Winter is the perfect time to enjoy slow-cooked food, and the weekend is the only time to have it.
The result of the slow cooking is tender, delicious meat that more or less melts in your mouth. This dish is definitely to be enjoyed with a glass of red wine in hand and served with crusty bread and seasonal greens.
Serves 4
Preparation time: about 20 minutes
Cooking time: it's slow cooking, don't worry about it
Ingredients
450g lean boneless shin or chuck steak, cut into 2.5cm cubes
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
200ml good, hot vegetable stock
1 cinnamon stick, halved
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tabelspoon tomato puree
1 x 400g pack fresh gnocchi
2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
Method
1. Place the beef in a large plastic food bag. Add the seasoning, cayenne and paprika; seal, shake well to coat the beef in the spices.
2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Cook the beef for 4-5 minutes in batches until brown on all sides. Transfer to a heatproof casserole dish (approximately 1.7 litres capacity).
3. In the same frying pan, cook the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Spoon into the casserole pot.
4. Add the tomatoes and stock, cinnamon, sugar and tomato puree. Bring this to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2-3 hours.
5. Add the gnocchi 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
6. Garnish with the parsley.
Tip: If preferred, substitute the gnocchi for freshly cooked pasta shapes.
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