February 9, 2022
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There’s just nothing like the smell and taste of freshly baked bread! Cooked to perfection perfectly light and fluffy with a soft inside yet crispy on the outside. the key to this recipe though is you must use and cook in the right method.
Once you have that aroma of fresh bread in your kitchen, why not take them to the next level by stuffing them with some tasty minced meat filling? This recipe is not restricted to using mince meat or in fact any kind of meat. And hey, who doesn’t like chicken mince?
For Vegetarians
You can easily adapt this to veg dish by using small pieces of zucchini and aubergine mixed with peppers. Another wonderful filling is cauliflower, and we will add the recipe for that soon.
But the key is you must chop the fillings into small pieces, remember you don’t want to add big chunky filling to bread that will break the bread drip as you’re eating it.
For Serving
These can work as starters, as they can be kept quite small, or you can make them bigger by making the dough balls a bit bigger.
Ingredients
MINCEMEAT
- 30 ml of Olive Oil
- 350 g of minced meat
- 3 g of salt
- 3 g onion powder
- 3 g of garlic powder
- 4 g of turmeric
- 1 Onion
- 1 Tomato
DOUGH
- 250 g flour
- 150 g fine semolina
- 10 g honey
- 6 g salt
- 7 g instant yeast
- 225 ml water
- Extras
- Cheese, salad and Taziki or garlic sauce
Optimise to Your Taste
What that means is you can add more salt, garlic and turmeric to your preferred taste as well adding some spices and fresh chillies to this recipe. Ultimately, what makes home-cooking so special is that you can be creative.
You can also add a simple salad, but make sure you chop your cucumber and tomatoes into small pieces and adding chopped fresh mint leaves really reacts to the flavour of minced meat.
How to cook Mini Minced Meat Kebabs
Step 1 – Making the Dough for the bread
Add the flour, fine semolina, honey, salt, yeast, and lukewarm water to a deep bowl. Mix well and knead for 10-12 minutes until smooth.
Cover the dough and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm place at home, or until it doubles in size.
Deflate the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Shape them into equally-sized balls.
Take a ball of dough and flatten it with your hands. Then shape the dough into a ball. This technique ensures that the dough rises when baking. Repeat this process for the remaining balls of dough.
Roll out each ball of dough (10 cm/4 inches diameter)
Dip the dough on both sides in the fine semolina.
Place the flatbread rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let them rise for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.
Step 2 – Mince Meat prep
Heat a skillet with a thick bottom over medium heat. Bake for a few minutes on each side.
Add the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomato and allow it to steam for a few minutes, tomato puree works just as well.
Add the minced meat, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and turmeric. Mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes on high heat and then turn the heat down and put the lid on for 4-5 minutes.
Add the onion( that you have already chopped). Cook for a further 5 minutes on medium heat. Keep stirring the meat whilst its cooking to stop it from sticking.
If desired, remove the pan from the heat and place the cheddar cheese on top, so it melts. We’ve used the example of using slices but you can use any you want, grated or sliced.
Presentation
Slice the bread open and fill the bread with the minced meat mixture, sauce, and fresh salad. A good tip is to add tzatziki sauce to the dish so you can enjoy all the spices.
Share your comments and pictures in the comments.
Roast potatoes are a staple at Christmas (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Cooking Christmas dinner is no mean feat and involves juggling a multitude of tasks at once, while somehow managing not to burn anything.
Fitting everything in the oven also isn’t the easiest of jobs, so it can be handy to have alternative ways to cook your side dishes, and one of the best tricks is to utilise an air fryer.
The kitchen gadget has been having a moment of late, and it seems you can put just about anything in there and it’ll taste great. But if you only use it for one thing this Christmas, a chef recommends it for making the crispiest roast potatoes.
Poppy O’Toole, who is known on social media as ‘the potato queen’, has spoken to Metro.co.uk about her favourite carb and shared her top tips for cooking in an air fryer.
