Beef Dishes

Axel's Bloody Good Beef Wellington



Ingredients

• 2 Garlic Cloves
  
• 550g fillet steak
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 25g butter
  
• 1 onion, chopped
  
• 225g mushrooms, chopped
  
• 50g breadcrumbs
  
• 25g fresh chopped parsley
  
• 500g puff pastry
  
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

Spread half the garlic over both sides of the steak and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the steak over a high heat for 5 minutes. Remove it from the pan and allow the meat to cool completely.

Next, add the butter to the pan and fry the onions over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Then add the remaining garlic and add the muchrooms. Cook these for 5 minutes until the juice evaporates, then stir in the breadcrumbs and the parsley, followed by salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7 ready for later. Nest, roll out your pastry on s lightly floured surface to roughly (Don't worry about getting it exact.) 25x30 cm/10x14 in. Place the steak in the center and to with the breadcrumb mixture. Brush the edges with egg and fold into slices, wrapping the pastry around the beef like a parcel, closing all the gaps.

Place on a baking sheet, breadcrumb mixture down and brush with egg for a glaze. For a medium rare wellington, cook for 40 minutes until golden. Add an extra 15 minutes for a well done wellington.

Cut into slices and serve.

Serves 4.

Axel's Soutzoukakia


Ingredients

• 2 slices thick dense bread (crusts removed)
  
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
  
• 1 lb ground lean meat (beef or veal)
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  
• 1 egg
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  
• 2 tablespoons grated kefalograviera cheese or mizithra cheese (parmesan makes an excellent substitute)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• salt and pepper
  
• flour (for dredging)
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce

• 2 lbs fresh tomatoes
  
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
  
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

Soak the bread in the wine for about 5 minutes, or until thoroughly softened. Then, squeeze out and reserve the excess wine. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat with the wine soaked bread, onion, garlic, egg, parsley, grated cheese, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the ingredients until thoroughly blended. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours.

Dampen your hands, pinch off small portions of meat mixture, about the quantity of a teaspoon or just over, and shape into approximately 20 oval rolls (looks sort of like an elongated, slightly flattened, meatball). Dredge them in flour. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the meatballs and fry until browned all over, turning occasionally and allowing time for the meat to cook thoroughly. (alternatively, if you want a 'lighter' recipe, you could just brown in a non-stick pan or bake them in the oven - not as flavourful, but still good). Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the oil you fried the meatballs in through a fine sieve into a cooking pan. Add all the sauce ingredients, and the reserved wine. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce is thick. Drop in the meatballs, stir to cover all over with the sauce, and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Serve hot with lemon roast potatoes, rice, french fries, or mashed potatoes.

This is a very simple recipe that I learned to do when I was much younger. My mom was working taking care of an old man and my dad worked all day, so my sister and I sometimes had the responsibility of cooking. I love to cook though, so no complaints. Anyways, this is a really simple recipe and it’s really cheap to make, which is always a plus. It probably seems like a silly recipe, but I always had fun making it and I thought I would share it. XD




TACO SALAD

Ingredients:
1 lb. of hamburger meat (this is an estimate, I don’t usually measure the meat and depending upon the instructions of the next ingredient, quantity may vary.)
1 package of taco seasoning
1 can of chili (with or without beans, your choice)
1 head of lettuce
1 tomato
1 onion
1 tub of sour cream
1 package of shredded cheese
1 bag of nachos (the kind with cheese already on it, not to be confused with a tortilla)
1 jar of salsa
water

Directions:
First, you put the hamburger meat in a medium sized frying pan. Fry the meat until it is completely done. When the meat is completely cooked you must drain the grease/fat. It doesn’t matter if you put it in a colander and strain the grease that way. (Just be sure to get all the grease out, unless you like that kind of thing.) After draining the grease and fat empty the contents of the taco seasoning into the meat. You will have to add water to this mixture, but the amount may vary depending upon the taco seasoning that is used. Stir this mixture up and allow it to set on low heat according to the time limit and instructions on the back of the taco seasoning. While the mixture is heating you may go ahead and heat the chili, take it out of the can and put it in either in a pan on the stove or a bowl in the microwave, the choice is yours.

At this time, its probably a good idea to go ahead and chop up your lettuce, tomato, and onion. The onion and tomato are to be cubed, and the lettuce is shredded.
When the instructions from the taco seasoning package is completed it’s time to serve the food.

Serving instructions:
Serving this is the most enjoyable part. The first thing you do is open the nachos and crush them onto a plate. Then you add however much meat you would like. After this we add a spoon or so of chili, then a couple of spoons of salsa, followed by a dollop of sour cream. Add your lettuce, then your tomato and onion (I don’t like onion, so there will not be any on mine) And top it all off with some cheese

Note: This feeds roughly 4-6 people depending upon serving size.