Hidden health: Five ways to get more iron into your diet

Packed with iron-rich foods like dried fruit and liver, these dishes are a simple and delicious was to up your iron intake 

Hidden health: Iron-rich foods

Liver with mushrooms, bacon and mash

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

The perfect supper for meat-lovers, mushrooms and grainy mustard enhance the salty flavours of rashers and fried liver

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 40g butter

• dash of rapeseed oil

• 2 shallots, sliced

• 4 streaky smoked rashers, chopped

• 80g mushrooms, sliced

• 550g calves liver, trimmed

• 1 tsp whole grain mustard

• 1 tbsp brandy

• 2 tbsp cream

Method

1. Put the potatoes on to boil in lightly salted water and drain when cooked. Mash the potatoes with the milk and spring onion. Taste and season. Set aside and keep warm.

2. Melt the butter in the pan until it is hot and add the oil. Sauté the shallots until they have softened then add the rashers and mushrooms.

3. Stir fry until they are both cooked through. Scoop out of the pan and set aside.

4. In the same pan fry the pieces of liver, just over a minute on each side should do. They are best when brown on the outside but pink in the centre.

5. Remove the liver from the pan and add the rashers back. Add the brandy, mustard and cream, taste and season.

6. Serve the liver beside the mash and pour the sauce from the pan over the meat.

 

Perry Street's chickpea burgers

Ready in minutes and full of flavour, these veggie burgers are a great way of introducing one meat-free day to the weekly menu

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 8 mins

Total Time

 18 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 400g chickpeas can, drained

• Zest of 1 lime, plus juice of ½ lemon

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• Small bunch coriander, chopped

• 1 egg

• 100g grated carrot

• 1 medium red onion, ½ diced, ½ sliced

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• To serve:

• 4 small whole-wheat buns

• 1 large tomato, sliced

• ½ cucumber

• Chilli sauce

• Natural yoghurt or crème fraiche

Method

1. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, lime zest, juice, cumin, half the coriander, the egg and some seasoning.

2. Scrape into a bowl and mix with 80g of the grated carrot and the diced onions.

3. Form four burgers and press the remaining grated carrots onto both sides and chill for at least 10 minutes.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot.

5. Fry the burgers for four minutes each side, keeping the heat on medium so they don’t burn.

6. To serve, slice buns and fill with a tomato slice, a burger, a few red onion slices, cucumber slices, a dollop of chilli sauce and the remaining coriander.