Free coffee for a year!

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 03:39:46 GMT

I won a competition a short time ago to name the newest tenant of the Ballarat Technology Park, a cafe! It's been a long time coming but we can finally now get decent coffee and food for reasonable prices without having to drive into town. The winning name was 'innov8' and for my efforts I received 1 free coffee a day for a year plus $100 in meal vouchers! Sweet! My morning routine now sees me driving to the cafe first to get my fix!

My Bolognaise Recipe

Sat, 13 May 2006 08:44:22 GMT

I do all the cooking at home and one of our favourites is pasta bolognaise. My version is based on one that Jamie Oliver did with shin beef in a pressure cooker but I have simplified it a bit to make it easier to make regularly:

Ingredients

olive oil

1 x celery stick, finely chopped

1/2 x large carrot, finely chopped

1/2 x large onion or 1-2 shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

500g organic mince beef

700g passata di pomodoro (Italian tomato purée)

1/2 glass of red wine

2 x anchovies

dried basil

dried oregano

salt & pepper

fresh basil or flat leaf parsley (optional)

Method

Heat a pressure cooker or heavy base oven casserole on medium heat for 1 minute and then add enough olive oil to cover the base. Add the chopped celery, carrot, onion and garlic and sweat the whole lot off for about 4-5 minutes.
Turn the heat up a little and add the mince beef, stirring it into the vegetable mixture while you brown it. I like to use organic mince beef which I get from the local Coles supermarket.
Once the meat is browned, I like to pour off the excess fat from the meat. If you're using a pressure cooker be sure to wipe down the lip after pouring it out so it will seal properly.
Now add the tomato purée and the red wine (I usually pour the wine into the empty tomato purée bottle, pop the lid back on and shake it up to get the last of it out). Stir it all up well.
Add a good pinch of the dried basil and a pinch of oregano and season well.
If using a pressure cooker, pop the lid on and bring it up to its high cooking level and cook for 30 minutes. If you are using a casserole dish, put the lid on and put it in a low oven for 2-3 hours, checking every 1/2 hour or so to ensure it doesn't dry out.
Take the lid off the pressure cooker (or casserole) and cook off some of the liquid over a low-med heat for 10 minutes. While this is happening, cook your pasta. Try and get good quality Italian dried pasta and make it something other than spaghetti because it really does make a difference. At the moment I'm really into La Genuina Fricelli from Puglia which I get from my local favourite cafe.
Optionally finish the sauce off with a bunch of chopped fresh basil or flat leaf parsley and correct the seasoning to taste.
Stir the sauce through the cooked pasta and serve it topped with good grated parmesan cheese and a wild rocket salad (my personal fav!)

Damo's spot on the web: Food and drink

Free coffee for a year!

My Bolognaise Recipe