Beef casserole with pesto dumplings

I made this casserole with dumplings for the children and their wonderful babysitter on the weekend.

It is a dish that keeps well for a few days in the fridge and reheats very well, so it is great to make ahead. It is also great to make it and eat it straight away, so a win-win all around.

The casserole is the goulash recipe that I have blogged about recently.

Basically, you make the casserole, pour it into a baking dish, then make the dumplings. Place the dumplings onto top of (but squished into) the casserole, then cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the dumplings cook and become crunchy on the top, the bottom on the dumplings absorb the juices and become squishy and tasty.

This is ultimate comfort food for me. Unfortunately I didn't get to eat any of it as it was demolished by the time I got home.... Maybe next time.

What you'll need

* Serves four with some left over.

For the goulash/casserole

Click here for recipe and ingredients.

For the dumplings

50g butter
2 cups self-raising flour
100g ready-made basil pesto
3/4 cup milk

What to do

Make the goulash. You could do this the day before and store in the fridge until the next day.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Place the goulash into a baking/overproof dish. Make the dumplings.

Pour the flour into a large mixing bowl. Cube the butter and add to the flour and rub it together (like when making scones) until you have a crumbly mixture. Stir through the pesto and milk until you have a soft ball of mixture. If the mixture is very sticky, add a small amount of flour.

Divide the mixture and roll into approximately 20 balls of dough. Place the balls on top of the casserole, squishing them down a little into the meat.

Place in the oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes, until the balls are golden.

Serve while hot with vegetables on the side if you like.

* I made the goulash and the dumplings separately in this recipe. I then placed the already cooked dumplings onto the casserole in a plastic storage container and stored in the fridge. I did this as I didn't have the right size baking dish to use. This worked fine and the casserole and dumplings were reheated the next day. 

Pork belly

It was a busy week last week. We had some Kiwi rellies over for dinner Friday night before jetting off to London for a quick weekend.

I wanted to cook something easy that I could put in the oven and forget about, then serve it up for the hungry crowd.

I decided on pork belly with an Asian influence. This meat is rather forgiving if you cook it a bit too long, and you can chat and drink wine while it is cooking, so perfect really. All you have to do is slice at the end and bring it to the table.

I had 2.5kg of pork, which served five adults and two children with not a scrap left. For those cooking a smaller piece of meat, I will include some cooking estimates for smaller meat portions below.

What you'll need

*Serves seven people with side dishes.

2.5kg boneless pork belly with skin on (I had two pieces that together weighed 2.5kg)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp rice wine vinegar (substitute with white vinegar)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt

What to do

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

Score the fat of the pork belly in a criss cross pattern with a very sharp knife. Don't cut into the meat. This allows the fat to drain and become crisp.

Pat the meat dry with paper towel. Place into a baking tray. Mix the marinade ingredients (except the salt) together in a bowl, pour over the meat and massage in.

Sprinkle approx 1 tsp salt over the pork fat and rub in. This will assist in crisping it.

Place into the hot oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 170 degrees Celsius. Cook for approx 2.5 to 3 hours, until the meat is very tender and peels apart.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving. We ate this with plain rice and an Asian salad of wombok cabbage, carrot, cucumber and capsicum with a sweet dressing.

The meat was melt in the mouth tender and the skin was lovely and crispy.

Cooking times for smaller meat portion.

1kg pork belly - 220 degrees for 15 minutes then approximately 1.5 hours at 170 degrees.
2kg pork belly - 220 degrees for 20 minutes then approximately 2 hours at 170 degrees.

Mini Meatloaves

Here's an idea for a quick and tasty dinner.

I whipped up these mini meat loaves in 20 minutes after a day spent at the pool and playground.

The meat loaves were quick to make, needed only a few ingredients and tasted and looked great.

What you'll need

*This recipe made five meatloaves and served two people, with one loaf left-over for lunch the next day.

For meat loaves
500g beef mince
1 packet rissole mix (Maggi brand in Australia) or faschiertes fix (Knoor brand in Austria)
1 egg
10 slices prosciutto (allowing two for each loaf)
1 tsp vegetable oil

For gravy
1 tbs flour
1 tsp soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1/2 cup water

What to do

Place the mince, rissole/faschiertes mix and egg into a bowl and mix well.

Form the mince into small loaf shapes. I used about a handful of mince,
and patted it into shape.

Wrap one or two slices of prosciutto around each loaf.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the oil. Once hot, add the loaves and reduce heat to low. You don't want to burn the prosciutto before the inside of the loaf is cooked, so cook it slowly.

It should take about 10 minutes for the loaves to cook through.
You should turn them once during cooking so they are well browned.

