Beef cooked in tomato sauce accompanied by rice

This is a favourite food of mine, especially if accompanied by French fries or chips. But as I am constantly trying to restrict myself, I ate it with rice to reduce the calories!! Hehe: as if the problem is the potatoes, in case I eat a couple of portions of this delicious plate!

In order to succeed in this, you have to use a good quality and soft piece of beef, like the eye of round or the flatiron.

Ingredients: 1 kg of beef, 1 grated onion, 1 clove of garlic grated (optional), 0.5 ltr of tomato juice (use homemade, if you have), 1 tsp of tomato paste, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 small glass of red wine, ½ cup of olive oil, salt and pepper

In your pot, you sauté the onion and the garlic (if you decide to use a clove), with the tomato paste in medium fire, in the olive oil. You then put the beef in pieces or slices and sauté well for about 10’. You put the wine and let the alcohol evaporate. You put the rest of the ingredients and ½ cup of water.

If you use a power cooker, you now close it and let the food cook in medium fire for approximately 30’.

If you use a regular pot, the cooking will take approximately a couple of hours and you should regularly check if the water suffices (in the beginning, the liquids should cover the meat). Once ready you remove the cinnamon sticks.

For 2 portions of rice I used 1 cup of rice, 3 cups of water, salt, 1tsp of butter and a handful of pine nuts

I boil the rice in the salted water using a small pot, strain it and cool it under the tap water. In the pot I put the butter and the pine nuts, let them get a little brown in medium fire, turn off the heat and put the rice back in the pot and stir.

Enjoy!