Okay Vegetarians, looks away now. Lol. My #fitfam brothers and sisters, pay close attention. You may think oh dear, this is so wrong for you. No sireee. You see, this is actually healthier than a Pizza because there is no carb laden crust. Your body cannot discern between sugar gotten from carbohydrates, and that from even fruit and veg. Yes, fruit and veg are great for you and they contain nutrients and all that jazz, but at the end of the day, sugars whether natural or artificial are converted to glucose, because it triggers insulin production, and then your body makes glycogen from it, excess glycogen is turned into fat. Which is why carbs have gotten a lot of negative press, but they are still good for you in moderation. Now, protein on the other hand is converted to ketones, which are great sources of energy. Excess ketone is passed out via urine and not stored as fat. Quick dietary lesson. When my Dad needed to lose weight after his stroke scare, we put him on a protein diet and the weight came off quite fast. So, if you are #fitfam and reading this, don’t look away yet. This is a Paleo-ish kind of dish.
I found this dish courtesy Yahoo and I was screaming in my head. Oh my goodness, I am a carnivore and proud, it looked like heaven. You mean Nigella Lawson released this recipe ages ago and whyyyyyyyyyyyyy am I just hearing about it? Lol. Lots of recipes exist online and I knew I just had to try it. Especially for us Nigerians who loooooooove our meat. Oh yes we do. This is so simple to make, it borders on the ridiculous. I quickly wrote my shopping list and off to the stores I went. A bona-fide dinner every one will love. Imagine making this for your friends and family this weekend. Choose whatever toppings you like, and gorge on it as much as you like. You can keep the cheese, or leave it out, you can buy breadcrumbs or make your own just from toasting bread and grinding in a dry mill. Think of this like the Moin Moinlette, but with mince meat as your base and not beans. of course, you know I am going to Nigerianise it, why the heck not. All the flavours that we cook with, heck yeah!!!!!!!. I was salivating at the thought and couldn’t wait to go home. Pretty psyched that it turned out well. I will definitely be repeating this, and I hope it goes viral the way the Moin Moinlette did.
I posted this last week, or was it two weeks ago on Instagram and lazy me just got down to typing it up today. I can’t wait for the team of staff that will write, while I just cook. Anyways, here goes
- Mince Meat
- Sliced onions
- Cherry Tomatoes - or you sliced tomatoes
- Oatmeal
- Parmesan Cheese - optional
- 1 or 2 eggs
- Red chili - or use ata rodo
- Sliced tatashe and green pepper -
- Dry Pepper
- Uziza seeds - ground
- Uziza leaves - you can use efinrin or Basil
- Mozarella cheese - or use local Wara, or use ripe plantain, or break 2 or 3 whole eggs on top
- Curry Powder - optional
- Dried Thyme - optional
- Leftover Stew or Ata din din - you can also use Ewa Aganyin sauce
- Salt
- Seasoning cube
- Place your mince in a bowl, and add all the spices and seasonings. Whatever you use often to season your meats, will work great here. Personalise this recipe, make it your own
- Add the Oatmeal, about 1 - 2 tablespoons, the shaved parmesan cheese, if you are using, and an egg or two. The oatmeal is to bind everything together. Nigella used breadcrumbs but oatmeal is a healthier option. the cheese is just to keep it moist and stay true to the traditional Italian meatball recipe, but you can definitely leave it out
- Gently combine all the ingredients until it forms a ball. Emphasis on gently, don't overwork the mince. if it is not holding up to a ball, either add another egg, or a little more oatmeal
- Take out the mince and carefully lay out in a lightly greased pan, until all ares are covered. Again, do this gently
- Spread out your stew or sauce unto the mince
- Now add your toppings. I used onions, cherry tomatoes, chili, sliced tatashe, green pepper and of course Mozarella
- Cover with foil, to keep moist and then place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees centigrade of Gas mark 6 and let it cook for 15 - 20 minutes. You will observe that the mince will shrink, but that is expected. You will also see some of the juices in the pan, but that is fine, you can always drain out at the end
- before serving, top with fresh leaves
- Don't be like me and keep chatting on your phone while your delicious food burns a little, but it was fine in the end. I served with a side salad, and it is hands down one of the best meat dishes I have ever eaten. The taste explosion was incredible
Try this out and let me know. Like the Moin Moinlette, all you need is a frying pan. The ingredients can be found in your local stores, you can use turkey mince or even chicken mince. This can be lunch or dinner for the family, and I bet, the pan will empty veeeeery quickly.
Shayo says
January 26, 2015 at 3:27 pmHmmmmmmmn…that’s all i can say! Thumbs up Dunni
Kacchiz says
January 27, 2015 at 11:03 amhi dunni pls i don’t have an oven wt can i do to achieve same result.reply pls to my email if possible
dooneyrooney says
January 27, 2015 at 11:55 amI would advice you make this in a small pot, and then place the small pot and cover it. Place in a much bigger pot and cover that one too, and cook on low heat. I hope that helps
LBA says
January 27, 2015 at 10:04 pmLaughing at how your body cannot discern between sugar from carbs and fruits.. I keep telling people.. all na glucose. I can’t wait to try this out. Love the fitdishes. Keep them coming.
onyebuchi ozere says
January 28, 2015 at 4:00 pmam going to try this Dunni but can I remove the eggs cos it makes me throw up. and the oat is it blended be for addition
dooneyrooney says
February 3, 2015 at 7:18 pmYes you can
ToyO says
March 4, 2015 at 10:00 pmWell done is all I can say. Just stumbled on your blog yesterday and it’s been an amazing journey if I may use that word. I just started healthy eating journey in Jan and I am definitely trying out these fitfam recipes. Please, please, please can you include the calories in the meals whenever you can? God bless U.
dooneyrooney says
March 4, 2015 at 10:29 pmHi Toyo, I don’t have that nutritional qualifications to do so yet, but I am looking into it
ToyO says
March 5, 2015 at 12:03 pmOk, tanks. For those of us on healthy eating journey that dont want to give up Aganyin stew, what can we do about it. Seriously wondering what they will look or taste like with 1 or 2 tablespoon of palm oil.
dooneyrooney says
March 5, 2015 at 3:10 pmYou can try it and substitute with a healthier oil. The stew will not fry with such little oil. It will more like boil. Maybe you should see ewa aganyin as your cheat meal or something
ToyO says
March 5, 2015 at 9:03 pmTanks Dooney, will try Olive oil. And also see it as my cheat meal as suggested, very good idea. Tanks a lot.
Dera says
March 12, 2015 at 1:59 amTried this twice. I don’t think i like it but hubby totally loves it…