Category: Mince

Kourtney Kardashian’s ‘Don-approved’ Guilt-free Chilli

.Reading time 2 minutes.

 

kourtney-kardashian
A Google search says this is her.

Kourtney Kardashian’s ‘Don-approved’ Guilt-free Chilli

 

Serves: 6

I don’t really know much about Kourtney Kardashian – in fact, I know pretty much nothing – though I suspect that her figure is important to her.

She is on a TV show I think.

This is Kourtney’s (famous) chilli that Nat found in the sort of magazine Kourtney Kardashian is featured in and the chilli isn’t bad at all.

In fact, it is a pretty good, spicy chilli.

I added sliced carrots, 2 red chillis and capsicum to it and dialed down her 3 tablespoons of chilli powder to 1 ½ tablespoons. Of course, if you want your heart to explode through your chest, go with her suggestion, though for the rest of us with only 10 minutes to eat lunch, stay with the dialed down version I have written up below.

Not sure of what the old Kourtney has given us food-wise otherwise, though thank you for the mince.

She is a good, simple, healthy mince.

(And double it of course as with all minces and freeze.)

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
500gm ground turkey
1 ½ tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp salt
1 x 800gm can diced tomatoes
2 x 400gm can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Avocado and coriander to serve

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil over a low heat in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and onion (and fresh chilli if using) and saute until golden.
  2. Add the mince, using a spoon to break it down. Cook until all of the liquid as evaporated.
  3. Stir in the chilli powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Add the tomato, kidney beans and other vegetables you might want to add.
  4. Bring to the boil and then cook for 45 mins to an hour or until thickened. Season.

Jamie Oliver’s Insanity Burger

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Makes: 4 big`burgers

A while back, we passed the all important step of understanding that for any burger to be amazing, it has to start with amazing, fresh mince.

Not the variety you get from the supermarket and certainly not the lean stuff you might otherwise use in a mince.

Instead, you need a quality cut of steak (chuck or similar), you need to see it minced in front of you on a coarse grain and you need to cook it within 24-hour.

This and this alone will set you on the path to a superb burger.

There are then plenty of directions and approaches you can obviously take and a fried green chilli burger we cooked last weekend only scratches at the surface of where you can go.

For me however, nailing the quintessential, classic burger was a bit of a must before venturing off in these many possible directions: nailing a burger with ketchup, American mustard and good egg mayo.

I previously typed up Neil Perry’s classic burger as simply that: a classic. And it really is a classic in every sense of the word.

This Insanity Burger then is like taking what is already a classic sportscar and really seeing what you can do with it. Pushing the outer limits of the handling, engine and design.

Hand on heart, it deserves the name Insanity Burger.

Nail this burger and you will have successfully passed Level 1 of the burger game; free to play the next level and start down whatever direction you choose.

Just make sure you get your mince right.

Ingredients

800gm freshly mince chuck steak
Olive oil
1 large red onion, finely sliced
White wine vinegar
2 large gherkins, sliced
4 brioche burger buns, halved
8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
4 tsp American mustard
Tabasco Chipotle sauce (Woolworths and Coles have it)
4 thin slices of Red Leicester cheese (ditto)
4 tsp tomato ketchup

For the burger sauce

¼ of an iceberg lettuce, finely chopped
2 heaped tbsp egg mayonnaise
1 heaped tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp Tabasco Chipotle sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp brandy or bourbon

Method

  1. Divide the mince into four and roll into thick, patties, 2cm wider than your buns.
  2. In a bowl, dress the onion with the vinegar and a pinch of sea salt.
  3. For the burger sauce, combine the ingredients in a bowl.
  4. In a pan over a low heat, cook your bacon to the point of crispiness.
  5. Heat your grill as high as possible, rub your burgers with a bit of oil and grill; after 1 minute flip and brush each cooked side with ½ tsp of mustard and a dash of Tabasco. After 1 minute more, flip and repeat.
  6. Cook for another minute or two and then place two pieces of crispy bacon on top and then the cheese. Grill until the cheese melts; grill the buns at the same time.
  7. To build the burger, add a quarter of the burger sauce to the bun base, add the cheesy burger, a quarter of the onions and the gherkins. Add 1 tsp of ketchup on top and close.
  8. You passed!

Beef and eggplant moussaka

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6

Based on a recent cooking show Nat and I watched, I gather that moussaka is regarded as a bit ho-hum in the UK.

