Slow cooked goulash

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goulash

It’s the last Sunday of winter here in Australia so I’m making some slow cooked goulash.

A meat stew originally from Hungary, goulash is a staple all over central Europe with differing recipes according to the region. The core ingredient is generally a tough cut of meat slowed with plenty of Hungarian paprika until it’s delicious and tender.

On ski slopes around the world, goulash is a common appearance on restaurant menus (even here in Australia) providing a tasty and hearty refuel in the cold weather.

My recipe is a simple and easy variation that takes around 20 minutes to prepare then slowly bubbles away in the slow cooker in time for dinner.

Ingredients

  • 1.2 kilo/ 2.6 lb of chuck steak or other cut of been suitable for slow cooking
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 onions
  • 3 cloves of garlic/3 teaspoons of minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons of Hungarian sweet paprika
  • 2 medium sized potatoes
  • 1 cup of good quality beef stock or bone broth
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper to season

 Method

  1. Wash and peel the potatoes then cut into pieces roughly 2.5cm/1 inch square and place in the bottom of the slow cooker/crock pot
  2. Chop the onion up into relatively small pieces and if using whole garlic cubes finely chop these too
  3. Chop the meat into pieces roughly 5cm/2 inch each in side in size
  4. Bring a frying pan to a medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil, then cook the meat in batches until golden brown (I generally find I have to do two batches). Place the meat on top of the potatoes in the slow cooker
  5. Wash the frying pan or use a fresh one and bring it to a medium-high heat again then add a tablespoon of olive oil and fry the onion and garlic until translucent (a few minutes), then add the paprika and stir through for around 30 seconds
  6. Add the stock/broth and tomato paste to the pan and mix through for 15 seconds or so and season with salt and pepper
  7. Place the mixture on top of the meat in the slow cooker and then add the bay leaves
  8. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Note that if you are using blade steak, it’s more tender than chuck so you’ll need less cooking time – either 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low

Goulash is served with lots of different compliments around the world. I actually enjoy it on its own and sometimes add a little water so that it’s more soup like. It’s also great with cauliflower rice.

My partner likes his with polenta, mash potato or rice. It’s also delicious with some crusty bread.

Serves 6

 

Salted Caramel Bliss Balls

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salted-caramel-bliss-balls
I have a thing for salted caramel, which is typically something you’d avoid on a detox.

However, I was recently at the Healthy Living store in Bondi and had a delicious paleo salted caramel cookie so decided to experiment with bliss balls.

I’ve landed on 2 different recipes and really can’t decide which one I like the taste of best so am putting them both on this page. Option 2 is particularly good as the sweet taste of the dates is balanced with the bitterness from the tiny pieces of dark chocolate plus a hint of salt. However Option 1 is so simple and easy (and equally delicious) that I’ll definitely be making those over and over too.

Option 1

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of raw, unsalted cashews
  • 5 medjool dates
  • 1 teaspoon good quality natural vanilla essence
  • ¼ cup of desiccated coconut
  • ¼ teaspoon of good quality salt such as Himalayan

Method

  1. Remove the pits from the dates
  2. Place the cashews, dates, vanilla essence and salt in a food processor
  3. Blend until mixed but not completely smooth – you want nice little chunks of cashews to remain
  4. Form into small balls and roll in the coconut

Makes around 10 small bliss balls

Option 2

Ingredients

  • Half  a cup of unsalted macadamias (raw, roasted or activated all work well)*
  • Half a cup of raw, unsalted cashews*
  • 6 dates
  • 1 tablespoon tahini (hulled or unhulled)
  • 1 teaspoon good quality natural vanilla essence
  • ¼ cup of desiccated coconut
  • ¼ teaspoon of good quality salt such as Himalayan
  • 20g of good quality dark chocolate (I make my own or use a store bought variety that is very high in cocoa – ideally 85%, and low in sugar)

*If you prefer you can use either a whole cup of macadamias OR a whole cup of cashews

Method

  1. Remove the pits from the dates
  2. If using chocolate, chop into small pieces – around quarter of the size of a standard chocolate chip
  3. Place the nuts, dates, tahini, vanilla essence and salt in a food processor
  4. Blend until mixed but not completely smooth – you want nice little chunks of the nuts to remain
  5. If using chocolate, mix this through the bliss ball mixture by hand
  6. Form into small balls and roll in the coconut

Makes around 12 bliss balls.

Both should be stored in the fridge and will keep for several weeks.

 

Edamame

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Edamame
If you’re on a detox, cutting out sugar or trying to loose weight, the shift to healthy eating can often leave you wondering what to snack on.

Nuts are great but can be really hard to consumer in moderation. Given the vast majority of the population needs to consume more vegetables, edamame – or soy beans, are a fantastic option as they’re quick to cook and loaded with nutrition.

Soy beans are one of the richest sources of protein in the plant world and contain all 8 essential amino acids – making them an excellent choice for vegetarians. They’re high in folate, vitamin K and are a good source of essential fatty acids and fibre.

Keep them in the freezer as a go-to when you’re craving a snack or eat them like the Japanese do, before a meal.

