healthy beef recipes
Chunky beef and onion pie
Ingredients
- 18oz lean braising steak, cut into 1¼” pieces
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 banana (large) shallots, quartered
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, trimmed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 cups salt-reduced beef stock
- 14oz can chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Marmite
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- spray oil
- 2 x 13oz reduced-fat shortcrust pastry sheets
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 3 cups cooked peas, to serve
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Coat the beef with the flour and set aside.
2. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add half the beef and cook, stirring, for 5 min, until browned. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef.
3. Add the shallots, carrot, celery and rosemary to the pan and cook, stirring, for 5 min, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the beef, stock, tomatoes, Marmite and paprika and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hr. Remove the lid and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 30 min, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and cool.
4. Grease a 9″ loose-bottomed deep cake tin with the spray oil and put on a large baking sheet. Line the tin with one pastry sheet, pressing it gently into the sides of the tin, leaving any excess overhanging the sides. Brush the inside of the pastry with some beaten egg (this forms a waterproof barrier), leave for a few min, then fill with the cooled filling. Brush the second sheet of pastry with egg, then put it, egg side down, over the filling. Crimp the edges together to seal, then trim off any excess pastry. Brush with egg, sprinkle with the poppy seeds and bake for 40–45 min, until golden.
5. Remove the pie from the oven and leave it to stand for 5–7 min before serving with the peas.
HFG tip
If you prefer, you can make six individual pies. You will need three pastry sheets because there’ll be some waste, plus a six-hole (175ml cup-capacity) Texas muffin pan with extra-large holes. Make the pies in the same way, but in step 4 use a 13cm pastry cutter to cut six circles of pastry to line the base and sides of the tins and a 9.5cm pastry cutter to cut six circles to top the pies. Cook for 35–40 min.
Nutrition Info (per serve)
- Calories475cal
- Kilojoules1988kJ
- Protein30.8g
- Total fat20.9g
- –Saturated fat8.5g
- Carbohydrates43.3g
- –Sugars6.9g
- Dietary fibre8.4g
- Sodium630mg
- Calcium137mg
- Iron4.2mg
Moroccan beef with dates and chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 20oz lean beef stewing steak, cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 large onion, roughly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1″ piece fresh ginger, grated
- 1–2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- pinch saffron strands
- 2¼ cups hot reduced-salt beef stock, plus a little extra if needed
- ¼ cup medjool dates, pitted and sliced in half
- 14oz tin chickpeas in water, drained
- 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
- small handful each fresh coriander and parsley leaves, chopped
- lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 140°C/fan 120°C/ gas 1. Heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the meat, turning occasionally, for 3–4 min (you may need to do this in batches). Transfer the beef to a lidded casserole dish or tagine. Add 3 tablespoons water to the frying pan and swirl it around, scraping up any meaty residue. Add this deglazing liquid to the casserole dish or tagine.
2. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan, then fry the onion for 2–3 min, turning every so often, until golden. Add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cumin and saffron and fry for 1 min more until fragrant. Scrape the onion and spice mixture into the casserole or tagine, then deglaze the pan again with 3 tablespoons water and add the liquid to the casserole.
4. Pour over the stock, ensuring the meat is just covered. Stir in the dates, then cover the casserole with a lid and transfer to the oven. After 1 hr, stir in the chickpeas, then return to the oven for a further 1 hr 30 min or until the meat is tender.
5. Meanwhile, make cauliflower ‘rice’ by steaming the florets for 2–3 min until just tender. Remove from the heat and leave to steam-dry, then whiz in a food processor to break up into rice-like grains (or coarsely grate).
Serving suggestion
Garnish the beef with the herbs and serve with the cauliflower rice and lemon wedges on the side.
Nutrition Info (per serve)
- Calories403cal
- Kilojoules1686kJ
- Protein42.5g
- Total fat10.8g
- –Saturated fat3.2g
- Carbohydrates37.2g
- –Sugars22.3g
- Dietary fibre9.3g
- Sodium473mg
- Calcium110mg
- Iron7.1mg