Beef Mince (Ground Beef), Chickpeas, Turmeric Rice and Parsley

 A simple dish of beef mince, chickpeas, rice and parsley. The mince was cooked for an hour and a half (along with the chickpeas) until it was tender. The turmericed rice was cooked for twenty minutes or so before being drained. The parsley was added last as a garnish. 

Beef and Chickpea Curry

 Excellent beef curry, made with ground Scotch beef. The chickpeas were softened in a slow cooker over several hours, and the beef was browned in a flat pan in a little olive oil for an hour and a half at a low to medium heat. I added diced mushrooms, a red chilli, and a julienned red onion. 

Water was added to the beef along with the chickpeas, and was simmered for a couple of hours, after which the herbs and spices were added. The Madras curry powder was the most important of these. 

Served with some fresh coriander, Basmati rice, and Pataks Lime pickle. 

Cubed Beef and Pasta

 Cubed Scotch beef, cooked for an hour and a half in a lidded pan at a medium heat, with olive oil. The green beans and spinach were cooked for ten minutes along with some dried rosemary in a separate pan. The wheat free pasta was cooked in a third pan for ten minutes or so at a medium heat. Fabulous meal!

Beef Meatloaf and Parsnip Chips

Most meatloafs are made with pork, but it is possible to use ground beef as the basis of a meatloaf. Made with Khorasan wheat, Olive oil, Beef stock, Onion and herbs of your choice. Mixed in a glass bowl until it has the right texture for a meatloaf. Decanted into a flat roasting tray. 

Cooked in the oven for fifty minutes at 180 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven.

The parsnips were dressed in olive oil and then roasted for about twenty five minutes at the same temperature (check progress by eye!).

Minced Beef with Sugar Snap Peas

Ground beef, browned and then simmered for two hours under glass, with herbs and paprika, plus diced onion, served with boiled semiskinned potatoes, and diced and boiled sugar snap peas. 

 

Lancashire Hot-pot

 A dish based on the preceding beef chilli. The remains of the beef chilli was placed in a pie tin, and the red chillies were removed. The beef was covered by thinly sliced potato, drizzled in some sunflower oil, and cooked in the oven for about seventy minutes - fifty minutes at a high heat (190 deg C), and the rest at a lower heat (150 deg C). Follow progress by eye. The dish was dressed in coriander before being put in the oven. 

Traditional? Lancashire hot-pot would not have had chillies, or sweetcorn. Just beef, and perhaps onion and carrot. I added diced green beans and a splash of red wine before it went into the oven.  

Beef and Sweetcorn Chilli

 A simple dish of Scottish minced beef and sweetcorn. 

The beef was browned with a little sunflower oil. Stirred frequently for around twenty five minutes. Then boiling water was added, and the beef was cooked slowly under glass for two hours. 

The tinned sweetcorn (200g) was added after an hour. Along with three red finger chillies, four garlic cloves (diced), two pinches of coriander leaf, two pinches of oregano, two pinches of paprika, beef stock, and two glugs of Italian red wine (Merlot). 

Served with some potato bread, or another bread of your choice.

Beef Chilli with Garlic and Coriander Naan

Sometimes it s good to have a beef chilli on top of a piece of naan bread rather than with rice. The chilli was prepared in the usual way (browned first, and then boiled under glass for between forty minutes and an hour), with some beef stock and diced and deseeded chilli. 

The naan bread was toasted in a standard toaster.  

 

 

Ground Beef with Black Pepper

A great dish which largely cooks itself after you have browned the minced beef and diced the vegetables. Brown the beef at a medium heat until it begins to spark, stirring frequently. Then add the diced vegetables and cook for another five minutes, having turned the heat down to low. Then add boiling water, the beef stock, and some arrowroot (or cornflour) mixed with water, to produce a thicker gravy. Add a generous amount of freshly ground black peppercorns, according to taste. Stir together, and once thoroughly mixed, simmer under glass for about forty-five minutes. 

Serve with basmati rice. 

