Low Fat Brazilian Minced Meat

If you are looking for a tasty and healthy alternative for full fat ground meat, you may need to give a chance for low fat Brazilian minced meat on your table. Minced meat is ground meat that is chopped or grinded with a knife or meat grinder. It is known for its low calories since it does not contain any carbohydrates which makes it very suitable for diets and weight loss. Minced meat is also a rich source for proteins as well as iron and B vitamins. What makes it even more convenient is that it is easily affordable and available in our supermarket.

Minced meat is a very popular form in meat as it can be used in many different types of food such as burgers and meatballs, etc.

Due to its various utilities; we have put together some of the most common and adored middle eastern recipes that is made with minced meat. 

 Macarona Bechamel

Macarona Bechamel is one of the most well known dishes in the Middle-East, specifically in Egypt. It is a greatly appreciated food in Egypt and on top of most classical dishes in the country due to its creamy and delicious Béchamel sauce. The sauce is made out of butter, flour and milk. Macarona Bechamel also has layers of panne pasta with minced meat and sauce between the layers. All these tasty ingredients is undeniably why it makes the dish a favourite for many. You must be curious to know by now the infamous recipe to make the perfect Macarona Bechamel dish and we have it here just for you.

Basic Ingredients needed in the recipe

You can use medium-sized pasta for this recipe. For the meat sauce, you can experiment and play around with spices, but most importantly, you’ll need the classic Bechamel ingredients (butter, flour, and milk.)

The type of pasta used us middle sized panne pasta. As for the sauce of the meat, you can use your favourite spices and experiment with the mixtures. However, the classic bechamel ingredients remain butter, flour and milk.

The rest of the essential ingredients

For the pasta:

1. 500-600 grams of pasta
2. Water
3. Salt

For the meat sauce:

1. 700-650 gram minced beef
2. 1 tbsp vegetable oil
3. 1 onion
4. 2 cups tomato sauce
5. 1 tbsp cinnamon
6. ½ tsp black pepper

For the Bechamel sauce:

1. 1 cup flour
2. 1 cup butter
3. 1 Litre milk
4. 1 chicken stock cube
5. 1 cup cheese
6. ½ tsp salt
7. ¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions 

Making the Bechamel sauce. 

1. Add some hot water in a bowl, making sure you are dissolving butter.
2. Add the flour with the butter and stir it for about 2 or 3 minutes without letting its color tuen to brown.
3. Pour the milk very slowly bit by bit while readily whisking the flour, after that reduce the heat of the mixture bowl to medium low.
4. Put the chicken stock in the mixture and stir for about 5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.
5. Throw in the cheese and stir thoroughly before turning off the heat.

Making the Macarona Bechamel dish.

1. Preheat the oven to 185°C.
2. Boil some water in a bowl with a bit of salt in it, and then add the pasta and let it cook according to the instructions on the package.
3. Break up the meat and start cooking for about 7 minutes it until it is brown, and then aseason with all the spices as well as the tomato sauce and let it cook gently for 5 minutes.
4. Add 1 cup of the Bechamel sauce to the pasta and mix well.
5. You are going to need a deep and large casserole. First, add a tablespoon of Bechamel sauce and spread it on the casserole and then add half of your pasta.
6. Top it with all of the meat mixtures you made and spread it out evenly, and then cover it with the other half of the pasta remaining.
7. Use aluminum foil to the casserole and leave it to bake at 185°C for 45 minutes.
8. Take it out and let your macarona bechamel cool down for 15-20 minutes, and now your dish is ready to serve!

Sambousak

Sambousak or sambousek is one of the most enjoyable appetizers to serve at any table, its salty and the filling us usually meat, mashed potatoes with spice, cheese, and may also contain peas. Sambousak comes in different shapes ranging from triangular to cones and half moon shapes. Each region has their own shape for it. The recipe for sambousak is very easy and doesn't take time to make. We have the step-by-step recipe for you to help you enjoy this simple and delicious pastry. We will explain the making of the dough as well as the minced meat filling.

Basic ingredients:

Ground beef: Regular or lean ground beef works fine for the recipe

Roll pastry: These rolls can easily be found in our store, you may also use wonton wrappers.

Spices: These are Arabic mix of spices called Boharat which is cinnamon, black pepper, cumin, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg and cloves.

Important tip: While rolling the sambousak dough, you will need to add a tablespoon of flour to a little bit of water that acts like a paste to seal the edges of the sambousak

Ingredients

1. For the Meat Filling:
2. 450 grams of ground beef 
3. 1 onion, diced
4. 1 tsp salt
5. 1 tsp cinnamon
6. ¼ tsp black pepper
7. 2 tsp vegetable oil
8. 1 cup finely chopped parsley

For the Pastry:

1. About 30 sheets of spring roll pastry squares

For the flour paste to seal the sambousak:

1. 1 tbsp flour
2. ¼ cup water

To make the meat filling:

1. Dice the onions finely and cook in a skillet with the vegetable oil on medium heat. (takes about 3-4 mins)
2. Add the ground beef and break it up into pieces using a wooden spoon, and then cook it with the onions.
3. Add all the spices and cook for a few more minutes.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat and add in the chopped parsley. Mix it finely and let it cool down for a good short while.

Rolling the Meat Sambousak:

1. Put the meat on a plate and cover it with a towel.
2. Mix the flour with water to make the sticky paste.
3. Take a spoonful of meat filling and place it at the bottom of the pastry and start rolling it over. Start folding the sides when you get halfway rolling it. When you reach the last part of the pastry, put some of the flour paste on the edge of the pastry and then fold it over and seal the sambousak.
4. You can now start to cook it by using a skillet on medium heat for about 30 seconds on both sides until its color starts to turn golden brown. Lastly, take out the sambousak and place it on a plate covered in paper in order to soak up the excess oil.