sometimes when i go shopping and i see semi preprepared meals like dinner winner and wonder what they're like, but never have the guts to try them. instead, i use the same concept they use and sometimes cook my pasta like this. i'm sure it wouldn't win any brownie points with italians, but it ain't half bad.
375 grams lean mince
2 tablespoons olive oil
200 grams sliced mushrooms
1 capsicum, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
a few sprigs parsley, basil, oregano, chopped roughly
750 mL tomato basil pasta sauce
salt and pepper
500 grams pasta
parmesan cheese to serve
heat the olive oil in a large deep saucepan and add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions have softened. add the beef, breaking it up with a spoon, and cook until no longer pink. add the mushrooms, capsicum, herbs and salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
add pasta sauce, 3 cups water (this depends on the pasta you're using - use good judgement and adjust accordingly; also, i like to replace some of the water with wine) and bring to the boil. add pasta; reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender but firm, about 12 minutes. check for seasoning and adjust, if necessary.
serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.
Showing posts with label mince. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mince. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
thai chicken meatballs
many, many moons ago, i used to make tons of these; there was always something on which i could take these to, and they were easy to eat, being savoury, spicy and a finger food.....finger food is always popular - people just open their mouths and these meatballs just pop in.
1 kilogram chicken mince
2 tablespoons green or red curry paste
1 bunch coriander, chopped finely
1 bunch basil, chopped finely
1 cup breadcrumbs (this may seem like alot, but the meatballs stay moist and tender, not dry and woody)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup sweet thai chilli sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or if you want to be authentic, gula melaka
toasted sesame seeds (optional)
place everything except the sesame seeds in a large bowl and mix it all until it's well combined; i like using my handheld mixer to do this - it mixes things better than i ever do and my hands don't get smelly.
at this point, i like to don a pair of disposable gloves and form the mix into balls. i do this sometimes by rolling, other times by extruding it, but a favourite is to use two spoons - the meatballs aren't perfectly round, but they aren't bad considering that you don't get mince all over your hands and because you don't get mince all over your hands, you know the phone won't ring (that's the real reason why i don't like to dirty my hands - the phone always rings when i'm in no position to pick it up).
once all the mince has been formed into balls, you can cover them and pop them in the fridge and cook them at your leisure, or cook them straight away.
here, i give you choice again!! you can pan fry, deep fry, grill or do as i do - microwave them. since everyone's microwave is different, you have to work out the intricacies of your appliance yourself. i place the meatballs around the edge a of a microwave friendly plate and nuke them until their done - make sure they are fully cooked - raw chicken is a definite no no (read food poisoning, and we don't want that). if you want to pan fry, deep fry or grill, do so, and again, make sure the meatballs are full cooked.
choice here again - once all the meatballs are cooked, you can cool them and refrigerate them to heat and serve later, or serve immediately with a sauce of your own choice - sweet thai chilli sauce is a popular choice. (other sauce choices to follow in later posts)
if the meatballs are microwaved, you can brown them a little under a grill to give them a bit of colour just before serving or use some of the optional sesame seeds to sprinkle on them - that makes them look special.....
1 kilogram chicken mince
2 tablespoons green or red curry paste
1 bunch coriander, chopped finely
1 bunch basil, chopped finely
1 cup breadcrumbs (this may seem like alot, but the meatballs stay moist and tender, not dry and woody)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup sweet thai chilli sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or if you want to be authentic, gula melaka
toasted sesame seeds (optional)
place everything except the sesame seeds in a large bowl and mix it all until it's well combined; i like using my handheld mixer to do this - it mixes things better than i ever do and my hands don't get smelly.
at this point, i like to don a pair of disposable gloves and form the mix into balls. i do this sometimes by rolling, other times by extruding it, but a favourite is to use two spoons - the meatballs aren't perfectly round, but they aren't bad considering that you don't get mince all over your hands and because you don't get mince all over your hands, you know the phone won't ring (that's the real reason why i don't like to dirty my hands - the phone always rings when i'm in no position to pick it up).
