We hope you enjoy our new column with chef Paul Watters who each week will take the fear out of cooking with his easy to follow recipes...
450g ground minced beef
1 egg
1/2 cup of fine breadcrumbs
1 handful of chopped coriander
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
1 teaspoon of Cajun spice
Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and shape accordingly
For the Bonbons
8 large potatoes
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/2 cup of milk
2 cups of fine breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
1 cup of plain flour
For the Bonbons, boil the potatoes for fifteen minutes, draining well, and bring back to the heat and dry out well, mash along with the salt and pepper, and allow to cool.
Once the potatoes are cool, gather 3 bowls. In the first bowl add the flour; in the 2nd bowl add the beaten egg; in the third bowl add the breadcrumbs and the smoked paprika and mix well.
Shape the Bonbons to a smaller size then dip in the flour, then the egg mix followed by the breadcrumbs mix and reshape and refrigerate approximately 1 hour before cooking. This will help cool and keep their shape. My tip (place a little cling film over the top of a plate and place Bonbons on top and when finished recover with cling film.
The Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup of Double cream
2 cups of chicken stock (boiling water with an added chicken stock cube)
2 tablespoons of cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons of desired gravy mix
2 tablespoons of water
Bring the chicken stock to the boil along with the cracked black pepper. Thicken the sauce with the gravy mix and water. Carefully whisk in and pour in cream, repeat, and leave to one side.
The Buckwheat and Giant couscous
The good thing about these is that they come in portion sizes already and are available in all good stores.
To cook you will need
2 cups of boiling salted water
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of oil
1 tablespoon of curry powder (mild/hot)
Picked mint for garnish
First off, preheat the oven to 180 degrees, 350°F. Gather a large frying pan over medium to high heat, add a drizzle of oil to the pan and cook clockwise, turning occasionally, for approximately five minutes. Allow a bit of colour, remove and place into an oven-proof dish. Give the Pan a quick wipe with a little kitchen roll and repeat the process, put it in the oven, and cook for approximately ten minutes.
Once the meatballs and Bonbons are in the oven, cook the buckwheat and couscous in the bags for approx 8 mins, and with the same pan, give a further wipe with kitchen roll; this will help with the washing up later.
Add the butter oil and curry powder, and cook for a few minutes. Add the couscous and buckwheat and cook for a further four minutes. Carefully remove the balls from the oven and leave them to one side.
The Presentation
Gather 2 large plates and spoon some of the buckwheat and couscous around the side of the plate, followed by placing some pepper sauce in the middle of the plate, then placing the balls in the centre, garnish with the picked mint, and serve.
