Category: Mince

Dianne Bibby’s Bobotie Filo Parcels

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Makes: 20

New Years Eve 2024 and we are off to Nat’s parents for Champagne, a swim with the family and counting down the minutes.

My main was this always brilliant Doner Kebab, with the chicken slow cooked and caramelised.

But it was Nat’s starter of these Bobotie filo parcels that won the night.

They’re awesome.

The addition of the Mrs Ball’s chutney means it doesn’t need to be on the side. The sultanas add a sweetness to balance the excellent spice. The addition of the milk-soaked bread keeps the whole thing moist.

The buttery filo pastry and then the egg wash with the black (or white) sesame seeds finishes it off.

Sophisticated? No. And neither expected.

Delicious? Absolutely yes.

I promised my brother-in-law Greg – of South African heritage – I would type these up for his mother – Elaine – who has not only published a cookbook and is a fantastic cook and entertainer, though is also a subscriber of this blog!

Elaine’s specialty is South African. Think Bobotie, Bunny Chow and Cape Malay Curry.

Actually, that’s not fair.

Elaine’s speciality is just great food and sharing the experience of cooking and enjoying it with friends and family.

I’ve had the pleasure.

Catching up with Elaine is always electric. She is as mad about food as I am and we share stories and all sorts of promises.

I don’t think I have had Elaine’s Bobotie and I am not convinced Greg shouldn’t be cooking these for his mother instead, though this recipe is for Elaine and hopefully her next family gathering.

Delicious? Will most definitely be.

Ingredients

2 sliced white bread, crusts removed and soaked in 200ml milk
2 tbsp golden sultanas
45ml freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
20gm salted butter
1 large brown onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, finely grated
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp dried red chilli flakes
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
Zest of 1 lemon and juice of half
500gm lean beef mince (Nat used turkey mince)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp Mrs Ball’s chutney
1 c chicken stock
2 tbsp almond flour
20 sheets filo pastry
4 tbsp melted butter
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 30ml water)
Sesame seeds, for finishing

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place the sultanas in a small bowl, cover with the orange juice and set aside.
  3. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan. Sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, carrot and ginger and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  4. Turn up the heat, add the mince and cook until nicely browned and just starting to catch on the bottom of the pan. Season with 1 tsp salt and freshly ground pepper; mix in all the spices and cook for a further few minutes.
  5. Stir in the milk-soaked bread along with the milk, drained sultanas, cinnamon, chutney, stock and almond flour. Cover partially with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the carrots are soft, the meat is cooked through and most of the liquid has reduced. Set aside to cool.
  6. Lay one sheet of Filo pastry on a bench with the shorter edge facing you and brush with the melted butter.
  7. Lay another sheet on top and brush with butter. Cut the sheet into 3 strips (approximately 15cm each).
  8. Place one heaped tbsp of the filling mixture on the very top of the sheet allowing 2cm from the bottom. Take the bottom right corner of the Filo pastry strip and fold it diagonally towards the opposite side of the strip to form a triangle.
  9. Then take the bottom left corner of the strip and fold diagonally towards the opposite side.
  10. Continue folding in the same way to ensure you keep a triangular shape.
  11. Brush each triangle with the egg wash, scatter with sesame seeds and cook for 18 – 20 minutes or until golden.

Matty Matheson’s Taco Submarine

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 2

Matty Matheson’s new cookbook Soups, Salads, Sandwiches is a must-have cookbook.

There isn’t a thing in it I wouldn’t cook.

Four recipes in, each has been a blockbuster.

The book is full of obtainable, super tasty food with a few fancy touches here and there; the Sichuan Chilli Oil Smashed Cucumber Salad and Soy-Cured Egg is just one example: a beautiful, sophisticated yet obtainable Asian salad.

The photos – and there are plenty – of Matty and his family are just fun.

And the stories are fucking fun. (He swears a lot.)

This taco sub isn’t sophisticated though is damn excellent.

This is a Saturday night, tequila time dinner.

