Lamb koftas & flatbreads

In the interests of getting son no1 to try new things and getting him helping out in the kitchen I thought I'd recycle an old favourite. We've not eaten these for ages and I thought it would be perfect for getting small hands involved in the cooking.

As it worked out son no 1 made the flatbreads with minimal input from me. He was as proud as punch !!

LAMB KOFTAS WITH FLAT BREADS

serves 4

For the flatbreads:

130g strong white flour
150g plain white flour (you can use 1/2 wholemeal if you'd prefer)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp nigella seeds
190ml warm water mixed with a slug of olive oil

For the koftas:

1 onion

1 red chilli (with or without seeds)

2 cloves of garlic

Small handful of coriander

tsp salt

zest of 1/2 a lemon

1-2tsp each of ground coriander and ground cumin - or to taste

500g lamb mince

Mix the flour, salt and nigella seeds in a bowl and add the water to make a dough. Knead for a couple of minutes and separate into six before leaving to rest for 30mins.

While the flatbreads are resting put the all the ingredients for the kofta apart from the lamb mince in a processor and whizz to a paste. Add to the lamb mince in a large bowl and mix well. Shape into 8 sausage shapes and leave to rest for 15 mins in the fridge.

Heat a heavy based frying pan and add the kofta, cooking for about 15 minutes until brown and cooked through.

Meanwhile roll out the flatbreads and fry for a couple of minutes each side in a hot frying pan

I served these with homemade tzatziki, a yoghurt and harissa dressing with red onion and a green salad. I also did a tomato and onion couscous to go with it too which I will post about separately

For the tzatziki :

1/2 a cucumber de-seeded and chopped

1 red chilli deseeded and chopped

150g natural yoghurt

1/2 tsp mint sauce

pinch sugar

Good old spaghetti bolognese

A staple, loved by most - if not all. I know that if everything else fails it is one of three meals that sons no 1 & 2 will eat. What is there not to like ? It may not exactly be authentic but it is oh so yummy.

There seems to be some discrepancy over where it came from. As the name "ragu alla Bolognese" suggests, it comes from Bologna in northern Italy and "ragu" is the name for a thick meat sauce. The traditional version contains very little tomato, milk and white wine rather than red, seemingly opposite to the versions seen in the UK !

Onto my version and I'm sure it would be thrown out by any traditionalists but I really don't care. Tonight I realised that I didn't have any spaghetti or linguini so it was served with fusilli.

MY SPAG BOL
serves 4

1tbsp olive oil
2 onions chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic crushed
2 carrots finely chopped
2 sticks of celery finely chopped
150g mushrooms chopped
2tsp dried oregano
75g pancetta cubes
500g lean minced beef
2x400g cans chopped tomatoes
Beef stock (approx 1 can's worth)
1 large glass red wine
tomato puree
pinch sugar
2 bay leaves
handful fresh basil shredded

Heat olive oil and add onions, garlic, carrot and celery (soffrito)
Sweat over low heat for approx 10 mins, add the oregano and cook for a couple of minutes
Turn the heat up and add the mushrooms, cook for a few minutes and then the pancetta
Brown the pancetta and then add the mince and brown
Add the rest of the ingredients apart from the basil, bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for at least an hour
Add the basil before serving and remove the bay leaves
Serve mixed through pasta with parmesan scattered over the top