Warming Persian-Style Beef & Lentil Stew With Feta And Brown Rice

Rinse your brown rice, add it to a pot with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20-25 min or until it's tender with a slight bite

Once cooked, drain, return it to the pot and keep covered until serving

Peel and finely chop your brown onion[s]

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium heat

Once hot, add the chopped onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 6-8 min or until softened

Meanwhile, peel and finely chop (or grate) your garlic

Chop your tomato[es] finely

Drain and rinse your green lentils

Boil half a kettle

Once the onion has softened, increase the heat to medium-high and add your beef mince with a generous grind of black pepper

Cook for 3-4 min or until browned all over, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go

Meanwhile, dissolve your beef stock mix and tomato paste in 200ml [275ml] [350ml] boiled water – this is your tomato stock

Crush your cardamom pod[s] open by squashing with the side of a knife

Once the beef mince has browned, add the crushed cardamom pod[s], ground coriander, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, chopped garlic and chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 min or until the tomatoes begin to break down

Add the drained green lentils, tomato stock and a generous pinch of salt to the pan with the beef mince and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15-18 min or until thickened and the beef mince is cooked through (no pink meat!) – this is your warming Persian-style beef & lentil stew

Whilst the stew is cooking, wash your spinach

Add the spinach to the pan and cook, covered, for 1-2 min or until the spinach is wilted