PORTER BEEF SHIN RAGU WITH PARMESAN ORZO

This is comfort food at its very best. The beer offers depth of flavour, and while you might feel that the addition of milk is rogue, it brings the bitter and acidic notes of the beer and tomatoes into balance, resulting in harmony. You can make the ragù the day before you want to serve it – in fact, it would be improved by it.

SERVES 6

3 tbsp cornflour fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1kg beef shin pieces vegetable oil

100g pancetta, cubed 2 banana shallots (or 3 standard shallots), finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

2 celery sticks, finely chopped 200ml whole milk

½ bottle of London Porter (about 250ml)

1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (or 1½ tsp balsamic vinegar) or to taste

1 tsp flaky sea salt, or as needed

FOR THE PARMESAN ORZO

1 ice cube

2 pinches of saffron, ground in a pestle and mortar

500g orzo

100ml double cream

100g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve

25g butter

Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.

Put the cornflour on a plate, season generously with salt and pepper, then dust the beef shin pieces in the cornflour.

Set a casserole dish over a medium-high heat. When hot, add a thin layer of vegetable oil and sear the beef in batches, ensuring all-over caramelisation, then remove from the pan. Add a small splash of water to the pan to deglaze it, then reduce the heat and add the pancetta, allowing it to cook until lightly golden, around 5 minutes.

Add the shallots, carrots and celery and cook for

10-15 minutes until softened. If needed, add a little more vegetable oil. When the vegetables are cooked, nestle the beef pieces in among them, turn up the heat slightly and add the milk, letting it reduce by half. Add the porter and tomatoes, then place a cartouche (a circle of baking paper with a small hole in the middle) on top, followed by the casserole lid. Cook in the oven for 4-5 hours until the meat is falling off the bone.

Add the balsamic vinegar, as well as salt to taste.

‘Bloom’ the saffron: place an ice cube in a small bowl and sprinkle over the ground saffron. Set aside, allowing the ice cube to melt.

Cook the orzo in well-salted water according to the packet instructions. Reserve half a mugful of the starchy cooking water, then drain. Return the drained orzo to the pan along with the saffron concentrate, cream and reserved pasta water, stirring until the sauce emulsifies. Take off the heat and fold in the parmesan and butter until melted – in consistency it should look and feel like a good risotto: silky smooth and reasonably loose.

To serve, ladle the orzo into bowls, then top it with the ragù and a generous shower of parmesan.