Ostrich stew with coffee

I was intrigued by Jamie Oliver’s use of hot coffee in the ‘cowboy’ recipes in his book Jamie’s America; he explained that these men had to devise ways to work cleverly with their limited water rations: rather than throwing away cold coffee, they added it to the cooking pot. The coffee in this recipe adds a deep, rich flavour. Serves 4–6 • Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 3 hours • 30ml oil • 500g smoked pork rashers, cubed • 1kg ostrich neck • 500g stewing beef • 30ml flour • 2ml ground cloves • a pinch of nutmeg • 10ml ground coriander • 5ml green peppercorns • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped • 2 onions, coarsely chopped • 4 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces • 2 stalks celery, chopped • 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces • 15ml tomato paste • 500ml filter coffee • 1 tin whole tomatoes • 2 bay leaves • 6 sprigs thyme • 12 baby potatoes

1 Fry the pork in the oil until golden brown and set aside. Roll the ostrich and beef in the flour and fry in the rendered bacon fat until golden brown. Fry the meat in batches to ensure it doesn’t stew; set each batch aside when done. Then add the spices, vegetables and tomato paste to the pot and stir through for a few minutes until hot and fragrant.

2 Pour in the coffee to deglaze the pan. Return the meat to the pan, add the tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper to taste and simmer with the lid on for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

3 Boil the potatoes in water for 5 minutes and then stir them into the pot. Simmer uncovered for a further 45 minutes or until the potatoes and meat are tender. Serve with brown-and-wild rice.