There is nothing better than the way Darryl Kerrigan compliments his wife Sal on her cooking. Take the scene where she serves up some rissoles for tea.
“This is beautiful darl. What’dya call these things again?” says Darryl.
“Rissoles. Everybody cooks rissoles darl” beams Sal.
“Yeah but it’s what you do with them!”
I’ll tell you what. If every home cook was met with this sort of praise and encouragement after every meal, there’d be a lot less take away and pre-packaged food cutting round. “Now why would you want to eat out at a restaurant when this keeps comin’ up night after night?”
If you haven’t seen The Castle, you won’t know what I’m talking about. Let me just say that it’s by far my favourite movie ever made (obviously up there with Dirty Dancing, Notting Hill and Braveheart). A low budget Australian film released in 1997 it follows the story of the Kerrigan family in their quest to keep their home from the airport conglomerate who want to take it through means of “compulsory acquisition”.
We could all learn something from watching the film. The love and support shown by all family members is beautiful to watch; like the time Dale dug a hole.
“Dale dug a hole… the start of the patio”.
“Good on ya darl”.
They’re not driven by money or “keeping up with the Jones”. Instead they’re happy with what they’ve got and take pleasure in the simple things in life that matter. Family is their everything. And although we love to have a laugh at their expense, I’m sure we can all aspire to be more like the Kerrigan’s.
So inspired by Sal Kerrigan, I give to you these humble beef mince rissoles. Mum’s recipe, you couldn’t find a more comforting, economical and delicious midweek meal if you tried. Served up with some mashed potato, mashed pumpkin and some steamed veggies they’re always well received by all. Oh and don’t forget the good ol’ tomato sauce to go with them!
So whether or not you’re the one doing the cooking or on the receiving end, take a leaf out of Darryl’s book and be sure to give credit where credit’s due. A compliment goes a long way to making a person’s day. We’ll be making these rissoles this weekend and might even dig out the film for what feels like the 100th viewing.
“Looks like everybody’s kicked a goal”.
humble rissoles
500 grams of beef mince
1 x brown onion, finely diced
2 x cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 a cup of breadcrumbs
1 x egg
1 x teaspoon of Dijon mustard
A good sprinkling of mixed herbs
A good couple of shakes of the Worcestershire sauce bottle
A good squirt of tomato sauce
Salt and pepper
A couple of tablespoons of olive oil, for frying
- Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix well using your hands.
- Roll in to small balls, trying to keep them all the same size so that they cook evenly.
- Heat a large non-stick fry pan or bbq plate and add a good couple of glugs of oil. In batches, cook the rissoles on all sides until browned all over and cooked through.
Lo’s tips
- I often add grated carrot to the mixture. You can also add a grated zucchini if you like.
- Make a double batch as they can be frozen either before being cooked, or after.
- Use the rissoles as patties for homemade burgers or take them along to a bbq.
What’s YOUR favourite scene from The Castle? Leave your comment below.
lo's kitchen 
Lo/Darl, thanks for some inspiration when it’s Sunday night and you really can’t be bothered with eating/cooking. The rissoles were a hit. It is always intriguing that the more simple the meal the more the kids love it! Wonder what they’ll think of The Castle when they get to see it.
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Haha thanks Leisa. Who doesn’t love a rissole?
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