As Matty says introducing this recipe:

To this day, my favourite restaurant is Robo Marty a small gas station und the Peace Bridge on the Niagara River. They used to have a taco sub that was so insane it worked, and it made me happy. Cheesy Mexican pickled jalapeño beef. Texy mexy beefy. Cheesy sexy texy mixy mexy jalapeño beef. After a few minutes it would relax you, and if you were like me and in high school on a BMX bike eating this in the woods, then you do what you gotta do. Life is not a straight line, but it is not fair if you don’t get to have your cake and eat it too. The taco sub is that for me. It’s a double-edged sword and double entendre, but it’s always worth the fight.

Ingredients

500gm ground beef
1 c water
Two 30gm packets spicy taco seasoning
1/2 c pickled jalapeños
6 slices American cheese
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 submarine buns
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
1 c Wedge Salad Dressing
Frank’s RedHot sauce (available in Australia)

Method

  1. The biggest thing is making this beef. It’s so important. Get a large skillet really hot with no oil. Take the ground beef out of the pack and put it into the hot pan. Sear it like one big cheeseburger patty and let it fry up, about 10 minutes. Once it is a little smoky, using a flat wooden spatula, scrape the beef off the pan and chop it all up and break it down. Keep chopping with your spatula while it browns and cooks, about 5 minutes.
  2. When the beef is completely browned, deglaze the pan with water. Stir that in with the beef. Real quick. Dump in the magic powder (taco seasoning) and pickled jalapeños. Keep stirring until your entire house smells like magic and cook it out for 5 minutes max. Throw in the American cheese and stir until the cheese melts and is incorporated, about 2 minutes. It will become stinky cheesy texy mexy beefy, Turn off the beef heat, The residual heat will melt the cheese.
  3. Take the bun. Don’t toast it. Slice it open. Take a big spoonful of cheesy beef and throw three clumps of it into the soft bun. Throw half the onions, tomatoes, and lettuce on top, then drizzle with the dressing. Squirt some hot sauce all over it. Take your knife and squish it all in. Wrap it in parchment paper. Repeat with the other sub.
  4. Slice the sub down the middle, then peel it back and take a bite.
  5. I told you how bloody good this was.

Nebraska’s Runza (Beef and Cheese)

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Makes: 12

I’m a massive follower of US politics and so excited to see the Democrats become competitive – and truly joyous – for the 2024 Presidential Election.

I especially love Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate.

A completely down-to-earth guy (teacher, coach, veteran, Governor of Minnesota) originally from Nebraska.

In one of his social videos, he trolled JD Vance, Trump’s running mate about likely not even knowing what a Runza was.

And of course, there I was replying on Twitter: “[Me, not knowing what a Runza is] Haha, fuck yeah, get him.”

Tim Walz, nominee VP at Runza in Nebraska.

So what is a Runza?

It’s a bit like a pizza pocket, though filled with savoury mince, maybe cheese, mushrooms, chilli, you name it.

Very popular in the mid-west of the States and originally from Germany.

The key is the amazing dough however.

Friday night and Nat was up for the challenge (which wasn’t much of a challenge).

I totally get why so many people freeze these as a snack.

They’re great.

Mid-western fast-food, pizza-pocket great.

But again, it’s that dough. Just yum!

Go on. Live a little and master the Runza.

Ingredients

Dough

4 1/2 c plain flour
1/4 c sugar
7gm yeast (1 packet)
1 tsp salt
3/4 c milk
1/2 c water
1/2 c butter
2 eggs, beaten

Filling

1 tbsp olive oil
1kg ground beef mince
1 small onion, diced
4 c cabbage, chopped
2 tsp seasoned salt*
1 tsp pepper
12 slices cheddar cheese

* Seasoned Salt

1 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

Method

  1. To make the dough, place 1 1/2 c flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a KitchenAid mixing bowl.
  2. Heat the milk, water and butter until warm and the butter melted. Pour the heated, wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Stir slightly before adding the beaten eggs.
  3. Continue by adding the remaining flour, one cup at a time, until when kneaded the dough comes together and is smooth and elastic.
  4. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
  5. For the filling, while the dough is rising, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and then cook the onions and mince until the liquid has evaporated and the meat is starting to brown. Stir in the cabbage, seasoned salt and pepper and cook until the cabbage has wilted. Set aside to cool ensuring no liquid is left.
  6. Heat the oven to 180c. To assemble, punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal portions.
  7. Working with 1 piece of dough, roll into a rectangle 15cm x 20cm in size.
  8. Place a heaped 1/2 c of filling into each dough piece. Fold over the filling, seal and suck the edges.
  9. Place onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 18 – 20 minutes until golden brown.

