Main dishes that don’t strain a budget

Press, 29 March 1982, Page 12

Main dishes that don’t strain a budget

COOKING with

Celia Timms

These recipes are for main dishes which are simply prepared, and reasonably “easy” on the budget. Pot roast beef dinners This is so called because the complete main dish is cooked simultaneously — meat and vegetables, and if served with noodles, as suggested, potatoes are not necessary. To serve six to eight you need: P 4 kg boneless beef (topside or silverside) 2t4 teaspoons salt; teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 cups water

2 onions; 12 to 16 small pickling onions 8 carrots 4 cups sliced celery including leaves 350 g wide egg noodles '/i cup flour Method: Combine the salt and pepper and rub this into the meat on all sides. Heat oil in a heavy-based pan and add meat; brown well on all sides, for about 15 minutes. Add the water and the sliced onions (large). Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about three hours or until meat is almost tender. Add the small onions, whole, and carrots cut into 1% inch pieces. Cookcovered for 30 minutes longer or until meat and vegetables are fork

tender. Add celery and cook another 10 minutes. Cook noodles in boiling salted water until tender, drain well in colander. Place meat on serving dish and with a slotted spoon remove vegetables and arrange with the drained noodles around the meat. Blend flour with kz cup water until smooth. Stir ■some of the hot liquid from the pan into flour then return to pan and cook until thickened, stirring continually. Serve with meat and vegetables. Fish and potato casserole A fish casserole is usually welcome, and makes a nutritious meal especially when combined with potatoes and cheese. For six servings you need:

1 kg filleted cod or other firm fish Salt and pepper to taste 6 tablespoons butter or margarine 6 tablespoons flour 2 cups milk ‘4 cup tomato sauce or ketchup 4 cups diced cooked potatoes 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese 4 rashers bacon, cooked and crumbled Method: Place fish in base of a greased baking dish approx. 7 x 12 in size. Season well with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and cook for a minute.' Remove from heat and add milk gradually. Return to heat and bring to boil, stirring until thickened and smooth. Stir in ketchup: pour over fish. Spread the diced potatoes evenly over top of sauce and "sprinkle with the crumbled cooked bacon and grated cheese. Bake at 180 C for 40 to 45 minutes. Porcupine meat balls I always seem to return to the “eternal" mince when I

have budget recipes in mind, but I do try to make them different. These meat balls are easily prepared, although they need about l‘/ 2 hours to cook, in a rich well-flavoured sauce. To make about 16 meatballs you need: 450 g minced steak *,4 cup rice 1 egg 2 tablespoons chopped onion 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 teaspoon salt ‘/i teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1,275 g can tomato soup Method: Combine mince, uncooked rice, onion, parsley, sauce, salt and pepper and lightly beaten egg. With wet hands shape into balls of about IFa inches. Brown in small amount of vegetable oil over fairly high heat and shaking pan almost continually. Remove meatballs to a large casserole. Blend soup with a soup can of water and pour over. Cover casserole and bake at 180 C for about P/z hours. Toad-in-the-hole This very old-fashioned

dish might be new to some of our younger housewives and ’ those others who remember it, may not have made it for a long time. I think it is my favourite way of eating sausages. For four servings you need: •; 450 g fat sausages, pork or beef 1 cup flour ‘a teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup milk Method: Brown sausages in frying pan and drain off all but two tablespoons fat. Pour this into a small casserole or ovenproof dish. Combine flour and salt in basin. Beat eggs with milk and add all at once to dry ingredients. Beat with rotary beater until very light and smooth. Pour a quarter of this batter on to heated fat in ovenproof dish and bake in a hot oven — 200 deg C — for 5 to 8 minutes. This will prevent the sausages from sinking to bottom of batter. Remove dish from oven and arrange sausages on top of batter. Pour remaining batter mixture over them and return to oven for 30 minutes until batter is well risen and golden in colour. Serve immediately.