Time 1-2 hours

INGREDIENTS

2.5kg beef oyster blade, trimmed and cut into 12 even cubes

1.5L red wine

Vegetable oil

2 onions, peeled and quartered

2 carrots, peeled, each cut in 3

2 sticks celery, each cut in 3

1 head garlic, cut in half

2 bay leaves

1 orange, zested

4 sprigs thyme

100g flour, browned in oven

2L beef stock

Salt and pepper

250g speck, cut into small, narrow strips

4 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Photo: Marco Del Grande

This is a terrific winter beef dish. If there are any left-overs, break up the meat and toss through pasta with some sauce and plenty of parsley.

METHOD

Place beef in a bowl and add 750 millilitres red wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Next day, drain beef and discard wine. Put beef on paper towel and pat dry.

In a large, thick-bottomed saucepan, heat vegetable oil, add onions, carrot, celery and garlic and fry until golden. Meanwhile heat a frying pan on high, add vegetable oil and brown beef on all sides in batches. Add remaining wine to vegetables with bay leaves, orange zest and thyme and reduce over a high heat by four-fifths.

Lower heat and stir in flour. Add stock, bring to boil, skim, season and add beef. Simmer gently for about two hours or until beef is tender, occasionally skimming the sauce. Remove meat from sauce, pass sauce through a strainer into another saucepan, re-boil and return meat to sauce, keep warm. Heat a frying pan, add a little vegetable oil and fry the speck until golden.

Serve beef with speck, parsley and mashed potato.

Tip: To brown flour, preheat oven to 170°C spread flour evenly on a baking tray, bake for about 20 minutes until lightly coloured.