Ma Millbank April 2008

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This month we look at dishes cooked with minced beef. One of the many things I like about Spanish butchers is that I can choose my meat and get them to mince it in front of me, with no fat content added in. One of the bonuses of cooking with mince is that you can change the texture simply by adding different ingredients. What could be simpler than frying the mince with a few onions and tomatoes to make a pasta sauce? Making your own beef burgers ensures they are healthy and contain no hidden excess salt and additives. Why not try adding in some chilli powder or curry powder to add some spice? They are great cooked on the BBQ. Just by adding a bit of juice to your mince, you end up with a lovely vegetable stew and a great way to get children to eat their greens.
Buen Apetito

Spaghetti Bolognese
450g Ripe Tomatoes (or tinned)
25g Olive Oil
1 small Onion
1 Garlic Clove
1 stick of Celery
1 large Carrot
225g Minced Beef
150ml Dry Red Wine
150ml Beef Stock
450g Spaghetti
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
Plunge Tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for 1 minute, then straight into a bowl of cold water. Remove skins and chop roughly. Chop and fry the Onions until golden brown then add Mince and fry until brown. Crush Garlic and chop Celery and Carrot and add to frying pan. Add Wine, Stock, Seasoning, Tomato Puree and Tomatoes and simmer for one hour. Cook Spaghetti in salted boiling water for 8 - 10 minutes then drain and serve.

Mince Cobbler
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion
1 Clove Garlic
2 Carrots
450g Minced Beef
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
1 tbsp Flour
300ml Beef Stock
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Worcester Sauce
Scones
225g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Dried Herbs
50g Butter
150ml Milk
1 Egg
Chop and fry Onions, Carrots and Garlic in Olive Oil. Add Mince and fry until brown. Stir in Flour, Stock, Bay Leaf and Tomato Puree. Add Seasoning and Worcester Sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes and the remove Bay Leaf.

For the Scones, mix Flour with the Herbs and Seasoning. Rub in Butter and add Milk to make soft dough. Rollout on a flour surface and cut into rounds 1cm thick. Put Mince into a shallow over proof dish. Arrange Scones around the top and glaze Scones with Egg to help brown. Bake for 15 -20 minutes.

Mince Filled Cabbage Rolls
8 large Firm Cabbage Leaves
Salt and Pepper
½ pint of Chicken Stock
50g White Bread
1 Onion
1 Garlic Clove
500g Minced Beef
1 Egg
1 tbsp Worcester Sauce
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
Blanch Cabbage
Leaves in boiling water for 2 minutes. Dice Bread and soak in half the Chicken Stock. Peel and chop Onion and crush Garlic. Mash the Bread and mix with all the ingredients. Spread each Cabbage Leaf out flat and place a ball of mixture in each one. Tuck ends in to form a parcel shape and hold together with cocktail sticks. Place in large oven proof dish and cover with remaining Stock. Bake on 180º for 45 minutes.