7 marvellous mince recipes

Mince is cheap, cheerful and incredibly versatile. Here are just a few of my favourite dishes.

Recipe: Lamb koftas with fattoush

Koftas –

• 750g lamb mince
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
• 1 tsp ground coriander
  
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
  
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• Hummus to serve

Method: mix together all ingredients except mint and hummus. Traditionally, the koftas are formed into cigar shapes around skewers, but I made mine into patties so they’d be easier to grill in my George Foreman. Grill or pan-fry as desired until no longer pink in the middle. Arrange on a platter with a bowl of hummus. Sprinkle patties with chopped mint.

Fattoush salad –

2 medium cucumbers, chopped
1 punnet grape tomatoes, halved
2 red capsicum, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
3 green shallots, chopped
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
¾ cup chopped mint
1 tablespoon zataar (a Middle-eastern spice mix available from delis)

Dressing –

¼ cup olive oil (I used a chilli-infused one to give the salad a bit of a kick)
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp honey
2 cloves garlic, crushed
a couple of grinds of sea salt
Pinch cracked black pepper

Method: Mix salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to combine, then pour over. Let salad stand for at least 30 minutes at room temperature to allow the flavours to meld. Before serving, sprinkle with zaatar.

Recipe: Cheesy meatballs

• 1kg mince
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups grated cheese
• 2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
• 2 slices of bread, crumbed
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 x 700g jars passata (add a little water to the bottles and shake to get the last bits of sauce out)

METHOD: Preheat oven to 180C. Mix together all ingredients bar the passata in a bowl. Roll mince mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs. Place in an oven dish. Pour over passata. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn meatballs over. Bake for another 30 minutes. Serve with pasta, if liked, or with veggies.

Recipe: Slow-cooker spag bol

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• olive oil
• 1kg beef mince
• 600ml passata
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 stick of celery, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 zucchinis, roughly chopped
• handful cauliflower florets
• fresh herbs of choice

Method: Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan and gently fry onion mixture until soft. Add beef mince, breaking up with a wooden spoon until browned. Put mixture in slow cooker. Place carrot, celery, cauliflower and zucchini in food processor with a generous slug of passata. Zizz until they are pureed. Add to slow cooker with remaining passata and tomato paste. Add herbs as desired – I threw in some oregano and thyme leaves I had in the crisper. Cook for 8 hours on low. Serve with pasta of choice, sprinkle with some parmesan and add extra veg on the side if you really want to torture the kids.

RECIPE: Ma po do fu

• Handful of dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
• 500g bean curd (I like silken, but it doesn’t hold it’s shape. If that bothers you, go for firm)
• peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon bottled ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 400g minced chicken
• 1 red capsicum, finely diced
• 1 green capsicum, finely diced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon of chilli bean sauce (available from Asian speciality stores or well-stocked supermarkets)
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of cornflour
• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil

METHOD: Heat oil in a wok or heavy-based frying pan. Saute garlic, ginger and spring onions for 1 minute. Add chicken mince and stir-fry, breaking it up until it’s no longer pink. Add capsicum and stir fry for a further minute. Mix stock, chilli bean sauce, tomato paste and soy sauce in a jug together. Pour into the wok, add shitake mushrooms and simmer 5 minutes. Mix cornflour with a little water and stir into the sauce until it boils and thickens. Gently stir in the bean curd and seasame oil. Heat through and serve with rice.

RECIPE: Spag bol risotto

One weekend, I had some leftover spag bol in the fridge, but no spaghetti to serve it with. So I decided to turn it into risotto. Husband made gagging faces when I told him what I was planning, but I told him to suck it up princess. He had to eat his words – and a second helping of bolognaise risotto – because it was delish.

• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 onion, finely diced
• Generous splash of olive oil
• 2 cups of arborio rice
• 1 cup of white wine
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• 2 cups of leftover spaghetti bolognaise mince
• 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

METHOD: Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil in a heavy-based pan until softened. Add arborio rice and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add the white wine. Stir until almost evaporated. Add the chicken stock in ladlefuls, waiting until each one is almost absorbed before adding another. If you run out of stock and the rice is still a bit firm, add a little water. When the rice is just al dente, mix in the leftover spag bol mince and let heat through for a minute. Stir in the parmesan and serve.

Recipe: slow-cooker chilli con carne

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1kg beef mince
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 800g can crushed tomatoes
• 800g can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Steamed rice, sour cream, freshly chopped coriander leaves and grated tasty cheese to serve

METHOD: Heat oil in a frying pan and saute onion and garlic until soft. Add mince, cumin and smoked paprika and cook mince, stirring and breaking up, until browned. Transfer to slow-cooker. Stir in oregano, beef stock, tomato paste and tinned tomatoes. Cook, covered, on low for 8 hours. Serve with rice, sour cream, freshly chopped coriander leaves and grated tasty cheese.

Recipe: Easy-peasy meat pies

• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil
• 1 onion zizzed in a food processor (the Sprogs are anti-onions so I hide them)
• 750g beef mince
• 1/3 cup plain flour
• 2 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
• puff pastry sheets (each sheet will make 2 pies).

METHOD: Saute onion in oil until softened. Add mince, breaking up lumps with back of spoon until browned. Blend in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in stock and tomato paste. Bring to boil, stirring. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Cool. Heat pie maker. Defrost pastry sheets. Cut pastry circles, place large one in pie maker, fill with mince. Place smaller circle on top. Cook until golden (takes about five minutes max). Serve with lots of veg to make yourself feel better about all the evil pastry and don’t let them have seconds ’til they’ve eaten all their broccoli.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MINCE DISH?