Prominent in food articles is advice to cut back on the portion size of meat and to increase the amount of vegetables on the plate. A lean ground beef was used and any fat produced was dabbed off with a paper towel at the end of cooking. Alternatively, you could brown the meat in a separate and pour off any fat before adding to the veg. the eggplant, also known as aubergine was cut into slices, placed in a colander, sprinkled with salt and left for an hour before rinsing under the tap.This draws out the moisture and makes for a better flavor. The other vegetables were zucchini and tomatoes. I cut the zucchini into tiny cubes using my great gadget – Fullstar 4 in 1 Chopper Plus (what you do is slice the zucchini, then place 2 slices on the metal chopper (very sharp!) and press the lid down. It doesn’t chop all vegetables so I did the eggplant by hand but made sure the pieces were the same size. https://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Chopper-Spiralizer-Slicer-Choppers/dp/B0764HS4SL
You can serve the ragu as you would a Bolognese sauce or serve it in a bowl like chili with a salad on the side.
1 tbsp. olive oil seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion – finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic – grated
1 pound of lean ground beef
2 medium to large zucchini – diced small
1 medium eggplant – sliced and diced into small pieces
1 x 28 oz. can of tomatoes – San Marzano brand, if possible, and they will need breaking up so you don’t get whole tomatoes in the ragu
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven until just sizzling. Add the onion and let soften and brown just a little before mixing in the garlic.
Next tip in the ground beef and sear, then come the zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes.
Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
