It may be the middle of Summer over here but that doesn’t mean on the cooler days you can’t have the ultimate comfort food.  These flavour packed rissoles just like Nanna used to make were topped with a sweet, herb and onion packed gravy, heavily laced with red wine to bring that sweetness down a notch or two.  The whole family will love these bundles of pure delight!

Prep time:  20  Minutes             Cooking time:  25  Minutes               $  Low Budget

Serves 4 (makes about 10 rissoles……enough for leftovers)

1kg of lamb mince

6 slices of streaky bacon or pancetta, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

2 large sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped, stalks discarded

1 brown onion, finely diced or grated

1 tbs of dijon mustard

1 tbs of tomato paste

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

1 egg

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Sweet potato mash to serve

Rosemary and thyme leaves for garnish

For the Gravy:

Pan juices from the rissoles

2 tbs of olive oil

1 red onion, halved and sliced

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped

4 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and chopped

1 tbs of flour

1 cup of red wine

11/2 cups of beef stock

1 tbs of balsamic vinegar

1 tbs of quince paste, chopped into little pieces

Place the lamb mince, bacon, garlic, onion, rosemary, mustard, tomato paste, breadcrumbs and egg in a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Use your hands to combine the mixture and then form patties about the size of a tennis ball.  Place them on a piece of baking paper and gently press on them to flatten out out slightly.

Heat a large frypan and add a little oil.  Fry the rissoles on both sides for about 6 minutes or until golden and almost cooked through.  Remove from the pan and set aside while you make the gravy.

Use the same pan and add a little more olive oil if needed.  Lightly fry the onion until soft before adding the garlic and herbs and frying for a further minute or so.  Sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir, cooking the flour for about 1 minute on a medium heat.  Pour in the red wine and beef stock and whisk until all the lumps have disappeared.  Bring the mixture to a simmer before adding the balsamic and quince paste and stirring until the quince paste has dissolved.  Season with salt and pepper and return the rissoles to the pan.  Simmer for 10-12 minutes until the gravy has reduced and thickened and the rissoles are cooked through.

To serve divide sweet potato mash (or any other mash of your choice) between 4 serving plates.  Top the mash with a couple of rissoles and spoon over the gravy.  Sprinkle with thyme and rosemary leaves and serve.