I have so many chicken recipes I could probably write a book entitled Fifty Ways with Chicken. Then, as I have dozens of recipes using minced meat, I could write a sequel called Fifty Ways with Mince. Like chicken, mince, be it beef, pork or lamb, is my faithful standby when I’m stuck for ideas, and it also has the advantage of being economical. Take half a kilo of minced beef, add a few other ingredients, roll it into meatballs, shape it into a meatloaf or hamburgers, or make a meaty pasta sauce and you have a feast.

I love beef stroganoff made with fillet steak, delicious but expensive, so when I want to economise, I make what I call meatball strog. Then when I opened this month’s issue of a cookery magazine I subscribe to, lo and behold, there were not one but two recipes for stroganoff, one of them using meatballs! Neither recipe is like mine, but why do I get the feeling I’m being watched? It’s weird! Anyway, try my meatball stroganoff. It’s good served with either rice or tagliatelle.

I don’t know whether the Greek lamb with aubergines is actually Greek, but orzo (risoni), lamb, aubergines, rosemary, olives and yoghurt are all Greek ingredients, so that’s what I’m calling it. It’s tasty, too, and only needs some crusty bread to go with it.

Then there’s the hotpot, and I do so love a good hotpot.

This one is a perfect rib-sticking example, ideal for supper now that the evenings are getting cooler.

Meatball stroganoff

(Serves 4)

500g minced beef
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
2 small onions
Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
30g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
120g small brown mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp flour
300ml beef stock
4 tbsp crème fraîche or cream
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Put the beef into a bowl and add the breadcrumbs. Finely chop one of the onions and add it to the beef together with a dessertspoon of mustard, the Worcester sauce and plenty of salt and pepper.

Mix it together well, then shape into walnut-sized meatballs. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs, turning them until they are browned all over and cooked through, then transfer them to a plate.

Chop the remaining onion. Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion and fry until soft but not browned. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the mushrooms and fry until they start to wilt, then sprinkle over the flour.

Cook over low heat for two minutes, then gradually add the beef stock. Bring to the boil and let it bubble for a minute or two. Lower the heat again, blend in a heaped teaspoon of mustard and the crème fraîche or cream.

Taste and season with salt and pepper, then return the meatballs to the pan and simmer gently until heated through.

Serve on warm plates with plain rice and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Beef and lentil hotpot

(Serves 4)

800g potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
750g minced beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
200g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
250ml beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
150g brown or green lentils
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
Melted butter

Peel and slice the potatoes fairly thinly, cook them in boiling salted water until just tender, then tip them into a colander and leave to cool.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the beef until it loses its raw colour. Add the onion and carrot and fry until the onion starts to soften, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste, add the beef stock and season well with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer partially covered for about 20 to 25 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

While the meat is simmering, put the lentils into a pan, cover with about five centimetres of water and bring to the boil. Simmer until they are almost tender but still hold their shape, then drain and add them to the meat together with the parsley and thyme.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Turn the meat into a large shallow baking dish, arrange the sliced potatoes on top and brush them generously with melted butter. Bake for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are brown and crusty.

Greek lamb with aubergines and orzo

(Serves 4)

400g minced lamb
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium aubergine, diced and salted, if preferred
3 cloves garlic, crushed
150ml red wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
300ml beef stock
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried
Salt and ground black pepper
200g orzo (risoni)
A few stuffed or pitted olives, halved
Greek yoghurt and rosemary sprigs to serve

Dry-fry the lamb in a non-stick frying pan until it loses its raw colour. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and aubergine until they both start to soften. Stir in the garlic and fry for a minute more.

Drain any fat that has accumulated from the meat, then add the lamb to the pan, pour on the wine, raise the heat and let it bubble until evaporated. Stir in the tomato paste, beef stock and rosemary, then season well with salt and pepper, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered until thick, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Cook the risoni while the meat is simmering, then drain and add it to the meat together with the olives. Serve in warm bowls, topped with a spoonful of yoghurt, a sprig of rosemary and a sprinkling of black pepper.