Day 114: staple comforts
I concur there is very little more comforting than a bowl of minced meat, cooked in some way or other. In fact, when I think about it, minced meat formed the basis of many of my favourite meals growing up: in the ragu for a Spaghetti Bolognese; the main forming component of meat patties and meatballs; and cooked up as savoury mince, with a scant amount of Worcester Sauce-enriched gravy, before nestling it under fluffy buttery mashed potato for a cottage pie - or, simply, served as it is with scoops of mash on the side. My Nan always used an ice cream scoop/food baller; you know, the ones with the leaver on the side you press to release the recently scooped contents. Another favourite way of eating this savoury mince was stuffed into a marrow; another Nan-speciality that I still enjoy to this day - when marrows are in season and large enough to be worthy of stuffing. You peel the marrow, hollow out the seeds, stuff the cavity with cooled savoury mince (use a slotted spoon so you leave as much of the gravy behind as possible - for re-heating and pouring over later), slather its pale green surface with butter, wrap in foil, and place on a baking tray. Roast until soft and tender. Slice and serve with reheated gravy and mashed potato. Divine.
Oh, and savoury mince always had to be made with a tin of baked beans. In addition to Worcester Sauce, brown sauce, an Oxo cube, carrots, water, and seasoning.
At University I started making savoury mince, in the same way as my Mum and my Nan, but with tinned chopped tomatoes instead of beans - sometimes adding a cup of frozen peas, too. (No matter how tight my student budget might have been, I can’t do frozen garden peas - they’re too powdery - so it was of course petit pois). My favourite way of eating this was piled onto rice with cheese grated on top. Of course, you must pre- and post-cheese; that is to say, you put cheese on top of the rice before spooning on the hot mince, and then you apply cheese after, too. The Pre- and Post-Cheese Method applies to Spaghetti Bolognese and Chilli con Carne as well.
When I stumbled across the Rapid Ragu - in Express - and saw a pan of minced meat scattered with cheese, I just knew this was one I had to try out. I wanted to treat myself, too: the husband doesn’t like lamb, and whilst it could of course be subbed for another minced meat - I wanted to try this version.
Nigella’s Rapid Ragu
If you’re organised enough, or just even half-switched on, to be able to remember everything from a very short list of ingredients, then this would indeed be a rapid ragu for you. If you’re me, however, and have an attention span that peaks three seconds, then you’ll forget something. It’s guaranteed. It’s the norm.
In this case, I forgot the caramelised onions. I know I could have just fried the onions lightly and incorporated them into the recipe that way, but I wanted the immersive ‘sweetly salving’ experience mentioned in Express. And so I caramelised my own. Which I now see is also recommended in the online version of the recipe.
Two large onions, sixty minutes, and half a bottle of wine later (plus a spoon of balsamic glaze) and I had a small ramekin’s worth of caramelised onions weighing in at 140g; roughly what I needed for the double quantities of the ragu I was making.
Flavour musings
Seriously good flavours here: the rich sweetness from the lamb, the caramelly depth from the marsala, the salty smokiness from the pancetta, and the firm, peppery bite of the green lentils; all making for a mighty fine bowl of cosy and bolstering comfort.
I enjoyed mine in an old soup mug that my Nan gave me when I started Uni - she likes to empty the contents of her cupboards onto me, which I have absolutely no issue with - alongside a bowl of grated cheddar and chopped fresh parsley; applying liberal quantities of both as I took each new mouthful.
