Category: Mince

Turkey chilli

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6

For the past few months, I’ve cooked this at least once a month with plenty left for freezing until the next batch of cooking.

It is so good.

To the extent that I feel excited all day about getting home, heating it up, slicing in some avocado and mixing through some Greek yogurt. Some coriander and maybe even a chopped tomato.

It is healthy – 270 calories a cup – and it is hot.

And it’s mince! The final word in why you really should be whipping up a batch at least every month and drip-feeding the excitement when you need it most.

Lordy.

Ingredients

1kg turkey mince
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can, crush tomatoes (no salt added as if you didn’t know!)
1 can, baby tomatoes (yes, you can get them at Coles if you look)
3 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp hot/chilli sauce
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 red capsicum (pepper), chopped
1 green capsicum, chopped
2 jalapenos chopped (you can get these in a jar, I substitute a big red bullhorn chilli)
½ tsp sea salt
Pinch of pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp chilli powder (3 makes it explosive, though sure, why not if you are so inclined)
2sp dry oregano
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan/pot and sauté the onions and garlic until fragrant – 3 or 4 minutes. Add the turkey and cook until browned and crumbled and the excess liquid has cooked off.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients – boom – and cook for an hour or more until you can’t hold out anymore!

Keftethes (Greek parsley meatballs)

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6

I just love these meatballs. And who doesn’t love mince.

The red wine vinegar and oregano adds an really interesting element and contrasts really nicely with the golden outsides and soft, medium-rare inside of the meatballs.

Yum.

Serve with a green salad and some pan-fried brussel sprouts and there is Wednesday night in the bag!

Ingredients

1kg ground beef
1/3 c dry breadcrumbs
½ c milk
1 onion, finely chopped
1 c (or more) chopped parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
2 egg yolks (or 1 egg)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps salt
pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter
6 tbsp (or more) red wine vinegar
1 tbsp (or more) dried crumbled oregano

Method

  1. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until soft.
  2. Saute the onion and parsley in 2 tablespoons olive oil until limp.
  3. Mix together thoroughly with the meat, egg yolks, breadcrumbs, garlic, salt and pepper.  Shape into 1-inch balls and chill.
  4. Sauté the meatballs in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter, browning on all sides, and then remove any excess fat from the pan.
  5. Pour the vinegar into the pan, and sprinkle with the oregano.  Heat for a few minutes, scraping up the browned drippings. Repeat with more vinegar and oregano for a stronger taste.

Oriental Pork Cakes

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves 4

Slightly dull name for a recipe and not sure where I found it either; though name aside, they’re really good, they’re really simple and they’re really made from mince, the finest thing out there.

And reasonably healthy too, especially if you substituted chicken or even turkey mince .

I think having lots of these little recipes around is great for those weekend lunches and week nights where suddenly it’s meal time and you need to think on your feet. If you cook this, people will think you’re a genius.

Ingredients

500g pork mince
3 pork chipolata sausages (100g), skins discarded
2 eschalots, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stem (pale part only) finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Grated zest of one lime
Splash of fish sauce
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped coriander leaves
Sunflower oil, to shallow fry
Sweet chilli sauce, thinly sliced cucumber and lettuce leaves to serve

Method

  1. Place the mince, sausage meat, eschalot, lemongrass, garlic, zest, fish sauce, chilli and coriander in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands until combined.
  2. With damp hands, shape the mixture into 16 cakes and chill for 15 minutes to firm up.
  3. Heat a little sunflower oil in a large frypan over a medium-high heat. Cook the cakes (in batches if necessary) for 3 – 4 minutes until each side is golden and cooked.
  4. Serve the cakes with chilli sauce, sliced cucumber and lettuce leaves.

Lamb Filo Spirals with Tomato and Mint Salad

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 4

Recently at a function and calorie counting, I told myself not to eat but a few of the healthier canapes on offer, knowing full well that the healthiest canape was still not likely to get the Jenny Craig nod of approval.

Anyway, was doing pretty well, keeping to mineral water when a tray of old-school, Greek, mince and filo pastry triangles is offered. And if there is anything I can’t resist, it’s mince and filo pastry. Jenny was not amused but I really didn’t have any choice.

If it’s cold and raining and you just want some comfort and the couch, this recipe is for you.

Just stop counting your calories for the night!

