Cottage Pie - one of my faves!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1 large onion chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

560g/1¼ lb beef mince

400g/14oz can tomatoes

290ml/10fl oz beef stock

1 bay leaf

fresh thyme leaves from 1 sprig

2 tbsp tomato purée

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cloves garlic

75ml Worcestershire sauce

Mash Potato Topping:
750g/1½ lb potatoes, peeled and chopped
75g/2½oz butter

55ml/2fl oz milk

Grated parmesan.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic and carrot and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.

3. Add the minced beef and cook for 3 minutes to brown. Drain any excess grease

4. Add the tomatoes, purée, beef stock, bay leaf, worchestershire sauce and thyme.

5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Season.

6. Make the mash: boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and mash with the butter and milk. season with salt and pepper.

7. Spoon the meat into an ovenproof dish. Top with the mash and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

8.Add the cheese and grill for a few minuites until the cheese melts and forms a crust.

ENJOY!!!!

Bragioli

Bragioli are often called beef olives although no olives are used! The 'olive' refers to the way the beef is wrapped round the stuffing but sometimes people use it as a name for the whole dish

A traditional Maltese beef dish, Bragioli takes some time to cook but preparation is simple.

This dish probably originated from the Sicilian 'Bragiol" which was one big rolled beef olive

INGREDIENTS

4 Thin slices of beef topside (aprox. 1lb /500 grams )

2 Diced onions

2 Diced carrots

100 gms peas (frozen will do)

3 slices stale white breadcrumbs

2 Hard boiled eggs -chopped

6 Slices of Bacon

1 bunch parsley

2 Garlic cloves

2 Bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1 glass Red wine

Method

Set oven to 180C / 350F so it will heat up.

Beat each slice of meat flat with a kitchen mallet(or anything that will do!) until as thin as possible.

Chop the bacon, garlic and parsley.

Grind the bread to crumbs, then prepare the stuffing by mixing the crumbs with the chopped bacon, garlic, parsley and seasoning, but not the bay leaves. Add the chopped hard boiled egg.

Some recipes call for the egg to quartered and put on the stuffing and not mixed into it but i prefer this way.

Put a heaped tablespoon or two of the stuffing onto a slice of meat.

Roll up the meat slices lengthwise over the stuffing, and fasten together with wooden toothpicks.(traditionally, thread was used to tie up the bragioli and when removed after cooking they actually keep their shape really well. I tried using ordinary sewing thread and it worked!)

Pour some oil in a large pan, and brown the beef olives all over in this, together with the bay leaves.

Put the browned bragioli and bay leaves into a casserole dish.
Fry the sliced onion and carrot in the same oil.

Pour the wine over the frying vegetables.Let the sauce reach a slow boil and then pour this over the bragioli in the casserole dish.

Add the peas.

Simmer very gently for 1½ hours. You probably will have to add a little more wine to top up the braising liquid, but don't add too much, otherwise the bragioli will not cook correctly.

Remove the bay leaf and serve with your favourite vegetables or even a large portion of chips and salad. I prefer mashed, boiled or roasted potatoes.

Some trivia courtesy of the urban directory
"bragiole "Bragiole is an Italian meat roll, made from flank steak & seasoned with garlic, finely ground black pepper, Italian parsley, garlic salt, garlic pepper, and shredded pecorino/romano cheese, all rolled up and fried in hot oil, for addition to tomato gravy. (Some call it tomato sauce, but since you use the dripping from the fried meat to make the tomato "sauce", it's now "gravy".

Cottage Pie

I love cottage pie! It is a winter dish so this will probably be the last time I make it for a while. I have terrible allergies this week - and to think Arizona was once a place where one came because it was good for people with allergies! I need some comfort food....

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1 large onion chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

560g/1¼ lb beef mince

400g/14oz can tomatoes

290ml/10fl oz beef stock

1 bay leaf

fresh thyme leaves from 1 sprig

2 tbsp tomato purée

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cloves garlic

75ml Worcestershire sauce

Mash Potato Topping:
750g/1½ lb potatoes, peeled and chopped
75g/2½oz butter

55ml/2fl oz milk

Grated parmesan.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic and carrot and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.

3. Add the minced beef and cook for 3 minutes to brown. Drain any excess grease

4. Add the tomatoes, purée, beef stock, bay leaf, worchestershire sauce and thyme.

5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Season.

