Tag: beef

Quesadillas
Quesadillas with beef burger and peppers.

Quesadillas with beef burger and peppers.

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Quesadillas are a ludicrously simple thing to make, and really versatile. The only essential ingredients are cheese and tortilla wraps.  They can be made as a snack or a quick lunch and can be filled with whatever takes your fancy. You can even cut them into small wedges to create a delicious finger food – perfect for parties or to watch the rugby.

I came up with this recipe as a way to use up an unwanted burger that my three year old had turned his nose up at.  Once it was chopped up, mixed with melted cheese and wrapped in a toasted tortilla, he couldn’t get enough.  It is also a great way to hide a few veggies from more plant-phobic children!

 

TIPS

  • All quantities besides the wraps are simply a guideline. If you have a little more or less of something it will be fine.
  • The burger meat can be omitted if you want to make the recipe vegetarian, or replaced with cooked sausage meat, bits of ham, chorizo, or bacon.
  • Try adding other vegetables – if you have sweetcorn, cooked beans or peas to use up, all work brilliantly.
  • Spice everything up by adding some finely diced fresh chilli.
  • I cooked mine in a panini grill, but if you do not have one, a large frying pan can be used. Place the quesadilla into a hot dry pan and cook for 2 mins on each side, or until golden brown.

Quesadillas with beef burgers and pepper

(recipe creates 4 quesadillas).

Ingredients

100g cooked beef burgers (1 or 2 burgers depending on their size)

8 flour tortillas

160g cheddar, grated

1 red pepper, diced

1 banana shallot, finely diced

Salt and pepper to season

Crème fraiche or sour cream and pickled jalapenos to serve (optional).

Method

  1. Heat the panini grill to high – settings vary from machine to machine, but a couple of notches from its highest setting should be about right.
  2. Roughly chop up the beef burgers and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Place a tortilla on a board. Sprinkle about 20g of cheese evenly over the wrap. Next, add a quarter of the chopped burger, diced pepper and shallot, distributing them equally. Finally sprinkle on more cheese and place another tortilla on top.
  4. Repeat step 3 until you have created 4 quesadillas.
  5. Place the quesadillas into the panini grill, one or two at a time depending on the size of your grill and cook for 3-3½ minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Keep the first batch(s) warm until all are cooked.
  6. Serve with pickled jalapenos and crème fraiche, salsa, chilli sauce or any other condiment that takes your fancy!

 

 

Leftovers?

If you have crème fraiche leftover from this recipe, why not try making fusilli with pork, peas, leeks and mushrooms?  Follow the link for the recipe.

Braised ox cheek - A delicious, warming, winter stew.
Ox Cheek Braised in Beer

Ox Cheek Braised in Beer

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This is an amazing, rich, ox cheek stew – perfect as the days get shorter and the weather becomes colder.  Ox cheeks need to be cooked low and slow, so get this dish prepped and in the oven, brave the elements to work up an appetite, then head home to find dinner ready to eat. Ideal for a wet and windy weekend.

TIPS

  • If you like the liquid in your stew to be a little thicker, follow the recipe up to the end of step 6 then remove the meat from the casserole. Put the liquid on the hob and reduce until you achieve the desired thickness, then return the meat to the pan for a few minutes to warm through.
  • If you have any sauce left, strain it through a sieve and keep it the fridge for 2 or 3 days. It can be added to other dishes like cottage pie or spag bol, used to enhance the gravy for a roast dinner, or even tossed with some cherry tomatoes, grated cheese and pasta for a quick lunch.

Beer Braised Ox Cheek.

Ingredients

3 ox cheeks

2tsp salt

50g plain flour

Vegetable oil

1 large carrot, sliced

1 large onion, diced

2 large sticks celery, sliced

2 cloves garlic sliced

1tsp cinnamon

2 cloves

1tsp juniper berries

1 star anise

2tbsp tomato purée

2tsp dried thyme

2 bay leaves

500ml dark beer (I used Rip Tide from Salcombe brewery)

500ml beef stock

250ml water

Method

  1. Firstly cut each cheek in half then season with salt.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 140C Fan. Dust the ox cheeks with flour, brushing off any excess.
  3. In a large, oven proof casserole pan, heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil then brown the meat on all sides over a medium high heat. Once the meat is browned, remove from the pan and set aside. Do this in two batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
  4. Place the carrot, onion and celery in the casserole, adding a little more oil if the pan looks dry. Turn the heat down to medium and fry the vegetables, stirring regularly, until the onion is soft and starts to brown – approximately 10-15 minutes.
  5. Next, Add the garlic and all the spices and fry for a further minute before adding the tomato purée and cooking for a another two minutes.
  6. Return the meat to the casserole and stir until the meat is coated in the tomato purée. Add the thyme, bay leaves and beer then bring to the boil. Next, add the stock and water. Stir, then bring the liquid back up to a simmer.
  7. Put a lid on the casserole and transfer into the oven. Leave to braise for two and a half hours. Then remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20mins. The meat should be soft enough to break apart with a fork.
  8. Serve with mashed potatoes and greens.
Pork and Beef Ragu

Pork and Beef Ragu

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This ragu is a regular in my house – we eat it at least once a fortnight. My son is really fussy when it comes to vegetables but he barely notices them in this rich meaty sauce, so it’s a great way to sneak them into his diet.  It is also really tasty, so it doesn’t feel like a compromise meal which, for me, many child-friendly dishes do.

