I have two recipes this week that focus on new ways of enjoying mince. We always have excellent Bord Bia Quality Assured beef available in this country.
One tip I have is, when you are buying it, don’t get too lean a mince. You need a little bit of fat for flavour and to keep it moist.
Cashel Blue cheese in Co Tipperary was started by Louis and Jane Grubb in 1984. They recently celebrated 40 years of producing beautiful blue cheese and are now a successful second generation business.
I notice blue cheese has become more popular in the restaurant. This beautiful inverted burger is stuffed with blue cheese. There is a little bit of sweet chilli in there, and lemon as well, so lots of interesting flavours – but the blue adds the most flavour and a lovely saltiness.
Lamb mince and mint is a lovely classic combination, while the pork with an Asian twist is also worth trying. All of these different minces will work really well in your burger.
The chilli cornbread pie is a good family meal and is done with a little topping. There is cocoa powder in this chilli, and this is a South American influence.
In Mexico, they use a little bit of dark chocolate, sometimes, when they cook mince and it gives great flavour. Get a good quality dark chocolate.
The topping is like a little soufflé and is quite crunchy once baked. You can keep this mince as simple as you like and serve with a bowl of pasta or rice.
Happy Cooking,
Neven
Inverted blue cheeseburger with roasted tomatoes and red onion salad
Ingredients: serves 4
50g Cashel Blue or Roquefort cheese
50g unsalted butter
1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
675g minced beef
12 baby tomatoes on the vine
3 tbsp light olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small red onion, cut into wafer-thin slices
2 buns, baps or English muffins, halved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1 Mash together the Cashel Blue or Roquefort cheese and butter in a small bowl. Season with pepper and stir in the chives. Shape into a short cylinder, no more than 5cm in length, and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least one hour or up to 24 hours to firm up.
2 Divide the beef into four portions, then, using wet hands, shape into patties that are 2.5 cm thick. Remove the blue cheese butter from the fridge and cut into four even-sized pieces. Make a deep indentation in the middle of each patty and push in a piece of the Roquefort butter, pushing the beef back around the mixture so that it is well sealed. Chill for at least one hour or up to 24 hours until ready to cook.
3 Preheat the oven to 200°C and preheat the grill or, if using, a charcoal barbecue. Light it 30 minutes before you want to start cooking. If using a gas barbecue, light it 10 minutes beforehand. Snip the baby vine tomatoes into four portions of three and arrange in a small roasting tin. Drizzle over 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season to taste. Roast for 12-15 minutes until lightly charred and just beginning to soften.
4 Sprinkle a tsp of pepper all over the chilled burgers. Add to the grill rack and cook for 4 minutes on each side for rare, 6 minutes each side for medium and 8-9 minutes if you would prefer it well done.
5 To make the dressing, mix together the remaining 2 tbsp of the olive oil with the lemon juice and sweet chilli sauce. Place the parsley and red onion in a separate bowl and then fold in two-thirds of the dressing.
6 To serve, toast the cut sides of the buns or muffins on the grill rack and place on warmed plates. Cover with a burger and add the roasted tomatoes. Pile the red onion salad on top and drizzle over the remaining dressing.
Chilli cornbread pie. \ Philip Doyle
Ingredients: serves 4-6
4 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 celery stick, diced
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp each ground of cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground cinnamon
450g minced beef
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
400g can chopped tomatoes
450ml chicken or vegetable stock
2 x 400g red kidney beans
150g yellow cornmeal (or quick-cook polenta)
150g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
300ml buttermilk or thick Greek yoghurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lightly dressed mixed leaf salad, to serve
Method
1 Heat half the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the onion, garlic celery and chilli and sauté for five minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Stir in the spices and continue to cook for one minute, stirring.
2 Add the minced beef and sauté for about five minutes until lightly browned, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Stir in the cocoa powder, if using, with the tomatoes, stock and kidney beans, then season to taste.
3 Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for one hour or until the beef is tender and the sauce has slightly reduced.
4 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the cornmeal in a bowl with the flour, baking powder and 1 tsp of salt. Stir to combine, then make a well in the centre and quickly whisk in the remaining 2 tbsp of oil, the buttermilk (or yoghurt, if preferred) and the eggs until you have achieved a smooth batter.
5 Spoon the chilli into the bottom of a deep ovenproof dish and pour over the cornmeal mixture in an even layer. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Serve straight to the table with the salad.
Lamb and Mint
Omit the flavoured butter and replace the minced beef for minced lamb. Add 4 tbsp of finely chopped onion to the mix with two crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp of double cream, 1 tsp of chopped fresh mint and 2 tsp of smoked paprika.
Shape and cook as described above. The ideal way to serve these lamb burgers would be in a pitta pocket stuffed with some salad leaves, sliced tomatoes, raw onion rings and drizzled with Greek strained yoghurt mixed with a little chopped fresh mint.
Asian Pork
Sauté a finely chopped red onion and a crushed garlic clove in 1 tbsp of sunflower oil until softened. Meanwhile, place a small bunch of coriander (roots intact) in a mini blender with a 1/4 tsp each of ground cumin and coriander, 1 tsp of tomato puree and 1/2 tsp of medium curry powder and blitz to form a paste.
Stir into the onion mixture and cook for another minute, then leave to cool. Replace the minced beef with minced pork and work in the onion and spice mixture before shaping into burgers. Serve with Asian style coleslaw.
Read more
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Neven Maguire: veggies with a certain je ne sais quoi
I have two recipes this week that focus on new ways of enjoying mince. We always have excellent Bord Bia Quality Assured beef available in this country.
