Category: Beef

Neil’s Nifty Nachos and Chilli

On our last night at Arcadia Retreat in Rarotonga our friend Neil made this delicious and nifty version of nachos and chilli.

Neil’s Nifty Nachos and chilli

As we know Nachos are usually multi-layers of tortilla chips with cheese and a variety of toppings often including versions of chilli con carne or meatballs. Inevitably the chips go soggy in parts, but with Neil’s Nifty Nachos, there is no danger of that!

The nifty trick is simply serve the cheesy tortillas baked in the oven separately to the chilli, sour cream and guacamole!

His recipe for the chilli con carne is also delicious, imbued with spices such as cinnamon and cloves!

Tips for great nachos

In exploring tips for great nachos I found these two articles which focus on the more traditional multi-layered versions.

This story from the Cape Cod Times suggests using the cheese as a buffer zone to protect the crispiness of the chips. (This story also has some interesting suggestions about the creation and naming of nachos.)

And Bon Appetit lays out 10 rules for making nachos.

But neither suggest Neil’s Nifty Nachos version of simply separating the chips and sauce and completely avoiding any chance of soggy chips in the first place!

So here’s how he does it.

Neil’s Nifty Nachos and Chilli Recipe

Make the chilli first, but don’t forget to get the ingredients for the nachos and sides when you go shopping!

Chilli Ingredients

  • 250g beef mince
  • 250g pork mince
  • 1 large onion finely diced
  • 1 can kidney beans (do not drain, it will go in with the brine!)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cinnamon quill
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • 3-4 fresh red chillies finely chopped (deseed if you prefer)
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander chopped
  • 1 green capsicum diced
  • 1 fresh tomato diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large heavy based pot or pan with a lid, and add cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds and bay leaf ..heat until fragrant.

2. Add pork and beef mince, garlic, onion, chopped chilli and chilli powder.

3. Turn up heat frying and breaking up mince continuously with a spoon for about 5 minutes until well coloured and onions are translucent. It’s important to dry fry the mince rather than allow it to stew.

Fry rather than stew the mince mixture

4. Add tinned tomato, tomato paste and can of kidney beans with brine and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes or so to allow mince to absorb flavours, adding 1 cup water if mixture is sticking.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste to mince mixture.

5. Add green capsicum, half the fresh coriander and fresh tomato and cook for another 15 minutes until sauce is reduced and capsicum is just cooked.

6. Add the rest of the fresh chopped coriander and mix through.

7. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, pickled jalapeños and guacamole on the side.

Neil’s Nifty Nachos and chilli

Nachos ingredients:

  • 1 bag of tortilla chips
  • 1 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese (as chunky grate as you can)
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella
  • Baking paper

Method:

1. Turn on your grill to high heat and line baking pan with baking paper.

2. Alternately layer tortilla chips generously sprinkling the two types of cheese between them, saving enough for a thick layer of cheese on top.

Chunky grated cheese for Neil’s tortilla chips

3. Grill chips until cheese is melted and chips are crispy. Serve immediately on the side with Neil’s chilli, sour cream, pickled jalapeños and sour cream on the side.

Crispy, cheesy grilled tortilla chips

Serving Neil’s Nifty Nachos and Chilli

Lift the cheesy tortilla chips with the baking paper onto a platter or just place baking pan (on a placemat) on the table with chilli con carne and sides such as sour cream, guacamole and pickled jalapeños to the side.

Guests serve themselves, layering the chips with the chilli and sides to their taste, but you can be guaranteed that the chips stay crispy and the chilli is delicious!

Neil’s Nifty Nachos and chilli

Shanthini1 Comment

#Kimchi Beef “power” #bowls

These are a delicious new favourite on our dinner list. Caramelising the kimchi is genius…definitely “Damn Delicious …slightly tweaked to include lightly pickled grated carrot, to add another layer of sweetness.

Damn delicious KimchI Beef Power Bowl

Here’s the link to the recipe. https://damndelicious.net/2019/07/13/korean-beef-power-bowls/

Brown the beef
Mix the sauce ingredients
Add sauce to beef and cook until dark brown and crunchy
Fry kimchi with brown sugar to caramelise
Salad with endamame added
Cooked farro
Compose bowls with farro and salads as base
Delicious with avocado and sriracha mayonaise

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Slow-cooked Beef Cheeks in red wine

Cold,raining and wintry week here in Sydney. Called for a comfort food dinner last night.

Slow cooked beef cheeks with red wine, shiitake mushrooms, brown mushrooms and button mushrooms.

Used this recipe Beef cheeks in red wine but added a few dried red chillies and some eschallots fried in butter along with the button mushrooms towards the end.

Also, I don’t have a slow cooker so cooked slowly over the stove for 4 hours, adding water along the way to make sure it didn’t stick.

Lovely with a glass of red wine or two and indulgent mash on the side.

Beef cheeks with mushrooms slow cooked in red wine
Fork tender slow cooked beef cheeks with mushrooms in red wine

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Vietnamese Beef Stir Fry with watercress

Inspired by Karen Martini’s recent recipe in the Sydney Morning Herald, I used ingredients I had at home to do a version of this simple but delicious stir fry.

Bit of chopping, marinating and grinding involved but worth it for the very tasty outcome.

