Osso Bucco with Gremolata

17 05 2013

Osso Bucco sounds all posh & fancy schmancy but it just means ‘bone hole’ because of the hole you can see in the middle where the bone has been cut and it is actually a pretty cheap cut of meat. It comes from the shin or shank of veal or beef. This is my first experience with it so I have no idea how else you would cook it but I’m thinking slow cooking might be the only option if you don’t want it to taste like old shoes. If you don’t have a slow cooker, they are brilliant & cheap as chips. It will change your life so just go & get one. Seriously, it means you can just leave your dinner cooking all day at home without worrying about burning the place down….. Actually that could probably still happen but it is UNLIKELY people, unlikely.

This dish is perfect for those nights that are cooling down, it is warming & wholesome without being stodgy. It is low in carbohydrates, a great source of protein & full of even more amazing digestive health benefits if you make it with delicious bone broth.

Osso Bucco-
4 pieces of Osso Bucco
Punch salt & pepper
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs ground ginger
3 cups stock (I used Bone Broth)
1 cup white wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Coconut oil for cooking

Gremolata-
1/2 cup fresh mint
1 bunch (about a cup of chopped) parsley
6-10 anchovies (optional- you can just use a pinch of salt instead)
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
Pinch pepper

For the gremolata- add all ingredients to a little food processor bowl if you have one or a mortar & pestle and blend to a paste consistency. You can add a dash of water if it is too dry.

For the osso bucco- In a bowl add the garlic, ginger, salt & pepper & roll each Osso Bucco in this mix to coat like flour. Heat the coconut oil in your pan (or crockpot if you are using that to cook in) and brown the Osso Bucco on both sides then remove from pan. Add any remaining garlic & ginger from the ‘flouring’ to the pan and the white wine and increase the heat until the wine has reduced by half. Add the tomatoes & stock & bring to the boil. You can now add all this with your Osso Bucco to your slow cooker (or just add your Osso Bucco back into your crockpot), pop it on low & forget about it for at least 5 hrs (prob about 3 hrs in the oven in a crockpot), I left mine for about 8hrs while I was working. Once you are ready to eat you can remove the meat and set aside, pop all the sauces back in the pan & simmer to reduce & thicken the sauce if you like or just use it as it is.

Pile a nice bed of cauliflower mash on your plate, top with the Osso Bucco & some sauce & a nice dollop of gremolata.

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Thai Beef Meatballs

30 04 2013

And so my meat adventures continue. Shall we call them “Me-ventures”? “Meatures”? I’d like them to have a name so get your thinking caps on please. You might win a prize…. but probably not, I have no prizes. If people gave me prizes I’d probably keep them for myself. Especially if they were food prizes, I’d totally eat all of them & share none. I would tell you about them though if they were delicious, like my meatballs. So, no prize but my eternal gratitude. That should be enough. Please & thank you. **Disclaimer- If someone reading this was wanting to donate me some prizes please disregard this first paragraph & just express post those babies ASAP.

A few things I have decided over my past few months as a meat-eater….1. I love bacon- why the hell have I not had this in my life for the past 15 years? Were you people conspiring agains me!? It was probably the government, or the FBI, or the actual pigs themselves. Anyway, back to bacon. I love it more each time I eat it. If I could marry bacon I probably would. Sorry Trav, but it’s the truth. 2. I really enjoy slow cooked lamb- not so big on cutlets or even just grilled. I like it to be all-fally-apart. 3. Pork is the same- slow cooked or I’m not really interested. 4. Beef I am still working out. I am very ‘meh’ about it, it is still too ‘meaty’ for me but I think I will get there. Beef mince is today’s experiment and I think I like it. Especially with the dipping sauce, I could just drink that gear on its own. Don’t judge me till you make it judgey mcjudger, it is freaking delicious.

1kg beef mince (try & get grassfed or organic)
1 long red chilli, finely diced (seeds removed if you don’t like it too hot)
1 tbs fresh grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch coriander, finely chopped including stems
3 eggs
2 tbs coconut aminos (you could use soy sauce or tamari)
1/2 cup almond meal
Coconut oil for cooking

Dipping sauce

1 tbs nut or seed butter (I used roasted almond butter)
Juice 1 lime
1 tsp fresh chopped chilli
3 tbs coconut aminos
Pinch stevia or tbs honey/maple syrup

For the sauce- I added everything to a jar & shook the cr@p out of it until all the lumps were gone. Done.

For the balls- add all the ingredients to a big bowl and mix well to combine everything. I used my hands because that is just how I roll. I washed them, obviously, no-one wants my dog’s hair in their meatballs. Roll them into little (or big) balls and set aside. Heat your coconut oil in a frypan and cook the balls. It’s not rocket science. You don’t really need me from here. You cook the balls, you dip them in the sauce, you shove them in your mouth. You can thank me later. Enjoy.

