On My Plate (OMP) is a series in which I share with you what I’m eating. I like simple everyday food. OMP features things put together because I need to clean out the fridge or pantry; things made in a hurry; making do with what is there; and things I have seen, heard, or read about and decided to give a try (that are not complicated). It is also about what I am having when I don’t feel like cooking.
On My Plate is some leftover boiled breadfruit stuffed with ground/minced beef.
If you ask me, I won’t say that I love breadfruit but it is something that I appreciate because of the many ways in which it can be prepared, whether sweet or savoury; baked, boiled, fried or roasted. When I buy or am gifted a breadfruit, the first thing I make is breadfruit fries, not to be confused with crisp breadfruit chips. After cutting a portion for fries, the rest of the breadfruit is boiled in lightly salted water, cooled and refrigerated for whatever I want to make or feel like making.
I did not go to the market last week Saturday because I had a fridge full of food that I needed to use out. Among the things was a container of boiled breadfruit. One day, when considering what to eat, I contemplated cutting some of it into thick slices, and pan-frying to have with scrambled eggs. However, I found the idea boring. I settled instead for some eddo curry and sada roti, both of which I simply had to reheat. It bothered me that I was seeming to neglect the breadfruit. It was not one of my go-to things, but I was determined that I would have to use it by the end of the week.
There are times when I look through my own food images for ideas of things to make. In a folder from 2015, titled Breadfruit Pie, were images of meat-stuffed breadfruit that looked like muffins (based on the pan in which they were baked). Ding, ding, ding! I knew immediately how I was going to use up the cooked breadfruit in the refrigerator. The idea was appealing on a number of levels: it is something that I could have on its own or with a garden salad; I could share it with my snowbird-from-England-neighbour who loves anything with breadfruit, and I could write about it in a column. So, here I am.
While this bake was set out to be a clean-out-the-fridge idea, it is definitely more than that. I can see this being made and served at any meal, particularly as a savoury offering for tea or brunch. It packs well for a take-to-school or work snack, and, made smaller, it can be offered as an appetiser.
The recipe is really simple, whether you set out to use up leftovers like I did or make it as a baked good. Here’s what to do:
✿ Start by making the filling using your preferred ground meat – beef, lamb, pork, chicken or turkey. Heat a pan with oil and sauté aromatics – onions, garlic, and fresh herbs along with salt and pepper to taste until tender and fragrant. Push the aromatics to the edges of the pan and add the meat, let cook without disturbing it for 3 – 4 minutes, before mixing with the aromatics and continuing to cook until it is no longer pink. Set aside to cool.
✿ Boil the breadfruit in salted water and drain well.
✿ While hot, mash the breadfruit with butter, freshly ground black pepper and grated cheese.
✿ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and brush a 12-cup muffin pan with oil. You will need more than one pan depending on the quantity of ingredients.
✿ Lightly oil your clean hands, or using food-safe gloves, take a some of the mashed breadfruit and form into a patty/flat disk about 3 to 3½ inches round and a little less than half an inch thick (honestly, you do not need to be precise, just use the information as a guide). Put some of the cooked meat filling in the centre. Put as much as you like, just ensure that you are able to secure the filling when the breadfruit is pressed around it. Form each into a ball and add to the prepped pan. Continue to do this until the filling and mixture are done.
✿ Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Remember everything is already cooked through, it is a case of uniting them as one.
✿ Remove the pan from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes then transfer from the pan to a wire rack to cool; serve warm or at room temperature.
NOTES
Finely minced carrots and or canned corn can be added to the meat mixture.
The mashed breadfruit can be seasoned with finely minced herbs too.
Cynthia
