beef macaroni casserole

This is one of my faves from the Leggo's Italian Cookbook. It's got curry powder in it (I know! And I used the classic Keen's Curry for a seriously retro touch) and it just adds that special something to the dish. This is a real winner with my family - even the green capsicum tastes awesome. Seriously!

1 tblsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green capsicum
1 tsp curry powder
250g mince
2 tblsp tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups cooked pasta (I use penne, farfalle or macaroni)
salt and pepper.

While butter melts in a frypan, chop up onion and capsicum. Toss them in and gently fry. When tender, set aside (make sure they're tender - don't get impatient. You want them soft, this really makes a difference.) Remove and set aside. Add mince and stir in curry powder. Fry away till meat is browned. Pop vegies back. Add tomato paste, chicken stock, pasta and salt and pepper. Mix it up well. Put the lot in a buttered casserole with a lid and bake 30 mins at 180 degrees.

Serves 4 - 6.

note: this only uses a really small amount of meat, so it's such a cheap meal. I serve it with a green salad and crusty bread. So yum.

jamie oliver's favourite paella recipe

I've been promising a paella recipe for some time. But I haven't managed to cook one to my satisfaction, so I haven't shared it. Until now.

Last night I cooked Jamie Oliver's paella and oh my, it was gooooooood. I think the secret lies in the jar of fire-roasted red capsicum I used, it added a whole new dimension. I tweaked the recipe - left out the mussels and I didn't have any, nor did I have calamari - and I switched chicken breast for pork belly (I know - who am I? But hubby and daughter love chicken in paella...) Next time I'll add the full quota of seafood - and cook it for friends. It makes a big paella pan.

You do need a paella pan for this. It's the shape, size, depth etc that makes all the difference. I used arborio rice for this which worked well too. Here's the recipe:

serves 4-6

Ingredients:
olive oil
2 raw chorizo sausages, thickly sliced
300g pork belly, skin removed, cut into 1cm pieces
1 green capsicum, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped, stems finely chopped
salt and pepper
a good pinch of saffron
400g mussels, scrubbed and debearded
300g paella rice
200g jarred red peppers, drained and tore into pieces
400g tin of tomatoes
1 litre chicken stock
12 large prawns, shells on
150g squid, cleaned and finely sliced
150g green beans, sliced thinly on an angle (or, just cut in half like I did - lazy)
1 lemon, cut into wedges.

Head a paella pan over medium heat an add the olive oil, sliced chorizo or pork belly (or chunks of chicken breast/thigh). When the chorizo browns add the capsicum, garlic, onion, and parsley stalks. Add salt and pepper and saffron. Fry gently for 10 mins, stirring every now and again.

Add the rice and jarred peppers and keep stirring for a few minutes so the rice is coated and yummy. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and 800ml of stock, seasoning again with salt and pepper. Bring it to the boil, then turn down heat to a simmer. Stir constantly for 15 mins. Stir every now and again from the outside of the pan to the middle, piling the rice up in the centre of the pan. Flatten it out, and start stirring again.

After 15 mins test the rice for doneness, it mustn't be chalky, but must be to-the-tooth-firm. Add mussels and prawns. Add extra stock if it's looking dry. Keep stirring and when mussels open and prawns turn pink add the squid and green beans and cook for 5 mins. Stir in chopped parsley and juice from half the lemon wedges. Bring to table with remaining lemon wedges on side.

Wait for applause.

chicken and chorizo pasta bake

Okay, this is dead-simple and dead-delish. Ready?

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast per person, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 chorizo, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/2 cup of dried pasta per person
1 jar of tomato pasta sauce (I used Five Brothers with caramelised onion - delish)
Grated cheese and bread crumbs to top.
See? Simple.

Method:
Cook pasta in boiling, salted water. I used farfalle pasta, but whatever tickles your fancy.

Sauté chorizo in a frypan till golden on the outside and set aside. Now, in the same pan, sauté the chicken breast pieces till golden on the outside and cooked through.

When pasta is cooked, drain it, and then pop back in the pan. Add the jar of tomato pasta sauce and stir. Now,  add the chicken and chorizo and stir. If there's any nice, crispy yummy-stuff at the bottom of the pan add a little water or wine, and stir till it comes off. Tip that into the pasta mix and stir. You want the sauce a little-more liquidy than you'd normally do for pasta in a bowl.

Add this to a greased baking dish. Top with a mixture of bread crumbs and grated cheese. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes - or until it looks all golden and awesome on top.

Serve with bread and a crispy salad.

