Category: Mince

Penne with meatballs and fresh tomato sauce

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

I cooked a great Donna Hay spaghetti and meatball recipe a while ago. 

Though those meatballs didn’t get the tick of approval from the boys (8 and 5) simply because they were gone before the boys could get there hands on them. Given the target market for such a dish, getting such approval could be an important thing for you.

And so here is Neil Perry’s take on a classic. And classic it is.

There is nothing controversial about it and that is why the boys wolfed it down.

It is simply classic spaghetti and meatballs, a version so literally classic, that it’s great.

Sometimes, you don’t need to be fancy to be fancy.

Ingredients

25g fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra
½ small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
350g minced pork
1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Pinch of chopped thyme
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan, plus extra
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g penne

Tomato sauce

60ml extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 anchovies
½ tsp chilli flakes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1kg vine-ripened tomatoes, skinned, de-seeded and roughly chopped

Method

  1. For the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a heavy pan. Add the garlic anchovies, chilli and a pinch of salt and cook over a low-heat for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the tomatoes and cook, uncovered for 20 minutes. Check the seasoning.
  2. For the meatballs, soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until soft and then mash with a fork.
  3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in small saucepan over a low heat. Cook the garlic and onion for 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Set aside to cool.
  4. Place the pork, soaked bread, onion mix, parsley, thyme, tomato paste, 1 tbsp grated parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well so the mixture holds together. Form into small balls.
  5. Drizzle some oil in a heavy-based fry pan and cook the meatballs in batches. Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce to heat through.
  6. Cook the penne. Add the penne to the tomato sauce and meatballs and toss gently to coat. Divide among bowls and sprinkle with parmesan and a generous grind of pepper.

Spicy Mince and Lettuce Cups

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

This is a great weekday meal.

We used pork mince and with the lime juice, lime leaf, brown sugar and fish sauce, you’re left with a sweet, sour and sticky mince, just right for the contrasting crunch of the lettuce, herbs and shallots. And the crunch of the peanuts.

Yum!

253 calories a serve, beautiful and fun to plate, easily doubled for lunch like we did… you can’t go wrong here.

Ingredients

1 tbsp canola oil
Large piece of ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
500gm chicken, turkey or pork mince
85gm light brown sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of a lime
2 lime leaf, finely shredded

To serve

Lettuce leaves (we used cos, though iceberg just as good)
Good handful of mint and coriander, roughly chopped
Handful of toasted peanuts, roughly chopped
2 shallots, finely sliced
1 lime, quartered

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the garlic, ginger and chillis for a minute and then add the mince and turn the heat up high; cook until the meat is golden.
  2. Add the brown sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and lime leaf and cook down until everything is sticky.
  3. Serve the mince in the lettuce leaves, topped with the herbs, peanuts, shallots and a squeeze of the lime.

Italian-style Meatloaf

.Reading time 2 minutes.

 

Serves: 6

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

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
  2. Combine the beef mince, 1 cup of passata and remaining ingredients except the cooking spray in a large bowl.
  3. 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.
  4. Brush remaining ½ cup of passata over the meat loaf.
  5. Cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a thermometer registered 70c internally. Let stand for 10 minutes and then slice.

Karen Martini’s Spiced Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Eggs and Coriander

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Meatballs out of the oven and waiting for the passata and eggs.

Serves: 4

I am yet to do a Karen Martini recipe that hasn’t been a keeper and this is no exception.

What a Sunday night treat, served with this clever Adam Liaw salad.

The spicy lamb meatballs are divine, what with the richness of the egg and the sweetness of the tomato sauce. And it all presents beautifully.

Sadly, so well that you will struggle to make a lunch out of it the next day. This really is a dish that is hard to stop eating.

Both of the boys loved them with Oliver describing them as ‘better than better’. Little did he know he was eating chilli, sumac and coriander.

A winner on all fronts.

Ingredients

1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
½ bunch coriander, finely chopped
2 tsp salt
½ onion, finely diced and cooked with a little oil until soft
500gm lamb mince
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
7 eggs
½ bunch parsley, leaves picked
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked
2 tbsp sumac
8 tbsp tomato passata
1 lemon, juiced

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
  2. Place spices, chopped parsley and coriander, salt, onion, lamb, 1 egh and breadcrumbs in a large bowl and combine well with your hands.
  3. Roll lamb mixture into 8 oval football shapes, coat in parsley and coriander and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with sumac and bake for 15 minutes; remove from the oven.
  4. Spoon passata into an ovenproof dish, place meatballs on top, crack 6 eggs over the top and bake for 12 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve.