once all the mince has been formed into balls, you can cover them and pop them in the fridge and cook them at your leisure, or cook them straight away.
here, i give you choice again!! you can pan fry, deep fry, grill or do as i do - microwave them. since everyone's microwave is different, you have to work out the intricacies of your appliance yourself. i place the meatballs around the edge a of a microwave friendly plate and nuke them until their done - make sure they are fully cooked - raw chicken is a definite no no (read food poisoning, and we don't want that). if you want to pan fry, deep fry or grill, do so, and again, make sure the meatballs are full cooked.
choice here again - once all the meatballs are cooked, you can cool them and refrigerate them to heat and serve later, or serve immediately with a sauce of your own choice - sweet thai chilli sauce is a popular choice. (other sauce choices to follow in later posts)
if the meatballs are microwaved, you can brown them a little under a grill to give them a bit of colour just before serving or use some of the optional sesame seeds to sprinkle on them - that makes them look special.....
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
steamed minced pork with salted eggs
whenever i want something comforting and i'm feeling somewhat jaded with cooking, i turn to the simple things in life. this is one of them. i don't really have a proper recipe for this, but i used these approximate quantities the other day.
3 or 4 salted eggs
500g minced pork (i usually buy the lean mince, but it is really good with the fatty mince)
a little stock or water
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 or 2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
grated ginger
spring onions to garnish
separate the egg whites from the yolk - this is easy because the yolks are solid. set the yolks aside and place the egg whites in a large bowl.
place the pork, stock/water, cornflour, sesame oil, pepper and ginger in the bowl with the egg whites and stir together until well combined - i like using the hand held electric mixer to do this - less elbow grease. pour into a shallow bowl large enough to contain the mixture. place the egg yolks on top and steam for 20 minutes or until done.
sprinkle with spring onions and serve with rice or congee and vegetables.
some recipes also add in a fresh egg or two while mixing the mince and also add soya sauce; i do sometimes, but i didn't this time because i had so many salted eggs of my own.
3 or 4 salted eggs
500g minced pork (i usually buy the lean mince, but it is really good with the fatty mince)
a little stock or water
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 or 2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
grated ginger
spring onions to garnish
separate the egg whites from the yolk - this is easy because the yolks are solid. set the yolks aside and place the egg whites in a large bowl.
place the pork, stock/water, cornflour, sesame oil, pepper and ginger in the bowl with the egg whites and stir together until well combined - i like using the hand held electric mixer to do this - less elbow grease. pour into a shallow bowl large enough to contain the mixture. place the egg yolks on top and steam for 20 minutes or until done.
sprinkle with spring onions and serve with rice or congee and vegetables.
some recipes also add in a fresh egg or two while mixing the mince and also add soya sauce; i do sometimes, but i didn't this time because i had so many salted eggs of my own.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
wontons
there was a time i was making these all the time because i'd be buying the 2 kilogram packets of wonton wrappers because they were so cheap. so everytime there was something on, i'd turn up with a huge basket of deep fried wontons and sweet and sour sauce. my friends don't associate me with wontons, but i do wonder if miss k and miss c's freinds do....maybe not, because i haven't done them for a while.
anyway, i thought i'd better post an entry today, and why not this?
i'm only going to give a list of ingredients and leave it to your own discretion as to the quantities. i do use more greens (garlic chives, spring onions and coriander) than meat (minced pork/chicken/beef/lamb) - i had dumplings in hong kong once from the roadside and there was hardly any meat! the greens i use are usually treated as herbs, but i use them by the bunch as vegetables in wontons. in fact, i use bunches of each to very little meat.
i also add eggs, fried eggs....eggs fried in tons of oil.... i was watching this girl from china make the filling once, and she used eggs fried in tons of oil. if i wasn't mistaken, i'd say that there was half the quantity in oil in the frypan to the quantity of eggs. need i spell it out? one cupful of eggs is fried in half a cupful of oil. the eggs are beaten lightly, stirred into the hot oil to cook, left to cool in the oil, chopped up and placed, oil and all, into the mixing bowl with everything else.
