Low and Slow....

1 ½ kilos of grasped gravy beef or shin – cut up into bite size pieces

2 stalks of celery

2 carrots – peeled

1 large onion or 2 small – peeled

4 cloves of garlic – crushed

2 sprigs of rosemary

small handful of sage

100g butter

1 ½ cups of red wine

2 x 400g tins of crushed tomatoes

1L Love and Bones Beef Broth

salt & pepper to taste

COOK IT:

pre-heat the oven to 150c

prep all your ingredients, because once the meat is browned it’s all pretty fast

Ok, get your pot really hot and then add the butter and start browning your meat in small batches – this is the bit that takes the longest, making sure your meat collects a lot of colour without burning

I ended up finishing browning my meat in 3 batches – remove meat into a separate bowl while you cook the veg mixture

If for some reason your pot looks a bit burnt from the browning of the meat, wash it. But if it looks like mine (see photo below) continue….

pop your, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, sage and rosemary (minus the stalks) in a food processor and blitz till very fine (this is your base for the stew)

into the pot with a little extra butter and cook till fragrant 

throw your meat back in and give it a good stir, pour in your wine and cook it off till that really sharp alcohol smell is gone – about 10min

 then in goes the tomatoes and the broth – stir well and put it in the oven and forget about it till dinner. It needs at least 3 hours, but It will happily cook for 4-5 hours as long as you have the right kind of meat (with lots of connective tissue) and turn it to the lowest heat (120c)

I serve it with a cheesy wet polenta, mashed potato or baked sweet potato or eat it all by itself!