Tortellini with Chunky Beef Sauce
Try this Tortellini with Chunky Beef Sauce recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Tortellini with Chunky Beef Sauce recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- salt to season
- 1 x 625g | 22oz packet tortellini any flavour
- 500 g lean beef fillet (scotch or eye fillet) cut into palm-sized pieces
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic (or 3 garlic cloves minced)
- 1 red capsicum/bell pepper seeded, washed and roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled washed and chopped
- 500 g | 1lbs lean ground beef mince
- 1 x 420g | 15oz can condensed tomato soup (or crushed
- 2 tablespoons vegetable stock powder (i love vegeta)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley divided
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese to serve
- Carbohydrate 4.53619891441642 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.0342506249964236 g
- Fiber 0.230543745101022 g
- Protein 0.233279999898203 g
- Saturated Fat 0.00660174999865949 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (135g)
- Sodium 5.07587499750801 mg
- Sugar 4.3056551693154 g
- Trans Fat 0.01039506249889 g
- Calories 18 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook pasta in a large saucepan/pot of boiling, salted water, following packet directions, until just tender. Drain and return to saucepan.
- Meanwhile, in a separate large sized frying pan, fry the beef fillet in batches with cooking oil spray until browned on both sides and cooked to your liking. Remove from pan and keep warm.
- In the same pan, fry the onion, garlic, capsicum/peppers and carrot on medium heat until onion is transparent.
- Add the beef and cook stirring, while breaking up the mince.
- Once meat is browned, add the condensed soup (or sauce of choice), tomato paste and vegetable stock powder, and cook until sauce begins to thicken and ingredients are soft. (Pour in ¼ - ½ cup water if sauce is too thick).
- Add the pre-cooked beef fillets into the sauce, lower heat, and allow to simmer for a further 5 - 10 minutes (more for tougher cuts of fillet, until tender).
- Season with salt to suit your tastes and add half of the parsley.
- Turn off heat and pour the meat mixture into the same pan as the tortellini. Mix until combined.
- Sprinkle with cheese and extra parsley.
When working with both ground mince and whole fillet pieces in a single pan, crowding is the primary obstacle to achieving good color. Searing the lean beef fillet in distinct batches prevents steam from pooling around the meat, allowing the exterior to develop a proper browned crust rather than graying in its own juices. Once the aromatics soften and the ground beef browns, condensed soup and vegetable stock powder create a quick simmering base without requiring hours of traditional stock reduction. Simmering the sliced fillet in this tomato mixture for five to ten minutes gently finishes the cooking process while infusing the meat with savory depth. Salt adjustments should happen only after the canned soup and stock powder have fully dissolved and concentrated, preventing accidental over-salting during the initial reduction. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, though the pasta will continue to absorb liquid, requiring a splash of water when reheating on the stovetop.
