Beef Hedgehogs

I usually make Meatballs with Spaghetti, and Teena really loves them!  Last night I decided to try something different though.  Mum asked me the other day if I remembered when she used to make Hedgehogs with beef mince and rice, and I did though I couldn't remember the recipe exactly.  So I decided to use my Meatballs and Spaghetti recipe and just modify it a little.


Ingredients

• 500g beef mince
• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 1 tbspn lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup basil leaves, finely chopped
• 2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
• 2 tbspn tomato paste
• 2 tspn hot chilli sauce
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• Salt and pepper

1.  Combine mince, onion, 1 tbspn tomato paste, 1 tspn chilli sauce, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, basil, half the rice and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Shape a small handful of the mixture into balls and then roll them in a bowl filled with the extra rice.  Place meatballs on a tray and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the sauce.

2.  Combine tomatoes, 1 tbspn tomato paste, 1 tspn chilli sauce and stock in a deep frying pan. Slowly bring to the boil and then drop meatballs into the sauce.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and the rice is tender.  Serve.

I only used 1 cup of stock but the rice absorbed too much liquid and I had to add another during cooking.  So I added another cup to the recipe above.  Some of the meatballs fell apart when I tried to turn so you could an egg to the mix to help hold it together if you wanted to.  These are a meal on their own really, but we served ours with some roasted potato, sweet potato, left over damper and a glass of red wine.  Delicious!

Herb Damper

My Sister used to make this damper all the time.  It's so tasty and easy to make that I often make one to go with some soup, risotto or Spaghetti Bolognaise.  You can use any herbs you have available.  I've made different ones with Sage, Basil, Garlic, Chilli.  I don't usually have lemon pepper seasoning either, so you can skip that or just add some black pepper.

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 tbspn butter 
• 1 bunch chives, finely chopped
• 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cap-full of white vinegar

1.  Preheat oven to 200°C.  Sift flour into a bowl.  Using your fingertips, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Stir in chives, lemon pepper and Parmesan.

2.  Combine milk and vinegar, add to flour.  Mix lightly until mixture starts to come together (add a little extra milk if necessary). Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly. Shape into a 3cm-thick round and place on an oven tray.

3.  Score top of damper with a knife into wedges. Dust lightly with a little flour. Bake for about 20 minutes or until damper is light golden.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Winter is here, and what's the best food to eat when it's cold?  Soup of course!  The good thing about soups is that you can put just about anything into them and they are so easy to make.  One of my favorite soup recipes is this Pumpkin Soup.  The combination of spices just seem to go so well with the pumpkin.

Ingredients
Olive Oil for frying
1 Onion
2-3 Hot Chillies
1 tsp crushed Garlic
1 tsp ground Cumin
1/2 tsp ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 kg Pumpkin, cut into small pieces
4 Cups Vegetable Stock
Shredded Coconut

Finely chop onion and chillies.  Heat oil in a deep soup pot and fry onion, chillies and garlic until soft.  Add spices and stir for another minute.  Add pumpkin and stir to coat with spices.  Add stock and bring to the boil.  Simmer, covered for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.  Use a hand blender if you like a smooth consistency or just use a potato masher if you prefer a chunkier soup.  You can thin the soup if you like with some milk or cream.  Stir in a handful of shredded coconut and serve with some hot damper!