Socialist mate cooked protein-rich food (3,4)
I believe the answer is:
red meat
'food' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'socialist mate cooked protein-rich' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'socialist' could be 'red' (socialism is often associated with the colour red) and 'red' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'mate' is 'meat' which is within the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for red meat that I've seen before include "Soak up" , "Beef is one" , "beef, perhaps" , "Beef, lamb or mutton before cooking" , "beef, say?" .)