Beef mince and pumpkin melts

Serves

Prep Time

Cook Time

Ingredients

400 g beef mince

400 ml jar tomato pasta sauce

300g peeled pumpkin, cut into 1.5 cm cubes

0.5 g grated tasty cheese

Place mince in a bowl and mix in a little oil. Heat a large frypan until moderately hot, crumble in the mince. Brown the mince, breaking up any lumps with a fork.
Stir in the tomato pasta sauce. Reduce heat, cover and simmer the beef mixture for 15-20 minutes. While beef mixture is cooking cook the pumpkin pieces until just tender.
Stir the cooked pumpkin through the beef mixture, spoon into small ovenproof bowls and sprinkle with the cheese. Preheat grill to hot and place bowls under the grill to melt the cheese.

Cook the mince until any liquid (water and fat) has evaporated, the mince can now begin to brown. Keep a check on it, as it will begin to cook fairly quickly at this stage. Keep it moving so that it browns evenly but does not dry out.
Freeze mince you don't intend to use. Uncooked mince can be frozen for 2-3 months. Rather than freezing loose mince in roundish shape as bought from the butcher lay it out flat to freeze. This is important as it allows the mince to freeze evenly and it allows the mince to thaw evenly. Cooked mince dishes can also be frozen for later use.
Thaw frozen mince (and any meat) in the fridge, on the lowest shelf below and or away from any ready to eat food. And only thaw in the microwave if using the mince immediately thereafter.