James Martin Beef Olives Recipes

BEEF STIFADO

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large non-reactive bowl. Add the marinade ingredients, peeling and finely slicing the garlic first, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight.
• Peel the baby onions. If using fresh, peel and roughly chop the tomatoes.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan and sauté the onions for 5 minutes or until softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Sauté the beef, reserving the marinade, for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until browned on all sides.
• Return the onions to the saucepan, add the marinade, tomatoes and tomato purée and enough water to just cover the stew.
• Season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil then simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened.
• Serve with pasta and grated hard cheese, such as kefalotiri, pecorino or Parmesan.

HOW TO COOK BEEF OLIVES

Steps:

• Fry the chopped mushrooms and shallots in oil until they're soft. Grease a skillet with 1 US tbsp (15 mL) of vegetable oil and set your stovetop to high heat. Toss 1 finely chopped shallot and 2 US tbsp (15.5 g) of chopped mushrooms into the pan. Shift these around a bit with a spatula as you fry them so they don't burn or stick. It should only take a few minutes for everything to brown.
• Transfer the fried veggies to a separate dish so they can cool. Scoop the cooked mushrooms and shallots out of the hot skillet with a slotted spoon and move them into a clean bowl. Give the filling a few minutes to cool down before mixing it with the other ingredients.
• Stir the minced beef, mustard, and breadcrumbs into the fried veggies. Knead 4½ oz (120 g) of mince beef in with the mushrooms and shallots. Then, add 1 US tbsp (15 mL) of Dijon mustard and 2 tbsp (15 g) of regular breadcrumbs. Keep kneading and folding the ingredients together until they're well-mixed and the texture is consistent. Try pork instead of beef if you'd like to change things up.
• Mold the filling into 2 sausage-shaped rolls that are 1 in (2.5 cm) thick. Divide the mincemeat filling into 2 even piles. Using your hands, roll the meat mixture into a sausage shape. Make these sausages about the same height as the strip steak, so your "olive" isn't overstuffed.

BEEF OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 175C.
• Fry the onions, garlic, mushrooms until soft. Add to the raw bacon and set aside.
• Place the beef on a flat surface and beat with a rolling pin or food hammer until very thin (approx 1cm thick). Spread each beef slice with the mustard. Fill with the prepared stuffing.
• Cut the leek in half and blanche for 30 seconds in boiling water/cold water so that the leek is stringy. Cut the leek in thin strips long ways.
• Roll the beef slices over the stuffing and use the leek strings to secure the beef. Fry the beef on all sides until brown and place in an oven proof dish.
• Fry the remaining onion, carrot and celery in a pan for 5 minutes. Add passatta, red wine and beef stock and stir. Pour over the beef olives and cook in the oven with a lid on for 3 hours.
• Remove the beef olives from the dish and keep warm. Blend the remaining sauce until no lumps remain. Served with seasonal vegetables.