Ingredients

1 3/4 c mint leaves
600g minced lamb
2 gloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
16 sheets filo pastry
100g butter, melted
2 tablespoon flaked almonds
2 tablespoon sesame seeds
250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthways, thinly sliced diagonally
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice, plus lemon wedges to serve.

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
  2. Coarsely chop 3/4 cup mint, then combine with mince, garlic and cumin in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Place filo pastry on a work surface; keep covered with a lightly damp tea towel while working to prevent it drying out. Take 1 sheet of pastry and brush it lightly with melted butter. Top with another sheet and brush with butter.
  4. Place a 1cm-wide strip of lamb mixture along one side of the pastry. Roll pastry to enclose filling, then working quickly, coil the length of the pastry into a snail-shape. Place on 1 large paper-lined oven trays, then brush with butter. Repeat with the remaining pastry, butter and filling.
  5. Scatter the spirals with almonds and sesame seeds, then bake for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden.
  6. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and cucumbers and remaining mint (1 c) in a bowl. Add oil and lemon juice and season to taste and toss to combine.
  7. Serve warm spirals with the salad and lemon wedges.

Omelette of Pork Mince, Preserved Radish and Spring Onion (Trung Chien Thit Bam)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 2

I am so impressed with the Red Lantern cookbook (Secrets of the Red Lantern, Pauline Nguyen).

Having not cooked from it for a few years, I am back into it and everything I have cooked so far has been quite outstanding; the recipes are clear to follow and the book is generally an excellent read, with many stories behind the authors and the food.

This omelette is great and reminded me of Neil Perry’s Blue Swimmer Crab omelette, not because they are similar in taste, but because of the freshness and lightness of the end-production. The spring onions with the fish sauce and browned pork is just great, surrounded by the fluffiness of the egg.

I had the omelette with sliced green chillis and spring onions, and a bowl of rice on the side.

This should become one of the long-day, too-hard-to-cook-but-should-cook-something recipes in your repertoire.

Ingredients

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 spring onions, white part only, sliced
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 small red onion (I used an eschalot)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g minced (ground) pork
1 tablespoon preserved radish (available from Asian Supermarkets, I found a Japanese brand providing a whole, slated radish and chopped it finely)

Method

  1. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, pepper, fish sauce and sliced spring onions.
  2. Place a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add the oil and then fry the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant.
  3. Add the pork and preserved radish and continue to fry until browned.
  4. Pour the omelette mixture into the pan and cover with a lid; foil or a same-size fry pan will do.
  5. Cook until the base is golden brown and the top just set, slide out onto a plate folding if desired and serve.

The Tuscan Burger

.Reading time 2 minutes.

My last meal? A hamburger of course.

With this Tuscan Burger, read down the ingredients and you can almost taste the pesto with the chargrilled beef and melted bocconcini, the mayonaise and the chargrilled buns.

Hopefully this isn’t your last meal and as my mother is known to say, the recipe shouldn’t kill anyone. But if it does, not a bad way to go.

As always, go for the best, freshest piece of chuck steak you can and get your butcher to mince it on the coarsest cut.

Ingredients

600g freshly ground chuck steak
100g pancetta, rind removed, chopped
1/3 cup (90g) basil pesto
2 small red onions, thickly sliced
2 tbs olive oil
2 small vine-ripened tomatoes, thickly sliced
1/2 cup (150g) whole-egg mayonnaise
3-4 bocconcini, sliced
4 Italian bread rolls, split
50g baby rocket leaves

Method

  1. Place beef, pancetta and 2 tablespoons pesto in a processor. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse until just combined (do not overprocess). Form mixture into 4 patties and chill while you cook the vegetables.
  2. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
  3. Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue over medium heat. Toss onion in a little oil and grill for 1 minute each side or until just cooked. Place in the oven to keep warm.
  4. Brush tomatoes with a little oil and season, then grill for 1 minute each side. Place in the oven to keep warm.
  5. Brush both sides of patties with oil. Cook on chargrill for 2-3 minutes each side until cooked through. Chargrill the bread rolls.
  6. Mix remaining pesto with mayonnaise.
  7. Top patties with cheese and place in oven for 1 minute or until cheese melts.
  8. Spread bread-roll bases with some of the mayonnaise mixture. Top with rocket, patties, onion and tomato. Drizzle with remaining mayonnaise mixture and top with remaining bread-roll halves

Moroccan meatball tagine with lemon and olives

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

For a low carb dinner, this is a fabulous recipe; flavoursome, exotic and filling.

