Smokey Slow Cooked Beef with Chorizo

I’ve lost my dinner cooking mojo latey. You know how it is. 7pm bed-time arrives and I’m overwhelmed and a bit euphoric about the fact that I’ve survived and loved (mostly) another day of being a living, breathing, working, washing, twin-Mum. We approach the debris of an exploded toy bomb and pick up a trail of raisins leading to the washing machine (it’s the safest place to store your raisins away from your brother, obviously). All I want is stiff drink, a log fire and trash on the telly.

So, I’m trying a new tactic. Put something delicious in to cook during nap-time on the days I’m at home, let it bubble away and be ready for us at wine o’clock. This warming little number fits the bill (especially as it leaves half a bottle of red for the chef).

Smokey Slow Cooked Beef Shin for 4 hungry people

170g Spicy chorizo (the ring type, that’s the pack size from Aldi, you could use more or less)
30g Plain flour
3 teaspoons Smoked Sweet Paprika
1kg Beef shin cut into cubes
Olive oil
2 Medium onions
3 Sticks of celery
3 Cloves of Garlic
2 teaspoons Chipotle paste (if you don’t have any of this, you could use 2 teaspoons of normal paprika instead)
300ml Red wine
500ml Beef stock
500g Chestnut mushrooms

To serve:
A red onion or coriander

1. Cut up your chorizo into chunks and dry fry in a big pan. You want to crisp the chorizo and let it release it’s oil.
2. While this is frying, dry your beef in a clean tea towel and then sprinkle with the plain flour and paprika. Season with sea salt and ground pepper and roll it all around so that the beef is completely covered.
3. When the chorizo is crisp and the red oil is covering the bottom of the pan, life the chorizo out with a slotted spoon onto a plate.
4. Turn up the heat and fry the flour coated beef in batches, until it’s well browned. Moving each batch out to the chorizo plate as it’s done. (If the pan gets a bit dry, add a tablespoon of olive oil.) Save any of the left over flour.
5. When all of your beef is fried, put a glug of olive oil into the pan. When this is hot put the garlic, onions and celery in and fry until softened. Stir in any of the flour/paprika mix left in the tea towel.
6. Now stir through the chipotle paste, add back in the beef and chorizo. Pour in the red wine and beef stock.
7. Simmer for about 3 hours.
8. Tip in the mushrooms and cook for another 30 minutes.
9. Serve with a little sliced raw red onion on top. I like this to add freshness and bite. (I’d use coriander if I didn’t think it was the work of the devil.)

I served this with a pile of buttered soft polenta, steamed savoy cabbage and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

Sarah x