PERSIAN SPICED BEEF CHEEKS

PERSIAN SPICED BEEF CHEEKS ON QUICK COUSCOUS AND CHICKPEA PILAF

By Katrina Meynink

This recipe borrows from a popular Iranian dish Ghormeh Sabzi where a lot of fresh herbs are cooked down with the meat. It makes this distinctly aromatic with hits of lemon and the intermingling of spices.

I’m not going to lie; beef cheeks require time. No two ways about it. This is the one to pop on one idle Sunday afternoon (do we ever get those anymore) and let it fill your house with phenomenal smells while you get on with your day.

Also, a note to the uninitiated. Beef cheeks can be fickle bastards. One batch will cook in 3-4 hours, another batch might take 5. It is completely dependent on the strength of the connective tissue. I find this to be part of the glory when slow cooking a secondary cut of meat, but it does mean you need to allow for a potentially longer cook. Or have your pressure cooker ready if you need to speed things up. A simple fork test will let you know how you are travelling. When they are ready, the meat should easily fall apart.

BEEF CHEEKS - CAPE GRIM (400G) $12.39
WALLACE SHIRAZ GRENACHE (750ML) $23.00

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 brown onions, diced
500g jar roasted red peppers, sliced
3 carrots, peeled, finely diced
1 head garlic, peeled, cloved chopped
1.2kg beef cheeks
1 bunch coriander, chopped
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 ½ tbsp ras el hanout spice blend
zest 2 lemons
2 tbsp brown sugar
500ml veal stock (or beef stock)
500ml tomato passata

Pilaf
½ cup finely diced coriander leaves
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¼ cup sultanas
1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous cooked according to packet instructions
1/2 cup toasted almond flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch turmeric
½ tsp ras el hanout *

To serve
Greek yoghurt
pinch dried rose petals *
pinch saffron threads *

* these ingredients are all available from Rosalie Gourmet Market (across the road from our Rosalie store). Tell them we sent you (-:

Method
Place a Dutch pot over a low-medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, don’t rush this step. At least five minutes. Add the chopped carrot and garlic and cook until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Push to the side of the pot and add the cheeks, browning on all sides. If it is taking some time to take on any colour, you may need to increase your heat a little. Add the ras el hanout spices and the fresh herbs and cook, stirring regularly so the spices and herbs are dispersed. Add the chopped peppers, lemon zest and brown sugar. Stir to coat then pour in the veal stock and passata. Cover with the lid and cook for 3 ½ hours or until the beef cheeks are soft.

If the cheeks are still firm and not pulling easily with a fork, you may need to continue to cook for another hour or so, or you can at this point transfer everything to a pressure cooker and cook for 40 minutes to achieve the soft result.

Gently remove the cheeks from the sauce. Using a stick blender, blend the sauce to an even consistency. This is entirely optional, if you want to keep it rustic, simply leave as is.

To make the pilaf, add all the ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve to the table or directly into bowls. Top with the beef cheek mixture and plenty of sauce. Add a spoonful of yoghurt, and the rose petals and saffron threads if using. Season with salt and pepper and serve.