Category: Mince

Turkish-style bread topped with lamb, spices and pine nuts

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

This is really special, really easy street-food, perfect for a Saturday afternoon when friends come round.

The lamb mince can be prepared ahead of time meaning you only have the dough to do as people start walking through the door. Of course, when they see that you have made your own dough, they’ll know something clever is coming.

They’ll also think you’re a genius.

The taste – and the heat – is classic Middle Eastern.

And goes to show that the simplest things really can be the best.

Ingredients

175gm Greek feta, coarsely grated
250gm minced lamb
3 long red chillies, chilli and seeds coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed, dry-roasted and and finely ground in a mortar and pestle

Flatbreads

1/2 tsp dried yeast
2 1/2 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting

To serve

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Toasted pine nuts
Thinly sliced mint
Pickled long green chillies

Method

  1. For the flatbreads, dissolve the yeast in 300ml of lukewarm water.
  2. Combine flour and a large pinch of salt in an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and knead until a soft dough forms. Around 6 – 8 minutes.
  3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 balls. Place balls on a floured tray, leaving 10cm between each and set aside for 1 hour to prove.
  4. Preheat the oven to 250c. Combine the lamb, chilli, garlic and cumin in a bowl. Roll out dough to 5mm-thick rounds on a lightly floured surface, then even top with the lamb mixture, leaving a small border. Transfer to oven trays lined with baking paper, drizzle with olive oil and bake (in batches if necessary) until crisp at the edges but soft in the center. Around 15 minutes.
  5. Serve scattered with pine nuts, mint and pickled chillies at the side.

Nigella’s Beef and Eggplant Fatteh

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

Hats off Nigella, as simple – and predictable – as this recipe seems, when everything comes together; especially cooking everything as slow as you can, it is a wonderful weekend meal.

And it is quite literally is about it al coming together: the toasted pita chips, the mince and dollops of the warm yoghurt/tahini mixture.

Throw on top toasted pine nuts, shredded mint and pomegranate seeds* and you really couldn’t ask for more except for a second glass of wine as you watch Masterchef** on Monday night.

Hats off again. A cracker.

Ingredients

Base

4 pita breads, slit open and cut into nacho-sized triangles.

Topping

500gm Greek yoghurt
75gm tahini
45ml lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 – 2 tsp salt, to taste

Eggplant-beef layer

3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground paprika
1 – 2 tsp salt, to taste
500gm minced beef

Garnish

125g pomegranate seeds
50gm pine nuts, toasted
1 – 2 tbsp finely shredded mint leaves

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180c.
  2. Spread the pita triangles on a large baking tray and toast in the oven until toasted, moving them around regularly to ensure even toasting. Set aside until needed.
  3. Bat the yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice and 1 tsp of salt together in a heat proof bowl which will later be used to sit over a saucepan. Check the salt levels and adjust as needed.
  4. Warm the oil over a low heat in a wide, heavy frypan. Add the onion and sauté for 10 – 15 minutes until softened and caramel.
  5. Turn the heat up to medium, add the eggplant cubes and stir well to mix with the onion. Cook for 10 minutes or until the eggplant is golden, stirring frequently.
  6. Stir in the cumin, coriander and teaspoon of the paprika and a teaspoon of salt. Increase the heat to high and add the beef mince, breaking it up. Cook until browned. Reduce the heat and cook for another 10 minutes. Check the seasoning.
  7. Heat a saucepan of water and bring to a slow simmer. Place the bowl of tahini-yoghurt mixture on top, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water. Beat until the yoghurt is slightly above water temperature and has the consistency of lightly whipped cream.
  8. To assemble, arrange the crisp pita triangle on a large plate. Top with the eggplant-beef mixture, followed by the tahini-yoghurt sauce. Sprinkle with paprika to give a light dusting. Scatter over pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts and then finish with the shredded mint leaves.

* In a rush, I grabbed a Fuji fruit rather than a pomegranate. Laughs all round.

** Where we saw this recipe.

Turkish-style eggs with Tomato, Green Chilli and Mince

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Every special occasion in our house calls for a special breakfast.

And that generally means something like this number: a spiced mince cooked with eggs.

This past Mother’s Day, Nat – sensibly – opted to run to the gym before an afternoon of champagne, great food and celebration.

Breakfast was spared.

I proceeded nonetheless.

It wasn’t until Monday that Nat handed in her verdict and it was a 10/10. The breakfast we should have had on Sunday: except that you take every opportunity to get out when you have three boys and limited time on your hands and why wouldn’t you?

It’s Mother’s Day.

Well done Nat. You are the best Mum in the world.

Oh, and enjoy this amazing mince breakfast.

It is awesome.

