Bolognaise pot pies

Bolognaise pot pies make a delicious and easy dinner and freeze well too.


Preparation Time
12 minutes


Cooking Time
20 minutes


Ingredients (serves 4)
1 carrot, finely chopped
400g tomato pasta sauce
400g potatoes, peeled and chopped
400g beef mince
8 button mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbs milk
1 tbs chopped basil

Method
Preheat oven grill to medium-hot. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Spray with olive oil spray and add carrot and onion. Cook for 4 minutes or until tender. Add mince and cook for a further 5 minutes until meat is browned. Add pasta sauce, mushrooms and basil. Simmer for 10 minutes until reduced slightly.
Meanwhile, steam or boil the potatoes for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and keep warm.
Spoon mince mixture into four 1-cup capacity ramekins. Mash the potato roughly and mix through salt and pepper, cheddar cheese and milk. Top each ramekin with a dollop of mash. Place under grill for 1 minute or until lightly golden on top. Serve immediately.

Beef & chorizo ragout with crispy potato stacks

Looking for a cold remedy? Richly flavoured with red wine, chorizo and paprika, this beef stew is the culinary equivalent of a warm blanket.


Preparation Time
20 minutes


Cooking Time
180 minutes


Ingredients (serves 6)
2kg beef chuck steak, excess fat trimmed, cut into 4cm pieces
60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
1 chorizo sausage, thinly sliced diagonally
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
800g can diced tomatoes
375ml (1 1/2 cups) beef stock
125ml (1/2 cup) red wine
90g (1/3 cup) tomato paste
4 dried bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bunch (about 6 bulbs) spring onions, trimmed, halved lengthways
Fresh sage leaves, to serve
Crispy potato stacks
30g butter, melted
1.2kg medium Golden delight potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced
125ml (1/2 cup) double cream
2 tbs finely chopped fresh sage

Method
Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook one-quarter of the beef for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a plate. Repeat, in 3 more batches, with the remaining beef, reheating pan between batches.
Heat remaining oil in pan. Cook chorizo for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Add the garlic and paprika and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Stir in the beef, tomato, stock, wine, tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.
Add spring onion to the pan. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-35 minutes or until the beef is tender and liquid thickens.
Meanwhile, to make crispy potato stacks, preheat oven to 200°C. Divide the melted butter between eighteen 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans. Combine the potato, cream and sage in a bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Divide the potato mixture among the prepared muffin pans, stacking the potato slices. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
Arrange potato stacks, overlapping slightly, over the beef. Top with sage leaves. Serve with any remaining potato stacks on the side.

Beef sandwiches

Unwrap these pretty roast beef rolls at a picnic and enjoy a day in the sun.


Preparation Time
15 minutes


Cooking Time
10 minutes


Makes
6


Ingredients
250g truss cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp horseradish cream or mustard, optional
2 tbsp finely chopped chives
1 loaf sourdough baguette, cut into 6 sections, split
500g sliced roast beef
270g jar chargrilled capsicum, drained
80g baby rocket leaves

Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Place the tomatoes on an oven tray and drizzle with olive oil.
Roast for 10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to collapse.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Combine the mayonnaise, horseradish or mustard (if using) and chives in a small bowl. Spread the mayonnaise mixture over half the bread slices.
Top with beef slices capsicum and rocket. Tie sandwiches with kitchen string and top with the roasted cherry tomatoes.
Notes
Taste tip: You can swap the beef for shaved turkey, ham or chicken. Replace the chives with parsley, tarragon or dill. You can add a little lemon juice to the mayonnaise instead of the mustard for a citrus twist.