Mince's grey reputation is changing, says Dana Alexander, who with Sue Hamilton has written Minced: Inspirational recipes for every day.
People are realising it can be far more than Mum's old mince on toast, she says.
Besides being busy mothers cooking for families, the two women both have marketing backgrounds, which makes them aware of changes in perception.
Sausages have had a renaissance and now it's mince's turn as people are looking for real food that's affordable, flavoursome and interesting, she says.
Alexander, who spent six years in the consumer and applied science department at the University of Otago in the late 1980s and early 1990s, has lived in London for 12 years.
"Travelling a lot, as you go about the world you realise everybody has mince dishes.
It's the backbone of many cuisines and they are enjoyable dishes," she says.
The English have mince pies and cottage pie; Italians have bolognese, lasagne and other dishes; the Greeks have moussaka and meatballs; Americans have hamburgers and chilli con carne; the Arabs kofte and dolmas.
In fact, most cuisines have meatballs of some sort.
Minced is about mixing things up, mixing up cuisines, quality of ingredients, flavours, but still keeping hold of basics, she says.
Both women are concerned about cooking real food for their families with whatever is in the pantry and using up leftovers, and generally celebrating everyday food.
"The other thing I love about mince is you can cook a meal, you can keep some if someone's coming home late, and you can reheat it or you can change it.
She uses leftover bolognese from spaghetti bolognese to make a beef and feta galette, or has it on toast with tabasco and parmesan, she says.
In the book they have expanded old ideas of mince, including recipes for things such as fishcakes and seafood chowder with minced seafood, and desserts not only using fruit mince but also ground nuts.
There are recipes for old favourites such as mince on toast, minced beef pie, pizzas and pastas as well as adventurous recipes such as upturned chicken and rice from Morocco, venison cranberry and walnut pie or hot sour soup and beef dumplings, and even a smart turkey loaf with cranberry sauce for Christmas.
"We wanted to push it a bit because we believe that still in New Zealand we don't particularly have a good feeling about mince.
We wanted to turn things upside down a bit and be a bit tongue-in-cheek and present things in perhaps a different way," Ms Alexander says.
Recipes on this page and next from Minced: Inspirational recipes for every day by Sue Hamilton and Dana Alexander (Penguin, $35).
Beef and feta galette
The beef and feta galette is our hero Minced recipe, as not only is it quick and easy to prepare, but it is a great way to use up leftover minced meats.
More than just a pizza, this version of the open-topped pie is good enough to serve to guests.
Inspired by Mediterranean flavours, it is encased in a rich olive oil pastry.
However, pre-rolled short crust pastry would work equally well.
Why not make twice the recipe and adjust the toppings for children's school lunches? This recipe reheats well in the microwave.
Serves 4.
Pastry
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
Topping
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
250g beef mince
1 Tbsp dried oregano
100g feta (or blue cheese), roughly chopped
4 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp capers
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg, beaten
To make pastry, sift flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl.
Make a well in the centre and add olive oil gradually.
Using a knife, combine mixture until crumbly.
Pour in water gradually and mix gently to make a soft dough.
Form into a ball, wrap in cling film and set aside in fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Heat second measure of oil in a frying-pan and stir onions and garlic over a moderate heat until soft.
Add minced beef and oregano.
Cook together for 10-15 minutes until it's all deliciously browned and fragrant.
It's ideal if the beef is crispy in parts.
Remove from heat and cool.
Preheat oven to 180degC.
Roll pastry on to a floured work bench and form a 30cm circle.
Lightly grease a 25cm flan tin and place pastry on base, letting it flop over the sides.
Crumble in feta (or blue cheese if you prefer).
Add beef mixture, making sure it's evenly distributed.
Sprinkle over diced sun-dried tomatoes and capers.
Fold edges of pastry over to hold in the filling.
Whisk together sour cream and egg, and pour over filling.
Bake for 45 minutes or until pastry is golden.
Serve with a green herb salad and crusty bread.
Chicken poppets in broth
We all need comfort food sometimes, and this dish is a heartier version of the traditional Italian panacea (chicken soup).
Fragrant rosemary and lemon provide a refreshing zing to the stock.
The kids will love making this with you as they can get their hands dirty, but make sure they don't lick their fingers at the end! Serves 4-6.
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 bacon rashers, finely chopped
1 sprig fresh rosemary, stripped and chopped
450g chicken mince
250ml chicken stock juice
1 lemon
Heat oil in a frying pan and stir onions and garlic over a moderate heat until soft.
Add chopped bacon and rosemary to pan and cook for a few minutes until bacon is browned.
Remove from heat and let the mixture cool.
Add bacon and onion to minced chicken along with a few grinds of pepper and a pinch of salt.
Form each poppet by rolling a generous spoonful of mixture into the palm of your hand and lightly flattening the top.
Re-use onion pan with a little extra olive oil to brown poppets.
Cook for 5 minutes on each side to seal.
Pour chicken stock and lemon juice over the poppets.
Cover pan and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve in a bowl with spoonfuls of the lemony chicken broth and a garnish of lemon zest or thyme if desired.
Baked bolognese and spaghetti
Minced would not be complete without a spaghetti bolognese recipe.
As children we loved it and we still do as adults! This is Dana's mother's recipe.
It is baked in the oven and includes half a lemon, which adds piquancy.
Try it, it's delicious.
You will never go back to simmering in a pan again.
There's much less mess and a more full-bodied flavour.
Serves 4-6.
1 Tbsp olive oil
50g pancetta, finely chopped
2 red onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500g beef mince
lemon (can be removed before serving)
100ml red wine
400g can diced tomatoes
6 sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
2tsp dried oregano
400g dried spaghetti
bunch fresh basil
Preheat oven to 180degC.
Heat oil in a non-stick frying-pan and fry pancetta, onions and garlic over a moderate heat until they begin to soften.
Add the beef mince and cook for 35 minutes, stirring frequently to break up any large pieces of mince before adding lemon and wine.
Quickly whizz diced and sun-dried tomatoes in a blender before adding them to the mince as well.
Reduce heat slightly and add oregano.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cook for a further 10 minutes then transfer to a casserole dish.
Bake for 90 minutes until sauce caramelises.
To cook pasta, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
Toss in spaghetti.
When cooked al dente (firm to the bite), drain into a colander and add a dash of olive oil and roughly chopped fresh basil.
Serve with grated Parmesan and a green salad if desired.
Win it
The Otago Daily Times has five copies of Minced to give away.
To enter the draw for one, write your name, address and daytime phone number on the back of an envelope and send it to Minced, Editorial Features, Response Bag 500011 Dunedin, or email playtime@odt.co.nz with "Minced" in the subject line, to arrive before July 6.
