Sweet cherry tomato sausage tray bake

Sweet Cherry Tomato Sausage Tray Bake

Thank you Jamie Oliver for the idea to cook another amazing tray bake dish. Using robust herbs like thyme, rosemary and bay leaf, lots of cherry tomatoes, and the best Italian pork sausages you can buy, or any flavoursome sausages really, you end up with an intense combination of caramelised gooey tomato flavours and roasted sausage. Who doesn't love eating sausages?

Ingredients:

2 kg lovely ripe  cherry tomatoes, or mixed colours if possible
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh bay leaf
1 tablespoon dried oregano, or more if using fresh
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
12 Italian pork sausages
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Let's cook:

Preheat your oven to 190 deg. C. Use a roasting tray large enough to accommodate all of your tomatoes in one snug fitting layer. Put in all the tomatoes, herb sprigs, oregano, garlic and sausages.

Drizzle well with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss all the ingredients together, and then move the sausages to the top. Place the tray into the oven for half an hour. After this time, give the tray a shake and turn the sausages over. Put back into the oven for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how sticky and well cooked you like your sausages. The longer you cook the dish, the more caramelised your tomatoes will be. Delicious!

You should have an intense, tomatoey sauce by now. If you think your tomato sauce is a little too thin, lift out the sausages, and place the tray on the stove hotplate and cook it down to the required consistency. When it is quite thick, add the sausages back in. Keep warm in the oven until you are ready to eat.

Check your seasoning and add more salt or pepper.

Serve with crusty bread, mashed potato, rice or polenta. Add a green salad and a glass of wine and you will think you are in heaven.

Jamie says any leftovers, if there are any, should be chopped up the next day, and added to some penne or rigatoni to make a wonderful chunky pasta dish. Great idea!

Best wishes

Pauline

Corned Beef Fritters, they're budget friendly and delicious

Corned Beef Fritters are one of the meals I grew up with, and even now, just the thought of them makes my mouth water. A beautifully cooked piece of corned silverside for dinner is as popular as it's ever been, and then after a couple of days, using the leftover slices to make fritters, is not only budget friendly but also delicious. Your family and children will love them.

Beef Stew in the Slow Cooker or Crock Pot

Beef pies, yum, who doesn't like a meat pie?

This very tasty and easy beef stew  can be easily adapted to meat pies or French casseroles served in mini Cocettes, or with the addition of dumplings, can feed crowds of people. 

Aussie Meat Pie and Sour Cream Pastry (Beef Pie)

Everyone loves a good meat pie, and even though it takes a bit of work it is well worth the effort, even in the summer  heat. It is also an economical meal, and feeds a crowd, or means you have leftovers for a couple of days. Buying good quality chuck steak is the secret, and I ask the butcher to slice it for me from a whole chuck and then dice it myself into 3 cm cubes.

Healthy Macaroni Cheese

Macaroni Cheese is a favourite dish of most people, and the ultimate form of comfort food. Unfortunately, eating too much of the traditional recipe which includes bacon and cream isn't really a healthy option.

The following recipe substitutes ham for bacon and light evaporated milk for cream, and is still tasty. You won't really notice any difference.

This is also very easy to cook when you are travelling.

Serves 6.

200g lean good quality ham (replacing 8 rashers bacon)
1 onion, diced
450g macaroni
1/2 cup reduced fat cheese, grated (replacing parmesan cheese)
300ml light evaporated milk (replacing cream)
Black pepper
Spray oil (instead of 2 tbsp. oil)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard (optional)

Method:

1. Chop the ham into chunks.  Fry ham in pan over medium heat with the onion until crispy, remove and then drain on a paper towel.
2. Boil a large pot of water and cook the macaroni for 9-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain the macaroni in a colander and return to the pot to keep warm adding a small amount of the drained liquid to keep the pasta moist.
3. Mix the cheese and evaporated milk in a bowl, add the mustard, then add the ham and onion. Pour over the pasta in the pot and toss gently with tongs.
4. Return the pan to a very low heat and cook approximately for 2 minutes, or until sightly thickened. Season with black pepper.

