Beef Shortrib Carbonnade à la Flamande Recipe

Ingredients

2 onions
2 carrots
1 leek
15g butter
½ tbsp olive oil
2 x 600g beef shortrib
4 rashers unsmoked back bacon
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 bay leaves
A few sprigs of thyme
A few sprigs of flat leaf parsley, plus extra to garnish
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 beef stock cube
300ml boiling water
500ml German lager

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 3 hr 30 mins

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Method

1. Peel and finely slice the onions. Trim and peel the carrots. Thickly slice into rounds approximately 1cm thick. Trim the roots and top 3cm off the leek. Slice a cross into the leek and open it out to rinse out the grit. Finely slice it.

2. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add the shortribs and fry for 8-10 mins, turning occasionally, till the shortribs are browned all over. Lift them out of the pan and pop on a plate.

3. While the shortribs brown, roughly chop the bacon rashers. When the pan is empty, add the bacon to the pan. Fry for 5-8 mins, stirirng a few times, till the bacon is golden brown. Lift out with a slotted spoon and add to the beef shortribs. Don't worry if the pan is brown - it will add to the flavour.

4. Add the onions, leek and carrots to the pan. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally, till the onions are soft. Use your spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan - the moisture from the veg should loosen it. If not, add a splash of water. Add the shortribs and bacon back into the pan.

5. Drop in the bay leaves, thyme and parsley sprigs. Add 2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 cinnamon stick and 1 tbsp sugar. Crumble in 1 beef stock cube. Pour in 300ml boiling water. Pour in the bottle of lager. Season with a pinch more salt and pepper. Cover. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Once it's boiling, turn the heat down and gently simmer for 3 hrs till the meat is soft, tender and falling off the bone.

6. Taste the stew and add more salt or pepper if you think it needs it. Fish out the herb sprigs and the cinnamon quills. Ladle the stew into bowls and garnish with parsley leaves to serve. Served with crusty bread, this will serve 2 people. Add buttery mashed potatoes (or swede or celeriac) and steamed green veg and it will serve 4.