 

Hot Beef Chilli, with Yoghurt and Rice

 

A hot beef chilli, with five finger chillies, plus a level dessert spoonful of chilli powder, one julienned onion, a whole yellow pepper (diced), and a tin of Napolina chopped tomatoes. 

The beef was just 5 per cent fat, which is great in itself, but it makes it more problematic to cook. So I drizzled the flat pan in some sunflower oil before adding the beef. Cooked at a high heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently, then the heat was turned down low. Cooked under glass for half an hour, stirring occasionally. 

Then I added the julienned onion and the diced yellow pepper. Allowed to cook for another twenty-five minutes. Then I added boiling water, the diced garlic, the beef stock, and the chopped tomatoes. Allowed to cook for another 45 minutes.

I cooked black Thai rice for half an hour, adding ground cinnamon. Plus basmati rice for fifteen minutes in Pilau Rice seasoning.. When both rice components were ready, the black rice was drained and rinsed in boiling water, then added to the basmati rice. Served together with a Greek style yoghurt, dressed with a pinch of coriander leaf. Delicious! 

Beef Chilli with Yellow Pepper

Snowing again, and the outside temperature is -2 deg C. So I chose to make a hot beef chilli, with five finger chillies, one julienned onion, a whole yellow pepper (diced), and a tin of Napolina chopped tomatoes. 

The beef was just 5 per cent fat, which is great in itself, but it makes it more problematic to cook. So I drizzled the flat pan in some sunflower oil before adding the beef. Cooked at a high heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently, then the heat was turned down low. Cooked under glass for half an hour, stirring occasionally. 

Then I added the julienned onion and the diced yellow pepper. Allowed to cook for another twenty-five minutes. Then I added boiling water, the diced garlic, the beef stock, and the chopped tomatoes. Allowed to cook for another 45 minutes. 

Serve with potatoes or rice, or whatever you like. Add a dusting of coriander.

Served here with a toasted garlic and coriander naan bread, and Greek yoghurt. Plus some diced celery, and a teaspoonful of black bean sauce. 

 

Beef Chilli with Carrots, Red Pepper, and Coriander

A healthy ground beef chilli with lots of vegetables - red kidney beans, carrot, onion, mushroom, chillies, red pepper, garlic, tomato puree (or tinned tomatoes), plus the herbs coriander and basil. 

The beef had been prepared the day before (with the Bisto browning), and was added to the pot, along with the diced vegetables, the red kidney beans, the garlic and the chillies, and tomato puree. Simmered under glass for an hour and a half. Added coriander and basil during the final ten minutes. 

Served with basmati rice, and dressed with a dusting of dried coriander.  

Beef Casoulet with Yoghurt and Coriander

Ground (minced) beef, browned for twenty minutes, stirring frequently.

With added diced onion, diced spring onion, yellow pepper, chopped baby plum tomatoes (four), diced mushroom, diced carrot, a crushed clove of garlic, and potato chunks.

Simmered for an hour and a half at a low heat under glass. Add beef stock. Add a quarter teaspoonful of chilli for heat, if desired.

Served with Yoghurt dressed in two pinches of dried coriander.

Ground Beef with Chilli and Peppers

Good to break away from meals accompanied by rice or potatoes - there are so  many alternatives which deliver much less starch.

The ground beef was browned in some sunflower oil for about twenty minutes at a medium heat, stirring frequently, then I added boiling water (150 mls), and allowed the beef to simmer for an hour under glass, at a lower heat.

After that I added julienned white onion, beef stock, diced mushrooms, three green finger chillies, diced carrot, tomato puree (one squirt), and half a standard can of baked beans. Also some Bisto gravy granules, which serve to thicken a dish.

Allowed to simmer at a low heat for another 45 minutes to one hour. After which I added the herbs basil and oregano.

The pepper strips were stir-fried in an omelette pan for fifteen minutes until tender.

