Beef – The Food Wife

Meatballs

3rd March 2025
by thefoodwife

Serves 6

A plate of comfort! This is a family crowd pleaser. Using a combination of the fatty sausage meat and lean beef mince creates a great tasting meatball.

The fennel and chilli flakes are optional but do make a great tasting sauce, but leave one or both out if you like.

Ingredients:

The meatballs:

300g lean beef mince

340g herby pork stuffing mix/sausage meat (ensure this is without gluten if you are making it gluten free)

The sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 red onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, diced

4 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1 litre passatta

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

To serve: 500g Pasta (gluten free if necessary) and parmesan

Step 1: Start by making your meatballs by combining the 2 meats in a bowl and mixing well (although messy youâ€™ll get the best results by using your hands, which are going to get messy in the next step anyway!)

Step 2: Roll small amounts of the mixture between your two hands to make balls (the mix will make about 35 small balls although you can make them bigger if you wish).

Step 3: Place the balls on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven at 200c for 25 minutes (bear in mind if you make bigger balls theyâ€™ll take longer).

Step 4: Whilst the meatballs are cooking, make your sauce. On a medium heat, add your oil to a pan and your red onion, garlic and red pepper. Soften for 3-4 minutes, stirring every so often, to make sure the garlic and onion do not burn. Add your fennel seeds and chilli flakes (if using) and stir for a minute or two, before adding your passatta and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste. Cook the sauce on a low heat for 10-15 minutes. Whilst this is simmering cook your pasta according to the packet instructions.

Step 5: Remove your meatballs from the oven and add to your sauce.

Step 6: When you are ready to serve, add cooked pasta to the sauce and coat evenly. Use some of the pasta cooking water to loosen if necessary. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Vietnamese-style Sticky Meatballs

11th February 202411th February 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes 12

These are so tasty. Sticky from their honey, sesame and soy glaze and juicy inside. You can of course serve these with noodles or rice but for a low carb option try them in gem lettuce leaf â€˜boatsâ€™. I made these with turkey mince but by all means use a mince of your choice.

Ingredients:

400g (turkey) mince

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 lemongrass, finely chopped

3 lime leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp oyster sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

For the sticky glaze:

2 tbsp honey

4 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

1 tsp sesame seeds

Step 1: Mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl (use your hands for best results).

Step 2: Wet your hands to help them not stick and make 12 balls from the mixture.

Step 3: Add a little vegetable oil to a (non-stick) frying pan and over a medium heat, fry the meatballs until they are golden all over and cooked through. This will take 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile mix up the glaze ingredients.

Step 4: When youâ€™re happy the meatballs are cooked, add the glaze mixture to the pan and raise the heat a little so that the mixture reduces to a sticky glaze, which should take a couple of minutes, and toss the meatballs so they are coated.

Serve.

Turkey Koftas

28th May 202328th May 2023
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 25 (serves 5+)

These little morsels are great as part of a mezze or as the protein with a salad for lunch or dinner.

Frying the onion before adding to the mince helps give a sweeter flavour to the koftas and the turmeric gives them a golden hue.

Iâ€™d suggest using a non stick pan. I also like to use two frying pans as Iâ€™m cooking them. Once I have filled both pans itâ€™s ready to start flipping them over and the whole process is done quickly.

I used turkey mince but you could use beef, lamb or pork if you prefer.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped

750g Turkey (thigh) mince

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground turmeric

3 tsp ground cumin

Oil

Step 1: Over a medium heat, fry the onion in a little oil, until golden but not browned. (I used a garlic oil for extra flavour).

Step 2: In a large bowl, mix the spices, salt and pepper, eggs, mince and slightly cooled onion together, with your hands. Make sure you really squish it so itâ€™s thoroughly combined.

Step 3: Heat some vegetable oil in a non stick frying pan, over a medium-high heat. Use a dessert spoon to scoop a heaped amount of the mixture and use another spoon to round the top. Transfer into the hot oil and cook for a few minutes on each side, not turning until each side is browned. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

Step 4: Remove the koftas from the pan, once cooked, and keep warm until all are ready and then serve.

Mince with Crispy Chilli Oil

15th December 202115th December 2021
by thefoodwife

Serves 4

This will work with any mince you like, meat or veggie. You are bulking it out with three types of vegetables that are all made to be the same size as the mince, so itâ€™s a great way to smuggle veg into a meal.

The crispy chilli oil is a magical ingredient. Talk about addictive!! Two heaped tablespoons might sound a lot, but I figure youâ€™re not going to be making this if you donâ€™t like chilli, and although itâ€™s spicy, itâ€™s not that spicy really. I also garnish mine with slices of fresh red chilli for a pop of colour and a spike of extra heat.

Ingredients:

1 tsp coconut oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 large carrot, grated

1 pepper, finely diced

300g mince (turkey, pork, beef, chicken, soya, quorn)

1-2 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tbsp oyster sauce (leave out if vegetarian/vegan) (gluten-free if required)

2 heaped tbsp crispy chilli oil (gluten-free/vegan/vegetarian if required)

Step 1: In a wok, or large frying pan, melt the coconut oil over a medium-high, then add the diced onion, cook for a few minutes, stirring often, before adding the carrot and pepper. Continue to stir and cook for a couple more minutes, then add the mince.

Step 2: Cook the mince until it is browned and dry (any water should be cooked until evaporated) then add the seasoning of soya sauce, oyster sauce (if using) and crispy chilli oil. Continue to cook for about five-ten minutes, stirring often until everything is coated, glossy and tastes delicious.

Serve with rice or noodles. I also like it with a crunchy cucumber salad dressed with lime juice and salt.

Whatâ€™s Cooking?

21st May 201923rd May 2019
by thefoodwife

If youâ€™re looking for some culinary inspiration hereâ€™s a round up of some of the recipes from The Food Wife that weâ€™re having this week.

Pizza, The Food Husbandâ€™s favourite, has been off the menu for a while as he’s eliminating gluten from his diet, but I made up a batch of sourdough pizza bases with the addition of two teaspoons each of garlic powder and dried oregano to the dough. I had a go at a potato base for a gluten-free version, which was a big hit (think giant gnocchi base). Watch this space for the recipe as I try to recreate it next time pizza is on the menu.Â Â

Weâ€™re still working our way through the jars of wild garlic pesto I made recently, and tomorrow weâ€™ll be enjoying it simply with pasta and green beans for a light and summery meal.Â Â Iâ€™ll also be adding it as a topping to a salmon fillet before roasting it in the oven another evening this week.

The Food Baby has not been forgotten either. Still in the quest to smuggle more vegetables into his diet (he can spot a pea from the other side of the room) Iâ€™ve batch-cooked a tomato and carrot pasta sauce and a three bean chilli along with a double batch of cheese and vegetable scones for the freezer. This time using grated parsnip, carrot and broccoli along with chopped spinach and sundried tomatoes, he devours them without the knowledge that Iâ€™m getting sneaky veg inside him!

And finally if, like me, you love rhubarb, then youâ€™ll be loving the abundance of it at the moment. Why not give my rhubarb crumble traybake a go, or if you can wait a while, have a go at my rhubarb gin. Itâ€™s worth the wait!