Terrific Turkey Bolognese

Old dogs. New tricks.  Recently I had an operation and had to go on a strict fat-free diet afterwards to repair a chyle leak (look it up if you are interested but it's not that interesting). After years of happy and successful Paleo eating, it wasn't easy. But I've learned new skills and this recipe from Leon's Naturally Fast Food is a winner for anyone who wants to eat less red meat and fat but not be hungry all the time.


Ingredients

2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red chilli
1 green pepper
fresh herbs if you have them (chopped thyme and rosemary are great)
500g turkey mince
2 x 400g tinned tomatoes (if you can find them in glass containers, all the better)
2 tablespoons tomato puree
150 ml red wine
large dash of Worcestershire sauce

1. Peel and chop the onions, garlic, chilli and green pepper and cook in the olive oil until soft on low heat. Don't let them burn.

2. Add fresh herbs. if you don't have any, add dried oregano and thyme.

3. Add the turkey mince and brown all over, stirring thoroughly to make sure it is cooked throughout.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, wine and Worcestershire sauce

5. simmer gently - the longer the better - but 30 minutes at least.

I serve this with whole wheat pasta ziti. You can try some of the other options like spelt spaghetti and see which you like but stay away from pasta with white, bleached flour. I like to put the cooked ziti into the pan with the bolognese, stir it up, add some chopped parsley if you have it, put the lid on and let it sit for a few minutes so the pasta can soak up the flavours. Make a lot because its great for breakfast  and snacks.

Coleslaw

Mum,
You gotta update the cook blog. I love cooking the recipes, Makes me feel like I'm home.
Mac

Mac,
Such emails make even a lazy git like your mother get going. I guess you knew that. So here's a new addition - a recipe for coleslaw that takes about 10 minutes all in, tastes great and is super easy.

Why coleslaw you are probably asking yourself? I don't like it that much. It's not so special. Where are the recipes of my childhood?

But you've never had this coleslaw. Baba asks for it all the time. Try it cause your Mama knows best.


Ingredients

1. One head of cabbage - pointed spring cabbage is a bit easier to work with but it really doesn't matter. Any cabbage, any colour is fine.
2. Mayonnaise - this matters a lot. I use Duke's which I bring back from North Carolina but it's not sold outside the South (there's a business idea) so buy the best you can get and make sure it doesn't have sugar in it. Totally unnecessary.
3. Olive oil
4, vinegar
5. caraway seeds

Cut the cabbabe in half. Watch your fingers. Cut out the hard bit at the bottom shaped like a triangle and throw it away.
Then cut into quarters and slice each quarter into very thin strips. Make sure you have a decent knife. If you don't, buy one. If you do, makes sure its sharp and buy a sharpener if you don't have one. You can't cook without a decent knife.
In a large bowl mix 1 cup of mayonnaise, a 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup of vinegar and a large handful of caraway seeds plus salt and pepper.
Put the sliced cabbabe in the bowl with all the ingredients and mix. Let it sit for a few minutes to soak up the flavours.
You can also add finely sliced vegetable like carrots or peppers but I like it plain. Hope you do too.

Roasted Chicken with artichokes, lemon and thyme

Here is a Mediterranean recipe for chicken from London's, Stevie Parle that I have adapted to be even faster and easier. Plus, it's all Paleo.

Ingredients

1 can/tin of artichoke hearts
2 lemons, thickly sliced
2 onions, thickly sliced
1 head of garlic, peeled and broken into cloves
1 teaspoon sage
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
2 handfuls of pitted olives, black or green
Olive oil
1/2  cup white wine

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400
2. In a roasting pan, spread out the sliced onions, lemons and garlic cloves. Then add the thyme, sage, olives and artichoke hearts on top.
3. Place pieces of chicken on top of that - whatever pieces you prefer - but I think thighs are the nicest and season with salt and pepper and some paprika or cayenne pepper for colour is also good but not essential.
4. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken. Then add the white wine
5. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes
6. Scatter the chopped parsley over the dish - or skip it. I do it because it makes it look better and because I like parsley but it's not essential 

Grilled Tuna with Onions and Oregano

You can't expect to read a cooking blog by your mother without the occasional piece of free advice. Guys and gal, you should eat more fish and here's a recipe from Sicily for those times when you are feeling flush and can afford to pay up for the good stuff. Don't try this with cheap tuna. You can also use this recipe for swordfish. Get the fishmonger to cut your steaks medium thick (10-15mm). You can see from the picture that I also added sliced zucchini that was about to go off which was a good additon but not traditional.



