orange + beef stew on creamy mash

Serves 4

Poppy cooks…

1. Between 12 to 24 hours before you plan to cook this meal, put
   500-600g organic diced beef in a large pot or french oven and season with
   celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper.
   
   
2. Add
   750ml red wine (1 bottle),
   3 sprigs fresh thyme,
   2 bay leaves,
   5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks,
   half an orange cut into wedges,
   onion, cut into rings, and
   2 garlic cloves, sliced. Place in the fridge to marinate.
   
   
3. When you are ready to start cooking, heat some
   olive oil in a frying pan, remove the beef from the marinade and brown on all sides, then set aside.
   
   
4. Place pot with marinade on the cooktop and bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer.
   
   
5. Add chuck steak back into the pot with
   170g tomato paste and
   2.5 cups of hot filtered water and leave to cook on low with the lid on for 2 hours or until meat is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid for approximately another 30 minutes for the liquid to reduce to form a thick sauce.
   
   
6. In a separate pot, boil
   1.5 kg royal blue potatoes, peeled and diced until they crumble with no resistance when pierced with a fork. Drain water and mash with
   tablespoon nuttelex and
   1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt.
   
   
7. Serve mashed potato topped with stew mixture, making sure to discard the bay leaves and orange peels.

mongolian beef

Serves 2

Poppy cooks…

1. Cook
   1 cup jasmine rice in a rice cooker with
   bunch of asian greens in the steamer tray on top.
   
   
2. In a frying pan saute
   4 cloves garlic, minced,
   3/4 teaspoon dried ginger and
   1/8 teaspoon dried chilli flakes.
   
   
3. Add
   3 tablespoons coconut aminos,
   1 teaspoon chicken stock paste (or 3 tablespoons chicken stock) and
   1.5 tablespoons manuka honey stirring frequently until the honey dissolves and the sauce thickens slightly.
   
   
4. Add
   500g stir fry beef and toss until cooked.
   
   
5. Stir through
   3 spring onions, sliced diagonally and serve on steamed rice with steamed greens to the side.

beef stir fry

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups jasmine rice

onion, cut into wedges

500g stir fry beef

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons manuka honey

2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce

2 tablespoons tamari sauce

red capsicum, sliced

tray of baby corn, chopped

Method

1. Marinade beef in garlic, honey, soy sauce and tamari sauce for a minimum of 10 minutes
2. Cook rice
3. Saute onion in a wok or large frying pan on medium to high heat
4. Add beef, capsicum and corn and toss until cooked
5. Serve with rice

Notes
To save time, you can marinade the beef up to 24 hours before cooking.

french beef stew

Serves 9

Poppy cooks...

1. In a slow cooker place 
   500g organic diced beef,
   2 onions, cut into chunks,
   5 celery stalks, cut into chunks,
   600g carrots, cut into chunks,
   600g potatoes, cut into chunks,
   100ml tomato paste,
   750ml filtered water,
   150ml dry cooking sherry (or 40ml red wine vinegar and 110ml extra water),
   4 teaspoons coconut sugar,
   3 teaspoons celtic sea salt,
   cracked black pepper, to taste,
   3 teaspoons dried basil and set on medium for 5 hours.
   
   
   
2. 250g green beans, chopped and
   3 tablespoons of tapioca pearls, to slow cooker and set on medium for another 2 hours.
   
   
   
3. Cook
   6 cups rice using whichever method you prefer.
   
   
   
4. Serve stew on top of rice.

thai beef salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup hot filtered water

500g fillet steak

1/4 red onion, finely diced

2 spring onions, sliced diagonally

red capsicum, finely sliced

handful bean sprouts

125g green beans, sliced diagonally

lebanese cucumber, chopped

green chilli, finely sliced

1 cup coriander, chopped

50ml tamari sauce

juice of 1 lime

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Method

1. Cook green beans
2. Cook quinoa in filtered hot water
3. Grill steak with seasoning until medium rare. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into thin pieces
4. Combine onion, spring onion, capsicum, bean sprouts, beans, cucumber, chilli, coriander, quinoa and steak in a large serving bowl
5. Mix together tamari sauce, lime juice and garlic to make dressing and pour over salad

Notes
Feel free to use more red onion if you like red onion, or try adding a red chilli too if you like really spicy food.

beef hotpot

Serves 10

Poppy cooks...

1. Chop
   800g eggplant into 2cm cubes then heat
   olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, cooking eggplant in batches so not to crowd the pot until light browned and transfer to a plate.
   
   
   
2. Repeat process with
   1kg diced beef in batches to brown and set aside.
   
   
   
3. Add
   2 onions, diced to pan and cook in olive oil until golden.
   
   
   
4. Stir through
   1 tablespoon garlic, minced and cook until soft.
   
   
   
5. Add
   1 tablespoon ground cumin,
   2 teaspoons ground coriander and
   1 teaspoon ground allspice and cook for 1 minute, or until aromatic.
   
   
   
6. Stir through
   1/4 cup tomato paste for 1 minute, or until well combined.
   
   
   
7. Add back in beef,
   400g tin of diced tomato, 
   500ml chicken broth,
   1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt and
   1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper then reduce heat to low, cover and stir occasionally for 1 hour.
   
   
   
8. Stir in
   800g carrots, chopped and cover for an additional 1 hour or until carrots start to soften.
   
   
   
9. Stir in eggplant and cook until beef, carrot and eggplant is tender. If there is a lot of liquid, remove the lid; otherwise, leave the lid on.
   
   
   
10. Cook
    6 cups rice separately.
    
    
    
11. Stir through
    handful of parsley, chopped before serving on steamed rice.

Notes
This Egyptian spiced dish is a great hearty meal for the winter months. I actually cook this and divide into 3, freezing 2 of the quantities to make the whole batch last for 3 dinners for our family of 5.