Beef Chilli, with Grated Cheese

A beef chilli, with red kidney beans, onions, tomatoes,garlic, and beef stock,  served with grated Galloway cheese. That works really well. Galloway cheese is slightly more mild than the standard Cheddar cheese, but either will do for this dish.

Served with a crunchy side salad of lettuce and other vegetables. Dressed with dried coriander leaf. Plus a lot of freshly ground black pepper.  Delicious!

Beef Bourguignon Potato Pie

I made the beef bourguignon stew first, not with cubed beef, but with ground beef instead. Cooked with carrots, onion, diced mushrooms, paprika, red wine (a delicious Italian merlot), bay leaves, garlic, and thyme. Plus beef stock. Cook for between one and two hours. Kept in the fridge for a couple of days, and then decanted into a standard pie tin. Remove the bay leaves.

The potatoes were boiled, then mashed with a little salted butter and olive oil. Creamed with a little milk. I also added some dried coriander leaf to the mash.

The mashed potato was added to the top of the pie tin, and textured with a fork, to increase crispiness.

Cooked for between forty and fifty minutes at 180 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven (check progress by eye). It may take a little longer.

It is customary to include chopped bacon in beef bourguignon, but I usually skip this ingredient.

Served with some French's American mustard. German mustard will do as well.

Ground Beef with Spring Onion and Curried Rice

5% fat ground beef, browned for twenty-five minutes in some sunflower oil. Eight chopped spring onions (cybes) plus two diced carrots were caramelised in a separate small pan at the same time.

Added together, along with some Sainsbury's gravy granules, and with some boiling water, and beef stock. Actually inferior to the traditional way of thickening beef mince, which is to use cornflour. Sainsbury's granules contain wheat flour, which I try to avoid. Always read the label before buying.

Simmered for at least an hour under glass at a low heat. Longer is better, if you like your beef tender.

The rice was cooked for ten minutes with curry powder, salt, turmeric and a green chilli. Drained, and the whole green chilli was removed before serving. 

Beef Chilli with Roast Potatoes

An unusual combination of components, but it works quite well. How to do good roast potatoes is detailed here.

The ground beef was browned for half an hour, initially at a high heat, and then at a low heat. The beef was 5% fat, so I added a little olive oil to the pan.

Then I added water, chopped tomato, julienned red onion, diced carrot, some haricot beans, red kidney beans (soaked overnight), beef stock, dried coriander, and three red chillies. Simmered for two hours until tender. Delicious!

Beef Chilli with Kidney Beans and Greek Yoghurt

A straightforward ground beef chilli, served with Greek yoghurt dressed with coriander leaf.

The 5% fat beef was browned in sunflower oil for twenty minutes, after which the julienned white onion was added, along with the diced carrot. Stirred together under glass for another thirty minutes.

I added boiling water to the pot, plus the vegetable and beef stock. Plus the red chillies, and the sliced red pepper.  Simmered under glass for an hour or so.

The dried kidney beans had been soaked for three hours in a separate pot, and then were boiled for two hours, before being added to the main dish (after draining). Along with some haricot beans.

Served with Greek yoghurt dressed in dried coriander leaf. Delicious!

Ground Beef with Smoked Paprika and Wheat-free Fusilli

This dish was made with diced Piccolo tomatoes, diced white mushrooms, diced leek, diced red pepper, sweetcorn (from a small tin) paprika, half a 400g  tin of tomatoes, and ground beef (Scottish). Plus three red chillies, and a teaspoonful of smoked paprika.

The 5% fat ground beef was browned for twenty minutes in olive oil, and then the diced leek was added. Cooked for a further twenty minutes under glass, stirring occasionally. Then the other vegetables were added, plus the herbs oregano and coriander.

Simmered under glass for another hour, after which vegetable and beef stock were added to the pot.

The wheat-free pasta (Fusilli, commonly known as Rotini in the U.S.), was cooked in boiling salted water in a pan for ten minutes, and then allowed to rest for a further five, and then drained. I used Sainsbury's pasta, since it cooks very much like the durum wheat version, and doesn't fall apart.