Balsamic Slow Cooked Beef - low FODMAP

This Balsamic Roast Beef recipe is simple and delicious. You'll definitely want left overs for the next day. This serves 6-8 and is best served with mashed potatoes (so you can smother them in gravy) and vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1kg boneless roast beef (I ask for chuck from the butcher)
• 1 cup beef broth (I make up a cup of gravy with gravy mix and water)
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped (omit for low FODMAP recipe)

Method:

1. Place the roast into the slow cooker
2. In a 2 cup measuring jug - mix together all remaining ingredients
3. Pour over the roast
4. Cook on high for 4hrs or on low for 6-8hrs
5. Serve on a platter and pull it apart. It is so tender it shreds.

For the gravy: Just before serving I scoop out 2 ladles of the sauce and place in a small saucepan on the stove top. I add some corn flour to thicken. You won't need any gravy mix or other flavouring as the sauce is very flavoursome.  D-E-L-icious  XD

This is the beef before cooking

Spicy Pulled Pork

This is the first roast pork I've ever made. Yes! I know…hard to believe, right!? I've never been a huge pork fan and will only eat if when visiting my parents as Dad is a fabulous cook and his pork is amazing. Anyway recently a girlfriend brought over a Pulled Pork for a get-together we were having. It was so delicious it was devoured within minutes. I didn't quite eat all of it - there were about 15 people here lol but I did enjoy a huge serving.

I decided I would try to cook it myself. Having never cooked a roast pork before, I was apprehensive. I found an easy recipe online and adapted it to suit my needs and made it tonight. It was TO DIE FOR!!! The recipe is pretty spicy so if you don't like it hot, reduce the cracked pepper and the chilli quantities for a more subtle hit! This served 8 with vegetables on the side. I served ours with roast potatoes and some greens.

You will need at least 3 hours marinating time to begin with, but I marinated ours overnight so it's up to you how long you want to leave it in the lovely marinade for, but I recommend at least 3 hours. The longer the better.

Ingredients:

• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 and 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 4 whole cloves
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 125ml (½ cup) lime juice
• 80ml (⅓ cup) orange juice
• 2kg boneless pork shoulder roast, rind removed, excess fat trimmed

Method:

• Combine the garlic, paprika, oregano, pepper, cumin, allspice, coriander, chilli, cloves, cinnamon and the combined juices in a large bowl
• Season with salt and add the pork and turn to coat
• Cover and place in the fridge for at least 3 hrs. The longer the better.
• Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius (fan forced) and place pork and marinade in a large flameproof casserole dish
• Loosely cover the surface of the pork with foil and also cover with lid
• Roast, turning half way through cooking and basting occasionally, for 3 hours or until pork is very tender
• Set aside, covered, for 30 minutes to rest
• Transfer the pork to a serving dish and using two forks, gently pull apart the flesh into shredded strips
• Pour over the sauce and serve with whatever you like because it is so damn good that nothing else matters!

D-E-L-icous  XD

 This is the pork prior to cooking

This is the pork once cooked, prior to being pulled apart

Roast Beef with Red Wine and Mushrooms

This roast, when cooked slow and on a relatively low heat turns out moist and tasty and is a hit with the family. It serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1.25kg blade roast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Rock salt & freshly ground pepper
• 250ml dry red wine
• 2 cups mushrooms, halved

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 150 degrees for 10mins
2. Place the blade roast in a small baking dish (I used a lamington tray)
3. Drizzle olive oil over the top
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Scatter the mushrooms around the outside of the beef
6. Pour the red wine over the beef
7. Cover with foil and cook on 150 degrees for 60mins
8. Remove from oven, lift foil and check with meat thermometer
9. Depending on how rare you like your beef, you can either eat it at this point, or cook for a further 30mins
10. Serve with the mushrooms scooped over the top.

Once cooked and using some of the juices from the baking tray which contains the red wine and mushrooms - make a gravy by warming it on the stove with either flour or gravox. Yummy! Very nice served with cous cous and steamed greens. D-E-L-icious.  XD

Here is the roast prior to cooking with the mushrooms in red wine.