Meatballs

Once a month my beef lady from Greenhill Organic Beef Farm comes to Eveleigh Markets. Usually I'll buy 3 or so kilo's of her biodynamic organic blade steak. I get such a kick out of chatting to the farmer who raised the beef and seeing pictures of the cows enjoying themselves in lush green pastures. I know they still end up minced and on a dinner plate but reconnecting with the source of your food and being able to guarantee that it was raised ethically by someone who really cares about the welfare of the animal and environmentally sustainable practices is important. Usually i'll keep the meat frozen until i'm feeling motivated and then i'll mince it up with my kitchen-Aid attachment and make it into a mix of meatballs, burger patties, lasagne mix as well as keeping a few bags of plain mince for moussaka mince or bolognese which i then refreeze*. We only have meat once or twice a week so this lasts for AGES and more than makes up for the extra cost of the meat. I do believe that people generally eat too much meat, especially men, to the point where they become dependent on it and unable to conceive of a meat free meal.

Anyway, I don't want to rant. My meatball recipe changes slightly depending on what i have on hand but i try to bulk out the mince and add flavour with lots of fresh herbs, onion and garlic. I follow Neil Perry's suggestion of soaking breadcrumbs in milk as a substitute for adding an egg yolk to bind the ingredients together. Mince does need to be salted so it remains tender, additionally, mix the ingredients with a light hand. When I want to use them i (a la Jamie Oliver) brown the meatballs and then simmer them in a simple tomato sauce for 20 minutes. I then grate some mozzarella and parmesan over the top, add some torn basil leaves (if available) and place under the grill until the cheese is melted and crispy. Serve with some pasta and veggies. These pics were taken by my photographer friend Katie Davis, at my 21st lunch where I served the meatballs. I'll try and put up some pics of the raw product. 

*I don't know if there is some rule about not refreezing meat, but i've never had any problems. 

Ingredients: 

One Kilo (a little extra if there is more fat) blade steak, trimmed and minced. 

2 tsp sea salt 

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove of Garlic, finely chopped

1 small, hot chilli (or more to suit your taste), finely chopped

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs, made from stale bread

1/2 cup milk 

pepper

Method. 

Dry toast the cumin seeds, allow to cool and pound to a powder with 1 tsp of the salt in a mortar and pestle. wipe out pan with a clean tea-towel. Place the pan on a low heat, add olive oil and onions. Cook gently until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds to a minute. Take of the heat and set aside to cool. soak the breadcrumbs in the milk. Add the other teaspoon of salt to the mince with the onion mix, chilli, parsley, rosemary, cumin mix, breadcrumbs and pepper. With moist hands mix together gently but ensuring that it is well combined. Roll into walnut sized balls between your palms and place in freezer safe containers (if you intend to freeze) or on a plate covered with cling film to rest in the fridge before you use them. 

Failsafe Cupcakes

I do a fair amount of baking but for a long time I avoided making cupcakes. They have a reputation as pretty basic but i have never found them easy to get right. Over beating the mixture or leaving them in the oven for too long meant i was always left with a dry and unappealing batch of cakes. Then i discovered this Martha Stewart gem. I don't use or peruse her recipes much but I know she is the go to woman for cupcakes. The use of buttermilk in this recipes means its pretty much impossible to produce something dry and the cake flour makes the cakes lovely and light. Distributing the batter evenly among the patty pans is now my biggest cupcake challenge. i also use Martha's frosting recipe, which is soft and smooth but not runny. It pipes easily, a bonus as this is not a strength of mine,  and sets to keep its shape. You can find the original cupcake recipe here, and the frosting here. The real fun of cupcakes is the patty cases, you can find so many achingly cute ones these days. I love the Robert Gordon ones, but they are an awkward size and don't fit into my muffin trays. They do make a good sized cupcake though. This recipe makes heaps and heaps so you can either half the recipe or freeze any left overs (in an airtight container).     

Happy cupcaking! 

Ingredients: 

3 cups PLAIN cake flour 

1 1/2 plain flour 

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt 

250g unsalted butter, at room temp

2 1/4 cups castor sugar

5 whole eggs*, 3 yolks (freeze whites), room temp 

2 cups buttermilk, room temp

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line tins with patty cases. Sift together both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With an electric mixer on medium to high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (this always takes awhile for me, 10 mins or so). Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed (if mixture curdles add a spoonful of flour) . Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.

Divide batter as evenly as you can among patty cases. Bake for 20 mins or so, rotating tray halfway through cooking time if you can remember. A skewer poked into the middle of one should come out clean or with only a few crumbs, when they are ready. transfer to wire rack and cool. Frost and decorate as you wish. 

*The eggs should be about 70g, but if you have small ones just weigh them and use however many total 350g (shell on)

Freezing Pesto

Its the end of summer and soon the supply of basil will slow down. Pesto, however, is very easy to freeze, ensuring a supply in to winter and providing some quick and easy meals. I follow Maggie Beer's rule of not including the garlic or cheese before freezing. I am ignorant of the science behind it but apparently the chemical composition of the raw garlic changes when frozen. I'll have to take her word for it. Its easy to stir in some mushed up garlic and grated cheese post defrost just before you use it. The lemon juice prevents oxidisation of the basil leaves, retaining the bright green colour. It also adds to the taste. Don't use a food processor, it doesn't make good pesto. It needs to be smashed in a mortar and pestle or it just isn't the same. The bits of leaves are sharp and the flavours don't seem to blend together. Make a lot and freeze appropriately sized (for the number of people you generally cook for) amounts into jars. When you want to use it just place the jar into hot water for a while, it defrosts in no time. You can also mix it up with the nuts. Try using walnuts or almonds, toasted then finely processed.

Pesto:

1 big bunch basil

120g pine nuts

1/2 lemon

1/4 to 1/2 garlic clove

good handful or to taste parmegiano-reggiano or grano padano

good quality extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Wash and thoroughly dry the basil. Dry toast the pine nuts in a frypan over a high heat, keep an eye on them as they burn easily. Allow to cool. Smash basil in mortar (in batches if it doesn't all fit at once), with each new batch drizzle a little lemon juice over it to prevent discoloration. Smash to a fine paste, add pine nuts and smash to combine and break down the nuts. Stir in oil, so it is oozy but not swimming in oil. Add a pinch of salt and grind of pepper. Transfer to jars if freezing. If using immediately or after defrosting mush garlic up and stir it in with the cheese. Add some more oil if necessary and salt and pepper if need be. Stir through home made pasta or spread on slices of fried eggplant and top with chopped tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella, grill until cheese melts.