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Beef and chickpea casserole

A wonderful winter recipe that uses pulses and plenty of veggies as well as meat for extra goodness.

Serves 6

  • 500g beef rump, fat removed and cut into chunks
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp dried sage or small handful fresh sage leaves
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large or 2 small parsnips, peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 large pumpkin, peeled and chopped
  • 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup reduced salt beef stock
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 x 400g can, drained)
  • 1 cup peas (frozen is fine)
  • 2-3 large handfuls spinach
  • Zest of 1 large lemon
     

Method

Coat the beef chunks in the flour and put to one side.

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion and sage. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until onion is soft.

Add the beef to the pan and brown very slightly for a few minutes, then add the carrot, parsnip, pumpkin, canned tomatoes, tomato paste and stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook over a low heat with a lid on for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until meat is soft and vegetables are well cooked. Check and stir every 20 minutes or so and add extra splash of water if needed.

Add chickpeas, peas and spinach and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Add lemon zest, stir through and serve!

Serve with brown rice, mashed kumura or potato, mashed beans (e.g. butter beans) and lots of green veggies.
 

Adapt it

  • Use lamb instead of beef
  • If you are gluten free, leave the flour out. If you want, you can thicken the stew towards the end of cooking with cornflour (mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water to make a paste, add in and stir quickly through - cook for a good 10 minutes before serving).
     

Top Tips

  • The vegetables need to be chunky for this!
  • As odd as the lemon zest might sound, don't miss it out - it is really essential for flavour balance.
  • This dish freezes really well.
     

Nutrition information per serve:

kJ = 1335   Carbs = 23g   Protein = 30g   Fat = 12g   Fibre = 12g