Rissoles Recipe

These beef and vegetable patties have a flavoursome browned crust and moist interior. We serve them in bread rolls with salad and sauce, or with steamed vegetables.

We tried using raw vegetables in the rissole mixture but found that the onion and carrot were still slightly crunchy after the rissoles were cooked. So we prefer to pan-fry the vegetables to soften them before combining them with the remaining ingredients. This step can be omitted if you don't mind rissoles with slightly crunchy vegetables (simply combine the raw chopped/grated vegetables with the other ingredients).

Makes 12 rissoles.

1 teaspoon oil, for pan-frying vegetables
1 small onion (about 120g), peeled and finely chopped
1 small zucchini (about 120g), grated
1 small carrot (about 100g), grated
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
500g lean beef mince
26g (3 tablespoons) dry breadcrumbs
40g (1/2 cup, lightly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon (20ml) Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon (20ml) barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon (20ml) tomato paste
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1 tablespoon oil, for pan-frying rissoles

Heat one teaspoon of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat (the same pan can be used for frying the rissoles). When the oil is hot, add onion, zucchini and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened (about 10 minutes). Add garlic to vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and refrigerate until lukewarm or cold. Wipe the pan out with a paper towel in preparation for frying the rissoles.

To the vegetable mixture, add mince, breadcrumbs, cheese, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, tomato paste and egg.

Using your hands or a fork, mix the ingredients together until well combined.

Divide mixture into 12 equal portions, each about one firmly packed 1/4 cup. Roll each portion into a ball, and then flatten balls slightly to form patties about 2.5cm thick.
Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. The rissoles will be difficult to turn if they are very close together in the pan, so cook in two or more batches if necessary (dividing the oil for frying between the batches). When the oil is hot, add the rissoles and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, until browned and cooked through. Transfer rissoles to a paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil.

If you are cooking the rissoles in batches, you may wish to place the cooked rissoles in a warm oven to keep them hot. Before cooking the next batch, wipe out the frying pan with paper towels and add some more oil.

Serve rissoles, or cover and refrigerate until required. Suitable to reheat. © www.exclusivelyfood.com.au