Slow-cooked Beef cheeks in red wine sauce with mash and broccolini

Beef Cheeks
▢ 3 tbsp olive oil
▢ 1.5 kg beef cheeks , (approximately 4 large beef cheeks)
▢ 1 large brown onion, roughly diced
▢ 2 celery stalk, roughly diced
▢ 1 carrot, roughly diced
▢ Garlic, crushed (measure with your heart)
▢ 4 stems of fresh thyme
▢ 4 dried bay leaves
▢ 1 cup beef stock
▢ 2 cups Miles from Nowhere Cabernet Merlot
▢ 3 tsp salt
▢ Black pepper (to taste)

Mash Potato
▢ 800g Potatoes
▢ Salt and white pepper to taste
▢ 2 Tb Butter (or Olive Oil)
▢ 1/4 cup warm milk

Broccolini
▢ 500g Broccolini
▢ 2 Tb fresh lemon juice
▢ Salt and Pepper to taste

Beef Cheeks

1. Prepare the beef cheeks by cutting off any large fatty bits. Pat dry and season all over with 1 tsp salt and pepper.

2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Sear the beef cheeks until browned on each side. Remove beef cheeks from the pot, onto a plate.

3. Turn heat down to medium high and heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and onion and sauté for 3 minutes until onion is translucent.

4. Add the celery and carrot's and continue to sauté for a further 3 minutes.

5. Pour the wine into the pot with the vegetable mixture and stir. Bring wine to simmer for 1 minute.

6. Add remaining ingredients, and season, then place lid on.

7. Simmer on medium low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the cheeks are tender, turn at least once during cooking.

8. Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth Sauce until it's light brown in colour.

9. Bring the Sauce to simmer over medium heat and simmer until it turns a darker brown colour and reduces by about 1/4 to 1/3, to a gravy consistency - about 3 to 5 minutes.

10. Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the Sauce, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Mash Potato

11. 20 minutes before the Beef Cheeks are ready, put a pot of water on and bring to boil. Make sure the put is big enough for potatoes.

12. Cut the potatoes roughly into inch size pieces and add to boiling water. Cook until they are soft enough to jab a fork through the potato with ease.

13. Remove potatoes from the heat, strain and place in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mash until smooth.

Broccolini

14. Heat a pan on a medium-high heat. Add 2Tb of olive oil to the pan. When the olive oil is hot, add the broccolini and coat with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

15. Pan fry for about 3-5 minutes, until slightly golden but still crisp on the inside.

Serve your Beef Cheek on the mash potato with broccolini on the side and a bottle of Miles from Nowhere Cabernet Merlot.