Ground Beef With Vegetables – Saudi Recipe

Name: Ground Beef with Vegetables
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1/2 k lean ground beef; 1 medium-sized onion (diced); 1 small tomato (diced); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1/2 cup diced carrots; 1/2 cup diced zucchini; 1/2 cup diced sweet potatoes; or 1/2 cup diced pumpkin; 1/2 cup green beans (cut to 1/2″); 2 tbsps vegetable oil; Salt and pepper to taste; 1 tbsp turmeric; 1 tbsp baharat; 4 tbsp chopped parsley or coriander; 1-1/2 cups water; 1/2 cup tomato paste (mixed with 1/2 cup water)

How I found this recipe for ground beef with vegetables

Ground beef with vegetables is a recipe that comes to mind when I needed to save time or if I am in a hurry. This recipe frequents my kitchen especially on lazy days, as it is easy to prepare and cook. This is good if you want a quick dinner recipe that is also a complete meal. This is obviously from the kitchen of my mother-in-law, and its distinct mixed spice called “baharat” or “ibharat” in the local language, makes this recipe simply authentic.

Is ground beef with vegetables healthy?

Apart from the fact that from ground meat, we can create several recipe ideas, adding vegetables to it makes this perfect meal a healthy one. Beef has protein while vegetables, depending on your choice, are low in calories and good sources of many nutrients, including potassium, fibers, vitamins A and C.

I have at least two versions of ground beef with vegetables. I titled this one “Saudi recipe” because that is the main identifying difference in the two recipes. The other one is Filipino – supposedly – but I admit that it tastes more like a Chinese recipe. You may want to take a look at that one recipe as well.

Ingredients

Ingredients for this recipe depend on whatever vegetables reigns in your kitchen. In my case mostly, it is the ones that are not too popular, aka close to becoming overripe or you name it… those that are about to say goodbye! Ha-ha! As vegetables are naturally healthy, fresh, of course, should be the top choice.

The following are the veggies I used in the recipe:

green beans – can be replaced with string beans
carrots – do not omit this, this is nice!
zucchini – young bottle gourd, chayote are possible replacements; bottle gourd will take a bit more time to cook, so should go along with carrots
pumpkin – sweet potatoes, potatoes, or squash are possible replacements
bell peppers – green or the sweet variety (red, yellow, orange)
cauliflower or corn kernels

How to cook ground beef with vegetables

This recipe is straightforward. It is more like sauteing garlic and onions at the beginning of cooking, however, you would add more time for the onions to cook, i.e., until they are golden. Then the baharat goes after that and before the vegetables in the order of which ones cook longer. In any case, the recipe is done in less than half an hour – about 20 minutes.

How to serve ground beef with vegetables

This dish is usually served by my MIL with pita bread but is also good with rice – steamed white rice, or fried rice, even brown rice. We have also tried them with dinner rolls and it remains to be perfect.

How to keep leftover ground beef with vegetables

This can be kept in a tight-lid container in the fridge for about a week. This can also be kept in the freezer for about a month, thawed, and reheated in a casserole dish or deep pan over medium heat.

Cooking tips:

Let the baharat and turmeric cook with the onions, while stirring, for about a minute. this elicits all the nice flavors the dish can potentially give.
Add chopped tomatoes with the first set of vegetables for thicker and saucier results; or half a cup tomato sauce near the end of cooking.
Skip salt altogether would not tamper with the taste of the dish completely. I cheat by putting another type of seasoning (LOL), like beef cubes.
Replace water with a cup of beef broth and forget about the cubes!
Adding a pinch of sugar will give this recipe a nice twist.
Lean ground beef, apart from being a healthier choice, will lessen cooking time.
Pepper flakes can be added before serving; completely optional.
Frozen veggies, if you prefer them, are best with this other ground beef recipe.
Convert this into soup very easily by adding more water, oatmeal or sour cream, and a bit more spices (or simply season with salt, if you feel that the spices you have there are already enough).
This goes best with cauliflower rice.