Recipe: Beef Cheeks with Red Wine and Mushroom

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 Beef Cheeks
• 1/4 Cup Plain Flour
• 3 tablespoon Oil
• 2 Onions
• 6 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Cup Shiraz
• 2 Carrots
• 2 Cups Beef Stock
• 2 tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
• 3 Sprigs fresh Thyme leaves or 1.5 tsps dried Thyme
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 50gm Butter
• 4 large flat mushrooms, roughly chopped

Method:

• Toss cheeks in plain flour. Heat oil in frypan over medium heat and brown the meat on both sides. Remove to a plate.
• Add more oil, if necessary, and add carrots, onion and garlic. Cook until golden.
• Place half the onion mix in the base of the slow cooker, place beef cheeks on top, then cover with remaining onion mixture.
• Deglaze frypan with the red wine, then add stock, sugar, tomato paste, mushrooms, bay leaves and thyme leaves.
• Bring to the boil then pour into slow cooker.
• Add butter to pan, fry other mushrooms, cook for 3 minutes then add to beef, stirring in.
• Set cooker to high and cook for 4 hours, or on low 8 hours.
• If sauce needs thickening, remove lid for last hour of cooking time.

We served our beef cheeks with mashed cauliflower and steamed beans.