Meatballs with hoisin gravy, vegetables & a cashew/sesame sprinkle

Serves 4

Ingredients

500 mince, I used pork mince

1 tsp Herbamare or a really good shake of salt and pepper

¼ cup of hoisin sauce

1 tsp chinese 5 spice

1 tsp minced ginger

2 cups of beef/chicken bone broth or beef/chicken stock

4 celery stalks, sliced thin on an angle

2 capsicums, sliced

2 bunches of bok choy (or other Asian veg) washed, ends sliced off and chopped into

3 cm slices

¼ cup of roughly chopped cashew nuts

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method

In a bowl mix the mince with the herbamare/salt & pepper, mix with your hands until it is a little sticky then roll into 20 balls. This is about 1tbsp each. Put in fridge until you need them.

Hoisen gravy

In a large pan mix the hoisin sauce, ginger, chinese 5 spice and broth. Simmer for 5 minutes until has reduced by about half and has thickened like gravy. Set aside. Alternatively you can just add 1 cup of broth and use a sprinkle of tapioca flour until you achieve the thickness you want. By reducing the 2 cups of broth though you get a more intense flavour.

Method

 

In a pan heat a little coconut oil and brown your meatballs, this takes about 2 minutes, then add your hoisen gravy and simmer for 5-7 minutes. While that is simmering cook your vegetables.

In a wok heat 1 tbsp coconut oil and stir fry your celery and capsicum for 1-2 minutes, add your bok choy and stirfry for a further 1-2 minutes, until it has wilted. Serve up the veg and top with 5 meatballs and spoon over the gravy then sprinkle over your cashew nuts/sesame seeds. You can serve with some coriander if you want.

Mild Indian spiced mince, with green beans, capsicum and peas

Serves 4

This is just a mildly spice Indian dish, as well as no chilli, you could definitely add ½ -1 chilli into the paste and just double the spice component if you like more pungent flavors. Good dish for children who do not always like lots of spices.

Ingredients

500g lamb mince, or other mince

1 capsicum, 2 cm dice

2 cups of frozen peas

400g green beans, top and tailed

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 can(400g)of tomatoes, you could also use 1 (270ml) can coconut milk

Paste

½  brown onion

5 cloves garlic

1 tbsp ginger

2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp garem masala

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

Method for paste

Put paste ingredients in a food processor and blitz, add 1 tbsp water at a time (you can use coconut oil) till it makes a nice thick paste, season with salt. If you do not ave a food processor you can just finely dice your onion, ginger and garlic and add your spices to just add to your pot.

Method for mince

 

In a large pot add 1 tbsp coconut oil and put in your paste (or separate paste ingredients) and cook for 1 minute then add your mince and brown-3-4 minutes. Then add your tomatoes/coconut milk and simmer for 7 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Put your beans on to steam (5 minutes to cook approx.) then add your peas, capsicum and lemon juice to your mince and simmer another 5 minutes until your peas are cooked. You can serve this with your green beans and rice, yoghurt dressing, poppadums, naan bread etc..no yoghurt for dairy free and no rice for grain free, rice is ok for gluten free though.

Rat-babs

 This is so easy there is no recipe! Rat-babs!

This is ratatouille vegetables on a kebab stick!

Slice zucchini, finger eggplant capsicum and diced haloumi cheese, panfry in a little oil, cook for 7-8 mins turning occasionally. When cooked put on your plates then in the same pan put in 1 cup of tomato passata (cooked, strained tomatoes)and 1/2 cup water 1/2 shredded wombok (chinese cabbage) and cook for 2 minutes until wombok is wilted. Put the wombok on your plate and pour over what sauce in left in your pan.

If you have any basil or oregano you can  put that in with the sauce.