Thomas Straker’s Baked Gnocchi with Beef and Pork Ragù (TikTok)

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Serves: 6 – 8

The first Thomas Straker recipe I typed up a few weeks ago was extraordinary.

And no kidding, my traffic grew by a third almost overnight and the recipe became my second most viewed.

All of Thomas Straker’s recipes are contained in short-burst TikTok videos without the recipe. Totally viral and social content, though not very helpful regarding cooking.

For the second time, however, Nat was still determined.

Introducing this totally nuts, baked gnocchi with beef and pork ragù!

On account of going up to Newcastle – two hours north of Sydney – for a 40th Saturday night, Nat started the ragù Friday. Gnocchi and béchamel on our return.

A triumphant, late Sunday winter lunch?

You absolutely bet!

What absolute luxury. Total, last meal decadence.

A dish that you’d drive across town for. Honestly, a dish you just can’t stop smiling about.

In a world of food complexity and pretence (and I am plenty guilty of that), this is a swinging boulder from the other direction to smash it all to pieces.

The beginning of homemade gnocchi.
Taking shape.
Plunged in an ice bath, reserved and tossed with olive oil.
The incredible ragù.
Béchamel with mozzarella and parmesan.
OMG. Combine the béchamel and ragù and two very good things have come together.
More parmesan and we are ready to bake.

Ironically, as we were leaving Newcastle this morning, Nat spotted an institution – Don Beppino’s House of Lasagne – a restaurant we had a late-night meal at 12 years ago. Already with a few drinks under our belt, we had the best night: the sort of food I am typing up here with too much Chianti and too many laughs.

About as old-school as it gets.

This is what life is all about.

Ingredients

Ragù

Extra olive oil
1 carrot, unpeeled, chopped finely
1 onion, finely diced
1 stick celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 sprig rosemary
1 tsp Italian herbs
1/2 tsp dry oregano
500gm beef and pork mince
1 tbsp tomato paste
Salt
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
3/4 c red wine
1 can cherry tomatoes
500ml chicken stock

Béchamel

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/4 c milk
1/2 mozzarella ball (175gm), chopped
1/4 c parmesan, grated
Salt

Gnocchi

6 baking potatoes
1 1/2 c plain flour (plus more as you need it)
2 egg yolks
1 tsp salt
Extra virgin olive oil

Pepper and extra parmesan to sprinkle before baking

Method

  1. Start by making a sofrito: heat some oil in a heavy pan and softly sauté the carrot, onion, celery and garlic until very soft though not golden.
  2. In a separate heavy pan, heat more oil over medium-high heat and fry the mince until browned. Add the tomato paste, salt and sherry vinegar and combine. Add the red wine, canned tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer adding the herbs. Cook for 30 minutes. Add the sofrito and combine, reducing the heat to low and cook for as long as you can. Taste and season and remove the rosemary sprig.
  3. For the béchamel, in a saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until bubbling. Whisk in the flour until well combined and then add the milk, whisking until combined. Increase the heat and add the mozzarella and then Parmesan, whisking until well combined and fully melted.
  4. Slowly introduce the béchamel sauce to the ragù and stir to combine.
  5. To make the gnocchi, bake the potatoes at 180c until cooked through. Remove the flesh when cool and rice/mash. Combine with the flour, egg and salt and knead until combined. Set aside for 5 minutes.
  6. Heat a large pot of boiling water and separately, set up an ice water bowl to reserve the cooked gnocchi. Using a piping bag with no attachment, pipe long tubes of the combined potato mixture and then cut into 3cm gnocchi with a sharp knife.
  7. Cook the gnocchi rapidly for a few minutes until they float. Immediately transfer to the ice water bowl and allow to cool completely. When cooled, quickly drain and toss with oil.
  8. Heat an oven to 200c. Carefully combine the gnocchi with béchamel ragù mixture ensuring the gnocchi does not break up. Pour the gnocchi mixture into a baking pan; or several pans. Pepper, very liberally sprinkle over parmesan and bake until bubbling.
  9. Serve immediately with Chianti!

