So, it's halfway through the week...Mini Friday, or Saturday (as some would say?) and I have a recipe for anyone who is out of ideas...and or has a very small budget. This oven bake involves minced meat, Spinach and some tomatoes (predominantly). Man oh man, even if I say so myself, this one turned out Goooooood. So well in fact, that there are no pictures of the end result... I do however have a photo or two of the procedure that led me to finished product :) Methodology and Ingredients:
You will need: Spinach cherry tomatoes Minced meat stale bread crumbs an egg S & P, sugar and other spices last few drops of Tomato Sauce Worcester Sauce Garlic Butter Milk Flour Ina Paarman's White Sauce powder (if available) left over Cottage cheese last piece of cheese in fridge sunflower oil (or any oil really) All of the ingredients used for the meatballs were mixed together in a bowl and rolled up into little meatballs for the oven dish. This included all of the ingredients except the spinach and tomatoes (and all the white sauce ingredients...which comes later). The egg and bread crumbs help to bind the meatballs a bit better as they cook. Next, I washed and cut the spinach leaves, sliced up the tomatoes and proceeded to create lasagna-like layers with the spinach and tomatoes, then the meatballs resting on top and then covered by more tomatoes and spinach. S, essentially, it's a meatball-sandwich with spinach and tomatoes as the bread. This then went into the oven for approximately 10-15 minutes--while I prepared the cheesy, white sauce. The melted butter, flour and milk (all in that order) were mixed together and placed in the microwave for small increments at a time to help cook the sauce a little. Thereafter, I added two or three teaspoons of the Ina Paarman white sauce powder (proudly provided by the spice rack of our commune) and stirred and heated further. Lastly, half a handful of grated cheese and the last tablespoon of cottage cheese was added to the mix. Place in the microwave for more or less a minute or two. Important to remember with a white sauce (or any sauce I guess) is to Whhhhisk!; one can never go wrong with whisking frantically. Many sauces (especially white/ cheese/ mushroom) are salvageable by adding a splash or two more of milk. Once my cheesy-white sauce was ready, I took the meatballs and spinach dish out of the oven and poured the sauce over it, covering the whole leafy affair. One must ensure to get it into all of the nooks and crannies of the spinach leaves and meatballs. Those juices later on are super tasty! Leave in the oven for about 25 minutes at 160 degrees Celcius (but as previously mentioned, keep checking on your dish...some ovens are pretty unforgiving..or emotionally-volatile). After that, we all know what happens... Remove from the oven and DO NOT SHARE! You'll understand why once you take the first bite. Oh ya, and a last point to note; Do not be fooled by the huge amount of spinach you may need. It might look like you've cut up too much to start off with, but once it wilts, the amount drastically lessens. So, in this case, More is More. I hope you enjoy this recipe...it blew my socks off (okay, I'll quit bragging now). Au revoir mes amis!
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AuthorHi there, my name is Judete Fourie. I am a twenty-something-year-old writer living in Stellenbosch in SA's Western Cape. Follow my day to day adventures that involve wine, wit and braaibroodjies. Archives
June 2017
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