FoodFunk.ca

After serving a steak and lobster dinner for 26 great people from a campsite at Fundy National Park on Saturday, I’m back home and back in action in my own kitchen. Watch for a new feature this week – video! Some things just have to be visually shown to really nail it down……stay tuned…..

Tomato Hamburg Casserole

Yesterday I got a message on my facebook wall from my friend mary who writes “I walked past a restaurant earlier, and their special of the day today is ‘Tomato Hamburg Casserole.’ If my telephone had a camera in it I would have photographed the sign for you.” Recently on a public forum I had viciously insulted anyone who refers to ground beef as “hamburg” and was especially hard on those that like “hamburg” on their pizza. As you can imagine, the un-relenting assault on the “hamburg” people is very well deserved. I believe I may have questioned the mental state and societal worth of anyone who uses the term “hamburg”. Anyway, here’s some good grub inspired by the whole friggin tirade. Anger, snobbiness and resentment are the most important ingredients in any meal you make for your family. This one had all the right elements and turned out really great.

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Special Tomato Deluxe Hamburg Surprise Casserole with Macaroni and Underhanded Insults

3 or 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb of yes, I’ll say it, hamburg (I use local grass-fed ground beef because it’s better and I’m a snob)

1 medium onion, fine chopped

3 cloves garlic, fine chopped

2 small carrots, peeled and finely diced (or one larger carrot)

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes

1/2 cup water or as needed

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1 5 oz can tomato paste

salt and pepper as needed

pinch each of dried thyme and oregano

2 tablespoons or so of brown sugar

2 cups good ‘ol elbow macaroni

Heat a large, high sided fry pan over medium high heat for a few minutes and add the olive oil. Add the beef and saute until nicely browned and cooked. Remove to a plate and add a bit more oil. Saute the onion for a few minutes over medium heat to soften. Add the garlic and saute for a minute. Add the carrots, return the meat to the pan and toss well. Season with salt and pepper now and begin adding your tomatoes, cutting each one up in a few pieces before adding to the pan. Add the juice from the can as well. Add the tomato paste, water and worcestershire sauce and stir well. At this point, I transferred the whole shebang to a pressure cooker and cooked under pressure for about 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can just stew the whole thing for a good hour, adding water as needed to keep it nice and saucy. Ground beef, or freakin’ “hamburg” needs to stew as much as any beef in a dish like this to tenderize it. Once your mixture is just about ready, heat a pot of salted water to a boil and add your good ol’, moms-suppers elbow macaroni. I keep a 900g box of the stuff handy for cravings just like this. Once your macaroni is nice and tender, drain it well and add it to your tomato beef mixture. Stir well and let it all simmer together for at least 15 minutes so the pasta can really soak up the special deeeeeluxe sauce. Check the seasoning and add your dried herbs and brown sugar and stir well. Add more water if needed, or a cup or so of wine that costs at least $200 a bottle. Enjoy.