By Christine Salins.
Spring has most definitely arrived but dishes cooked low and slow are still gracing our table.
We’re not quite ready to give up these hearty winter-warmers that are so easy to prepare, with everything thrown together in a pot that you can pop into the oven and set and forget for a few hours.
Slow-cooked dishes make good use of cheaper cuts of meat, the long, slow cooking transforming it into tender flavoursome meat that melts in the mouth. The end result works equally well for entertaining as it does for everyday dining.
This Jason Roberts’ recipe benefits from using a good, rich beef stock with a generous splash of brandy and red wine. Most reds would work well but we enjoyed it with a bottle of Leconfield 2019 McLaren Vale Shiraz (RRP $26) so naturally some went into the dish too.
This rich, full-bodied, elegant wine has hints of coffee, plums and black olives, the flavours nicely complementing the flavours in the dish and the wine’s robustness standing up well to such a hearty dish.
Season the dish to taste then garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve with a big helping of mashed potato or buttered pasta.
Beef with Almonds and Green Olives
Serves 4 to 6
1.2 kg braising beef (oyster blade), trimmed and cut into 4cm cubes
50 mls olive oil
50 mls brandy
100 g green olives
100 g slivered almonds
2 medium brown onions, peeled and quartered
2 large tomatoes, skinned and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 carrot, cut into 4 pieces
500 mls beef stock
250 mls red wine
salt and pepper
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 140 degrees Celsius.
Lightly season beef with salt and pepper and heat olive oil in a heavy based pan over medium-high heat.
Add beef and brown on all sides. Add brandy to pan (taking care that the saucepan may flame up). When the alcohol has reduced, add the onion, tomato, almonds and olives.
Toss in the garlic and carrots and pour in the red wine and stock and bring to the boil.
Turn off the heat and seal with a lid or foil to stop the moisture from being lost. Place into the oven for 1½ to 2 hours. The meat should have no resistance in it when pushing a skewer into it.
Skim the top of the sauce with a ladle to remove any fat, otherwise this will hide the beautiful characteristics of both the wine and meat.
Recipe courtesy of Meat & Livestock Australia.
