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21 posts tagged beef

Beef, Mushroom and Guinness Pie
My other pie experiment went incredibly well, I froze these for later and they didn’t last too long. Forget making your own pastry, just get store bought, it wasn’t worth it.
Ingredients:
• 500g beef (I used an angus...

Beef, Mushroom and Guinness Pie

My other pie experiment went incredibly well, I froze these for later and they didn’t last too long.  Forget making your own pastry, just get store bought, it wasn’t worth it.

Ingredients:

  • 500g beef (I used an angus roast I got on sale), cut in 1 inch cubes)
  • 1 tin of Guinness
  • 1 large red onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 portabello mushrooms, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1/8 cup diced rosemary leaves
  • Olive oil
  • Salt, pepper and flour
  • Frozen shortcrust and puff pastry

In a bit of olive oil, season the meat with salt and pepper then sear the beef until brown on all sides.  Add in the carrots and mushroom and cook until soft.

In another pan, soften the onions in the butter, adding the rosemary towards the end.  Mix in the flour.

Toss it all in the slow cooker with the Guinness and let it cook for about 6-8 hours until the meat comes apart with a fork (or 30 minutes in the pressure cooker).  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and perhaps a bit more rosemary if you’d like.  Pull apart the meat slightly with forks so it’s a bit shredded, and reduce the Guinness until it forms a thicker gravy.  If it’s not working, or you’re getting impatient, mash together a bit of butter and flour then mix that in.  Bingo.

Cool completely, and fill individual pie tins with shortcrust pastry on the bottom, and top with puff pastry.  Seal well and freeze.  To reheat, bake for 45 minutes on high heat, until the sauce is bubbling out and the pastry is golden brown.

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2012 Recipe Roundup
That’s it for me this year. Here are my favorites from 2012:
Best way to spend a RAINY DAY:
Pulled Pork with Cannellini Beans, Butternut Squash and Tomato
Best HANGOVER cure: Arepas with Black Beans, Haloumi and Avocado
Best way...

2012 Recipe Roundup

That’s it for me this year.  Here are my favorites from 2012:

Best way to spend a RAINY DAY:
Pulled Pork with Cannellini Beans, Butternut Squash and Tomato

Best HANGOVER cure: Arepas with Black Beans, Haloumi and Avocado

Best way to make your COWORKERS jealous: Curried Chicken Salad with Grapes, Almonds, Cilantro and Red Pepper

Best INVENTION: Grape, Prosciutto, Parmesan and Egg Pizza

Best CELEBRITY CHEF recipe: Neil Perry’s Chicken Stuffed with Garlic and Coriander

Best dinner for ONE: Pan Roasted Chicken with Pesto

Best LEFTOVERS: Balsamic and Pomegranate Short Ribs with Bacon, Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Trofil

Best way to make your friends HATE you: Smoked Salmon Dip in Cucumber Cups

Best BRUNCH at home: Sage Toad in the Hole with Tomato and Avocado

Best dish made with a WEIRD cut of meat: Master Stock Beef Cheeks with Spicy Rhubarb Sauce, Orange Salt, and Braised Fennel

Best SIDE dish: Saffron Sweet Potato Fries with Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce

What have I missed?

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Balsamic and Pomegranate Short Ribs with Bacon, Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Trofil
One of the best things I’ve made. The ribs fell apart, they were so tender, and the pasta kept really well for leftovers.
Ingredients (short ribs):
• 1 cup diced...

Balsamic and Pomegranate Short Ribs with Bacon, Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Trofil

One of the best things I’ve made.  The ribs fell apart, they were so tender, and the pasta kept really well for leftovers.

Ingredients (short ribs):

  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 cups red wine
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup pomegranate juice
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • Salt, pepper, and olive oil
  • Approximately 6 short ribs, in 2 rows

Season the rows of ribs with salt and pepper, and brown well in the olive oil.  Remove the ribs and add the onions, sauté for 3 minutes, scraping up the brown bits from the pan, and then add the brown sugar.  Cook for 3 minutes more.  Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, and add the ribs back in.  Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours.

Remove the ribs and place under a heavy pan or plate in the fridge for at least 2 hours to press (or overnight).  Strain and refrigerate the liquid.

To finish, remove the layer of fat from the top of the liquid, and reduce until you have a thick sauce.  Slice the ribs apart into individual pieces and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Serve with a drizzle of sauce.

Ingredients (trofil):

  • ¼ cup chopped raw bacon
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • 1.5 cups sliced oyster mushrooms
  • ¼ cup sliced sun dried tomatoes
  • ½ bunch of fresh thyme leaves
  • Olive oil, salt, pepper
  • Parmesan to serve
  • 2 cups cooked trofil or other pasta

Sauté the bacon and onion in a bit of olive oil.  Add the tomatoes, thyme, and mushrooms once the onion has turned translucent, and cook for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and toss with the freshly cooked pasta.  Top with Parmesan to serve.

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Chipotle Beef Tacos with Cabbage and Carrot Slaw, Black Beans and Tomato
Based off the carnitas recipe I use, but with some extra chili and stronger flavors. My new favorite taco recipe; the slaw is more of the same from the Chow recipe I used, and...

