Simple Harvest Beef Casserole
Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Low FODMAP, Onion and Garlic Free
Cooking food like this simple harvest beef casserole is ridiculously nostalgic for me. There’s something about rugging up, donning a pair of gumboots, and braving the cold to harvest garden fresh ingredients for a nourishing, slow cooked meal that invokes childhood memories of living on the farm. This style of cooking is also highly convenient as you can pop it on, and go about your business for the next few hours. Whether that be working, spending time with the family, or curling up with a cuppa and a good book.
I say this is a simple recipe, and simple it is, but in terms of flavor it is anything but. Its rich without being overpowering or fatty, and the beef turns into this melt-in-your-mouth experience. This recipe was extremely well received in our household, and requests are already coming in for me to make it again. From my family to yours, I hope you love it and it becomes a staple on your winter menu.
Simple Harvest Beef Casserole
Ingredients
- 600 grams cross cut beef, diced into 2 inch chunks
- 3 TBSP onion infused extra virgin olive oil
- 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
- 1.5 TBSP tomato paste
- 1/4 cup rice flour
- 1 beef stock cube
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 TBSP brown sugar
- 1 TBSP dried oregano
- handful fresh thyme sprigs*
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 2 cups water
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes in juice
- salt and pepper
- 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 medium parsnip, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup spring onion tops, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup celery, roughly chopped (I have used Parcel)
- 1/2 cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp cornflour mixed in a few TBSP of water
- handful green beans, topped and sliced in half
- 1 cup silverbeet (swiss chard) or spinach, roughly sliced, stalks included
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160C on standard bake, ensuring your rack is in a central position in the oven.
- Heat the oil in a cast iron casserole dish and add the beef. Season with salt and pepper and sear on a high heat until just brown all over.
- Remove beef from the pan and set aside.
- To the juices left in the bottom of the pan, add the red wine vinegar and tomato paste. Mix well using the liquid to lift any brown bits from the bottom of the pan (this is all flavor!) and cook until it reduces by about a third.
- Add the beef back to the pan, and sprinkle over the rice flour. Stir until the beef is thoroughly coated.
- To the pan add the beef stock cube, bay leaves, brown sugar, dried oregano, fresh thyme, and ground paprika and stir through slightly. Pour over the water and tip in the can of tinned tomatoes. Stir gently and let the liquid come to a very gentle boil.
- Add your chopped carrot, parsnip, celery**, parsley and cornflour mixture. Stir in well and cover with the casserole dish lid.
- Transfer casserole dish to the pre-heated oven and braise for 2.5 hours.
- Remove casserole dish from the oven. Remove the lid and pick out any thyme sprigs and bay leaves that you can see and discard.
- Add your green beans, leafy greens, and parsley and stir through. Pop the lid on and put back in the oven for 15 minutes until the greens are al dente.
- Serve hot with fresh crusty bread rolls, toast, or mashed potato.
Notes
*fresh thyme really is best for this recipe, and I highly encourage you to use this. However, if you cannot get hold of any - swap out for 2 tsp dried thyme.
**use whatever root vegetables you have in the pantry. Turnips, radishes and yams all make lovely substitutes. You may notice in photos that I have swapped the celery and parsley for Parcel - purely because that is what I had available in the garden at the time.