so what's everything else? i better list them:
mince (your choice)
soya sauce, both light and dark
sesame oil
chinese rice wine
pepper
salt (if you use tons of soya sauce, this is optional, of course)
spring onions
garlic chives
coriander
chopped, fried egg
chinese mushrooms
chopped spinach
water chestnuts
cornflour, 1 or 2 tablespoons per kilogram of meat
wonton wrappers
for some reason, i don't measure anything for this, even the cornflour is a bit hit and miss.
i use an electric handheld mixer to combine everything together because i don't like getting my hands dirty and smelly, and also, because i think it does a much more thorough job and quicker than i could ever dream to do it.
at this stage, it's really useful to have a large area to work on and a friend or two - that really speeds thing up, especially if you want to make tons like i always do. yes, i like to make a ton of wonton.......sorry.
layout the wrappers on the work bench and place a small amount of filling in the centre of each one; don't try to use to much filling because that will only lead to tears of despair when the filling cannot be enclosed properly and falls out either before or during the cooking process. you have been warned....try to be a little frugal here.
brush the edges of the wonton wrapper with a smidge of water and seal the filling in the wrapper. you can be fancy with the wrapping and put little pleats in the edge, as miss k does, or do as i do and simple fold the wonton wrapper in half to form a triangle and roughly squish to make pretend pleats, or just put the wrapper in your palm and squeeze, as i have seen some people do.
once an adequate number of dumplings have been made, it's up to you to decide as to whether you want to boil or deep fry the dumplings. that's it.
anyway, i thought i'd better post an entry today, and why not this?
i'm only going to give a list of ingredients and leave it to your own discretion as to the quantities. i do use more greens (garlic chives, spring onions and coriander) than meat (minced pork/chicken/beef/lamb) - i had dumplings in hong kong once from the roadside and there was hardly any meat! the greens i use are usually treated as herbs, but i use them by the bunch as vegetables in wontons. in fact, i use bunches of each to very little meat.
i also add eggs, fried eggs....eggs fried in tons of oil.... i was watching this girl from china make the filling once, and she used eggs fried in tons of oil. if i wasn't mistaken, i'd say that there was half the quantity in oil in the frypan to the quantity of eggs. need i spell it out? one cupful of eggs is fried in half a cupful of oil. the eggs are beaten lightly, stirred into the hot oil to cook, left to cool in the oil, chopped up and placed, oil and all, into the mixing bowl with everything else.
so what's everything else? i better list them:
mince (your choice)
soya sauce, both light and dark
sesame oil
chinese rice wine
pepper
salt (if you use tons of soya sauce, this is optional, of course)
spring onions
garlic chives
coriander
chopped, fried egg
chinese mushrooms
chopped spinach
water chestnuts
cornflour, 1 or 2 tablespoons per kilogram of meat
wonton wrappers
for some reason, i don't measure anything for this, even the cornflour is a bit hit and miss.
i use an electric handheld mixer to combine everything together because i don't like getting my hands dirty and smelly, and also, because i think it does a much more thorough job and quicker than i could ever dream to do it.
at this stage, it's really useful to have a large area to work on and a friend or two - that really speeds thing up, especially if you want to make tons like i always do. yes, i like to make a ton of wonton.......sorry.
layout the wrappers on the work bench and place a small amount of filling in the centre of each one; don't try to use to much filling because that will only lead to tears of despair when the filling cannot be enclosed properly and falls out either before or during the cooking process. you have been warned....try to be a little frugal here.
brush the edges of the wonton wrapper with a smidge of water and seal the filling in the wrapper. you can be fancy with the wrapping and put little pleats in the edge, as miss k does, or do as i do and simple fold the wonton wrapper in half to form a triangle and roughly squish to make pretend pleats, or just put the wrapper in your palm and squeeze, as i have seen some people do.
once an adequate number of dumplings have been made, it's up to you to decide as to whether you want to boil or deep fry the dumplings. that's it.
Monday, February 23, 2009
my current meat sauce for pasta
i daren't call this bolognese because i'm sure it isn't authentic. however, this is one meat sauce for pasta that i have been very happy with, so i thought i should put it down lest i forget.
