.
Bring to the boil covered, remove the lid and turn the heat right down. Cook gently for four hours, turning occasionally to ensure it doesn’t burn. Finish the red wine left over in the bottle and put your feet up.
Taste, season and get it thick, rich and dark.
Cook your pasta, make your salad, grate your cheese, break the bread and enjoy!
When Nat says ‘type this up’, it means we have a winner.
And this is truly a comfort food, bangers-and-mash winner.
For two reasons.
Firstly, because when I buy a pie, I always look for the curry beef.
Sure, a beef and mushroom pie is almost always amazing and sure, beef curry pies from a patisserie are usually not that great.
But they’re curry. And beef mince.
And there you have reason two.
This beef curry pie is amazing.
Simple yes, comfortable yes, world-changing no, but amazing nonetheless.
I had lunch at Mercardo in Sydney today and there was no end to the wonderful tasting plates and pops of flavour and so forth.
Give me a good damn curry pie however… and you’ve got me.
Ingredients 500gm (extra lean) mince 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp salt 2 tsp vegetable oil 2 medium onion, chopped 2 tbsp curry powder 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed 12 tbsp water 1 cup frozen (baby) peas Puff pastry; 2 – 3 sheets 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Method
Heat the oven to 180c.
Mix together the beef, soy sauce, sugar and salt until well combined
Heat a heavy saucepan, medium heat and ten add the beef and cook, stirring occasionally to break up the beef until browned and all the liquid has evaporated.
Reserve the beef.
In the saucepan, heat the oil over a low-medium heat and add the onion, stirring until softened; 5 – 10 minutes. Add the curry powder and potatoes and cook until the potatoes are translucent. Add water if the pan dries out, scraping any brown bits from the bottom. Cook until the potatoes are tender.
Return the beef and the the peas to the pan, stir to combine and then cool, stirring the mixture every so often. 30 minutes or so.
Fill a half-size casserole dish with the mixture and then cover with the pastry sheets.
Brush with the egg wash and cook for 30 minutes until golden and puffed.
“I think I’ll pass on the steak with French sauce” said no one ever.
And it’s true!
Home on Friday night after a few days away and hours and hours of driving, Nat absolutely nailed it.
It was warm, the sun was setting and there is champagne on ice, a wonderful baked brie as a starter and the promise of steak with a French sauce, twice-cooked crispy potatoes and pear, parmesan and rocket salad.
What more could anyone want?!
This recipe is classic French bistro and with the crunchy, golden, baby potatoes (if you haven’t invested in an air fryer, make haste), it was as good as you could expect from a French restaurant.
Surprise someone with this dinner and favours will be owed!
Ingredients 5 eye fillet steaks 3 tbsp green peppercorns 1 – 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp brand 2 tbsp dry vermouth or white wine 125ml cream Salt and pepper
Method
Press some peppercorns into both sides of the steaks. Cook the steaks quickly in the butter over high heat.
Flame the steaks with the brandy and remove; set aside to rest. Deglaze the pan with the vermouth or wine.
Crush the remaining peppercorns into the cream Add to the pan and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.
It is so cheezly good that if you got it in some chain restaurant in the States, you’d go back once a week just to have it for lunch.
Essentially a burger without the bun, it is so whacking with flavour, so filling and so relatively healthy, words don’t describe. And where I say it is a burger without a bun, it is literally an American chain burger without a bun.
Or cheese or grease.
The ‘SW Super Sauce’ is the hero here and we didn’t change a thing except substitute firm, fat-free yogurt for the fromage frais… and nobody would notice.
We dialed up the beef by adding ground coriander, cumin, smoked paprika and chilli powder and I would suggest you do the same.
To say that this is a must-try, out-of-the-ordinary, you-will-love-it meal is an understatement.
Go with the terrible iceberg lettuce, use some spiced gherkin and take the night off from anything fancy.
This is a burger… without the bun… in a bowl.