Now, there's no reason why you couldn't add roasted capsicum and other yummy things to this dish - and you could make your own sauce if you fancy. I wanted something easy-peasy that was yum, and this served its purpose. Enjoy x

chicken cacciatore recipe

I am loving the recipes I'm rediscovering in my retro Leggo's Italian Cookbook - and they're a total hit with the family. Plus, they're so simple my 12-year-old can cook them (and often does!) I'm trying this recipe this week:

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1.5kg chicken pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
140g tomato paste
425g tinned tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cups of chicken stock

Method:
Heat oil in pan. Pop in the chicken and brown for around 5 mins. Remove from pan. Brown the onion and garlic. Return chicken to pan and add the tomato paste. Stir. Add tinned tomatoes Add salt, pepper, oregano, white wine and chicken stock. Stir, then cover and simmer for 1 hour. Don't let it boil.

Serve with buttered noodles, salad and a glass of white wine (Leggo's Italian Cookbook - I like the way you think!)

slow cooker lamb pilaf recipe

I dug out my vintage Margaret Fulton Slow Cooker Cookbook this week with the aim of trying a new recipe. This one appeals to me. Hope you like it too.

500g Lamb shoulder, diced into 1.5cm cubes
2 onions, chopped
250g butter
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups stock (I'll use chicken)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup of flaked almonds, toasted (Margaret calls for 1/2 cup of raisins here, but I'm not a fan of fruit and meat. I'll sprinkle the toasted almonds on over the finished dish).

Saute lamb and onions in butter until meat is brown and onions soft and golden. Place meal in slow cooker and add more butter to frypan and fry rice for two minutes, stirring. Add to meat with stock, oregano and seasoning. Cover and cook on high for 2 - 3 hours. Give a light stir through several times during cooking. Combine tomato paste and melted butter and add to pilaf. Stir in raisins (if you're using) and cook for 15 minutes.

Serve sprinkled with almonds - perhaps with a grated carrot salad on the side.

lamb kofta recipe

• I remember watching MasterChef a few years back and they made this lamb kofta. I always forget to make it, and now I've forgotten the original recipe, but this is a classic. Simple, cheap and tasty - what's not to love?
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• 500g lamb mince
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 lemon, squeezed
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (made from day-old bread)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, use your hands to squish everything through. 

Roll into sausage-like shapes and place on a tray lined with baking paper in the fridge for around 30 minutes. This helps them keep their shape when cooking.

Heat a little olive oil in a pan until nearly smoking, and cook these, turning regularly until they're all brown and yummy looking. Give them space, you might need to cook in two batches or more. When cooked, place them on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Serve with warmed pitta bread (I use Jamie Oliver's method: wet a large piece of baking paper, squeeze, and place the pitta bread in the middle folding over so it's all enclosed. Heat in a moderate oven for around 10 minutes. They'll be a little crispy on the outside, soft on the inside). I also like to serve these with homemade tzatsiki (plain yoghurt, garlic, grated cucumber and squeeze of lemon) and a salad made with tomato, fresh parsley or baby spinach, and diced tomato. Hello.

Addendum: okay, I cooked these tonight and I was feeling totes lazy so I simply put them on an oven tray, at 200 degrees centigrade, for around 15 minutes, turning once. They were AWESOME. I'm cooking them this was in future.

quick cassoulet recipe

Now there are many, many people who'll tell you about the most authentic recipe for cassoulet, mainly dependent on which region in France they're from. Some things stay the same: there's white beans, sausage and meat. Others change. This is a very quick version which serves to ensure a tasty, high-protein  meal is on your table in under an hour. I'll give the three-day version a shot some day, but for now, I'll go with this.

This recipe is based on the version I saw created at SandBar Newcastle Beach on its Friday night series: three dishes, two worlds, one night. A chef gives tips, serves up three courses from Europe, with matching Australian wines. We went to the opening night - The Pyrenees - sensational. Planning on visiting at least a few more - including Paris, Loire Valley and maybe The French Riviera.

Anyway, here's my dish:

Ingredients:
2 tins of white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tin tomatoes, crushed
500g firm thick sausage (such as Toulouse sausage - but I used Mr Beak's Chorizo available from Woolworths - awesome)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
250g rindless bacon, diced
a few stalks of fresh thyme
a couple of bayleaves
1 tsp smoked paprika
a sloosh of white wine
some vegie stock to thin out the sauce
Breadcrumb topping: 1 cup fresh sourdough crumbs mixed with 2tbsp of fresh, chopped parsley and two cloves of crushed garlic.

Sauté the onion, bacon and garlic in a heavy-based pot. I used my le crueset bistro pan. Remove and set aside. Sauté the sausage until browned all over, remove from heat and slice into one inch slices on the diagonal. Return the onion to the pan and add the beans, tomatoes, paprika, a good sloosh of wine. Stir it and add salt and pepper to taste. Thin with vegie stock if needed to taste. Add the sausage and top with breadcrumb mixture. Add to a 180 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is all golden and gorgeous.

Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

For variation you can add some cooked duck or chicken, pieces of pork or any meat you fancy - the sky's the limit. This was so good my husband's requested it a week after I last made it, and my 12-year-old bean-lover gobbled up every mouthful.