Beef Koftas with a Yoghurt Dip ad

Britmums have challenged bloggers to take the #MeatMatters Challenge to cook a quick and easy (under 30 minutes) beef or lamb dish. And as one of the first 100 to sign upto the challenge, I received a free £10 Tesco giftcard to purchase ingredients.

Recently I’ve been buying my meat from the local butcher instead of the supermarket in an attempt to reduce my plastic waste. The butcher wraps the meat in paper rather than plastic. However on my previous supermarket visit, I did find that Tesco offered to wrap deli items in paper rather than plastic, when I asked if they could put them straight in my cool-bag. This was much better than Sainsburys who had previously refused under “health and safety” grounds.

So I was hoping that paper would also be an option on the fresh meat counter in Tesco too. However I was unable to put this theory to the test, as unfortunately the counter was empty due to a “technical” issue at the store. So I had to resort to the meat aisle with all its plastic.

I had been mulling over a few recipe ideas involving different cuts of meat, but in the end, bearing in mind that the remit was to cook a meal in under 30 minutes, I opted to buy beef meatballs. Yes I could have bought mince and made my own meatballs, but that would have taken longer to prepare. Also the meatballs were already seasoned, saving a bit more time.

And rather than just cooking son2’s favourite spaghetti and meatballs, I decided it was time to try making something I’ve never made before, namely koftas.

Beef Koftas with a Yoghurt Dip

Ingredients (serves 4)

Pack of 24 meatballs
150g natural yoghurt
2 tsp chopped mint
10g cucumber

Method

Assemble 3 or 4 meatballs onto a metal skewer, tightly together.
Repeat with all the other meatballs.
Place all the skewers onto a George Foreman grill and cook for 10-12 minutes, rotating the skewers by 90 degrees halfway through, so that all sides are cooked evenly.
Alternatively cook under a standard grill, but you will need to rotate them 3 times.
Meanwhile chop mint and dice cucumber finely.
Spoon the yoghurt into a large ramekin.
Stir the mint and cucumber into the yoghurt.
Serve, with your choice of accompaniments.
Enjoy.

I chose to serve this with couscous and a simple lettuce and carrot salad. The couscous was made with stock and seasoned with turmeric, ground coriander, salt and pepper.

A very healthy meal as any fat from the meat drains out from the grill. Very tasty and so quick and simple to make. Thumbs up from all the family.

This dish could easily be made using lamb meatballs instead.

And did you know the following:

• Beef / lamb are naturally rich in protein
• Lamb provides four essential vitamins* that help reduce tiredness and fatigue
• Beef is a source of iron which helps reduce tiredness and fatigue
• Lamb provides seven vitamins and minerals** that support good health and well-being
• Beef provides eight essential vitamins and minerals*** that support good health and well-being

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This post is an entry for the #MeatMatters Challenge, sponsored by Simply Beef and Lamb. Learn more about the benefits of cooking and eating beef and lamb along with recipe ideas and inspiration here!

Disclosure. This post mentions products I purchased using a giftcard that I was sent for free. All opinions are my own. This post is classed as an advert because of the requirement to include the #MeatMatters hashtag.

Lamb and Spinach Curry

Chemotherapy altered son1’s tastebuds, so unlike most of his peers, one of his favourite meals is a curry. He enjoys Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Korma. I thought I’d try to see what other curries he might like, bearing in mind that he is not keen on potatoes or quite a few other vegetables. So since he enjoys spinach in a cheese and spinach cannelloni, I decided to try cooking a Lamb and Spinach Curry. Meanwhile making another dish for son2 who doesn’t like curry.

Ingredients (serves 3)

150g diced leg of lamb
200g frozen spinach
1 285g jar of Korma sauce
1 medium onion

Method

Chop the onion.
Add the lamb to the wok and cook over a gentle heat, (no oil needed).
After a few minutes, add the onion and continue to cook.
Once the meat is cooked, remove from wok.
Add spinach to wok and cook until defrosted (no need to pre-defrost).
Return meat to wok.
Add the Korma sauce.
Cook for about 5 minutes.
Serve with rice and enjoy.

Verdict. Son1 wasn’t convinced about lamb. However I thought the meal was delicious. Maybe someday I’ll try making a curry sauce from scratch, but for now I’ll stick to the convenience of a jar.

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How many ways can you cook turnip?

