Oven Baked Beef with Black Garlic

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 kg diced beef
• 4 – 6 tablespoons mild olive oil
• 2 carrots – peeled and diced
• 1 large onion – peeled and chopped
• 10 small shallots – peeled
• 4 cloves of black garlic – sliced
• 3 tablespoons of plain flour (seasoned with salt and black pepper)
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 500 ml beef stock
• 300 ml full bodied red wine
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon of English mustard
• 250g button mushrooms (optional)
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150C or 300F or gas mark 2.
2. Toss the beef in the seasoned flour.
3. Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in an ovenproof casserole dish. Gently fry the chopped onions, shallots and carrots for 5 minutes until softened. Add the slices of black garlic. Stir. Remove the contents from the casserole dish and set to one side.
4. Add the remaining olive oil to the casserole dish. Fry the seasoned meat in batches in hot oil for 3 minutes until browned all over. Return the onion, carrot shallot and garlic mixture to the casserole dish. Stir well.
5. Pour in the red wine, beef stock and tomato puree and mustard and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the stripped thyme leaves, salt and black pepper. Stir again.
6. Put the lid on the casserole dish and put it into the pre-heated oven. Cook for 2 hours until the meat is tender.
7. After one hour remove the casserole dish from the oven and stir. Add the mushrooms at this stage. Place the casserole dish back into the oven and cook for another hour.
8. Remove the casserole dish from the oven and adjust the seasoning. If the casserole needs thickening, mix a little cornflour with water, stir into the dish and heat until the desired consistency is reached.
9. Serve sprinkled with fresh parsley.

Serving suggestion – serve with boulangere, dauphinois or mashed potatoes with steamed green vegetables.