I was supposed to have joined the “blanket show” by now. This is what my mother called bedtime when my brothers and I were little. At first we thought the concept was exciting and actually looked forward to hearing her say those words. Soon enough the novelty faded and we were doing our best to avoid going to sleep, instead preferring to do tumble turns down the carpeted hallway. So as I yawn repeatedly (not a good sign at the beginning of the week!), please excuse any typos in this edition of Cabinet of Cookery. 

The preparation time for this evening’s dinner only took 20 minutes, because my reliable Ilve oven cooked the braised and combined contents in a cast iron pot for two hours. I didn’t even lift the lid once. 

** I used DICED BLADE STEAK in tonight’s dish for a change. However I prefer the satisfying meaty taste and typical tender texture of beef CHUCK STEAK instead. You will need to cook chuck steak for an extra half hour to an hour depending on the size of your diced meat. 

Ginger, Cumin and Cinnamon Slow Cooked Beef  
to serve 8 people generously 

Ingredients
Olive oil
50 g unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 Spanish onion finely diced
2 medium carrots chopped into chunky pieces
1.5 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or a thumb sized knob of fresh ginger grated
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon runny honey
handful of currants or raisins
1.5 kg beef chuck diced into 3-4 cm cubes
400 ml chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees on a conventional setting. 

Over a low heat, melt the olive oil and butter in a heavy based oven proof pot. Add the vegetables, sea salt and spices and sauté for 10 minutes. Stir to prevent the spices from burning. 

Add the beef to the pot – no need to remove the veggies, this is a super quick dish to prepare. Increase the heat to medium-high and sear the meat, stirring to prevent it from sticking. Sprinkle over the flour and cook off for another minute. 

Add the chicken stock, honey and dried fruit and bring to the boil, then clamp on the lid and place in the oven for 2 hours. 

When ready, serve with either couscous, quinoa or saffron rice as pictured.