Loaded Hasselback Potatoes

Please a crowd with these fully loaded baked potatoes topped with beef mince, cheese, sour cream and spring onion.

Ingredients

• 8 Red Royale potatoes
• 300g Coles Australian 4 Star Beef Mince
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• 2/3 cups (80g) Coles Australian Shredded Tasty Cheddar
• 1/3 cup (80g) sour cream
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Place 1 potato on a clean work surface. Place a chopstick on the board along each side of the potato. Use a large sharp knife to thinly slice the potato down to the level of the chopsticks (this stops you from cutting all the way through). Repeat with remaining potatoes. 
2. Place potatoes cut-side up on a baking tray. Season. Bake for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender
3. Meanwhile, heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook mince, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up lumps, for 5 mins or until cooked through. Add taco seasoning and 1/4 cup (60ml) water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 mins or until mixture thickens.
4. Spoon the mince mixture onto the potatoes, pushing into the cuts. Sprinkle with the cheddar. Bake for a further 10-15 mins or until cheddar melts and is golden brown. 
5. Top with sour cream and sprinkle with spring onion.

Recipe: http://www.taste.com.au

Nachos

This is a variation on popular Mexican dishes.

This meal is built on the plate in the kitchen and served individually. An alternative is to serve the same ingredients in bowls on the table and people can build their own mix in a wrap. Also see the Burrito recipe.

Ingredients

• 400g Bolognaise sauce - ideally home-made, but from supermarket is OK
• 1 can red kidney beans (or black beans) 400g - mashed
• .5 to 1 cup brown rice
• 1 large or 2 small tomatoes
• Some iceberg lettuce leaves
• Mexican salsa
• Corn chips
• Shredded cheese - Mozzarella, Pizza, Tasty, etc or a combination of all
• For burritos - large wraps - plain, wholemeal or spinach
• Guacamole, avocado dip and/or sour cream
• Jalapeno chilies

Preparation

• Steam the brown rice - approximately 500g cooked.
• Mix the beans with  the Bolognaise sauce and some Mexican salsa - heat in a saucepan or microwave.
• Dice the tomatoes  - about 1-2 cm cubes
• Shred the lettuce leaves

Method

1. Spread a quarter of the cooked rice on each plate
2. Spread a quarter of the bean and meat mix over the rice
3. Sprinkle diced tomatoes on top
4. Sprinkle the cheese over the tomatoes - more or less to taste
5. Microwave each plate for approximately 1-2 mins on high (depends on your microwave)
6. Sprinkle shredded lettuce on top of the whole plate and add some corn chips on the side
7. Top with Jalapeno chilies, sour cream and/or avocado dip

Serves: 4-6

Enchiladas

Recipe by Frank Comorra, Photo by Marcel Aucar

The enchilada is a Mexican classic – warmed tortillas wrapped around a tasty filling then topped with a spicy chilli sauce and baked. It's a good one for children too, with a less spicy version of the sauce, and you can make it gluten-free with corn rather than flour tortillas.

Once you have made the enchilada sauce and cooked the chicken, it's quick and easy to assemble, or you can keep them in the fridge to use over the next couple of days.The filling can be chicken, beef,  fish, lamb fillet or even roasted duck legs – de-bone the meat and chop it roughly before mixing it through the sauce.

When making the sauce, the aim is to char the vegetables a little as it adds a great flavour, but  don't burn them too much. This vibrant sauce can be used on roast snapper or as an accompaniment to barbecued meats.


Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small brown onion, peeled and diced
• 700g skinless chicken breasts, or other meat or beans cut into 2cm pieces
• 2 green chillies, diced
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, grated
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 8 flour tortillas
• 500ml enchilada sauce (see recipe, right)
• 1 x 400g can black beans or lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled and diced

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. In a large pan, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. 
2. Add the onion and fry for three minutes, stirring occasionally. 
3. Add the diced chicken and green chillies and season. 
4. Fry for six to eight minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside. 
5. Mix the cheeses together. 
6. To assemble the enchiladas, set up an assembly line with tortillas, sauce, beans, chicken mixture and cheeses. 
7. Lay out a tortilla and spread it with two tablespoons of sauce. 
8. Add beans in a line down the middle, add a spoonful of chicken mixture, then sprinkle with a quarter cup of cheese. 
9. Roll up the tortilla and place in a greased 30x25-cm baking dish. 
10. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Spread the remaining enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle over the remaining cheese. 
11. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes then serve immediately, garnished with coriander and avocado.

Serves 4-6

Enchilada sauce

• 450g ripe tomatoes, cored
• 1 garlic clove, skin on
• 1 brown onion, roughly diced
• 1 jalapeno chilli, or to taste
• 3/4 tsp sea salt

Place the tomatoes, garlic, onion and chilli in a medium roasting pan. Char them under a hot grill for about nine to 10 minutes, turning them halfway through as the pieces brown. The tomato skins should be charred and wrinkled, and the juices beginning to run. The chilli and onions should be softened and nicely charred; the papery husk of the garlic should be burned and the clove softened inside. Peel the garlic clove and add it to a blender with the tomatoes, onion, chilli and salt. Puree until smooth and set aside.
Makes about two cups

TIP
The enchilada sauce will last for up to three weeks in the fridge; it also works well with salmon or other firm-fleshed fish.

Recipe: Frank Camorra's chicken enchiladas

Burritos

This is a version of the popular Mexican dish and a variation on the Nachos recipe.

This meal is built on the plate in the kitchen and served individually.

Burritos

Ingredients

• 500g Bolognaise sauce - ideally home-made, but from supermarket is OK
• 1 400g can red kidney beans or black beans  (300g net)- drained and mashed
• .5 to 1 cup brown rice or Mexican rice (see recipe below)
• 1 large or 2 small tomatoes
• Some iceberg lettuce leaves
• Mexican salsa or Mexican herb mix
• Corn chips
• Shredded cheese - Mozzarella, Pizza, Tasty, etc or a combination of all
• 4 large wraps - plain, wholemeal or spinach
• Guacamole, avocado dip and/or sour cream
• Jalapeno chilies

Preparation

• Steam the brown rice - approximately 500g cooked.
• Mix the beans with  the Bolognaise sauce and some Mexican salsa or herbs - heat in a saucepan or microwave.
• Dice the tomatoes  - about 1-2 cm cubes
• Shred the lettuce leaves

Method

1. Spread a some of the beans and meat mix onto a wrap (portion is approximately 150-180g per wrap)
2. Sprinkle some cheese and diced tomato over the beans and meat mix
3. Roll the wrap, folding in each end first
4. Repeat till bean and meat mix are finished and sprinkle some cheese on top
5. Place burritos on oven tray in hot oven (140C) for approximately 10 minutes 
6. On each plate, sprinkle shredded lettuce and top with diced tomatoes and guacamole
7. Add a cooked burrito to each plate, a serve of the rice and some corn chips on the side
8. Top with Jalapeno chilies, sour cream and/or avocado dip

Mexican rice

Ingredients

• .5 cup white rice
• 1.5 cups hot water
• .5 diced onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 stock cube
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Method

1. Add the stock cube and tomato paste to a small pot of hot water to make a broth
2. Lightly fry the diced onion in the olive oil in a medium pan
3. As the onion goes clear, add the rice and continue to fry for 5-10 mins
4. Gradually add the broth to the rice until all of the liquid is absorbed and/or the rice is cooked - if necessary, add a little more hot water
5. Serve alongside the burrito

Serves: 4