If you are feeling a little indulgent, add a small serve of grated parmesan over the dish for extra flavour, not that the dish needs it.

Italian Mince Rissoles with Grilled Eggplant, Tomato, and Parmesan

Chicken Parmigiana is a perennial favourite of most people, and when I spotted this recipe on Mindfood, I thought it would be an interesting variation of the Parmigiana, using pork mince.  I also have plenty of eggplants at present so this is another very tasty and economical dish. The original recipe uses beef mince, but I substituted pork mince and used more herbs for flavour. Pork mince is a softer meat than beef, so greater care is needed when cooking the rissoles. What's that saying? Get some pork on your fork!

800g of mince serves 4 and makes 12 rissoles. Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:

500g lean pork or beef mince (quantities can be increased to 800 g depending on how much eggplant you use.)
1 tblsp oregano, chopped
1 tblsp tarragon, chopped
1 cup grated carrot (optional)
1 cup fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves
3 tblsp olive oil
1 very large or 2 smaller eggplants cut into 1 cm slices
500g jar tomato pasta sauce (or use your own)
50g Parmesan cheese,  freshly grated
Steamed greens, asparagus, baby carrots to serve or roasted vegetables

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180degC. Combine the mince with oregano, tarragon, and garlic. Form into 8-12  rissoles, depending on meat quantities, then chill for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat a char grill  or the BBQ to high. Brush the eggplant slices with 2 tbsp of the oil and cook, turning regularly for 2-3 minutes or until well coloured. Line the base of a large roasting dish with the grilled eggplant slices.
3. Brush the rissoles with the remaining oil and char grill for 2 minutes on each side until well coloured. (I found it easier to cook the pork rissoles in a non-stick pan over a high heat.) Assemble the rissoles in the roasting dish on top of the grilled eggplant slices, cover with tomato pasta sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the rissoles are cooked through and the cheese and sauce are bubbling. Serve with vegetables.

They taste even better the following day when eaten as leftovers, with a crusty Italian bread roll.

Best wishes

Pauline

Slow cooker Beef Casserole with Sage

Sage is such an under utilised herb, and whilst it isn't so palatable when it is fresh, it adds a wonderful flavour to beef casseroles, stews, and of course roast chicken. I have two beautiful sage bushes growing in my garden so I am keen to experiment with sage in various recipes. I also love the shape and colour of the leaves which remind me so much of the Mediterranean countries.




Ingredients:

2 carrots
2 onions
1/2 capsicum (optional)
1 kg lean beef (chuck or blade steak is ideal)
500g sliced mushrooms
5 leaves of fresh sage thinly sliced ( dried will be ok but don't overdo it)
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce                   
3 teaspoons chutney
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cornflour (optional)
1 small bunch parsley

Let's cook:

Peel and slice the carrots. Peel and dice the onions. Remove the seeds and membrane from the  capsicum and dice. Place in the slow cooker with the beef, mushrooms, wine, lemon juice, sauce, chutney, salt and 1/4 cup of water.

Place lid on slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on High or 6 hours on low, or until meat is tender.

If necessary, mix cornflour with 1/4 cup of cold water to a paste and use a little or all of it to thicken the dish.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with chopped parsley to serve.

Note: Use less liquid by removing the red wine, soy sauce and water, and this makes an excellent filling for pies.

What other uses are there for sage? I'd love to know.

Slow Cooked Spaghetti Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese Sauce always tastes great, and I think the secret ingredient in this recipe is the can of tomato soup. I always substitute fresh herbs instead of the dried ones, if I have them, and I generally do. This sauce is full of flavour and works really well layered in lasagne. I also generally add some finely chopped vegetables such as carrots, zucchini and celery  to increase the amount of vegetables for the family.