Her biggest tip is not to overfill your air fryer with potatoes and to ensure you coat them in a spray of oil, or some other kind of fat.
Which oil makes the best roast potatoes?
When it comes to making roasties, everyone will have their own preference for how they cook them. Whether they make them in the oven or air fryer and what type of fat they put in the pan, etc.
And while you can use any oil or fat when making yours, it can sometimes be tricky to know which is best. If you want to cook yours like the pros, then you might consider using one of these oils on your potatoes…
According to Jamie Oliver, olive oil is the best one to opt for.
‘You want to use an oil with a mild flavour for your roasties. We prefer olive oil, but you can opt for vegetable, canola or grapeseed oils instead,’ the chef said.
However, celebrity chef Tom Kerridge prefers to use vegetable oil on his roast potatoes as it’s ‘clean’ and ‘works just fine’.
But if you’d rather use a fat instead of an oil, then Marry Berry says goose fat is the superior choice as it makes ‘all the difference’ to the flavour.
Gordon Ramsay is also a fan of goose fat, as per the Gordon Ramsay Restaurants website. But recommends olive oil if you don’t have any.
She said: ‘Air fryers use hot air circulation to cook food but if it’s all layered and squashed together, you’ll be left with undercooked and steamed food, which is not ideal if you’re after a batch of golden and crispy potatoes.
‘Another piece of advice is to re-evaluate cooking times, the air fryer is an incredibly energy efficient piece of kitchen equipment that reduces cooking times. It will normally come with a handy table of cooking times and temperatures for common foods but check online if you are unsure. You don’t want you to accidentally burn your festive feasts!’
The expert, who has recently published an air fryer cookbook, continued to say: ‘It’s really useful to coat whatever you’re cooking (be it meat, veg etc) in a spray of oil or some sort of fat so it cooks more evenly and gives you a better overall colour. Whilst cooking, it’s also important to give everything a toss mid-way through so you avoid any underdone bits!
‘And if you’re unsure about just how powerful your air fryer is, test out a simple recipe like homemade chips so you can gauge your timings and heat settings. Some air fryers are particularly ferocious and the recipes need adjusting slightly to avoid any burning!’
Your air fryer could be a godsend when cooking Christmas dinner (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
How to make deliciously crispy roast potatoes in the air fryer
In order to make Poppy’s golden and crispy roast potatoes (which serve 2-4 people), you’ll need just three ingredients and the whole process is broken down into four simple and speedy steps.
She claims the key to the best roastie is to ensure you’re using the ‘right’ potato, which needs to be a ‘starchy’ one, such as a Maris Piper. This is because they’re going to ‘give the most punch and the most fluffiness in the middle’.
The chef also urges you to think carefully about how you cut up your potatoes when preparing them, as the more edges you have on them, the crispier they will become as they cook.
Ingredients:
4 Maris Piper, Russet or red skin potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of fine salt
Instructions:
Heat the air fryer to 160ºC/325ºF
In a mixing bowl, toss the potatoes in the oil and salt, and tip them into the air fryer basket.
Cook for 30 minutes, giving them a proper aggressive toss every 10 minutes, and even poke them with a fork if you want to fluff up the insides further.
Increase the heat to 200ºC/400ºF and cook for a further 6 minutes, until golden and crispy.
Mary Berry’s ‘secret’ for perfect roast potatoes
Culinary goddess Mary Berry also has a wonderful recipe for making roast potatoes if you’d prefer to cook them in the oven.
Her method, shared on her website, also offers tips to save some time on Christmas day, by preparing and cooking the potatoes ahead of time on Christmas Eve, so they are slightly under done. To do this roast for only 20-30 minutes until pale gold, remove excess fat and store in a cool place overnight.
You can then ‘re-roast’ them for another 30 minutes on the big day, so they won’t take as long.
She also claims goose fat is the secret to getting the best flavour for your roast potatoes, but warns that a little goes a long way.
