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I am sharing two recipes for some ‘low and slow’ cooking this week. I am a great fan of the slow cooker and am often asked about recipes at cooking demos. However, if you don’t have one, there is no need to worry as you can always cook in the oven at 150°C for three or three and a half hours.
Rump steak is good value, full of flavour and works well in each of the recipes. The beans give both of the meals lovely texture. I have the chilli served with tortilla chips here, but often I serve with rice.
For both recipes, make sure you soak your beans overnight. They need it to soften and keep moist. Za’atar is a fragrant Middle Eastern seasoning mix that you will find in Asian supermarkets. It adds a wonderful savoury spiciness to any dish and, in particular, this braised beef with cannelini beans, but you could also use Cajun or harissa spice blends. Again, I often serve this with rice.
The recipes are ideal to make double quantities and freeze half.
Happy Cooking, Neven
Braised Beef with Carrots and Cannellini Beans
Serves 4–6
225g (8oz) dried cannellini beans
25g (1oz) plain flour
500g (1lb 2oz) stewing beef pieces
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 large carrots, halved and cut into thick batons
2 celery sticks, cut into thick batons
1 × 400g (14oz) tin of Italian chopped tomatoes
1 litre (1¾ pints) chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp za’atar seasoning
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
chunks of sourdough baguette
1 Soak the beans in plenty of cold water overnight, then drain.
2 Preheat your slow cooker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
3 Season the flour and put in a large ziplock bag. Add the stewing beef pieces and shake to coat, then remove, dusting off any excess flour. If your slow cooker has a sauté option, you can use this; if not, use a sauté pan on the hob over a medium heat.
4 Heat the rapeseed oil, then add the beef and cook until browned. Place in the slow cooker (if you used a separate pan), including any juices.
5 Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and season with salt and pepper.
6 Set to low, cover and cook for nine hours, until the beef and cannellini beans are meltingly tender.
7 Scatter over the parsley and serve with chunks of sourdough baguette.
Family-Style Beef Chilli
Serves 4–6
225g (8oz) dried black turtle beans
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 large green pepper, finely diced
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
500g (1lb 2oz) rump steak, trimmed and diced into 1cm (½in) cubes
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
600ml (1 pint) beef or chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
2 × 400g (14oz) tins of Italian chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Tortilla chips
Lime wedges
Fresh coriander leaves
Sour cream
Guacamole
Sriracha (hot chilli sauce)
1 Soak the beans in plenty of cold water overnight, then drain. Preheat your slow cooker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If your slow cooker has a sauté option, you can use this. If not, use a large sauté pan on the hob over a medium heat.
2 Heat the oil, then add the onions, celery, green pepper and sugar. Cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring from time to time, until golden and well caramelised. Don’t be tempted to decrease the amount of time this takes, as this is very important for the flavour.
3 Add the beef and mix until well combined, then sauté for another few minutes, until well browned. Stir in the garlic and Cajun seasoning.
4 Deglaze the pan with a little of the stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Pour in the remaining stock along with the tomatoes and tomato purée and break up using a wooden spoon. Place in the slow cooker (if you have used a separate pan), including the juices. Season well with salt and pepper and stir in the black beans.
5 Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, until the meat and beans are tender.
6 Serve bowls of beef chilli with tortilla chips, lime wedges and fresh coriander leaves. Pass around the soured cream, guacamole and chilli sauce.
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