Cook the Book: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Shin Stew
Our final Cook the Book recipe of the week, adapted from Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver, is for a comforting bowl of shin stew. After sautéing some vegetables and searing the beef, the oven does most of the work, slowly cooking the beef shin to a tender-as-you-like-it texture while filling your kitchen with a tempting aroma.
Ingredients
yield: 4
- Olive oil
- 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 sticks celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- A few sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- A handful of dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 1/4 pounds shin of beef, bone removed, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 fourteen-ounce cans plum tomatoes
- Two-thirds of a 750-ml bottle of Chianti
Procedures
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1
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a heavy-bottomed ovenproof saucepan, heat a splash of olive oil; gently fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, herbs, mushrooms, and cinnamon for 5 minutes—until softened slightly.
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2
Meanwhile, toss the pieces of beef in a little seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Add the meat to pan; stir all together. Add the tomatoes, wine, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently bring to a boil, cover with a double thickness of aluminum foil and a lid; place in oven for 3 hours or until beef is meltingly tender and can be broken up with a spoon.
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3
Taste-check the seasoning; remove the cinnamon stick and resmary sprigs. Serve.
