Dutch-style meatballs and beans

Meatballs are a staple of the Dutch diet - I learned this fairly soon after beginning what turned out to be a 9-year sojourn in Amsterdam. Tiny little ones floating in a bowl of tomatoey vegetable soup, great fist-sized ones grilled or fried and then drowned in gravy, bite-sized and casseroled with beans...

The latter forms the basis of a dish called gehaktballen met bruine bonen, which translates as mince (literally "chopped") balls with brown beans. Every Dutch person will have their own recipe for this but the core ingredients are the meatballs and beans, onions and tomatoes. Brown beans are native to the Netherlands and hard to find elsewhere - kidney beans or pintos are good substitutes.

I like this dish because it relies on storecupboard staples - everyone has beans and onions to hand - and it's fairly quick. It's also hearty and filling, ideal for cold weather (last week, as my city bathed in sunshine and enjoyed a balmy 11C, I was eating salads. Go figure). This is a cheat's version using sausages that I make when I have no meatballs to hand, or mince to make any.

What you need:
2 beef sausages
1 onion
Small tin of kidney beans
2 tomatoes
Tomato purée
Worcestershire sauce
Seasoning

What to do:
Peel the onion and, leaving the root intact, cut it into 8 wedges. Heat a generous splash of vegetable oil in a sauteuse and fry the onions until they soften and start to caramelise. Cut the sausages into meatball-sized pieces and add to the pan.

Rinse the beans well and cut the tomatoes into wedges. As soon as the sausage pieces have browned, add the beans and tomatoes to the pan. Squirt in about a dessert-spoon of tomato purée and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Add enough water from a freshly boiled kettle to create a thick gravy, jam a tight lid on the pan and leave it to cook on a low hob for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes are collapsing.

Cook's tips:
The sausages should yield 8-10 pieces. If you're making meatballs, you want about 6-8 and they should be the size of an apricot.

A half-tin of tomatoes replaces the fresh tomatoes if you have none. Adjust the amount of tomato purée in that case.

Parsley is often added to this dish, both during the cooking and as a garnish.

Meat loaf

Meat loaf is a British classic and was a childhood favourite for me. It's ridiculously easy to make and easy enough to make a small one. This makes about two portions - cold, the leftovers make a good sandwich filling for next day's lunch, but it also reheats well and you could even freeze it in slices.

What you need: 
300g minced beef
1 egg
2-3 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
1 small onion
A pinch of dried mixed herbs
Salt and pepper
1 dsp tomato purée

What to do:
Heat the oven to 200C and line a baking tray with some tin foil. 

Grate the onion to a pulp using the coarse side of a grater, or chop very, very finely. Put it into a large mixing bowl with the mince and 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs. Season, add the herbs and tomato purée. Beat the egg and add a third of it to the mixing bowl. Use your hands to work all the ingredients together. If it looks too dry, add a little more egg. If too sloppy, add more breadcrumbs. You want a firm texture that you can shape, like burger patties. Form the meat into a brick, put it on the baking tray and bake for 30 minutes.

Cook's tips: 
This is one dish where I choose fatty mince rather than lean. The fat keeps the loaf moist while cooking. Too lean a cut and the loaf will be very dry.

I like to have a good heap of buttery mash on the side, plus some gravy - in my kitchen that usually means Bisto. I always make enough for leftovers so I can make fishcakes or bubble and squeak.

The greens on the side in the photo are kale chips. They are very easy to make - line a baking tray with tin foil, tip in the chopped kale and grind some sea salt over them.Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss with your hands to make sure all the leaves are coated. Bake in a hot oven (180-200C) for 8-10 minutes until crispy. For this recipe, that means I just pop in them alongside the meat loaf for the last 10 minutes.

If you end up with leftover beaten egg, it'll keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can use it up in an omelette or scrambled eggs, egg wash for pastry or even a cake if you're baking (an extra third or half an egg won't make any real difference to a recipe).

Chorizo meatballs with roasted tomatoes and wild rice

What's not to like about meatballs? They are so versatile - they go brilliantly with pasta and sauce, are delicious with mash and gravy and add meaty goodness to a soup. If you make your own you can use whatever you like in them - beef, lamb and pork, even chicken (delicious in Asian soups or noodle-based dishes). They are also very easy to make, but because of the quantities you need it's hard to make a tiny batch - better to just go with the flow and freeze the excess for another day.

This makes enough for 12 meatballs - 2 portions.

What you need: 
250g minced pork
About 30g chorizo sausage, finely diced
Fresh breadcrumbs
5 cloves of garlic
1/4tsp each of smoked paprika, cumin, chilli powder (chipotle)
Tomato purée
A pinch of dried oregano
1 tsp each fresh chopped parsley, coriander
Pinch of salt
About 50g wild rice
Cherry tomatoes

What to do:
Put the pork mince in a mixing bowl and add the salt, chorizo, 1 clove of very finely crushed garlic, spices and herbs plus about a tablespoon of tomato purée. Mix everything well together then add enough fresh breadcrumbs to bind everything together. Shape into 12 small meatballs and chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Bring a pan of unsalted water to the boil and add the wild rice. Once the water returns to the boil, turn it down to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes.

Put the tomatoes into an ovenproof dish with 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic. Drizzle well with olive and season with sea salt and a little freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven at 200C for 30 minutes.

To cook the meatballs, heat some oil in a heavy frying pan or sauteuse and fry gently for around 10-12 minutes, turning regularly so they brown all over. Alternatively you can put them on a baking tray or in a shallow roasting tin and bake them for about 25 minutes in the oven (180C), turning them once.

Put the meatballs and tomatoes on a bed of rice and  drizzle over the juices from the dish you cooked the tomatoes in.

Cook's tips:
Add the breadcrumbs gradually - too much too soon and the mixture will be too dry and won't form meatballs properly. If this happens, add a little cold water to the mix.

To freeze the spare meatballs, put them on a plate or small tray first so they don't stick together. When they have frozen pop them into a freezer bag. Defrost overnight in the fridge.

The meatballs go well with rice and some seasonal veg. Alternatively, heat them through in some tomato sauce and serve on a bed of tagliatelle.

Wild rice isn't actually a rice but wild grass seeds. It needs a lot of cooking, like brown rice, and has a deep nutty taste. You should be able to find it in most supermarkets as well as specialist shops.