Just like Pad Thai is for us in Australia.

In Australia however, Greek food isn’t a mainstream staple and moussaka isn’t something you pick up from the corner store. Greek food is a treat.

The Ashes family introduced me to moussaka. It is one of their staples and they take it seriously.

To satisfy the breadth of palates in the family, the last time I did this en masse (there were eight of us eating), I did a turkey mince and beef mince number. Genuinely, the turkey mince was the slightly more interesting of the two, though either way, you cannot go wrong.

Live the good life, plan to go for a run tomorrow and find a bottle of red to open.

And cook this.

Ingredients

2 large (1kg) eggplants
Sea salt
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 kg minced beef
1 x 400gm can tomatoes
½ cup tomato paste
¼ cup white wine
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped pine nuts, toasted
2 tbsp sambal oelek
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground hot paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
¼  cup grated parmesan cheese

Cheese sauce

100g, butter
½ cup plain flour
3 cups milk
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method

  1. Cut eggplants into 5mm slices, place on wire rack, sprinkle with salt, stand 20 minutes. Rinse slices under cold water, drain, pat dry with absorbent paper. Brush slices with oil, add to pan in batches, cook until browned on both sides; drain on paper towel.
  2. Heat extra oil in the same pan, add onion and garlic, cook, stirring, until onion is soft. Add beef, cook, stirring, until beef is browned. Stir in undrained crushed tomatoes, paste, wine, herbs, nuts, sambal oelek and spices, simmer, covered, about 25 minutes or until slightly thickened.
  3. Cheese sauce: Melt butter in pan, stir in flour, stir over heat until bubbling. Remove from heat, gradually stir in milk, stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, stir in cheese; cool 5 minutes.
  4. Place one-third of the eggplant over base of a greased shallow ovenproof dish, top with half the beef mixture. Repeat layering with remaining eggplant and beef mixture, ending with eggplant. Spread cheese sauce over eggplant; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 180°C for about 45 minutes or until lightly browned.

Simple Open Moussaka with Yoghurt Dressing

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Simple Open Moussaka with Yoghurt Dressing

Serves: 4

We’ve been using a food service – Marley Spoon – for the past few months.

It came recommended and at its best, it is really pretty good; I certainly referred it onto a few friends.

You select your meals for the week and a few days later, a box is delivered containing individual paper bags for each meal and very clear recipe cards. The ingredients – especially the meat, poultry and seafood – are fresh, very high-quality and in their own chill-bags for the period they sit on your doorstep.

Each dish is relatively easy to prepare and except for one outlier where we were still hungry, a week where we seemed to eat Soba noodles every night, and one or two other meals that just didn’t quite make the taste grade, Marley Spoon has been great.

I say ‘has’ been great because this week, we stopped.

The convenience factor and the quality of packaging and instructions factor no longer trumped the value factor… and the meals just stopped feeling unique and the formula behind Marley Spoon seemed exposed to us.

When baby #3 arrives in June, I’d imagine we’ll start again, though for now, we just want to start cooking our own recipes again.

And having enough for lunches the next day.

And being rich again.

After tonight’s second last Marley Spoon dinner however, it turns out that Marley Spoon gifted us one better than just another week of their high-gloss recipe cards and crisp paper bags.

They gifted us this healthy Moussaka and it was really, very good.

Especially considering how easy it was to prepare.

Nothing beats a 3-hour Moussaka production on a Sunday afternoon, though equally, nothing beats a 30-minute Mousakka on a Thursday evening.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

Olive oil
2 eggplants
2 onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
500gm lamb mince (we had lean beef mince and it was just fine)
2 cups, chicken stock (hot)
2 cans, 400gm chopped tomatoes
1 lemon
200gm low-fat Greek-style yoghurt
60gm tahini
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
100gm baby rocket to serve

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220c. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Trim the ends from the eggplants and slice lengthways; you’ll need 12 – 16 slices about 5mm thick: 3 – 4 per person.
  2. Place the slices on the prepared tray and lightly brush with oil. Season and roast until softened and golden: around 15 – 20 minutes.
  3. Heat 1tbsp oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Increase the heat to high, add the mince and cook, stirring over a high-heat for 5 minutes or until the mince is browned.
  4. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes to the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered over a medium heat for 15 minutes or until thickened.
  5. Squeeze 2 tbsp lemon juice into a bowl. Stir in the yoghurt, tahini, combine well and season.
  6. Arrange an eggplant slice on each plate and spoon over some of the lamb mixture. Top with another slice of eggplant and repeat until all used. Top with a few dollops of the yoghurt dressing and serve with rocket leaves and a cold vino.

