Versatile and refined

Beef with mushrooms

This hearty beef and mushroom stew is an essential in any traditional cuisine. The mushrooms blend beautifully with the aromatic beef. As with many dishes involving beef, the preparation does take a bit of time, but it’s really straightforward.

Ingredients

A piece of beef, approx. 1.5–2 kg (e.g. ribs bound with string or a net)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
4 medium onions
2 carrots
1 bulb of garlic
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves and
1 sprig of thyme
4 ripe tomatoes
1 glass of brandy or wine for cooking
1/2 kg mushrooms (fresh or from a tin)
For the picada (Spanish for “chopped”):
1 slice of bread to toast
2 garlic cloves
8 roasted almonds
5 roasted hazelnuts 2 tbsp of the sauce

Method

  • Step 1

    Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown on all sides in a sufficiently large pan or a casserole dish with olive oil over a high heat.

  • Step 2

    Chop the onions into large pieces, slice the carrots and cut the garlic cloves in half. Put them all into the pan. Add the cinnamon, thyme and bay leaves. Brown the vegetables until they have some colour. Add some extra salt.

  • Step 3

    Cut the four tomatoes into quarters and add to the pan after 5 minutes. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes and bring the brandy or wine to the boil. Boil down the alcohol for 15 minutes. During this time, stir the vegetables and turn the meat. Add some water after a few minutes. The meat shouldn’t be fully covered. Stir and leave to simmer for around 90 minutes. If necessary, top up with water and add some salt.

  • Step 4

    In the meantime, gently brown the mushrooms under the grill or in a pan.

  • Step 5

    Now to prepare the picada. Toast a slice of bread then chop it finely with garlic, almonds and roasted hazelnuts. Season 2 tablespoons of meat stock to taste and add. Put the picada to one side.

  • Step 6

    After 90 minutes, take the meat out of the pan and leave to cool, as this will make it easier to cut.

  • Step 7

    Sieve the sauce to remove the cinnamon, thyme and bay leaves, then put the sauce back into the pan.

  • Step 8

    Remove the string or net from the meat and cut it into 2 cm slices. Put the pieces of meat back into the sauce in the pan.

  • Step 9

    Simmer for another 15 minutes, adding water if needed, and put in the picada and mushrooms. Simmer for another 10 minutes, then serve.

Dani Ramos

This traditional Catalan recipe is a celebratory meal and tastes incredibly good – a stew that combines good meat with vegetables and mushrooms in season. Great results are guaranteed with fresh ingredients. The stew reminds me of family meals at my parents’ house. It always tastes delicious when my mother makes it, and I try to do the same. 

My role at STAR®
I’m a programmer and work as a web developer at Novaigrup.