Regular readers of my blog may remember that I won vouchers for 6 Abel & Cole fruit and vegetable boxes in the Lunch Less Ordinary Challenge a couple of months ago.  Well I’ve just received my fourth box which includes turnips yet again.  I have to say I probably wouldn’t have chosen to buy turnip at the supermarket, but I’ve developed quite a taste for it over the last few weeks.  And I love how the internet introduces me to interesting ideas of how to cook unfamiliar products. So yesterday I cooked Lamb and Turnip pie for our tea, based on a modified Waitrose recipe. Or perhaps I should call my variant Turnip and Lamb pie, as I changed the proportions to be predominantly turnip instead of lamb. As an ex-vegetarian, I get daunted by meals with a high meat content.

Turnip and Lamb pie

Ingredients (serves 2 adults and 2 children)

200g lamb neck fillet
400g turnip
1 medium onion
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 chicken stock cube
500ml boiling water
salt and pepper
1 tsp dried rosemary (or 2 fresh sprigs)
200g puff pastry
1 egg

Method

Cut the lamb into approx 2cm pieces (or ask the butcher to when you buy it).
Season the pieces of lamb and dust generously with the flour.
Peel and chop the onion.
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and fry the pieces of lamb and onion for a few minutes.
Make up the stock, using the stock cube and boiling water (or use fresh stock if you have some).
Add the rosemary and stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 1½ hours until the lamb is soft and tender and the sauce is thick. If it is too thick, add a little more stock.
Skim the stew occasionally and discard the fat.
Peel turnips and cut into approx 2cm chunks.
Add the turnips, cover with a lid and add more water if necessary to cover the turnips.
Simmer for about 15 minutes until the turnips are cooked.
Remove from the heat and season to taste.
Leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6.
When the lamb mixture is cool, transfer it to a 1.5 litre pie dish.
Beat the egg.
Roll pastry and cut out a pastry lid to fit the dish, allowing an extra 2cm all the way round.
Brush the edges of the pastry with some of the egg and lay the pastry brushed-side down on the dish, pressing it on with a fork.
Cut a 2–3cm slit in the centre to let the steam out.
Brush the top with the remaining egg.
Bake for 40–45 minutes until golden.
Serve and enjoy.

Pie filling

Ready to bake

The finished pie

And here are a couple of other turnip recipes I made previously. The first time I got turnip in the box, my initial reaction was to try making a soup. I enjoy making soups, as I usually get the thumbs up from the kids. And this one proved no exception. Unfortunately the pie and bake didn’t wow them too, but us adults enjoyed all the recipes. (I forgot to take photos of the soup).

Turnip Soup

Ingredients

500g turnip
1 medium potato
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 litre water
2 chicken stock cubes
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon beef dripping

Method

Peel garlic and push through garlic press.
Peel and chop other vegetables into small pieces.
Melt dripping in large saucepan over low heat.
Add vegetables and fry for about 3 minutes.
Crumble the stock cubes into a jug.
Boil kettle.
Pour boiling water into jug.
Stir to dissolve stock cubes.
Add the stock to the saucepan.
Season with salt and pepper.
Increase heat and bring to boil.
Simmer for about 15 minutes until vegetables are soft.
Puree in blender.
Return to saucepan to ensure hot.
Serve and enjoy.

And I also made a Bacon and Turnip Bake, based on a recipe I modified from Abel & Cole’s own recipe suggestions. I had some soured cream in the fridge which needed using up, so thought I’d try using that instead of buying some creme fraiche. I also didn’t have any thyme and decided to increase the amount of bacon.  This was really delicious and it is also a keto-friendly recipe.

Bacon and Turnip Bake

Ingredients

350g turnips
5 rashers smoked bacon
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper and mixed herbs
a glass of white wine
200g soured cream (or creme fraiche)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.
Peel and thinly slice the turnips. Cut any large slices in halves or quarters.
Peel and push garlic through garlic press.
Cut the bacon into small pieces.
Crisp up the bacon in a small heavy pan.
As it cooks, toss the sliced turnips in a bowl with garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Add to the pan. Sizzle for a min.
Add the wine.
Let it bubble up, soften the veg and let the liquid reduce down a bit (15–20 mins).
Swirl in the soured cream or crème fraîche.
If your pan’s not ovenproof, tumble everything into a baking dish.
Pop in the oven till brown (about 30 mins).
Serve and enjoy.

At end of hob phase

Baked, ready to serve

Served with jacket potato and greens. Enjoy

And a final question. Any ideas how to serve new vegetables to my fussy kids apart from in soup? I’ll be sharing one way I got them to eat butternut squash in another post soon. And I’ve also been experimenting with kale, savoy cabbage and mango from the boxes.