Ingredients
Burger 1 tsp canola oil 500gm extra lean beef mince 1 onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed Plenty of salt and pepper Whatever spices you think, though flavour and spice it up Salad ½ iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped 8 gherkins, sliced 1 small red onion, finely chopped 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
SW Super Sauce 3 tbsp extra-light mayonnaise 5 tbsp fat free fromage frais 1 tbsp American mustard 2 tbsp tomato puree (passata) 2 tsp white wine vinegar ½ tsp garlic salt ¼ tsp onion granules ¼ tsp sweet smoked paprika
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan; add the beef, onion and garlic and stir fry for 6 – 7 minutes until the beef is browned and the onion has softened.
Meanwhile, put all the SW Super Sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Mix together the salad ingredients and divide between 4 bowls. Spoon the beef mixture on-top, drizzle over the SW Super Sauce and serve hot.
I want to say that roasts are boring and in one sense they are. But then again, a slice of roast chicken with some peas, roast pork and crackling with some mashed potatoes or rich roast beef with some Yorkshire Puddings, a jus and some sauted brussel sprouts?
Boring never!
But roasts are boring nonetheless.
They’re done. They’ve been done. They have failed to make the jump into the culinary whirlwind. They were the peak of the week’s cooking and now they’re just a Sunday-night snore.
Until now.
This roast beef is awesome. And on so many fronts.
The tinge of the marinade lingers well. It isn’t some weak marinade: it permeates the meat and you taste it right through.
And you are forced to re-think your sides which is half the point.
No boring pumpkin and peas here!
Think about the flavours and what would pair. Asian rice, Asian greens, char grilled corn.. The list is endless.
If you think about it, roast beef is sort of the ultimate thing you can offer up. It is what kings ate.
Dress it up for 2016 and give this a whirl. It is awesome!
Ingredients
1.2kg beef blade roast, trimmed 1 tbsp finely grated ginger plus six thick slices extra 3 garlic cloves 1 long red chilli, roughly chopped ¼ cup reduced salt soy sauce 1 tbsp honey 1 tbsp mirin Vegetable oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 200c.
Blitz grated ginger, garlic, chilli, soy sauce, honey and minin and rub all over the beef and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Place beef in a roasting pan on top of sliced ginger, drizzle with 1 tsp of vegetable oil and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 180c and roast, basting occasionally with pan juices until browned and cooked medium: 50 – 55 minutes and the internal temperature being 55 – 60c)
Remove from the pan, cover loosely with foil and set aside for at least 20 minutes.
It has been a while since I’ve had meatloaf and I wish it wasn’t after tonight’s dinner.
My mother used to cook the famous James Beard’s meatloaf when I was a kid and I loved it; plenty of peas, plenty of ketchup and if you were lucky, mash potatoes.
So why so long between drinks?
Maybe because meatloaf is so daggy? Maybe because it has a bad reputation thanks to the Simpsons? Because so many friend’s recall dry, unseasoned bricks of terror from their childhood?
Who knows?
But geez, a good meatloaf is heaven and this recipe is for a great one.
In fact at 231 calories a serve – for two generous slices – it is an awesome one.
Cooked up by Nat and in the oven whilst we went for a walk after work and served with – of course – peas and ketchup, I was in back in heaven and promising to become the King of Meatloaves.
I probably won’t claim that title with so much other great stuff to cook, though here is hoping.
(Nat adjusted a few ingredients to make it even fluffier and I have typed it up such.)
Ingredients
1kg extra lean beef 1 ½ cups passata ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese ½ cup finely chopped onion ⅓ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 tsp garlic powder ½ tsp dried basil ½ tsp dried oregano ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp black pepper 3 large egg whites Cooking spray
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Combine the beef mince, 1 cup of passata and remaining ingredients except the cooking spray in a large bowl.
Shape the beef mixture into a loaf on a cooking tray lined with baking paper and lightly coated in cooking spray; or use a bread tin.
Brush remaining ½ cup of passata over the meat loaf.
Cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a thermometer registered 70c internally. Let stand for 10 minutes and then slice.
I cooked this dish some years back and it is truly outrageous.
It is from that iconic Sydney restaurant of the 90s, Banc; an exquisite restaurant, a bastion to the Packers, their bankers and advisers. It was Rodney Adler’s restaurant which should provide some idea of the whole establishment.
From time-to-time you need to do a blowout dish. A dish that is so far from the ordinary of weekday cooking.
You do it for the fun of preparing it, you do it because we all need a dollop of foie gras and truffle in our lives from time to time and you do it because it is a gift to anyone lucky enough to join you for the meal.