TIPS:  Although the cooking time is quite long, it can be made a day or two ahead and then reheated, making it great for a week-night supper. The recipe makes enough to serve 6-8 people (depending on appetites) or it can be frozen in smaller portions to provide two or more meals.  Alternatively you could make a smaller batch by simply halving the quantities listed.

 

Pork and Beef Ragu (serves 6-8)

Ingredients

2tbsp vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 sticks celery finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

500g pork mince

500g beef mince

2 large carrots, peeled and grated

2 red peppers chopped into 1cm square pieces

200g chestnut mushrooms, halved and sliced

2tbsp smoked paprika

1tbsp dried Italian herb blend

1l beef stock (I use Knorr stock pots)

800ml passata

Black pepper to taste

 

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole, over a medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook for 5 minutes stirring regularly, until they are soft and translucent.  Add the garlic and fry for another minute, being careful to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn.
  2. Turn the heat up to high and add the meat to the pan.  With the quantity involved here it won’t brown – just keep stirring until it is all mixed evenly and you can’t see any pink. Next, add the carrots, peppers, mushrooms, paprika and herbs, stir to combine and cook for a minute or two longer.
  3. Add the stock and passata to the pan, stir to combine, bring to a simmer then turn the heat down to low.  Leave the sauce to simmer and reduce for 2-3hours, stirring occasionally. If the liquid reduces too quickly, add a little water to the pan.  The finished sauce should be thick enough to stick to and coat the pasta you serve it with, but still have plenty of liquid.
  4. Serve the ragu with pasta of your choice (I like tagliatelle), salad and, finally, a grating of fresh parmesan to garnish.
Beef, and Shmeji Mushroom Stir-fry

Beef, and Shmeji Mushroom Stir-fry

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This recipe is something that I came up with one evening when I was eating alone – I simply threw some of my favourite things together, including some amazing shmeji mushrooms from Forest Fungi.  My first attempt was a little too salty, but the recipe below is the tweaked and (hopefully) improved version. I have also scaled the original recipe up to feed 2 people, but I would advise against trying to double it up to feed four – the pan will likely lose its heat and you will end up with a stew rather than a stir-fry.  Save this one for a cosy date-night!

Tips:  The quantities in this recipe do not need to be followed precisely.  If you buy a bunch of spring onions and there is 7 in there?  Chuck them all in.  Can’t find exactly 300g of steak? A little bit more or less won’t make a lot of difference. In particular check the quantity of oyster sauce that you use – I have found that some varieties are much saltier than others so when you make the marinade, check the seasoning before using it.  For this recipe I used Blue Dragon Oyster Sauce due to its wide availability (most supermarkets).

If you can’t get your hands on shmeji mushrooms, you could use oyster or shiitake mushrooms instead.

You will also need a large wok.

 

Beef, Spring Onion and Shmeji Mushroom Stir-fry

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the marinade:
1 birds eye chilli
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry or rice wine
1 tbsp tamarind paste
2½ tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic puree
2tsp rice wine vinegar

 

For the stir-fry:
300g rump steak
150g shmeji mushrooms
6 spring onions
75g curly kale
3 tbsp water (if needed)
Fresh coriander to garnish

 

Method

 

  1. Finely chop the chilli and place into a glass bowl with all the other marinade ingredients. Mix together and taste. If it tastes too sour add a little more oyster sauce. If it is too salty add a little more tamarind.  Thinly slice the steak and add to the marinade, stir to ensure the meat is coated and leave on the side, covered, for twenty minutes.
  2. While the steak is marinating, prepare the vegetables. Separate the mushrooms and brush off any dirt. Slice the spring onions lengthways, then slice thinly on the diagonal.  Lastly remove any stems from the kale and chop the leaves into bitesize pieces.  Keep these ready for when you start cooking
  3. Heat a large wok over a high heat. When it is smoking hot, add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Once the oil is hot, lift the meat out of the marinade and place it into the wok. Do so gently as it will spit.  Stir-fry for two minutes or until the meat is just coloured, then add the mushrooms, spring onions, kale and any remaining marinade and fry for a minute or two more. If the pan starts to get too dry, add the water – once the kale softens it is ready.
  4. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with boiled rice and steamed tenderstem broccoli, which is especially good if dressed with a little sesame oil and soy sauce once cooked.