When I was a child, sometimes my mum would make mince, served with mashed or boiled potatoes and vegetables. I had completely forgotten about this very unsophisticated, school dinner-style meal, but last night, I decided to make it. Boy did it bring back memories. What a wonderful hearty comfort food.

What has happened to this and other basic British staples? It’s so easy and quick to make it could be called convenient, yet it seems to have lost out to foods that are even more so. There is no doubt that the balance between convenience and good eating has tipped too far. Schools have some part to play in providing good nutritional food for children, but so do families. When I was growing up, pizzas and oven chips were only just appearing in the supermarket freezers, and other super-convenient oven and microwave-ready options didn’t exist. Now there are too many to choose from, but there is a choice.

Serves 4

800g good quality beef mince
2 onions
2 beef stock cubes
1 tin of baked beans
About 100 ml water
1 tblsp sunflower oil

Cut the onions in quarters and slice, fry in a little oil until softened. Add the mince, fry until browned. Crumble the stock cube over the mince and pour in the water, enough to almost cover. Add the beans (you could add carrots or peas instead), simmer for 10 mins.

Good with mashed potatoes, or dumplings, and vegetables e.g., cabbage or broccoli.

Labels: cooking