Beef, Spinach & Mozzarella One-Pot Bake

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ghee or extra virgin olive oil
• 800 g good quality ground beef (1.76 lb)
• 1 small red onion, finely diced (60 g/ 2.1 oz)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp of paprika
• 1 large red chilli pepper, sliced (45 g/ 1.6 oz)
• 1 large carrot, diced (150 g/ 5.3 oz)
• 1 medium red bell pepper (90 g/ 3.2 oz)
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g/ 14.2 oz)
• 1 tbsp coconut aminos (15 ml)
• 100 g fresh spinach (3.5 oz)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree (15 g/ 0.5 oz)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (plus extra to serve)
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
• ¹/₄ tsp each sea salt and black pepper, or to taste
• 2 cups chicken stock or beef stock (480 ml/ 16 fl oz)
• 200 g mozzarella cheese (7.1 oz)

Instructions

1. Peel and dice the carrots and onion.
2. Heat the ghee (or olive oil) in a cast iron frying pan or Paella pan. It needs to be able to be used on the hob and in the oven.) (Option to dry fry if you have a good non stick Paella pan). Add the beef and fry for 6 minutes, gently breaking up the mince with a wooden spatula until it has no big lumps.
3. Drain the juices in a cup and discard. Once cool, put in the bin, not down the sink or it will block the drain.
4. Add the carrot, onion and garlic and fry for 4 minutes. Add the pepper, paprika and chilli and fry for a further 2 minutes.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, stock, oregano, coconut aminos, bay leaves, salt and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes on a medium heat. Reduce to a low heat and cook for a further 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Preheat the oven to 190 °C/ 375 °F (fan assisted).
6. Stir in the spinach and cook for about 3 minutes until the spinach has wilted.
7. Slice or grate the mozzarella and add to the top of the sizzling beef and spinach one-pot. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes until melted. Once melted, remove from the oven, top with fresh parsley and serve. Enjoy immediately or let it cool down and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition (per serving)