In these last days of winter nothing is more comforting than a scrumptious stew. Slowly cooking away in the oven the shin beef practically melts with a fork and takes on all the flavors around it.

Served best with some mashed root veg and wilted spinach.

 

Note: Some butchers call shin beef “Gravy Beef” – same cut :)

 

 

 

Olive oil

2 spanish/red onions, peeled and roughly chopped

3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

3 sticks of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and left whole

A few sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

1kg shin beef, cut into 5cm pieces – large chunks work well for this dish, no need to dice it into cubes as it starts to fall apart in the oven.

1 tablespoon flour

2 x 400g tins of whole unpeeled Italian tomatoes

500 ml red wine – I’ve been cooking with a light bodied Chianti that gives fantastic results.

 

 

4 medium washed potatoes

1 swede

Milk

Butter

Salt & pepper

 

Serve with wilted baby spinach leaves

 

 

Preheat you oven to 180 degrees Celsius

 

In a heavy bottomed oven proof sauce pan heat a splash of olive oil on the stove and gently fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves and cinnamon stick for 5 minutes until softened slightly.

 

Meanwhile, toss the beef pieces in a the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.

 

Add the meat to the pan and stir everything together

 

Add the tomatoes, wine and a pinch of salt and pepper

 

Gently bring it to the boil, then cover with a tight fitting lid and drop it in the oven for 3 hours. When you pull it out the beef will be so tender you won’t need a knife!

 

Remember to remove the rosemary sprigs, cinnamon stick and bay leaves before serving!

 

For the root veg, peel the swede and cut into chunks along with the potatoes. Boil in salted water until tender, drain and mash as you would mashed potatoes. The addition of the swede gives the mash a stronger flavor that matches this dish perfectly.

 

For the wilted spinach – heat a fry pan on the stove over a medium heat. You don’t need to add any oil the pan, just throw in a large bunch of baby spinach leaves with a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn with a pair of tongs until wilted.