If you want to check they are cooked in the middle, you can break one open with a knife to have a look. You won't need to season this as the rissole mix is already seasoned and the prosciutto is salty also.

When the meat loaves are finished cooking, make the gravy.

While the heat is still under the pan, sprinkle the flour into the pan around the loaves. With a spoon, move the flour around to soak up the meat juices and flavours and cook it for 1 minute. Once this is done, add the water and mix it through with the spoon to remove any lumps.

The gravy may look a bit light-coloured, so you can add the soy sauce/Worcestershire for a little colour and flavour. But if your gravy is already dark, don't worry about it.

Serve immediately. We ate ours with potatoes sauteed with rosemary and a garden salad. 

Chicken sandwich

Here is what I ate for lunch.

A chicken sandwich with goat's cheese, fresh tomato and parsley pesto. Here's the recipe for parsley pesto.

Very simple but tasty, and a good way to use up the grilled chicken breast that was left-over from last night's dinner.

What you'll need

1 small chicken breast, grilled or pan-fried
20g goat's cheese
1 small tomato
2 tsp parsley pesto (see recipe link above)
Fresh pepper
2 think slices of bread of your choice

What to do

Spread pesto on one slice of bread.

Top with chicken breast, goat's cheese and sliced tomato.

Sprinkle with cracked black pepper.

Top with other slice of bread and devour.....

Don't be put off by the size of this sandwich. You can always put your foot on it to squash it down to the right size (ha ha)! Alternatively, you can always slice the chicken a little bit thinner.

Parsley pesto

Last week, on our short holiday, we stayed in hubby's 'family house'.

The house was built by his Grandfather for his parents in 1932. Since then, four generations of the same family have lived there - even us 'Aussie ring-ins' have spent lots of time there. The house has been extended over the years to accommodate everyone, so it is now rather large. The room I was sleeping in was the room that my husband's father was born in. That was kind-of a strange feeling!

There is a pool and lovely garden, so many family gatherings have been held here. We were house-minding the family house last week, as the house owners (Auntie and Uncle) were away on holidays. Before they left, they told me to eat anything in the garden that might be ready. Now that is the right thing to say to me! I love using fresh ingredients from my (or anyone elses) garden to cook with.

I spied a huge parsley bush while I was having a look around in the garden. That is where the idea for this recipe comes from. I picked an armful of parsley and went to the kitchen, whizzed it up with a few ingredients, and made this great pesto. It is not a pesto like a basil pesto with cheese and nuts. This is more simple that that, but just as good, I think.

You could serve this with fresh seafood or grilled fish, with grilled or roasted chicken, mixed through some hot pasta or even on a sandwich. I had it on a chicken sandwich for lunch, and it was so refreshing. You could also serve it with steamed vegetables or as a dip.

  

What you'll need

* This recipe made three small jars (approximately 1 1/2 cups) of pesto.

1 armful of parsley (curly or Italian). I would estimate this to be approximately 8 - 10 loosely-packed cups
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine or white balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper

  

What to do

Wash the parsley in a sink-full of fresh water. Pick out any yellow bits and remove as many of the stalks as possible. In batches, blend the parsley in a food processor.

Once it has all been blended, add the other ingredients. I would add the lemon, zest and garlic first, then slowly pour the oil and vinegar in while the processor is running.

Check the consistency of the mix. Mine dolloped off a spoon, rather than ran. Season with salt and pepper.

Once you are happy with the consistency and taste, pour pesto into clean jars with lids and refrigerate. This will last for approximately two weeks in the fridge. Store upside down so that the jars are sealed tightly.

Roasted potatoes with oregano and lemon

I like this recipe for Greek-inspired roasted potatoes. The flavours are distinctive and it is relatively quick and easy to make. These potatoes go with anything roasted, such as lamb, beef or chicken. You could also serve them as a side dish at a BBQ with grilled meats or seafood.

What you'll need

* Serves two people as a side dish. Allow two potatoes per person if you want to make a larger serving.

4 medium large potatoes, skin on
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs fresh oregano, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper

What to do

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Slice the potatoes into wedges (or whatever shape you prefer) and place into a baking dish. Pour over the oil, lemon juice and oregano. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. I really like salt, so I am generous with the salt on these potatoes. I also roast my potatoes with the skin on. Generally they don't become super-crunchy, which is fine for me. I prefer to have the taste of the skin.

Place baking dish into the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour. The potatoes will go slightly brown and you can check if they are cooked by using a skewer to see if the potatoes are soft.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and serve while hot. You can squeeze extra lemon juice over the top when serving if you like.

I served these with roasted lamb shanks and eggplant relish.