“Lemonato” Beef with broccoli and lemon sauce

In the midst of this constant barrage of information on modern nutrition, the value of vegetables remains constant and undeniable. In the traditional Mediterranean diet, we very often see imaginative combinations of vegetables with (sometimes only a little) meat or fish, depending on the season and the local cuisine. I think it’s the lack of time that has taken us away from this tradition. The result is to limit our sides to the classic starches such as rice, potatoes and pasta. They last long and cook fast, but as we rely on them every day, we forget that so many other options are available.

I really believe that variety ensures nourishment. On the other hand, especially midweek, I really really don’t want to have any extra pots to deal with. So I try to incorporate as many vegetables as I can, into our main meal. Combined it with a raw salad, I can be pretty sure we’re covering our daily requirements. I use the variety of colors as a guide to ensure the variety of nutrients on our plate. So I will combine this green-dominated dish with a colourful salad with white and red cabbage, carrot and pepper.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ghee or olive oil
• 1 kg free range beef, cut into chunks
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 leeks, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 750 ml approx broth or water, heated
• 2 tsp coriander, crushed
• Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 broccoli, divided into florets
• Salt and pepper

Heat a heavy bottomed pan well. Dry the meat well and lightly season. Add the oil to the pan and saute the meat from on sides in batches. Keep the meat aside and add the onion and leek to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic with the coriander and immediately after that, add the meat. Stir well and add enough hot broth, so that it almost covers the meat. Lower the heat and let it simmer until the meat is done, about 1 hour. Check in between, in case you need to add a little hot broth or water.

Peel the main stem of the broccoli and cut it into slices. Stir the mustard into the lemon juice until it dissolves well. Once the meat is done, add the lemon with the mustard and the broccoli stem and stir well. Arrange the broccoli florets over the meat so that they cook in the steam of the sauce. Cover and let the broccoli steam for 10 minutes until cooked through. Adjust the seasoning and serve warm with the lemon zest.