Tuna steaks
1 large white onion
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons wine vinegal (red or white) or lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves (its OK to use dried if that is all you have)

Slice the onion thinly and fry over low heat in the olive oil with a pinch of salt until very soft but not coloured. Be patient with this.
Add the vinegar and oregano and continue to cook gently. Add a little bit of water if it gets too dry. It should be like a sauce.
Heat another pan until it is very hot. Rub olive oil on the steaks and grill the tuna for 2 minutes on each side.

Serve the tuna on a bed of salad leaves and then spoon the onion sauce over it and serve a sliced lemon on the side. Add a little more olive oil on top and finish with salt and pepper.

Shredded Kale Salad

There is such wonderful looking kale in the markets right now but what to do with it? This recipe from Marie Simmons is the business. It's so good, so fast  and so delicious you'll be amazed.

1 small bunch (about 10 ounces) of kale, the dark, leafy, Tuscan variety is the nicest for this washed and dried

2 tablespoons fresh lime or lime juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon coarse salt

1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced (¼ inch)

1 ripe tomato, diced (¼ inch), with seeds and juice (about 1 cup)

½ cup diced (¼ inch) red onion

1 teaspoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon coarse salt

and if you like - ¼ cup unsalted roasted  pumpkin seeds

1. To prepare the kale, cut along both sides of the stem of each leaf with a sharp knife or pull the ruffled leaves away from the stems with your hands. Discard the stems. Gather a bunch of the long kale leaves together on the cutting board and slice into thin (¹⁄8-inch) crosswise slices. You should have 4 to 6 cups lightly packed.

2. Combine the kale, lemon or lime juice, oil and salt in a large bowl. Rub the ingredients together with your hands (as though giving the kale a massage) until the leaves wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.

3. Add the avocado, tomato, red onion, jalapeño, garlic, citrus juice, oil and salt.

 4, Toss to combine. Serve at room temperature.

Mexican Green Soup

Here's another one from the Dock Kitchen Cookbook. It's full of green goodness. To turn your soup into a meal, add some diced skinless chicken breast in with the other ingredients to be fried.

2 red onions, roughly chopped (white ones are also OK)
3 sticks of celery roughly chopped including leaves if still on the stalks
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 large green or red chillies sliced thick
1 large pinch of oregano
1 tsp ground allspice
olive oil
chicken stock
Lots of greens (chard, spinach, kale whatever you have) approx. 1 kg
1 avocado sliced
bunch of cilantro chopped
lime wedges

Fry the onions, celery, garlic, oregano, allspice and sliced chillies in olive oil for about 10 minutes on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, then add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Once the broth is boiling, add all the shredded greens. Boil for five minutes. Serve in bowls with the sliced avocado and cilantro on top and lime wedges on the side.

Chicken (or duck) Livers with Six Spices and Pomegrnate Molasses

The Paleo diet is big on organ meats - but it can be hard to fit them into your cooking routine. Here is a recipe for chicken or duck livers which is so good and so easy, you can eat it every day. This recipe is a variation on one taken from Stevie Parle's Dock Kitchen Cookbook. n.b. The pomegrante molasses are essential to this dish. It should be available at ethnic markets, Whole Foods and yes, Buy-Rite Market. Everything else you can substitute such as corianger powder for coriander seeds if that is what you have on the shelf.

250 g chicken or duck liver
olive oil
1 1/2  tablespoons pomegranate molasses
coriander seeds
cumin seeds
ground all spice
ground cinnamon
ground cloves
nutmeg
salt and pepper

Heat a wide pan, season the chicken livers with salt then put a large splash of olive oil in the pan followed by the livers. Fry without touching them for a minute until browned on one side, then turn them all over and sprinkle with the six spices. Add the pomegranate moalsses, shake the pan, turn the livers again cook for another minute or two. Et voia! The livers should be medium firm and pink in the middle.