THE CHEF AND THE BUTCHER
Our chef Colin Fassnidge and butcher Anthony Puharich get sustainable with a versatile stew and sing the praises of cows put out to pasture.
A: This dish is how you made your name, right?
C: It’s not how I made my name, it’s how I reinforced my name. It’s a dish from my first restaurant, 4Fourteen. It features licorice root – people think of sweet licorice, that black stuff that Anthony eats in his car at night, but it’s actually like a little piece of wood. It gives you this mellow flavour that’s not sweet at all.
A: I don’t normally like licorice, but this is subtle and a bit aniseed-y.
C: The shin is a stunning piece of braising meat because it keeps its shape when you let it sit in the sauce for a while.
A: The beauty of this type of braise is that you can use so many different parts of the animal. So you can use tail, you can use chuck, you can use shin or brisket. Cheek is amazing but quite expensive, the texture of shin will be very similar.
C: For a bigger event you could do a whole brisket in the same sauce. And you could even make extra sauce, freeze it and use it next time around to reduce waste. A: What would you do with it the next day? C: Put it in a pie. Make pasties or jaffles. You could put it through pasta, or in lasagne – it’s truly a no waste recipe.
A: You know how the French have beef bourguignon? This is the Irish version.
C: The Fass special!
A: Don’t start.
C: Braises are also great because you know when you have leftover older veg sitting at the bottom of your fridge, you can chuck them in your stew.
A: We all have to do our part. In our house we save all our leftover pieces of veg, ginger and beetroot and blitz it into juice. C: You look like you’ve been on a bit of a juice diet...
BUTCHER’S NOTE
A: Looking for a more sustainable cut? Seek out retired dairy cow. Its popularity has grown significantly over the past few years. Farmers started to put dairy cows onto good pastures and grow them out. Being older and well cared for, they have a lot more flavour – it’s delicious beef!
BRAISED BEEF SHIN WITH SWEDE & MUSTARD COLCANNON SERVES 4
1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
4 x 3cm-thick pieces (1.5kg) beef shin Plain flour, to dust
8 eschalots, peeled
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch woody herbs (we used rosemary and thyme, but you could use bay leaves or oregano as well)
1 x 10cm stick licorice root (from
specialty grocers, optional)
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs wholegrain mustard
1 cup (250ml) dark beer (or beef stock) 2 cups (500ml) beef stock
SWEDE & MUSTARD COLCANNON
1kg swedes, peeled, cut into 3cm pieces 750g desiree potatoes, peeled, cut into
4cm pieces
1/4 cup (60ml) thickened cream
50g unsalted butter
1 tbs wholegrain mustard
2 cups leafy greens, shredded (we used cavolo nero, you could use cabbage or silverbeet)
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Heat half the oil in a heavy-based ovenproof frypan over medium-high heat. Dust beef in flour, shaking off the excess, and season with salt flakes. Add to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning, until well browned. Remove from pan and wipe clean.
Place remaining oil in frypan. Add eschalot, garlic, herbs and licorice root, if using, and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened and caramelised. Add tomato paste and mustard and stir to combine. Add beer and cook for 2 minutes or until reduced, then add stock. Return beef to the pan and bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours or until meat is tender and falling off the bone. Discard licorice root.
Meanwhile, for the colcannon, place swede and potato in a large saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 30-35 minutes until tender. Drain well and return to the saucepan over low heat, cooking for 1-2 minutes, to cook out any excess water. Mash or pass through a potato ricer. Add the cream and butter, and stir until well combined. Add the mustard and cavolo nero, and stir until the leaves have wilted. Season to taste.
Divide colcannon among plates and top with braised beef and sauce. Season with salt and pepper to serve.