2 minute read
ESSENTIAL PANTRY // 80 NEIGHBOURHOOD COFFEE
ESSENTIAL PANTRY Welcome to the Essential Pantry, a place for some of the very best chefs to place their favourite ingredients and a recipe around them. JAMIE HALSALL
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WORDS BY
JAMIE HALSALL
PHOTOGRAPHY
JENNI HELIN
BEEF A LA GENOVESE
ESSENTIAL "I love it because of its heavy use of slow cooked onions. It’s quite unlike most Italian ragu in this respect. It can be prepared with sausage or even veal, but this iteration is my favourite, as I think it needs the richness of the beef shin to stand up to the sweetness of the slow cooked onion. Please note – no tomato ! "
Jamie Halsall, Chef Patron, Cin Cin
This is actually a recipe that is popular in Campania – it is thought that it was handed down from Genoa in the Renaissance.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
400g diced beef shin 4 large onions 2 sticks of celery, cut into thirds 1 carrot, peeled and cut into quarters 4 cloves of garlic 1 glass of red wine (save the rest for drinking) 400ml beef stock 1 packet of high quality dried paccheri or rigatoni 300g parmesan for grating
Method
Start by heating a heavy based saucepan before adding a glug of olive oil (no need for extra virgin for this). Seal off the beef shin on all sides, making sure to gain a deep caramelisation as this is the surest way to get that rich deep flavour.
In the meantime, peel and slice your onions as finely as possible. Once the beef has finished searing, remove from the pan, keeping in the rendered fat that will then be used to cook the onions.
Carefully place the onions in the pan and immediately season liberally with salt and pepper – the salt will help to release the moisture from the onions turning them from acidic and astringent to sweet and complex. Turn the heat down to a low heat and continue to sweat for the next hour, stirring occasionally so that they dont catch on the bottom too much. Once the onions have given up all their juices, they will then slowly begin to colour – keep stirring during this stage to keep the colouring even.
Once you've achieved a rich deep colour, deglaze with the red wine and add in the carrots, celery and beef. Cover with boiling stock, put a lid on, and cook in an oven on 120°c for 3-4 hours until the beef is completely tender and able to break down with the squeeze of a fork.
If there is an excess of liquid, simply drain most of it off and reduce in a separate pan while you cook the pasta.
Once the pasta is cooked, add it all back into the braising pan, cover liberally with the grated parmesan, check the seasoning and serve between 4 pasta bowls. Don’t forget to add more cheese!