Mrs Kostyra’s Meatloaf

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Mrs Kostyra’s Meatloaf

Serves: 8

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart.

It is written up across the Internet as the 101 of meatloaf and as a closet lover of meatloaf, getting the 101 right is pretty important, right?

(Albeit pretty simple to get right as you’ll soon discover.)

The vegetables fill it out really nicely, the glaze of ketchup, dry mustard and brown sugar is predictably awesome… though far-and-ahead the best reason you’d cook this – as if it wasn’t obvious – is because it’s mince.

The world’s greatest invention.

I doubled the recipe and froze a big zip-lock bag ready to cook again for a week of lunches and snacks. Undoubtedly, it is what I looked for first in my lunchbox each morning.

It is a simple recipe though that is all you want here. Simple, wholesome, amazing, no-nonsense, eat-it-everyday meatloaf, ready to be served warm or cold with plenty of ketchup, peas and hopefully, some good potato mash.

Ingredients

Olive oil
4 slices white bread, torn into pieces and processed to breadcrumbs
1.5kg ground beef
1 onion, small diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 stalks celery, small dice
2 carrots, peeled and small dice
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 large egg
1 cup ketchup, divided
3 tsp dry mustard, divided
1 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180c. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Combine the finely diced onion, celery, carrots and crushed garlic and parsley in a bowl. Add the meat and mix well. Add the egg, ½ cup ketchup, 2 tsp dry mustard, salt and pepper and combine thoroughly. Transfer to the baking tray and shape into a… meatloaf.
  3. Combine the remaining ½ cup ketchup, 1 tsp dry mustard and brown sugar in a bowl. Stir until smooth.
  4. Brush/baste the mixture over the meatloaf. Place the meatloaf in the oven and look for between 60 and 90 minutes or until the meat thermometer inserted in the middle reads 70c.
  5. Serve with peas, mash, plenty of ketchup and cold beer.

Adana-Inspired Turkey-Lamb Kebabs

.Reading time 1 minute.
FullSizeRender (8).jpg
Kebabs!

Adana-Inspired Turkey-Lamb Kebabs

Serves: 4

Last week, we cooked an incredible Turkish stew that asked for Red Pepper Paste, an addition unique (as far as I can tell) to Turkish cooking.

There is a bit of effort in the old paste, though it does add a wonderful smoky heat and the time to prepare it is half the fun.

What to do with the remaining paste however?

These kebabs are your answer.

Ingredients

250gm lamb mince
250gm turkey mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp red pepper paste
2 tsp ground sumac
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp salt
125gm Greek yoghurt

Method

    1. If using wooden skewers, soak for 20 minutes; heat your griddle or BBQ to high.
    2. Combine all of the ingredients; add a touch of water if necessary.
    3. Shape into thick sausages and skewer.
    4. Grill on each side until cooked through.
    5. Serve with some tzatziki.

Gordon Ramsay’s Lasagne al Forno

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Gordon Ramsay’s Lasagne al Forno

Serves: 4 – 6

Innovation when it comes to lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and the like, is neither wide, nor particularly wanted.

We crave these pastas because we know these pastas; and thankfully, adding a twist with the addition of milk, or anchovies or diced bacon, doesn’t really screw with the formulae or take them too far away from what we crave.

Having already typed up a lasagne – and certainly having cooked plenty of other variations in the past – I was unsure of whether I should type this one up.

Not because it isn’t amazing because it is.

Though for all the other reasons. Anchovies and bacon, cream and ricotta, a good lasagne is all you asked for and so how many nip-tuck variations do you really need?

You need to try this one.

Sure, it’s ultimately just a lasagne, though I type it up for two reasons.

Firstly – as I said – it really is very good. And secondly, to get you to cook lasagne, something we just don’t cook enough of.

Cook what the people want and they want this lasagne.

