Recipies
Don't you think that "recipies" is one of those words that the more you look at it the dafter it seems? Like saying the word "onion" - after you've said it twenty times or so it gets a bit...
My first attempt at meatloaf. A recipe cobled together (ahem - carefully crafted) from three or four on other websites.
300g lean minced beef
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 big tbsp parsley
2 tsp thyme
3 tsp sage
1.5 oz breadcrumbs
1 egg
1tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 fl oz water
1 modest tbsp tomato ketchup
75g carrot, finely grated
1 small apple, peeled and grated
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.
- Finely chop (I used a little blender) the onion, garlic, parsley, sage and thyme and put them in a bowl. (Mine were a bit over chopped and therefore pulpy.)
- Mix in the breadcrumbs. (Mine inadvertently had a tbsp of suet in them! Leftover breadcrumbs saved for another recipe.)
- Mix in the carrot and apple.
- Add the beef, egg, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and water. Mix well - hands are ideal.
- Press the mixture into a loaf tin. Cover the top loosely with foil. Put the load tin in a roasting dish filled with water to half the height of the loaf tin.
- Cook at 170 degrees C for 1.5 hours, removing the foil after an hour.
- Allow to rest in the tin for 30 mins. Turn out and serve in slices, hot or cold.
More traditional recipies mix pork or sausage meat with beef. I slightly reduced the meat content (it's all I had!) as I added a fair amount of carrot and apple. I also reduced the volume of liquid as the apple adds moisture.
This is the ideal recipe for doing your own thing. I certainly have! I've tried to keep the salt content lowish, and added fruit and veg to get some into my fussy DS (don't get me started!).
Verdict to be posted after dinner tonight!
Verdict - too moist for me. Could do without the water. I've never had meatloaf before - not pretty to look at, but the flavour is good. Can taste the fresh herbs and spicy bits. Looking forward to trying it cold tomorrow with some pickle.
Shortcrust Pastry
"I can't make pastry" - I used to say to myself. However cool I kept the ingredients and my hands, however 'lightly' I mixed, my pastry would always be hard.
Thanks to my Mum for spotting a recipe on a margarine tub I have changed technique. No more rubbing in or adding excessive amounts of fat. This method has saved me from my 'heavy hands'. Even my small children can be rough with this dough and it comes out just fine.
Recipe
4oz fat (2 white, 2 butter/margarine)
2 tbsp water
8oz plain flour
pinch of salt
Method
Combine the flour and salt.
Mix the fat, water and a little flour with a fork to make a sort of thick paste.
Gradually add the flour and mix well. (I find this point vital - make sure all the flour is mixed in before adding any more.)
When you have added all the flour use your hands to make a dough. (Don't worry about over mixing.)
Chill for at least 30 mins.
Roll out and use as required.
To date I have tried - with equal success - using half white fat (e.g. White Flora) and half soft margarine (Stork), or just all soft margarine.