One tip I have is, when you are buying it, don’t get too lean a mince. You need a little bit of fat for flavour and to keep it moist.
Cashel Blue cheese in Co Tipperary was started by Louis and Jane Grubb in 1984. They recently celebrated 40 years of producing beautiful blue cheese and are now a successful second generation business.
I notice blue cheese has become more popular in the restaurant. This beautiful inverted burger is stuffed with blue cheese. There is a little bit of sweet chilli in there, and lemon as well, so lots of interesting flavours – but the blue adds the most flavour and a lovely saltiness.
Lamb mince and mint is a lovely classic combination, while the pork with an Asian twist is also worth trying. All of these different minces will work really well in your burger.
The chilli cornbread pie is a good family meal and is done with a little topping. There is cocoa powder in this chilli, and this is a South American influence.
In Mexico, they use a little bit of dark chocolate, sometimes, when they cook mince and it gives great flavour. Get a good quality dark chocolate.
The topping is like a little soufflé and is quite crunchy once baked. You can keep this mince as simple as you like and serve with a bowl of pasta or rice.
Happy Cooking,
Neven
Inverted blue cheeseburger with roasted tomatoes and red onion salad
Ingredients: serves 4
50g Cashel Blue or Roquefort cheese
50g unsalted butter
1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
675g minced beef
12 baby tomatoes on the vine
3 tbsp light olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small red onion, cut into wafer-thin slices
2 buns, baps or English muffins, halved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1 Mash together the Cashel Blue or Roquefort cheese and butter in a small bowl. Season with pepper and stir in the chives. Shape into a short cylinder, no more than 5cm in length, and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least one hour or up to 24 hours to firm up.
2 Divide the beef into four portions, then, using wet hands, shape into patties that are 2.5 cm thick. Remove the blue cheese butter from the fridge and cut into four even-sized pieces. Make a deep indentation in the middle of each patty and push in a piece of the Roquefort butter, pushing the beef back around the mixture so that it is well sealed. Chill for at least one hour or up to 24 hours until ready to cook.
3 Preheat the oven to 200°C and preheat the grill or, if using, a charcoal barbecue. Light it 30 minutes before you want to start cooking. If using a gas barbecue, light it 10 minutes beforehand. Snip the baby vine tomatoes into four portions of three and arrange in a small roasting tin. Drizzle over 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season to taste. Roast for 12-15 minutes until lightly charred and just beginning to soften.
4 Sprinkle a tsp of pepper all over the chilled burgers. Add to the grill rack and cook for 4 minutes on each side for rare, 6 minutes each side for medium and 8-9 minutes if you would prefer it well done.
5 To make the dressing, mix together the remaining 2 tbsp of the olive oil with the lemon juice and sweet chilli sauce. Place the parsley and red onion in a separate bowl and then fold in two-thirds of the dressing.
6 To serve, toast the cut sides of the buns or muffins on the grill rack and place on warmed plates. Cover with a burger and add the roasted tomatoes. Pile the red onion salad on top and drizzle over the remaining dressing.
Chilli cornbread pie. \ Philip Doyle
Ingredients: serves 4-6
4 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 celery stick, diced
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp each ground of cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground cinnamon
450g minced beef
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
400g can chopped tomatoes
450ml chicken or vegetable stock
2 x 400g red kidney beans
150g yellow cornmeal (or quick-cook polenta)
150g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
300ml buttermilk or thick Greek yoghurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lightly dressed mixed leaf salad, to serve
Method
1 Heat half the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the onion, garlic celery and chilli and sauté for five minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Stir in the spices and continue to cook for one minute, stirring.
2 Add the minced beef and sauté for about five minutes until lightly browned, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Stir in the cocoa powder, if using, with the tomatoes, stock and kidney beans, then season to taste.
3 Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for one hour or until the beef is tender and the sauce has slightly reduced.
4 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the cornmeal in a bowl with the flour, baking powder and 1 tsp of salt. Stir to combine, then make a well in the centre and quickly whisk in the remaining 2 tbsp of oil, the buttermilk (or yoghurt, if preferred) and the eggs until you have achieved a smooth batter.
5 Spoon the chilli into the bottom of a deep ovenproof dish and pour over the cornmeal mixture in an even layer. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Serve straight to the table with the salad.
Lamb and Mint
Omit the flavoured butter and replace the minced beef for minced lamb. Add 4 tbsp of finely chopped onion to the mix with two crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp of double cream, 1 tsp of chopped fresh mint and 2 tsp of smoked paprika.
Shape and cook as described above. The ideal way to serve these lamb burgers would be in a pitta pocket stuffed with some salad leaves, sliced tomatoes, raw onion rings and drizzled with Greek strained yoghurt mixed with a little chopped fresh mint.
Asian Pork
Sauté a finely chopped red onion and a crushed garlic clove in 1 tbsp of sunflower oil until softened. Meanwhile, place a small bunch of coriander (roots intact) in a mini blender with a 1/4 tsp each of ground cumin and coriander, 1 tsp of tomato puree and 1/2 tsp of medium curry powder and blitz to form a paste.
Stir into the onion mixture and cook for another minute, then leave to cool. Replace the minced beef with minced pork and work in the onion and spice mixture before shaping into burgers. Serve with Asian style coleslaw.
Read more
Neven Maguire: eat more eggs - they are the ultimate brain food
Neven Maguire: veggies with a certain je ne sais quoi
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