  • Prep time: 1 hour Cooking time: 15 minutes
  • Ingredients:
  • 500g rump steak, fat removed and cut into 1cm strips
  • 1 bunch watercress
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 4 red or green chillies sliced lengthwise into thin “batons”
  • 1 small red or green capsicum sliced into 3cm long batons
  • 1/4 bunch dill, thick stalks removed, chopped into 3cm lengths
  • 1/2 bunch spring onions white and some green parts sliced into 3cm long batons
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 2 tablespoons jasmine rice
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1.5 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 3 teaspoons palm sugar
  • 1.5 teaspoons roughly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • Juice of 1 lime

Method

1. Slice beef, place in bowl.

2. Finely dice 4 cloves of garlic, crush 2 cloves into paste, add garlic to beef.

3. Add pepper and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce to beef and set aside to marinate for at least half an hour.

4. Heat a small pan and add rice to pan to toast. Keep shaking pan to brown rice but make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

5. Prepare fresh ingredients. Trim and clean watercress, dice onions, cut capsicum, spring onions, dill, and chillies. Scatter watercress on a large serving platter and set aside.

6. grind rice to a rough powder in a mortar and pestle.

7. Mix palm sugar, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce and mix to combine and dissolve palm sugar in a amsl bowl and set aside.

8.Heat the oil in a wok on high for 4 minutes until smoking.

9. Carefully add beef to wok and spread so as much of beef surface on one side is in contact with wok. Reduce heat slightly but leave beef undisturbed for 2 minutes.

10. Stir beef to expose other side to wok, add capsicum, diced onion and chilli and cook for 3 minutes or so until onion softens.

11.Add spring onion, dill and the sauces mixture. Mix through and cook for a minute or so until sauce has heated up.

12. Tip beef over watercress. Pour lime juice over the beef, then sprinkle roasted rice powder over beef and serve with jasmine rice.

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Oven roasted #beef #short ribs with corn

These beef ribs were delicious with corn and a spinach and brocccoline salad with quick pickled onions. Inspired by a friend in Brisbane who made them last night!

Prep time: 2 hours Cooking time: 3.5-4 hours

Ingredients:

Beef short ribs, trimmed – about 1kg bone in for 2 people

Spice rub: 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon cummin powder, 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1.5 tablespoons olive oil

Homemade bbq marinade sauce: 1/4 cup tomato ketchup, 2 tablespoons smoky bbq sauce, 1.5 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

Salad; Broccolini, baby spinach, 1/2 red onion, 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, salt pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil

Corn: corn on the cob, salt, water to cover, salt, pepper and a dob or two of butter to finish

Method:

1. Make spice rub, then massage well into beef short ribs, allow to marinate at room temperature for just on 2 hours (or overnight in fridge but bring to room temp before cooking).

2. Heat oven to 120 degrees celcius

3. Cover roasting pan in foil, then put another layer of foil and place ribs on it, then cover with another piece of foil and crimp edges to create a tented sealed foil package. Place in oven. (Slice half a red onion and pickle in 3 tablespoon cider vinegar)

4. Make bbq sauce and marinade/brush with bbq sauce every hour for 3 hours.

5. Uncover tops of beef, raise oven temp to 200 degrees Celsius, brush with bbq sauce and cook for 1/2 hour to melt fat on top and crisp. While finishing beef boil corn and make green salad, adding drained pickled onions. I used baby spinach and blanched broccolini with a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Slow oven roasted beef short ribs

6. For last ten minutes add thyme leaves, and turn on top grill to finish cooking off top layer of fat.

7. rest beef for 10-15 minutes and serve with corn and salad!

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Beef Wellington #easyaspie

Beef Wellington is one of those dishes that looks really impressive but is easy as pie to make.

This recipe can be prepared in just over an hour including making veggies on the side.

You can choose to also put a layer of pate between the beef and mushroom mixture but I don’t always include it as it does make it much richer.

Preparation time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes

  • Ingredients
  • 500g piece of good quality beef fillet , tied at intervals with string
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 10 slices of thinly sliced prosciutto
  • 6 large mushrooms diced very finely
  • 1 small onion diced very finely
  • 3 garlic cloves crushed to a paste
  • handful of thyme leaves stripped from the stem
  • 2 tablespoons butter and a dash of olive oil
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 2 sheets of puff pastry defrosted
  • 2-3 potatoes peeled and chopped into quarters
  • Broccoli florets or green beans

1. Defrost puff pastry. Heat non-stick frying pan until hot. Sear beef for 2-3 minutes to brown and seal all sides.

2. Place beef on plate and put in the freezer for 15 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

3. While beef is cooling, Place peeled and chopped potatoes rubbed with olive oil on a baking tray and place on lower shelf of oven.

4. Then the mushroom mixture. Heat pan again and add olive oil and butter to melt, then add onion and cook until transparent, add garlic paste and thyme leaves and mix through, then add chopped mushrooms, season with black pepper until just cooked through and moisture evaporates. Mixture should be dry. Put on a flat plate and place in the freezer to cool for 5 minutes.

5. Remove beef from freezer, remove string, rub all over with mustard.

6. Lie prosciutto slices flat on a sheet of plastic wrap, overlapping the prosciutto to form a base to wrap the beef in. Place beef at one edge of the sheet of prosciutto and roll over using the plastic wrap to help create a neat parcel.

7. Place on piece of the puff pastry sheets with a slight overlap, sealing the two pieces together to create one large base sheet. Place beef on the pastry to encase it and seal the ends using a fork. Use excess pastry to create strips and pastry leaves to decorate the parcel. Brush with beaten egg.

8. Place parcel carefully on an oven tray lined with baking paper and bake in oven for 30 minutes until puff pastry is puffed and golden. Check potatoes and turn. While beef is cooking, microwave broccoli or green beans pieces until just cooked.

9. Rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing in thickish and serving with roast potatoes and broccoli. Dinner for 4.

Pink in the middle….

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