6. Make the mash: boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and mash with the butter and milk. season with salt and pepper.

7. Spoon the meat into an ovenproof dish. Top with the mash and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

8.Add the cheese and grill for a few minuites until the cheese melts and forms a crust.

ENJOY!!!!

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Maltese Beef Stew

Traditionally this stew is made with rabbit pieces and served with spaghetti. This version uses beef, but you can also use chicken or venison. Recipe adapted from one I found in the Guardian, UK.

Ingredients:
400g diced stewing steak
1 small onion, roughly chopped
4 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
250ml red wine (Chianti preferably)
2 tbsp tomato concentrate
400 grams tinned chopped tomatoes
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped into large slices
2 medium potatoes, chopped in large even pieces
1/2 cup fresh peas
1 beef stock cube
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil

Method
• In a large saucepan, over a medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and add the onions, frying gently until soft, add the garlic, cook until browned.
• Keep on a medium-high heat, add the diced beef and turn over once or twice until browned. Pour in the red wine and stir, when the wine has begun to boil, add the tomato concentrate and chopped tomatoes, once it has begun to boil again turn down the heat to a gentle simmer.
• Add the  stock cube, pepper, curry powder, nutmeg and sugar and stir through, cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for 1 1/2 hours, so the sauce is simmering very gently without bubbling on the surface too much. Stir occasionally.
• After the 1.5 hours is up, add the vegetables, cover again and continue to simmer on a low heat for a further half an hour.
• After the half an hour is up, uncover and simmer on a slightly higher heat for half an hour to make sure the sauce has reduced properly and vegetables are cooked through, stirring every now and then. If it appears to be reducing a little too quickly, pour in a little water from time to time.
• In the last few minutes of cooking time, stir through the peas gently so as to not break up the beef too much. The stew is done once the peas are cooked.
• Serve with hot crusty bread or over freshly prepared ribbon pasta

I suppose your could also use a slow cooker or crock pot, but since I dont have either one I cook this the old fashioned way!

Meatloaf

This is one of my favourite recipes. Served warm with roast or mash potatoes it makes a great main meal. Served cold in a sandwich its great for someone on the go! I like using a combination of lean beef and pork - the result is more moist.The ketchup topping was something I came across here in the USA, I would usually just make a gravy!

Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2lb lean  beef and 1/2lb  pork, ground
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup milk
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs Dijon mustard
6 bacon rashers

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put some oil in a nonstick skillet, and cook celery and onion for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add garlic and cook 1 min more. Transfer vegetables to large bowl; cool slightly.

Add beef, bread crumbs, milk, Worcestershire sauce, egg, 1/4 cup ketchup, parsley,salt, and  pepper to vegetable mix; mix with hands until well combined but not overmixed. In cup, mix mustard and remaining 1/4 cup ketchup.

Shape meat mixture into a loaf  shape and place on a baking tray, covered with foil and sprayed with non stick. Cover with the bacon rashers, then with half the ketchup mixture.

Bake for 30 mins, use up the rest of the ketchup mixture and bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until meat thermometer inserted in center reaches 160 degrees F.

Let meatloaf stand 10 minutes before removing from pan to set juices for easier slicing. Transfer meatloaf to platter and cut into slices to serve.

Laham Fuq il-Fwar - Maltese Steamed Beef

This dish brings back many fond memories...Our family had a 'maid', well, she was part of the family (my sons god mother in fact) called Tereza. She had gone to work with my grandma when she was just 14 years old, and when my grandma died came to work with me

For many years, girls from the rural part of Malta would go to work for urban families - and in many cases, like in ours, become part of the family. Tereza would insist on doing the cooking while I was at university and I actually learnt many traditional Maltese dishes from her.

To make this dish, she would put the meat in a Pyrex plate over a big pot of simmering broth that would then be served as the first course - frugal cooking to save electricity - she would say - when in actually fact it killed 2 birds with one stone (or two dishes with one pot!)

my old kitchen...

Ingredients
8 very thin slices of beef
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
2 tomatoes
1 celery head (just the leaves)
4 strips of bacon, chopped
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper

METHOD:
Place the meat, garlic, bacon,tomatoes, celery and chopped parsley in a large plate.
Drizzle the oil on top and season with salt and pepper.
Cover with foil or another plate and steam over hot water or a saucepan of simmering soup for about an hour.
When the meat is tender, serve with mash or boiled potatoes.

