Braised shin of beef with carrot and swede purée and caramelised shallots – by Ross Pike and Madalene Bonvini-Hamel

Ingredients (makes 10 to 15)
5kg shin of beef, meat removed from the bone
80ml vegetable oil
500ml brown chicken stock
500ml veal stock
50ml brandy
70ml red wine
100g tomato purée
1 large onion
Salt and pepper
2 large carrots
2 sticks of celery
1 medium leek
For the purée with shallots
500g peeled and diced carrots
500g peeled and diced swede
250g banana shallots, diced
400g unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
500ml white chicken stock
200ml Cognac or brandy or white wine

Method Tie the meat with butcher's string. Cut the mirepoix into even-sized pieces. Seal the beef in a hot pan with vegetable oil, and remove. Brown the mirepoix in the same pan as the beef and add the tomato purée. Add the brandy and reduce to a thick glaze. Add the red wine and reduce the liquid by half. Return the beef to the pan, season and add the veal and brown chicken stocks, slowly braise in a moderate oven for about four hours.

Once cooked, let the beef cool slightly, then pass the liquid through a muslin cloth. Remove the string from the meat and pick through the meat for sinew. Place the beef in a bowl and add a few ladles of hot juices from the cooking, just to moisten. Lay clingfilm on the table, shape the meat into sausage shapes, roll up tightly and hang from a shelf in the walk-in fridge. This will refrigerate them until completely set into a round shape. Cut the beef in to 170g/6oz portions and vacuum-pack them individually.

For the pur‚e, saut‚ the shallots until golden brown in half of the butter, season and remove from the pan. Return the pan to the stove and add the rest of the butter, saut‚ the carrot and swede until caramelised with seasoning. De-glaze the pan with alcohol of your choice, reduce until vegetables are glazed and most of the alcohol evaporated. Add the chicken stock and cook until the carrots and swede are soft, reduce most of the liquid to make a firm purée. Purée the carrots and swede in a blender until smooth, adjust seasoning, stir in the caramelised shallots into the carrot and swede purée. Reheat the beef in a steamer and serve on the purée.
Created by Ross Pike and Madalene Bonvini-Hamel, head chefs, directors' dining, BaxterSmith