Ingredients

2 tbsp oilive oil
½ large onion, grated
1 large carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 pinches, dried oregano
500gm minced beef
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp red wine
400gm can tomatoes
50ml milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the sauce

25gm butter
25gm flour
300ml milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
60gm Cheddar cheese, grated
30gm Parmesan cheese, grated

6 sheets, lasagne sheets

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220.
  2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over a medium-high heat; cook the onion, carrot and garlic, adding the bay leaf, a pinch of oregano, the Worcestershire sauce and a little salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is softened.
  3. Add the mince and break up; add the tomato puree and cook, stirring, until the meat is browned.
  4. Add the wine and cook of the alcohol before adding the tomatoes. Simmer for a few minutes. Add the milk and set aside from the heat.
  5. Cheese Sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Ad the flour and using a wooden spoon, stir to form a paste. Over a gentle heat, add a third of the milk, whisking to prevent any lumps forming. Add the rest of the milk slowly, whisking as you go. Season with salt and pepper and a ground of nutmeg. Allow the sauce to cook out for a minute or so and add the Cheddar cheese. Stir and remove from the heat.
  6. Spoon half the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish and place pasta sheets on top. Pour in half the cheese sauce and spread evenly. And then more meat and pasta sheets and cheese… you know how to layer a lasagna.
  7. Finish with grated Parmesan and sprinkle with another pinch of oregano; lightly season.
  8. In the oven, 20 – 30 minutes until golden.

Matt Preston’s Bolognese

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6

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

  1. For the soffritto: Heat a heavy pan over a low-medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and the butter and heat.
  2. 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.
  3. Set the soffritto aside in a bowl.
  4. Add more olive oil to the pan and when hot, brown the mince. Add the browned meat to the soffritto.
  5. 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.
  6. Season with salt and a good squeeze of lemon juice from one half of the lemon. Reserve the other lemon half.
  7. 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.
  8. Taste, season and get it thick, rich and dark.
  9. Cook your pasta, make your salad, grate your cheese, break the bread and enjoy!

Beef and curry pie

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6

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

  1. Heat the oven to 180c.
  2. Mix together the beef, soy sauce, sugar and salt until well combined
  3. 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.
  4. Reserve the beef.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Fill a half-size casserole dish with the mixture and then cover with the pastry sheets.
  8. Brush with the egg wash and cook for 30 minutes until golden and puffed.
  9. Enjoy the comfort.

Terrine with olives, pine nuts and prosciutto

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: Plenty as a starter

My father’s birthday was last weekend and right on cue, my mother served an amazing French lunch to celebrate. Tapenade to begin, a wonder goats cheese souffle, a four-hour lamb with pan-fried potatoes and mushrooms, beans tossed with caramelised onion and crepes suzette.

Wowser.

And all we brought was Champagne!

But it was this terrine that I thought won the show.

Sure, the lamb was amazing… indeed, it all was smashing.

But for effort and presentation, sophistication and wow… this terrine was just awesome.

Today, we spent the day packing boxes ready for our big house move in a week and I found our bread tin in the corner of one kitchen cupboard where it has been since who knows when.

But as soon as we’re in to the new place, no kidding, first Saturday afternoon, I’m doing this again.

House move complete, some toasts, some music, sun in the courtyard and a bottle of Champagne, this will be bloody heaven.

Ingredients

500g lean pork (mince)
125g veal (mince)
125g pork fat
⅓ cup pine nuts
¼ cup soft white breadcrumbs
2 tbsp dry vermouth
90g prosciutto, cut in one slice
1 clove garlic
1 tsp salt
⅓ cup black olives
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
½ tsp dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 slices, fatty bacon, rinds removed

Method

  1. If not minced, cut the pork, veal and pork fat into small pieces and then mince together in a food processor.
  2. Lightly toast the pine nuts. Soak the breadcrumbs in the vermouth. Cut the prosciutto into small dice. Crush the clove of garlic with the salt.
  3. Combine all the prepared ingredients with a large bowl with the olives, basil, thyme, a grinding of black pepper and the egg; mix well.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180c.
  5. Line a 5 – 6 cup loaf pan with 3 slices of the bacon. Turn the meat mixture into the pan and push down firmly. Cover with the remaining bacon.Bake the terrine for 1¼ hours. Pour off any excess fat or juices. Put a plate on top and weigh it down: you want it to be as tight and compact as possible.
  6. Cool and then chill for 12 hours.
  7. To serve, unmould onto a platter allow to come to room temperature.
  8. Toast some thin breads, open some good french, send the kids to their room, enjoy.