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Stuffed Eggplants with Lamb and Pine Nuts

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4 – generously

Nat absolutely loves eggplant and she gravitates that way always.

Thus, this classicly Isreali dinner and one that was as generous as it was hearty. Another great Yotem Ottolenghi recipe.

Spiced lamb mince and pine nuts are a combination for the ages. Read through the ingredient list and you’ll see why is just so classicly works. Predictable and great.

Yum.

Great weeknight cooking.

Ingredients

4 medium eggplants (about 1.2kg), halved lengthways
6 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 medium onions, finely chopped
500gm lamb mince
50gm pine nuts
20gm flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
3 tsp caster sugar
150ml water
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tamarind paste
4 cinnamon sticks
Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
  2. Place the eggplant halves, skin-side down, in a roasting tin large enough to accommodate them snugly. Brush the flesh with 4 tbsp of the olive oil and season with 1 tsp of salt and plenty of black pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
  3. While the eggplants are coking, start the stuffing by heating up the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan. Mix together the cumin, paprika and ground cinnamon and add half of this spice mix to the pan along with the onion. Cook on a medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, stirring often, before adding the lamb, pine nuts, tomato paste, 1 tsp of the sugar, 1 tsp salt and some black pepper. Continue to cook and stir for another 8 minutes, until the meat is cooked.
  4. Place the remaining spice mix in a bowl and add the water, lemon juice, tamarind, remaining sugar, cinnamon stivks and 1/2 tsp of salt: mix well.
  5. Reduce the oven temperature to 195c. Pour the spice mix into the bottom of the eggplant roasting tin. Spoon the eggplant mixture on top of each eggplant. Cover the tin tightly with foil, return to the oven and roast 1 hour and 30 minutes, by which point the eggplents should be completely soft and the sauce thick; twice through the cooking, remove the foil and baste the eggplants with sauce, adding some water if the sauce dries up.

Adam Liaw’s Lions’ Heads

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

I almost didn’t cook this dish on account of – wait for it – the photo of the recipe in Adam Liaw’s book Asian After Work though my goodness, I’m glad I did.

Nat and I had a late Sunday lunch on Sydney’s Spit and wanted something easy and yummy for a later supper.

Talk about just god damn moorish. The stock becomes slightly oily and is filled with such a wonderful Chinese flavour. Add in those shiitake muchrooms.

And then the fried and then poached pork balls.

With some rice at the side, this is absolutely Chinese comfort. Curled up on the couch with a beer watching Yellowstone (yes, we are late to the series though how bloody good!), this was the perfect way to end the weekend.

Add this recipe to your backlog. Tick tick tick. It’s brilliant.

Ingredients

8 dried shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp cornflour
1/2 Chinese cabbage, cut into 5cm lengths
Vegetable oil for shallow frying
500ml quality white chicken stock
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1/4 tsp caster sugar
2 spring onions, white and green parts, trimmed and sliced, to serve
Cooked Jasmine rice, to serve

Lions’ Head Meatballs

750gm pork mince
2 – 3 spring onions, white and light green partsm trimmed and minced
1 tsp grated sugar
1 eg yolk
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
A pinch of white pepper
A pinch of caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Method

  1. Rinse the shiitake mushrooms quickly under running water and soak in 1 1/2 c boiling water for at least 20 minutes until softened. Trim and discard the strems, slice the caps, and reserve the liquid.
  2. For the meatballs, mix together all the ingredients and shape into 4 large balls. Sprinkle with the additional 2 tbsp of cornflour to coat, and set aside.
  3. Place the cabbage and shiitake mushrooms in the base of a large casserole dish. Deep or shallow-fry the meatballs in plenty of oil until well browned all over. Place the meatballs on top if the cabbage and pour over the stock, soy sauce, wine, sugar and reserved shiitake steeping liquid. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and the cabbage is very soft. Scatter with spring onions and serve with rice.

