Mexican Mince & Butternut Squash Rice Bowl - Recipe

Serves

Prep in

10 minutes

Cooks in

20 minutes

Many of you may have come across vegetable noodles (noodles, courgetti etc) and cauliflower rice but have you dabbled in the rest of the veggie world? I’m a massive fan of using starchier vegetables such as squashes, beetroot, sweet potatoes and carrots in one pot dishes as they not only quarter the cooking time but they also add bags of extra nutrients and flavour. Oh and if you happen to be watching your waistline or need to consider glycemic load they also cut back on calories and bring the carbohydrate content down.

Here I’ve paired delightfully crispy mince with the sweetness of the butternut squash, all sautéed together with leeks, fresh tomatoes, some lovely spices and broccoli, finished off with cubes of creamy avocado and zingy coriander. This makes the perfect weeknight meal as you can go from staring blankly into the fridge to finished dish in 30 minutes (including chopping time!) and don’t stop there, once you’re on a rice based roll, go with it and get experimenting!

Key Facts

Simple & Delicious
Low Carb
Weeknight Saviour
Family Friendly

Ingredients

450g butternut squash
250g organic grass-fed beef mince
2 cloves garlic
1 small red chilli (or to taste)
1 leek
10 cherry tomatoes
175g broccoli florets
1 avocado
large handful fresh coriander
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika

Preparation

01

Use a coarse cheese grater to ‘rice’ your squash and leave to one side.

02

Slice your leeks, finely mince the garlic and chilli, halve the cherry tomatoes and chop the broccoli florets into small pieces.

03

Warm a large frying pan on a high heat, once hot add your mince and use a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Cook for 2-3 minutes until browned. Try not to stir it too much at this point, it won’t stick if you leave it to sizzle and brown but if you try and stir the pan will cool down and it will start to boil instead. Turn out onto a plate.

04

Turn the heat down and add your leeks into the same pan with 1/4 tsp coconut oil, let them gently soften for 6-8 minutes then add the broccoli florets. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the broccoli begins to cook.

05

Return your mince to the pan with the cumin, garlic, chilli and paprika, stir well to coat everything then add the butternut squash, cherry tomato halves and season with pepper.

06

Pop a lid on for 5 minutes, give it a good stir then put the lid back on whilst you cube the avocado and finely chop the coriander.

07

Give everything another good mix and check the seasoning. Remove from the heat, quickly toss through the avocado cubes and serve topped with a generous coriander dusting.