First things first, make sure you buy Quality Assured Irish meat. Have it as lean as possible, with a little bit of fat for flavour. You can mix meats. I learned in Italy last year that for a bolognese they mix pork and beef mince. I hadn’t seen that before. Pork mince is so underused. Try to use proper spinach and not the baby variety for this recipe, as it has a much better flavour and texture in this type of dish. If you don’t want to use the mascarpone, try tearing a ball of buffalo mozzarella into chunks and using that instead.
This cottage pie has the twist of using chicken livers. If you are not keen they are optional, but they give the pie real depth of flavour. The Worcestershire sauce is key. It gives the dish tartness. I like the cauliflower topping, but you could make it traditionally with mashed potato. Mature cheddar is hard to beat. It’s nice and strong and we have so many good mature cheddars in Ireland.
Happy cooking, Neven
Neven’s new book, “Neven Maguire’s Home Economics for Life”, is published by Gill Books
Bolognese gnocchi with spinach and mozarella. Styling: Sharon Hearne Smith. Photo: Ramona Farrelly
Gnocchi bolognese with spinach and
mascarpone
Serves four
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
450g (1lb) lean minced beef
700g 1lb 9oz) jar passata (Italian sieved tomatoes)
Pinch of sugar
1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian herbs
450g (1lb) fresh spinach
1 garlic clove, crushed
500g (1 1/4lb) packet fresh gnocchi
100g (4oz) mascarpone cheese
50g (2oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ciabatta bread, to serve
1 Heat half the olive oil in a large pan and tip in the onion. Sauté for two to three minutes until softened, but not coloured. Stir in the minced beef and cook for another few minutes until lightly browned, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Stir in the passata and add the sugar and herbs, then season to taste and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened.2 Meanwhile, wash the spinach and remove any large stalks, then dry well – a salad spinner works brilliantly if you have one. Heat a large, heavy-based pan and add fistfuls of the spinach, adding another as one wilts down. Cook for one minute, then tip into a colander and gently press out all the excess moisture.3 Heat the rest of the olive oil in the pan and sauté the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the drained spinach and season to taste. Toss until heated through and then tip into a colander to drain.4 When the Bolognese sauce is almost ready, cook the gnocchi in a large pan of salted water for five minutes, or according to packet instructions. Mix the mascarpone with the Parmesan and season with pepper. Squeeze out any remaining excess moisture from the spinach. Stir the gnocchi and spinach into the Bolognese sauce and tip into a large ovenproof dish. Add dollops of the mascarpone mixture and grill until bubbling and golden. Serve at once straight to the table, with a separate basket of ciabatta bread.Cottage pie with a twist
Serves four to six
Olive oil, for cooking
50g (2oz) rindless streaky bacon, diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp soft fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried oregano
400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
450g (1lb) minced beef
50g (2oz) fresh chicken livers, finely chopped
150ml (1/4 pint) dry red wine
450ml (3/4 pint) chicken or beef (from a cube is fine)
For the topping:
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
2 eggs
2 tbsp cream
75g (3oz) mature cheddar or gruyère cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Heat a large, heavy-based pan. Add two tablespoons of the oil and tip in the bacon. Cook for a couple of minutes until it is crispy and has released some natural fats, then add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and oregano and cook over a medium heat until the vegetables have softened and taken on a little colour, stirring occasionally. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine and season to taste.2 Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan. Add a little of the olive oil and fry the minced beef in small batches until browned. While the meat is frying, break up any lumps with the back of a wooden spoon. Repeat until all the beef is browned. Drain off any fat and stir the meat into the tomato mixture.3 Wipe out the pan with some kitchen roll and add a little more oil, then fry the chicken livers until sizzling and lightly browned. Tip into the minced beef and tomato mixture, then de-glaze the frying pan with some of the red wine, scraping any sediment from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Pour this wine, along with the rest of the wine and the stock, into the minced beef mixture, stirring to combine.4 Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to very low and simmer, stirring from time to time, for at least one hour – or up to four hours is fine – until the beef is completely tender. Season to taste. 5 To assemble the cottage pie, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark six). Place the cauliflower florets in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for six to eight minutes, until tender but not mushy. Drain and place in a food processor. Add the eggs and cream and blend to a rough purée that retains a bit of texture.6 Spoon the mince into the bottom of an ovenproof dish and spread the cauliflower purée on top. Scatter over the cheddar or gruyère and bake for 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Place directly on the table and allow everyone to help themselves.