Spiced Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Hello Tuesday! The week just got a whole lot better!

Serves: 4

This recipe by Tobie Puttock had us at ‘spice’ and ‘lamb’.

Spicy lamb is a last meal contender, right?

At 447 calories a serve, they’re not too bad though they make up strongly for this in taste: predictably, as you read through all the ingredients, they taste great.

A really special, warming midweek dish.

Served with tzatziki and a wonderful Pea, Snowpea, Almond and Feta salad and highly recommended.

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin oil
¼ onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried chilli flakes (do 1tsp and don’t hold back!)
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 oil in a small fry pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often for 2 minutes, until slightly softened though not coloured.
  2. Stir in the allspice, coriander, cumin, chilli flakes and mint and cook for a further minute. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
  3. Place the lamb in a large bowl. Add the onion mixture, parsley, dill, egg, feta and season with the salt and pepper.
  4. Use your hands to mix everything well; shape the mixture into four patties, place on a tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
  5. Preheat a grill plate on high. Add the patties and cook for 3 – 4 minutes on each side until almost cooked through.
  6. Serve with a dollop of tzatziki.

Easy ricotta lasagne

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Thanks ladies and hen!

Serves: 8

The Internet probably doesn’t need another lasagne recipe though I cooked this up for Lauren’s (Nat’s sister) Hens weekend and it was really successful.

The recipe is an adaptation of a few recipes with the view of making this an easy dish to prep and cook.

The key point is the cheese sauce or lack thereof.

Not only is the ricotta-version here much easier to prepare when you have literally run out of stove space, it tastes amazing.

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, shredded
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
500gm pork mince
500gm veal mince
10 tbsp tomato paste
4 can of tomatoes
4 c chicken stock
2 tsp dried oregano
Bunch of basil, torn
500gm mozzarella, shredded + a handful to sprinkle at the end
1 kg ricotta
250gm parmesan, shredded
2 eggs, beaten
Pinch of nutmeg
(Instant) lasagne sheets
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter for greasing the cooking dish

Method

Meat Sauce

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and slow cook the onions, garlic and carrots until soft.
  2. Add the mince and cook until browned and the water has evaporated.
  3. Stir in the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, chicken stock and oregano.
  4. Season and simmer for 40 minutes until the liquid has reduced.
  5. Take off the heat and stir through the basil.

Cheese sauce

  1. Combine the cheeses, eggs and nutmeg and season.

Assembly

  1. Heat the oven to 180c.
  2. In a greased cooking dish, layer a small amount of meat, then a layer of lasagna sheets, then more meet, cheese mixture and repeat.
  3. Finish off with a layer of mozzarella.
  4. Cover with foil, cook for 40 minutes and then remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Nat’s Keema (Lamb (or beef) mince with peas)

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

So we have a new rule in the house.

If we find a recipe though it needs a solid change in method or ingredients, we are calling it our own. So introducing Nat’s Keema: a beef (or lamb) mince masala with peas.

We originally had this dish at a fabulous local Indian restaurant a fortnight ago and promised to reproduce it if only because it was a mince recipe; mince falling only slightly behind brisket and pork shoulder/belly in the genius stakes in our opinion.

Though there is a surprising lack of such recipes online for Keema, including on P-interest (Pinterest) which has become a bit of a destination where we swap recipes whilst at work.

The ingredients in the original recipe we finally sourced were fairly right though the method was shot.

We regrouped, changed tact, quadrupled the peas (because they are amazing) and here you have it.

It won’t change the world though it is a damn comfortable mince, low calorie and pretty special for a Monday dinner and lunch the next day. And the mushrooms are a hit.

Enjoy! (And thank Nat later…)

Ingredients

1kg extra lean beef mince (or lamb mince as per the original)
4 green chilies, diced
2 handfuls of fresh coriander
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
20 small mushrooms, diced
2 onions, sliced
500gm frozen peas
400gm fresh tomatoes, diced (a few tomatoes)
4 tsp garam masala
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

  1. Heat the oil in the pan and add the onion and the garlic; cook until the onions are soft and starting to become golden.
  2. Add the mince and cook down until the liquid has evaporated and the meat can start to brown.
  3. Add the tomatoes, ginger, salt, turmeric and chilli. Mash the tomatoes and other ingredients to add a shine to the meat.
  4. Add the mushrooms, lower the heat, add a cup of water and cook down for 45 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and cooked through. Add more water if necessary and stir regularly until the liquid evaporates.
  5. Add the garam masala, coriander and peas. Cook for a few minutes more, stirring until the peas are cooked through.
  6. Season, spice it up if you want and serve.

