Five beef dinner and lunch ideas: quick, tasty and nourishing

Garlic butter beef steaks

For a beef steak with garlic butter, you need the following ingredients:

• 4 beef steaks (about 150 g each)
• 50 g butter
• 4 garlic cloves
• 25 g fresh parsley
• 500 g young potatoes
• 100 g cherry tomatoes
• grilling spice, to taste
• 100 g feta cheese
• 25 g dried oregano
• 80 ml olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Wash and peel the potatoes, then cook them in lightly salted water.

Season the steaks with olive oil and grilling spice. Peel the garlic and wash the parsley, chop the ingredients. Then, mash the herbs and garlic with softened butter into a paste.

Place potatoes and cherry tomatoes in an oven dish, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano, and roast for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan and sear the steaks until golden in color, for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with roasted potatoes and tomatoes, top with shredded feta cheese, and drizzle with garlic butter and herbs.

Beef cholent

To make beef cholent, you need these ingredients:

• 1 liter water
• 1 kg beef
• 200 g white beans
• 100 g chickpeas
• 300 g potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 6 tomatoes
• 3 medium-sized onions
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 10 allspice grains
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 0.5-1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp salt
• 100 g barley
• 80 ml olive oil
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper

Instructions:

The day before, cover the beans and chickpeas with cold water. Or you can use ready-made canned legumes. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3 cm cubes, boil them lightly, and set aside while you prepare the dish's other ingredients.

Cut the meat into 3cm cubes, sprinkle with chili flakes, nutmeg, cumin, pepper, and salt – leave to marinate for a few hours. Then fry the beef in olive oil.

Peel and cut the onion and carrot into half rings, peel and chop the garlic. Fry the vegetables in olive oil until golden in color. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water, peel, and cut into small cubes.

Layer the fried meat, onions, carrot slices, cereals, potatoes, beans, chickpeas, and tomatoes in a large cast iron or clay pot.

Add a few bay leaves and a few allspice grains. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, place the covered pot in a preheated oven at 160 degrees for about 3 hours. If the pot cannot be kept on the heat, the cholent can be cooked in a saucepan and then transferred to a baking form.

Minced beef cutlets

Minced beef cutlets (photo: Freepik)

For minced beef cutlets you need the following ingredients:

• 1 kg beef
• 100 g breadcrumbs
• 150 g white bread
• 3 garlic cloves
• 250 g onion
• 3 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 0.5 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

Cut the crust off the bread and soak the crumb in water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pass the meat and peeled onion through a meat grinder.

When the bread becomes soft, it needs to be squeezed out and also ground in a meat grinder. Mix the minced meat, bread and onion, add salt, pepper, coriander and cumin. Peel the garlic, pass it through a press and add to the minced meat.

Knead the mixture thoroughly for 4-5 minutes. Then, beat the minced meat by throwing it into the bowl several times.

Heat a frying pan with 2 tbsp oil. Meanwhile, form the cutlets by rolling them in breadcrumbs. Fry the cutlets on each side for two minutes over medium heat, until golden in color.

Grease a baking form with the remaining oil, place the beef cutlets, and bake them for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 180 degrees.

Pasta shells with minced beef

To make pasta shells with minced beef, you need these ingredients:

• 20 large pasta shells
• 300 g minced beef
• 1 tbsp meat seasoning
• 3 tbsp canned corn
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• bunch each of parsley and basil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3-5 tbsp canned tomatoes in their own juice
• 3-5 tbsp tomato paste
• 50 g sour cream
• 100 g parmesan cheese
• 4 tbsp oil

Instructions:

Cook the shells according to the recipe for about 2-3 minutes – they should be slightly firm. Then drain the water and pour 2 tbsp olive oil over the pasta, mix thoroughly, and wait until it cools.

In the remaining oil, fry the grated carrots and diced onions. When the vegetables are lightly browned, add the minced meat. Fry the meat until the liquid has completely evaporated – add the tomato paste and corn.

Fry for a few minutes, then add the meat seasoning. Fill each shell with the minced meat filling.

Mix the canned tomatoes with the chopped basil and crushed garlic, then pour into the bottom of a baking dish. Place the pasta shells on top, spread each with a little sour cream, and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the shells for 30 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle the pasta with chopped parsley.

Beef with shiitake mushrooms

For beef with shiitake mushrooms, you need the following ingredients:

• 150 g beef
• 250 ml chicken broth
• 30 g dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Shiitake mushrooms should be covered with warm water and left for 1 hour. During this time, the mushrooms should become soft.

Cut the beef into thin slices and fry over high heat for a few minutes, adding sesame oil.

Peel and chop the garlic, add it to the beef. Cut the soft mushrooms into strips, transfer to the pan, and fry for a few more minutes.

Peel and thinly slice the carrots and onions. Add the vegetables to the dish and fry the beef with mushrooms for 3 minutes.

Mix the chicken broth with the cornstarch and pour the mixture over the beef. Stir and simmer over low heat for 7 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Earlier, we wrote about how to cook vegetable casserole with meat.

Read also about how to make healthy and light pasta with tuna.