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1 onion finely chopped
6 green peppers, deseeded, finely chopped
250gm lamb mince
3 tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 eggs
Sea salt
Toasted, buttered, Turkish Bread to serve

Method

  1. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Stir in the peppers and lamb mince, increasing the temperature, stirring, until the lamb is browned.
  2. Tip in the tomatoes, half a cup of water chilli flakes, pepper and a good pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly and simmer on a low heat for 30 – 60 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down.
  3. Push the back of a spoon into the mixture to make 4 wells and crack the eggs into the wells. Cover the pan and cook for until the eggs are just set.
  4. Serve with the Turkish Bread and ideally Champagne if you have it!

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6 – 8

I originally found this recipe in the New York Times and dialled it up over the weekend as a meal for the three boys: doubled the quantity of meatballs, added fresh tomato to the sauce as well as a cup of red wine and a handful of oregano.

It smashed it out of the park.

The sort of dinner kids – and adults – die for on a Saturday night before a movie, popcorn and ice cream.

The meatballs are the cracker here, with handfuls of Parmesan, extra breadcrumbs, eggs and parsley, additions I added and have reflected below.

Slow cook the tomato sauce, throw in the browned meatballs and boom.

This is definitely worth coming home to.

Ingredients

Salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
1 kg beef mince
3 cups, grated Parmesan
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1 breadcrumbs
3 eggs
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves
3 cans crushed tomatoes
2 tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
3 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
Handful of fresh oregano leaves
500gm spaghetti

Method

  1. Heat the 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Sauté the onions for 10 minutes until starting to golden; mince the garlic and add, cooking for a few minutes.
  2. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and the cup of red wine. Bring to the boil and then slowly simmer until the sauce is thickened; an hour or so.
  3. Meanwhile, combine the mince, 2 cups of the Parmesan (setting aside the remaining cup), the parsley, breadcrumbs, eggs and a good pinch or two of salt and freshly cracked pepper. Gently mix until it is combined.
  4. Shape the meatballs so that they are golfball in size.
  5. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a heavy skillet over a medium heat. Add the meatballs, cooking them on all sides until browned.
  6. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce and add the oregano leaves. Season well with salt and pepper.
  7. Add the meatballs, ensuring that they do not break up. Simmer on a low heat.
  8. Heat water in large sauce pan until boiling and cook the spaghetti until cooked through.
  9. Add the spaghetti to the sauce and meatballs, combining gently.
  10. Serve with plenty of Parmesan cheese on top.

Tobie Puttock’s Spiced Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

We have cooked a number of dishes from Tobie and Georgia Puttock’s The Chef Gets Healthy and we have never been let down.

I wouldn’t crash-diet on the book a week before your wedding because all of the recipes remain wholesome: more like the Chef Gets Healthier.

Though this is the appeal to me.

You’re eating great food that is easy to prepare and throw in a good walk with the dogs before dinner like we do and it’s almost as if you didn’t have dinner at all.

These particular lamb burgers are great: we dialed up the chilli which is a must and then doubled the recipe so we had more burgers for lunch.

Save time by buying a good Tzatziki rather than making it, get the leashes on the dogs and enjoy a cracking, healthy-ish mid-week meal.

Come to think of it, you could probably have a wine or two with dinner as well and still not look back.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tbsp dried mint leaves
500gm minced lamb
Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Small handful of dill, roughly chopped
1 egg, lightly whisked
100gm reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Tzatziki to serve

Method

  1. Heat the olive in a small frying pan over a medium-heat, add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes, until slightly softened though not coloured. Stir in the allspice, coriander, cumin, chilli flakes and mint leaves and cook for a further minute or so.
  2. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
  3. Place the lamb in a large bowl and add the cooled onion mixture, parsley, dill, egg, feta, salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix everything well.
  4. Shape the mixture into four patties, place on a tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
  5. Preheat a grill plat or fry pan on high. Drizzle with a small amount of oil and cook the patties for 3 – 4 minutes each side or until just cooked through.
  6. Serve the burgers with a dollop of Tzatziki and this Roast Cauliflower with Chickpea Salad.

Pork and Cabbage Gyoza

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Makes: 24

This David Herbert gyoza number is right on the money.

It is exactly what you would expect from a Japanese noshery and the gyoza are dead simple to make.

So simple, we made an extra batch, formed the gyoza and froze them as an easy weeknight meal for the boys.

Rather than heating store-bought mini quiches, do these next time people come around for an afternoon beer.

So good.

