Potato Curry

 Essentially this is aloo palak curry made with ground beef, minus the ingredient of spinach. With red and yellow peppers, plus diced white onion, tomato puree, ginger and black pepper. 

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 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!).

Beef Chilli with baby leeks

Basmati rice cooked slowly in a flat pan with a quarter teaspoonful of turmeric.

The Ground beef was cooked for forty five minutes along with the vegetables, and then water, the vegetable stock, and the paprika was added, and cooked for another hour slowly under glass. Fabulously tender.
 

Beef Chilli with Roast Potatoes

Ground beef, browned for twenty five minutes in sunflower oil along with diced spring onion, Then simmered in water for two hours under glass at a lowish heat. After which the vegetable stock is added, the chilli, the diced yellow pepper, and the haricot beans and tomato puree.

Arrowroot was mixed with some water and added during the last ten minutes (it functions as a thickener). Stirred thoroughly through the beef.

Roast potatoes were cooked in an oven preheated to 190 deg C. Cooking times will vary. These took fifty minutes, drizzled in sunflower oil. Judge by eye. Turned once to ensure even browning. 

 

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. 

 

Spicy Beef and Mushroom Stew,

 Minced beef (ground beef) browned for about twenty five minutes, before water and beef stock was added. Plus diced purple onion, haricot beans (pre-soaked), button mushrooms, Madras curry powder, tomato puree, and red chilli. 

Served with pre-prepared potato.

Minced Beef and Leek, with Grilled Parsnip Chips

The beef was browned for about seventy minutes before water and vegetable stock were added. Plus diced leek. Cooked under glass for another two hours until really tender. 

Half a large parsnip was diced, and then divided into chips. Grilled until browned (watch by eye!), for about twenty-five minutes, after being drizzled in sunflower oil and turned with a wooden spoon to ensure an even coverage. A simple dish, but delicious! 

 

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.  

 

 

Leek Burgers, with Piccolo Tomatoes and Mayonnaise

I made half a dozen of these leek burgers from scratch, with a slightly different process from before. I added two dessert spoonfuls of spelt flour to a large glass bowl, and then added the 500g of minced beef. I had some diced leek in a pan of boiling water on the stove, with the intention of cooking the leek until soft. 

I mixed the ground beef the drizzle of olive oil, and the spelt flour together thoroughly by hand. Do this for ten minutes, and you will get a good texture, much finer than when you cook mince on the stove. I added the egg and the softened leek (after being allowed to cool) And repeated the kneading process for ten minutes. 

I decanted the mixture into a pastry cutter sitting in a glass roasting tray, and repeated the process, and  ended up with six equal-sized beef patties. No need to shape by hand. 

Cooked at 180 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven for at least twenty-five minutes (check progress by eye always!). When  browned and cooked, remove from the oven, and allow to cool on the hob or on a trivet under cover. 

Served with a couple of dessert spoonfuls of mayonnaise, some halved piccolo tomatoes, all dusted with a large pinch of dried coriander leaf. 

 

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. 

 

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. 

 

Spaghetti Bolognese with Cheese

Fabulous dish, though not authentically Italian, as I've mentioned before.The ground beef was browned in sunflower oil, and then simmered under glass for an hour or so, with the addition of some boiling water and tomato puree. During which time the vegetables were added (diced). Plus diced garlic, and some dried chilli peppers.  

The spaghetti (wheat free) was cooked separately, with some salt for fifteen minutes, stirred frequently. 

Once the dish was served, the cheese was added as a garnish. I used cheddar. Use your favourite. Add white pepper. Delicious!

 

Beef Chili and Potato Pie

Effectively a spicy cottage pie, with chilli, red kidney beans and chickpeas. Made to use up some leftover beef chilli. 

The beans and chickpeas were soaked in unsalted water over night, and were added to the beef chilli (which already contained onions and carrots). 

The beef chilli was decanted into a standard pie tin, and mashed potato was laid on top, and textured with a fork. Placed on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to at least 180 deg C, for between forty minutes to an hour. Check progress by eye, and remove from the oven when the pie is sufficiently browned. Serve dressed with a little coriander. 

 

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 Burgers, with Coriander and Potato

The beef burgers were made with 250g of minced beef (5% fat), one and a half white onions, diced, one dessert spoonful of spelt flour, one egg, a shake or two of black pepper, some salt, and a diced handful of fresh coriander.

Mixed together by hand, along with a drizzle of olive oil. Take at least ten minutes over this, which improves the result. Shape into burger-shaped patties, and place in a roasting dish coated with a wipe of olive oil. You should get about four burgers from the ingredients.

Cook for one hour on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 deg C (check progress by eye, and by thermometer).

Serve with boiled potatoes, and a dusting of freshly ground black pepper, plus American mustard. Garnish with sprigs of coriander.

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.