Nose to tail

Here’s a way to spice up your traditional meat and three veg and curb waste

Nose-to-tail eating is an affordable and great way to curb food waste, plus it’s nutritious. Offal (organ meat) in particular is a nutritional powerhouse packed full of all the vitamins and minerals which are key for optimising health and wellbeing.

Not only are these cuts nutrient dense, the nutrients are very bioavailable, which means your body can easily absorb all the goodness, so you don’t need a lot of offal in one sitting to reap the nutritional benefits.

Kiwis looking to jazz up their classic “meat and three veg” and get more nutrition into every bite could step out of their comfort zone and experiment with some nose-to-tail cooking.

Beef + Lamb NZ has developed the most delicious steak and kidney pie recipe which is a great introduction to cooking nose-to-tail. Not only is it a delicious winter warming recipe the whole family can enjoy, it is high in iron to boost immunity during the winter months.

STEAK & KIDNEY PIE

By Regina Wypych, registered nutritionist, Beef + Lamb New Zealand

Ingredients

■ 2 small leeks or one large, white part only (TIP: wash and keep the green part to use for stock)

■ 1 red capsicum

■ 8 large button mushrooms

■ 1 large stalk celery – finely sliced (optional)

■ 1⁄2 tsp crushed garlic

■ 1⁄2 Tbsp fresh thyme – finely chopped

■ 3 Tbsp olive oil

■ 600 g steak and kidney (about 2/3 steak, 1/3 kidney) (TIP: Butchers often sell steak and kidney chopped as a mix in this proportion)

■ 1⁄4 cup flour

■ 1⁄2 tsp salt

■ 1⁄4 tsp freshly ground pepper

■ 1⁄2 cup red wine

■ 3⁄4- 1 cup of beef stock

■ 1⁄4 cup fresh parsley – roughly chopped

■ 2-3 sheets flaky pastry

■ 1 Tbsp poppy seeds

■ 1 egg

Method

Wash leeks, and quarter and slice the white part. In a high-sided frypan with a lid, fry leeks in 1 Tbsp of olive oil till golden but not brown (about 5 mins). Add chopped capsicums, celery, sliced mushrooms, thyme, garlic and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Continue frying until mushrooms are softened (about 8 mins). Transfer vegetables to a plate.

Cut any larger steak pieces so all are around 3cm in length. If kidneys are not already chopped, slice them into 2cm sizes, removing any fat.

Mix flour, salt and pepper on a plate and toss steak and kidney pieces through the flour mix, so they are lightly but evenly coated.

Add last tablespoon of olive oil to the frypan, and over a medium heat, brown steak and kidney (about 3 minutes). Do this in two batches.

Once browned, return the vegetables to the frypan, add the red wine and beef stock.

Turn down heat to low and cook on stove top for about 40 minutes, till steak is soft but still holds its form. (TIP: alternatively, you can pop all this in the crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours)

Allow to cool until steam has evaporated (20-30 minutes) or until completely cool if you have time. Stir parsley through meat mixture.

Turn oven to 200C. Using a 20cm pie dish, roll out one sheet of pastry on a lightly floured bench to cover the bottom and sides with some pastry hanging over the sides. Brush the overlapping edge with a little egg wash (whisk egg with a fork). Fill the pie with the filling. TIP: if your pie dish has deep sides you may need to use 11⁄2-2 sheets of pastry for the base.

Roll the second sheet of pastry big enough to cover the top of the pie, place on top and crimp edges, it’s a rustic pie so simple thumb presses is fine. Turn any excess pastry into some decorative shapes for the top.

Brush top of pie with egg wash and sprinkle over poppy seeds. Make a small slash over the top of pastry (for steam to escape). Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.

Serve with your favourite vegetables. —