Slow, low, quick, quick, slow. A smoky, sweet beef casserole.

This week I found out the hard way not to do research on an empty stomach (much like the time I found out that shopping at Ikea without a shopping list leads to bad choices, arguments and far too many candles purchased ie. not good!). We have a great food branding project on the go at the moment in decoder (the design studio I co-own) which involves lots of visual research on some gorgeous food and after a few hours research on what was supposed to be a 'fast day' on the 5:2 diet (yes, yes, me too) I couldn't bear the rumbling noises coming from within. I needed to eat something and it had to be rich and satisfying. Luckily I had leftovers that could quickly do the job.

I had made this smoky, sweet beef casserole a few days earlier and honestly, after the few days in the fridge the leftovers were even richer and more delicious than when first cooked. It takes time to create this dish but most of that time you have to do nothing save wait for it to be slowly cooked. Which is really the kind of cooking I like and I think you'll like it too. Plus, it uses a cheap cut of meat, (2022 update - not as cheap as it once was!!!) beef rib trims, so double points are scored there in my opinion.

Ask your butcher for them or if you're a planner with a freezer, order some from here and you won't even have to go looking for them, just a short wait until they come to you! Sweet!

My Smoky Sweet Beef Casserole

Serves 6

This recipe benefits from the smoky heat of dried chillies. I bought mine at Borough Market at the Cool Chile Company stall but you can buy online from them too.Chipotle and ancho are fabulous mexican chillies with great depth of flavour and are so useful to have in your larder that you won't regret buying them. The chillies in this dish give a warmth rather than heat. If you like more of a kick then add more dried chillies.

175 g smoked lardons
440g beef rib trims
2 large onions, sliced
2 small sticks of celery, chopped
1 dried ancho chilli
1 dried chipotle chilli
6 sun-dried tomato halves
1 fresh tomato chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1/4 tsp hot smoked paprika
large piece of orange peel
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tin tomatoes
stock or water
1 tblsp flour
11/2 tblsp maple syrup
1-2 tblsp balsamic vinegar
2 tblsp verjuice (or lime juice)
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
50 ml strong coffee
salt & pepper

Method.

Pre-heat the oven to 140C.

Soak the dried chilies and the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl with some warm water for at least 20 mins.

Dice the beef rib trim into 2 cm cubes. Toss in seasoned flour (flour seasoned with salt and pepper), shaking off excess flour.

Sauté the smoked lardons in a flameproof casserole over a medium heat. When browned and beginning to crisp up, remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl leaving as much fat behind.

Brown the beef (you may need to do this in batches) and remove to the bowl.

Sauté the onion and celery till translucent. Meanwhile drain the soaked chillies and tomatoes but reserve the soaking water. Remove the seeds from the chillies.

Place the soaked chillies and tomatoes, garlic, fresh tomato, cinnamon along with the reserved (and drained) soaking water in a processor and blend to a paste.Remove the sauted onion and celery to the bowl and fry the chilli paste mix for 5 mins. Add the tinned tomatoes, 2 tin measures of stock or water and bring to a simmer.

Add back the beef, lardons, onions and celery with any juices that have gathered in the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, cover and pop in the oven on a slow, low 140C for 3.5 to 4 hours when the beef will have broken down into a tender rich sauce.

Although perfect to eat on the day it is cooked it benefits from being made ahead, stored in the fridge and reheated. I added a dash more of verjuice (I had it in the cupboard, use lime juice instead) when reheating to 'brighten' the rich flavours.

Serve over pasta, tagliatelle or pappardelle being ideal. I, however, only had spaghetti and it still tasted fab.Alternatively serve with plain rice and I can personally vouch that a little leftovers quickly reheated and served in a warm flour tortilla, some chopped tomato, shredded lettuce, a dollop of sour cream, sliced ripe avocado and a squeeze of lime just hits the spot sweetly. Oh yes!