February Recipe 2009

Daube Of Beef

Ingredients: Serves 6

• 2 kg Feather blade, Shin or Ox Cheek
• 500g Whole Pancetta
• 200g Mushrooms sliced
• 175g Carrots sliced
• 175g Leeks sliced
• 175g Celery sliced
• 300g Onion sliced
• 250g Tomatoes halved
• 1g Bay leaves
• 4g Thyme
• 8 black peppercorns, in number.
• 1 star anise
• 200ml Brandy
• 750mls Port
• 750ml Red wine
• 1 kg veal stock
• 1.5kg chicken stock
• 200mls of vegetable oil
• Small amount of dripping or vegetable Oil

To serve
A few handfuls of pearl onions and button mushrooms
Small amount of Olive Oil
Sprinkling of chopped parsley
Mashed potato

Method:
Cut your choice of meat into large pieces, you are going to braise the meat so it will be very tender, if the pieces are cut too small they are likely to break up too much and the finished dish will not have the same texture.

• Put 200ml of vegetable oil in a large pan, pre-heat the pan then brown off the meat and pancetta
• Remove the pan from the heat and take the meat and pancetta out, place into a large pot.
• Place pan back on the heat then add 300mls red wine and scrap the caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan. (Deglaze).
• Add the rest of the wine, port and brandy to the pan and flame it by setting light to it with a match. Be very careful when doing this as the flames do rise quite high.
• Boil until the alcohol is reduced to a syrup then pour into the large pot with the meat.
• In a clean pan using a small amount of dripping or vegetable oil fry off the celery, leek & carrot
• In a second clean pan fry off the onion and star anise
• In a third clean pan fry off the mushrooms

*All the vegetables should be coloured and almost caramelised.

• The tomatoes should be cut in half and placed face down in a pan with olive oil and a little sugar. Place in the oven at 170Ί for approximately 30 mins until caramelised. Check after 20 mins, to ensure they don’t burn. Deglaze with a splash of water.

• Add all the ingredients together in a large pot and cover with the stock. Simmer on low heat for approximately 2 hours until the meat is tender. Once cooked, let it cool whilst still in the stock.
• Remove meat and bacon from the stock, pass stock through a fine sieve place into a clean pan and boil it down by about 2/3, skimming any impurities that appear on top, until it is sauce consistency (similar to the consistency of the gravy you have with your Sunday lunch.

• Cut the pancetta into bite size pieces. Place the beef and pancetta in a pan with the sauce, heat until hot.

To Serve:
Peel some pearl onions and quarter some button mushrooms then fry off in olive oil. Add baby onions and button mushrooms to the Daube of Beef spoon into a bowl and finish with chopped parsley.

Mash potato is also a must.

Note: This recipe does require a few pots and pans if you don’t want lots of washing up brown off all the vegetables in the same pan just make sure that you get a nice even colour on everything. This will give the finished Daube a really great taste and colour.

Michael Trenga’s wine recommendation for the Daube of Beef

Chateau Val Joanis 2004

Grape Varieties: Syrah and Grenache

Dom has created a bold and full flavoured dish for February of which the main ingredient ‘beef’ is slow cooked therefore intensifying the flavours. Consequently I am suggesting a rich and full bodied wine so there are of course many to choose from; however I recommend Chateau Val Joanis 2004 which comes from Cotes Du Luberon (Rhone). It is a reserve Les Griottes. The grapes used are a Syrah and Grenache of which the combination results in a rich cherry and plum nose with a hint of black pepper on the finish. These elements combined are a perfect accompaniment for the Daube of Beef.

February Cheese at the Royal Oak

Our cheese is chosen at the particular time of year when each cheese is at its best.

Waterloo   (Jersey Cow)       Unpasteurized Vegetarian        900g Approx        Berkshire

Waterloo is a rich, buttery cheese. The cheese has a sweet and smooth taste. When young, it is mellow and fruity, with age the taste changes and it becomes more peppery.

Lyburn Gold    Cows        Pasteurized Vegetarian        4kg Approx        Hampshire

From the New Forest, deep in the Hampshire countryside. Made by Judy & Mike Smales from the milk of their own herd of 180 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows. The cheese has a creamy smooth texture with very small holes evenly distributed throughout. It is a washed curd cheese which is then brine dipped and matured for 4 months. It remains mild, creamy and supple, with a Granny Smith apple-like tang.

Quenby Hall Stilton        Pasteurized Vegetarian        8kg Approx        Leicestershire

Quenby Hall Stilton was established in 2005 but the cheese was made on the estate as far back as the 17th Century. After 2 years of experimentation and development, they are now producing Stilton that is mild, creamy and delicate with none of the bitterness often associated with mature Stilton.

White Nancy    Goats        Unpasteurized Vegetarian        Approx 500g        Somerset

Made with Vegetarian Rennet the cheese is characteristically unctuous near the rind with a firmer centre offering two complementary flavors & textures. The cheese is named after the White Nancy monument in Cheshire. NB Cheese is actually thermised rather than unpasteurized but probably safer bet to call it unpasteurized for those who may be concerned.


The wine we recommend to go with this cheese………

Bogedas Guelbenzu Azul
Ribera Del Queiles
Navarra, Spain 2005

Grape Varieties: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Description: The wine is bulging with character. Yielding and intense cherry red colour with violet and purple highlights it has aromas of red and black fruits, blackberries, cherries and plums.
All the fruits burst smilingly onto the palate reinforced by secondary notes of balsam, herbs and liquorice.
The intense characteristics of this wine are a perfect balance for these cheeses at there seasonal best.


All cheese is available from the Fine Cheese Company 01225 473256 www.finecheese.co.uk