Chipotle Beef Tacos with Cabbage and Carrot Slaw, Black Beans and Tomato

Based off the carnitas recipe I use, but with some extra chili and stronger flavors.  My new favorite taco recipe; the slaw is more of the same from the Chow recipe I used, and the beans are leftover soup, reduced.

Ingredients:

  • 800 grams of beef (I had a prime rib roast), in 2 by 2 inch cubes
  • 2 oranges, juiced and rinds retained
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp thyme leaves
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 chipotle chili with 2-3 tablespoons of adobo sauce
  • 1 mulato chili, in 1 cup of boiling water
  • 1 small red chili
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Salt, to taste

In a pan (or your slow cooker if you have an option to saute), brown the beef in the vegetable oil.  Blend the chilies with the adobo sauce, and about half the retained water from “reviving” the mulato chili.  Mix that with the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker, including the orange rinds.  Cook for 6 hours (you can use the pressure cooker to speed this up if you need).  Spoon off the excess fat, remove the orange rinds, bay leaves, onion, and garlic, and shred the beef into the sauce.  You may need to cook down the liquid a bit.  Serve with cabbage slaw, black beans and cheese.

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Master Stock Beef Cheeks with Spicy Rhubarb Sauce, Orange Salt, and Braised Fennel
Oh. My. God. This had to have been one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. After taking the master stock class at the Urban Food Market, I was keen to try out a few of...

Master Stock Beef Cheeks with Spicy Rhubarb Sauce, Orange Salt, and Braised Fennel

Oh.  My.  God.  This had to have been one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.  After taking the master stock class at the Urban Food Market, I was keen to try out a few of the recipes I came home with, as well as cook up some crazy good looking beef cheeks I picked up while I was there.

Firstly, I found out how wrong I’ve been about chicken stock.  Make your own, and make it with uncooked bones or chicken, and not your post-roast leftovers.  I grabbed a kilo of chicken bones to replace the whole chicken in this recipe, and it was really easy and so much better than store bought stock.

With that, I put together the first round of master stock with some lamb ribs.  Urban Food Market has graciously put their recipe online so you can try it at home, although I’d highly recommend the class.

The rhubarb sauce is from the Jamie Oliver App I was raving about, but with a bit of chili to spice it up.  The orange salt was made by drying some orange peel in the oven and smashing it with some sea salt.  And on the bottom there’s some spaghetti with olive oil, chili and garlic, to soak up all the sauces.

Ingredients (beef cheek):

  • 2 pieces of beef cheek
  • Salt, pepper, olive oil
  • Enough master stock to cover it

Season the cheeks and brown very well in olive oil.  This will keep it from falling apart in the stock.

Bring the stock to a boil, add the cheeks, and simmer on low for 5 hours (I did mine at the same time as the lamb ribs, which I pressed for the next night).

Remove from the stock, and bake on super high heat for no more than 5 minutes, to create a crispy outside.  Let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Ingredients (braised fennel):

  • 1 fennel bulb, cut in half, then in half, then in half, so you have about 10-12 pieces held together by the core
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 3 sprigs rosemary
  • 2 cups white wine
  • A scoop of masterstock, if you have it
  • Olive oil, salt and pepper

Brown the fennel in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, in batches.  It’s ok if it’s not cooked through, as long as it’s got some color on both sides.  Add it all back to the pan with fennel seeds, rosemary, and the wine.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes, flipping the fennel halfway through.  Serve and season with orange salt.

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Beef Rib Eye Roast with Ricotta, Fennel and Pomegranate Barley Salad, and Roasted Mushrooms
This salad is great leftover and pretty easy to make in big batches. I made a bunch of barley, and sadly didn’t photograph the lunch version I made, which had...

Beef Rib Eye Roast with Ricotta, Fennel and Pomegranate Barley Salad, and Roasted Mushrooms

This salad is great leftover and pretty easy to make in big batches.  I made a bunch of barley, and sadly didn’t photograph the lunch version I made, which had salmon, ricotta and dried fruit.

Ingredients (beef and mushrooms):

  • 1kg (or a bit bigger) beef rib eye roast
  • 2 rosemary sprigs
  • 5-6 thyme sprigs
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2 cups of mushrooms
  • Salt, pepper and olive oil

Marinate the steak in olive oil, salt, pepper, and the herbs for as long as you can.  Overnight if possible.

In a really, really hot oven proof pan, removing the herbs (but keeping them), sear the steak for about 3-4 minutes until browned.  Flip the steak and add the mushrooms to the pan, mixing with the herbs and pan juices.  Put 2 tbsp of butter on the steak, over a couple of herbs, and bake for 10 minutes at 200C / 375F.  Flip and repeat with the remaining butter, and cook for 10 more minutes.  Remove the steak from the pan and let rest on a plate for 10 minutes.  Slice to serve.  Mine I cooked for a bit longer and overcooked, so if you’re unsure, use a meat thermometer.

