Slow cooked beef and lentil hot pot

Its definitely that kind of weather in my neck of the woods. Rainy, cold and windy (although not too cold) but for us Queenslanders, we’ll take any chance we can get to drag the slow cooker out and put on a thick, hearty stew. I had originally called this a curry because I used spices that lent themselves to a curry but it wasn’t ‘hot’ at all, rather just a nice flavour. This is a recipe that you can use with any cut of meat, any vegetables and any pulses you have on hand.

I actually used some diced veal I had picked up marked down at the supermarket plus carrots, potatoes and a handful of frozen vegetables left in the packet with a can of brown lentils. Throw in a can of tomatoes and you’re done. The secret to getting it nice and thick is to dredge the meat in flour before cooking. You could brown this in a pan before throwing into the slow cooker but I didn’t in this case. Browning the meat does add extra flavour but if you want to get dinner on in as long as it takes you to peel a couple carrots and potatoes, then this is the way to do it.

Slow cooked beef and lentil hot pot

• quantity of diced meat or omit for vegetarian (beef, veal, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey etc)
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium or 1 large potato, diced into chunks
• other vegetables as desired
• 1/3 cup plain flour
• salt & pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs curry powder
• 1 400g can diced tomatoes
• 1 400g can lentils (or other beans or pulses)

1. In a plastic bag, add all the spices, flour, salt and pepper and meat. 
2. Shake until well coated.
3. Add meat and vegetables to slow cooker with canned tomatoes and lentils.
4. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
5. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve with mashed potato, rice, polenta or couscous.

Beef & Lentil Pasta Bake and making your meat go further

We’re not big red meat eaters. Not for health, money or any other reason. It’s just that way. We probably do prefer pork above all meats but also eat chicken, fish, lamb and veal as well as other pork products like bacon, proscuitto, sausages and ham. When I budget for the meat shopping, I usually allow $100 from our local bulk butcher and this will last us 6 to 8 weeks, if not longer.

This is because I have learnt to bulk out a lot of meat dishes with pulses (ie lentils, chick peas etc), grated vegies and bread crumbs. Six sausages to a packet when freezing does our family of four quite well. The kids will have a sausage each and I’ll cook the other 4 up into a curry or sausage hot pot of some sort and slice the sausages to serve, which feels like we’re having a lot. Meatballs and rissoles (hamburger patties) are usually mixed with grated or pureed vegies and dried breadcrumbs, or lentils like I have used in this recipe.

Tonight, for example, I had a very simple beef mince and vegie pasta bake which was made with about 200gm (or a handful of mince). It was an 8 serve lasagne dish so it really did go a long way because I added half a cup of red lentils to the meat and vegie sauce before mixing with the pasta. My husband, or the kids, didn’t notice and it tastes really good (to me anyway, well it was eaten and my husband had seconds).

Beef & Lentil Pasta Bake

200gm (handful) beef mince
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup dried red lentils (rinsed) or 1 can lentils (drained and rinsed)
2 cups vegetables, chopped (I used grated carrot, cauliflower and green beans)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 small onions or 1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup chicken or beef stock
1 tbs dried basil
1 tbs dried oregano
salt & pepper
1 packet dried pasta shapes (I used small spirals)
1 quantity Bechamel sauce
parmesan cheese

Bechamel sauce:
2 tbs butter
2 tbs plain flour
3 cups milk
1 cup grated cheese

Boil pasta according to directions, drain and put aside.  Fry onions in olive oil until slightly softened. Add mince and garlic and cook until mince is browned. Add rinsed lentils, tinned tomatoes, stock, herbs and salt and pepper. Add chopped vegies and cook until lentils are soft (approx 15 mins). Combine pasta and meat sauce and put in a lasagne dish.

Bechamel sauce:
Melt butter. Add flour and stir until a roux forms (thick paste). Add milk and keep stirring until sauce forms and thickens. Add grated cheese. Top meat/pasta with bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake in a 180 deg C oven until golden.

Dishes like this are always better the next day and this will take care of my husband’s lunches for a few days as it freezes really well too.

Smokin' Lentil Soup

It’s definitely coming into soup weather here in Brisbane with all the rain we’ve had lately and the cooler temperatures. I love soup but really only get to enjoy it in the cooler months. It’s so quick to make, nutritious and filling.

I had lentils and vegetables and wanted to give it a little something ‘extra’. I picked up some bacon bones from the supermarket yesterday and decided that would give it a lift and a rich smokiness wthout a lot of extra meat. Not that we’re impartial to meat. There is a product on the market I’ve seen at speciality delicatessens called “liquid smoke”. Something like this. It would be great to add to all sorts of dishes, sauces and marinades.

Smokin’ Lentil Soup

3-4 bacon bones
1 cup red lentils
2 cups pumpkin, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
enough chicken stock to cover (I used water and chicken stock powder)
1 tbs sweet paprika (you could use a smoked paprika)
1 pinch dried thyme
pepper (adjust salt to taste at end of cooking as the bacon bones can be quite salty)

Throw everything together in a pot. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and let simmer until carrots and lentils are soft (approx 45 mins). Remove bones. (There wasn’t enough meat on the bones to warrant adding to the soup.) For a smooth soup, blend or puree until smooth (I used my stick blender straight in the pot) or leave as is for a chunky version. Serve with crusty bread. (You could also serve with some fried, chopped bacon as a garnish. I just ran out of time.)