As a child I loved braised steak, so it was one of the first things I tried cooking after being a vegetarian for so many years (strangely the first thing I cooked was lamb shanks!). I guess I love slow cooked meats that melt in the mouth. Vegetarians are not used to chewing! The plus side is that slow cooked meats are really nutritious and good for you – especially if you cook them on the bone.

For this dish I bought a piece of beef shin on the bone, which is a really cheap cut of meat. The marrow melts away into the broth whist cooking which gives off a great flavour.

Its a simple recipe – and I use a cast iron pot with tight lid to cook it in. I have a slow cooker built into my over so I just whack it in there overnight, but you can cook this in the over for a few hours or any other kind of slow/pressure cooker. Just cook it until it falls apart easily.

Start by gently frying some bacon rashers in the cooking pot, once you have some fat in there take the bacon out and add onions/shallots. Then add some carrots and continue to fry but gently so as not to brown anything. After five minutes or so add some garlic. Meanwhile I had some homemade beef broth warming up in a saucepan. Try to use a microwave as little as possible!

 

Wash and then flour your piece of meat – I used cassava flour. Then sear the meat on both sides in the pot – just push those veggies to the side. Take the meat out and place on a plate nearby. I then added a stick of cinnamon to the pot along with a bay leaf and some fresh thyme and rosemary, then poured in a small glass of red wine.

Wine is an option! I do not drink much alcohol these days but my other half does so it was there for the taking! The alcohol gets burnt off so it’s just a flavour thing really! Gently boil that for a few mins. Then add the broth (or stock if you would prefer to use that). Cooking with homemade broth is the best – I will do another post on making your own bone broth. Its so easy, very cheap and NUTRITIOUS!

Once the liquid is bubbling away, place the meat in (it should be covered). Pop on the lid to your pot (or use double tin foil if you have no lid) and whack it in the oven. Season with salt and pepper (if you use those) or you can add the cooked bacon into the pot whilst cooking (this will give it some saltiness). Serve with some greens.

This dish tastes even better after a day in the fridge – let those flavours make friends overnight!