Yummy Casserole with no name

I've been trying to think of a name for this casserole for the last 2 weeks! My husband suggested, "Earthy Casserole".....and then I told him to shush. Actually, my ideas weren't any better........Beef Casserole with risoni, chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach and lemon.......Rustic Casserole with lemon........then I told myself to shush.......so here's my Yummy Casserole with no name.

Just a heads up....Our kids weren't a huge fan of the spinach in this dish but they loved everything else....but our kids are weird.....they like sucking on lemons....**

ingredients

500g beef chuck steak, cubed (approx 2 - 3cm)
approx 6 eschallots. peeled and kept whole
1-2 whole cloves (optional)
5 peppercorns
1 litre beef stock
1 tin of chick peas, drained
about 10 cherry tomatoes, whole, preferably ones on the vine, vine removed
1 cup risoni pasta
1 - 2 bunches spinach (after the stems and the middle membrane have been removed and you are just left with the green bits you should have approx 130 - 180g
1 lemon

how to make your Yummy Casserole with no name

Pre- heat oven to 180C. Grab a large roasting pan and line with baking paper if necessary.

Drop some oil into a high sided pot and bring to a mid heat. When the oil has heated up enough add pieces of meat. Brown the meat in 3 batches otherwise you will crowd it and the meat will stew and not brown. I use my BBQ tongs here so I don't get spat at by the oil. If the meat is burning turn the heat down otherwise you will get a horrible vegemite flavour in your end result. Brown each side and set aside on a plate when done. When you have browned off all your meat add the eshallots and garlic if using and keep moving over a low flame. When they have softened a little add the meat again and throw in all your stock. Bring to the boil. Once boiling take off the heat and pour carefully into your roasting pan. Cover with 3 layers of foil tightly and pop in the oven.

Now you can cook this for 1.5 hours or up to 2 hours. It's up to you. I've done both and the only difference is: the meat is a little more tender with the 2 hour time and there are less juices.

If doing the 1.5: Take out of the oven (Don't discard the foil) Add the risoni first, then the chickpeas and the tomatoes. Pop the foil back on and cook for another 35 mins.

If doing the 2: Take out of the oven (Don't discard the foil) Add the risoni first and a half cup of boiling water, then the chickpeas and the tomatoes. Pop the foil back on and cook for another 35 mins.

After 35: Take out of the oven (Don't discard the foil) Add the spinach over the top of the whole dish. No need to mix it with the juices. Pop the foil back on and cook for another 5-8mins until the spinach is cooked.

Pop the spinach on the plates first then pile over the top the remainder of the casserole. Serve with Lemon wedges. (The lemon juice goes perfectly with everything on the plate and just adds that little extra something) Enjoy!


**Ok, you are not weird if you like sucking on lemons.

Kitchen love and Kids Casserole

I heart my kitchen, especially first thing in the morning when it's still clean and the morning light touches everything so softly. I love to just stand in there surrounded by my pretty things drinking my morning cup of tea thinking about the day ahead........life does not get anymore perfect than that, does it?

Wherever we have lived we have been blessed with beautiful rustic kitchens and by rustic I mean, usable! Our current house we bought in 2009 and I remember when I first saw the kitchen the walls were painted in an awful khaki colour with a suede effect.....I remember thinking, "How could you even feel like eating!".......but we looked past that, bought it anyway and painted every wall in the house a milky white! (Did I mention that the lounge room was orange and lavender and the second bedroom, the darkest in the house, was painted a deep navy blue. We called it the cave).....The kitchen has been my favourite room in the house ever since......which is a good thing since I love to cook! and your kids will love this casserole.....my kids can't get enough!

ingredients

750g (approx) chicken drumsticks
750g (approx) chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic,peeled and halved
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup water
10 cherry tomatoes from the vine
2 dried bay leaves
fresh thyme leaves, about 3 or 4 teaspoons
750g pumpkin, peeled and chopped into smallish chunks
300g green beans, topped and cut in half
1 tin of cannelini beans

how to make your kids casserole

Pop your oven on to 180C. Line a large baking dish with baking paper and pop it in the oven to keep warm until ready. Grab a large saucepan and pop about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in it. add salt and pepper to the chicken. Put your pot over high heat and brown off all the chicken. Make sure they don't burn. Set aside. Lower the heat and add the onion and garlic, cook until softened. Add the water and wine and get all the lovely bits from the base of the pan. Add the cherry tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, some salt and pop the chicken back in. Bring to the boil. Transfer to the roasting pan you have in the oven. Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins. Add the chopped pumpkin and the cannelini beans and bake for 30 mins. Add the beans and cook for a further 10 mins. Serve with crusty bread to mop up the yummo juices!!!