Ingredients

Gyoza

150gm pork mince
1 cup finely shredded Chinese cabbage (wombok)
2 spring onions, trimmed, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp Japanese soy sauce
2 tsp sake
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp caster sugar
Pinch ground white pepper
24 gyoza or gow gee wrappers
Cornflour

Dipping sauce

3 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup low-salt soy sauce
1/2 tsp finely chopped chilli
1/3 cup rice vinegar

Method

  1. To prepare the dipping sauce: mix all of the ingredients and set aside.
  2. For the gyoza, combine the all of the ingredients except the gyoza wrappers and cornflour. Mix well.
  3. Place a gyoza wrapper on a clean surface or in the palm of your hand. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of pork mixture onto the centre of the wrapper. Brush the edge with a little water. Fold to enclose filling; lightly press edge together to make a semi-circular parcel. Use fingertips to pleat the edge 4 or 5 times, keeping the filling in the centre. Place on a plate dusted with cornflour and repeat with the remaining pork mixture and gyoza wrappers.
  4. Heat half the peanut oil over a high heat in a large non-stick frying pan that has a lid. Remove from the heat and arrange half the dumplings over base of the pan. Return to the heat and cook for 3 – 4 minutes or until the bottom of the dumplings is golden. Sprinkle 1 – 2 tablespoons of water evenly over the gyoza. Place the lid on the pan and cook for another 3 – 4 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through and the water is evaporated.
  5. Take off the heat, remove the gyoza and set aside whilst you repeat the process with the remaining gyoza.
  6. Serve with the dipping sauce or Japanese soy.

Merguez Meatball Flatbreads

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

These meatball flatbreads are the bomb.com. We found them on the wonderful Brooklyn Supper blog and only made one or two minor changes.

Every element: meatballs, herby yogurt, the coleslaw and the toasted flatbreads, adds to the whole effect.

It is sort of like that signature sandwich at some new, trendy sandwich bar that has opened in the city. A sandwich that everyone is raving about.

We did this one Saturday evening and it hit every spot. Make sure you have chilled champagne at the side, music playing and the kids in bed and you’re set for the start of a great Saturday night in.

(Better still, send the kids off to grandparents or interstate and have a really great Saturday night in!)

Ingredients

Red cabbage slaw

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 cups shredded red cabbage
2 carrots, julienned
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp minced parsley

Herbed yogurt

1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt (do not use low fat)
Pinch sea salt
1/3 cup minced parsley
2 tbsp minced mint leaves
Squeeze lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Merguez Meatballs

1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander seed
1kg lamb mince
3 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp harissa (from a tube)
2 tbsp canola oil

Flatbreads
Olive oil
Coriander leaves
Sriracha
Lemon wedges

Method

Red Cabbage Slaw

  1. Combine the garlic, lemon juice and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside. Add the vegetables and toss with the lemon juice mixture and sprinkle with sea salt. Cover and set aside at room temperature for an hour or two. Before serving, add salt to taste and toss with the parsley.

Herbed yogurt

  1. Combine the yogurt, salt, herbs, lemon juice and pepper. Taste and add additional salt and lemon juice as needed. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Merguez Meatballs

  1. Heat a small pan over a medium heat and toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant and popping: 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and grind to a paste.
  2. To make the meatballs, combine the spices, lamb, garlic, paprika and harissa and mix well. Form into golf ball size meatballs and set aside on a clean tray.
  3. Heat oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the meatballs, searing the meatballs all over until cooked through.
  4. Meanwhile, heat another pan over a medium heat and brush one side of the flatbreads with olive oil. Pan fry until crispy and golden and flip and cook the other side.
  5. To assemble, rub the herby yogurt on one side of the toasted flatbread. Add some of the coleslaw and line two or three of the meatballs on top. Drizzle with sriracha and sprinkle with coriander leaves. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Big veal, pork and prosciutto meatballs with Parmesan polenta

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 6

These are the best meatballs either Nat or I have ever had.

Not only that, there is an agreeable distance between these meatballs and whatever is in second place.

I am not kidding.

These made us so happy and I think there are a few things that contributed to the success.

The original recipe was from Gourmet Traveller though we made a number of tactical (and genius in my opinion!) changes, both to method and ingredients.

If you served these at a dinner party, everyone – everyone – would pin you down al la Paul Newman when his friends locked him in his garage and made him make a barrel of his famous salad dressing.

If you served this at your restaurant, people would say, “Oh, you have to go to Lucio’s and try his big meatballs. They are incredible. They are equal in genius to Paul Newman’s salad dressing and I think it’s because Lucio uses 75/25% veal and pork mince.”

Get started today, let your mince combine in the fridge for 48 hours and open your own Lucio’s for the night!

