Melt-in-your-mouth tender beef, half a dozen vegetables, all mixed together to make a deep, rich, flavour-packed sauce. Cheap, easy, and perfect for freezing, this is a wonderfully simple weeknight family dinner. Gluten and dairy free.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 500-750 g (1-1.5 lbs) beef short ribs (the best quality you can afford)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or more olive oil)
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 sticks of celery, finely diced
- 2 small or 1 large carrot(s), finely diced
- 1 medium courgette (zucchini), finely diced
- 100 g (1/2 cup) green lentils
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 65 ml (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar
- 1 (400g/14oz) tin of plum tomatoes (or chopped tomatoes) + 1 tin of stock (chicken, beef or vegetable) or water
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped (optional but highly recommended as it adds a lovely sweetness)
- large handful pitted green olives (optional but adds yummy saltiness)
- 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
- salt & pepper
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve (optional)
- roughly chopped fresh parsley, to serve
- cooked wholegrain pasta, rice (regular or cauliflower) or jacket potatoes, to serve
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Brown the beef ribs in the olive oil all over for about 4 minutes. Add the butter and allow it to sizzle and foam. Add to the slow cooker insert along with all of the other ingredients (except the Parmesan, parsley and pasta) and set to High for 3-4 hours or Low for 7-8 hours. Taste and add seasoning as necessary. Serve with the Parmesan, parsley and pasta.
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On the stove top, brown the ribs as with the slow cooker option, and add the butter, then stir through the onion, celery, carrot and courgette (zucchini) and cook over gentle heat for 5-10 minutes, or until softened. Mix in the green lentils and garlic and cook for 1 minute before stirring through the tomato puree, then the vinegar, tinned and dried tomatoes, olives, and the herbs. Season to taste. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 2-3 hours, until the meat is tender and falls off the bone and the vegetables and lentils are really soft.