Ingredients (barley, serves 4):

  • 3 cups cooked barley
  • ¾ cup pomegranate seeds
  • ¾ cup ricotta
  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • ¼ cup fresh thyme leaves
  • Salt, pepper
  • 1.5 cups chopped leftover caramelized fennel… or make some below

If you don’t have leftover fennel (why would you?), saute the chopped fennel with 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon of sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper, until golden.  Mix with the rest of the ingredients and season to taste.

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Maggie Beer’s Slow Braised Beef Cheeks with Caramelized Fennel, Haloumi and Pomegranate
Either beef cheeks have become very trendy, or I’ve never noticed them before, but I see them out a lot and when I found some, thought it would be easy enough to...

Maggie Beer’s Slow Braised Beef Cheeks with Caramelized Fennel, Haloumi and Pomegranate

Either beef cheeks have become very trendy, or I’ve never noticed them before, but I see them out a lot and when I found some, thought it would be easy enough to make my own.  It totally was, if you have the world’s sharpest knife to portion the cheeks.  Tough does not begin to explain the texture of these things, but after some slow cooking they’ll fall apart.

I improvised Maggie’s Beef Cheeks recipe a bit since I was doing it all same-day.  Essentially I slow cooked it with the marinade, and made some substitutions for the vino cotto (who has $20 for a small bottle of this stuff?  Not me.).  The combination of flavors was really nice and I’d definitely make it again.

The side was from that vegetarian cookbook I’ve been raving about called Plenty, which is starting to become a staple around my house.

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Rosemary and Pancetta Scotch Fillet Roast, with Roasted Mushrooms and Garlic
If you buy this roast pre-tied, this is dead easy to make. You could tie it yourself, but why bother.
Ingredients:
• 1 scotch fillet roast, 1kg
• 7-8 pancetta strips (enough...

Rosemary and Pancetta Scotch Fillet Roast, with Roasted Mushrooms and Garlic

If you buy this roast pre-tied, this is dead easy to make.  You could tie it yourself, but why bother.

Ingredients:

  • 1 scotch fillet roast, 1kg
  • 7-8 pancetta strips (enough to cover the outside)
  • ¼ bunch of rosemary
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 packet of oyster mushrooms
  • Half a bulb of garlic, woody ends chopped off but skins on and separated
  • Olive oil, salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C / 375F.  Rub the meat with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Remove leaves off all but one sprig of rosemary, and rub into the meat as well.  Slip the pancetta in a single layer over the top and sides of the meat, containing the rosemary underneath.

In an oven proof dish, toss the garlic and mushrooms with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place 2 tbsp butter in the center of the pan, the roast on top, the last sprig of rosemary, and then the last 2 tbsp butter on that.  Bake for 30 minutes, and remove from oven for about 5-10 minutes and let rest in the pan.  This produced a medium roast, so adjust to your liking.

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Steak and Green Beans
Thanks to bad daytime television, I figured out a superior way to cook a steak. I only had about 30 minutes to marinate this, and I just rubbed a bit of salt and pepper on it, and grilled for 2 minutes on each side on a cast...

Steak and Green Beans

Thanks to bad daytime television, I figured out a superior way to cook a steak.  I only had about 30 minutes to marinate this, and I just rubbed a bit of salt and pepper on it, and grilled for 2 minutes on each side on a cast iron indoor grill pan on the highest heat possible (a flat pan will work too).  Add a few tablespoons of butter to the pan and flip the steaks onto it, for 1 more minute on each side to finish.  Let rest for 5 minutes on a plate and serve with sauteed green beans with garlic.  It was actually one of the best steaks I’ve had and it took zero prep.  Go, butter!

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Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Sweet Corn Polenta and Mushroom Tomato Sauce
I tried out the sweet corn polenta recipe out of Plenty, which was nice, but not necessarily worth the extra effort unless you’re trying to use up corn you have on hand....

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Sweet Corn Polenta and Mushroom Tomato Sauce

I tried out the sweet corn polenta recipe out of Plenty, which was nice, but not necessarily worth the extra effort unless you’re trying to use up corn you have on hand.  Make some polenta however you do it, with plenty of cheese and garlic, and give the sauce and short ribs a shot.  Serves 4.

Ingredients (short ribs):

  • 12 small or 8 large short ribs
  • 2 cups of red wine
  • 2 cups of beef stock
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 cup of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp worscheshire sauce
  • Equivalent of 1 bunch of chopped herbs, but mix it up between some thyme, oregano and rosemary
  • Olive oil, salt and pepper

Coat the ribs in the flour, and in a pan, brown in a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Remove from the pan and sauté the onion, carrot and herbs.  Season with salt and pepper, and add the worcestershire.  Then add the wine and stock and bring to a simmer before adding back the ribs.  Cover and cook on low for 2.5 hours.

Ingredients (sauce):

  • 3 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 pack of oyster mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 small can of tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 cups of the cooking liquid from the ribs (after its cooked for 2 hours)
  • Olive oil, salt and pepper

Sauté mushrooms in olive oil and thyme, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes before adding the wine and tomato paste. Stir to combine.  Add the cooking liquid, then the water. Cook for 30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper, and serve on the polenta.  Top with the ribs and a scoop of the veggies and cooking juices.

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