Lidia Bastianich’s Ziti with Broccolini and Sausage

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

Excited! Nat is just over five months pregnant with baby #4, our first girl!

The spell is broken!

Our schedule of long lunches has been tempered somewhat and much less wine is being decanted. Though we’re having a girl!

It hasn’t meant the cooking has dialed down however. Quite the opposite.

Nat has gone headfirst into dough. Breads, pastry and pasta.

Especially the pasta, where we are determined with each cook to find just brilliant pasta. Stuff that screams: how good is life.

It starts with fresh pasta. In this instance, ziti, a small thin tube similar to a penne.

If making your own pasta, we always use this amazing Kitchenaid pasta dough recipe and suggest you do too!

And this sauce. Which I have adapted slightly and which is just sublime.

Almost as good as it gets. The second pasta we have cooked with a residual liquid which is just fun, so bloody good. Half the point of the dish. (Check out this white ragu which is just incredible.)

My point on the adaptation is a few.

I found the recipe on Lidia’s website and it didn’t quite translate.

I’ve crumbled the sausage meat here. Halved the broccoli and then used broccolini instead, which I cut into 3cm pieces. And guessed at the butter – measurement missing otherwise – which based on her previous recipes, was on the mark.

As Nat says, you need things to look forward to during the waiting period and pasta seems to have become our thing. No complaints there and absolutely no complaints with this pasta.

Sublime as I said. 1 hat good. Totally great restaurant stuff.

Ingedients

1 tbsp olive oil
500gm Italian sausage meat, removed from skins
500gm broccolini
3 tsp sea salt
500gm ziti
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1 c chicken stock
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 c grated Parmesan

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium-heat and pan fry the sausage meat, breaking it up as you go. Fry until slightly browned, drain from the oil and set aside.
  2. Wash the broccolini, drain and cut into 3cm pieces.
  3. Heat a large pot with boiling water and cook the ziti until al dente.
  4. In a large, deep, heavy skillet with a fitted lid, heat the olive oil, add the garlic and sauté, uncovered until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the broccolini, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper flakes, cover, and steam 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Stir in the sausage. Add the butter and stock and cook uncovered, over a high heat, about 3 minutes, until the liquids are slightly reduced.
  6. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss gently. Sprinkle on half the cheese, toss again, serve immediately and distribute the remaining cheese over the pasta.

Rodney Dunn’s Pork Burger’s with Pear Relish and Onion Rings

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6

READER WARNING: this receipe contains a spoiler on the final episode of Succession.

This is a great burger.

And my goodness, it was made even better by incredible, freshly baked milk buns by Nat.

Though back to the burger.

It’s tight. It’s sophisticated. It’s not a homemade burger.

The pear relish is a wonderful addition.

And a side of onion rings?

We plated this for the last episode of Succession. A real weeknight treat and wow, didn’t it make the night special.

Poor Kendall Roy. Though he never had it in him. Good call Shiv. You won.

I have adapted the onions.

Ingredients

700gm minced pork
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 golden shallots, finely chopped
Sea salt
Ground white pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
400gm red cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 c whole-egg mayonnaise
6 burger rolls, halved
Barbecue sauce to serve

Pear relish

2 Packham pears, halved, core removed and thinly sliced lengthways
2 cinnamon quills
4 cloves
1/2 c caster sugar
1/4 c cider vinegar

Onions rings

For deep frying: vegetable oil
2 onions, cut into 5mm rings, separated
300ml buttermilk
4 eggs, beaten
2 c all-purpose flour