‘Goose fat is available at Christmas time from good supermarkets and makes all the difference to the flavour of roast potatoes,’ Mary explains. ‘Don;t use too much, though, as this will simply make the potatoes go soggy.’
Here’s what you’ll need:
1.4kg of potatoes, such as désirée, king edward or maris piper, peeled
3-4 tablespoons of goose fat
salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7
Cut the potatoes into even-sized pieces and put in a large pan. Cover with cold water, add a little salt and bring to the boil. Parboil for about five minutes then drain well in a colander and shake to fluff up the edges.
Heat up the goose fat in a large roasting tin in the preheated oven until piping hot. Add the potatoes to the fat, spooning the fat over the potatoes to completely coat. Shake the tin to prevent sticking.
Roast for about an hour depending on size, turning the potatoes from time to time until golden and crisp. Sprinkle with salt just before serving.
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Roast potatoes are the best part of Christmas dinner.
Apparently, we’ve been making our spag bol wrong this whole time.
There’s nothing better than spaghetti bolognese after a long day in winter. The hearty meal is perfect as we get into these colder months, but none of us can seem to agree on the ‘right’ way to make it.
Some love basil while others swear by celery or carrots, but according to Michelin-starred chef, Paul Foster, the key to the perfect bolognese is a breakfast classic.
And no, he doesn’t expect you to mix Coco Pops in your pasta: just add milk.
The chef and content creator shared this unusual tip on a TikTok, where he walked viewers through his go-to spag bol recipe.
‘Are you adding milk to your bolognese?’ he asked. ‘If not, why not? If you want the best results based on authenticity, then follow my method – [this is] how to cook bolognese properly.’
Paul, who owns the acclaimed Salt restaurant in Stratford-Upon-Avon, explained in the clip that adding milk to the sauce helps to give the Italian dish some ‘authenticity.’
‘This recipe is based on my culinary knowledge, my nostalgia and also my experiences with the original recipes in Bologna,’ he explained.
Paul Foster’s recipe for Spaghetti Bolognese
Separately, grate some garlic and chop up some thyme.
Pour everything into a pan with olive oil and boil it with a pinch of salt.
Cook the sofrito gently for 3-4 minutes with no colour.
Then, add in the garlic and thyme and cook again with no colour for two minutes.
In the same pan, add equal amounts of minced beef and minced pork. Cook the meat on high heat while continuously stirring until it is browned.
Add full-bodied red wine and allow the mixture to reduce.
Add your sofrito and tomato puree to the pan alongside tinned tomatoes and chicken stock.
Cook gently for three hours to allow the sauce to thicken and reduce.
Stir in some milk and check it for seasoning.
Serve with el dente pasta.
As he walked viewers step-by-step through the recipe, he explained that the foundation for any good bolognese is a ‘sofrito’ — which is made up of diced onions, peeled carrot, and chopped celery.
The milky twist is one of the last steps of the recipe, and Foster recommends adding it to Bolognese sauce as a final flourish.
‘Then in with the milk,” he said in the clip. ‘This gives it that creaminess without adding cream – honestly, this is a game changer.’
So, what are you waiting for? Add some Michelin flair to your dinner!
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No, it’s not Coco Pops.
Three delicious prawn recipes from their families to yours (Picture: Getty)
Whether you’re preparing a starter, main course or something to share, these prawn recipes – passed down through the generations – have it covered.
Ranji Thangiah, also known as Tooting Mama, is a food blogger and photographer who shares the recipes her parents bought over from Sri Lanka.
‘Being a Sri Lankan I love seafood,’ she says. ‘This prawn recipe is so quick to make, and it’s incredibly easy.
‘The thing about any devilled dish is getting the balance right between the heat, the sweetness and the sourness. There’s a sweet spot that makes this recipe sing – once you hit that note, you’re going to be addicted.
‘I’ve tried a number of variations of this recipe, to get my devilled prawns the way my dad would make them. And, I think I may have cracked it.