Enjoy!

The last day of Winter - Casserole Ruby Lou

With the weather surprising us with its warmth we have been having friends over for BBQ's (allready!). This last weekend some friends brought us some amazing AC Butchery snags (Goat; Turkey and cranberry; chicken and rocket and good ol'beef)How I have missed them!
I threw together a few things: some roasted root vegetables, caramelised onions, a pumpkin, chickpea and risoni salad and a salad made up of little treats from our garden. When the weekend was over and I had to think about what I was going to put together for a mid-week meal I noticed that I still had a mountain of Ruby Lou spuds to get through........The evenings are still chilly at least. The perfect excuse to create another casserole.

ingredients

1kg of beef chuck steak, cut into large chunks
5 pickling onions, peeled and halved
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into chunks
8 - 10 Ruby Lou potatoes, halved (or you can use any potato that keeps it's shape after slow cooking)
1 cup of red wine (I used Hippies Shiraz but you could use any red wine you love)
1 and a half cups beef stock
1 x 800g tin tomatoes
2 large sprigs rosemary
about 8 peppercorns
300g button mushrooms

how to make your casserole ruby lou

Pre heat oven to 180C
Pop some oil in a large pot and put it over a high heat. Add the steak in 3 batches, browning the meat and then putting it aside until all cooked. Turn the heat down a little and throw in the spuds, carrot and onions until softened. Pop the meat back in and add the wine, stock, tomatoes, rosemary and peppercorns. Bring to the boil. Once boiling, throw it in a casserole dish, cover it with foil and bake for 2 hours. After 2 hours, throw away the foil, chuck in the mushies and cook for a further 45 mins.

Serve it with broccoli spears and red wine. Perfecto!

Melt in the mouth - Lamb and risoni casserole

I love how the seasons influence our garden. Like in Summer our garden is filled with enough lettuce to feed about 100 hungry guinea pigs! and now in Winter, there is one lettuce left wondering where the hell the sun got too.... Turnips are in abundance at the moment. I've added them to my minestrone soup and my roast sausages with veg and they have tasted out of this world! I thought it was about time to create a casserole with a few of my favourite things: lamb, risoni, beans and of course hopefully get through some of the turnips that could quite possibly feed oooh, 1000 hungry guinea pigs.


ingredients

350g carrots, chopped into chunks
3 brown onions, peeled but left whole. (You could use eshallots if you like)
8 small turnips, left whole or 3 large turnips cut in half
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bayleaf
a few peppercorns
4 - 6 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
1 can of borlotti beans (or you could use cannelini beans or kidney beans)
1kg half roast lamb leg (no bone, fat intact)
200g - 400g piece of middle bacon (or you could use a sweet smoked ham portion or a ham hock cut into 3 pieces or you could omit and use a bacon stock instead of water)
water
1 cup risoni
250g green beans
salt and pepper

how to make your casserole

Pre heat oven to 170C. Pop some olive oil into a large pot over a lowish heat and throw in the first 7 ingredients, just to soften and to get the flavours going. Pop in the lamb and the bacon (if using)and cover with water. Not too much,as the end result will be too watery. Raise the heat and bring the water to the boil. Once boiling transfer to a large roasting dish. Mix through the beans, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 90 minutes. Take out and mix through risoni and green beans.Check seasonings and add salt and pepper if necessary. Cover with foil again and pop back in the oven for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, you can either discard the bacon or slice just a couple of pieces (1 per plate) as the hero of the dish is the lamb. The lamb will be absolutely delicious.It's up to you how you would like to serve it. Either plate it up or pop it all in a big dish and everyone helps themselves. You can strain the juices into a jug too so that people can drizzle a little over their meat if they wish. Serves 4

Enjoy on a cold night with a great glass of red.