Beef Cheeks With Sweet Potato Puree

How to Make

• Step 1: Preheat oven to 180°C.

• Step 2: To make the Bouquet Garni, gather herbs in a small square of muslin and tie with kitchen string to secure.

• Step 3: Heat half of the oil in a large, ovenproof casserole dish over a medium-high heat and cook the beef cheeks in 2 batches for 8 minutes each batch, until browned all over and set aside.

• Step 4: Heat remaining oil in the dish over a medium heat and add onion, celery, carrot and leek and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened and lightly browned.

• Step 5: Return beef cheeks to dish with the stock, tomato, wine, lemon zest and bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil.

• Step 6: Transfer dish to the oven and cook, covered for 2 hours.

• Step 7: Stir in eschallots and mushrooms and cook, uncovered for a further 40 minutes or until sauce has thickened and beef is very tender.

• Step 8: Remove from and reserve beef, eschallots and mushrooms; strain the sauce and discard vegetables and then return beef, eschallots and mushrooms to strained sauce.

• Step 9: Meanwhile cook potato in a large saucepan of boiling water over a medium heat for 15 minutes or until tender, drain and pass through a potato ricer or mash with a masher or put through a sieve and then stir in milk and butter and season with salt and pepper.

• Step 10: Lightly spray a large frying pan with oil and heat over a medium heat and cook zucchini ribbons for 4 minutes or until just tender and season with salt and pepper.

• Step 11: TIP 1 - for a shortcut use a pre-prepared bouquet garni made with dry herbs.

• Step 12: TIP 2 - for a more intensely flavoured mash, try roasting instead of boiling the potatoes before mashing them.

• Step 13: TIP 3 - if you prefer a chunky sauce, omit straining the sauce, in step 8, so that you retain all the vegetables.