In search of the best mince dish
By marion_TLocal | Wednesday, August 25, 2010, 21:55
When the temperature drops my thoughts turn to warming comfort foods,pies,casseroles,roasts,soups and stews.
Tonight I made one of our favourite mince dishes and it got me thinking; mince is such a universal and versatile ingredient ( even for vegetarians) and used by everyone from broke students to top chefs.
I thought it would be nice to try and start a hunt for the best mince dishes,whether they be something you cook at home or eat out, where are the best places to get ingredients,etc. Lets face it, for such a basic food it can vary incredibly in quality and flavour.
So I am going to kick off by sharing this recipe and hope others will follow with their recipes and best eateries. Enjoy!
Cottage hotpot cobbler- makes enough for about five reasonable portions
Preheat oven 200c, 400f,gas mark 8
• Rough chop 1 large carrot, 1 med parsnip, 1 large onion, 1 large potato, 1 stick celery (optional)
• 500g beef mince, 680g jar of passata or Ragu
• 2 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon dried thyme , a half teaspoon cinnamon, a few basil leaves chopped or half teaspoon dried basil.
• 250ml wine ( I use the single glass carton from the supermarket) a little black pepper (the Ragu usually makes it salty enough).
Brown veg in large saucepan for about 10 mins in olive oil and/ or butter, add the meat & brown it off, then add the wine and let it cook off a little , add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer while you make the cobblers.
• 175g/6oz self-raising flour
• 40g/ 1 ½ oz butter or baking margarine
• 198/7oz can sweetcorn
• 40g/ 1 ½ oz cheddar
• milk
rub butter into flour add half the corn and all the cheese, mix to firm dough with a little milk
add rest of corn to pot and if saucepan cannot go in oven, transfer to oven dish, break dough into rough dumplings and drop on top. Place in centre of oven & cook until cobblers are risen and browned off. ( approx. 25 mins)
If you don’t want to make a cobbler, leave the potato out of the main dish and slice thinly & arrange on top before baking.
Comments
I don't eat meat, and I don't eat vegetarian mince much either, but for a nice veggie mince recipe follow the below. I tend not to follow a recipe so adjust the spiciness to suit your palate). This serves about 4 people, although keeps well if frozen:
Couple of tablespoons of Olive oil
1 large onion (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped or minced)
Handful of mushrooms, chopped
1 red pepper (chopped)
2 sticks of celery chopped
Liberal amount of Black pepper
1 tbsp cumin powder (or even more)
tsp of smoked paprika to add depth of flavour
Fresh chilis - depending on taste - maybe a half if you like it mild or 2-3 if
you want it hotter, or some chili powder to your desired strength
1 tsp rice miso or a stock cube
2-3 cups of dried soya mince rehydrated, or even better in a chili is the
Linda McCartney frozen vegemince stuff - again use 2-3 cups and an equal
amount of water
6 fresh large tomatoes, chopped or large tin of chopped tomatoes,
A tablespoon of sundried tomato puree
1 large tin of kidney beans
In a wok or large pan, fry the onion in the olive oil over a low heat till
starting to soften; add the mushrooms, red pepper, (fresh chili if you are
using it) and celery, and cook for a few more minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes the miso or stock, the mince, the paprika, pepper and
dried chili and simmer for around 15 to 20 minutes more and then serve on a
bed of rice (brown long grain is my favourite).
You can serve other stuff alongside : salsa, guacamole etc, and both of those are a cinch to make too, and maybe some tortilla chips.
By IconoGlast at 13:11 on 05/09/10
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