And lucky they are. The beef and foie gras is like butter. The potato galette is the last word on potatoes. And served with the creamed spinach, the truffle and that ‘OMG’ sauce… OMG.
The photo above is from the Banc cookbook. I include it to give you some idea of not only how you might plate this, but of just how special it is.
Ingredients
Beef 4 x 180gm fillets of beef (eye fillet) 4 thin slices of prosciutto, large enough to wrap around the beef fillet 4 x 15gm slices of foie gras (ask your partner to buy this and hide in shame around the corner) 20gm foie gras trimming (basically, more foie gras) ½ tsp chopped truffle 25ml (5 tsp) vegetable oil 4 slices of truffle Salt and freshly ground pepper 4 x Potato Galette
3 large potatoes, cut into cylinders 120gm clarified butter Salt and freshly ground pepper 160gm Creamed Spinach
1 ½ kg fresh spinach 1 diced shallot 1 clove garlic ½ cup cream 20gm butter Salt and freshly ground pepper 100ml (7 tbsp) Périgueux Sauce
20ml (4 tsp) truffle juice 20ml (4 tsp) port 20ml (4 tsp) madeira 400ml beef base (essentially, a good beef stock based on a good veal stock) 25gm chopped truffles 20gm chilled, diced butter Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Begin by preparing the Périgueux sauce:
In a small saucepan, reduce the truffle juice, port and madeira to a syrup over a medium heat.
Add the beef base and bring to the boil and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Add the chopped truffle. Whisk in the butter piece by piece until it is fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and season.
Continue with the beef:
Using a sharp knife, make an incision in the centre of each piece of meat to form a pocket.
Mix the foie gras trimmings and chopped truffle together and divide between 4 pockets. Wrap each piece of beef in a slice of prosciutto to the hold the foie gras and truffle in place during cooking and tie with a piece of butcher’s twine.
Preheat the oven to 200c.
Prepare the potato, where I have reproduced their notes as below:
“To make potato galettes, take large potatoes and slice the top and bottom ends off so that they stand upright on a chopping board. Take a 5cm diameter steel tube which has a sharp end on it and press through each potato to create a perfect cylinder. If you don’t have the correct implement for stamping the potatoes out, use a sharp knife to peel the potato and form it into a neat shape without washing too much flesh.”
Using the method above to make cylinders of potato, using a mandolin or sharp knife, cut the prepared potatoes into 3mm slices. You will need 18 thin slices for each of the galettes.
Place the potato slices onto a tea towel and pat try. Season with salt and pepper.
Each galette is prepared separately. For each one, heat 30gm of clarified butter in a blini pan. (Essentially, a small fry-pan about the size of a compact disc). Arrange one portion of potato slices in a circle, allowing the slices to overlap each other. (Essentially, you’re making a compact disc of potato with a hole in the middle).
Cook the potatoes over a gentle heat for 5 – 6 minutes until slices are crisp and golden brown, Carefully flip the potato over and cook for a further 5 – 6 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
Lift the galette out of the pan and drain on paper towel. Lightly season and repeat for the other galettes.
These can be reheated in the oven closer to serving.
Creamed spinach:
Pick the spinach, discarding all the stalks, then wash the spinach under cold water to remove any grit or sand.
Blanch the spinach, cooking for 1 minute in boiling salted water, then plunge into iced water to refresh, Remove from iced water and squeeze dry. Chop spinach very finely.
Place the cream in a saucepan with the glove of garlic, reduce by two-thirds and remove the garlic.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the shallots and sweat until softened. Do not allow the shallots to brown. Remove the shallots from the saucepan.
To serve, heat the cream in a saucepan, add the chopped spinach and shallot and warm through. Season to taste.
Continue with the dish:
In a heavy-based saucepan (which can go in the oven), heat the vegetable oil. Season the beef all over with salt and pepper and seal all over in the pan until evenly browned. Transfer to the oven and cook to your taste, though no more than medium-rare to medium or the foie gras will render down and leak out. Remove and set aside to rest in a warm place.
Warm the potato galettes on the oven. Reheat the creamed spinach and check the seasoning. Gently warm the sauce over a low heat.
