Bitterballen

Bitterballen are a delicious - if a little unhealthy - snack that is loved in the Netherlands.  A deep fried crumbed ball filled with a beef or veal ragu,  they are often found in take away restaurants and bars where they are often enjoyed with a beer.

The following recipe has been given to me by my Dutch sister in law Angelique

Ingredients

300 g butter

1kg beef mince

3 cups plain flour

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg

Aromat (optional - if not available I find a good dash of worcestershire sauce works well)

2-3 tbsp tomato ketchup (optional)

2 tsp sugar

Day before:

Melt butter in a large saucepan

Fry mince until browned and separated

Add 3 cups of flour

Add enough water to make a VERY STIFF sauce, so the spoon will stay

upright when stuck in the middle of the hot sauce

Bring sauce to boil stirring continuously as it can burn quickly

Add spices to taste: salt pepper nutmegs aromat, a couple of teaspoons of sugar and ketchup if used

Cool and store in fridge overnight

The next day:

On two plates put breadcrumbs and mixed raw egg

Scoop out 1 tsp of cold sauce - (Use teaspoon for scooping, keep all the balls the same size - slightly smaller than a table tennis ball is the size to aim for)

Roll with one hand through breadcrumbs then use other hand to roll through egg mixture, then roll again in breadcrumbs with your "dry" hand

Freeze on trays lined with baking paper

When frozen store in zip lock bags

To cook:

Deep fry at about 180 deg C (if you don't have a deep fat fryer or thermometer, put a wooden chopstick or spoon in the oil to the bottom of the pan.  If bubbles come up from the wood, it is about the correct temperature) 

Fry from frozen

Do not put too many in at once otherwise your oil will cool too much and

your bitterballen will soak up a lot of fat

Fry for approximately 4 minutes

Alternative flavours:

in stead of mince, use chicken, add curry and other spices to sauce

use fish and prawns

use sticky rice (short grain / sushi rice)  with all sorts of small cut

vegetables (nassi ballen)

use mashed potatoes with cheese

As you can see, you can use your imagination, just keep to the rule that

the sauce or whatever you put in there MUST be very thick when still

hot, otherwise you will not be able to form balls the next day.

Bolognaise type pasta sauce

The recipe below isn't authentic by any means, but is a tasty sauce that is easily made in bulk and frozen.  It is a long slow cooking recipe, so you will need a few hours to spare to make this.  This will easily make 8 portions, more if you don't have large amounts of sauce on your pasta

Ingredients

2 onions, finely diced
4 sticks of celery, finely diced
3 large carrots finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
800g lean beef mince
200ml port
1/2 ring of black pudding, skinned and chopped into small chunks (optional but adds a beautiful richness)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
3 tins chopped tomatoes
Olive oil, for cooking

Method

1.  In a very large lidded pan, put some olive oil and heat to a medium heat

2.  Put in the onions and stir round until they are thoroughly coated in the olive oil.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for approximately 30 minutes until sweet and golden, stirring occasionally to ensure they don't stick in the pan

3.  Add the celery and carrots, stir well and cook for another 30 minutes until all softened and caramelised

4.  Add the garlic and cook for 10-15 minutes

5.  Push the vegetable mixture to one side of the pan, turn the heat up to medium, add the mince in batches and brown.  Once each batch browns, mix with the vegetables and then push to the side of the pan and add the next batch until all of the beef is in

6.  Add the chopped black pudding and stir well until the black pudding breaks down and coats the mixture in 'grains'

7.  Add the 200ml port and heat through to remove the majority of the alcohol

8.  Add the 3 tins of tomatoes and stir well.  Add the oregano, reduce the heat, put the lid on and let it simmer gently, stirring occasionally.  The mix may look a little dry, but as the tomatoes break down there will be alot of liquid.  The black pudding will thicken the sauce.

9.  Cook on a gentle simmer for 2-3 hours until the tomatoes and the beef have broken down

Serve with pasta such as spiralli, make into a lasagne or eat with garlic bread and a salad