Hearty Cinnamon Beef Stew with Port and Shallots
This recipe is by Karen Short from By Word of Mouth, and published in the cookbook A Year of Seasonal Dishes by Food & Home Entertaining
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Loading... Ingredients
30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
130 g streaky bacon, rind removed, finely chopped
1 kg stewing beef, cut into 3 cm cubs
60 ml (4 tbsp) red wine vinegar
16 shallots, peeled and left whole without cutting through the root
20 ml (4 tsp) tomato puree
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
10 ml (2 tsp) cake flour
2 fresh bay leaves
5 ml (1 tsp) fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 X 5 cm piece orange peeled, thinly pared
1 cinnamon stick
80 g black olives, pitted
250 ml (1 cup) port
1 L (4 cups) beef stock, or enough to cover the meat
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
fresh flat-leafed parsley, chopped, to serve
parsley rice, to serve
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 150° C.
2. Heat 15 ml (1 tbsp) of the olive oil in an ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside in a large bowl.
3. Brown the beef in batches in the same pot. Set aside with the bacon in the bowl.
4. Add the vinegar to the pot and allow to bubble until reduce by half. Pour over the beef and bacon.
5. Heat the remaining oil in the pot, add the shallots and cook, stirring continuously until lightly golden – about 5 minutes.
6. Add the tomato puree, garlic and flour and cook for a minute before returning the beef, bacon and vinegar to the pot.
7. Add the bay leaves, thyme, orange peel, cinnamon and olives and stir to combine.
8. Pour in the port and bring to a simmer. Add enough stock so that the liquid level is no more than a few centimeters below the surface of the meat. Cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours.
9. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Season and add the parsley.
10. Mix some chopped parsley into the warm rice and serve with the beef.