Ingredients

  • 125g/4.5 oz/1.5 cups frozen edamame
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes (such as Maldon) optional

Method

  1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Add the frozen edamame and cook until they all float to the top of the water – this should take around 3.5 – 4 minutes
  2. Drain and if using salt sprinkle the whole edamame with the salt flakes then eat immediately or reserve as a snack for later. Note that I eat very few of the salt flakes find they impart a good flavour
  3. You can also experiment with chilli flakes if you like something a little hot and spicy

Serves 1

Braised Beef Casserole

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braised-beef-casserole
You can’t go past a good beef casserole in winter.

Slow cook it at the weekend with your favourite root vegetables and a glass of red wine – it makes delicious guilt free comfort food. Or if you prefer, substitute the red wine with some good quality stock or bone broth.

The slow cooking process renders tough cuts of meat mouth-wateringly tender so you can choose a non-premium cut of organic meat (such as chuck) and it works out considerably cheaper.

This dish will feed the whole family or you can eat half and freeze half for later. We do this often to save cooking during the week.

Ingredients

  • 1kg/2 ¼ pounds of chuck steak or other cut of beef suitable for slow cooking (ask your butcher if you’re not sure)
  • 2 brown onions
  • 2 medium sized carrots
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 2 medium sized parsnips/turnips/swede or other root vegetable of your choice (in my opinion parsnips taste best)
  • 2 cloves garlic/teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup red wine/good quality beef stock/bone broth

Method

  1. Peel the carrots and root vegetables, and chop all the vegetables into even sized chunks, around 2.5cm or 1 inch in size. If using whole garlic cloves, finely chop them
  2. Cut the beef into cubes roughly 4cm/1.5 inches each side. Bring a large frying pan to a medium to high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil then cook in batches until browned on each side (this shouldn’t take more than a few minutes). Unless you have a very big frying pan, you will likely need to cook in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding
  3. Place the sealed beef in the slow cooker/crock pot
  4. Bring a frying pan to a medium heat this time, then add the olive oil and fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes until they start to turn translucent, then add the other vegetables and cook for a couple of minutes more
  5. Place the vegetables on top of the meat in the slow cooker
  6. Add the wine/stock/bone broth (I prefer to use red wine as it imparts a delicious flavour) and bay leaves and season with salt and pepper
  7. If using chuck beef, cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. If using gravy beef, it will cook faster – 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low
  8. When the slow cooking is complete, transfer to a large frying pan or pot and reduce over a medium heat for 10 minutes or so until the liquid has evaporated and the casserole is a nice thick consistency

Serving suggestion

If you are paleo, this dish is delicious with cauliflour rice.

For traditionalists enjoy with mashed potato. This dish also goes well with polenta or rice.

Serves 4

Moroccan inspired sweet potato soup

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moroccan-sweet-potato-soupSweet potatoes are in season at this time of year in Australia and they’re delicious and cheap.

A quick recap on the health benefits of sweet potatoes: they’re high in beta-carotene which the body converts to vitamin A. Vitamin A is used by the body to support healthy skin and eyesight, fight infections and boost the immune system. Beta-carotene has been credited for its cancer fighting properties and is a powerful antioxidant.

In this recipe, I double up on the healthy orange stuff by roasting sweet potatoes together with carrots. The flavour is balanced with the addition of chickpeas which give a delicious nutty taste and the lemon and spices create the Moroccan flavour.

As with most of my soups, I use home made bone broth as a base however this can easily be substituted with vegetable stock for vegetarians and vegans.

Ingredients

  • 600g or around 1.25 lb of sweet potatoes
  • 300g or around 10.5oz of carrots
  • 1.5 Litre or just over 3 pints of bone broth or vegetable stock
  • 1 x 400g tin/1 x 14 oz can of chickpeas OR approx 250g/9 oz soaked and cooked chickpeas
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • I x medium-large brown onion
  • 2 x cloves garlic or 1 heaped teaspoon of minced garlic
  • 1.5 teaspoon dried cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried coriander
  • half a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes

Accompaniments

  • half a teaspoon of lemon juice per person (3 in total)
  • 1 tablespoon thick natural yoghurt per person
  • a few leaves of fresh coriander/cilantro

Method

Chickpeas

I like to prepare the chickpeas from scratch. I soak a big batch of dried chickpeas in plenty of filtered water over night (for at least 12 hours) then rinse and cook for 1.5 hours. I then freeze in batches of approx. 250 g or 9oz.

If you don’t have time, just use a can/tin.

Soup

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celcius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots and chop them into pieces roughly an inch (2-3cm) thick and drizzle them in approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast for 30 minutes.

Roughly chop up the onion and finely chop the garlic (if using whole garlic cloves). Heat a large, heavy based saucepan to a medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and fry the onion and garlic until they start to turn translucent (a couple of minutes should do) then stir through the dried cumin, coriander and dried chilli flakes for approximately 30 seconds. Add the stock and vegetables and bring to the boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes (allow 15 minutes if you have time). Remove from heat and allow to cool then blend in batches until smooth.

To serve

If you have some fresh lemons handy, squeeze just under half a teaspoon of lemon juice per serve (the entire batch will render 6 good sized serves), stir well and top each bowl with a tablespoon of thick natural yoghurt and some fresh coriander.

 

Serves 6 and freezes well