Heat a non-stick pan on the stove. Season the foie gras slices lightly with salt and pepper and quickly sear the foie gras for 45 seconds on both sides.
When both sides are golden, carefully remove from the pan.
Place a slice of foie gras on top of each piece of beef and a slice of truffle on the foie gras.
To serve, spoon creamed spinach in the centre of each plate. Place a potato galette on top of the spinach and place the beef onto the potato galette. Spoon the Périgueux sauce over and around the beef.
This is a freight train of a dish and in a good way.
Bottle of red wine; a kilo of steak, salsa verde; plenty of cooking time.
The result is so inevitably luxurious and warm, though like a freight train, not particularly unapologetic. You get out what you put in and what you get out is a rich, silken, winter stew that would belt the shit out of anything that came close to it.
Next day at work, the concentration of flavour doubled and before I had it in the microwave, a friend commented; afterwards, it was almost awkward. People don’t eat rich stews and potatoes for lunch on a Monday and the fact they are is beyond words.
11/10.
And here is the best part.
I didn’t cook it.
Nat did. On a Monday. Before I got home from work.
As if salsa verde wasn’t enough sprinkled on top (cutting through the richness), I didn’t have to lift a finger until it was served.
Try this one cold night this winter and revel in it.
Excuse my language, though it is a finger to winter and a bloody effective one at that.
Brilliant! And thank you Nat.
Sunday on a Monday!
Ingredients
Stew
750ml bottle good quality red wine (Seriously!)
1 kg skirt steak, cut into 3cm pieces
2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf (or 2 dry)
750ml beef stock (starting to see my point?)
This recipe is from Delicious magazine and it did well to get cooked and typed up.
I have one of those Country Road bags completely full of recipes pulled from different magazines and newspapers and with so many cookbooks and recipes online, it is a rare lucky-dip into the bag for the occasional lunch or dinner.
Anyway, pretty glad we picked this one.
Easy, healthy, tasty and definitely worthy of typing up.
Served with a parsnip mash (with cumin, cayenne, nutmeg and walnut oil) and some steamed beans.
Yum!
Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil
4 x 150gm sirloin steaks (we used porterhouse)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
400gm can tomatoes
2 tsp dried oregano
Method
Place 1 tbsp oil in a frypan over a high heat. In batches, sear the steaks for 1 minute on each side and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium then add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to the pan. Cook garlic, anchovies, capers and parsley, stirring for 2 – 3 minutes until the anchovies melt.
Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until thickened.
Reduce heat to medium. Return steaks and any resting juices to the pan. Cover the steaks with the sauce then simmer for 6 minutes for medium-rare.
I pulled it from Jamie at Home, one of Jamie Oliver’s excellent books and it is a serious cooking homerun. It is so rich, with the stewed meat and the pastry all around – not just on top – and then there is the cheese.
I have done this pie twice, both times with a mash and peas.
Winter can stick around a bit longer if it means pies like this!
Ingredients
Olive oil
3 medium red onions , peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 carrots , peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery , trimmed and chopped
4 field mushrooms , peeled and sliced
1 kg quality brisket of beef or stewing beef , cut into 2cm cubes
A few sprigs fresh rosemary , leaves picked and chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
440 ml Guinness
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
150 g Cheddar cheese , freshly grated
340 g ready-made all-butter puff pastry
1 large free-range egg , beaten
Method
Preheat the oven to 190c.
In a heavy saucepan on a low heat, heat some olive oil and then add the onions and gently fry for 10 minutes, trying not to colour them. Stir in the rosemary and saute for another minute. Turn the heat up and add the garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Stir together well before adding the beef, a pinch of salt and a level teaspoon of pepper.
Fry fast for 3 to 4 minutes and then pour in the Guinness, stir in the flour and just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about 1 ½ hours.
Remove the pan from the oven and stir. Return to the over for another hour or until the meat is tender and the stew is rich, dark and thick; you want a thick gravy.
Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese, season and set aside to cool.
Grease a casserole and lay pastry on the bottom and walls, ensure that there are no gaps. Tip the stew in, even it out and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover with the remaining pastry and criss-cross it lightly with a sharp knife. Brush the top with beaten egg and then bake the pie in the oven for 45 minutes until the pastry is golden and puffed.
Robby Dog Cooks 