Foody Friday. Um

So, I've missed two in a row. Slapped wrist. The first was my mother's birthday. We went to see The Lion King at the Lyceum. The second Friday, I was watching Dinner Ladies at the local theatre. I'm going to see The History Boys and Chicago, and possibly some Pinter, later this month.

Yes, I fall into that nice category of Under 26 that means I can get free entry to some theatres in this country for the next two years.

So far that hasn't applied at all. I can't believe how much I've spent!

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Technically, this month's theme is eggs (Easter, see?), but since I missed two offals in a row, I thought I'd throw you my very own made-up bolgnaise recipe. cook this about once a month and freeze it in multiple portions for when I can't be arsed to cook. Currently in the freezer is mince + stewing beef + pig kidney.

Massive Bolognaise-type Thing

This either feeds 8, or one person for 8 days.

Ingredients

400g mince
200g ox heart
200g calves' liver or pig kidneys
1 tin chopped tomatoes
6 fresh tomatoes
2 onions
2 red peppers
Tomato Puree
1 glass red wine (and another 1 for you!)
Oil
Seasoning to taste

(for a veggie version, ditched the mince and offal and use about a kilo of mixed dried beans. Soak them over night)

Equipment

Chopping Board
Sharp Knife
Huge pot
Stirring spoon

Instructions

Chop your onions roughly. Put a bit of oil in the bottom of the pot, let it warm up, and add the onions. Cook on a low heat, prodding occasionally.

Dice your heart and liver/kidneys. You can have both liver and kidneys, but I run out of space in my pot if I do that. If I haven't got offal, I like to do this with mixed beans - kidney beans, butter beans and chick peas are good, or just packed of dried mixed beans.

Add mince and offal to the pot. Turn up the heat a bit and allow to brown, prodding occasionally.

Chop your peppers and tomatoes. Add to the pot.

Add the tinned tomatoes, red wine, a squeeze of tomato puree and other seasonings. I like mixed herbs, pinch of salt, pinch of white pepper and worcestershire sauce.

If the meat is sticking out, rinse the tomato tins and pour the tomatoey water in.

Leave to cook, prodding occasionally, until the liquid has cooked right down into a thicksauce. This means the meat will be meltingly tender. Takes about three hours, depending how wet it is to start with.

Eat with pasta, rice, or baked potatoes.



I may throw in a eggy recipe later this week, to catch up. Poached eggs, mousse, and meringues are all definite for this month!