Low-Carb, Gluten-free

I really enjoy stir-fried dishes, but I really don’t enjoy the process of stir-frying. You’re stuck at the stove continuously stirring and it’s just so dang hot. But looking at the giant bag of broccoli in my fridge that I was going to roast made me wonder if it would be possible to roast some beef along with it and make beef & broccoli without the need for a wok.

I gave it a go and it worked. The prep time is the same as it would be for a stir-fry because there’s no getting around cutting up meat and veggies, but instead of being chained to the stove to cook it all, you can go and do anything else you want.

Ingredients:

3 lb of broccoli florets (this is one of the big bags available at Costco)

2 lb of beef, thinly sliced (I’m not picky about cuts, but remove fat)

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

3 T minced garlic

1/4 C. olive oil

salt and pepper

Sauce:

1/4 C. Tamari sauce (or the soy sauce equivalent of your choice)

3/4 C. Hot water

1 T Beef Better Than Bouillon 

1 packet Splenda (or sweetener of your choice equivalent to 2 tsp. sugar)

1 tsp sesame oil

Xanthan gum

Preheat the oven to 425º

Get a very large bowl, and add in the broccoli, sliced beef, onion, and garlic. The broccoli should be roughly bite-sized and the beef should be in thin bite-sized slices. For the onion, cut it in thin slivers, and then cut the long slivers in half.

Pour the olive oil over everything, and lightly add salt and pepper to taste. Go light on the salt because the sauce is quite salty. Mix everything in the bowl as thoroughly as you can. The easiest way is to just use your hands.

Spread the contents of the bowl equally and evenly across two rimmed baking sheets and rinse your bowl for later.

Roast at 425° for 25-30 minutes. Getting some caramelization on the broccoli is both expected and desirable, so don’t worry if it browns.

While your beef and broccoli are roasting, combine all the sauce ingredients except the xanthan gum. I find a Pyrex measuring cup is the easiest container to use. When everything is mixed, sprinkle just a bit of xanthan gum lightly over the top and then stir it in well. Continue to add just a little at a time until the sauce thickens. Try not to over-thicken it because it is unappetizing.

When the broccoli and beef are done, remove them from the oven and put everything, including all the juices, back in the large bowl. Pour your sauce over the top and stir until it’s combined. The juices from cooking should incorporate into the sauce.

Serve over rice, mock rice, miracle rice/noodles, or shirataki noodles. I tried miracle rice for the first time with this, and it was pretty good. Given the price of cauliflower lately, miracle rice doesn’t seem as exorbitantly expensive as it once did.

This was my husband’s plate, hence the steamed rice.