There is nothing quite like a good ol’ jaffle. With an endless array of fillings, there is bound to be one to suit everyone. This month, home cook LYNN BAIN shares one of her favourites.
Jaffles (or toasties) are a crispy golden toastie exterior with a filling that tantalises your tastebuds. I particularly love the versatility of a mince filling because you can use beef, lamb, pork or chicken as the base hero for the jaffle’s contents.
Pork mince? Think Asian flavours. Lamb? Think Middle Eastern flavours. Chicken? Perhaps go the Thai green curry route.
However, when it comes to a beef mince filling for my family’s jaffles, I go old school and cook up a traditional savoury mince filling to match the concept of campfire jaffles.
Handy hack one: It is extremely important to ensure your bread, when sliced, is large enough for your jaffle maker. Check this before you start. My husband collects jaffle irons, so we have a variety of sizes to choose from to match the bread.
Handy hack two: There are a lot of different types of breads on the market. You could go healthy with multigrain-style bread or low-carb bread — some of these hold together better than others. A good well-structured fibre bread can be a beneficial addition to your jaffle-making prowess. Alternatively, you could use good old white bread slices.
Handy hack three: Try using puff pastry as the outer layer of your jaffles (check out next month’s recipe).
Handy hack four: Sometimes I up the ante on the savoury mince filling by adding either a little grated cheese, some mashed potato/pumpkin mixture or, my favourite, mushy peas.
Handy hack five: Where stock is mentioned in the ingredients, nowadays I use a beef and red wine stock gel instead of just beef stock. It adds a lovely flavour to the savoury mince.
Savoury mince jaffle filling
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp canola oil
500g beef mince
1 onion, very finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 small(ish) carrot, grated
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup stock (please see handy hack five)
400g tin tomatoes
Step 1: Heat about half the canola oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the mince and stir, breaking up any lumps of mince as you go, until the mince has browned. Remove the mince from the pan and place to one side.
Step 2: Add the remainder of the oil to the pan (if needed). Add the onion and sauté until softened.
Step 3: Add the garlic to the pan containing the onion. Continue to cook for a further couple of minutes.
Step 4: Add the carrot and mixed herbs to the pan and continue to cook for another couple of minutes, stirring as you go.
Step 5: Return the mince to the pan and stir well to incorporate all the ingredients together.
Step 6: Add the tomato paste and stock to the pan.
Step 7: Add the Worcestershire sauce and tinned tomatoes to the mince mixture. Stir gently to combine. Allow to simmer until the ingredients are cooked through and the mixture has thickened.
Step 8: You are now ready to assemble your jaffle.
Step 9: Butter two slices of bread on one side.
Step 10: Place one slice of bread into your jaffle maker, buttered side out (i.e. in contact with the inside of the jaffle iron).
Step 11: Add a generous spoonful of the savoury mince mixture into the centre of the slice of bread.
Step 12: Add other buttered slice of bread over the top of the filling and press down on the bread to close up the jaffle.
Step 13: Close the jaffle maker.
Step 14: Clip your jaffle maker closed securely.