Lazy long weekend

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Enjoy the long weekend with these two recipes that are perfect for a lazy day spent at home.

Waffles with salted butterscotch sauce

Image and text from Taste the Wild by Lisa Nieschlag and Lars Wentrup. Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99. Photo credit © Lisa Nieschlag.

Serves: 4

  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 450ml milk
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 200g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
  • 8 eggs, separated
  • 1â…” cups (250g) plain flour
  • 1 pinch salt

For the butterscotch sauce

  • 400g brown sugar
  • 1.2 litres single (pure) cream
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Raspberries, for serving

For the butterscotch sauce, caramelise the brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, without stirring. Deglaze with the cream (be careful, the caramel will be very hot!) and simmer for about 5 minutes until you have a creamy caramel sauce (it will thicken further as it cools). Stir in the salt.

Preheat the waffle iron for the waffles. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla seeds and melted butter. Whisk in the egg yolks. Sift the flour over the mixture and whisk until all lumps have dissolved. Beat the egg whites and salt in a large bowl until stiff. Gently fold into the batter.

Grease the waffle iron. Add one ladleful of batter at a time and cook the waffles until golden brown.

Serve the waffles with the warm butterscotch sauce and fresh raspberries.

Mighty meatballs

Image and recipe from What the Fat? Recipes by Grant Schofield, Caryn Zinn and Craig Rodger, Murdoch Books, $35. Images copyright © Todd Eyre Photography, 2019.

Serves: 4

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 30 mins

For the meatballs

  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 500g minced beef or lamb
  • 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • 2 Tbsp almond meal

For the sauce

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

To finish

  • ½ cup grated cheese of your choice
  • A few sprigs of basil leaves, roughly torn
  • Vegetable accompaniments
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C regular).

Place all the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix well with your hands (or a spoon). Shape the mix into about 16 meatballs and place in the fridge until needed.

Heat the oil in a large oven-proof frying pan or stovetop-safe casserole over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes until beginning to soften. Add the garlic, carrots and tomatoes. Stir to mix, bring up to the boil and add the vinegar.

Remove the meatballs from the fridge and carefully place them into the sauce. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove from the oven and sprinkle over the cheese, then return to the oven to cook for another 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is starting to brown.

While the meatballs are cooking, prepare an accompaniment of your choice.

To serve, divide your vegetable side between bowls. Top with the meatballs and sauce, sprinkle with basil and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil just before serving.

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