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Salmon Chowder

10 04 2013

Due to the miserable cold, wet Brisbane weather this week, and my current ‘can’t be bothered chewing’ attitude, my soup obsession has well & truely spiraled out of control. As part of my mission to ‘Calm the f$ck down’ and not be such a Rushing Woman, (as per the book I am currently reading), I need to eat slower. Chew my food properly. Not do a million other things while I am eating. I am finding this VERY difficult. I hover my food. It’s not my fault, it’s what coming from a big family does to a person. Survival of the fittest. So because I am struggling to masticate (what a weird word) properly, I have taken the lazy way out & created food that I can drink :) This probably defeats the purpose but it’s where I’m at right now.

Cream of Cauliflower soup was followed by Creamy Broccoli & Parsley soup this week and now we have reached the pinnacle of soups, the chowder. I have eaten chowder only once in San Francisco and never cooked it before so I would suggest I am hardly the expert on chowder. In saying that, I am the expert of my tastebuds & this tastes freaking tops so if it’s not “chowdery” enough for you then I say “NO SOUP FOR YOU”! Get it? Seinfeld? Oh whatever. Just eat the chowder. It’s good for you you. And it’s delicious. Go, get chowdering. What a cool word “chowdering”, use it in a sentence sometime this week please.

300g bacon, diced (preferably nitrate free if you can find it)
500g salmon fillets, chopped in half (skin and bones removed)
1 leek, sliced
2 cups carrots, diced into small pieces
1 litre chicken stock/bone broth or vegetable stock
500ml full fat coconut milk
1 tbs fresh dill
Salt & black pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, cook the bacon until it’s nice & crispy. Take out 1/2 the bacon & set aside. Add the leeks to the remaining bacon and continue to sauté until the leeks are tender. Add the carrots and cook until they start to soften. Add the stock, dill, salt & pepper and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Use a stick blender to blend this until smooth. Return to the heat, add the coconut milk, bring to the boil again then add the salmon fillets to the soup, make sure they are covered with the soup, and let simmer until they are easy to break apart. Gently flake the salmon pieces apart and stir gently. Serve in big bowls, sprinkle with a bit more fresh dill & the remaining bacon.

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Lamb in the Garden

20 03 2013

This delicious concoction is super easy, makes great leftovers & can be eaten warm or cold. You can use any veggies you like to make this as low carb or carb-ful as you wish. Packed full full of veggie goodness, lean protein and a whole lotta love. Enjoy.

Lamb backstrap (you can probably use another cut, I haven’t tried)
1 tbs rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbs mint, finely chopped
1 tbs coconut oil
Pinch salt & pepper
1/2 head cauliflower
1/2 head broccoli
1 eggplant, cubed
1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted in cinnamon
2 zucchini, chopped roughly
2 capsicum, sliced
You can add pumpkin/sweet potato/ beans etc if you like

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbs coconut aminos/ tamari
1 tbs raw honey (optional- I didn’t use this but you can if you like)
Shake it all together in a jar.

Roast all the veggies first and set aside. Rub your lamb with the mint, rosemary, salt, pepper & coconut oil. Heat your frypan and cook the lamb to your liking. Allow it to rest for 5 mins before slicing. In a big salad bowl combine the roasted veggies & lamb, pour over dressing and toss gently. Top with walnuts. Add a bit of fresh chopped mint if you like. Dig in.

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Lamb Sliders

13 03 2013

This dish was inspired by my baby sister Jess. She’s not actually a baby. It is not cool to let babies kick around next to ovens & stoves. That is just plain dangerous. Jess is 21 so completely fine to be left unattended in a kitchen. She made chicken ones like this last weekend and they looked fab so, given my newfound discovery of meat, I though lamb with a mint sauce would be amaze. It was. You will love it. This recipe is sans the bread found in most sliders so won’t clog up your guts like glue. Packed full of veggie goodness, a few healthy carbs & a whole lot of yum, this is a perfect post workout chow down.

Mint Dressing-
4 tbs coconut cream (it works best if this has been in the fridge so it is thick & creamy)
Juice 1/2 lemon
Good pinch salt & pepper
2 tbs chopped mint

Mix it all well in a bowl & pop it in the fridge until you are ready for it.

Sliders-
1-2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into about 1cm thick slices
Baby spinach
1 avocado, sliced
1 capsicum, sliced & roasted (optional)
500g lamb, I used backstrap but I am sure other cuts will be fine too
Add anything else you fancy
2 tbs fresh chopped rosemary
2 tbs coconut oil
Pinch salt & pepper

In a container mix the rosemary, oil, salt & pepper. Add the lamb and coat well in the mix. Set aside to marinate for a bit. Preheat your oven to 180C, on a baking paper lined tray lay out your sweet potato rounds & bake for 20-30 mins until cooked. Removes from oven & set aside. In a hot pan cook the lamb to your liking then set aside to rest for 5-10mins before slicing. Take a sweet potato round, stack it with your spinach, avocado, capsicum & lamb, drizzle with the dressing then top it all off with another sweet potato round.

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