T
his is completely worth the hours. If you have a free afternoon on your hands at the weekend this is an excellent and effortless feast. Two large cheeks cost just over £5 (£7.99/kg in Waitrose) making it ludicrously cheap. Its just a shame how something that takes so long to cook, takes so little time to eat!If you’re stuck for time at the weekend and can be organised, this is also a great dish to stick in the oven when you get home from work to then reheat and eat the following evening or serve to any dinner party guests without the last minute stress.
Serve with mash or some lovely soft polenta !
Serves 3 or 2 with leftovers
- 2 x Ox cheeks
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 stick celery, finely chopped
- 2 large carrots, sliced on the diagonal
- 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
- Bunch rosemary, chopped finely
- 1 beef stock cube
- Approx 500ml red wine
- 2 large potatoes, peeled, chopped
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 50g butter
- Milk
- Bunch parsley
- Preheat the oven to 150.
- Dust the ox cheeks lightly in seasoned flour and shake off any excess.
- Heat a large casserole dish on a medium high heat and add a splash of sunflower oil. Sear the ox cheeks on both sides until golden then remove from the dish and set aside.
- Turn the heat down a little and add the onion, celery and carrot and gently sweat for about 8 minutes until starting to soften. Season well.
- Add the garlic and rosemary and fry for a further few minutes.
- Return the ox cheeks to the pan and turn up the heat. You now want to add the wine and the stock. Add about 3/4 wine and 1/4 stock so that in total the liquid just covers the cheeks but its not swimming in it! Measurements will vary.
- Cover with a lid and place in the oven for 4-5 hours, checking on it now and then to spoon juices over the cheeks.
- When ready to serve, remove the casserole from the oven. I like to mash 1 tbsp of butter with 1 tbsp flour (to form a paste) and then whisk this paste into the sauce. This helps thicken it slightly and create a lovely shine!
- To make the mash, simmer the potatoes for about 15 minutes or until soft but not water saturated. Drain and let them cool slightly.
- Use a potato ricer to mash the potatoes into a bowl or use a masher. Add the mustard, butter and a splash of milk as needed to create a nice smooth mash. Season well.
Serve scattered with fresh chopped parsley!
