Believe it or not I fell in love with this recipe at a School near Wallsend I spent a year at a few years ago. This was a typical agency job that I thought was supposed to be 6 weeks only while the new Chef they had employed was to arrive. I did my six weeks, the school went on a half term break for a week, came back with the new chef and he lasted 2 days so I got the call to go back. I was a little unsure as dinner lady cookery was not exactly at the cutting edge of culinary mastery !!
However the school had a poor reputation for its food service among the staff and the children at the school and when I went their for my six weeks I had some rave reviews from the staff and the children about how the food had improved massively and so I thought I should go back and at least continue until they found a new chef.
It was while at the school I met Lynn who was the catering manager. I have to say I have met some wonderful people during my time cooking and Lynn very defiantly was one of the most kindest, warm, genuine lovely people I have ever worked with and became a very good friend and even though I left the school after a full school year we still keep in regular contact.
Lynn showed me the recipe folder that the council had provided for them for the 4 week rotaing menu they had devised. It had all the nutrients and 5 a day fruit and vegetables calculations that we need to have a healthy diet.The one thing however it did not have was any flavour !
Their recipe for Mince pie was OK but to add a nutrient level to it they mixed Red lentils into the mince ! Unbelievable ! To get children enthusiastic about food you have to make it taste great..not good or average but great every time. So Lynn said to me " I want my food to taste great" and as long as we did not go over budget I could cook how I wanted to cook each dish on the menu and if I came up with a better alternative that the kids liked it was fine to change it. So working with Lynn over that School year was an amazing experience.
I had to serve the children sometimes on one of the food servers which was great fun too.
The main comment on certain dishes from the kids was they "hated" this or that" but someone (St Me ! ) took the time to ask them why ? and usually their was an incident in their food life that had sparked this kind of comment off. I remember on one occasion I had Sweet and Sour Chicken on the menu on what they called the Spice bar in the school restaurant and I offered it to this student and they said "erhh nah I hate Chinese !" so having my ego slightly dented I thought I would pursue this and asked if I got you a spoon would you taste this for me and then if you hate it still that would be fair enough and I would " Go away and practice the dish until I got it right !". They agreed and I cannot describe the feeling you get as a Chef when a customer has a twisted face and then as the flavours and aromas circulate their tasting senses and they realise you have just taken them to culinary heaven and a warm smile enlightens their face and brings a warm feeling in to your heart as a cook.
It turns out talking to this student that they had Sweet and sour before from the local takeaway brought by their parents and it had a large layer of oil on top of it and that one time culinary sweet and sour experience had turned them sour to that dish.
The other reason some of the children were put off certain dishes was just plain and simple that their parents could not cook very well other than boiling some pasta off and opening a jar of tomato sauce. Also most of the time they ate easy things mum and dad could cook like pizza and oven chips because the parents were "too busy with work" and "do not have time" to cook a decent meal when they get in.
Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the School and being the only man in the kitchen I was lucky enough(??) to become the play thing of 12 loud dinner ladies. I went in a boy and came out a man. I was lucky they didn't eat me alive !! ha ha !
Every good time eventually comes to an end and the Council got a new Chef and I was on my way but I have to say one of the saddest moments of my culinary career was leaving on the last day before the school broke up for the Summer holidays and seeing Lynn crying as she said she was going to miss me and I was going to miss her because the 10 months I spent at the school with Lynn and the girls I believe we made a real difference to the way school dinners were perceived by the students and the staff and to feel appreciated in the work place is very difficult to find these days.
The Recipe.
Their was a point to all this I think when I started writing this blog an hour or so ago...o yes while at the school we had a few food bars. One in particular was called the Spice bar where we did produced a Curry, or Chili or a Chinese dish of some description ever day and one of the most popular dishes was for a spicy beef mince dish called Keema.
It basically is just mince in a curry sauce served with a Naan bread and some Yogurt Raita. Here though I have used some Turkey mince and made a delicious Spicy Bubble and squeak pat tie filled with Brussels sprouts.
Right make some Mash.
Now in a frying pan add some sliced pre cooked Brussels sprouts, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, a handful of fresh coriander, a TSP of chilli powder and a TBSP of turmeric for colour more than flavour and fry for 4 to 5 minutes.
To make the Keema basically get 400gms of Turkey mince, slice one onion, crush 1 large garlic clove and sweat the lot in Olive Oil until the mince is coloured now add 2 TBSP of curry powder and stir to release the flavours from the powder. Now add 1 Chicken knorr stock cube and stir. Next add 1 large tin of chopped tomatoes and cook for about 20 minutes on a gentle simmer. After 20 minutes add a spoon of instant Chicken gravy powder to thicken the sauce.
Now shallow fry your Bubble and squeak burger gently turning it over after about 5 minutes. If your a Chef you will turn it over and take the splash of hot oil that always spits out of the pan out onto your bear skin like another cooking battle scare to show off to the waitresses after service. If you have a brain cell you will do it gently holding the pan at an angle so most of the oil slips to the bottom part of the pan so when you turn it over the Pattie lands on bear pan and not a pool of oil ! You can guess what I did ! idiot ! ha ha !
Yum Yum ! I can see was this was so popular at the school now...o how I miss school and my lairy dinner ladies and I never thought I would say that ! ha ha ! Enjoy.
A few Random Pics !
Its amazing what gets left on or washed up on the beach. I think this is some kind of dancing guide mat. All I can think of is that it was swept off some Russian trawler. What will the poor sailors do now at sea !
A Kite...I think !
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