Never ending tomato mince

Roughly chop 2 large onions. Fry gently in olive oil in a large pan. Add about 4 crushed cloves of garlic. Fry until clear, about 8 mins.
Add about 1.5kg mince & stir until brown. Throw in some finely chopped carrot and various colour peppers.
Stir in a really good squeeze of tomato purée for about 5 mins before adding 2 tins chopped tomatoes. Rinse the cans with about a glass of red wine into the pan and add about 2 tsp marmite. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and leave to simmer and reduce.

This is called never ending because you can use it for all sorts. Try using the sauce as a bolognese with pasta, or in a lasagne or cannelloni. Put in a dish & top with normal mash or sweet potato mash for a nice, different shepherds pie. Throw over a jacket potato or fill a wrap for lunch.
Mix in some powdered cumin, chilli & various beans to convert it to a nice chilli. It really is never ending.


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Chicken Orzo Risotto (Chorzotto?)

Melt some butter in olive oil. Add chopped onion & garlic. When soft, add pieces of chicken thigh. Size is up to individual taste - I like big chunky pieces.

When chicken is browned add chopped courgettes, peppers, carrots, celery, green beans, sweetcorn, mushroom and / or any other veg you prefer. Add the veg one at a time and stir for a minute before adding the next. Stir for 5 mins after adding last veg. Mix in a bit of rosemary & sage.

Add enough hot stock to cover, meanwhile put the Orzo in boiling water for about 5 mins. It should be undercooked when you drain.

Add the orzo to the chicken / veg mix, ensuring there is enough liquid. You can add more if necessary but use hot water or stock.

Stir until the orzo is cooked, and the liquid is the required thickness. Top with a nice grated cheese & a squeeze of lemon juice.




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Random Chickpea curry

Fry off finely chopped onion, garlic & grated fresh ginger (about 3cm) in nut oil. Don't have oil too hot, mix should slowly go transparent, not darken.

Add 1 tbsp crushed coriander seeds, 2 tsp crushed cumin seeds, 1 tsp crushed fennel seeds. Mix well

Add 1 tsp fenugreek, 1/2 tsp tumeric & whatever chilli you want. Mix in

Chop some okra into big chunks & stir in. Could also add finely chopped peppers, courgettes and/aubergine.

Add drained tin of chickpeas (or 2 if you want it thicker)

Cook for at least 20 mins, longer if you can. If it dries, just add a touch of water.

Serve with chopped coriander leaves & a squeeze of lemon juice

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