Braised beef cheeks

A wonderful main course, extremely tender and flavourful. Long, very gentle cooking makes the meat fork-tender. The creamy sauce goes perfectly with boiled potatoes simply pressed through a potato ricer. Be sure to use a good red wine.

INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE

2 BEEF CHEEKS

2 CARROTS

2 ONIONS

2 GLASSES OF RED WINE

1 GLASS OF DRY MARSALA

4 JUNIPER BERRIES

4 CLOVES

1/2 TEASPOON OF CINNAMON OR A SMALL PIECE OF CINNAMON STICK

1 GARLIC CLOVE

2 BAY LEAVES

1 SPRIG OF ROSEMARY

20 g BUTTER

PEPPERCORNS

SALT

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

SIDE DISH

BOILED POTATOES

I thoroughly trim all the white cartilage from the beef cheeks.

Once the cheeks are completely cleaned, I prepare all the ingredients.

I peel the carrots and onions.

I thinly slice the carrots and onions and put in a pan with extra virgin olive oil. I add bay, rosemary, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, juniper berries and sliced garlic, sauté for around ten minutes and set aside.

In a large pot, I melt the butter with oil.

I add the cheeks, brown very well and deglaze with Marsala.

I add all the sautéed vegetables.

I pour in the two glasses of red wine.

I season with salt.

I cover, turn the heat to its lowest setting and cook for 4 hours. I turn only a couple of times and check there is liquid. After 4 hours, the meat should be cooked and very tender when pierced with a fork.

I slice the meat.

I put all the vegetables and cooking liquid in a tall container and blend until smooth.

I lay the meat on some sauce, then cover with more sauce. You can even prepare it the day before, allowing the meat to absorb more flavour.

I steamed the potatoes and pressed them through a ricer into the centre of the plate, then arranged the meat and poured over the sauce.