South American Beef Pot

A great way to jazz up minced beef, this hearty and satisfying one-pot meal contains chunks of potato and sliced peppers in a rich tomato sauce. It's finished with a creamy savoury egg sauce topping.

Serves 1

1 small onion, chopped, or 25 g/1 oz frozen diced onion
1 small garlic clove, crushed, or 2.5 ml/½ tsp garlic purée (paste)
100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup very hot (not boiling) beef stock
100 g/4 oz lean minced (ground) beef steak
100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup passata (sieved tomatoes)
1 small green (bell) pepper, halved, cored and sliced, or 150 g/5 oz frozen sliced peppers
100 g/4 oz potato, peeled and cut into 2 cm/¾ in dice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
15 ml/1 tbsp fresh or frozen chopped parsley
1 egg
45 ml/3 tbsp milk

1. Put the onion in the cooking pot. Blend together the garlic and stock and pour over the onion. Switch on the slow cooker to Low and leave for a few minutes while measuring and preparing the rest of the ingredients.
2. Crumble the minced beef into the cooker with your fingers (this helps to stop it clumping together). Add the passata, pepper slices and potato, season with salt and pepper and stir well.
3. Cover with the lid and cook for 3½-5½ hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender.
4. Stir most of the parsley into the meat mixture. Beat together the egg, milk and a little salt and pepper until blended. Pour the egg mixture over the meat, re-cover with the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the topping is set. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley before serving.

Cook's tip
Passata is made from ripe tomatoes that have been puréed and sieved (strained) to remove the skin and seeds. It's sold in jars and cartons. Once opened, it will keep in the fridge for up to a week. Alternatively, decant it into small freezer containers and freeze for up to 2 months.

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