Melt-in-your-mouth shin stew

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/melt-in-your-mouth-shin-stew/

• olive oil
• 2 red onions , peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 carrots , peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 sticks celery , trimmed and roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic , unpeeled
• a few sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small handful dried porcini
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 kg quality shin of beef , bone removed, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 x 400 g good-quality tinned plum tomatoes
• ⅔ bottle Chianti

Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. In a heavy-bottomed ovenproof saucepan, heat a splash of olive oil and gently fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, herbs, porcini and cinnamon for 5 minutes until softened slightly. Meanwhile, toss the pieces of beef in a little seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Add the meat to the pan and stir everything together, then add the tomatoes, wine and a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently bring to the boil, cover with a double-thickness piece of tinfoil and a lid and place in your preheated oven for 3 hours or until the beef is meltingly tender and can be broken up with a spoon. Taste and check the seasoning, remove the cinnamon stick and rosemary sprigs and serve.

Roast Leg of Lamb

• Leg of Lamb 2½ kg/5lb 8oz
• Garlic
• Bunch of fresh Rosemary
• Anchovies
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 Carrots chopped chunky
• 1 Onion, cut into quarters
• Red Wine (about 150ml)
• 1.2l Beef or Lamb Stock

1.The first job is to stud the lamb with garlic. anchovies and rosemary. Use a sharp pointed knife, make at least 30 small incisions all over the meat. Peel 4 garlic cloves, thinly slice them and prod a slice into each incision. Do the same with small sprigs of rosemary and the Anchovies. If done in advance, cover the lamb well and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge 1 hr before roasting. 

2.Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Heat a large frying pan, add a little oil and brown the lamb all over.

3.Scatter the carrot, onion, remaining garlic and rosemary in a large roasting tin, pour in the wine and stock, then place the browned lamb in the tin.

4.Roast for about 1 hr 45 mins. Turn the lamb halfway through so by the time it’s cooked, each side has been in the stock. When cooked, remove the lamb and allow to rest in a warm place covered in foil for about 30 mins.

5.While the lamb is resting, make the gravy. Pour all the stock from the tin through a sieve into a saucepan to remove all the vegetables and herbs. This stock should be rich, slightly thick and have a great lamb flavour. Reduce it a little on the hob if you feel you want to concentrate the flavour, skimming off any fat that comes to the surface.