Braised Beef Cheeks and Beetroot Three Ways

Cook Time 6 hours

Servings 4

Ingredients

Braised Beef Cheeks

1kg beef cheeks
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1.5-2L beef stock
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 bunch thyme, tied together 
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
½ cup cornflour, mixed with a little water to make a slurry

Beetroot
3 baby beetroots, stem and leaves attached
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tsp salt
1 bunch thyme, tied together
500ml white wine vinegar
300g white sugar
300ml water

Horseradish Yoghurt
50g piece of horseradish
1 cup Greek yogurt

To Serve
50g feta cheese, frozen
¼ bunch basil, shredded
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Method

Braised beef
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Season the beef cheeks with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large saute pan then sear the beef cheeks over high heat until golden brown.

Add the roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery, thyme and mustard seeds. Pour in beef stock, adding more water if needed to cover. Cover with a cartouche of baking paper and then a lid, and place in oven at 150°C for 5-6 hours. Once tender, remove cheeks. Pass braising liquid through a sieve, bring to the boil and cook the stock down. Whisk in corn flour slurry to thicken into a sauce. 

Beetroots
Cut off the leaves and reserve. Cut the beetroot stems into 5cm lengths, wash thoroughly and reserve. 
Place the baby beets in pot and cover with cold water, salt, thyme and mustard seeds. Cover with a lid and cook on stove until just tender, approximately 30 minutes. Leave in pot to cool completely and reabsorb some of the cooking liquid.

Heat the white wine vinegar, sugar and 300ml of water in a small saucepan. Once boiled, pour over the beetroot stems and let sit for 30 minutes to pickle. 

Horseradish yoghurt
Grate the horseradish into the yoghurt using a microplane. Add salt to taste. 

To serve
Peel the baby beets and cut into halves or quarters. Dress with olive oil, salt and basil. Dollop the horseradish yoghurt onto a shallow bowl or plate and place the beets on top. Place the beef cheek on top, and garnish with pickled beetroot stems and leaves. Spoon over the beef sauce, then finish dish by microplaning frozen feta over the top.