Category Archives: Sauces & Marinades

Food on Sticks

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One of the best things about summer, I think, is Food on Sticks. We’ve been barbecuing whenever possible, which has been most days in fact, and I’ve been making loads of skewered dishes. Prawn skewers (with chorizo tucked into the curl of the prawn – wow), citrus fish kebabs, thai chicken kebabs, and most recently, these lamb kofta.

I really, really love lamb. I try and fit in one lamb dish every week, although it can be tremendously expensive. Good lamb mince is one of the cheaper ways to do it, and I try and stock up on leg steaks when they’re on special. Hoping to tackle a good lamb roast sometime soon, too, although I can’t see us ever eating it every Sunday!

Lamb kofta come in many forms (although none are particularly attractive in photographs, I think). The basic anglicised recipe I use is half an onion, a clove of garlic, 500g mince, and a few teaspooons of whatever spices take your fancy. You could also add fresh ginger and herbs, or I also have a recipe that includes a can of chickpeas, which bulks the quantity out. I think lamb is the best meat to use, but beef is also fine (if rather unconventional).

Lamb Kofta
Adapted from several recipes, mostly by Alison Holst
Serves 4

½ an onion
1 large clove garlic, peeled
2cm piece fresh ginger (optional)
500g lean lamb mince
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder (or less, to taste)
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint – or other fresh herbs

Firstly, if you’re using bamboo skewers, soak them in cold water for at least half an hour so’s they don’t burn when you cook them :)

Whiz the onion, garlic and ginger (if using) in a food processor until they’re very finely chopped. Add the mince, spices and herbs, and whiz until the mixture just starts clumping together.

Using wet hands, shape the mixture into twelve sausage shapes (I divide in half, then half again, etc, to get even portions). Push a skewer through the kofta lengthways.

Get your barbecue or grill heating, and once hot, grill the kofta for about 5 minutes each side (or you could bake them in the oven at 200º, for 6 minutes a side), until cooked through and golden brown.

I served the kofta with a little tomato and cucumber salad, a loaf of ciabatta, and a sauce made by mixing together: 1 cup low fat yoghurt, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp tahini paste, and about 3 Tbsp each fresh chopped mint and coriander, plus salt to taste.

Enjoy this Food on Sticks meal, and here’s to many more this summer!

Harissa Paste

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I don’t really know how popular Harissa is around here. It should be very popular. It is a North African ingredient – a kind of chilli paste you can use for just about anything.

It is seriously easy to make – you just toast some spices and grind them up, then put everything in the food processor. I whizzed some up last week, and have already used it in heaps of dishes – I made this persian-style pilaf with chickpeas, mint and harissa. I added a teaspoon of harissa to tonight’s prawn laksa dinner, and we used it spread (thinly!) on bruschetta for lunch at the weekend. You can also mix it through couscous, add it to stews and casseroles, and it seems to work as a rub or marinade for any kind of meat, chicken or fish. And if you make it at home, you can decide how hot you want it! Always a bonus.

Harissa Paste

2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp garlic flakes
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
3 long red chillis, finely chopped
3 Tbsp tomato puree
juice of one lemon
olive oil

Toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, garlic flakes, fennel seeds and cayenne pepper in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Just heat them until they start smelling delicious – they can burn really quickly so watch out! Pound the toasted mixture with a mortar and pestle until you have  a coarse powder.

Place the powder in a food processor with the chopped onion, chilli, tomato puree and lemon juice. When they’re not $6 each (can you believe it??) you could add roasted red capsicum to the food processor too. I went without this week.

Once you have everything on board, whiz up the paste. I found I didn’t need any olive oil, but if your paste is a bit on the dry side, blend 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in gradually.

If you’ve never tried harissa before, I definitely recommend trying it! I’m sure you can buy it from supermarkets or places like Moore Wilson’s if you’re not bovvered about making your own. Once it’s in your fridge, you’ll find all sorts of uses for it.

On top of spaghetti, all covered in cheese

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Who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs?

I realise I’m getting into the habit of blogging about classics that seem to have lost their appeal along the way. Meatballs are a prime (mince) example. Beef mince, pasta and a good tomato pasta sauce – what’s not to like? It seems unfair that lasagne should claim all the status points in this category. So I’m standing up and fighting for meatballs. Kia Kaha!

This meatball recipe has been around our family for ages – I’m pretty sure I used to eat it when my brother and I were at primary school. I like baked meatballs better than fried, and these ones have a really nice flavour. The recipe title has always been ’spicy meatballs’, but they’re really not spicy, so I’ve taken the liberty of renaming them.

My tomato pasta sauce recipe is very back to basics; I sometimes add extra things depending on what’s in the fridge and what I’m using the sauce for, but it’s a good base recipe. Put together, you have simple, good food. 


Bring Back Meatballs & Basic Pasta Sauce
Serves 2

250g beef mince
1 onion, very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp mustard powder
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
chopped fresh Italian parsley
about 200g spaghetti (I used wholemeal, in case you were wondering about the colour)
½ Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp tomato paste
tomatoes*
2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (e.g. basil, italian parsley, oregano)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp minced chilli
1 tsp brown sugar
parmesan and fresh herbs, to serve

*I used a tin of chopped tomatoes, plus 4-5 fresh ones (red gold!). In times of plenty, you could use all fresh tomatoes (imagine that!), or all tinned. Whatever you fancy and have on hand.

Preheat oven to 200(c). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Combine the mince, half the onion, the first clove garlic, the ginger, mustard powder, breadcrumbs, egg and parsley, and mix until all ingredients are well combined. Shape into golf-ball sized meatballs. Place on the lined tray and bake for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

While they bake, cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water, according to packet directions, and prepare the pasta sauce:

Heat olive oil in a frypan over medium heat. Add the garlic and remaining onion, and cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add tomatoes, herbs, salt, chilli and brown sugar. Let that simmer away gently for 10-15 minutes, while the meatballs finish cooking. Check seasonings and adjust with salt, pepper and/or brown sugar.

 To serve, place the spaghetti on plates, then top with ½ the sauce (as in, 1/4 of the sauce on each plate), then add the meatballs, then the remaining sauce. Top with shaved or grated parmesan, and some extra fresh herbs.

The ultimate verdict on whether this dish is good or not: