So for the first time ever (insert drumroll here), I am posting “our own” Fireside recipe. It is however not quite that, it is just a combination of different recipes – is there still something like a truly original recipe anyway? I have linked them all. It was, in fact, a happy Moroccan accident. This is how it unfolded:
A friend shared this recipe for Moroccan Bolognaise. I was all excited because I had purchased that mix just the previous week… or so I thought. Turns out that I had purchased the Mediterranean one… which is… well… not the same thing at all.
The second hurdle was getting lamb mince. Our butcher was all ready to mince some for us, but he could not mince less than three kgs. So we ended up buying a deboned leg of lamb that the Engineer cut up really small (because I have no patience). We also did it on the fire.
I mixed this Moroccan spice blend. I love how all the recipes always gush that you will most likely have these in your pantry. We did, but that is because I cook a lot of curries. If you are going to rush out to buy them all, you will definitely be happier with the one mentioned in the initial recipe.
Ingredients:
500 g deboned leg of lamb, chopped up as small as you can
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 Tbsps of the Moroccan spice blend
1 cup beef stock
½ cup mature cheddar, grated
1 onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups tomato pasta sauce, any store-bought variety will do the trick
500 g Tagliatelle
Olive Oil
Place a large pot on the fire (high heat). It should be big enough to accommodate the pasta as well.
Drizzle with olive oil and add the meat. Fry until it starts turning golden and remove from pot with a slotted spoon.
In the same pot, add onion, celery and garlic. Cook by stirring regularly until soft. Add the meat back to your pot. Add the spice blend. Cook until the flavours combine nicely. A sure sign for me is when my eyes start tearing up.
Add the beef stock and tomato passata. Bring to a boil and let it simmer. Mine simmered away happily for about 40 minutes. It can be more or less depending on how thick you want your sauce.
In this time cook the pasta according to the package instructions, but do not cook it all the way, as it will cook further when you add it to your meat sauce. Drain the pasta once cooked.
Add the pasta and half of your cheese to the pot and combine. With the lid on, I let mine hang around on the heat for a little while, just to combine the flavours even more. And also to finish my glass of wine.
Add extra cheese when serving. So, of course, I did not remember to take a photo of the dish before we nearly ate it all. But I did take a photo of my spice blend. Note the handy little sweet jar that worked perfectly for mixing.
