Last night I proved it. I can, in fact, cook. Thank you Margaret Fulton.
In the manner of Dion Lee for Cue and Stella McCartney for Target, Ms Fulton has teamed up with Woolworths and produced a bunch of recipes for the average Joe. Enough to feed the whole family and then some. She is right – they are generous serves. Enjoy.
Margaret Fultons Beef, Pumpkin and Cinnamon Pilaf
Preparation time 5 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves:4
Ingredients:
45g butter
1 onion, finely sliced (I used mushrooms)
1½ cups long grain rice, rinsed, drained
500g beef mince
300g pumpkin, peeled, cut into 2cm cubes
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cinnamon stick
½ cup flaked almonds
pinch of ground cinnamon and roughly
chopped coriander leaves, to serve
Method:
1. Melt 30g butter in a heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole on medium heat. Cook onion for 2 minutes, stirring, until soft and lightly coloured. Add rice and cook, stirring, until translucent (1-2 minutes).
2. Increase heat to high, add mince and cook for another 2 minutes until no longer pink, stirring to break up any lumps. Stir in pumpkin, stock and cinnamon stick. Season to taste and bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and pumpkin is tender. Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a small frying pan and fry almonds for 1-2 minutes, until golden and crisp.
4. To serve, remove cinnamon stick, fluff up rice with a fork and serve sprinkled with fried
almonds, ground cinnamon and coriander leaves.
Tip:
Freeze any leftovers by packing into an airtight container or snaplock bags for up to one month. Thaw during the day in the fridge and heat once defrosted. Always use a fork to handle the rice once cooked, so that the grains stay separate and fluffy. I like to keep an eye on my salt intake and unless I’ve made the stock myself, I tend to go for salt-reduced stock, or dilute the stock by substituting some of it with water e.g. for this recipe, 2 cups stock and 1 cup water.
Picture One: Margarets efforts
Picture Two: Mine
