Description
A comforting recipe for smothered rissoles made with a blend of beef mince, grated vegetables, and herbs, cooked lightly browned then simmered in a rich mushroom gravy. Served best over creamy mashed potatoes, this dish combines savory meat patties and flavorful sauce for a hearty meal.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Rissoles:
- 1/2 large onion, grated using standard box grater
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (substitute regular breadcrumbs if needed)
- 500g / 1lb beef mince (ground beef)
- 1 small zucchini, grated
- 1 small carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed using garlic press or finely grated
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme (optional)
- 1/2 tsp oregano (optional)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Cooking:
- 2 tbsp olive oil, for cooking
Mushroom Gravy:
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 onion, sliced 5mm / 0.2" thick
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 200g / 7 oz mushrooms, sliced 5mm / 0.2" thick
- 3 1/2 tbsp flour (plain / all-purpose)
- 2 cups beef stock / broth, low sodium
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
To Serve:
- Mashed potato or other starchy vehicle of choice
Instructions
- Prepare Rissoles: Grate the onion into a large bowl and add the panko breadcrumbs. Toss to soak the breadcrumbs in the onion juices. Add the beef mince, grated zucchini, grated carrot, egg, crushed garlic, dried thyme, oregano, black pepper, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well with your hands until combined.
- Form Patties: Shape the mixture into 12 patties, each about 1/4 cup in size. Make a slight indentation on one side of each patty to prevent doming while cooking.
- Lightly Brown Rissoles: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Cook half the rissoles for 1 1/2 minutes per side until lightly browned but still raw inside. Remove to a plate. Add the remaining olive oil and repeat the process with the rest of the rissoles.
- Clean Pan: Discard excess oil from the pan and wipe it clean with paper towels to remove residual bits for a cleaner base to make the gravy.
- Cook Mushrooms and Onions: Melt the butter in the pan, cook the sliced onion for 1 minute, then add mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes until they release liquid, soften, and brown lightly. Add the chopped garlic for the last 30 seconds of cooking.
- Create Roux: Reduce heat to medium, sprinkle flour evenly over the mushroom mixture, and stir continuously for 1 minute until it forms a dry paste.
- Add Stock and Thicken Gravy: Slowly pour in half the beef stock while stirring to dissolve flour and thicken the liquid without lumps. Then add the remaining stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer Rissoles in Gravy: Gently place the browned rissoles and any juices from the plate into the simmering gravy. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the gravy thickens to a thin sauce, keeping it slightly thinner than desired as it thickens further on serving.
- Serve: Serve the smothered rissoles over mashed potatoes or your choice of starch, spooning plenty of mushroom gravy over the top. Optionally, garnish with parsley for extra color.
Notes
- Grating the onion infuses flavor into rissoles without cooking raw onion bits separately, keeping texture smooth.
- Panko breadcrumbs are preferred for softer rissoles due to their larger size; available in Asian food aisles or stores.
- Leftovers keep refrigerated for up to 4 days; reheat gently in a microwave.
- Freeze leftovers by cooling uncovered first; rissoles and gravy freeze well for up to 3 months.
- Uncooked shaped rissoles can be frozen or refrigerated overnight before cooking.
- Full batches of gravy can be made ahead, cooking only half the rissoles and freezing the rest uncooked with gravy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (about 3 rissoles with gravy)
- Calories: 420 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
