Thursday 19 September 2013

Recipe: slow cooker mince

This made a really delicious batch of savoury mince.  It was quite frugal because I had bought the mince on a very special offer from Aldi.
The ingredient list looks long but it's mostly basics and veg I had in the fridge.  The only thing I bought specially for it was the wine. You could use any veg you fancied really.

Ingredients:
a splash of oil
2 small onions, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red or yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped
some courgette (I used half of a big one), peeled and chopped and I also removed the seeds.
1 potato, peeled and chopped (because I had it in the fridge and it needed using)
1 chilli, de-seeded and chopped finely
some mini tomatoes
300g beef mince
garlic puree
a good glug of red wine
a can of chopped tomatoes
a handful or orange lentils
a handful of porridge oats
salt, pepper, dried mixed herbs
a good tbsp marigold vegetable stock powder
tomato puree

Method
In a large pan, heat the oil and saute the onion, carrot, pepper, courgette and potato until slightly softened.  Tip into the slow cooker and turn it on.  Add the mini-tomatoes.
Fry the mince, breaking it up in the pan as it browns.  Add the chilli and fry a little longer.
Pour in the red wine, the chopped tomatoes and half a can of water.  Bring to a simmer and add to the slow cooker.
Stir in the lentils, oats, seasonings and stock.
Put on the lid and cook on slow for ages - I did mine overnight.
In the morning (or many hours later) revel in the savoury aroma pervading the house before stirring and checking seasonings.  Add the tomato puree (I used about half a tube) and stir well.

That should be it.  You should have a hot, savoury, deliciously thick mince mixture that will be great for all sorts of meals.  I had some yesterday over chopped new potatoes.  Today I'm having some on rice.
You could add more chilli and some kidney beans for a con carne, you could top it with potato or crumble or pastry, you could use it in a lasagne or have it over pasta.  Lovely and useful.  And it freezes well!


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