Test drive

So this was the first meal I cooked in my new pot: kofta in tomato sauce. A pot roast or some kind of long braised dish would probably have been more appropriate but it was a weeknight and I didn't want to wait until the weekend. The dish consists of meatballs braised in a spicy tomato sauce, finished by poaching eggs right in the sauce. I used this Fragrant tomato and beef kofta recipe from Lex Culinaria, using a mixture of minced lamb (ground lamb is very hard to find here so I had to chop it up myself) and ground beef for the kofta.

It was a fairly quick recipe so I didn't expect the new pot to make much of a difference, but it really did. I was amazed at how fast the sauce reduced and how well the spices blended together: a half-hour simmer produced a sauce that tasted like it had been cooked for hours. The only problem was that it retained heat so well that I ended up cooking the eggs through, so I didn't get the runny yolk effect I'd hoped for. So I guess this pot will take a bit of getting used to.

I served it just like it was curry rice and that's exactly what my husband thought he was eating, as the spices were quite similar to a curry mix. Kofta is new to me and apparently comes in all sorts of different forms, and I'm looking forward to trying more. But this was a very nice introduction, and a great way to test out my new pot.

Comments

[Jason]

That's beautiful!

[Tess]

Congratulations! Good choice to christen the Le Cruiset! Now I'm hungry.

[eliza bennet]

Congrats and the food looks delicious (but then again you always make it look delicious)

Now this dish we make at home but no eggs, insert patatoes and use real tomatoes for the sauce with a couple of green peppers thrown in. I love it and it is also good company for spagetti.

[kat]

looks wonderful!

[Tricolor]

Ciao, sono passato da te per un saluto veloce...
I'm hungry!!!

[japanlyn]

Amy, you asked for recipes... I have a bunch, but why not try Bittman's Valentine recipe of Braised Short Ribs [in Coffee & Red Wine]. Out-of-this-WORLD-To-die-for!

Bittman’s Braised Short Ribs

Ribs
2 T EVOO
Aka Togarashi, deseeded, whole [I used 5]
2 cups onions
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 c red wine
1 1/2 c strong black coffee
Salt & Pepper to taste

In dutch oven, BROWN ribs VERY WELL in EVOO... 5 mins per side.
Remove from pan. Cool oil a bit, to med.
Add onions, garlic, togarashi and saute 5 mins, do not brown.
Add wine and coffee, med high heat until some of the alcohol burns off.
Add ribs, cover and cook slowly for hours and hours and hours.
Voila!

[japanlyn]

BTW, the kofta look amazing... Will try this weekend!

[claytonian]

I was at an outlet mall here and those pans (pots?) were about the same price. But I am not nearly a good enough cook to justify the price tag :p

[crella]

Wow, that looks scrumptious!

[tuna]

It looks very delicious.
I have same size LC with orange colour.
I recently found your website and its very informative!

[Ms J]

Hi again Amy,

So many comments in the one day! BUT: I am currently cooking a rendang in my Le Creuset saucepan; no doubt this would work just as well in your crockpot. My supa had Aussie beef on special yesterday - 100gms for 100￥!! - hence the rendang. I'm using one of those Infofoods paste sachets from Kaldi... Even though our house stinks of beef, I'm really looking forward to dinner tomorrow night!

J