Iron-Rich Beef Ragu & Lentils

Name: Iron-Rich Beef Ragu & Lentils
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 400-500g Beef – Cheap Cuts are best! Chuck steak, brisket, casserole beef. Organic or Grass Fed if you can.; 1 x 500ml jar Organic Tomato Passata (in the tall glass jar); 1 -2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 small red onion, peeled and cut in chunks; 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced; 1 celery stalk, sliced; 4 sun ripened or Roma tomatoes, diced or put through a food processor; Herbs: 2 sprigs rosemary, a handful of chopped parsley (or dried parsley or ‘Italian mix’); 1 cup of Broth (bone/vegetable) OR 1 tablespoon Massell Beef stock powder mixed in water; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; OPTIONAL FLAVOURS: Zest of Orange or Lemon, splash of red wine or 2 anchovies (trust us – it adds a lovely deep flavour to the dish and it dissolves completely you wouldn’t know it is there!); 2 x Tins of Organic Lentils, rinsed and drained (or pre-make from scratch if more time); 4 cups of Greens (1 cup per serve) – Zucchini, spinach, kale, swiss chard, collard greens, chopped/diced roughly

CategoryMeal Ideas

Yields4 Servings

400-500g Beef – Cheap Cuts are best! Chuck steak, brisket, casserole beef. Organic or Grass Fed if you can.

1 x 500ml jar Organic Tomato Passata (in the tall glass jar)

1 -2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small red onion, peeled and cut in chunks

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

4 sun ripened or Roma tomatoes, diced or put through a food processor

Herbs: 2 sprigs rosemary, a handful of chopped parsley (or dried parsley or ‘Italian mix’)

1 cup of Broth (bone/vegetable) OR 1 tablespoon Massell Beef stock powder mixed in water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

OPTIONAL:

OPTIONAL FLAVOURS: Zest of Orange or Lemon, splash of red wine or 2 anchovies (trust us – it adds a lovely deep flavour to the dish and it dissolves completely you wouldn’t know it is there!)

TO SERVE

2 x Tins of Organic Lentils, rinsed and drained (or pre-make from scratch if more time)

4 cups of Greens (1 cup per serve) – Zucchini, spinach, kale, swiss chard, collard greens, chopped/diced roughly

METHOD:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (Fan Forced).

Put the meat in an oven safe dish and spread the meat out over the base. You can chop the pieces up if you like but it should be easy to fall apart by the time it is cooked anyway.

Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle around the meat the diced tomato, celery, carrot, onion and garlic.

Whisk the stock powder/bone broth and herbs in to the jar of tomato passata to blend. Add more Salt and Pepper to taste. Then pour this over the meat and vegetables. Adding more water if needed, until the meat is completely covered. Don’t make it too runny, just enough to be thick and submerse the meat. Veggies can be above the liquid a little.

Add in any extra flavours like lemon zest, splash red wine or 2 anchovies (just push them into the sauce and they dissolve when they cook).

Cover the baking dish with alfoil (don’t let it touch the food) or a baking lid. Place in the oven for at least 2-3 hours to slowly cook down. Or until the meat is tender and will pull apart with a fork.

Then, take the dish out of the oven and pull all the meat apart with two forks to make it flakey and shredded.
Add more water if desired. If the liquid is too runny, dissolve 1 tablespoon Arrowroot Starch in 50mls cool water, then add to the baking dish and stir through the liquid. This will thicken it quickly.

Serve with ½ cup of cooked Lentils per person and 1 cup of slightly cooked greens. You can also mix the greens and lentils together in a bowl and put the hot Ragu mix over the top and leave sit for 1-2 minutes. The hot liquid will cook the greens slightly. Top with Cheese if desired.

Ingredients