Stuffed Marrows - Qarabaghli mimli

Very common in the Maltese household, these stuffed marrows are just as good cold. Other recipes use rikotta for the filling but I prefer the traditional way.

Ingredients
800 grms large marrows - not "zucchini" type but if only those are available use the largest possible.
1 large onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
2 fresh bay leaves
3 large tomatoes, chopped
2 tbls tomato paste
600 grams minced beef (Traditionally, 300gms meat and 300gms corned beef - the type you get in a can- was used - frugal gourmet style!)
150 grams of bacon (vegetarians can use 700gms of ricotta mixed with some parsley and a bit of milk)
2 eggs beaten
4 tbls of grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Semolina
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
2. Cut the marrows lengthwise in half and scoop out the insides with a teaspoon. Reserve about half the pulp.
3. Fry the onion, garlic and bay in some olive oil until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for a further few minutes.
4. Place the bacon in a food processor and blend until finely minced.
5. Add the beef and bacon to the onion mix and cook until done. (vegetarians, add the ricotta mix)
6. Stir in the marrow pulp and then allow to cool.
7. Once cool add the eggs and cheese and season the mixture to taste.
8. Fill the marrow halves with the meat mixture and then lightly sprinkle with semolina. Place in a lightly oiled baking dish and then drizzle a little more olive oil over the filled marrows
9. Bake for about 45 minutes until the meat mixture is golden and crisp. Another alternative is to slice about 6 potatoes and an onion and place them on a dish, then add the stuffed marrows and cook the whole thing together. A great meal in one dish!

Bragioli - Beef Olives

Bragioli are often called beef olives although no olives are used! The 'olive' refers to the way the beef is wrapped round the stuffing but sometimes people use it as a name for the whole dish

A traditional Maltese beef dish, Bragioli takes some time to cook but preparation is simple.

This dish probably originated from the Sicilian 'Bragiol" which was one big rolled beef olive

INGREDIENTS

4 Thin slices of beef topside (aprox. 1lb /500 grams )

2 Diced onions

2 Diced carrots

100 gms peas (frozen will do)

3 slices stale white breadcrumbs

2 Hard boiled eggs -chopped

6 Slices of Bacon

1 bunch parsley

2 Garlic cloves

2 Bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1 glass Red wine

Method

Set oven to 180C / 350F so it will heat up.

Beat each slice of meat flat with a kitchen mallet(or anything that will do!) until as thin as possible.

Chop the bacon, garlic and parsley.

Grind the bread to crumbs, then prepare the stuffing by mixing the crumbs with the chopped bacon, garlic, parsley and seasoning, but not the bay leaves. Add the chopped hard boiled egg.

Some recipes call for the egg to quartered and put on the stuffing and not mixed into it but i prefer this way.

Put a heaped tablespoon or two of the stuffing onto a slice of meat.

Roll up the meat slices lengthwise over the stuffing, and fasten together with wooden toothpicks.(traditionally, thread was used to tie up the bragioli and when removed after cooking they actually keep their shape really well. I tried using ordinary sewing thread and it worked!)

Pour some oil in a large pan, and brown the beef olives all over in this, together with the bay leaves.

Put the browned bragioli and bay leaves into a casserole dish.
Fry the sliced onion and carrot in the same oil.

Pour the wine over the frying vegetables.Let the sauce reach a slow boil and then pour this over the bragioli in the casserole dish.

Add the peas.

Simmer very gently for 1½ hours. You probably will have to add a little more wine to top up the braising liquid, but don't add too much, otherwise the bragioli will not cook correctly.

Remove the bay leaf and serve with your favourite vegetables or even a large portion of chips and salad. I prefer mashed, boiled or roasted potatoes.

Some trivia courtesy of the urban directory
"bragiole "Bragiole is an Italian meat roll, made from flank steak & seasoned with garlic, finely ground black pepper, Italian parsley, garlic salt, garlic pepper, and shredded pecorino/romano cheese, all rolled up and fried in hot oil, for addition to tomato gravy. (Some call it tomato sauce, but since you use the dripping from the fried meat to make the tomato "sauce", it's now "gravy".