Baked Curry

I was looking for something easy to prepare with a packet of 500g minced beef. I wanted something simple to prepare and yet delicious; something that is low in fat, low in Glycemic index and at the same time something warming for these cold winter days.

As I searched through my stash of recipes I came across a curry recipe there was no turning back. A little tweak here and there and this is the end result.

As I write this article I'm sampling it and I can assure you that if you love curry and have little time to cook your mid-week supper, then this dish is for you. Here is what you need to make enough for 2 to 3 or to make a dish for 1 which you can eat over 2 days.

500g minced beef

1 large onion – finely chopped

3 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons curry paste – medium

2 tablespoons of mango chutney

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon mustard powder

Fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon rock salt

½ cup sultanas

1 cup oats

2 eggs

1 cup milk

4 beef tomatoes - sliced

Cook the onion and the garlic in a pot and once they start to soften, add the minced beef. Make sure to mix the mince whilst it's cooking so that it will not clump up.

Now add the curry paste and cook for about 2 minutes before adding the mango chutney and the dried herbs and spices.

Lastly add the sultanas and remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the oats and place the mixture into a baking dish about 20cm x 15cm. Arrange the cut tomato slices over the mixture.

Now in a separate bowl, mix the milk and the eggs together and pour the mixture over the tomatoes.

You can bake it at this point or else you can allow it to rest for about 1 hour and bake later.

Once you are ready to bake, preheat your ovens to 160C and bake until the top custard has hardened and is nice a golden.

Gorgonzola & Pear Canapé

Start off your Christmas meal with something different this year. Pears are in season and i managed to find some nice firm ones which were still sweet on the inside. Mixing pears with blue cheese is aperfect combination as the freshness of the pears will clean your palate from the rich blue cheese flavour.

You can buy some vol-au-vent cases for this recipe or simply use puff-pastry. Some brands of puff pastry are also sold ready rolled out, so all you have to do is cut the circles and bake!

200g puff pastry

200g gorgonzola

2 fresh large pears

1 tablespoon honey

To make the pastry base, just roll the pastry out and cut into neat squares or circles. Make sure to keep the sizes of your pastry base small as these canapé need to be held comfortably in one hand whilst holding your drink with the other.

Once the pastry is cut, place it on a baking tray and cook in a preheated oven at 160C.

Whilst the pastry is still warm, place a small piece of gorgonzola cheese on top, about the size of a teaspoon. Drizzle a bit of the honey and then top with thin slices of pears.

These canapé can be served warm or cold.

This article has been previously published in the Best Buy Supplement, out monthly with The Times.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting David and Isabelle from Buongustai. Apart from talking about the delicious flavours of Italy, in particular Sicily, we also spoke about the range of products that they import themselves.

What I particularly liked about their range is that the selection is handpicked by David and Isabelle and not sent en mass by some agents and they must sell and market it at all costs. One of the advantages of being a small firm like theirs is that they can afford to keep a personal touch with their clients as well as with the items they sell.

As we were casually chatting about the delicious ingredients one finds in Sicily I tried their delicious latte di mandorla which left me speechless. This of course is nothing like the over sugared almond milk we are used to here. The taste is fresh and light and the almond is a soft taste and not an overpowering fake one.

Whilst I was sipping it I was thinking of all the panna cotta I could do with it….mmmm

But the show stopper was definitely their Sillitti Extra Virgin olive oil which is excellent in quality and above all very well priced. For those of you who scour the supermarket shelves looking for a real olive oil, here is the answer to your prayers!

David and Isabelle can be contacted on cardin@maltanet.net or 99424210. A product price list is available on request. Orders can be emailed or phoned in and we will deliver orders over €30.

To sample the extra virgin olive oil, try drizzling some over some fresh tortellini or flavour your chunky soups instead of grating some cheese.