Wheelie Tasty Recipes

This dish is extremely versatile and can be made purely vegetarian/vegan by omitting the meat (obviously 😊), Worcestershire Sauce as it contains fish and substituting the beef stock .  It can also be gluten free if required. You can use beef or turkey mince and really you can add as more veg or beans as you like. If you struggle to get the kids to eat their veg you could even blend the with the tomatoes so they are hidden in the sauce.  By packing it out with veg it makes it lighter but I’m sorry that I cannot be held responsible for the unfortunate side effects of eating all those beans! Lol.

Serves 6-7

Slimming World Syns – Approx 1 per person (please double check for your own peace of mind)

INSTRUCTIONS

Spray oil or Veg oil

400 g lean steak or turkey mince (less than 5% fat)

2 onions, diced

2 sticks of celery finely chopped

2 carrots finely chopped

2 peppers red, yellow or green, diced

1-2 courgettes, diced

1-2 tablespoons of tomato puree

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (you could use red or white wine vinegar or even sherry vinegar)

175ml white wine, optional (approx. 6 Slimmingworld Syns equating to roughly 1 per person)

6 cloves of garlic crushed

1 green or red chilli, finely chopped

2 tablespoons of chilli sauce or mild chilli powder (to save on Slimmingworld Syns) to taste (gluten free if required)

Half a dried and ancho or chipotle chilli, finely chopped optional

1 tin of kidney beans, drained

1 tin of cannellini beans, drained

A small carton of chestnut mushrooms, chopped into chunks

300ml of Beef stock made from a stock pot or stock cube, (gluten free if required)

1-2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce (gluten free/vegetarian if required)

1 teaspoon sweetener, or to taste

1 heaped teaspoon of onion powder, optional

Ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of dried thyme, oregano and marjoram, or more to taste

METHOD

Spray a wok or large frying pan with spray oil or put a couple of teaspoons of rapeseed/vegetable oil in and wipe out the majority with kitchen paper (N.B.  The Syn value here would be negligible as you should get 7 good sized portions out of this)

Add the minced beef/turkey and stirfry for a few minutes to brown the meat.  Remove from the pan and drain off any residual fat through a sieve.  Set aside.

Add the chopped onions to the pan and fry for a few minutes to caramelise them before adding the chopped carrots and celery.  Allow to soften for a few minutes.

Add the tomato puree and cook for a couple of minutes to remove the bitterness.

Add just over half of the garlic and fry for a minute or two before adding a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and the wine, if using.  Allow the liquid to reduce for a few minutes.

Add the peppers, courgettes and any other veg excluding the mushrooms you are using and allow to soften.

Return the meat to the pan and combine before adding the tomatoes and/or passata, beans, herbs and spices and stock .

Add the mushrooms and leave on the hob for about 25 minutes or until veg softened and the sauce has reduced and thickened to your preferred consistency.

Just within about 5 minutes of finishing add the remaining garlic and vinegar which just seems to lift the to another level. Season to taste.

Serve with cauliflower rice or jacket potato for extra goodness otherwise with a small portion of rice, wholegrain is always the best choice for health benefits  .