serves
4
prep
40 minutes
cook
4 hours
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
40
minutes
cooking
4
hours
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 250 g wagyu beef cheeks, sinew removed, seasoned with sea salt
- sea salt
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 stick celery, roughly chopped
- 2 tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
- ½ head garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
- ½ bunch thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 litres red wine
- peel of 2 oranges
- 50 ml Pernod
- 200 g speck, cut into 1-cm cubes
- 100 g button mushrooms, stalks removed and quartered
- 1 bunch baby yellow carrots
- 1 bunch baby orange carrots
- 1 bunch baby purple carrots
- 1 bunch baby leeks
- 1 bunch baby fennel
- ½ bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Carrot puree
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
Instructions
- Place a fry pan on high heat, add the oil and when smoking hot, add the beef cheeks. Sear each side for 4 minutes until golden-brown.
- In another lidded, heavy-based pot add onion, carrot, celery, tomatoes, garlic and fennel, and cook for 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Add back the beef, thyme and bay leaves, red wine, orange peel and Pernod. Bring to the boil, then reduce to heat to low. Cover with lid and cook for 4 hours.
- Meanwhile make the carrot puree. Place the carrots in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer until carrots are very soft. Drain and reserve water. Puree carrots in a blender until smooth. Add a little bit of reserved water if needed.
- 20 minutes from the end, heat a fry pan, add oil and cook speck until brown, then add mushroom and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Set aside
- Add all the baby vegetables to the pot and cook for a final 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- When meat and vegetables are tender, carefully strain the braising liquid into a saucepan and reduce by half. Whisk in the carrot puree to thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper
- To serve, return the meat to the sauce, add the vegetables, speck, mushrooms, and stir to combine. Serve with a garnish of chopped parsley.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
