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Cheesy Mexican Style Beef

Cheesy Mexican Style Beef

Embark on a flavorful journey with Cheesy Mexican Style Beef—a tantalizing fusion of robust spices, savory beef, and crispy roasted potatoes, crowned with melted cheddar. Elevate your dining experience with this vibrant and satisfying dish, complemented by zesty guacamole and creamy sour cream. Delight in the taste of Mexico from your own kitchen!

Makes 2 people · Prep 15 mins · Cook 45 mins · 13 ingredients · 13 steps

Ingredients

  • 3 large potatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 250g beef mince
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 1/2 tsp Ras El Hanout spice mix
  • 200g finely chopped tomatoes
  • 50ml water
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 lime
  • 50g cheddar cheese
  • 1 small pot of sour cream

Method

  1. Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 200°C.
  2. Chop the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 2cm chunks (no need to peel).
  3. Roast the potatoes. Place the potatoes on a large baking tray, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then spread out in a single layer and roast on the top shelf of your oven until golden, 25-30 mins, turning halfway through cooking.
  4. Chop the onion. Meanwhile, halve, peel, and chop the onion into small pieces.
  5. Chop the pepper. Halve the pepper, discard the core and seeds, then roughly chop.
  6. Brown the mince. Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef mince and cook until browned, 4-5 mins, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
  7. Soften the vegetables. Add the pepper and onion to the beef, stir together and cook until softened, 5-7 mins, stirring occasionally - season with salt and pepper.
  8. Grate in the carrot. While the vegetables cook, trim the ends of the carrot, peel and grate it (no need to peel). Once the vegetables have softened, add the carrot to the pan and cook until softened, 3-4 mins.
  9. Add the spice and tomatoes. Stir the Ras El Hanout spice mix into the beef and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and water.
  10. Simmer the sauce. Stir in the beef stock cube, bring to the boil then reduce the heat to medium. Allow to simmer and thicken, stirring occasionally until there is almost no liquid left, 12-15 mins.
  11. Slice the avocado. Meanwhile, slice lengthways into the avocado. Once you reach the stone, turn the avocado around to cut it in half. Twist each half and pull it apart. Remove the stone then scoop out the insides into a bowl. Halve the lime and add a squeeze of juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mash with a fork. Taste and add more salt, pepper and lime juice if required.
  12. Grate the cheese. Grate the cheese.
  13. Bake and serve. Once the sauce has thickened, spoon the beef mixture into an ovenproof dish. Top with the roasted potato and sprinkle over the cheddar cheese. Place on the top shelf of your oven and bake until the cheese has melted and is nice and golden, 10-12 mins.

Good to know

  • Serve with a dollop of guacamole and sour cream.
  • When cooking the potatoes, use two baking trays if necessary to ensure even cooking.
  • You could also use a different spice mix instead of Ras El Hanout, such as Cajun or Mexican.
  • If you don't have time to cook the potatoes from scratch, you could use potato wedges instead.