I love using vegetables in place of grain based staples like rice, pasta and even couscous. The result is lighter, fresher and usually much quicker! While the broccoli here does make this dish look quite healthy, it is no slouch in the flavour department! If you’re not familiar with harissa or tahini, just check out the variations below.
Broccoli ‘Couscous’ & Beef
Ingredients
- 1 large head broccoli
- 450 g ground (minced) beef
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2-3 teaspoons harissa OR hot sauce
- 4 tablespoons tahini optional
Instructions
- Chop the broccoli into large chunks and blitz in the food processor until you have super fine ‘grains’ that resemble couscous.
- Heat a little oil on a high heat in a large frying pan. Add beef and cook, stirring every now and then or until the beef is well browned.
- Add the broccoli ‘couscous’ and continue to cook until everything is hot.
- Remove pan from the heat and season with salt and lemon juice.
- In a small bowl mix harissa / hot sauce and 3 tablespoons extra olive oil.
- To serve, divide beef and broccoli between two plates. Drizzle over harissa oil and then drizzle over the tahini (if using).
Variations
no harissa or hot sauce? – just replace with chopped red chilli or other chilli paste. Just be careful with the heat levels – you may not need as much.
no tahini – tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. You could just skip it all together or use almond or cashew butter instead. Mayo would also work.
vegetarian – replace beef with cooked lentils or beans.
carb lovers / more substantial – replace broccoli with couscous cooked according to the packet. Or serve with flat bread or warm tortillas.
more substantial (low carb) – add pine nuts. Chilli oil.
more veg – toss in flat leaf parsley, coriander or mint leaves. Or serve with a green salad.
different veg – cauliflower can be used instead or try grated carrot or beets.
no food processor – try to chop the broccoli by hand as fine as you can get it.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
broccoli – will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for about 2 weeks or sometimes a little longer. Can be frozen (if you have time chop before freezing so it will defrost quickly in the pan).
ground beef (mince) – freeze it.
lemon – whole lemon will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
harissa – keep it in the pantry.
tahini – I keep mine in the pantry but will keep longer in the fridge if open.
Problem Solving Guide
too dry – use a little more olive oil and/or tahini. Next time consider using beef with a higher fat content.
bland – more salt and/or lemon juice.
broccoli too crunchy – pop it back in the pan and allow to cook for longer.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the harissa and tahini sauces separately. Will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in a pan with a little oil and top with sauces.
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Particularly good with caviar or puy lentils and rose harissa
Good to know Lisa!
I went for the vegan option of chickpeas, and fried a capsicum first before adding the broccoli ‘grains’, which I continued to heat until the smell of mown grass went away, a pleasant smell in other contexts but not one I want from my dinner plate. I only had one lemon and added the juice to the tahini (NOT optional) to make your tahini sauce. I should have then added some white wine vinegar to the broccoli, and did on the leftovers, but seasoned the ‘grains’ liberally with Tabasco brand Chipotle sauce (which wasn’t all that hot). I wound up having an avocado as well with the leftovers, which drowned out the broccoli completely. Edible, but when I want to make a ‘beef’ and broccoli dish again, I’ll make your Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry instead.
It is hard to go past a good beef & broccoli stir fry Mark 🙂
Jules, can you make this one add-able to the new inbox, please? I can make it from memory after eating so regularly, but would like to be able to add it to my weekly meal plan.
This is the recipe that introduced me to tahini. So gLad i tried it!! It’s also a great go to meal for the middle of the week because i use frozen riced broccoli as a time saver.
Lucky you having access to frozen riced broccoli Melanie – it’s yet to make its way here.
Caroline will contact you when it’s updated 🙂
Just made this tonight (missed it the week it was on the plan due to some travel). Very easy to do and very delicious!
Glad you liked it Ellie!
Jx
Made this one tonight. I was apprehensive about that much raw broccoli, but it worked a treat 🙂
Wonderful Claire!
Hi Jules, I don’t have a food processor to whizz the broccoli. Would a blender work just as well or am I better off finely chopping with a knife or grating with a box grater? I notice many of your recipes call for a food processor but I’m afraid I don’t have enough space in my tiny kitchen for another appliance. 🙁
Thanks,
Heather
P.S. Hope I can win a copy of one of your print books!
Great question Heather!
Grating or finely chopping will be your best bets.
The ‘flow’ of a blender won’t work for chopping something like this because you’ll find the broccoli gets caught up in the top and won’t reach the blades.
Jx