Baked vegetable rice with minced meat

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 2 carrots
• 1 cup rice
• 1 bell pepper(s)
• 3 shallots
• 500 g minced beef
• 1 large onion(s)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup pistachios, roasted, salted and shelled
• Mustard, medium hot
• 1 cup of cream
• lots of Parmesan, grated, for gratinating
• Salt
• pepper
• Oil for frying
• Sugar for glazing

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Cook the rice according to the package instructions until al dente and set aside. Season the minced meat with salt, pepper, and mustard. Brown it well in a pan and set aside. Cut the carrots into sticks and slice the bell pepper and shallots. Finely chop the peeled pistachios with a large knife. Dice the onion. Peel and chop the garlic. The order of preparation is important. Heat a large pan (e.g., a paella pan—but it must also be ovenproof) with a little oil. First, sauté the carrots and sugar, glazing them at the same time. Then add the onions and garlic and continue sautéing. Then add the pistachios, shallots, and finally the bell pepper strips, and sauté until al dente, stirring constantly. Whenever a new ingredient is added to the pan, I make room in the middle, allowing the other ingredients to sauté on the sides of the pan while I sear the new ingredients in the center. Finally, stir in the rice and ground beef and continue to simmer. Deglaze with the cream. Sprinkle with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated oven at approximately 180°C until golden brown. Serve with a crisp salad, but this is actually a complete meal.