RECIPES FROM 1979

Mince Casserole

Sweet, spiced mince and rice with sultanas, peas and pineapple juice.

VERY 1979

1 HOUR 20 MINS

SERVES 6

ABOUT THE RECIPE

Mince Casserole sounds like the plainest dinner in the book, until you reach the sultanas, curry powder, peas with liquid and pineapple with juice. What starts as onion, bacon and beef mince becomes a sweet, spiced rice dish with a very particular 1979 logic.

The original method says to fry the mince slowly for an hour in half a cup of water, which needed some modern kitchen negotiation. Low heat and extra water made it work, turning the base into something closer to a gentle mince stew.

JUMP TO RECIPE

THE ORIGINAL RECIPE

Original 1979 Ward 9 cookbook page for Mince Casserole.

THE MODERN CONVERSION

From 1979 to today’s kitchen.

The original recipe, reworked with clearer measurements, modern steps and everything you need to make it now.

Ingredients

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 rasher bacon, chopped

450 g beef mince

1½ cups water, added gradually

1 handful sultanas, about 40 g

Salt and pepper to taste

½ tsp mixed spice

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

1 tsp curry powder

1½ heaped cups uncooked white rice

¼ cup tomato sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp white vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

220 g tin peas, including the liquid

225 g tin pineapple pieces, including the juice

Method

Place the onion, bacon, mince and ½ cup of the water into a large frypan. Break up the mince with a spoon.

Cover with a lid and cook over low heat for about 1 hour, stirring regularly. Add the remaining water gradually as needed to stop the mince catching or drying out. I used 1½ cups of water in total.

Meanwhile, cook the rice in boiling water until tender, then drain and set aside.

Increase the heat to medium. Add the sultanas, salt, pepper, mixed spice, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and curry powder. Stir through and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the cooked rice, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, peas with their liquid and pineapple pieces with their juice.

Stir everything together and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until hot and combined.

Serve hot. The original recipe notes that it can be made the day before and reheated in a casserole dish or frypan.

Recipe book compiled by Ward 9w Hutt Hospital December 1979 City Slicker.

THE TASTE TEST

So, was it worth making again?

The honest verdict after cooking from the 1979 page.

The ingredients smelled incredible before cooking, so I had real hope for this one. Even the slow mince base seemed promising once I negotiated the one-hour frypan method with low heat and extra water.

Then the rice went in. One and a half cups of uncooked rice becomes a lot once cooked, and the whole dish turned sweet, clumpy and very confusing. The taste test did not rescue it. One bite was enough.