“Hearty and warming, rich and decadent, this truly is a dish to serve straight from the casserole dish at the table. Full of Omega 3, beef shin also has the wonderful ability of enrichening a sauce with its incredible inter-muscular fat; and it’s just so very tasty. The doughballs are always a hit in our house, with the horseradish adding a nice kick. Serve it with mash too (why not?) and some all-important roots. Search your local butcher or farmers’ market for organic, grass-fed, pure-bred beef.”

Serves 2
Prep time: 30 minutes; Cooking time: 3 to 4 hour

INGREDIENTS

250g shin of grass-fed beef, 2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon beef fat or cooking oil

1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 stick celery, roughly chopped

1 sprig thyme

1 clove garlic

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon tomato purée

1 litre good, strong beef stock

1/2 glass good, red wine

1 teaspoon flour

2 large carrots, scrubbed – one diced and one cut into thick strips

1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into thick strips

50g celeriac, peeled and cut into thick strips

1 knob of butter

100g self-raising flour

50g suet

Good salt and pepper

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Fresh horseradish, grated (optional)

METHOD

Heat the oven to 170°C / Gas Mark 3

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the beef fat in a casserole dish, add the beef and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until all the meat is caramelised. Remove the beef from the pot, leaving the heat on. Add the onion and fry for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring continually to give a good colour. Add the thyme, bay, garlic clove, celery and diced carrot.

Colour the veg until browned then add the tomato purée and the teaspoon of flour, and cook for a minute or two. Next, add the red wine and bring to the boil. Reduce until just a little is left, then add the stock. Return the beef to the dish, season and bring to a gentle simmer.

Cover with a lid and cook in a medium to low oven for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. It’s ready when the meat is so tender it could fall apart.

Blanch the remaining carrot, parsnip and celeriac in boiling, salted water for 4 minutes, then refresh under cold water. Add to a pan with a knob of butter and fry until they just start to colour. Keep in a warm place. 

Twenty minutes before the stew is ready, combine the suet and flour in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and add the parsley, some grated, fresh horseradish and mix with enough cold water to make a wet dough.

Add the dough to the stew in 4 to 6 dollops, and place the lid back on and cook for a further 20 minutes or so.

Spoon the sauce over the dough balls and set to one side to rest for 20 minutes before serving. Garnish with a grate of fresh horseradish and a sprinkle of parsley and serve with the root veg.