Serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
80g butter
1kg diced stewing beef
150g smoked pancetta lardons
16 shallots, peeled
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp of tomato puree
1 bottle of red wine (high in tannin – like
Malbec or Shiraz)
400ml beef stock
1 sprig of rosemary
1 bay leaf
50g good quality dark chocolate
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD:
Pre-heat the oven to 120oC fan.
Place a large casserole dish over a medium heat and add 40g of butter. When the butter has melted
turn up the heat and add in the beef and brown on all sides and season with salt and pepper. Then
transfer them into a bowl and set aside.
Place the remaining 40g of butter in the casserole dish and add the bacon lardons. When the bacon
lardons are crisp add the shallots, followed by the whole cloves of garlic.
Stir in the sliced mushrooms, and the tomato puree and cook for a further a 3 minutes.
Place the beef back in the dish, pour in a bottle of red wine, followed by the beef stock, sprig of
rosemary and a bay leaf. Cover the dish and cook in the pre-heated oven for 3-4 hours.
30 minutes before the end add 50g of broken pieces of dark chocolate. This creates a velvety texture
and smoky flavour.
Serve with buttery mashed potato, a bowl of green leaf salad and a jar of mustard.
