Apple balsamic pulled beef

This is another easy recipe for the slow cooker using a economical cut of beef, its really delicious and my kids loved it too! I served it on a warm sunny day with wraps and a honey mustard broccoli salad but it would be great in winter with mash or cous cous to soak up the sauce. It would work fine with stewed apple too so another great way to use some of the frozen stewed apples you might store for winter.

¼ cup balsamic vinegar
3 small apples
2 bay leaf
2 big sprigs rosemary
2 large sprigs thyme
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup veg/beef stock
1 cup white wine
800 grams oyster blade steak
1-2 Tablespoons cornflour (optional)

Brown the steak in a hot pan, finely chop onion, garlic, herbs and apple and put them in the slow cooker with all other ingredients and cook on low for about 6 hours until the meat is falling apart. Depending on what you are serving it with you may like to thicken it up with a little cornflour mixed with water and then mixed in with the sauce, and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. I thickened it when I served it in wraps with a honey mustard broccoli salad and a soft goats cheese but I probably wouldn’t bother thickening it if I was serving it with mash, cous cous or polenta that would soak up the sauce. DPP_440

Like this recipe? Find more in my first cookbook The Real Food for Kids Cookbook. When you cook this please let me know how you go with it and share it with your friends!

Beef and noodle soup

I had a delicious beef and udon soup at Orizuru (Mures, Hobart) earlier in the week and was keen to make something similar at home, also to try new dishes rather than the same old with the side of beef in the freezer. I used a small piece of rump and a small poterhouse, both end bits. I didn’t have a chance to shop for new ingredients so I was pretty thrilled with the end result made from what I had in the pantry. I will try this again with a homemade beef stock to add some more depth to the flavour.

serves 2

1 onion
¼ teaspoon chilli
1 tablespoon miso paste
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
700 ml beef stock
1 large carrot
1 stick celery
1 red capsicum
10 snow peas
200 grams cooked noodles
200 grams steak (eye fillet, porterhouse, rump)

Finely slice onion and chilli and sauté in a medium size pot. Add miso, soy, honey and beef stock and bring to a gentle boil. Season with salt and pepper and more chilli if you like.

Slice the beef thinly, slice all remaining vegetables and put the beef and vegetables into the simmering soup, quickly to heat, about 30 seconds to 1 minute and serve immediately on top of the hot noodles