Mum’s Grass fed beef Bolognese with kale

  • 4
  • –
  • 15 minutes
  • 45 minutes

The ‘old school’ Bolognese – what home doesn’t have its own special recipe? Well I am not here to change yours if you have a winner.

Course: Dinner
Recipe contains: Nuts, Fish (Anchovy)

  • 2 tablespoons duck fat, coconut oil or other good quality fat
  • ½ brown onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ carrot, finely diced
  • ½ celery stalk, finely diced
  • 550 g grass fed beef mince or other red meat mince (venison, kangaroo, lamb or emu)
  • 200 ml dry red wine
  • 1 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 500 g tomato passata or crushed tomato
  • 1 pinch chilli flakes (optional)
  • 300 ml chicken stock
  • 4 tablespoons parsley, chopped
  • sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • Sautéed Kale
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons duck fat, ghee, coconut oil or other good quality fat
  • 2 bunches kale, stalks removed and leaves torn
  • 6 tablespoons chicken stock
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Paleo Parmesan
  • 70 g macadamia nuts (activated if possible), finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped finely
  • 1 anchovy fillet in salt, rinsed, pat dry and finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • ½ lemon, finely zested
  • sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
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But perhaps to encourage you to try it with the best possible pasture raised meat you can find as well as playing around with zucchini, parsnip and carrot noodles to replace the pasta. Oh and if you are game, try adding in some chopped liver, heart or kidneys right at the end so you don’t overcook it but just add it in at the last minute to give it a wonderful nutritional kick. The video is with my gorgeous Mum Joy and I have used emu mince as an alternative!
1

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

2

To make the paleo parmesan, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Season with a pinch of sea salt. Spread the nut mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for 5–8 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool, then set aside.

3

To make the Bolognese, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery, then cook for 4–5 minutes or until softened. Next, add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute, or until fragrant and starting to brown. Add the mince and brown for 5–6 minutes, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon into smaller pieces. Stir in the oregano and wine and cook until the wine is almost evaporated, about 4–5 minutes.

4

Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the passata, half the chicken stock, chilli flakes (if using) and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes and add the rest of the stock if needed. Toss the parsley through and keep the Bolognese sauce warm.

5

To prepare the kale, heat a large frying pan over medium–high heat, add the oil and garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the kale and chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, tossing occasionally until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. You can do this in batches if your pan is not big enough to contain all the kale.

To serve

1

Divide the sautéed kale onto 4 serving plates and top with Bolognese sauce, then sprinkle with the paleo parmesan on top.

Notes

I always add offal to bolognese, burgers and meatballs to make them even more nutritious (I usually go with about 10 per cent of the total meat quantity – in this recipe it would be about 50 g offal and 500 g beef mince). Try using minced liver, heart, marrow or brain.

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