‘For the best results, use fresh prawns. And if you can try and find either king prawns or tiger prawns. I’ll leave it to you to decide if you want heads and shells on or off – I guess it just depends on how messy you want to get.’
Ranji Thangiah shares a recipe her parents bought over from Sri Lanka (Ranji Thangiah)
Sri Lankan devilled prawns (Picture: Tooting Mama / Ranji Thangiah)
Sri Lankan devilled prawns (serves four)
Ingredients:
2 tbs coconut oil / vegetable oil
1 large red onion (sliced into half moons)
4 cloves of garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
2 cm of ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
1 red chili, cut lengthways (deseeded if you want to reduce the heat)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp turmeric
5 cherry tomatoes
1 tomato, roughly chopped
1 tbs of apple cider vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs Worcester sauce
1 tsp sugar
500g of prawns, ideally fresh with heads and legs taken off
salt
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan
2. Add the onions and start to cook them, when they soften add the garlic, ginger and chili.
3. Now add the dry spices with the tomatoes and quickly stir these into the onions allow the onions to cook down well but they should not burn. If you think the ingredients are looking like they’re drying out, add a splash of water.
4. In quick succession add the vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and sugar, followed by the prawns
5. Stir fry the prawns until they are cooked, and the onions are looking caramelised. Any liquid should be cooked down until a sticky sauce coats the prawns, add a little salt to lift the flavour.
6. Serve hot – with rice, or simply as an appetiser.
This is perfect with a bottle of Sri Lankan Lion Beer
Vittoria Veltri loves Spaghetti with prawns because it was a recipe prepared by her grandmother (Picture: Supplied)
Tiger prawn spaghetti (Picture: Vittoria Veltri)
Vittoria Veltri is an Italian chef living in south-west London. She owns Pasta’n Play, organising pasta-making courses and cooking workshops for kids and adults.
‘I love spaghetti with prawns as it was the recipe my grandma would prepare for me on a Friday evening,’ she says. ‘Every Friday a little van would arrive in our mountain town from the seaside to bring fresh fish. I make tiger prawn spaghetti following the recipe of my Calabrian grandmother.’
Note: you’ll need to make the stock ahead of time – it takes about 30 minutes…
More: Trending
Tiger prawn spaghetti (serves four)
Ingredients
380g spaghetti
16 tiger prawns
15 cherry tomatoes (halved)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
salt and pepper
olive oil
one onion, peeled and cut in half
a carrot, peeled
one large tomato
a bunch of parsley
half a glass of dry white wine
Method
To make the stock:
1. Remove the heads from the prawns, peel and de-vein, reserving heads and shells for stock. Set prawns to one side.
2. For the stock: In a saucepan, sauté the prawn shells and heads in oil with onion, the large tomato, carrot, garlic and parsley stalks for 5min. Add 300ml water, bring to boil then let simmer for 30min.
To make the sauce:
3. Sauté the cherry tomatoes in olive oil and garlic for 10 minutes, then add 100ml of your stock liquid. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Add 300ml water, bring to boil then let simmer for 30min.
4. Put your spaghetti on to boil, following the package instructions.
5. While the pasta cooks, remove the cherry tomato sauce from the pan and set to one side while you fry garlic in the pan with olive oil.
6. Add the prawns and sauté for 2 minutes. Pour in half a glass of white wine. Cook for 5 minutes more. Turning off the heat, mix the tomato sauce with the prawns. Season with parsley, salt and pepper.
7. Drain the cooked pasta, add to the sauce, along with 1tbsp of the stock and sauté for a further 2 minutes.
8. Enjoy!
Reshmi Bennett’s recipe for Bengali prawn curry is usually made for special occasions in India (Credits: HENRY HARRISON)
Bengali Prawn Malai Curry (Picture: Reshmi Bennett)
Reshmi Bennett runs London cake heaven Anges de Sucre, specialising in the French recipes she learnt in Michelin-starred kitchens, but at home she makes the dishes that have been passed down in her family for generations.