I chose to type it up because it is a mince recipe (my favourite), it is healthy (less than 400 calories per serve) and frankly, it tastes like something you’d get at a Moroccan restaurant, let alone being a dish you’d prepare to keep trim or get trim.

The original recipe asked for lamb mince and lamb stock, though I changed this to lean pork mince and chicken stock respectively. It would be fine with turkey mince as well.

I also steamed and sliced in two zucchini at the end of the cooking, to add some greenery and fill out the recipe.

And of course cous cous with chicken stock and currants.

Eat well, feel good!

Ingredients

3 onions, peeled, roughly chopped
500gm minced pork (or lamb, beef, chicken, turkey)
Zest and juice of one lemon, then quartered
1 tsp cumin
1tsp cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper
Small bunch flat0leaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Pinch saffron strands
205ml chicken stock (or lamb if doing lamb)
1 tbsp tomato paste
100gm pitted black Kalamata olives
Small bunch coriander, chopped
Cous cous (with chicken stock, currants and toasted, slivered almonds) or fresh, crusty bread
2 zucchinis, steamed and sliced and added at the end
Method

  1. Put the onions in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Put the mince, lemon zest, spices, parsley and half the onions in a large bowl and season; combine. Using your hands, shape into walnut-sized balls.
  2. Heat the oil in a tagine (or large pan/heavy pot) and add the remaining onions, ginger, chilli and saffron. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Add the lemon juice, stock, tomato paste and olives and bring to the boil. Add the meatballs one at a time, reduce the heat and cover, cooking for 20 minutes; turn the meatballs a few times during this time.
  3. Remove the lid and add the coriander and lemon wedges, tucking them in between the meatballs. Cook uncovered for another 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Add any pre-cooked/steamed vegetables, carefully combine and serve with cous cous or crusty bread.

Kofta b’siniyah

.Reading time 4 minutes.
With a glass of Pinot and a salad at the side, this is seriously heaven.
With a glass of Pinot and a salad at the side, this is seriously heaven.

Serves 6

This recipe is from a book called ‘Jerusalem’ (Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi), bringing together recipes from the city; east and west. The book was a birthday present from our great friends, Woodles and Billy and they swear by it. After cooking this recipe, I do too.

This dish stood out immediately for two reasons.

Firstly, I love mince and anything to do with mince.

Secondly, it was a different sort of mince recipe than I had cooked before; mainly the use of the warmed tahini as a base and the burnt butter whilst serving.

What is really grabbing about it, is the presentation; it is beautiful and dramatic and perfect for a simple Sunday lunch with friends. I served it with a warm potato salad, though it would be well served with a salad of cucumber and tomato and some pita bread at the side.

Ingredients

150gm light tahini paste
3 tbsp lemon juice
120ml water
1 medium garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp sunflower oil
30gm of unsalted butter (or ghee)
Sweet paprika to garnish
Salt
Chopped flat-leaf parsley

Kofta

400gm minced lamb
400gm minced veal or beef
1 small onion
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
50gm toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped, plus extra whole ones to garnish
30gm finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra to garnish
1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground allspice
¾ tsp grated nutmeg
1½ ground black pepper
1½ tsp salt

Method

  1. Put all the kofta ingredients in a bowl and using your hand, mix well together.
  2. Shape the koftas into long, torpedo-like fingers, roughly 8cm long. Press the mix to compress it and ensure the kofta is tight and keeps it shape. Set aside and refrigerate for up to a day.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200c.
  4. In a bowl, whisk together the tahini paste, lemon juice, water, garlic and ¼ teaspoon of salt; the sauce should be a bit runnier than honey and add one or two tablespoons of water if it is not.
  5. Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan (I used a griddle) and sear the kofta over a high heat; do this in batches so they are not cramped. Sear them on all sides until they are golden brown; around six minutes per batch. At this point they should be medium rare.
  6. Transfer the kofta to an oven tray and spoon the tahini sauce around the koftas. Place in the oven for a few minutes, both to cook the koftas a bit further (2 – 4 minutes depending on your preference) and to warm the sauce.
  7. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and allow it to brown a little ensuring it doesn’t burn.
  8. Spoon the butter over the koftas as soon as they come out of the oven; scatter with pine nuts and parsley and finely sprinkle paprika on top.