The various grades alter the price, and the day you shop for it can affect markdowns. But the per kilo price puts mince up there with other meat cuts. We will not be eating as much mince as anticipated.
Which is just a relief for me, as I was not looking forward to a year of minced meat at all. In spite of my chirpy, upbeat tone, and optimistic outlook, my year of mince posed quite the spectre. The pasty, mushed up texture gets me very quickly, and however it's disguised, it's still mince to me. Now I have to perfect reason not to buy it so regularly.
So what have I bought?
Lamb neck ($3), lamb shank ($1.99), chicken necks (.67c, and which look like severed penises and attracted a crowd at my stockpot), BBQ sausages ($4.60). Odd sounding cuts, but much more interesting to cook with than mince.
I can try one of the gorgeous tagine recipes from my Claudia Roden cookbook with the lamb neck, and a soup with the shank. Make strachitella (eggy Italian soup) with stock from the chook necks and I can stretch a pack of sausages for many meals- two in a pasta with fresh garden tomatoes, top a homemade pizza with a couple, curried sausages, sausage stew with some eggplant and potatoes or barbequed with fresh 'slaw. That's budget meals for a week, without too much trouble and not a meatball or hamburger in sight.
To celebrate I made my favourite vegetarian meal, pilaf. It's a rice dish, of which there are many versions across the world. You may know it better as biriyani, kedgeree or pilau.
I make mine by sauteing some cubed vegies (onion, garlic, pumpkin, peas, zucchini) until they're sweet and slippery, then throw in 1/2 cup of red lentils, 1 cup basmati rice and 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring it to the boil, cover tightly and turn it onto the lowest flame. Cook for 12 minutes. Once your time is up, without lifting the lid, remove from the heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Then you are ready to season and fluff with a fork.
If you lift the lid early, precious steam escapes and the rice will fail. The standing part is crucial. If you don't take the time, your rice will be gritty and undercooked.
To make it truly gourmet, you can add some toasted almonds, toss in some shredded chicken or stir through chopped fresh herbs at the end. It's actually a great vehicle for leftovers, but it deserves pride of place as a meal in it's own right. I haven't worked out the cost, it's so cheap.
Don't get me wrong, I love meatballs, but gosh, they're expensive, aren't they?
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