‘I trained in classic French cuisine in Paris, but my heritage is Indian and my parents are from Kolkata,’ she says. ‘Bengali prawn curry is a much celebrated dish that is made for very special occasions such as weddings, baby showers, and festivals. While it is a fancy dish, it is very simple and quick to make. The sauce is mild (there are no chillies used), rich and luxurious made with puréed fried onions, cumin, ginger, whole spices such as cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, and coconut milk.’
Bengali Prawn Malai Curry (serves four)
2 onions, sliced
250g king prawns
2 tbsp ginger purée/paste
2 tsp ground cumin
3 cloves
1 bay leaf
4 cardamom pod
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 can of coconut milk
1. Marinate prawns in a pinch of salt. Mix the ginger paste with a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of sugar and ground cumin and set aside.
2. Heat a tbsp of ghee/butter over medium heat in a pan and caramelise onions till golden. Purée onions in a blender.
3. Lightly fry prawns until just coloured and set aside.
4. Heat a tbsp of ghee/butter and a teaspoon of any cooking oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf and cardamom and roast for a few minutes. Add the ginger-cumin mix and sauté for a few mins before adding in the onion paste.
5. Add the prawns and cook for a few minutes. Pour in a can of coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
Serve with steamed rice or naan.
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Yum.
Coronation quiche is the official dish of the coronation (Picture: PA)
King Charles III has officially been crowned alongside Queen Camilla as part of his historic coronation.
A whole weekend of events is planned to celebrate, including a special coronation concert as well as Big Lunch events.
A star dish at these street parties is sure to be the coronation quiche, the official dish of the festivities chosen by the monarch.
The Royal website describes coronation quiche as: ‘A deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans, and fresh tarragon.’
It goes on to say it can be eaten hot or cold and recommends serving with a green salad or boiled new potatoes.
But how do you make one? We have a list of ingredients and full recipe for you to follow.
How do you make a coronation quiche?
Before you start cooking, you’ll need to get your ingredients ready.
Members of the Royal Family have already tucked into the dish (Picture: PA)
Coronation quiche ingredients
The ingredients for the pastry are:
125g plain flour
Pinch of salt
25g cold butter, diced
25g lard
2 tablespoons milk
Alternatively, you can use one 250g block of readymade shortcut pastry.
For the filling, you will need:
125ml milk
175ml double cream
2 medium eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper
100g grated cheddar cheese
180g cooked spinach, lightly chopped
60g cooked broad beans or soya beans
You will also need one 20cm Flan Tin.
Now, you can get started.
First, you need to make the pastry, which goes as follows:
Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the fats and rub the mixture together using your fingertips until you get a sandy, breadcrumb-like texture
Add the milk a little at a time and bring the ingredients together into a dough
Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 to 45 minutes
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The historic Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla will take place in Westminster Abbey today (May 6).
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Next, you need to lightly flour your chosen work surface and roll out the pastry to a circle a little larger than the top of the tin and approximately 5mm thick.
Line the tin with the pastry, making sure you don’t have any holes or the mixture you make for the quiche could leak.
Once that’s done, cover the tin and rest for a further 30 minutes in the fridge while preheating the oven to 190°C.
Next, line the pastry case with greaseproof paper, and add baking beans.
Bake blind for 15 minutes, before removing the greaseproof paper and baking beans, reduce the oven temperature to 160°C.
Beat together the milk, cream, eggs, herbs, and seasoning into a mixture ready to add later.
Then, you need to scatter half of the grated cheese into the blind-baked base, then top it with the chopped spinach, beans, and herbs.
It’s almost time to add your delicious filling (Picture: PA)
Now that you’ve done this, pour over the liquid mixture, gently stirring it if required to make sure the filling is evenly dispersed.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and you’re ready to bake.
Put the quiche in the often for 20 to 25 minutes until set and lightly golden, and your coronation quiche is ready.
Bon appetit!
If you want to try your hand at a vegan alternative to the dish, you can find our meat and dairy-free recipe here.
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