1/2 cup olive oil
2 onions, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
oregano, parsley
500 grams minced beef
500 grams italian sausage, casings removed
2 glasses wine, plus more to rinse out the passata jar
1 large jar passata
zucchini, capsicum, mushroom...whatever takes your fancy
freshly cooked pasta
fresh basil
heat the oil in a large stockpot. i like to use a large stockpot because it makes everything nice and easy to stir; this sauce will not fill the pot in any way.
add the onions and garlic and stir around to coat with oil and allow to soften. add the oregano and parsley, if using. add the mince and italian sausage and stir to break up the meat. stir in the wine and allow to bubble away for about 15 minutes to half an hour.
add the passata, rinse out the jar with more wine (you don't want to waste any passata...heh heh), stir and allow to bubble away. at this stage i also add the vegetables and allow to bubble away for as long as possible (up to 2 hours). remember to stir the pot every now and then to make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom. if for some reason the sauce does catch (forget to stir, flame too high), quickly tip the sauce into another saucepan so the burnt flavour doesn't contaminate the whole batch of sauce. you'll get away with a little smokiness in the sauce...in fact, some people will think it make the sauce even more delicious because it adds another dimension.
at this stage, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. seasoning with pepper and nutmeg earlier is fine, but because there's so much bubbling and evaporation going on, it's much safer to salt at the end. very often i don't add salt because the passata and sausage are already plenty salty, as is the pasta, which should be cooked in well salted water.
that's about it. serve it with al dente pasta (please don't overcook the pasta if at all possible) and fresh basil.
buon appetito!
1/2 cup olive oil
2 onions, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
oregano, parsley
500 grams minced beef
500 grams italian sausage, casings removed
2 glasses wine, plus more to rinse out the passata jar
1 large jar passata
zucchini, capsicum, mushroom...whatever takes your fancy
freshly cooked pasta
fresh basil
heat the oil in a large stockpot. i like to use a large stockpot because it makes everything nice and easy to stir; this sauce will not fill the pot in any way.
add the onions and garlic and stir around to coat with oil and allow to soften. add the oregano and parsley, if using. add the mince and italian sausage and stir to break up the meat. stir in the wine and allow to bubble away for about 15 minutes to half an hour.
add the passata, rinse out the jar with more wine (you don't want to waste any passata...heh heh), stir and allow to bubble away. at this stage i also add the vegetables and allow to bubble away for as long as possible (up to 2 hours). remember to stir the pot every now and then to make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom. if for some reason the sauce does catch (forget to stir, flame too high), quickly tip the sauce into another saucepan so the burnt flavour doesn't contaminate the whole batch of sauce. you'll get away with a little smokiness in the sauce...in fact, some people will think it make the sauce even more delicious because it adds another dimension.
at this stage, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. seasoning with pepper and nutmeg earlier is fine, but because there's so much bubbling and evaporation going on, it's much safer to salt at the end. very often i don't add salt because the passata and sausage are already plenty salty, as is the pasta, which should be cooked in well salted water.
that's about it. serve it with al dente pasta (please don't overcook the pasta if at all possible) and fresh basil.
buon appetito!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
round things
when i was about 7, my dad brought me to his colleague's housewarming party. mr and mrs little's house, at the time was something special - it was round and had a greenhouse in the middle. at the same time, mr little designed a building in hornsby hospital, and it was round too - he must have been going through his round phase. maybe it was a time for round buildings - i'm thinking harry's iconic round australia square in the city. i recall that the building's name was a bit of a joke at the time - a cylindrical building called a square....haw haw haw - you have to appreciate that at the time there were no jokes flying around the world at cyberspeed, thus people had to find humour in the most mundane of things, even buildings.
this housewarming party was my first introduction to fingerfood and need i say a round fingerfood item? meatballs. i remember the meatballs - they were so tasty. now i'm more familiar with herbs (one would hope so after so many decades), i realise they were seasoned with thyme. and the more i think about them the more i realise that at that time, they were probably made with a packet of stuffing mixed through the mince. nothing wrong with that - it was a time of culinary discovery and we wouldn't be where we are today without them. so i present this recipe for meatballs which is kitschy, but very comforting. take note that i've added fresh herbs to the mix to redeem it and that i've added a modern touch by suggesting that the microwave can be used to simplify the cooking process.