Ingredients

Sauce

800gm diced, canned tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped mixed sage and oregano plus extra to serve
150ml red wine (leaving 600ml for you)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
Torn mozzarella plus extra to serve

Polenta

1 cup milk plus extra as you go
1 cup chicken stock
2/3 cup polenta
50gm Parmesan, finely grated plus extra to serve
50gm butter, cubed and room temperature
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Meatballs

750gm veal mince
250gm pork mince
160gm Parmesan, finely grated
120gm coarse fresh breadcrumbs
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 eggs
3 tbsp finely chopped mixed sage and oregano
8 thin prosciutto slices
2 tbsp olive oil

Method

  1. 24 – 48 hours before cooking, combine the meatball mixture except the prosciutto slices and olive oil. Mix well and refrigerate.
  2. Heat some olive oil in a large pan and sauté the onions for 8 minutes or until soft and starting to golden. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 5 minutes, ensuring the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the chopped herbs and cook for 30 seconds and then add the diced tomatoes and red wine. Simmer over a low heat for 40 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, commence the polenta: in a saucepan, bring the milk and stock to the point of scalding though not boiling. Slowly whisk in the polenta and keep whisking for 45 – 60 minutes, adding small amounts of milk as need be, until the polenta is no grainy and you have a thick polenta mixture.
  4. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and butter, checking for seasoning. Set aside.
  5. While the polenta is cooking, divide the mince into eight and roll into large meatballs. Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each.
  6. Heat olive oil over a medium-high heat and cook the meatballs on each side, making an effort to cook and caramelise the prosciutto: around 10 minutes. Transfer to the pan with the tomato mixture, turning occasionally until cooked through. 5 minutes before serving, drop some of the torn mozzarella into the sauce to melt.
  7. To serve, dollop some polenta onto your plates. Ladle a meatball on top with sauce. Sprinkle chopped herbs, grated Parmesan and torn mozzarella on top and serve.

Matt Preston’s World’s Best Rissoles

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

I get the feeling that rissoles are back in vogue.

And thank you for that!

They still have the stigma of being a daggy, lazy dinner – left behind in the wave of MasterChef and salmon-three-ways – though it is the nostalgia and honesty of the rissole that now makes it on trend.

These Matt Preston rissoles are really good and served with a puréed mash and buttered peas, they closed off a weekend of cooking perfectly.

For lunch, Nat made Thomas Keller’s Cauliflower Panna Cotta with an Oyster Jelly and Bulgar Caviar; the night before, we made handmade noodles for a fusion Chinese/Middle Eastern dish.

Which is exactly why we needed these rissoles and why rissoles are what you need to hold back the endless waves of culinary complexity and sous videing. Enough is enough!

Enjoy.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely grated
1 zucchini, coarsely grated
800gm lamb mince
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 heaped tbsp of whatever European herbs you have: basil, oregano, parsley, coriander, tarragon or majoram, though not sage or mint
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 egg
Sea salty and freshly cracked pepper
1/4 cup mint jelly
2 tbsp malt vinegar (we used black vinegar)
Mash (into which we mixed two finely chopped raw French onions)
Buttered peas

Method

  1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat; add the onions, carrot and zucchini, and cook, stirring for 5 minutes until everything softens. Set aside to cool.
  2. Add the mince, tomato sauce, herbs, oats and egg to the vegetable mixture and season. Mix well using your (clean) hands until well combined. Shape into 12 rissoles.
  3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the rissoles in batches a cook for 5 minutes each side or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
  4. Add the mint jelly and vinegar to the pan and stir over a medium heat until the jelly melts. Return the rissoles and toss in the liquid for 2 minutes until coasted, sticky and glossy.
  5. Serve with mash and peas.

Thai Basil Beef

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Looking back on it, every blog here that is mince based, starts with something like: mince is the best, mince is our favourite, mince is our last meal, etc.

Because its true.

Any which way, we love it and Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai minces are up there as our favourite weeknight meals.

You’ve been at work, it’s raining, it’s on Monday and yet… you’re having spicy mince for dinner!

This Thai Basil Mince is super easy and you can’t overdo it on the basil front.

It is also healthy, even if you do have it with a cup of boiled Jasmine rice which… because it is Monday… you should.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 tbsp sunflower oil
500gm ground beef mince
2 shallots, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 birds eye chillies, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 lime, juice and zest
1 cup basil (Thai basil if you can)
2 spring onions, thinly sliced, to garnish
Chopped peanuts and crispy fried shallots to garnish
Jasmine rice to serve

Method

  1. Heat the oil over a medium-high heat in a heavy saucepan or wok and cook the beef mince and shallots until the meat is cooked and browning; about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the capsicum, garlic and chillies and cook until fragrant; another 2 – 3 minutes
  3. Add the fish sauce, sugar, lime and basil and cook until the basil starts to wilt; about a minute. Taste test to make sure the balance of salty, sweet and sour is right.
  4. Garnish with the sliced spring onions, chopped peanuts and fried shallots. Serve with rice.