COOK WITH LOOPWARE
MEAL · MEAL-034Test Kitchen
Italian Pork Mince, Tomato & Courgette Pot
A complete Italian dinner in one pot: pork mince with tomato and courgette and potato, everything in cold, one gentle setting, one timer. Sunny and no washing-up to speak of.
Ingredients
- — All in —
- 160 g pork mince, broken up while heating
- 80 g fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters or roughly chopped
- 80 g courgette, cut into 1 cm slices
- ½ onion (about 60 g), sliced
- 2 potatoes (about 310 g), peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
- 1½ garlic cloves, sliced
- 0.5 g dried oregano, weighed before adding
- 2¾ tsp tomato purée, straight from the tube
- 5 tbsp + 1 tsp water, poured from a measuring jug
- 5 g salt (about ¾ tsp), spooned level
- — Finish up —
- 1 tsp olive oil, spooned
Method
- Pour the water into the cold 1.6 L container first — a wet base cannot catch. Then everything except olive oil: pork mince, tomato fresh, courgette, onion, potato, garlic, dried oregano, tomato purée and salt. Give it all a good stir and level it. Cooking lid on loose.
- Set the heat once: very gentle — about 4 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 1 on a portable hob; slow-cooker territory (see Heat below) — and set a timer for 56 minutes. On a plug-in portable hob, level 1 runs gentler on this pot — set the timer for 80 minutes there instead. Constant watching is not needed, but an occasional stir keeps anything from catching on the base — especially if you ever smell burning. Alternatively, if time is pressed: bring it to the boil on a higher heat — about 6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob — stirring now and then; that takes about 13–22 minutes. As soon as it boils, turn it back down to the gentle setting and set a timer for 25 minutes: about 38–47 minutes in all instead of 56. Do not leave it on the higher heat once it is boiling.
- When the timer goes off, check: the surface of the rice is dry with small steam holes and the protein is cooked through. Not there yet? Cooking lid back on loose; set a timer for 5 more minutes and check again.
- Off the heat: stir in the olive oil. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve from the container.
- To reheat from the fridge: storage lid off, cooking lid on loose, add 30 ml water if the sauce has set firm, and use a gentle-to-medium heat — about 4–6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob. Set a timer for 11 minutes; stir, then give it 6 minutes more until it is bubbling all over and piping hot right through. From frozen: add 50 ml water around the block, cooking lid on loose, use the same gentle heat for 23 minutes; loosen and stir, then give it 14 minutes more until bubbling all over and piping hot right through.
Heat
| Stage | Heat into the pan | Induction hob (settings 1–9) | Portable induction hob | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook — one setting, start to finish | about 78–190 W (very gentle — slow-cooker territory) | about 4 of 9 | level 1 (the 114 W setting) | the quietest simmer: an occasional bubble, steady wisps of steam; liquid always covers the base |
| Reheat from the fridge or from frozen | gentle to medium | about 4–5 of 9 | level 2 (the 285 W setting) | bubbling all over and piping hot right through |
Hob settings are not standard — the same number means different heat on different hobs. The power figures show how hard the pan is actually being heated. The settings shown are for a typical fitted induction hob with settings 1–9, and for a plug-in portable induction hob with power settings. Go by what you see in the pan, then remember the setting that gave it on your own hob.
Cook’s checks
- the surface of the rice is dry with small steam holes and the protein is cooked through; sauce still visibly mobile at the bottom; bottom clean.
- Nearly dry before tender: add 30 ml hot water. Still firm at the top of the window: 5 more minutes, lid on.
- Cook with the cooking lid loose or vented; never heat with a friction-fit storage lid sealed. Container and lid get very hot — cloth or oven gloves.
- Test Kitchen recipes are created by our recipe creation team and are awaiting our kitchen team to capture the recipe's visual representation.
Nutrition
| Serving | Calories | Protein | Fat | Saturates | Carbohydrate | Sugars | Fibre | Salt / sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 609 kcal | 39 g | 21 g | 6.5 g | 67 g | 11.7 g | 8.7 g | 2.2 g sodium (5.4 g salt) |
Nutrition information is provided for general reference only. Values are estimates based on typical ingredient data and will vary with brands, cuts, portion sizes and preparation. They are not intended as precise nutritional, dietary or medical guidance.