- For the ox cheeks
- 2 ox cheeks, trimmed of fat
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 250ml red wine
- 50g tomato puree
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 small leek, trimmed and diced
- 2 smoked bacon rashers, cut into lardons
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 litre Essential Cuisine Beef Stock
- For the dumplings
- 120g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 60g cold butter
- 50g fresh horseradish, peeled and finely grated
- 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce
- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- For the vegetables
- A selection of broad beans, fresh peas, asparagus tips, baby carrots and spring onions
- 30g butter
Braised British Ox Cheeks with spring vegetables and horseradish dumplings
Braised British Ox Cheeks with spring vegetables and horseradish dumplings
Serves 4
Ingredients
Method
Cut each ox cheek into two portions. Heat half of the oil in a pan and sear the cheeks for a couple of minutes on each side until browned. Remove the cheeks and deglaze the pan with the red wine. Boil until the liquid has reduced in half. Stir in the tomato puree.
Heat the remaining oil in an ovenproof dish and cook the onions, carrots, leek and bacon for a few minutes, then add the rosemary, bay leaf, Essential Cuisine Beef Stock and reduced wine mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the beef cheeks to the ovenproof dish, cover and cook for 2 hrs 30 mins at 140'c, or until the beef is very tender.
To make the dumplings; mix all the ingredients together, rubbing the butter into the flour, adding a few spoonfuls of water to bring everything together. Roll into 4 balls.
Add the dumplings to the ox cheeks and cook, uncovered, for a further 25-30 minutes, adding more stock if necessary.
For the vegetables; trim or cut each vegetable and blanch in boiling water until tender. Melt the butter in a pan and gently toss the vegetables to coat in the butter. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, set each ox cheek portion in a deep bowl, surrounded with the sauce and vegetables and topped with a horseradish dumpling.
Essential Tip
It's worth cooking more ox cheeks than you need for this recipe - the shredded cooked meat and gravy make an excellent filling for pies.
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