Beef casserole with kale mash

This lovely casserole recipe is so welcome on cooler days. With its mix of vegetables it could become a much loved recipe in your house! Remember recipes can so often be 'tweaked' a little to better suit you, and your families tastes.

Ingredients

Serves Four
700g/1lb 9oz braising steak, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 3-cm/1¼-in chunks
2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
150ml/5fl oz red wine
450ml/16fl oz beef stock, made with 1 stock cube
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 bay leaf
3 carrots (about 300g/10½oz), peeled and thickly sliced
300g/10½oz closed cup mushrooms, sliced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped, to garnish
For the kale mash
575g/1lb 4½oz (floury) potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 5-cm/2-in chunks
25g/1oz butter
4 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
100g/3½oz kale, trimmed, hard stalks removed, roughly chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Season the beef well with salt and pepper.
2. Heat half of the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and fry the beef in two batches for 2–3 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Transfer to a casserole dish using a slotted spoon or spatula once each batch is done.
3. Add the remaining oil and the onions to the pan and fry over a medium–high heat for 4–5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Place the onions into the casserole dish and sprinkle with the flour and dried herbs. Toss well together.
4. Pour the red wine and stock into the casserole dish and add the tomato purée and bay leaf. Stir well and bring to a simmer on the hob. Cover with a lid and bake in the oven for 1½ hours.
5. Carefully remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the carrots and mushrooms. Cover and bake for a further 45 minutes, or until the beef and vegetables are just tender.
6. Meanwhile, to make the kale mashed potato, place the potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 15 minutes, or until very tender. Drain well then return to the saucepan. Mash with the butter and milk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Place the kale into a saucepan and add 500ml/18fl oz water. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil for 5 minutes, or until tender, removing the lid and stirring the kale three or four times as it cooks. Drain well then stir into the mash.
8. Serve the kale mash alongside the casserole, garnished with the parsley.

Nutrition

Each serving provides 429 kcal, 43g protein, 18g carbohydrates (of which 11g sugars), 16g fat (of which 5g saturates), 6g fibre and 1g salt.

From original idea here

This recipe does contain potatoes, so may affect blood sugar levels. If you would like a lower carb alternative to potatoes you will find some suggestions here

Vegetarian Casserole

Greengrocers Veggie Hotpot - see here

read more about Kale and its health benefits here

A variety of recipe ideas are within this blog, but please note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan