Lean Beef Mince Taco Bowl

Ingredients

• 500 g lean beef mince, 5% fat
• 100 ml beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 0.5 tsp chilli powder
• 0.5 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• 250 g cooked brown rice
• 100 g cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 0.5 red onion, finely diced
• plain yogurt or sour cream, cheddar, and jalapeños, to serve
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 lime, juiced
• Warm tortillas, to serve
• Fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1. Pat the mince dry with kitchen paper and season generously with salt and pepper — water means steam, and steam means no browning. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat until it shimmers and just starts to smoke.
2. Brown the mince in two batches. All at once and the pan crowds, water comes out, and you've boiled the meat instead of browning it. Press each batch into a single layer, leave it alone for 2 minutes to build a proper crust, then break it up and cook for another 3–4 minutes until deeply browned with crisp edges and no pink remaining. Return all the meat to the pan and drain off any excess fat.
3. Reduce the heat to medium. Scatter in the cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, chilli powder, and oregano, and stir for 30–60 seconds until fragrant and clinging to the meat. Bloom the spices in the fat like this — raw spices taste dusty, bloomed spices taste of themselves. Watch the garlic powder closely; if it darkens past pale gold it turns bitter.
4. Stir in the tomato purée and let it cook out for a minute, then pour in the beef stock — the liquid breaks the purée down so it tastes of tomato, not tin. Simmer for 4–5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick, glossy, and coats the mince. Taste and adjust the salt now — at the end, not at the table.
5. Tip the black beans into a small pan with a pinch of cumin and a splash of water. Warm gently for 2–3 minutes until heated through, then crush a few against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon for body.
6. For the pico, toss the cherry tomatoes and red onion with half the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Leave to sit for 5 minutes — the salt draws moisture out of the tomatoes and the onion loses its raw bite.
7. Warm the rice through in the microwave for 1–2 minutes, or in a covered pan with a splash of water. Taste a grain — a final pinch of salt wakes it up.
8. Build the bowls: spoon the rice into four bowls with the cumin black beans alongside, pile the spiced beef on top, and crown with the pico de gallo and diced avocado. Scatter over the grated cheddar, sliced jalapeños, and torn coriander leaves, add a generous dollop of soured cream, and squeeze the lime wedges over each bowl just before it hits the table.