Donna Hay’s classic spaghetti and meatballs

.Reading time 3 minutes.
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Yes, they are not cooked at this point.

Serves: 4 – 6

Nat and I don’t have nearly as many long, liquid lunches as we would like to.

But on occasions, the stars align and there we are, contemplating a third dessert whilst working our way through the cheese plate and a fancy red of some description.

Cooking and eating pasta is also about a rare as these long lunch occasions.

And that’s because the two are linked.

For you should only eat pasta when nothing else will do.

And nothing else will do than pasta after a long lunch and a few bottles of vino.

And so here we were, a long lunch at Gowings completed and ready for our pasta hit.

Enjoy this one. It is everything you’ll want and nothing you won’t. Just make sure you make it in advance like I did.

Ingredients

1½ c fresh white breadcrumbs
½ c milk
500g veal (or beef) mince
500g pork mince
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ c sage leaves, finely chopped
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, extra, crushed
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 c (250ml) beef stock
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
¼ c thyme leaves, chopped
500g spaghetti
1 c basil leaves
Finely grated parmesan, to serve

Method

  1. Place the breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the milk is absorbed.
  2. Add the beef and pork mince, eggs, garlic, sage, salt and pepper and mix well to combine. Using wet hands, roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a deep, large frying pan over high heat. Cook the meatballs in batches, turning frequently, for 4–5 minutes or until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  4. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining oil, onion and garlic to the pan and cook for 5–7 minutes or until lightly golden. Add the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar, stir to combine and cook for 1 minute. Add the stock, tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper, stir to combine and bring to the boil.
  5. Add the meatballs and simmer for 15–20 minutes or until the sauce is reduced and the meatballs are cooked through.
  6. While the meatballs are cooking, place the spaghetti in a large saucepan of salted boiling water and cook for 8–10 minutes or until al dente.
  7. Drain and serve the spaghetti topped with the meatballs, basil leaves and parmesan.

Middle Eastern Beef and Parsley kebabs

.Reading time 1 minute.

 Serves: 4 – 6

What a cracker; serve this with a full accompaniment of Lebanese sides and dips – as we did for the boys whilst up the coast on a recent holiday – and all your mince wishes will have been granted.

Ingredients

1kg extra lean beef mince
2 tbsp butter
1 x fresh parsley, minced
2 onions, chopped finely
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper (if you have seasoned/flavoured pepper, by all means)
Wood grilling skewers, soaked in water

Method

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and carefully form long tubes of the mixture around the skewers, between 2 – 3cm in thickness. Pack tight so that the mince does not fall off easily.
  2. Heat a grill high and cook about 2 minutes a side until chargrilled and cooked through.
  3. Serve with freshly made hommus.

Curry Puffs

.Reading time 2 minutes.
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Holy crap these are good. The real deal. Add peas if you feel like it.

Serves: 4 – 6 as a side

If your brief is to shut down the local Malaysian Curry Puff business, proceed with this recipe.

Wow, it doesn’t get any more real than this.

They don’t get the heart tick of approval though they get every other tick out there; seriously, they’re perfect. Just like that Malaysian Curry Puff business you’re shutting down.

A few other recipes I read asked for the homemade creation of your own puff pastry, though that is totally non-necessary based on my experience.

I doubled the recipe though for 4 to 6 people, follow the recipe below. Plenty to share!

Ingredients

2 tsp peanut oil
2 tsp finely chopped coriander root
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
100gm beef mince
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp water
100gm mashed potato
2 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
Vetegable oil
Sweet chilli sauce to serve

Method

  1. Stir fry the coriander root, spring onion, garlic and beef until the colour changes.
  2. Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander and stir-fry until fragrant.
  3. Add the fish sauce and water and simmer until the mixture thickens.
  4. Stir in the mashed potato and cool.
  5. Cut rounds – around 10cm in diameter – from the pastry sheet. Spoon the filling into the centre of each, brush around the edges of the pastry with the egg, fold to enclose and press together with a form to seal.
  6. Deep-fry the curry puff until crisp and lightly browned, drain on paper towels and serve with the sweet chilli sauce.