novice to cooking

olb81

hi all i rarely cook anything put things in the oven or microwave.

i want to start an oligoantigenic diet which comprises of the following:

beef, lamb, potatoes, rice, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, salt/pepper, apples, pears, bananas, water

that is pretty much it.

my first thought was to go for beef mince with grated carrots cooked in a pan alongside rice /potato and the other veg.

to cook the mince can i use a saucepan ? looking at them the sauce pan is less likely to make mess than a frying pan as the sides are higher.

thanks for any advice.

oldernonethewiser

Cook the mince in whatever sort of pan you've got, saucepan or frying pan. Up to you.

olb81

ok thats grat and which oil would you use

the diet allows sunflower, or extra virgin olive

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6680148/novice-to-cooking

You can use any pan that you want, however the wider the pan the quicker you will evaporate the water that comes out of the mince when its cooked. You can get deep sided frying pans that give you the best of both worlds

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82106772#Comment_82106772

You lose most the flavour of EVO when heating it to frying temperatures so most would say to use a cheaper neutral flavoured oil like sunflower but others believe EVO and dont care about the extra expense.

oldernonethewiser

You could do it without any oil and let the meat release it's own fat.

Brie

are you excluding things like onion, garlic, tomatoes? if you can use them cottage or shepherd's pie would be possible.

cooking lamb with apples and/or pears would be nice. I'd be tempted to roast it - chunks of meat roasted for a while (coated with OO and herbs) and then adding the fruit for the last half hour. serve with rice and maybe some broc.

elsien

Because it’s so restrictive, you are aware that it’s not a suitable long-term diet and medical supervision is recommended?

olb81

well the plan is to do it for two weeks

then every 2 weeks beyond that you introduce a different food group to see if theres any reaction

Pollycat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82106781#Comment_82106781

I would do this ^^^.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82107248#Comment_82107248

Personally, I'd find this short list of ingredients so restrictive, I'd be bored by day 2.

Glad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6680148/novice-to-cooking

Yes, you can absolutely cook mince in a saucepan. A frying pan is easier for browning because it has a wider base, but a decent-sized saucepan with higher sides will work perfectly well and, as you say, probably make less mess.

Put the mince in over a medium heat and keep breaking it up and stirring it as it cooks. You don't necessarily need to add oil, particularly if the mince has a reasonable amount of fat in it. Just make sure it's thoroughly cooked and steaming hot throughout with no pink mince remaining.

You could then add your grated carrot and perhaps a little water and let it cook together, with boiled rice, potatoes or vegetables alongside. That sounds like a nice easy place to start if you're not used to cooking.

One other thing, as an oligoantigenic diet is extremely restrictive, I'd make sure you're doing it with appropriate medical/dietetic advice, particularly if you're planning to follow it for any length of time.

Glad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82106772#Comment_82106772

Either would be fine, but I'd probably say use a small amount of extra virgin olive oil. I use plain olive oil if you can use that?

Despite what you sometimes hear, you can fry with extra virgin olive oil. It's perfectly suitable for normal hob cooking temperatures. You don't want any oil smoking, so just use a medium heat rather than getting the pan fiercely hot.

As already pointed out, for mince you may find you don't need much oil anyway, particularly if you're not using very lean mince, as it will release some fat as it cooks.