Ingredients
- 1kg beef shin (hough), boned, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 celery sticks, trimmed and chopped
- 2 red onions, peeled and chopped
- 2 x 400g tin plum tomatoes
- 1 small handful dried porcini
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 to 5 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 500ml Chianti
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to season
- To serve: Mashed potato / Crusty bread with butter, if desired
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 F / Gas Mark 4.
- Place a flame-proof casserole dish onto the hob, add the olive oil and gently fry the garlic, carrots, celery, onions, porcini, cinnamon and herbs until softened slightly (approximately 5 minutes).
- Season the plain flour with a little salt and pepper, then lightly dust the beef pieces with the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Next, add the beef to the casserole dish and mix well, then pour in the tomatoes and wine before adding a pinch of salt and pepper and stir. Gently bring the contents of the casserole dish to the boil, cover with a double-thickness layer of tinfoil and pop the lid on and cook in the oven for 3 hours, or until the beef is very tender and able to be broken up with a spoon.
- Approximately 30 minutes before the stew is ready, If required, begin cooking the potatoes for the mashed potato.
- Once cooked, taste the stew and season with salt and pepper as required. Remove the cinnamon stick and rosemary sprigs, and serve on warm plates with mashed potato, or crusty bread and butter (if desired).