Method

  1. For the pear relish, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar disolved. Increase the heat and cook, stirring occassionally for 20 minutes, until syrupy and the pears are soft. Cool.
  2. Combine pork, garlic and shallots in a large bowl, season with sea salt and white pepper and mix until well combined, Form into 6 patties and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  3. For onion rinds, heat oil to 180c. Emerse the onion rings in the butter milk, then in the egg and finally in the flour. Deep-fry for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels and season to taste.
  4. Heat olive in a large frying pan, add ptties and cook over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes each side or until just cooked throough. Combine cabbage and mayonnaise and season to taste. Toast cut side of buns, top with cabbage, patties and barbecue sauce, spoon over pear relish, sandwich and serce immediately with the onion rings.

Chelsie Collins’ Chilli Con Carne Jackets

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

I didn’t think I would type this somewhat simple, possibly low-blow mid-week dinner.

A dinner that would not ordinarily be what we would dish, though someone was not feeling well and comfort food was in need.

Wow, this is a keeper.

The kids absolutely love it, we absolutely love it, especially served with dollops of sour cream, butter for the potato and avocado.

We also substitute turkey mince for the pork mince on account of calories.

Yes, lobster tet-a-tet it isn’t. Super easy, home run Wednesday-night dinner it is.

Ingredients

4 baking potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
400gm pork mince (we used turkey)
1 tbsp chipotle paste*
400gm can chopped tomatoes
1 chicken stock cube
300ml sour cream
1/4 bunch chives, snipped

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180c and prick the potatoes all over with a fork. Use 1 tbsp of the oil to rub over the potatoes and place on a baking sheet in the oven for about 1 hour until cooked through.
  2. Meanwhile, make the chilli. Put the remaining oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes until softened. Add the mince, breaking up with a wooden spoon and stirring until turning pale. Stir through the chipotle paste, cook for 1 minutes, then tip in the tomatoes, crumble over the stock cube and season well. Cover and simmer over a gentle heat with the lid on for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Remove the lid from the chilli and cook for 10 minutes more. Once the potatoes are cooked, halve them and top with the chilli, a dollop of soured cream and a sprinkling of chives

* I was really, really surprised by this. So surprised I suggested we simply substitute a powdered chilli con carne pack, though Nat was adamant we go with this sauce. It is a total win.

Made in Poland. The Chipotle capital of the world?

Classic Shepherd’s Pie

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6

So here is an interesting thing: Cottage Pie’s use ground beef. Shepherd’s Pie’s use ground lamb.

Though for purposes of calories, we went with beef here.

And wow, it is a great pie.

Just a classic, go-to recipe for a Shepherd’s Pie. (Or Cottage Pie)

Or whatever it is.

Ingredients

Meat Filling

2 tbsp olive oil
1 c chopped yellow onion
500gm lean ground beef
2 tsp dried parsley leaves
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 c beef stock
1 c frozen mixed peas and carrots
1/2 c frozen corn kernels

Potato Topping

1kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 c thickened cream
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Make the Meat Filling

  1. Add the oil to a large skillet and place it over a medium heat; add the onions, stirring occasionally until softened. Add the ground beef (or ground lamb) until it breaks apart.
  2. Add parsley, rosemary, thyme, Salt and pepper and stir well. Cook for 8 mins until the meat is browned.
  3. Add Worcestershire sauce and garlic, stir and cook for 1 min.
  4. Add the flour and the tomato paste, stir until there are no clumps of tomato paste.
  5. Add broth, frozen peas, carrots, frozen corn and bring to a boil then reduce to simmer, stirring occasionally until its thicker in texture.
  6. Set mixture aside and preheat oven to 200c.
  7. Potato topping: boil the potatoes until tender.
  8. Drain and mash or put through a ricer and let the liquid evaporate for about 1 minute.
  9. Add butter, cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir all ingredients together.
  10. Add Parmesan cheese and stir well.
  11. Assemble: pour the meat mixture in a baking dish and spread out evenly to form a layer. Spoon mash potatoes on top of meat in an even layer.
  12. Bake for 25-30 minutes.