Garlic and Red Wine Braised Beef Cheek with Roast Pumpkin
Hearty, warming and nourishing. That pretty much sums up this dish. The luxurious beef cheek will melt in your mouth and the subtle sweetness from the pumpkin really sets this dish apart! You can also prepare this recipe in advance so it is ready when you get home from work.
Prep: 20 minutes - Cook: 3 hours - Difficulty: Easy - Recipe: Hayden Quinn
Ingredients
4 x 220g beef cheeks, trimmed
2 tbs Cobram Estate Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 brown onion, cut in chunks
2 head, Australian garlic, sliced in half
2 carrots, roughly chopped on angle
1 stick celery, roughly chopped on angle
25g whole dried shiitake mushrooms
2 cup red wine
2 cup good quality beef or veal stock
4 sprig thyme
2 dried bay leaf
1 sprig rosemary
Sea salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Pumpkin
1/4 kent pumpkin (about 800g), skin on
2 tbs Cobram Estate Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt, to taste
Pepita Dukkah
1 tbs Pepitas
1 tbs Pistachio
1 tbs sunflower seeds
2 tsp Sesame seeds
2 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp Coriander seed
1 tsp Garlic flakes
Sea Salt, to taste
Macadamia Sauce
2 tbs macadamia butter
4 tbs Greek / natural style yoghurt
To serve
1 bunch silverbeet, trimmed and blanched
1 tbs Cobram estate extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Method
Step 1. If you’re cooking over a fire, first build a cook fire approximately 2 hrs before you want to cook. This will help develop a solid coal bed that will continue to burn for 3+ hours.
At home preheat the oven to 160ºC. Using a medium cast iron pot or casserole, heat over a medium high heat and, in batches cook the beef cheeks in the oil for 3-5 minutes on each side or until nicely coloured. Transfer to a plate and repeat until all are browned. Set aside.
Step 2. Add the onion, carrot, celery to the pan and cook for 3 mins or until lightly coloured and fragrant. Add the garlic, shiitake and herbs. Pour over wine and cook for 3-5mins to cook off alcohol. Return the beef cheeks to the pot and cover with stock, season well with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and place in oven (or in our case, over the coals) for 3 hrs or until the cheeks are super tender and falling apart.
Step 3. With about 15mins remaining on the beef cheeks, begin cooking your pumpkin. In a large bowl, toss pumpkin quarters through olive oil and sea salt. Place on a roasting tray and roast in same oven as beef for 15mins, remove beef from oven and set aside to keep warm until needed. Increase oven temperature to 200C and cook pumpkin for a further 30mins or until pumpkin is tender and slightly coloured.
Step 4. To make the pepita dukkah combine all ingredients in a small dry pan and lightly toast over low heat until fragrant (2-3mins). Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving.
Step 5. Make macadamia sauce by combining macadamia butter and yoghurt in a medium bowl and mixing well with a fork or small whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Step 6. Serve beef cheeks with pumpkin, dollop of macadamia butter and a scattering of the pepita dukkah and silverbeet on the side.