First things first, make sure you buy Quality Assured Irish meat. Have it as lean as possible, with a little bit of fat for flavour. You can mix meats. I learned in Italy last year that for a bolognese they mix pork and beef mince. I hadn’t seen that before. Pork mince is so underused. Try to use proper spinach and not the baby variety for this recipe, as it has a much better flavour and texture in this type of dish. If you don’t want to use the mascarpone, try tearing a ball of buffalo mozzarella into chunks and using that instead.
This cottage pie has the twist of using chicken livers. If you are not keen they are optional, but they give the pie real depth of flavour. The Worcestershire sauce is key. It gives the dish tartness. I like the cauliflower topping, but you could make it traditionally with mashed potato. Mature cheddar is hard to beat. It’s nice and strong and we have so many good mature cheddars in Ireland.
Happy cooking, Neven
Neven’s new book, “Neven Maguire’s Home Economics for Life”, is published by Gill Books
Bolognese gnocchi with spinach and mozarella. Styling: Sharon Hearne Smith. Photo: Ramona Farrelly
Gnocchi bolognese with spinach and
mascarpone
Serves four
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
450g (1lb) lean minced beef
700g 1lb 9oz) jar passata (Italian sieved tomatoes)
Pinch of sugar
1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian herbs
450g (1lb) fresh spinach
1 garlic clove, crushed
500g (1 1/4lb) packet fresh gnocchi
100g (4oz) mascarpone cheese
50g (2oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ciabatta bread, to serve
1 Heat half the olive oil in a large pan and tip in the onion. Sauté for two to three minutes until softened, but not coloured. Stir in the minced beef and cook for another few minutes until lightly browned, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Stir in the passata and add the sugar and herbs, then season to taste and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened.2 Meanwhile, wash the spinach and remove any large stalks, then dry well – a salad spinner works brilliantly if you have one. Heat a large, heavy-based pan and add fistfuls of the spinach, adding another as one wilts down. Cook for one minute, then tip into a colander and gently press out all the excess moisture.3 Heat the rest of the olive oil in the pan and sauté the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the drained spinach and season to taste. Toss until heated through and then tip into a colander to drain.4 When the Bolognese sauce is almost ready, cook the gnocchi in a large pan of salted water for five minutes, or according to packet instructions. Mix the mascarpone with the Parmesan and season with pepper. Squeeze out any remaining excess moisture from the spinach. Stir the gnocchi and spinach into the Bolognese sauce and tip into a large ovenproof dish. Add dollops of the mascarpone mixture and grill until bubbling and golden. Serve at once straight to the table, with a separate basket of ciabatta bread.Cottage pie with a twist
Serves four to six
Olive oil, for cooking
50g (2oz) rindless streaky bacon, diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp soft fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried oregano
400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
450g (1lb) minced beef
50g (2oz) fresh chicken livers, finely chopped
150ml (1/4 pint) dry red wine
450ml (3/4 pint) chicken or beef (from a cube is fine)
For the topping:
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
2 eggs
2 tbsp cream
75g (3oz) mature cheddar or gruyère cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Heat a large, heavy-based pan. Add two tablespoons of the oil and tip in the bacon. Cook for a couple of minutes until it is crispy and has released some natural fats, then add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and oregano and cook over a medium heat until the vegetables have softened and taken on a little colour, stirring occasionally. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine and season to taste.2 Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan. Add a little of the olive oil and fry the minced beef in small batches until browned. While the meat is frying, break up any lumps with the back of a wooden spoon. Repeat until all the beef is browned. Drain off any fat and stir the meat into the tomato mixture.3 Wipe out the pan with some kitchen roll and add a little more oil, then fry the chicken livers until sizzling and lightly browned. Tip into the minced beef and tomato mixture, then de-glaze the frying pan with some of the red wine, scraping any sediment from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Pour this wine, along with the rest of the wine and the stock, into the minced beef mixture, stirring to combine.4 Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to very low and simmer, stirring from time to time, for at least one hour – or up to four hours is fine – until the beef is completely tender. Season to taste. 5 To assemble the cottage pie, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark six). Place the cauliflower florets in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for six to eight minutes, until tender but not mushy. Drain and place in a food processor. Add the eggs and cream and blend to a rough purée that retains a bit of texture.6 Spoon the mince into the bottom of an ovenproof dish and spread the cauliflower purée on top. Scatter over the cheddar or gruyère and bake for 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Place directly on the table and allow everyone to help themselves. 
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