Health tip
To reduce the fat content
*
of your meals, you can use lean
or extra-lean mince. While much
of the flavour of mince is in
the fat, these recipes include
a range of flavours and
/
seasonings to enhance
your dishes.
£
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There are lots of simple ways you can bring out the best in your
mince dishes. When making your meal, check out the Cook’s
tips on the recipe pages as they include handy hints, info and
great ideas. Here are other helpful tips:
■ The beauty of minced meat is that it lends itself to all kinds
of healthy natural flavour enhancers, such as fresh or dried herbs,
spices and citrus zests like lime, lemon and orange. Or, you may
like to be a little more adventurous and add such delights as
preserved cumquats (as we have in the Chicken galantine).
■ To reduce the fat content, go for a light cooking oil spray
and use non-stick bakeware where possible.
■ If too much liquid is forming when browning the mince,
it can cause the meat to burn. To avoid this, drain the liquid
through a sieve into a small bowl, return the meat to the pan
and continue cooking. Put the bowl in the fridge to allow the fat
to solidify. Skim off the fat from the top, then pour the remaining
liquid (stock) back into the pan. This liquid is full of lovely
meaty flavours and greatly improves the taste - and nutritional
value - of the meal without the extra fat.
■ It’s easy to make your own minced meat. For chicken
mince, cut chicken thigh into three pieces, put in a food
processor and pulse until minced. For other cuts of meat,
simply follow the same process.
Tuscan stuffed capsicum s
Preparation time: 40 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 8
8 medium firm red
capsicums
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large brown onions,
roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly
chopped
1 stick cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
1kg beef or chicken mince
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 stalks celery, roughly
chopped
1 large carrot, roughly
chopped
!A cabbage, shredded
Sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to season
300ml beef stock
350g tomato passata
1 cup grated parmesan
Handful flat-leaf parsley,
chopped
1 Preheat oven to 180°C.
Line base and sides of a large
baking dish with baking paper.
Slice tops off capsicums
and reserve, then seed and
remove membranes.
2 Heat oil in a large heavy-
based frying pan over a
medium heat. Add onion and
garlic, and cook until golden.
3 Stir in cinnamon, bay
leaves and thyme. Add mince
and cook until browned. Stir
in tomato paste, celery, carrot
and cabbage, season with
salt and pepper, and cook
for 3-5 minutes. Gradually