500 grams mince beef
500 grams sausage mince
1 cup stuffing mix (or bread crumbs, if you prefer)
1 egg
1 onion, finely diced
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 bunch thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stock cube
mix all the ingredients together well - i like to use my electric handheld mixer to do this - my hands stay clean and odourless and everything is mixed more thoroughly than i could ever hope to do with my hands.
form the mixture into walnut sized balls and place 10 balls on a plate and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until cooked through. the meatballs can be served as is, but can also be finished off either by deepfrying or in a hot oven to give them a little colour.
i don't remember any sauce being served with the meatballs at the housewarming, but as a modern touch, a greek yoghurt dip can be served alongside.
this housewarming party was my first introduction to fingerfood and need i say a round fingerfood item? meatballs. i remember the meatballs - they were so tasty. now i'm more familiar with herbs (one would hope so after so many decades), i realise they were seasoned with thyme. and the more i think about them the more i realise that at that time, they were probably made with a packet of stuffing mixed through the mince. nothing wrong with that - it was a time of culinary discovery and we wouldn't be where we are today without them. so i present this recipe for meatballs which is kitschy, but very comforting. take note that i've added fresh herbs to the mix to redeem it and that i've added a modern touch by suggesting that the microwave can be used to simplify the cooking process.
500 grams mince beef
500 grams sausage mince
1 cup stuffing mix (or bread crumbs, if you prefer)
1 egg
1 onion, finely diced
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 bunch thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stock cube
mix all the ingredients together well - i like to use my electric handheld mixer to do this - my hands stay clean and odourless and everything is mixed more thoroughly than i could ever hope to do with my hands.
form the mixture into walnut sized balls and place 10 balls on a plate and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until cooked through. the meatballs can be served as is, but can also be finished off either by deepfrying or in a hot oven to give them a little colour.
i don't remember any sauce being served with the meatballs at the housewarming, but as a modern touch, a greek yoghurt dip can be served alongside.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
porcupines
these are groovey looking meatballs with "something extra"- the rice pops up during cooking so the meatballs look like little porcupines! real old fashioned comfort food. i've suggested minced beef and tomato soup here, but the choice of meat and soup can be varied to suit individual tastes. i'll give you some examples to get you started:
chicken with cream of chicken
lamb with vegetable
beef with cream of mushroom
i'm sure you get the idea.
also, this is easily translated to an oven ready meal by using a casserole dish instead of a frypan, and popping it into the oven heated to 180 degrees C for an hour. easy, really.
1/2 kg minced beef
1/2 cup uncooked regular rice
1 finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can tomato soup
1 cup water
combine minced beef, rice, onion and seasonings together.
form tablespoonfuls into meatballs.
arrange meatballs in a single layer in a non stick frypan.
stir together the tomato soup and water and pour over the meatballs gently.
cover the pan with a lid and place over medium heat, then simmer for 45 minutes.
Uncover and simmer for another 15 minutes.
serve over extra rice, if desiredrice.
makes 4 to 6 servings.
chicken with cream of chicken
lamb with vegetable
beef with cream of mushroom
i'm sure you get the idea.
also, this is easily translated to an oven ready meal by using a casserole dish instead of a frypan, and popping it into the oven heated to 180 degrees C for an hour. easy, really.
1/2 kg minced beef
1/2 cup uncooked regular rice
1 finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can tomato soup
1 cup water
combine minced beef, rice, onion and seasonings together.
form tablespoonfuls into meatballs.
arrange meatballs in a single layer in a non stick frypan.
stir together the tomato soup and water and pour over the meatballs gently.
cover the pan with a lid and place over medium heat, then simmer for 45 minutes.
Uncover and simmer for another 15 minutes.
serve over extra rice, if desiredrice.
makes 4 to 6 servings.
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